Chebaraa

After our lazy day yesterday, today was anything but.  Last night we asked our waitress at dinner what time they opened for breakfast.  She said, “Six.”  So this morning we were there at six to get an early start on a long drive.  No one from the restaurant was there at six.  When the waitress finally arrived at 6:20, she said, “Did you mean ‘on-the-dot?’”    Ah, Africa!

 

So we did finally get out of the hotel by seven, which was fine.  We made it to one of our most remote, and newest feeding stations, Chebaraa, just after 10AM.  It’s a long dusty road!  We began assisting the Chebaraa church in feeding orphans in February.  They already had a decent kitchen and hall, so all we have added so far is a well.  As far as anyone knows there, it’s the only well for miles around.  There is a river but it’s almost 2km away and somewhat seasonal.  The well is producing over 150 liters a day right now, and the rains haven’t started for them yet, so it should be just fine all year. 

 

By 10:30, we were worshipping with the church.  The place was packed with kids and adults, I bet there were 150 in the small building.  They don’t get many, (read any) visitors here, so I’m sure there were more than normal.  It was a great service, not as long as a typical Kenyan service; only 2 hours.  I preached Tod’s “Forgiveness” sermon for the last time this trip.  I might have done ok.

 

As the introduction to that sermon, I have been telling them about how much we Americans were concerned for their country when the Westgate Mall attacks happened last month.  I related it to my own personal feelings after 9/11 and how angry we all were as a nation.  I was trying to get to a starting point for forgiveness, and making a link between our two cultures.  What has struck me as I have told that story is how effective it has been.  Everywhere we have gone, the people have been so happy that we still wanted to travel to Kenya, even after Westgate.  They just knew that after the attacks, no more Americans would come.  They have been so thankful for just our presence in their country.

 

After church we shared a meal with the entire church - beans, rice and some meat.  It was good to be fed just what everyone else is getting for a change.  Usually they really lay on a spread, which is part of their culture of hospitality, but a bit hard for us to understand sometimes.  We left their place around 1:30pm.

 

This time, Angton didn’t intend to try a new road, but he missed a turn and we got to try one anyway.  It took us three hours to get back to the highway, and then another two hours to get here to Narok.  We gave him a bit of a hard time, which he took in stride.  After we made it to the highway, he had the line of the day.  He said, “Tim, sometimes when you preach a sermon that was really good, the devil is waiting around the corner to test you to see if you really believe what you said!”  Forgiving him came really easy, just then.  Touché, Angton!

 

The Seasons Hotel is actually quite nice.  It’s a stopover point for Safari travelers who are going by road to the Masaii Mara Game Reserve, so they are used to mzungu.  Tomorrow, we will return to Nairobi and begin preparing to return to America.  Be Blessed!

Easy Days

One thing that I have learned in planning these trips is not to be too aggressive in traveling near the end of the trip.  After so many days of moving from place to place, my body and mind all get too tired to be effective and I get snappish, and even a bit discouraged.  Homesickness is always there, but it is magnified by fatigue.  On this trip I have scheduled easy days here towards the end.  After visiting Ndhiwa, Grace House, and Manning, we took a whole day to get back to the VTC.  Friday was a meeting day.

 

At least once a year on an oversight trip like this one, I bring all the directors together for a big meeting.  We always have many topics to discuss, and invariably the conversations all go back to one thing, money.  Even though we all know and trust that God will keep providing all that we need, the requests for funding various improvements and projects are constant.  I keep a running list of projects and am always praying for wisdom to know which ones are the most important.  The directors have learned to be patient as we wait for God’s timing.

 

I have also learned that a significant portion of these meetings needs to be just instructional.  As I was inspecting locations on this trip, I noticed that many of the deficiencies I was seeing seemed to revolve around the kitchens.  Issues of stoves, smoke, firewood, and portion control were pretty consistent.  As a result, I spend a couple of hours in this meeting just trying to teach on the nature of fire, smoke, air movement, toxic gasses, etc.  I tried to stay with an instructional tone, hoping that a deeper understanding of the fundamentals would help them figure out how to make improvements on their own. Only time will tell.

 

These meetings are always inspirational for me, because the questions and discussions really reveal the depth of their love for the orphans and widows.  They help keep me on track with my priorities and do their best to lift me up.  Our time spent in prayer is especially precious to me.  To a person, these are all very high quality Christians that I would trust with my life.  It’s a real blessing to be able to work with them.  Most aid organizations look long and hard for good people that they can trust in foreign lands, and God has handed me a select team on a platter!  He is so much better that I deserve.

 

Today we have just driven down to Kisii and are resting here for the day.  Thomas, Alfayo, and Bernard have now joined us and we will be together until we all leave for America Tuesday night.  I can sense the excitement in these three.  Visiting America will be one of the highlights of their lives; a true adventure.  I can’t wait to show them my home, after spending so much time in theirs.  Understanding the context of the people you work with is so important, now they will get to learn about ours.

 

Tomorrow we have a long day of traveling to our final feeding station, Chebaraa, for church.  We could probably make it to Nairobi by tomorrow night, but that would mean transiting the city at night.  In case of a breakdown or bad weather it could put people at risk, so we will just stay at Narok and arrive in Nairobi Monday by noon or so.  There is a hotel there that we visited on our way out that needs to be tested anyway. 

 

 

Grace House and Manning

The last two days have been a bit “challenging” as our Kenyan friends like to say.  We’ve not run into any trouble, but this respiratory infection (I guess) has really slowed me down.  We arrived at Ndhiwa Monday evening in tome for evening devotion, unfortunately I could not stop coughing long enough to properly encourage the kids.  The smoke from the wood burning stove cooking the orphans dinner was hitting me just right.  They were all quite concerned, I’m sure some of them thought the old mzungu was dying right in front of them! I slept pretty well though, and Tuesday morning we drove over to Grace House.

 

The road to this place is very bad, but Angton did fine and we didn’t get stuck.  Actually, to call it a road is being very generous; there are places where two cows can’t pass each other.  Yeah LandCruiser!  Grace House is pretty new, and Joseph, the manager, is doing a good job of keeping it that way.  He is a very kind and patient man from what I can tell, and very happy to be taking care of these kids.  He’s one of our unsung heroes in this work, the manager who quietly tends his flock of orphans while trying to make a living from the land nearby.  The little support that we send him is certainly not enough for his many headaches.  Imagine being father to 60 kids of every age in the middle of nowhere.  There will be stars in his crown, I can tell you.

 

We stayed through lunch, and I was able to speak for a few minutes before the coughing and wheezing took over me.  I hate being sick.  We drove back to Ndhiwa and after a two hour nap, I felt a lot better.  I was able to encourage the kids at evening devotion, and I think it went really well.

 

This morning I was even better, and we drove over to Manning Orphanage.  The road there was very dusty, however and by the time we got there I was feeling rough again.  We did stay through lunch, and I got to meet the new kids at Immanuel Feeding Station, which recently opened here.  Many of them came home for lunch, along with the orphanage kids.  They seem to be adjusting to each other just fine.

 

After we left, Angton decided to take a different road that the one we always use to see if it was shorter.  Kenyans don’t really use maps, I’m sure most printed maps wouldn’t have most of these roads anyway.  Sometimes the only way to know where a road goes is to drive it.  Unfortunately, this one went the wrong way for a long time.  By the time I figured out what he was doing, we had already gone 20 minutes in the wrong direction.  I was really feeling the dust, so I think I was a bit cross with him, OK I know I was, but I think he forgave me. We managed to get back to the tarmac road ok eventually.

 

We stopped to see our friends at Kisac Soapstone and check on the medals and trophies for Kick for Kenya.  They are almost done and look really good.  We will pick them up on Saturday.  For now we are in Kisii, at The Dados enjoying the 3G internet.  After many days of very slow, it’s refreshing for a geek like me.  Like some people crave the mountain air, so I crave the broadband! Tomorrow, back to the VTC for prepare for my Friday meetings.  Be Blessed!

 

Homa Bay Church of Christ

If this name doesn’t sound familiar to you, there is a reason.  Homa Bay is not one of the places where we are currently engaged with an orphans work.   It is however, where Alfayo Bodi, (our director at Ndhiwa, Grace House, and Manning) was living when he first became a Christian and helped start this church 13 years ago.  It’s also the home of our Stephen Owino, who is my assistant and good friend.  So today I made a special visit to encourage this church and the Christians there.

 

We arrived mid-morning at the new church plot.  The church actually meets at a rented building but has purchased this plot to build their permanent home on.  It may seem strange to us for a church to be 13 years old before having their own building, but not for this church.  They have been caring for widows and orphans almost from the very beginning, and have using their resources to help others instead of focusing on themselves. They have build a small mud house for the pastor to live in and are saving for their building.

 

They had erected a tent for my visit and many of the orphans and widows they are feeding and some church members were there.  It’s a town-church, so most of the members have jobs so it was a sacrifice for them to come meet with me.  The kids there literally had never seen a white person before, so they were a bit shy, but they sang songs and recited poems in honor of the occasion.  We heard testimonies from two orphans and a very aged widow about how the church had been caring for them.  It was very encouraging and humbling for me.

 

I spoke briefly, (very briefly since I am coming down with something and can’t seem to stop coughing), and we prayed together.  After sharing in their meal, we had a meeting time with the church elders and their personal stories were also very touching.  The church has been through a lot, as any church of this age has, but it has persevered.   One of the elders was an orphan himself and he feels very deeply for the orphans in his area.  I don’t know what God will do to help us help this church, but I am praying that he will send the increase we would require, as he has always been faithful to do. 

 

After our time at the church plot, we went to Stephen Owino’s house for lunch.  The ladies of the church had everything prepared and it was a fine meal of fish, ugali, pasta, veggies, and pineapple.  It was so good to see where Stephen lives and I can tell it was very important to him.  On our way out of town, we stopped at a hotel there to check it out for a possible mission trip hotel.  It may work out and would be a lot closer to Ndhiwa and our other orphanages near here than staying in Kisii.

 

Now we have arrived at Alfayo’s house at Ndhiwa Orphanage.  For the next two days we will se this place as well as Manning, and Grace House.  The internet is very slow here so I’m not sure I’ll be able to get pictures up, but I will try.  Be blessed.

Ongoro, Auto Repair, and Lee McGraw

“Ongoro” is a Luo word that means, “dry place.”  It’s aptly named.  The soil is sandy here and agriculture is tougher than in other parts of Kenya.  As a rule, the drier the place, the poorer it is and Ongoro is no exception.  Tobias Olweny is our director here and he is doing a good job. 

 

Friday night we shared the evening devotional with the kids, which was great as usual.  I was very tired by that time, so we turned in early.  Saturday morning we met with all the kids for a Q&A session, a tradition started by DeFore and re-established by my wife, Susie.  Susie has gone home, but she’d have been proud of us taking every question the kids threw at us.  We did it for two and a half hours.

 

Sometimes the questions were funny, “Why are mzungu noses pointed while ours are wide?”  And some turned into a lecture, “How is it that your days are longer and shorter at your place?”  That one took 30 minutes to answer, with chalk diagrams of the earth, discussions of tilt and wobble, and seasons and orbits.  I think I might have a latent ‘teacher’ gene in there somewhere.

 

We toured the place; Ongoro has a water well, which is in progress.  They reached the limit of hand digging with a poor result and are now waiting for a specialist to come and try to go deeper.  Everything else looked just fine.

 

After lunch we hit the road back to the VTC.  We made it fine around 4pm.  As I was talking with some of the students, a car passed by on the road and as it reached the front of the orphanage we heard a long crashing sound and it ground to a halt.  The left front suspension had collapsed and the wheel was sideways and flat.  I ran over to make sure everyone was ok, and they were.  They were four men and three women from Nairobi. They had been to a burial, and were on their way home.

 

I offered to send our mechanic instructor out to help and they agreed.  What ensued was a practical lesson in Kenyan roadside auto repair.  Paul, our instructor, and his students in their shop coats ran out and jumped in to fix the vehicle.  It took almost four hours and a trip to Sondu for parts, but they got it done. They were all so proud of themselves for the successful repair, and the visitors were very happy as well.  The episode was a good lesson for me, that God sometimes throws us curve balls; opportunities to do the right thing even when it will not profit us.  I shared that thought with the students and evening devotional and it was well received.

 

This morning we drove up to Lee McGraw Orphanage to worship with them.  I preached Tod’s “Forgiveness” sermon again, which was seemingly right on the mark for this place too.  I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that Christians everywhere struggle with that!  Now we are back at the VTC for am afternoon of rest.  Tomorrow we will go to Homa Bay, home of the famous Stephen Owino!  Be Blessed\