Aug. 2009

9-14 Debriefing with MTI in Colorado

21 – Sterling for a quick lunch and haircut before heading to Osborne KS

22-24 — Omaha with my Minni Friends

25-31 — Twin Cities for friends, networking, church and of course, THE STATE FAIR!

Sept. 2009

4-7 — OKC with fam for the folks 40th Anniversary

25-27 — Topeka for Scott & Robin’s wedding

 

 

MAY – JUNE 2009

May 19 — fly to GR (Grand Rapids) to be in the office all week

May 25 — drive to Burlington Ontario to work for a few days, maybe speak in a church on the 24th

May 27 — drive back to GR

May 28 — conference call with all the Bridgers; get together with Rachel while we’re both in the US (she’s the one that’s been in Taz) and Dar, recent Kenya IRM

May 29 — fly back to KS

May 30- June 7ish — Liberal

June 11ish — drive to MN via Nebraska or South Dakota

June 14 – speak at Calvary CRC in Edina during morning worship; afternoon attend Chris and Brian’s wedding in St Paul

June 15 – 18 — Twin Cities

June 19-22 — Retreat at Sleeping Fawn with Calvary friends

June 23 – start driving back to KS pulling trailor with my table inside, going through IA and KS before landing in Liberal

June 25 — speak at Early Risers Kiwanis in Liberal

June 28 — speak at First Presbyterian Church in Liberal

June 30 — last official day with CRWRC

2009

Jan. 16-19 — Travel to partner in Thika, just outside of Nairobi, with group of 21 students and 3 advisors from Calvin College

Jan. 20 — Return to Nairobi and debrief Calvin Group

                    Accompanied Rottman’s to Care Creation of Kenya for afternoon

Jan. 23 — Attend story-writing workshop led by Carol Rottman

Jan. 27 — take some of the Calvin students to the market

Jan. 30 — travel to Eldoret via Kericho, Kisumu and Kitale to have meeting with partner

Jan. 31 — meeting with partner

Feb. 2 — fly back to Nairobi

Feb. 4 — apply for visa at Nigerian High Commission

Feb. 5 — visit Canadian High Commission with Ugandan coworkers to apply for their visas

Feb. 6 — return to Nigerian HC to pick visa

                  pick Pastor’s Tour participant, Thea, from airport and orient to Kenya and partner

Feb. 7 — travel with Thea to partner home stay in Western Region and meet with partner

Feb. 8 — return to Nairobi and spend day with CFGB members

Feb. 12 — NADC arrives from Canada

Feb. 13 — orient NADC (Northern Alberta Deaconal Committee)

Feb. 14 – 19 — travel with NADC to Eldoret for partner visits

Feb. 20 — drive back to Nairobi with Fuller’s

Feb. 21 — pick new IRMs (International Relief Managers) at airport

Feb. 22 – 23 – orient new IRMs

Feb. 23 – NADC returns to Nairobi

Feb. 24 — debrief NADC and Fuller’s (current IRMs)

Feb. 25 — travel with part of NADC to visit graduated partner

                     have conference call with all Bridgers worldwide

Feb. 26 – Mar. 6 – Visit Nigeria for vacation (praise God for frequent flier miles!) with friends, Chinyere and Melissa

Mar. 16-17  — debrief Peggy and Erin, CRWRC volunteers in Tanzania here for conference

Mar. 26-27 — Volunteer Management Training with partner upcountry in Eldoret

Apr. 2 – 14 — Laura visits from Texas!

Apr. 6-8 — workshop on strategic plan for CRWRC – Kenya

May 2 — Kariss and Eric get married

                 Januea and Marc get married

May 6 — I leave Kenya to move home

May 7 – 13 — spend time in London with Carrie playing and debriefing in prep to moving back to North America after living in Kenya for almost two years.

May 13 — 840pm arrive in Wichita, Kansas and drive on into LIBERAL!

May 15 –  go for Angie’s graduation from University of Texas – Dallas!

May 17 — be back for Miss Kara’s graduation from Liberal High School!

May 18 — speak to Southlawn Elementary School’s Third Graders

May 19 — fly to GR (Grand Rapids) to be in the office all week

May 23 — drive to Burlington Ontario to work for a few days, maybe speak in a church on the 24th

May 27 or 28 — drive back to GR to wrap up and get together with Rachel while we’re both in the US (she’s the one that’s been in Taz)

May 29 — fly back to KS

May 31- June 11ish — I do not know as of this moment

June 11ish — drive to MN

June 14 – speak at Calvary CRC in Edina during morning worship

June 14 — afternoon attend Chris and Brian’s wedding in St Paul

June 15 – 18 — Twin Cities

June 19-22 — Retreat at Sleeping Fawn with Calvary friends

June 23 or 24 – start driving back to KS pulling trailor with my table inside, going through IA and KS before landing in Liberal

June 28 — speak at First Presbyterian Church in Liberal

June 30 — last official day with CRWRC

————————————————————— 

 

 

 

 

 

2008

 

Feb. 3 — Mission Emphasis Week kick-off at Calvary CRC in Edina MN with live interview with me! Service is at 10:30am 

Feb. 5 — Pancake Day!

Feb. 10 — Mission Emphasis Week ends at Calvary CRC and there will be a display table with treasures from Kenya and photos and video.

Feb. 19-26 — Eldoret with Relief Team for assesment trip

Mar. 4 – visiting NPI (New Program Initiatives, which are HIV/AIDS related programs) with Stephan and new NPI Coordinator, Oscar

Mar. 13 – VISITIng WESTERN REGION to sEe hiv?aids programs with nyAmUhu anD visitoR

Mar. 14-15 – Mombasa area to visit partner work with Stephan and Alida 

Mar. 17-23 — EAMT (East Africa Ministries Team) Spriritual Retreat and Team meeting in Malindi

March 21 — GOOD FRIDAY

March 23 — EASTER

March 25-27/28 — trip to Western Region to visit our partners and their work with Nyamuhu and Alida 

Apr. 1 – Chili at my place for the office – All American lunch!

APR. 3 – Evaluation

Apr. 6 – Amanda’s birthday celeration complete with scavenger hunt around Nairobi

Apr. 10 – lunch with Lesa Brown from SC!

Apr. 11 – teach coworker how to make chocolate chip cookies (that’s one of the tastiest bridging excercises I’ve done!)

Apr. 12-13 – visit Moses and Rose for the weekend

Apr. 23 – Machakos with FRB folks to see work done in partnership with Dorcas Aid

Apr. 27 – meet for church/lunch with IRMs from Mali

May 2 – pick up Stephan and our new Country Consultant, Fred, at the airport

May 3-4 orient Fred to Westlands

May 5-6 – help with Fred’s orientation

May 6 – 11:50 pm LEAVE FOR US ON BRITISH AIRWAYS!

May 7 – 6:35 pm arrive in Wichita!

May 9 – talk with Southlawn third graders

May 12 – fly from Wichita to GR

May 13 – CRWRC Spiritual Retreat in Grand Rapids (GR) (hey, Randy!)

May 14 – in GR office to prep for Service Learning Orientation

May 15-17 – SL Orientation  (hey, Matt & Katie, Paul & Joy and Kristen!)

May 18 – speaking at Dorr CRC in GR at 930 worship

May 20-23 – GR office for debriefing and meetings

May 24-26 – Ferry to Milwaukee to see Chris, Brian and Dawn; Wendy and Tim

May 27-29 – Burlington, Ontario office for debriefing and meetings

June 3-4 – mini-conference in GR office

June 6 - fly from GR to Wichita arriving at 9pm

June 7 – little LHS brunch (if you’re in Wichita and want to join Laura Hitt and I let me know!) then Laura drives us to Liberal

June 10 – 7am on the Daily Grind, a local TV program in Liberal

June 12 – 15 – family vaca

June 16-18 – Goodland with Sarah-Ruby

June 17 – presentation at noon Kiwanis in Goodland

June 18 – back to Liberal

June 19 – 6:30am Early Risers Kiwanis presentation; noon Noon Kiwanis presentation

June 22-23 – in north central Kansas with Beth and Marty

June 24-30 – Twin Cities

June 28 – 9am – Come learn about CRWRC and it’s work around the world – Calvary CRC in Edina

June 29 – morning service at Calvary CRC in Edina

June 30 – start drive back home stopping in Lawrence

July 10 – leave from Wichita for Kenya

July 13 – first day back in the Kenyan office!

 Sept. 1-6 – trip upcountry with Burlington staff

Sept. 8-9 – EAMT (East Africa Ministry Team) meeting in Limuru, Kenya

Sept. 10-11 – environmental training with Burlington staff and local enviornmental org.

Oct. 6-9 — Ulungu project evaluation

Oct. 13-15 — Mombasa to visit partner work

Oct. 19 – cousins Barbara Sue and Peewee getting re-married

Oct. 25 — Jeffrey K and Kris getting married

Oct. 29 — Town Hall meeting at the US Embassy

Nov. 5-9 — Kingdom Children evaluation, Mombasa area

Nov. 18 — Chinyere arrives from Nigeria!

Nov. 19 — Chinyere and I fly to Uganda to do Volunteer Mgmt training with partners

Dec. 2-4 — visit Paul and Joy in Lira, Uganda

Dec. CRWRC-Kenya evaluation

Dec. 5 – My birthday!

Dec. 21-28 — Christmas in South Africa with friends

 

—————————————————-

2007

 

 

June 24-July 6 – COPE training in TorontoJuly 9-10 – training in the Canada CRWRC office, BurlingtonJuly 10 – fly into Wichita KS.  My folks will pick me up and I’ll spend the next days with my family before I leave for Africa.July 11 – Coldwater KS visiting Grandad, Uncle Wayne and Suzie and the rest of the Thompson crew.July 12 – 6:30 am I will speak at the Early Risers Kiwanis Club in Liberal.  I perhaps have another speaking engagement at noon but that has not yet been confirmed.July 15 – I will speak at Liberal First Presbyterian ChurchJuly 16 – I depart for Africa.  Here’s my flight schedule: drive from Liberal to Garden City KS then fly to Denver CO then to Houston TX then to Paris France where I’ll meet up with Melissa and ChiChi.  We then fly down to Senegal West Africa for a month.July 17 – Arrive in Dakar Senegal West Africa for a month of training.July 22 – worship at a Methodist Church in Dakar July 23 – briefing on CRWRC in Senegal, maybe go downtown for some clothes shopping, etc. July 24 – training on how to do orientation, maybe go downtown for some clothes shopping, etc. July 25 – move into our new apartment for the rest of our stay in Dakar and spend time learning the neighborhood July 26 – We drive to Dahra where we leave Melissa for the weekend to do some special medical training and then drive to Linguère.   July 29 – travel back to Dakar July 31 – We visit Gorèe Island Aug. 3 – 7:30 am Bible study and prayer time and then partner meeting Aug. 5 – Melissa leaves for Sierra Leonne, Chichi and I worship at a Protestant Church in Liberté Aug. 6 – briefing on one of CRWRC – Senegal’s partner and on the church in Senegal Aug. 7 – Leave for Fatick area Aug. 8 – Thursday Aug 9 – visit with local committees of a partner organization regarding justice and HIV/AIDS Aug. 10 – Return to DakarAug. 11 – Sarah turns 30!Aug. 12 – worship at the previously mentioned Methodist church Aug. 13 – work with partner Aug. 14 – work with a different partner Aug. 17 – ChiChi and I fly to Bamako Mali West Africa for more training with Mary Crickmore, West Africa Team Leader.  Hopefully we will arrive with all of our luggage.Sept. 3 – fly with ChiChi and Mary to Niger for the West Africa biannual team meeting.  This is truly an awesome opportunity to learn! Sept. 4-7 – West Africa Team Meeting, filled with prayer, praise, reports, updates and learning, not to mention meeting everyone on the team from all over West Africa.Sept. 7 – Dad’s birthdaySept. 7-10 – fun in Niamy with Sarah, Steve and Beth.Sept. 10 – Return to Bamako Mali tonightSept. 13 – Take the redeye from Bamako Mali to Paris then London’s Heathrow then . . .Sept. 14 – I finally arrive in Nairobi and hit the ground running!  Praise the Lord!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sept. 17 – My first day at the office.  Devotions are at 9.

Sept. 18 – I am going on a day trip to Embu, northeast of Nairobi.  I’m attending a partner meeting with my host father who is on the board.

Sept. 19 – Meet Davis Omanyo, the Team Leader for East Africa.

Sept. 21 – Meet with the office mgmt team to go over what my job entails in conjunction with theirs.

Sept. 22 – I go into the city to spend time with Alida and learn how to ride a matatu and check out a mall. 

Sept. 23 – I attend church for the first time with my family.  It’s the Anglican Church of Kenya and I attend first the English service and then the Kikuyu service.  (Kikuyu is a large tribe in Kenya.)  Then I move into the ACK guest house for two weeks.

Sept. 24 – Oct. 5 – I take Swahili lessons in the mornings. 

Oct. 5 – It’s my Mom’s birthday!

Sept. 26 – I take my first solo matatu ride to the office.

Sept. 29 – Beth and Marty get married in Kansas.   I adventure through the city with Alida.  We’re thinking about the Nairobi Museum and the Village Market which is a big indoor mall.

Oct. 1 – Alida leaves for Eldoret.

Oct. 6 – I leave the guest house to return to my host family.

Oct. 8-11 – HIV/AIDS tour

Oct. 18 – Adam aka Baby Stuey turns 1 in Dallas, Texas – yeehaw!

 

 

 

 

 

Oct. 20 – Kenyatta Day: a day to celebrate the first President of Kenya

Oct. 22 – I move into my own apartment! 

Oct. 26 – go to the US Embassy for the first time for a town hall meeting regarding the upcoming elections

Oct. 27 – I pick up my first Kenyan sewn dress from the market near my host family.  My bed should be delivered around this time as well.  It’s made by a friend of the family.

Oct. 28 – Jeff J’s birthday today!

Nov. 1-3 – CRWRC Kenya’s spiritual retreat at Lake Naivasha

Nov. 9 – Angie’s birthday today!

Nov. 12-17 — I will be in Uganda meeting with Rena, the bridger there, and visiting one of the partner sites.

Nov. 26-Dec 2 – In Eldoret (Western Kenya) meeting some of our partners and visiting Alida in her new place

Dec. 1 – World AIDS Day 

Dec. 5 – My first birthday in Africa!

Dec. 5-13 — Alida is in town for work and staying with me.  It will be fun to have her here for my birthday.

Dec. 14-16 – Sarah C from Wheaton College will be here with some friends and they will stay with me.  I met Sarah while I was training in Mali where she was interning.  I love having company!

Dec. 24-29 – Alida, Amanda and I head to Lake Baringo for the holiday.  It will nice to be away from the city during the elections, too.

Dec. 25 – Merry Christmas!

Dec. 31 – Clint and Jen get married in Colorado Springs

            We’ll celebrate at my place or Amanda’s, not sure yet.