January 15th Sunday Sunday’s are very special days and they are also very busy days. Today I spoke at the tent church in town. The music was joyful and the tent was full. A handmade Turkana basket is placed in the front of the church for the offering. Sitting up front I am in full view of the people. There are many I recognize, many I know by name and I have even been in the homes of some. My eyes fall on one of the widows from Kipsongo slums. She is a thin frail woman. I know that after the service she will return to the slums with little to eat and probably nothing for tomorrow. There are many dressed better than what she wears but it does not stop her from walking to the basket and giving what she has as worship to her God.
The temperature rises within the tent as the morning turns to noon day but no one offers to leave. As I’m speaking one of the older street boys enters and kneels in the center aisle near the back of the church. 
At the end of the service I walk near the back and Sarah, Alice and another little street girl are there waiting for me with great big smiles. I give them hugs and share my water with the littlest of the three.
Selena the woman from Kispongo slums greets me in the Turkana way and then places a beaded necklace that she had made around my neck. She can’t speak one word of English but I knew from the smile on her face that it was a gift of love. With her finger she pointed to her heart than to mine.
I was hungry and I knew these three street girls were very hungry. Their faces were so excited when I told them that today we were going to have some chips.(fries) We sat together around the table and they each had the soda of their choice and a plate of chips. They ate and said thank you then they ate some more and said thank you again. They were very still and well behaved but the eyes of those around us were on them. Soon they wanted to know if they could take the rest in a bag for later and off they went but not until they said thank you one more time. They left full and very happy!
Later in the afternoon we traveled outside of Kitale just a short ways to Lessos. There is a boarding school in Lessos and we want to visit with a couple of the children. The road was dusty and donkeys grazed on the little patches of green grass beside the road. There were small stands along the way with bananas, cabbages, and tomatoes for sale. Once through the school gate we see that Sunday afternoon is set aside for washing clothes. The children, except for the very young ones, are expected to hand wash all of their own clothes.
January 16th Monday
One must be very flexible because the day hardly ever goes as planned. Every day is different and you never know what problems you will face or who will cross your path. Today Joni and I had lunch with Christine.
Christine is from Kispsongo slums and has some serious health problems and other issues. She had a little boy that we rescued from the slums a couple years ago. She wasn’t caring for him and didn’t want him anymore. He is now in a good home.
As we sat around this small table outside she was visibly out of place but very quiet and not bothering anyone. She was just happy to see us and to also have some food. The guard came up to our table and said something in Swahili to her. All I could get was that he wanted her to eat fast and leave but he said a lot more than that. He didn’t speak English so he didn’t respond to any of our questions. After he finished speaking to Christine he went back to his post and his back was to us. Without a word Christine lunged from her chair and attacked him from the back. He of course is trained to defend himself and take control of the situation and that is what he did. He grabbed her arms and with a twist she went to the ground. Christine is thin as can be and her little body is curled up in a ball on the ground and he proceeds to kick her with his heavy boots. He is stopped and Christine takes off down the road with Joni running after her. She was bruised from being kicked but will be fine. I stayed behind to straighten out the details with the manager. Peace can turn into a volcano that is spitting fire within seconds here.
The rest of the day was rather peaceful!
Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
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