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.