Drought, Hardship, Suffering

January 2, 2014 (Thursday) The morning wakes with the hot sun climbing quickly into the sky above us.  Days without rain continue and the land struggles to survive.  For me relief is in sight as the plane will be coming at the end of the day to take me out.  I welcome the thought of the cooler mountain air but my heart is heavy for those I leave behind. I can see the suffering and know that the days ahead will bring more hardship and sorrow.

The needs in Turkana are great and very few have an income that they can rely on.  The pastors we work with are in great need but continue to serve the Lord and praise him through the difficult days of drought.  Turkana are herdsmen and their animals supply them with the necessary items for life.  The more animals, wives and children they have the greater their position will be within their village.  Two of our young pastors suffered without jobs, without animals and without any way to promote themselves in a small business.  To encourage and help them they were each given two goats. If conditions are favorable this will give them an opportunity to increase their herd, have some milk and a possibly a little money as well.

The plane comes once a day and I don’t want to miss it.  I’m ready for cooler air, even if it is still in the high 80’s!  Turkana think the area that I am going to is “cold!” The terminal is not enclosed and as we set on the benches the sand swirls around us. The wind is hot and the land so dry that nothing stays put. My eyes gaze upward into the heavens watching and waiting for the small moving spec that will be coming our way. I pray silently; Lord please let this plane come on time. My heart was waiting with great expectation to be taken to a cooler land.

From the plane I look down upon a primitive life of a beautiful people in a land they call their own. The land is barren, cracked and dry. Some of these people will never be the same as 43 accepted Jesus into their heart. Many of them have already been baptized in the river and pastors are ready to see that they grow in the Word.

Turkana life is behind me, it is a world of its own, and I am welcomed by the cool mountain air. The land is fertile and green. The two lands are so different but each in need.  From the villages with rich soil beneath their feet to the desert with the blazing sun above I am surrounded with the needs of people drenched in a life of poverty.

January 5, 2014 (Sunday) The children are gathering under the big shade tree for Sunday school. Their faces light up with joy as they see me arrive. The village of Taito is familiar with the white woman named “Linda” and they are happy to see that I have returned to them safely.  They quickly run to get me a chair so that I can sit with them. We have chickens around us and a goat or two but they do not interfere. Each one stands and leads in a song of their choice. They listen intently to the Bible story and answer questions. With sensitive and sincere hearts they go into a time of prayer.

When I first met Gladys she was dying.  Her small skeleton frame was hidden under a worn blanket. She didn’t have the strength to stand and if she tried to exert herself in any way she passed out. Neighbors had tried to convince her to go for help but to no avail.  We started to visit her and pray with her. It took time to convince her that she could be helped.  Now after treatment she has gained weight and her strength has returned to her. She doesn’t look like the same woman who I first met, she is beautiful!  We thank the Lord for the provision that he has made to extend this women’s life.

Isaiah 58:11 The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.