Thursday

Blog 801

I can't believe it is August first. I actually typed in 7/31 before I checked the date. We did visit pastor Josiah on Monday and it was in a beautiful area of Kenya. A few kilometers past the church we visited on Saturday we were  in valley between two ridges that got everyone thinking of Montana. My phone was on low battery so I used the camera for pictures. We are heading for Ziwa today so maybe I will be able to post some pix from my computer. We visited his church building and met one of the elders and joined hands in a prayer of blessing. Then we proceeded along red clay roads to his farm home. Near the house a couple of barb wire gates needed to be opened and then closed behind us.  We had a traditional Kenyan meal seated on couches in the sitting room. Dishes of hot food were brought in from the outdoor kitchen in insulated covered dishes and placed before us.  We all stood up and did a buffet line around the two coffee tables and back to our places. We had 9 in our party by the time we ate there were at least 13. Other church members arrived so we took a walk to give them our seats. We walked over to meet Josiah's dad 91 who lived over the ridge with his other wife. Josiah's mom lives near him. Here mom's are called by their oldest child's name so Ann would be Rachelle's mom. Widows often live with one of their sons. The plan was to get everyone together for tea in the garden but there were thunderstorms threatening which make the high crowned clay roads dangerous. We made all of the introductions on both sides, took a few group pictures and after a prayer of blessing we headed back. There were a couple of swollen rivers with inadequate culverts  but we made it safely across and got home just before the heavy rain started. That night we had a huge thunderstorm I am told. I could only remember one boomer that made me think I was inside a large drum while someone was doing a loud tattoo on the outside. 

Tuesday morning I made some large staples out of some steel rod to make a repair on a small gate down at Mary's house. With my tool sack over one shoulder and a heavy hammer on the other Gracie and I set out across the edge of the maize field through the barb wire fence and down the red road to Mary's.  As we arrived she and a young girl were just herding a half dozen cows out of the yard and up the road we had just traveled. The tree stump I was fastening the gate to proved to be too much for my home made staples. The gate still had one hinge and by using a hand drill and cutting the nails short with a hacksaw I managed to get the gate hung on that knarley old stump. Plan B was to use a strip of rubber tire in place of the staples.  That went well until the tire strip I had cut that morning totally disintegrated. Time for plan C. I just fastened some wire to the top and nailed that to the stump until a better idea could be thought of. The school let out for lunch and soon Gracie was inundated with admirers and more were running up the road. I tried to give Gracie some space and eventually got them all on their way. I hope they were not too frightened by the old man shooing them off. 

That afternoon it was back to Ziwa. The students were scheduled to watch some videos and hand in some assignments. My goal was to recharge electronics and publish pix. We arrived to find the power was out so videos and charging were both temporary scratched. Bananas and a couple if other things were on my shopping list so I figured I might as well do what I could.   When I got back the power was back on so I started plugging things in. Ryan joined me at the power strip and the last plug blew the fuse in the strip. Fortunately the video had just started because that had to be restarted. Ryan found a fuse in another discarded extension cord and soon all was well. I did some final printing and copying for Ann and we headed back but not before Caleb and Ryan got another ponga at the market. Now they can build stilts with two machetes. 

Wednesday I decided I needed a sabbatical. I skipped breakfast and stayed in bed. Before noon I worked on my Sunday school lesson felt much better by lunch. Ann did some laundry and she and Ryan spent time doing grades and I got a hair trim. The rains came and lasted all afternoon so the clothes on the line got a couple of extra rinse cycles. This afternoon we will head back to the college for more videos and assignments due. Ann is trying to get all her papers ready to hand back today. Caleb wants to stay in Africa but only if mommy and daddy do. Thoughts are starting to turn toward home as we look forward to our last weekend here. We are scheduled to leave Monday afternoon. Will try to post more pix. Keep us in your prayers for a strong finish. Art ps. Two hours of trying to overcome obstacles only to find new ones got almost one (zero) picture uploaded.