Heading West

February 9, 2013 (Saturday) It was time to make the next part of the trip and head west.  So at the crack of dawn I rolled my suitcases out of my room and waited for the taxi to carry me to the other side of Nairobi.  One never knows how much time to allow for such a short way because the traffic hinders one from traveling at a good speed. On many occasions it brings you to a complete stop and you sit and sit watching the minutes click by knowing that there is a bus that will depart on time. 

Today the morning air was cool but the sun would soon heat the land.  My body is still struggling with a cold, the lengthy flight and the time change.  Every so often I found my head resting against the bus window and sleeping some of the many miles away. 

Soon we were traveling through the massive Rift Valley and the volcanic mountains showed their majestic presence.   The dry grass and open fields were dotted with zebras, gazelles and the colorful birds of Kenya.  We had left the business of Nairobi life where cars, public transportation vehicles and people consumed the open roads.

A new way of life was before us and the homes blended in with the earth. Donkeys pulling carts, herds of cows, goats and sheep shared the roadway with us.  The roads were in need of repair and little side passage ways had been made around each bad section.  We bounced off our seats and the dust rolled in.

There was one more large town to travel through before we took our turn and headed toward Kitale.  Eldoret would be the last rest stop of the day but our rest stop came early as we found ourselves locked in traffic.  Even the side roads would not allow us through. Eight to ten choppers decorated the sky above. They were low and flew back and forth above us letting everyone know they were present.  Ahead we could see people running and the crowd was getting larger and larger.  Vehicles with loud speakers took over the airways and excitement ran rampant.  We had ventured into a political rally and we had no choice but to sit and wait.

It was a long day but after the 9 hour bus trip I arrived safely in western Kenya at the base of Mt. Elgon.  I had returned to my Kenyan home with the added protection of 3 Kenyan soldiers on the grounds night and day. 

February 10, 2012 (Sunday) Today I found myself in need of rest! My body was struggling trying to keep up with all of the many changes.  The cold I carried with me from the states was still lingering on. The flight had been almost 16 hours in air time. There was an eight hour time difference.  I had just taken a bus trip that lasted nine hours and now I was dealing with a change of elevation.  Here we are almost 7000’ above sea level.

It is a beautiful place to rest. We are high enough to look out over another range of mountains called the Cherangani Hills.  The lodge has an open veranda where one can rest as they look out over this beautiful land.  Joni, a missionary from Canada, joins me for breakfast on the veranda.  She brings me up to date with the happenings in this area and shares some future plans of ministry for the slums in the area.

The night is welcomed as I so want to get myself on the right time schedule. I drop the net over my bed and crawl in.  As my head hits the pillow I feel relief settle over my body but my eyes open wide as I see something moving on the wall in front of me.   A lizard has decided to make my walls his tread mill for the night!  Being too tired to chase him around the room I open the window hoping that he would prefer to be outside and crawl back into bed. 

February 11, 2013 (Monday) The night gathers the mountain air but before the sun rolls high in the sky the heat increases and the rays of the burning sun rest upon you.  I had agreed to meet Joni at her house this morning and go with her to the class held in Mitume slum.  As I walked in the quietness of the early morning I was enjoying my time talking with the Lord.   Soon another person was walking toward me and I could hear a song erupting from her heart.  It was Dorothy a woman that works at the lodge.  She says that happiness just comes on her so she sings and sings.  She doesn’t know when it will happen or why but it makes her want to sing!

Today we will not be using Joni’s vehicle for travel as it is in need of repair.  Someone borrowed it, without permission, while she was away and rolled it three times.  He was fine but the vehicle has been in constant repair for some time.   Today we travel by motorbike and we travel African style! 

Mitume is a slum area known for having their own set of rules and court system.  They will deal with crime in their own way. Sometimes a tire, some fuel and a match will end the life of someone they feel has stepped over the line and committed a crime against them.

I’m so glad that I have walking sneakers on as part way there the motorbike stops.  The driver informs us we have a puncture and need to walk.  So our feet walk the dry and dusty roads of the slum until another motorbike comes along to carry us to the door of the church we will be using.  

There isn’t any way to avoid the smoke and smell of smoldering garbage flows through the air around us. The wind gathers the left over particles and they are thrown against our skin.  The little church has a dirt floor and iron sheets that wall and roofs us.  

The women have already unlocked the chain that holds the stacked plastic lawn chairs and put them in place for the class.  They come with their babies and small children.  The grandmothers and widows come too.  They are given one paper bound book, The Foundational Course, and a pencil.   This is a gift that most cannot afford but the gift is only a one time gift.  If they sell it or it becomes lost they will be expected to buy the next one. 

As the class continues the children gather in groups at the door. They aren't prepared to listen though. It is because of the novelty of white skin in Mitume.  They giggle amongst themselves and many little hands reach our way.   

Before night falls upon us two little girls come to visit.  Zipporah and Tulee are two beautiful little girls that were abandoned at the end of the road in the past year. They were so small and underfed when they were found and they refused to talk to anyone for quite some time. They are now strong, healthy little girls who love to chatter away with much excitement in their voices.  They are given great care at an orphanage close by and come here to visit quite regularly. They loved the bright color slippers that my mom, Charlotte Towne, made for the little ones here in Africa.  Thank you Mom J

Ok it is time for bed and there is a lizard running around on my walls! Is this going to be a nightly thing?  I guess he hasn’t heard that this is my room and not his.

February 11, 2013 (Wednesday) There aren't any classes today but there is still much to do.  Joni, with Hope for the Nations, and I will meet with Lucy & Beth.   They will help with translation. The teaching charts need to be translated into Swahili as each class is taught in English and Swahili. 

February 12, 2013 (Tuesday) Tuesday morning Joni and I left early in the morning to hold another class in a nearby slum.  Today we are going to Shimo.  The class is full of women of all ages and a few men also.  

Children play in the back and occasionally find the drums J  The wind lifts the corner of one of metal sheets on the roof that provides protection from the sun.  It rattles and bangs throughout the class but it doesn,t seem to bother anyone.  

At the end of class we have a time for questions and then prayer.  There were many needs.  One woman comes to the front of the class with tears in her eyes. Her request was different than the others. She said “pray for me, I want to pray like you pray.”  She wanted more from God.  With all of her needs, and living in the slums is not easy, her request was to reach God in prayer.  There was much hunger seen amongst the women as we took time to cry out to God.

I had now been in Kitale for three days and it was time to show myself in town.  I called Edwin to take me to town.  He had been a good driver in the past and I looked forward to seeing him again.  He was surprised and happy to see me.  He called his wife and we chatted as traveled to town.  

As I walk toward the store to buy some food items one of the street boys runs up to me and wraps his arms around me.    I am not forgotten!  I leave the store with extra loaf bread which soon disappears.  Many hands blackened from pawing thrown the charred rubble open up before me.  Each leaves with bread to fill the spot of pain within.  It is like I never left. 

As I walk through town I notice Christine begging outside one of the eating establishments.  Her back is to me and a watch for a moment in silence and then I call her name.  She turns and just about does flips and summersaults in the road because she is so happy to see me.  I get a great big smile and hug.  Christine is Ian’s mother. Christine didn't want Ian and we rescued him from the slums.  He was a very sick little boy when we found him and removed him from slum life.   He had been abused and needed treatment for TB, pneumonia and malaria.   Today he is happy, healthy and doing great in school.

A couple other women leave their vegetable stand and run across the street to greet me.  I hear “you are back from holiday” meaning “you have come home.”   As I sit under a big shade tree near those making crafts there are others that spot me and come to sit and visit.

                                       

February 15, 2013 (Friday) I was on my way to see Gladys at her hairdressing shop. She had interpreted for me many times in the past and I wanted to let her know that I was back.  As I got off the motorbike I stepped right in front of Joseph.  He and his wife Lynnette are the house parents for little Ian, the boy we rescued from the slums.  God is so good to have us connect in such a quick and easy way.  Ian is strong and doing well.   Soon we will take the ride out into the country and see their home, gardens and all the children with happy faces!

It is so good to hear of all that God has done since I was here last.  Pastor Isaac was given a dirt bike from another missionary couple as it was hard for him to travel to the church in Taito for services.  The dirt bike was not something that they had requested or even knew was coming but when they opened the container from the USA there it was!  God knew what Pastor Isaac needed and blessed him in such an amazing way.

Gladys was one of the women that attended our Bible study group in the village.   She was a young mother dying of AIDS and she had refused to acknowledge that she was sick and needed help.  In time she realized that she could not hide from the disease and agreed to be taken to the hospital.  We got the medical help she needed and helped her with transportation and food.  She is doing so much better now.  She continues to take her meds and she has put some weight back on.

Evans would travel with me to Taito and interpret for me when needed.  He almost died while I was in the states.  The constant cough that was diagnosed wrongly as an allergy turned out to be TB.  He was coughing up blood before it was determined that he had TB.  He remained in bed for a total of two months, weak and not able to stand.  His mother and brother traveled to be at his side.  He was at deaths door but not anymore.  He is strong and healthy and shares the word of God to those in the village of Taito.

Sarah and Alice were two street girls that so needed and wanted help. When I first met the girls Alice was curled up in ball on the ground screaming as a woman whipped her with a long leather strap. Crowds of people gathered around to watch but no one stopped the assault. They had already lived a life of such abuse and their story would pain your heart. The home that I tried to get them adopted in to did not work out but my friend Theresa found them in the Kipsongo slum and got them registered into the Challenge Farm, www.challengefarm.org, which is a boarding school for street children.  The girls are doing excellent in their new environment and I can’t wait to see them once again.  I am so thankful that they were rescued and the opportunities that are ahead for them will be many.  

I have returned to a land that suffers in so many ways but God has not forgotten them.  His mighty hand is seen working in lives of so many.

Psalm 105:1-2  Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he had done. Sing to him, sing praise to him: tell of all his wonderful acts.