HISTORY

A Little History:
Our story begins in Pocatello, Idaho, circa 1972, when the lovely Debby Christensen agreed to a first, though fateful date with admirer, David Croshaw. Long story-short, he bade her follow him, and they went arm-in-arm to the Logan, Utah temple for establishment of an eternal family unit, Generation 1, on May 23 1973.

From their first blissful summer in Salt Lake City, educational pursuits took them to Provo/Orem, Utah, birthplace of Leslie and Rebecca, and to San Francisco/Oakland California, birthplace of Colin and Matt. Then, for establishment of livelihood, expansion of the tribe with Abby and Dana, and for raising/unifying of Generation 2, it was back to the roots in Pocatello for a rewarding sojourn.

In time, driven by a raging, but commonly shared sense of adventure and independence, one-by-one, Generation 2 escaped the homeland to distant regions of the country and the world, each ultimately developing their own tribal expansions by pairing with worthy mates and initiating Generation 3.

Now sensing fulfillment of their purpose in Pocatello, Generation 1 has also left those roots and transplanted to Cascade Idaho, from which base, they anticipate more abundant contact with The Posterity, Generations 2 and 3, in the future. That contact however, awaits fulfillment of a call to LDS missionary service in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, wherein they hope to help the state of the world by sharing the love of Jesus Christ.

So now, including Generation 0 (Grandma and Grandpa Christensen) home base includes Yuma, Arizona, Pocatello, Idaho, Cascade, Idaho, Vancouver, BC, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Spokane, Washington, Boise, Idaho, Los Angeles, California, back to Boise, Idaho, and on and on (Generation 3+) to infinity.

Our Mission Statement:
This is the blog of our eternal family unit. Initiated years ago, it served well as a journal, but even more so, as an archive of our personal interaction. It was a gathering place, a confabulation instrument, a unifying force for four generations of widely dispersed and progressively prolific posterity, and their valued associates. Though it served these purposes well for many years, it eventually took a back seat to new-kids-on-the-block, Facebook, and Instagram, and was sadly forgotten.

We now move to resurrect this blog with an added functional purpose of archiving the missionary experiences of Generation 1, of their movements and activities as they participate with The Gathering of Israel in the land northward. In so doing, we hope that via their own comments and posts, this blog will again serve to gather and unify the posterity and their friends.

As in the past, that the young and vibrant may know the old and tired, that enduring bonds may be fostered and maintained, that experience and encouragement may be openly shared, that posterity may embrace truth, and that hearts may be knit together, we must resist detachment despite our geographic divergence. We shall do so here.
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Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hi. I'm in Kenya.

I figured this would be the easiest way to get the word out.  I made it safe, I'm all settled in my place, and I intentionally had a crazy sleeping schedule on my two-day flight so I could sleep through the night once I got here.  I left my hotel in Palmyra at 8:00am Sunday.  Four connections later, I got to Mombasa, Kenya at 11:30pm (Kenya time) Monday.  It was a party.  We'll see how long it takes me to hit my wall today.  

Just to orient everyone, I'm working in Mombasa (It's an island.  Sort of.) and living in Nyali Beach, just north of Mombasa.  (It's the "rich" area, where all the white people live...although I haven't seen any other white people yet.)  You can see them both here.  Not such a bad living situation.  I think it'll suit me just fine.  So far, there are two other interns here that I live with, Aaron and Andi - an awesome couple that got married about four months ago.  It's really cool that they're doing this together as newlyweds...but I don't think I'll go that route.

I'm at Yehu now, just waiting around to get a folder of info so I can learn about this place, and maybe possibly figure out what exactly I'll be doing here.  Over the next week or so, I'm going to try to get more oriented and take some pictures of the everyday stuff (like my mosquito net-covered bed, the Nakumat A.K.A. Wal-Mart, and the packed matatu taxis I ride to work), so you can get a feel for what life here is like.  

I was going to upload some pictures from my travels, but the Internet is too spotty.  I'll try to do that later.  But just know that I'm here and all is well!

15 comments:

Leslie said...

Glad you got there safe! By the time you read this you will have spent your first full day there. Can't wait for the updates. How many hours ahead are you...it's got to be like 7 or 8 more than DC, right?

David Chipman said...

7 hours ahead of DC, so you'll get the first preview of the sunrise! I'm so glad that you made it okay, and that you have some internet access! Talk to you soon!

Leslie said...

By the way, Abby, is Out of Africa you're blog? It's listed as one of our blogs, but I clicked on it and it downloaded something. I'm wondering if it might be a virus?? Not sure....

David and Debby said...

les, the out of africa i added. it is abby's blog that she will be doing for her business school. i don't think she has added anything yet. abby, glad to hear you are safely in africa. i got the email, too. thanks. can't wait to see what it is like. you have such a wonderful way of describing things that you will make all of us feel like we are there. have fun!!! xoxo mom

RayV said...

I'm so glad you made it safe! I can't wait to hear about your adventures!

Crystal said...

So SO glad to hear this! We miss you and were excited all day to hear word that the trip was over and you were in Africa. I know I have said how adventurous, fun, exciting... your life is, but this part I think shows courage and bravery! What an amazing girl you are! Be safe, enjoy and know you are missed (and ok, a little envied ;-)

Jason and Dana said...

I can't wait to see all of the pictures. I'm so glad you got there safe and sound. I meant to call you before you left but totally forgot what day you were leaving. Love you Gabby!

Alex Esparza said...

Hakuna matata abby enjoy africa we are glad you safe i can't wait to hear about microfinace we can make micro bussissnes. Take care

Alx

abbynormal said...

Thanks everyone for your support!

My Africa blog will likely say a lot of the same things I say here or my own blog. If anything, I'll be saying more personal things here, and more work-related things there. Or something. I really haven't decided.

rebeccaV said...

That comment from Ray was really from me :) (but I'm sure Ray feels the same way!)

Jason and Dana said...

You are sweet never change, have an awesome summer. Call Me.
Jason

What a lucky girl to be traveling the world. I'm Jealous. We hope you win the war against mosquitoes, use that net and shows those mosquitoes who's boss.

David and Debby said...

Mosquitos are really just microterrorists in Abby's microfinance world, forcing her to live in fear. But don't stand for it Abby. Go on the offensive - bomb them daily.
Dad

abbynormal said...

I do bomb them every day, with malarone and deet. :o)

Jason and Dana said...

deet, deet, de, de, de, deet, deet deeeeet.....I bless the rains down in Africa.
....I know, you guys are eventually going to ban me from posting this nonsense.
Jason

rebeccaV said...

Did anyone watch the office last week..."are you kidding, the FDA would never allow that much deet!"