December 7th, We have rented a heavy duty vehicle and will be traveling into the interior parts of the Turkana land. Yesterday, in the afternoon, we did all the planning and preparation so that 7 sacks of maize (1,390 lbs) would be ready for us to load this morning along with small bags of salt and cooking fat. Four of the sacks would be left with different villages along the way and three would be taken out closer to the Uganda border.
The Chief will be traveling with us today. As he has told me in the past, “He is the government here; no one will bother me when he is around.” The back of the vehicle is full with sacks and people it is the African way. If you are going the same direction, they don’t mind a little inconvenience. The dust in the face and the continual jolting of the body’s bone structure doesn’t stop anyone. There is always room for one more! Sure enough they live true to their word and along the way we stopped for one more who was walking.
The sun is bright and the sky blue. The rains have blessed the land in this area and green grass and flowers have sprung up from the brown desert soil. The acacia trees now give way to a little shade beneath them. There are many vast wash outs along the way and we cross through several of them. During the rains the mountain ranges around turn these areas in rushing rivers but now they are dry and dusty.
The camels run in front of us and others continue eating without a care. They are scattered in groups along the way. Donkeys, goats, sheep and cows show us that life is around. The marked trail that we are following soon disappears, now you must know your way. There are no roads or tire marks to be seen just mountain ranges ahead and those that we are leaving behind.
Now and then a herd of goats will run in front of us and in the midst will be a young boy with a wrap tied at his neck and staff in his hand.
There isn’t any evidence of running water to be seen. The rains have stopped and the seasons have changed. This area will soon see the shades of green disappear before their eyes.
We arrive at a small church far from the traveled roads, running water, and electricity. We are even far from flashlights, bottled water and generators. We have stopped in the midst of a settlement and there are Turkana style huts all around us. Even though the Pokot and Turkana continue to battle over cattle and land it is not a hostile area. The word is out, we have arrived and everyone is glad to see us. They start to gather inside a small metal sided and metal roof church.
I have traveled into this area three times now and I am known by the natives. The elder mama stands, her body worn by the hard life and harsh sun that Turkana land brings. She walks toward me and grabs me tightly and hugs on me for what seemed like minutes. With authority, that now is hers, she speaks and pauses so that it may be interpreted for me. She welcomes me and thanks me for coming, for returning and not forgetting them. She invites me to stay here with them and live with them. She tells me that it is a good life and a good land. Then there is a promise that if I will stay that everyone will protect me, no harm will come to me.
The Chief also speaks and thanks me for coming back. He welcomes me to return over and over again. He wants me to return and to bring the same spirit with me which I carry now.
There is singing and dancing, jumping straight up and down. Your age does not prevent you from joining in. Believe me they can jump high and dance long even with a metal roof over their heads in the midst of the desert. The worn hands of the elder mama clasp onto mine and into the center we go to join the others. Many times during the dance the mamas will bend forward with one shoulder toward you. It is their way of saying “I love you.”
People continued to come and we didn’t have any more room inside. They were sitting and standing on the outside of the church. We stopped our service and moved everyone outside under a clump of small acacia trees. Acacia trees don’t have but large leaves but what they did have felt like heaven. Even though it was close to 100 degrees it was much cooler outside than in the church. Everyone was happy to be together.
There was silence as I spoke and I knew that my words were feeding them. The women were sitting all together on one side of me the men on the other. There were babies and little children and all were quiet. At the end 5 people stood to their feet and asked Jesus into their heart. It was a day of rejoicing in the heavens above and in the middle of hot and dry land.
One of the elder men then asked for prayer as he was sick and others followed.
The sacks of maize along with salt and cooking fat were brought out into the open and set up for distribution. The people were put into groups in order to keep things under control. One group at a time was allowed to go for their portion. They came with whatever they could find to carry their maize home in. Some had a plastic shopping bag that had been used over and over again. Others came with a bucket or just a piece of cloth. Person after person received something to take home to help fill the void.
We were near the bottom of the sack and the people were still lined up. I would look at the sack and then look at the number of people left and pray that we would have enough for everyone. Everyone had waited in line very peacefully and in order until the very end. The people at the end of the line could see what I was seeing, we were getting very low on maize. We had gone through almost 600 pounds of maize here. The last few in line forgot all the rules and made a rush on the sack of maize that was left . With the elder mama on the sidelines everything was back in control soon and yes there was enough for everyone. (Thank you again for your generous giving and for making it possible give relief food to many.)
If the day were to end now I would say with great joy in my heart that it was a good day, but we are not ready to leave yet. There is a baptism service to perform. I was asked if I would go to the river and baptize those that needed to be baptized, including those that just accepted Jesus into their heart. It was an honor to be asked and I longed to do it. Quickly my mind reflected back onto what the foreign travel doctors had told me in the states about avoiding such water because of parasites. I asked the natives about snakes and crocodiles that might be near or in the water. They assured me there were none. I knew that probably they were stretching the truth on that one! I was given the name of the river “Kabil,” it meant nothing to me. Earlier in the week I had also talked over this issue with a missionary friend of mine. I wanted to get her thoughts on it.
I agreed to do the baptism. I would prepare for the baptism but they needed to understand that after seeing the condition of the river I might say no. I was told it was a short walk and I knew that a short walk to them would not be a short walk to me especially in this type of heat. They walked and I had my driver take me there. I knew that the only privacy I was going to have was inside this vehicle. I began to prepare for the baptism. The foreign travel doctor told me that if I ever did a baptism to cover my body with Vaseline, at least the parts that would be in the water. So off came the sneakers and in the intense heat I began to rub Vaseline on my legs up to mid thigh and all over my arms. It is a way of sealing the body so that the microscopic size parasites couldn't enter your body. I even put it on heavier than most people because I wanted to be sure I stayed healthy. I finished just in time, just as we rode up onto this knoll and that overlooked a group of people gathered around some water.
My heart sank. It wasn’t a flowing river, it wasn’t even a river! It was a small dug out area that had captured some rain water. It was an over sized mud puddle! It was dirty and even though it was only knee deep you couldn’t see the bottom. The water was stagnant with green algae growing on top. I shook my head and told the driver they are going to be disappointed but I am not going in that water. It probably had been used for everyone in the area to bathe in plus all the animals probably had used it and walked through it as well.
The baptism was beautiful and I stood on the side lines covered in Vaseline with the hot desert sun shining on me. I was very happy to get back to my room and have a cold shower!
It had been a great day with memories that will make me laugh now and in the days ahead.
"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor." Prov 22:9
"You have been a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in his distress, a shelter from the storm and a shade from the heat.…….. Isaiah 25:4
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