Thursday,
March 24, 2016 It's early when we leave and the sun is already making itself known. The cluster of trees that provide a haven of shade are now behind us. The morning is still quiet as the people are just starting to prepare for another day. The
mats are still on the ground as sleeping outside under the stars is
preferred. The outside night air is
cooler but even the natives will tell you it was “hot” last night.
The land of song birds seems far away. It's now the bleating of goats that fills my ear. It is the constant and normal sound of village life and in town too. Goats can be seen in the middle of the road, resting at the entrance of a store, enjoying the shade under someone's vehicle and just about anywhere.
The quietness and the look of a passive, serene life style flees from
my sight as I’m told of the arrest made a few weeks ago of an Al-Shabaab
terrorist suspect in Lodwar town. The Catholic
diocese has increased their security measures and I’m told they now wand people
as they enter for church. Even at the
center where I stay when a car approaches the gate everyone is ask to get out, the car is checked inside and a big round
mirror scans underneath. Life is
changing even in the distant land of Turkana.
The winds are strong and dirt
is flying through the air like a snow storm. My sunglasses protect my eyes and
my umbrella becomes a shield until the force of the wind turns it inside
out. Rain is badly needed but when it
comes the cost of human life is usually attached. The river swells and flash flooding removes
anything within its path. Cars, buses,
animals, and people vanish in the fast moving water.
There are countless children in the area and the group
around me continues to grow. There is a corner that I round on the bike where
they start to call my name and by the time I get
to the gate of the church property they are running behind us calling my
name. It's cute and funny at the same
time. The road can be empty but when they see me coming it quickly fills
with little people. Most of these little
people go all day without food. Their one and only meal will be at the end of
the day so they can sleep without hunger pains.
My soft hair is a big attraction and it usually takes one
brave soul to reach up and start touching it before the others will follow. When they see it’s ok to touch my hair then my arms will
get rubbed and even my toes! It was so
hot today I took off my shoes and rested my feet on a rock.
One little girl sat quietly just looking for
the longest time then with big eyes she took the lunge and touched the white
woman.
We have another church that we built in village on the
other side of the trading town. The
church is doing well and as I visit I am very pleased to see the upkeep and
improvements being made without help or a push from the outside. The traditional curtains hanging in front of
the church are beautiful and add color to the inside of the church. They have treated the posts on the inside of
the church to discourage termites. Cement can be seen on the floor and the church is clean
and in order. They are doing a wonderful
job. Not only are they holding regular services but it is used for a Bible
Training Center for Pastors. (BTCP course) I am happy to report that the church is alive and very
active.
The temperature ranges from 100 – 105 and without a latrine the area around the church is not healthy. We bought some cement culverts
and have two men ready to start digging.
The sand is soft and there is always the danger of the ground caving in
but with the culverts they will be protected.
They stand inside the culvert and remove the earth a bucket full at a
time. Slowly the culvert drops into the
ground and another culvert is place on top. This new latrine will clean up the grounds
and give the children a cleaner place to play.
Good Friday, March 25, 2016 The winding Turkwel River and the shade trees around my room are an automatic invite to every mosquito in Turkana Land. Every night I have a swarm of tiny and frail looking mosquitoes outside my door just waiting to come in. They are the quiet ones that are known to carry malaria. I didn’t take long to learn that I need to plan on an extra ten minutes to kill mosquitoes before I go to bed. Last night when I settled in and dropped the net over my bed I counted nine mosquitoes, just on one side panel that had been trapped inside with me. I think the purpose of the net is to keep them on the outside!
Motorbikes and other vehicles going through town this morning had to use a different route as the main road was full of people. It’s Good Friday and the Diocese of Lodwar is holding a special service and many have come out to be a part of it.
The kitchen help has been freezing water for me but it doesn’t take that long for it to thaw. Warm water on a day that is 105 just doesn’t take care of the thirst. It is hot and sticky and the dust just clings to you. There is a reason that some people dress with less in this part of the country!
The traditional latrine is made of palm branches placed in a circle. The door way is open and the roof is open to the sky but everyone knows this is the spot! For me, because the door way is open and the palm branches allow quite a bit of light to pass through, I choose to walk a bit. There is a church member that was welcomed me to use her latrine which has 4 walls a wooden door!
The kids gather in great numbers to be close, to talk, to
touch and to play with the jump ropes and bouncy balls. Then of course there is always the chance
that she might have a sweetie in her back pack!
At the end of the day the church is framed in and they
marvel at the size. The church people have been meeting in a rented room about
a third of the size of the church. They
haven’t been able to dance in the Turkana way and their children have had to
meet under the tree. There just wasn’t enough room for everyone inside. They are exuberant and thankful for the
blessings that God is sending their way.
The sun is setting behind the hills and night is closing
in on us. It’s time to hop on the back of the bike and head to the other side
of the busy trading town. Tonight there
is a shiny new hammer tied tightly to the back.
His new hammer is like the blessing of rain when it falls from heaven
and a sign that God has not forgotten him. The night says goodbye to the sun and brings a
bit of relief from the ever burning sun rays of the day. The night air brings life to the town and
people pick up their pace but for me I’m more than ready to return to my little
hide away and settle down for the night.
Saturday, March 26, 2016 It is day five of temperatures hitting 105 degrees but the “feels like” temperature is even higher.
The goats wander
through the church lot and try to make the leaves on our little tree
lunch. They are quite good at standing
on their back legs and reaching the lower branches of the trees. Having a fence around your lot is customary and
becomes a way of showing ownership. Even though the church plot is fenced in
with barb wire it doesn’t seem to slow the goats down.
The roof is going on today and it’s a very difficult job
as the sun reflecting off the iron sheets can be blinding. When I opened my back pack and pulled out
caps and sunglasses the guy's expressions quickly changed. It's amazing how a
new pair of shades can make you feel “cool.”
This isn’t Maasai territory but today we had a
visitor. He came with a jug of juice; different herbs that had been blended and boiled together.
He also had a bag of
different ground herbs that could be used for medicinal purposes. One of the workers knew all about the
medicines and how they worked. He was especially excited about the juice as he said it would give you more energy. It was described to me as vitamins and noted that I
probably shouldn’t try it. There was
need to worry about that but it was nice to know he was looking out for
me. Raphael downed a small tin cup full
of the vitamin drink and then said in five minutes he would disappear. Everyone laughed but he was right. Raphael disappeared and he was gone a long time as the medicine
is some type of “cleanser.”
Monica, a young girl about ten, looks very sad today. She is usually bubbly and outgoing but not today. When I mention it to her she points to her head and says “I not happy.” There are so many hungry children, dehydrated and living under the hot sun. Malaria and lung infections caused from the dust continue to be a plague within the land. Their bellies are full of worms taking the little nutrition they have from them. It is a land of struggles, a land of hardship and a land of great survivors.
Isaiah
35:1 -2The desert
and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom.
Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout
for joy.
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