Last Day

It’s hard to believe we’re finally going home.  Susie and I have been in Kenya for almost three weeks.  The medical team has been here for a week, but they are ready for America, too.  Our only task today was to get to the airport from Nakuru before dark, so we decided to drop in on our friends at the Kikitemo IDP camp and introduce our doctors and nurses to Grace and her big family.

We had some extra medicines, and we stopped at a wholesale chemist in Nakuru to pick up some basic medicines to help people who have been living outdoors for three years.  We took anti-parasitic pills, antibiotics, skin ointments, and eye drops.  When we arrived, the kids saw us first.  They recognized our vehicle from our previous visits and immediately broke into cheers and singing.  Grace and the other widows and elderly folks also came out to meet us.  We showed our medical team around the camp so they could get an idea of the conditions these people have been living in.  Then we went to their church under the trees and they sang to us.  Then I spoke, which was hard through a veil of tears.  I told them that their God has not forgotten them, that we will never forget them. 

Afterwards, we met with Grace in their “Office” hut and told her how to use the medicines.  When Ben was through with his explanations, Grace looked at both of us and said,

“When my husband died, I know that God had a different plan for me than what I had expected.  But I swore that I would follow him all of my days and I will.  When we arrived in this place and things were so bad, I prayed that God would send a deliverer and He did.  He sent John Kariuki and he sent you.  You have blessed us so much we will never be able to repay you, but God will.  I don’t know how, but I know that he will.  It may be that he brought you here to show you that all the things you have are not really yours, but His.  Whatever he has in store for you, I pray that it is a blessing.  We will be praying for you, please pray for us.”

Needless to say we were all in tears by the time she finished speaking.  These people had shown us the face of God in their innocent children’s faces.  We learned what it means to be in community through Christ with complete strangers.  We learned what it means to be rich and to help the poor.  I’ve learned that all the joy that I have been chasing through things and toys is meaningless.  This is the true joy in life, to do the good works that God has planned for us.

After we left the camp we drove into Nairobi and met Francis at the Java House.  Here we said goodbye to Arrington, our driver this week.  He is really a great guy, working hard for us and playing with the children everywhere we went.  After a last Java House lunch, we hit “The Triangle” a hawkers-market filled with every souvenir of Africa you could want.  We also shopped at the Sarit center across the street, loading up on coffee, tea, and Bata shoes.  Then we were away to the airport, and here we sit, roasting in the heat of this un-air-conditioned building.

This trip has truly been amazing.  We have had so many new, unique experiences and deepened our friendships with our Kenyan brothers.  From the wonders of God’s creation in the Masai Mara to the fascinating culture of the Pokot, to the amazing God encounters at our orphanages, feeding stations and the IDP camp, God has truly been with us.  He has kept us safe, shown His glory, taught us how to love, and blessed others through our hands.  Susie and I have been able to share these experiences together, deepening our love for each other.  I don’t know what more I could have every wanted.  I hope you have been blessed reading about our travels, the prayers and support have been felt and are greatly appreciated.

Last Day

Kipsenende

Today was our last day based in Eldoret.  That meant we had to load the truck with ALL our gear and baggage.  This was the first time we had to do that, as we had a cargo vehicle for the drive up.  The plan was we would use a lot of the supplies up and bringing it back would be easier.  It wasn’t.  Our driver, Arrington, did a great job of tying almost all of it on top.  We looked like a mutatu, but we got to Kipsenende with everything we needed.

Kipsenende is a feeding station recently established at a church Bernard founded.  They have built a dining hall, which also serves as a meeting place for the church, a kitchen, and a widow’s dorm.  The place looked great, and the kids were a lot of fun.  We ran through our now-familiar routine of setup and worked through the orphans pretty quickly.  Brad says they had the best teeth of any place we had been.  Ben saw several kids with parasites, so we treated the entire population for that. 

Later, the team helped some community people while Maureen, Bernard, Cherie and I slipped away to Ngenymesut to have the board meeting that I would have had yesterday but for the Pokot visit.  That meeting went well.  I am always impresses with one or two people in these meetings.  They ask great questions and seem to have orphans best interests at heart.  There was one guy who asked for a scholarship for himself, but there’s one of those in every crowd, too.

We packed up early as this place was pretty small and we were done.  After the ceremonial tree planting, we loaded up and headed out for Nakuru, last stop before Nairobi and then home.  On the highway we had a near miss with a pedestrian when a drunk man carrying four chickens walked out in frint of us.  Arrington was able to stop in time, which is good because the drunk man was not moving out of the way.

So now we are safely in the Kunste Hotel in Nakru.  What a blessing this trip has been, th medical part especially.  We’ve learned a lot, made new friends, and did some of those awesome “good works” that the bible is always talking about.  Very cool.

Kipsenende

Ngenymesut - by Susie Neale

Today was amazing.  I have said that before but this is different.  I got to see incredible people coming together to care for widows and orphans in ways I never imagined. 

We were set up in the dining hall at Ngenymesut.  Ben Doke was at one end and Brad Sears at the other.  In the middle were the waiting area, eye exam, and fluoride treatments.  Children would give their names to Mauryn and either Leslie Doke or Deborah Sears then move to the waiting area for Ben or Brad.  I have never seen 20 – 30 kids sit in a circle for more than 30 minutes patiently waiting for their turn.  There was no fighting, pushing or turmoil.

The dental team sang songs to calm a little girl while treating her.  Ben listened patiently while some told life stories of illnesses and injuries years old that surely were the cause of today’s visit.  The orphanage staff and church leaders helped anywhere and everywhere.  The World Bible School Worker Bernard and Orphanage Director Steven  instructed kids on the fine art of teeth brushing and fluoride rinsing while the nurse conducted eye exams.  One church member interpreted for all the dental patients – she would calmly give instructions and watched all the procedures without passing out. Other church members interpreted for Ben and moved children through each station.  Guards kept everyone in lines and helped locate the ones in most need.  Older orphans walked with the younger ones and helped keep small children calm.  It was true community at its best.  The way God intended.

Then we met a special young man I will never forget named Rueben.  He is a 16 year old.  He was in line with a small girl and boy.  I thought they were siblings so seeing him wait with them was no surprise.  But after seeing him with the 4^th child, I had to ask who he was and why he was helping so many different kids.  He said he lived with and helped care for many children.  He waited patiently with at least 12 children.  Later we learned he is one of our orphans.  He said he was very thankful to see the doctors.  When I hugged him and said how blessed I was to get the opportunity to met someone like him, he simply said, “I am doing what God says.  You are the ones blessing people and saving lives.” 

Saving lives, feeding children, loving widows….what more can we do?   

Ngenymesut

Pokot

I was feeling a lot better this morning; no midnight migraines had appeared last night.  I went downstairs at 6am to meet Wilson and whatever transportation he had lined up for me.  I was pleasantly surprised to find two Americans, Wilson, and another Kenyan in a great 4 wheel drive Mitsubishi.  The Americans were David O’Neil, a former missionary here and his son Carl.  The Kenyan was Poteous, who works with David here in Eldoret.  David had worked in this area for years and knew absolutely everything about mission work and Kenya as well as knowing everyone we met along the way.

The drive was beautiful.  Amazingly beautiful.  We crossed theses small mountains to get to the valley where the Pokot live.  The descent down the mountain was like something out of a storybook.  Mountains covered in dense, green vegetation, rolling clouds shrouding parts of the mountains, grand vistas that went on for miles and miles, and not a power line, or any other sign of man to spoil the view.  It was like God had painted a beautiful picture just for us.  Once we reached the valley floor, the view was much different.  The flat lands are strewn with rocks.  Millions and millions of them.  The land if so rocky, practically nothing can be farmed here.

The Pokot and the other two tribes that live in the area have been nomadic herders of goats and cows.  They are pretty much settled now, but rely on good herds of goats to eat and sell to keep them fed.  They are coming out of a drought so times have been very hard for them.  Wilson has been working to evangelize the area.  A small church had been established by the work of David O’Neil’s team, and Wilson’s work to expand it has been very successful.  There are now three strong churches in this area.

We have an unusual feeding station arrangement here.  Because the land area is vast and population density is low, we have two small feeding stations on leased land, and we visited both of them.  The stations looked great.  We stopped at Wilson’s house for a snack and then went on to the site of the largest church.  There about 300 people, mostly kids from the area including the feeding station kids, singing and praising God.  The local chief, who is also a church elder, emceed the proceedings.  There were choirs, speeches and a short sermon from David.  All in all, it was very satisfying.

After a quick lunch we were off for home.  It’s a long way there and back, about 4.5 hours each way, so we didn’t get back to Eldoret until 8pm.  Tonight we pack up for tomorrow we’ll be in a different hotel, the Kunste in Nakuru.  Susie will write a blog post for the Ngenymesut medical visit and post it later.  We’re having some trouble with reliability on the internet side from Safaricom, so please forgive if you are getting these late.

Pokot

Kapsabet Day 2

My day began at 2:48 AM when my head exploded, or at least it felt like it.  I suffered only my second migraine ever last night.  I was really touch and go to make our 6AM pickup for our trip to Pokot, but Susie and I were downstairs, waiting on time.  Unfortunately, Wilson Kiptoo never came.  A call from Maureen discovered that we had had a miscommunication about the date; he had made arrangements for Thursday, not Wednesday. So I will go tomorrow.  Since the medical team will have a tough day tomorrow, Susie will stay with them.

Today, we went back to Kapsabet.  Yesterday we say all the orphanage kids and widows, over 150 of them.  Today we saw the feeding station kids and some of the community.  What a difference a day makes.  We were better organized, as we had learned a lot yesterday, but the kids were different as well.  Feeding station kids receive only two meals a day from us.  We do not house them, or provide educational support or medical support.  Our goal is to keep them alive, and the difference between how these kids looked versus the orphanage kids was noticeable.

We saw over 200 people today, including 90 feeding station kids and community folks.  Their problems ran the gamut from scabies, to asthma, to scoliosis, and ALS.  And we pulled a lot of teeth.  Many of their medical problems we can do nothing for.  We cannot transport the whole US medical system to Kenya, only a couple or doctors.  We had Cherie Creech and Maureen screening community people for the doctors.  They were able to weed out most of them who had complaints that were not something we could help with or where trivial.  We joked afterwards that Cherie saw more patients than all the others combined! Dr Doke was able to identify and treat many problems for people including draining a cyst, and removing a nasal polyp a well as countless cases of parasites and heart burn.

Dr Doke remarked one of the differences in treating people from this culture, is the different way the give their medical history.  Here is a typical one: “What can I do for you today?”  “I have this pain in my hip.”  “When did it start?” “It all started when I got the flu when I was 12 years old.”  “Really?”  “Yes, that led to my first broken leg when I was 23, and then there was that bad case of ringworm when I was 34.”  In a story-telling culture, everything can be seen to be causal, even when we know it isn’t.  It makes for some interesting medical histories and some interesting outcomes.  One patient was convinced that all of her aches and pains were caused by the appearance of this cyst on her neck.  Dr. Doke was able to remove the cyst, then he asked her what other problems she had.  She replied that they were all going to go away now that the cyst was gone.  Try arguing with that logic!

I again helped Dr Sears as he refined his teeth pulling, cavity filling operation.  Some of the cases there were very bad.  I watched him face a small girl, maybe four years old, and experience sadness, frustration, and anger all within a few seconds.  She had seven baby teeth that were beyond hope.  There is no way he could pull them all at one time, and she needed some teeth to eat.  In the end he pulled the worst one and gave her antibiotics and pain relievers.  Hopefully  she’ll be able to get by until her permanent teeth come in.  She took it well, they all do, laying there still as can be while the needle goes in.  Never a wimper or cry, only a silent tear.  It’s amazing to watch.  These really are remarkable people.

Tomorrow, Pokot, I promise.

Kapsabet Day 2

Kapsabet Day 1

What a day.  I seem to say that a lot, lately.  Today was the first day for the medical portion of our trip.  We were all very excited to see what God would do with us.  As usual, He did not disappoint.  We arrived at Kapsabet around 9 and Bernard Kibet, our WBS worker for this area showed us around.  Kapsabet was the second orphanage built, and it has the easy, comfortable feel of Dirubi and Ndhiwa.  We met the nurse, saw the clinic and decided that Ben Doke, our MD, would set up there.  Bernard had rented a large tent for us in the compound and Leslie Doke, with Maureen assisting, set up registration there.  Brad Sears, our dentist, set up in the dining hall.

We asked the widows to help us identify those kids with known problems so we could see them first.  After some organzing of instruments we got to work.  Thus began a long grind of one child after another, pointing to where it hurts and compliantly waiting for the doctor to make it better.  On the dental side, that usually meant a filling or extraction, with anesthesia, something Kenyans almost never get.  I assisted Brad as a sterilizer, (I washed bloody instruments) while Deborah assisted Brad with the patients.   My first observation was that Kenyan kids are tough.  They don’t whine or complain or refuse to open their mouths.  They just lay there and take it.  American kids are not like that, according to Brad, and I believe he is right.  Brad saw dozens of kids and widows today, and pulled teeth and filled cavities like a champ.  One of the widows had problems so bad that Brad said she must have been in pain for years.

Dr. Doke saw the medical patients, and that was a little tougher.  Many of the problems the adults have he can do nothing for.  My back hurts, my chest gets tight when it’s cold, I have cataracts; these are far beyond a simple medical screening.  He did identify one child with a parasite and one with a previously undiagnosed heart arrhythmia.  There were infections and eye problems and vision needs aplenty.  He made a list of medicines needed for all those he could help and we picked them up this evening at the pharmacy that Bernard uses in Eldoret.

Everything went very smoothly.  We had no particular plan about how to set up when we arrived, but we were able to fall into a rhythm fairly quickly.  I floated between each station, putting out fires and encouraging our people.  After lunch, I met with the orphan’s board of Kapsabet and got many things accomplished. Susie took amazing pictures, and Cherie played with kids and helped with vision screening.  Maureen translated everywhere and was incredibly useful as usual. All in all it was a very satisfying day. 

Tomorrow we will be back at Kapsabet, well, at least the medical team will.  Susie and I are headed off to visit the Pokot.  They are a nomadic tribe that lives much as they have for centuries, raising cattle and wandering the arid areas east of Eldoret.  Our worker Wilson Kiptoo, felt a calling to minister to them and now lives among them half the time.  He will be taking us to meet them for the first time.  It’s a long, six hour drive over very bad roads so we will not be staying there very long.  If all goes well we will be back in time for dinner tomorrow night.  It may be too late to blog by then, so don’t panic if I’m a little late with tomorrow’s report.  Our blessings to all of you back in the US, we miss you terribly.  Be thankful for what you have; there are things that you haven’t even thought of that are blessings laying all around you.

Kapsabet Day 1

Arrivals and Departures

I’m feeling a little guilty for not blogging yesterday, so this will be two days worth.  Sunday, we worshiped with the Mbuvi’s and Coulstons at the Kamulu Church of Christ, which is always a fun experience.  After lunch we set out for Nairobi one more time to check into our hotel for the evening, Grace House, and prepare for the medical team’s arrival.  Next to the Grace House is Yaya Center, a small upscale mall.  As we pulled into the parking lot I saw what I most feared, another “market day.”  At these nightmarish events, vendors selling all manner of African curios line up in stalls and beg you to, “please sir, just look here.”  I HATE these things, and of course, Susie and Maureen LOVE them. 

We have already purchased every possible kind of souvenir; soapstone, jewelry, textiles, etc.  We have so much that I really fear for getting it all home because of airline weight limits.  Susie is undeterred.  She blazes a path through the merchants, leaving them dazed and bewildered.  They are no match for her superior negotiating skills and endless patience.  I am dying.  Finally, Francis and I convince the women to come in for dinner, and on the way into the mall, Susie calls out, “Just one more!” We wait for 10 or 15 minutes and I have had enough, I’m going out to retrieve my bride.  We found them haggling a man over a hand carved mahogany end table.  Susie says, “Maureen really wants this one, she’s got him down to 4,000ksh.”  Finally when the deal is struck, Maureen turns to Susie and says, “There, I got it for you.  Pay the man.”  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  Not only is it expensive, it weighs 30 pounds!  How will we ever get this home?  My pleas fall on deaf ears; I am outnumbered and outclassed.   Agggh.

After dinner, we dropped Susie and Maureen at the hotel and went to retrieve the medical team from the airport.  We waited outside the baggage claim until almost everyone had cleared out, and still there was no team.  Finally, I caught sight of them trailing a load of bags, all there save one, Leslie Doke’s.  After filling the missing bag report, we were ready to head out when a man came down the hall trailing the missing bag.  He had taken it all the way home and discovered it was the wrong bag and brought it straight back to the airport.  What luck!  So we loaded it all and sped away, for some much deserved rest.

This morning we parted with Francis, who took a mutatu back to Kamulu, and met up with Addington, our driver for the week.  We’ve used Addington before when we needed more than one vehicle, and we know him to be reliable.  Today, he drove us to Eldoret where we will be based for the next five days.  We will be providing basic medical and dental care to our orphanages and feeding stations at Kapsabet, Ngenymesut and the surrounding area.  The team consists of Ben and Leslie Doke, Brad and Deborah Sears, and Cherie Creech.  So here we sit at the beautiful Sirikwa Hotel, under the same roof with the US ambassador to Kenya, who arrived at the same time we did.  Pretty cool.  Tomorrow we get started with Kapsabet Orphanage.

Medical Team Arrives

Medical Team Arrives

The medical team arrived safely with all bags. We will post more after we get to Eldoret today. Be blessed!

Ngando

Each morning we are in Kamulu, Maureen makes us breakfast.  Today it was chai (of course), bread and butter (with jam) and fried eggs.  I love the way they do their eggs, they are fried dry so they can be eaten with the hands.  Thanks to Maureen for taking such good care of us.  After breakfast we visited a special entrepreneur’s fair that the kids at made in the streets were putting on.  It was a day of putting their new found job skills to the test.  It was a brief stop on our way back into Nairobi to visit the Ngando feeding station.

This feeding station is different than most in that we were not able to buy any land or have any donated here.  Land in Nairobi is very expensive so the church is on a rented plot.  There was a typical sheet metal structure, this one with a loud sound system, that served as the church and dining hall for the kids.  What was the same is the tremendous outpouring of gratitude and emotion from the church members.  Pastors from other churches were there also to show their appreciation, and there was a great meal.  We were served first, then as we finished they washed the dishes and served some more.  Have you ever been somewhere that people ate in shifts because of a shortage of dishes?

It was an eye opening experience in the difference between city and country life.  Their latrine was the worst I have ever seen, not even a deep hole under it and raw sewage seeped out all over.  Maureen and Risper declined to use it and I forced myself so that I could feel some measure of empathy.  I know I will never know fully how blessed I am but these humbling experiences work wonders for checking your greed.  After a quick stop at Simon Karanja’s, our WBS worker, house we sped back to Kamulu, just ahead of the rising tide of afternoon rush hour traffic.

We had a nice dinner and the Coulston’s house, pizza of various types, and conversation about missionary work.  I never saw myself as a missionary, and I guess I’m not because I don’t live here, but I found myself actively engaged with the conversation and able to relate to most of it.  We’ve been here for two weeks now, with one more to go.  Thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with us through the blog, and for everyone who is covering our responsibilities back home.  We are getting homesick now, we find ourselves missing our kids and cats and friends terribly.  

Exciting times are coming as the medical team arrives Sunday.

Ngando

Not a real blog post

This is not an actual blog post, more of an update.  We were in Nairobi today, and we saw no orphanages or feeding stations.  We spent the morning at Made in the Streets, the street kids ministry that Francis founded.  I helped Moses, their computer teacher, with some geek stuff.  Susie worked her “real” job remotely.  In the afternoon we went to village market for lunch and some shopping.  Now we’re back at Kamulu.  Tomorrow we will go see a feeding station here in Nairobi with our WBS worker Simon Karanja.  More good pics and stories then.

God is good!

I had a pretty good idea that today was going to be a good day.  Yesterday, on our way to Nakuru, we met Thomas in Sondu and picked up some supplies for the Kikitemo IDP camp.  We lashed them on our LandCruiser and sped off to our hotel.  This morning, it was time to deliver.   

We had told John Karauke, our WBS worker who discovered these people, to meet us at the camp.  We did not tell him why, he assumed it was for some new visitors.  When we arrived, he was holding church out under the trees.  We joined him and listened to the singing.  These people are some of the most poor you will ever see or hear about.  They live in huts made of sticks and plastic bags, yet they were worshipping God with all they had.

The excitement built as John invited us to speak.  We talked of God’s love, and how he answers prayer.  Grace retold the story of her prayer to God for the orphan’s food and how God answered that through John.  She told us that when the orphans got their first meal from us, they all went out in the field in a circle and prayed for all the donors that were helping them. She said they stayed there for a long time just thanking God for sparing their lives.  I was starring into the eyes of those same children, with no shoes and dirty beyond belief and just wept. When it was my turn, I spoke of some small gifts we had brought.  Maureen spoke of God’s faithfulness.  In the distance they could see our vehicle, loaded with something covered with a tarp.  You could tell they were getting excited.  Finally, after some more worship, we broke to unload the vehicle.

As we began to pull tarps and blankets out of the inside of the truck the singing began again.  With each new parcel added to the pile in the ground in front of them, their fervor grew.  Then we climbed the vehicle and took off the tarp revealing a hundred more blankets in bales.  Now their few men joined us in bringing the massive bundles to the ground and the singing hit a fever pitch.  They were singing in Swahili, but Maureen told me the chant was, “You have brought us blankets, God is good!”

As we finished the unloading, some of the older kids came out in makeshift costumes performing a comedy of some kind.  The people were eating it up.  They were laughing and clapping like you couldn’t believe.  Finally, John said a few words about how just yesterday they were talking about the weather change and how there would be sickness from the rains and cold.  He said God has spoken to the visitors, telling them what to bring.  I think he was right, but God didn’t need to speak miraculously to me on our last visit to see that there was insufficient shelter and blankets, it was obvious.  Usually the needs of others are right in front of us, we just have to look.  

I have to tell you, that whole experience for me was one of the most amazing things that I have ever been a part of.  You know at times that you are doing God’s will, but most of the time I think we just wander around hoping we are doing okay.  At a time like this, there is a purity about the joy and satisfaction that you feel that is amazing.  It’s like looking into the face of God and knowing, I mean absolutely knowing, that he is pleased.  There is nothing to rival that.

After we left, as we were climbing the hill on the highway out of the Rift Valley, I glanced up to see the front of a Mutatu (the private busses here) coming toward us in the opposite lane.  The name of the bus was, “God is Good.”

Later, we went to Barclay’s to do the monthly banking and then to Nairobi Java House for lunch, but that really doesn’t compare with the morning.  I’m not sure that anything ever will.

Kikitemo and Java House

Ongoro

Today was our last day based at the Dados Hotel in Kisii.  We checked out with a bang. Susie’s shower ended in a rain of sparks as the electric shower head mounted water heater died a brilliant death.  There is nothing scarier than standing under a stream of water and seeing an electric arc come from the shower head, I assure you.  To her credit, she did not curse (I would have) but calmly asked me to ‘turn off the switch, please.’  The heater was fried, and so she finished in coldness.  What a woman.

Ongoro looked really good.  After an orphanage has been open for a few years, this one in 2008, they have a different feel.  The kids know each other very well, the widows know the kids, and you can tell you are coming into the home of a family.  It’s like the difference between teaching a class of students on the first day of school, as opposed to the last.  We toured the place and saw what was new.  The latrine had been replaced; the old one caved in during heavy rains, fortunately while no one was in it, and the posho mill has been relocated to the front gate.  We advised Tobias how moving the fence line a little would allow the public better access to the clinic and posho, hopefully increasing their use and revenue.

We met with the local orphan’s board.  Tobias has done well selecting the members of his board.  There is an area counselor (administrator), members of the land board, a widow, two students, and the director.  They were a sharp group, and they assured us that they are very much involved with the kid’s lives.  They seemed to care a great deal about what happens to them.  They were telling us how proud the community is of this facility and how many people have come to believe that God is real because of the actions of his church.  Isn’t that a great lesson for us? People will believe God is real because of your good works; that should be in the bible, somewhere…

God’s blessings really stand out here.  When you stand in the dark and light a candle, it’s amazingly bright.  When you stand in a lit room and light a candle, it’s harder to know.  That’s why God’s word tells us to light a candle in the darkness so that the whole world can know He is real.

After lunch we set out to meet Thomas at Sondu.  Thomas had purchased some blankets and tarps for us to distribute to the IDP camp orphans and widows we met last week.  We loaded nine bales of blankets and 20 tarps into and onto our crowded LandCruiser and thanked Thomas for his great work.  Tonight we are at the Kunste Hotel in Nakuru.  Tomorrow it’s only a short ride to the IDP camp on our way to Nairobi to do some banking.  The bank wire filled with God’s blessings from all of you great people in the US has arrived and needs to be distributed. 

Ongoro

Uriri and Glasscock

We kinda needed an easy day.  Unfortunately we didn’t get it.  This kind of work, seeing orphanages and loving on kids may not seem all that hard, but those who have been here will attest to how physically draining it is just riding in a vehicle over roads like this.  The road to Uriri wasn’t bad, but we did a 45 minute torture test to the Glasscock feeding station that belonged in a “Toyota Tundra” commercial!  The old van would never have made it, thank God for the new LandCruiser.

Uriri is a great place.  They have 90 orphans and 5 widows here, well 4 now.  Unfortunately one of their widows who had been sick passed away yesterday.  That cast a somber note over the whole day, but the kids were still happy and healthy.  There is something about a well run orphanage that you can just “tell”.  I’m not saying it was perfect, but the way questions are answered, the casual easy confidence of people who know each other well and have nothing to hide is obvious.

Uriri is in sugar cane country.  Some time ago we bought them a cane crusher to help make some money to offset the orphanage costs.  They have proven to be very successful and resourceful people.  Earlier this year, a generous donation allowed us to buy them a lorry (truck), and it has enabled them to double their profits.  There are great pics of this operation in the album below.  

Uriri and Glasscock

We met with their board, which had great things to tell us.  They didn’t just name off requests for money one after the other, they were full of praise and good ideas.  Afterwards we set out for the new Nanna Glasscock Feeding Station.  We took Kennedy Chandi, our WBS worker for this area, to guide us.  I knew we were in for an adventure when he said to Francis, “turn left here”, and there was no road, just a path between two cane fields!  We wound around so many times I didn’t know which way was up.  Eventually we came to a clearing and there was a feeding station, clear as day.

There were really great people there; the whole church turned up.  With the orphans and other community folks there were well over 100.  We prayed together, ate lunch (again), and took pictures.  They even gave me a really great hat.  I’m saving it for Gary Glasscock; it looks like him.  On the way back to Kisii we stopped and bought soapstone souvenirs at our usual place.  Susie really loaded up, I can’t imagine how we will get it all home.  Oh well, if I told you how little we spent on well over 50 lbs of these handmade pieces, you wouldn’t believe it.

Tomorrow we hit Ongoro, and depart for Nakuru for the night.  Thursday we are planning on dropping back by the IDP camp with some gifts.  That should be really fun!

Manning and Nyango

What a long day.  Our first stop was at the brand new Manning Orphanage Home named for Tom Manning, whose family donated the funds to build this home in his honor.  Prior to the construction of the orphanage, this was the Ototo feeding station.  Ototo is the family home of Alfayo’s parents, and we met Joseph Bodi again today.  He is a church member, and donated the land for the orphanage.  The buildings are mostly complete; they were still working on the clinic and office building and the manager’s home.

  

The kids are in, consisting of the 50 orphans that received meals from the feeding program plus 10 more.  The two original widows are supplemented with two more to share the burden of cooking, cleaning, and mothering these beautiful kids.  We met with the kids, and the board and ate a hearty luch of Ugale (corn mush), Sukuma (greens), rice, beef and chicken. As usual, it is some of the best meals we get on these trips, much better than the hotel’s food.  After lunch we had to head out to find the Nyango feeding station.  Getting there was an adventure.  We drove our vehicle down a cow trail for about 2km and then walked the last kilometer through the bush.

Nyango, like many of these locations, owes it’s existence to a WBS student, Joseph, who was visited by a follow up worker and baptized.  He walked 30 km every Sunday to attend a church of Christ.  After a year of this, and his own evangelizing of his community, he started a new church with the help of Alfayo at Nyango. Like many churches his was touched by the need to care for so many orphans in their area.  He contacted Alfayo, who told the story to John DeFore, who told the story in Midland, and funds were provided for a new feeding station.  They have built a nice widows dorm, kitchen, latrine and dining hall.

The most touching part of these visits is meeting the widows for the first time.  All of them are unique individuals but their stories are similar. The interview goes something like this. “How long have you been a widow?”  “Eight years.”  “How old are your children?”  “Twelve, ten, and four.”  “How did you come to have the youngest one?” Tears.  Shame.  Fear.  It’s hard to watch but she needs to say it so there can be understanding, and she can know she is loved no matter what has happened. “During the post-election violence, I was raped.”  Sometimes it’s, “I was inherited.”  It doesn’t matter.  Women have so few options here, there is rarely any blame for her, but even if there is, we love them, forgive them, and accept them as Christ’s workers in the kingdom, no different that you or me.  They cry. We cry. Redemption.

We left under the threat of rain, but were spared any moisture.  We decided to head down the road to Homa Bay and see Lake Victoria, which we had never seen.  We were surprised to find the lake filled with floating plants called water hyacinths.  There were introduced to the lake about 30 years ago and have grown out of control.  They interfere with transportation, fishing, and thrive off the pollution from the cities that line the lake.  It’s interesting but really a shame.  Alfayo showed us the Nile Perch processing plant where he used to work and we met some of the leaders from the church at Homa Bay.  All in all an interesting side trip, but it made for a long day.  Tomorrow we head to Uriri!

Manning and Nyango