Friday Morning the 17th of March I loaded two heavy suitcases into a taxi and headed for Kitale airport. My suitcases are loaded with Bibles printed in the Turkana language. I even had a few Bibles nestled in my arms. The Bibles catch the eye of the taxi driver. He has recently asked Jesus into his heart but does not own a Bible. However these are of no help to him as they are written in Turkana. I reach into my back pack and pull out the last Bible written in English that I have. I pass it to him and with one hand on the steering wheel he uses the other hand to hold the Bible close to his heart. God has given him his heart's desire.
The blue sky and Mt Elgon make a beautiful back drop for the very small airport. The sun is already hot and it isn't even eight o'clock. Beth, a native to western Kenya, is traveling with me. She has never flown before and with great anticipation she watches the sky for the plane to land. We pass through security and my suitcases are unzipped and checked. Then they are weighed. As I feared they were too heavy. The allowance was 40kgs and I had 51kgs. From across the desk the attendant, with my passport in hand, tells me I could only take 40kgs. I quietly said "but they are Bibles for the people." Then it was the quiet never ending stare. I tried one more time and said "can God be pleased with us today?" The attendant then handed me my passport and I was sent on my way with all of the Bibles J
African time usually means you sit and "wait" but today the flight schedule is far from African time. The plane left 45 minutes ahead of schedule. We were happy that we arrived early. Vivian a missionary to Kenya for 38 years is also on the plane with us.
The noise from the propellers gets louder and louder and we leave the earth of Kitale behind us. The town is now nowhere to be seen and the earth below changes rapidly. The green patches turn to brown and the mountain peaks turn to flat dry earth below us. There are many dried up rivers with white sands for as far as you can see.
We are greeted by the hot breeze of Lodwar as we walk from the plane to the airport gathering spot. Here the airport consists of just a covering to protect you from the sun and rain. Pyramid like mountains, a sun the shines hotter and sand like the beach tells us we are in a new land. Many Turkana will tell you that here in the north western parts you are not in Kenya. It is a land of it is own.
White skin is always a temptation for many in Africa to "up" the price. Here it is no different and the taxi driver tries to charge us three times the normal fare. There are baskets of all sizes piled high beside the road as we travel through the small town of Lodwar. The handmade baskets, brooms, mats and safari hats smell of the sweet desert palm leaf.
We have a room with a fan that rattles, shakes and sounds like it could possibly fall from the ceiling but it works and we are thankful for it. There are a few bugs and lizards that we could do without too. The net always gets tucked under the mattress really tight!
We sit under a tree out by the dirt road and visit with 4 pastors from the area. They have a schedule that will keep me busy for the next 10 days that we are here.
Later on Beth and I are enjoying some cold water when an older man with a walking stick over his shoulder approaches us. He is dressed in the traditional way with a red plaid robe and sandals. He is selling a dried fruit that grows on trees. He has the bundle of fruit tied to the end of his walking stick, hobo style. Each piece of fruit is the size of an ear of corn. When it is dried it becomes something they use to wash with. I bought a couple to bring home to show people and then asked if we could take his picture. He agreed. From there it went really bad as some nearby men demanded my camera. I didn't comply and they continued verbally attacking and threatening that it was now a legal issue. They spoke English but it didn't matter what I said they didn't want peace. Even though the men opposed I called the pastors I had met with earlier and told them I was in trouble and needed them. Within five minutes four pastors showed up on the scene and sat with us. You could feel the whole atmosphere change and peace settled in over the situation. The lions wanted to devour me but the angels shut their mouths. Psalm 124
The night darkness brings thunder and heavy rains. It is a relief to us as the air cools a bit. Others fear the rain as it is so dry the earth does not receive the water. Luggas form and the fast moving water removes the earth forming unannounced rushing rivers. Luggas have carried cars and buses away. Many die here from swelling rivers and luggas. Tonight 2 cars have been swept away in a nearby river. Six have lost their lives.
Psalm 124:8 Our help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
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