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KENYA
2001 Sept 2- The Preparation One doesn't get an invitation to stay at someone's house for almost two weeks every day- especially if their house happens to be in Nakuru, Kenya. And the Lord has been prodding my husband Steve and I for some time to check out overseas ministry. So when Steve and Esther Ngethe kept insisting that we come to Kenya, and Peg and Johnny began making trip preparations and dropping some hints (subtle things... like "YOU NEED TO GO TO AFRICA"), we prayed about it. The answer to our prayers seemed favorable (and equally subtle... like "GET A PASSPORT"). So we began making preparations, only to find our adventure had just started. It's hard to believe all the little things that have to come together for even a short trip. Little things that cost money, or cause headaches, or make parents worried. Little things like who will take care of our sweet, knuckleheaded hunting dog for nearly three weeks. Little things like how to carry money and passports in a place where getting robbed is average. Little things like "How will we be able to afford the vaccinations when our health insurance won't cover it, and the bill is going to be at least $750"? Little things like listening to the nurse at the local Health Department as she gives us our first half dozen shots: "Don't get bitten by mosquitos, as we don't have a vaccination for Dengue fever, and the cholera shot doesn't work very well so we don't give it any more". But as Johnny is fond of singing, "God's the God of the little things, not just the big things". When the tickets were too expensive for us both to go, Peg managed to find the miracle deal by routing us through London. When the health insurance wouldn't pay for our vaccinations, Steve's parents inadvertently covered the exact amount (God looks after those on a fixed income, by the way... they ended up making out very nicely in a 3 for 2 stock split immediately afterwards). And a friend with hunting dogs even eagerly volunteered to put up with our Tasmanian devil dog for the duration. If that wasn't enough, I accidentally ended up getting a good paying, full time job before we left, so we had some extra funds to work with. It's a miracle miniseries, and we haven't even boarded a plane yet! The Thorp Community Church worship team had recorded a CD of some original songs, and they've been moving like hotcakes. The original plan was for the donations to help with the trip expenses... but God heard the cry of his people and had another plan. Since so many financial burdens have been lifted from the portion of the team going from Thorp, we were able to give all this money as a gift to Steve and Esther. PRAISE GOD! I suppose it's time for a personal admission: I don't really know why I'm going per se, except that I knew when I prayed about it that if we didn't go now, it would be tantamount to denying gravity- sooner or later, you're going to get pulled back to earth anyway. We were meant to go, period. Often in Christian circles, we call all of the above "a step of faith". The reality is that the only "step" we made was to barely garble that we were willing, and somehow we've moved from looking at the water to being forcibly grabbed by the current and swept away. Jesus is so amazing. Every day as Christians we're walking on the water, and we don't even realize it most of the time.
Sept 6- And there was morning, and there was evening, and it was the first day. "THERE IS NO ME. THERE IS NO WE. THERE IS ONLY HIM". As the alarm clock shrieked at 4AM, these words were burned into my foggy consciousness, and an inkling of the magnitude of the journey ahead began forming. Steve and I had packed the night before, so all we had to do was get dressed and moderately presentable for the 20+ hours of transit ahead. Peg's husband picked us up, where we joined Peg and Randy in the van. At the airport we met Carla. Randy wrangles horses in Horse Creek, California... when he's not going to Africa or Russia with Peg and/ or Johnny. He was with Peg for the first African adventure. Carla comes from Baker City Oregon, and while she has gone with Peg and Johnny to Russia, this will also be her first trip to Africa. All of us have stories about the miracles that had to occur to get this far, which is encouraging.
Sept 7- LONDON The flight from Charlotte to London was longer, but actually more comfortable than the flight across the country. However, having arrived in Gatwick without any sleep for 20+ hours was taking it's toll. Johnny met us at the airport, had us exchange some money, and announced that the church in London had sprung for a day's excursion in downtown London. We were quite surprised, but Johnny said that they got a good deal on the bus tickets. We are staying at Alex and Valentina's house in London. To get there we had to ride one bus for quite a ways on a major motorway, so we got to see some countryside. The similarity of these farmlands to the Willamette valley of Oregon was amazing. I even recognize quite a few of the plants. The second bus took us to Hayes proper, and we had the pleasure of riding in a double decker bus (as it turned out, they are nearly all that way). How that monstrous bus got through the narrow streets without taking off half a dozen rear view mirrors from parked cars was a source of considerable wonderment. We arrived at the church Alex and Johnny have been pastoring to meet Alex himself, then left some luggage behind for the last leg to the house. Their children Elija (4) and Allissa (3) are absolutely darling, and Peg had made a point to bring 2 fancy toothbrushes and some bubbles for them. I guess grandmotherhood is universal- surely the children couldn't remember her from the last trip, but you would think she had been installed the entire time from the way they climbed right up on Peg's lap. We all crashed after Vali fed us breakfast, but we are trying to rouse ourselves sooner than our bodies would like so that we can get into the swing of things faster.
Sept 8- LONDON Last night we walked around the neighborhood, and took a bus just over to Johnny's flat he shares with several other men. One of them is Charles, oddly enough from Kenya. We got to talk with him for a bit, and were hoping we can see his family in Nairobi. We also might be able to bring him Kenyan tea back as his request. Vali had made us a wonderful dinner. She can REALLY cook! I got to talk with her a little last night, but I'm glad she's going with us today as I'm hoping to get to know her better. Steve found that he and Alex have a lot in common: both are Dr Pepper fiends, and both eat food continually and never seem to show it. Alex said if we see a Russian in London drinking DR Pepper, they probably go to his church- he got them all started. We just had to laugh. Johnny and Carla both play a mean guitar, and had lots of songs to share last night. Steve played along on his fiddle amazingly well considering he had been up for nearly 48 hours by that point. Carla is finding that plug- in appliances aren't terribly useful here- all the plugs are different. I don't know if Steve and Esther even have power at their place yet, so she might just leave them behind in London. Carla, Peg and I talked some before we went to sleep, and Carla recited a good portion of Phil. 4 she had memorized. This morning she said we were both snoring within minutes of her speaking the Word. I just hope I don't snore as loud as Peg- I think she woke herself up several times! Later... OK, so we were lost all over London. I couldn't have picked a better group to get lost with. However, it was a little overwhelming to see on the street several times the population of our community back home. Vali and Alex's children are just as darling as bright as kids that age can be, Elija is a little shy, but Alissa doesn't seem too afraid of anything and is definitely a shopper in the making. She finally had to carry a loaf of bread around the grocery store to keep her out of trouble. Johnny shared a good word this evening, as well as a good challenge: we each got a piece of paper and were to pray about a word from the Lord for someone in the room, and to write it down. It's astonishing, but it was a powerful, direct, and practical example of God's faithfulness. Most of us had a message for one another.
Sept 9- LONDON Yesterday we got to go to Alex and Vali's church. It was just great- Alex translated for some of Johnny's teaching as well as preaching something really good over the offering plate he wouldn't translate for us (I'm assuming it was good). :) We all had communion and we got to pray for the wonderful people there. Nikolai lead their worship service off his keyboard and some mini disks he recorded with the attached MIDI. He and wife apparently had gone to the Russian conservatory for some years, and his musical talent was formidable to say the least. Steve and Carla played along with the service, then Nikolai played with them while we did a few songs. It was hard to believe they had never played together before. Only God could create and nurture such a vast talent! But then the sense of unity that the Spirit brings transcended any language and cultural barrier at this service. We were brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers and children, together singing praise to our Lord. We were able to talk to some young people about school in the UK. They have to wear uniforms, and the 12th grade is optional. Julia in particular was amazing. She loves Jesus and must travel 2 hours (on a good day) to get to church, where she sings with the worship team. She is 15, is in the 11th or 12th year of school, and knows 4 languages: her native Lithuanian, Russian, German, and English. Her English is so good we weren't sure if she was Russian at first. Peg gave a message about being a hospice nurse and how we need to understand that we're not going to live here forever. Randy spoke about keeping your first love. Johnny spoke about the saints of God being live rather than dead in a mausoleum somewhere. Alex did an excellent job translating everyone's message. I found this interesting from a linguistic standpoint- many words, especially certain verbs, sound very similar to those in Spanish. I asked Alex about a few words and he said Russian had been heavily influenced by French through the Russian aristocracy, some of whom did not speak Russian at all. No wonder they were kicked out.... Johnny has been preaching to us nearly every night although I missed it last night. However, the ongoing theme seems to be that Christ lives in us now rather than somewhere down the road. At the same time he has advised the younger, scatterbrained members among us (namely Steve and myself) to be patient. It must be great to be older and know better about life. Peg flatly states she prefers her age, as she's quite happy to be mother and grandmother to the nations. I stayed up letting Alex sample my music. He tends to prefer harder music as I do. It turns out he also had to sit through the "Rock and Roll is of the devil" speech, as well as the purported houseplant experiment. He didn't care for it any more than I did. We did a few more songs for Alex and Vali that they recorded on video, and only got to bed at about 1AM. They are really hoping that we can come back for a longer stay. I think we should, if for nothing else to visit Steve's family here in England. Getting vacation is a major problem, however. We will be praying about this, and I have faith that something will come through. Last night Peg and Carla were fairly busy- they prayed all night through as they dreamed of the Sunday church service. Peg even talked about it, but I couldn't understand what she was saying. I think she was getting back at me for staying up so late. Later... We did a little shopping for a few things to pick up for Kenya. Steve and I also talked Vali into letting us cook (as if we hadn't made enough of a mess out of her house, we got to the kitchen too!). We Americans made Mexican food for Russian brothers and sisters in London. I'd say that's a pretty awesome day.
Sept 11- NAKURU, KENYA Some kind of stretching of time as well as space seems to have occurred overnight. We left the flat in London at 5PM to make our way to the train station. It was hard to leave Alex and Vali, even as we were getting excited about finally getting to Africa. Randy ended up getting caught with a small pocket knife going through the Gatwick airport that he had to donate to the UK government. Fortunately it was cheap, but it was indicative of the security measures. At one point a guard of some variety walked through the waiting area with what appeared to be an automatic weapon. (Editor's note: we told one another that the US had better get a clue, as we were quite happy to comply with the regulations for our own safety. Approximately 10 hours later the World Trade Center in New York was hit.) After suffering through a nebulous smoking area and Burger King, we were able to load the plane around 10PM. The flight was thankfully uneventful, and I managed to sleep or zone out through most of it thanks to the Dramamine Peg insisted I try after getting nauseated on the way down to Charlotte. We walked off the plane into the Nairobi airport, and the western world suddenly came down on African soil. I could have sworn I heard small oilless gears screaming to a halt as we waited in lines for the bathroom, visa and passport checks, and a seeming eternity for baggage. Steve and Esther were waiting for us there, along with some other brothers. They had procured a van to drive us to Nakuru, so we loaded it up with much friendly visiting. I can't begin to describe how glad I was to see our friends and co- workers in Christ again. Last fall they had been at our house for dinner, at our church for worship and for Steve to be ordained. I even drove them up to Mt. St. Helens at Peg's request, a they seemed to enjoy a great deal. It just seemed unbelievable to be going to their house for a reciprocated meal a mere year later. The drive takes about 2 hours, and I can testify that the State Department's warnings about the dangers of Kenyan drivers should be taken seriously. In fact, they didn't mention the goats, sheep, donkeys and donkey carts, bikes, and pedestrians that might take over a lane when the mood strikes them. However, the beauty of this country cannot be marred or hidden by the chaos or poverty, and the people seem genuinely affectionate with one another. We stopped at a lookout over the Rift Valley at a point 8,500 feet above sea level. Of course, being a tourist stop, we were immediately mobbed by trinket traders. I managed to get away without purchasing anything, but several others succumbed after letting Steve and Esther bargain with them. Johnny easily takes the award for the best at bartering among us. One man was carrying on about how he should by something for an exorbitant price, and Johnny finally asked him, "What color is my hair?!?" The man had to back off, admitting that Johnny's silver head hadn't become that way without gaining at least a little wisdom. We saw a few zebras along the road, as well as boys herding goats, sheep, cattle, and donkeys. Each of these were also occasionally tied beside the road... with plenty of room to wander into the lane. Steve says plenty end up getting hit by cars, but apparently it's not too large a concern. Walking is by far the most popular mode of travel, followed closely by bicycle, donkey cart, or grossly over crowded van. There were a few groups of Maasai herders with beautiful cattle and a handful of fat- tailed sheep. Esther says the meat from these sheep is very good, as the fatty acids that can give mutton a gamey flavor is stored in the tail rather than dispersed throughout the meat. This explains whey the grass- fed fine wool sheep I had in Uruguay 10 years ago were so much better than the fat laden lamb of the US. Have I mentioned that Esther is about the smartest woman I've ever met? She's a veterinarian with the Kenyan government, and her humility disguises a razor sharp intellect and a formidable education both in her profession and in the Word. Steve and Esther's house is amazing. Having been built on faith as the funds appeared, they've constructed a wonderful home. There are enough bedrooms that Steve and I have our own. There are 2 bathrooms (one upstairs and one down), although whatever water is running in the plumbing will be because we ran it indoors in a bucket. The water supply is also ingenious. Since this area of the Rift Valley is dry, they have a catchment system from the roof into a large cistern. They treat their water with chlorine in the tank, but especially when a lid is put on it should be a very clean supply. Did I mention Esther is very smart? The whole house, water system, etc. was designed by her. She even oversaw most of the construction by herself while Steve was finishing up his schooling in the US. Esther made some cabbage, corn, noodles, and a delicious stew for a late lunch. We all dove into it, as the vegetables are fresh, and it sure looked better than the airplane food. Small patches of corn are grown all over, even on the roadside margins (where there aren't the usual assortment of livestock grazing). This is not sweet corn, but field corn. It is still very good to eat off the cob. The birds here are beautiful- little iridescent green versions of a robin are common, and the sight of the chain of Rift Valley lakes strewn with pink flamingos visible from at least 50 miles away. White Egrets flap over the compound regularly. Altogether, if London was urban but familiar, this place is completely, spectacularly alien. The Maasai cattle herd just outside the compound is sprinkled with bells on a few animals, and twisted together with the boy's whistles as they herd them provides a glorious backdrop to the spotty storm clouds, flowering bushes, and vast savannah beyond the sisal fence.
Sept 12- NAKURU, KENYA Last night, after having some relaxed worship and dinner, Steve and Esther came back with some terrible news: the World Trade Center and the Pentagon had been attacked by suicide hijackers on domestic US flights. I thought he must surely be mistaken, but the news on the TV hooked to the generator showed the gristly proof. All of us sat in shock and disbelief, then started thinking out loud about getting back to the US at the end of our stay, as we knew flights in and out of the country would be disrupted. Kenyan people still feel keenly the loss of their people in the bombing of the US embassy in Nairobi 2 years ago, so they have been very sympathetic. Esther also points out that many Kenyans were probably in the World Trade Center, so they are also waiting for news. The roosters and donkeys get up a little early, but I was glad to lay in bed and pray. As the sun came up, I could hear the cow bells and whistling of the herders. Africa seems to have beautiful audio as well as visual. This morning we are going to see some animals in a game preserve. Steve says the rest of the trip we will be busy. Later... The tour was fantastic, as was the driver. I'd gladly pay to have him drive us again, as he was one of the few drivers that acts like he wants to stay alive. We got very close to some rhino and some buffalo, but didn't see any lions- although we did find a recent buffalo kill. (Editor's note: see the photo album for more about this day. Hopefully the pictures will be able to describe some of the incredible beauty of wild Kenya that words cannot.) A small monkey shimmied up into the window of the van while we were getting the permits to enter the reserve, much to our dismay. Fortunately he didn't get much of a chance to rummage through our stuff before the driver's helper drove him back out. For the record, rhino are MUCH larger than they seem in National Geographic or on Wild Kingdom. The white rhinos we saw towered over the van. Needless to say, we were careful.
Sept 14- NAKURU, KENYA We had a street meeting in a little place called Barnabas, just down the road from the house on Wednesday night. Although we have been brought here for a musical ministry, their worship team- three singers and 2 tambourines- was truly amazing. I suggested to Steve that perhaps one day we'll have a music team swap between our churches. The men preached well, with a brother John from the church interpreting. Unfortunately we didn't see a response for salvation, but we did get to see the church here in action and it was impressive. Thursday morning the men went to town while we did a woman's meeting just by the house. About 8- 10 women were there and Carla and Peg had a wonderful worked from the Lord that Esther translated into Kikuyu (a tribal language, as opposed to the more universal Swahili trade language). The singing is incredible. Someone will be asked to lead, and everyone will sit quietly for a moment. Then the leader will start, and everyone will chime in clapping and singing, mostly in a call/ response pattern. I wish I had a way to record it, but that would fail to capture the Spirit. The men got home late in the afternoon from a day wandering around town. They had brought Steve several gifts, and had some interesting observations of town and the people there. We had an evening bible study at the same place we had the women's meeting. There were about 20 people there, many of whom we were starting to recognize. Johnny preached and John translated again. Johnny's message is consistent: Christ living in us. I was glad to see this being received well. Esther, Peg and I walked back and Esther just preached the whole time. I have never met a woman more spiritually gifted than her. Steve let us call my husband's family on his cell phone. We thought checking in back home would be a good think with the tragedy in New York having everyone so shocked. To my husband and I, our main calling here seems to be supporting Steve and Esther in their ministry. They are much more effective here than foreign missionaries could hope to be. Many Kenyan friends thought they were crazy not to try to bring their family to the US, and in fact even some Christians have been remarkably critical of their steadfast commitment to ministry here. But God is blessing them, their family, and their church, and we believe this will only continue to grow. Esther has been working so hard, and has brought in many ladies from church to help with the monster task of keeping 6 Americans in a Kenyan house. Most American people have a hard time visualizing the sheer magnitude of the small tasks rolled together just to keep a house functioning and everyone fed in a place like this until they see it. Water must be brought in from outside by buckets, all food prepared from scratch, all clothes and a small mountain of dishes washed by hand, and many times these chores continue well into the dark when we must use kerosene lamps, candles, or flashlights. I am helping Esther as much as I can, as she has been looking tired. My prayer is that we will be a blessing rather than a burden, although far be it from her to complain. Today we leave to an outlying town for an ordination of another pastor... if yesterday's torrential rain hasn't made roads impassable. The rain is good for the household water supply, however. Sept 16- NAKURU, KENYA The service in Karunga/ Bahati was really something else again. We had to wind up a red, rutted road for several miles to get to the village, which seemed mostly populated with young children (not counting the ones coming back from school as we left). They were chattering, curious herd around us everywhere we went in the village. The pastor will be ordained on Sunday at his church, and he will be placing his ministry under Steve's leadership. In the meantime, we were glad to come and worship with them and have a crusade. We were driven indoors by a rain storm, but nothing could dampen the spirit of those people. Their music was lead with the help of a drum and a large, thin gear ring Johnny said was probably from the rear end of a truck, beaten with a metal rod. It made a beautiful ringing noise which could be dampened with the hand holding it. John did an incredible job translating. He has a kind spirit and puts up well with all our pestering questions. After lunch, we were waiting for the van by the road... which of course prompted 50 adults and what seemed like 500 children to congregate. They stared, they said "Hello, how are you?", they took our hands, they pointed to the sunglasses and hat I was wearing. Nothing missed their intense scrutiny. One little boy took my hand and stroked it, saying "So white! Sooooo white!" I had to laugh- I'm fair enough that even people in the US had made similar comments from time to time. At any rate, Johnny redeemed the time by just picking up the guitar again and doing a few songs. The kids did a really funny echo to "Oh Happy Day". I'll never hear the song again without remembering it. I also accidentally started a small riot by handling over my empty water bottle to the kids. We didn't see anyone come forward, but there is hope at the ordination that more will take advantage of the church there and it's pastor.
Sept 16- NAKURU, KENYA I'm afraid the days are starting to go so fast I'm falling behind. The day before yesterday as we were leaving Bahati, I could no longer deny I was coming down with the flu or a terrible cold. That night Steve banished me from the living room discussion. That night I was delirious with fever, and I began praying desperately for it to break so I could get better quickly. Several hours later I woke up with my shirt stuck to me with sweat, and I knew I would be OK. The following day we went shopping for the usual tourist doo- dads. John and another brother from the church accompanied us from Steve's downtown office (where we had sent email home) to the market. As usual, a roving horde descended on us to sell things or beg for money. Fortunately there was a woman from church running one shop, so she cut us some reasonable deals without haggling. On the way back to the office, a mob followed and periodically converged, especially on Carla. Fortunately John and the others were watching out for us and got us installed in Steve's office again intact. We met a woman who had come to the woman's meeting downtown. She specifically asked Peg for more women's meetings, confirming what we had all felt about Peg's ministry here (she claims she'll get on the plane with a walker at 80 years old if that's what it takes). That night we had an open air meeting in another small "suburb" of Nakuru. John asked me to give a testimony in spite of my misgivings and impending rain, but the Lord was faithful and gave me the words to speak. An alter call resulted in 3 men coming forward, but since about 250 people were there and it isn't far from where they hold church service, we might see quite a few visitors today. Steve's congregation is very well trained- as soon as someone is prayed for, they meet this person and take them aside to talk, pray, get some information, and give some materials if there are any available. That night we had Tilapia and cornmeal cake called Ogali. Unfortunately my husband Steve only ended up keeping it down for a few hours. He ran to the bathroom without the flashlight or much clothing on (kicking the water buckets in the process), and pretty much alerted the entire house to his misery at 3AM. It turns out we have all been praying all night. Praying for Steve... praying for the service today.... praying against war... Esther, Steve, and the boys are fighting this flu off. My husband looks like he'll be out of action today unless the Lord does a miracle.
Sept 17 NAKURU, KENYA Church was at a beautiful hotel, surrounded by hibiscus and nameless other plants we had never seen outside a pot in the house if ever. John lead prayer before service, and Florence lead worship with some other women. When we started about half the seats were empty, but as the service progressed we were down to the last chair. Johnny preached and John valiantly translated as the pace got faster. We also ordained Randy as a minister of the Gospel. It's obvious that this is formal recognition of what he's already doing, but an important even none the less. Randy requested I do a song I had done for Steve and Esther's ordination and Thorp, and the Lord blessed me by recalling all the words. I would have liked my husband to play some back up, but as he was at home incapacitated I did it a cappella. I can only pray I did it justice. John's wife brought their little girl, Praise, to church and we got to see her. She's a darling baby. His wife Joyce seems like a neat person as well, I just wish I had more time to spend with her. Steve says the night before a man was caught breaking into a nearby house, and as local residents were fed up with the police just letting them go over and over for a small bribe, they decided to douse the thief with gasoline and set him on fire. It is sad when justice disintegrates thus, and we will be praying for this matter. The ordination in Bahati was a success, but there were many more people that I had expected. We were in an upper room that in the US would probably be limited to 60 people, but I would guess at least 200 adults and children jammed into the stuffy room to see the event. There were some government workers from some distance as well. Carla and I were glad to be seated by what appeared to be a fire escape and one of the few sources of fresh air, but we couldn't walk out on the landing for fear of a viewing audience up our skirts from below. Johnny and Carla both did some music, and Johnny preached. There was also some talking from the people already there, and the pastor introduced his family to everyone. We will be praying for them and hope to continue to hear good things from Bahati. We were supposed to arrive there at 2, and ended up getting there at 4, which seemed fairly typical by now. However, since it gets dark at 6:30 or so, we couldn't spend much time. The van creaked and groaned over the few miles of ruts and rocks, and got back to pavement just as the sun was going down. However, we got a flat tire several miles later, which resulted in a late return. Watching Kenyan driving is always mind boggling- people and animals routinely step out in front of moving vehicles, and passing bikes and other cars may occur whether there is room not, or a blind corner or an oncoming car/ bus/ herd of cattle/ group of pedestrians. Driving at night is even worse, as many people don't bother using their headlights except to flash oncoming vehicles. The driver fixed the flat quickly and limped into a station (mercifully close) where he could get more air in it, while Florence and John commented extensively on how fine my hair was. Florence is a hairdresser and in incredible beauty in her own right. I would like to have her do my hair in cornrows, but it's so fine it would pull out and break, and generally turn into a matted mess, unlike her exquisite braids woven with fine gold thread. When I got home from Bahati, I was suddenly very sick. Sadly, it looks like my husband has shared his intestinal bug with me. I am very thankful I had a whole bottle of Cipro with me, as we'll both be taking it now. Later.... Last night as I was lying in bed with such a sore gut I couldn't sleep, I got mad. Really mad. I started spitting prayers against sickness, pain, and anything else that might hinder us. Wouldn't you know it, I started feeling better immediately. Later... We went back over the 8,500 foot pass between Nairobi and Nakuru, then took a cutoff over some highlands towards Thika. On the way from the Rift Valley, we were stopped once by a troop of baboons and once for a herd of zebra. We only saw one accident (a large truck carrying lumber had overturned) and about 3 broken down buses. Not bad. These highlands have large tea and coffee plantations. The tea fields are especially large, so we stopped to take a picture. The tea plants are picked for the light green tips, always 2 leaves and a bud. Then every 3 years they are pruned down to their stump, about 4" in diameter in the field we were stopped at. Esther and John said that these plants had been established probably in the 30's when Kenya was still a British colony. Thika is down below the highlands about 20- 30 miles north from Nairobi. While there are beautiful purple flowering trees, factories, and nice homes, the grass here is not as thick as that in the Rift Valley, and John says there are some really tough slums we will be ministering in. AIDs, alcohol, lack of jobs and education, a corrupt government, and general lawlessness all contribute to the problem. Only Christ can solve a problem this large. Pastor Kennedy Mbatia's house is quite large, as he had purchased the other half of the duplex next to him and simply added a door in between. There is electricity and running water, but I miss the rural feel of Steve and Esther's already. I decided to rest this afternoon as I am still recovering from the stomach problem, but as it turned out some folks had torn up the stage that was going to be used for the crusade. We're off until tomorrow. For the first time we're tormented by mosquitos. I set up the net over the bed and reek of DEET. Sept 19 THIKA, KENYA Yesterday I was feeling much better, having been able to eat something for a change. In the morning we saw the church Kennedy had built since the first group came and anointed an open field. Since then it's had an addition larger than the original building tacked on. There's also a brick factory for prisoners right next door. Steve said he would take us over there, although I had some misgivings. As it turned out, the guard wasn't especially happy to see a bunch of white tourists there, especially when Peg got her camera out. While the guard didn't do anything cruel or unusual, let's just say that the US penal system looks like a vacation resort compared to prison in Kenya. We went back to the church, and Steve, Randy, and I stayed while the other folks exchanged money. Steve came back with the car and hauled us to the area for the open air meeting in the middle of town. The stage didn't look very good especially for Johnny and John, both being big guys. So John had them pull a nearby pickup truck in front, drop the sides and back, and they preached from there. The sound system kept cutting out, but Johnny preached a powerful message to believers in this little market area. The theme was that if there had been knowledge of Christ but they hadn't added the fruits of the Spirit to their life, they were responsible for their own situation. It was a scathing indictment, but considering the amount of churches we have seen in Kenya, I believe at least those living in the areas we've been to can't claim ignorance. He had everyone who claimed to be saved (quite a large number, at least 100 out of several times that watching) to join hands and pray for Kenya and it's people. It was a powerful moment. Several team members also prayed for a woman with a horribly swollen leg and foot afterwards. After lunch, we had a meeting in a slum area called Kiandutu (which literally means "chigger") not too far from the house. Carla, Peg, Johnny, and I were dropped off, and Steve went back for the rest of the team. In the meantime, as the usual horde of children materialized, Johnny and I watched nervously as the stage was reinforced by the men from the church. The sound system was in various stages of repair, and all we could do was pray as blowing red dust filtered into every pore, clothing, fiber, eyes, hair, ears and nose. Goats wandered slowly through the ochre clouds, past more swarms of desperately poor children, plastic and paper garbage, and the occasional dry blade of grass. While men sawed a piece of raw lumber by hand, the sun steadily lowered into a dramatic sunset filtered through a few low lying clouds. Eventually Steve got there, and Kennedy's people started the event. I don't know how many hundreds of people were listening, but we had attracted quite a crowd. Johnny and John were able to use the stage, albeit reluctantly. The sound managed to come through long enough to see 3 women come forward at the end. Pastor Kennedy's folks are quick to follow up as Steve's were in Nakuru. Keeping the children from tampering with Steve's car required constant vigilance as within a few minutes of arriving they were already trying to let air out of the tires, peering in the windows, and making faces at themselves in the rear view mirrors. It had started to get dark before we could go, so Steve was quite anxious to get the entire team out of there. He had negotiated with a band of young men to guard the stage that night before we left so there would be something to come back to- otherwise within hours it would be reduced to fire wood or home remodeling materials. John told us that he grew up in a neighborhood like that one. He's sure come a long way. He's 29, and both his parents are dead already. Alcohol claimed his father, as has been the case for many. He said the home brew here is only 10 shillings a glass (about 7 cents US), and people share with those that have nothing, so it's possible to be completely broke and still feed your addiction. John will only be with us one more day, and it saddens me a great deal. He has been a great translator and guide, and my husband and I have enjoyed his spiritual insight and humor. He's also an absolutely powerful preacher in his own right. Earlier I was messing around on the pastor's kid's scooter in the driveway while John was washing the car, and I accidentally wiped out on the wet pavement and landed with one arm right in Johns water bucket. I couldn't have done it better if I had tried. He shook his head and laughed at me while I dripped into the house to change my clothes, but he wasn't surprised at me either. Last night Johnny dipped into the Word around the table again. John was with us, and his insight into the bible is tremendous. Steve is very fortunate to have such a young protégé.
Sept 20- THIKA, KENYA Yesterday proved to be difficult. Peg, Johnny, and Carla wanted to check their email, and as it turned out the entire area's connections are painfully slow. Combined with some other logistical challenges, we all struggled with patience, but God persevered through the noon meeting. In the afternoon we went to Kiandutu again, where fortunately the stage was intact. Johnny's music went quite well and the cars weren't tampered with, fortunately. Once again returning as darkness fell, we arrived home to find our meal shared with a Canadian couple at home. She teaches math and chemistry at a secondary school, and her husband is a doctor. They will be here for 2 years altogether next July. John and I talked a long time. He's been through a terrible childhood, and it's just amazing to see how the Lord is using him. This morning before he left, we all put some money together and a card and prayed with him. My husband and Randy went with him as Steve drove him to the bus stop. I hope he didn't see me crying as he left. More and more news indicates an increasing military building, and while we are happy to minister, we will be relieved to be back home. The TV says some trans Atlantic flights have been canceled, so we will be checking our flights frequently.
Sept 21- THIKA, KENYA The noon meeting had a good turnout of men from the crowd coming forward for prayer. We got to Kiandutu earlier than on previous nights so Peg and Randy could go with another pastor to a rural church 30 minutes away. As it turns out, the church has only been there for a year, and they have converted a bar to their meeting hall. Peg and Randy had a powerful meeting, so we are glad they went. The meeting in Kiandutu had pastor Mbatia's worship team up front first, and it was some of the best song leading since we got here. There was a larger crowd to start with, but it significantly thinned out when the swarms of children captured a large hand cart some distance away. There had to be at least 100 children riding, pushing, pulling, and chasing it out in the clouds of red dust. It's sad to see such tiny children with babies strapped to their back with no adult to help them. How they survive in that environment I don't know, as dangers abound and no one seems to care for them. We did a lot of music last night at the house. My husband got the fiddle out and Johnny played along on Carla's guitar. We pray that when the violin is left behind it will be used well. I'm curious to see what Africans do with a violin in worship. Talk of war continues on the TV, and last night my husband thought he heard jets overhead. I don't know if he dreamed of them or if they're the commercial flights in and our of Nairobi, but either way we are all prayerfully pleading that no more lives are lost in this conflict. Later... Today was an off day, which turned out to be a long wait for the trip to the airport. Esther gave me some cores out of the pineapple she was cutting up for lunch. I've eaten so much pineapple that my lips are raw, but I refuse to stop eating them because they are so good. Pastor
David from the church Peg and Randy went to last night came by to show
us how to plant a banana tree, complete with a demonstration "sapling".
He also had a huge bunch of green bananas on a stalk. From what I remember,
here's how to plant a banana: Of course, all this is assuming you're not planting it in Thorp, Washington, where the results would be somewhat disappointing. :) We had a good time of prayer together with Steve and Esther before we left. I will miss them terribly. The drive to Nairobi was a true African experience. Dodging bikes, pedestrians, and other vehicles without using turn signals was the order of the evening. An overturned truck provided a brief experience with a Nairobi traffic jam, complete with honking horns, total disregard for any semblance of lanes, and choking clouds of exhaust. In fact, the exhaust was so bad on the road at night that at times it was almost impossible to see the road or the taillights of the smog- belching vehicle in front of us. I cried when we had to pull ourselves from Esther, but I was glad to attempt clearing my head of the fumes. Steve and Esther have a long drive ahead of them to get to Nakuru tonight. Sept 23- LONDON Well, getting to the airport turned out to be only the beginning of a new chapter of adventure and insanity. The plane that was to bring us to England was arriving from Daar es Salaam, and got progressively later. Then when it finally arrived, we found there was something wrong with a fuel/ air mixer on the plane. The part would have to come from England, and all 400 or so of us were to be put up in hotels in Nairobi, some 20 miles away. Theoretically a plan was in place when we left the waiting area and headed to the customs booths, but a backlog developed when we were supposed to hand over our passports there. People were emphatically resisting the idea of letting go of their passports to the British Airways personnel, and indeed there seemed to be considerable argument among the staff on how this was to be accomplished. 400 hot, tired, angry and confused passengers were crammed into the small room as the clock worked towards midnight and beyond, and no loud speaker was available to even let anyone know what was going on. Tensions were palpable, and I was relieved that Johnny had somehow maneuvered the group to the front of the herd. Requests to form 2 lines, then 3 lines, then 2 lines were alternately ignored or snarled at as we handed over our passports reluctantly in exchange for a little tagboard ticket with a number. My husband Steve was especially irate about leaving it behind, but we argued that we had little choice in the matter and drug him with us, exhausted and irritable. We decided to leave our bags in British Airway's custody- a stupid move by African standards, but all we had in them were dirty clothes and a few souvenirs. If they were stolen, we figured we would make money on the deal from the airlines anyway. A typically crammed bus took us to the Intercontinental Hotel in downtown Nairobi, were we had to wait in yet another long line to get checked in. Peg, John, Carla, and Randy attempted to get a meal, but Steve and I were too tired to bother and treated ourselves instead to longer showers than we could afford back home. The next day dawned only 4 hours later with a view of a catholic church immediately across the street and high rise buildings around a park in front of the hotel. Storks graced the trees outside. We were glad to have a wonderful breakfast buffet courtesy of the airlines before we checked out and began waiting for the shuttles to return us to the airport. We had a discussion with another US missionary worker from upstate New York outside the building. All of us agreed that we couldn't have afforded such luxurious accommodations on our own. The African wheels continued to grind slowly when they moved at all- the buses were supposed to be there at 10, and at 10:30 someone announced that they were finally on their way. Many of the obviously more wealthy passengers left in taxis, but at 15 to 20 dollars per person it was out of our reach. The first van happened to pull up right in front of us, so we crammed the team in along with luggage and other passengers. On the way to the airport we saw several giraffes at the small game preserve next to the airport, as well as the usual compliment of policemen with loaded AK- 47's at the airport entrance. Our passports were sorted onto several little tables in the lobby by country of issue. Steve, who had been the most vocally opposed to giving his up, was accidentally handed the wrong one. Fortunately he restrained the verbal tirade that pressed on the tip of his tongue. When the plane heaved off the runway, I think the very body of the plane contracted and expanded with a collective sigh of relief. The flight, some 8 hours long, landed us in Gatwick at about 8 PM. We gathered our extra luggage and hauled it over to the South Terminal, where we stored them, then caught the Gatwick- Heathrow bus. It was a relief to be no longer a stand out target in a crowd, but we were very tired by the time we got to Vali and Alex's. On the way, a reckless driver took off Alex's rear view mirror. Apparently this is not unusual on London's narrow streets, but Steve and I felt a little guilty watching the mirror dangle sadly from a wire. The night seemed short once again as we crawled out of bed for our last trip to the airport. We were all wishing we could go to church in the morning with them, but with as many trans- Atlantic flights canceled lately, we need to take the door immediately in front of us. Because one of the other men driving us to the bus station had slept in, they decided to drive us all the way to Gatwick instead of taking the next bus. We were so grateful for their hospitality they have shown us, and Vali even cried when we left. However, Steve is already making plans for a return within a year, and I feel we will see them again soon. The terrorist attacks have made aircraft safety an even bigger hurdle than normal, although we are all grateful for their concerns. Our normal carry ons had to be checked, and even the small bag I took with me was searched after going through a metal detector. We were also patted down at the gate. It would be nice if these were only temporary measures, but I fear that this might be normal practice in the future. The flight over is 8.5 hours, but unlike our departure, this plane is virtually empty. The craft holds about 266 people, and only 100 are on board we were told, although it seemed like even less. Many people were able to kick up the arm rests and lie down for the entire flight. US Air must be loosing money on this flight. We have met some other Americans traveling back to Seattle, so hopefully they'll hold the connecting flight for us if needed as we get through customs. It will be interesting to see if domestic flights are this empty. We are preparing ourselves for coming home to a very different world than the one we left, but I have already heard that many are turning to Christ during these troublesome days.
POST-TRIP: CLE ELUM God continued to care for us all the way home and beyond in miraculous ways. Getting through customs was a breeze, since there were no lines and getting what little luggage was on the plane was fast. The only other flight that evening to Seattle besides ours was canceled, so while we had our seats, the plane was packed. I did kiss the ground when we got to Seattle, more as a joke for Randy than anything. Jim, Peg's husband, was waiting for us when we got there, so after getting our luggage we were ready to go. Carla didn't have the number for her cousin that was supposed to pick her up, and had to call her dad on Peg's cell phone to get the other number, which didn't pick up anyway. Unfortunately, we had to part ways quickly as we had a substantial drive home from the airport. The next morning seemed unreal, and we considered the irony of modern travel: breakfast in Nairobi on Saturday, breakfast in London on Sunday, and breakfast in Cle Elum, Washington on Monday. No wonder we were feeling a little dizzy. Family and friends, even co- workers were calling, trying to find out if we had gotten home safely over the day. We were glad to report that Christ kept us safe through everything in all ways. Johnny will be home in another week or two for the first time in months, with a new plan for the ministry. We will be watching and praying over the next few months as this takes form. What did we learn? A lot about the world, quite a bit about the people we shared the adventure with, and even a little about ourselves. We have a better vision for how to pray for Steve and Esther, John, and Alex and Vali. We saw the fruits of our contributions in action in Kenya. Our patience and endurance were tried more than once, and I pray the Lord found us of a little better character upon our return than how we left. Most of all, I learned that Christ can be exalted in all things- even those situations that look terrible in human eyes. While we know that the world will continue to experience violence and that we are not immune to that as Christians, we continue through life with a purpose that Jesus gives us for every moment. Indeed, when we considered the possibility that our plane could go down or we could be harmed while overseas, we realized that hope in all the things of this world is foolish. Christ is our life, our hope, and our inheritance eternally. There are no regrets in a life spent serving Jesus. The best is yet to come.... Megan
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