On the Road

Let's hear it for the boys! (L-R) Dave, Keith & Drew, Tommy, Nathan, Tom, Pastor Morris Ogenga

Hey Ladies! (back row L-R) Stephanie, Lisa, Emily, Brenda, Julie, Erin, Leslie, Tessa McG (ground) Tessa part deux and Sherry

Today was road trip day as we departed Nairobi for Kisumu in the capable hands of our drivers Jimmy and Moses.  We were up early for breakfast, worship and devotional then it was hit the road time.

One of my concerns for this team is that we did not have a worship leader per-se, but again, God exceeded my expectations.  Dave woke up that morning with an old worship song in his head that he not only wanted to lead the group in singing, but he wanted me to come up with a little circle dance for as well!  It was great fun and everybody raised their voices, moved their bodies and had a great time worshipping the Lord.  Then someone else chimed in with a song choice and we sang that one too.  There was so much happiness in that room!  Worship would continue in that vein for the rest of the week with different team members taking turns being the leader by picking worship songs to sing acapella.  Really, it was the best worship ever of all the trips I have been on. 

Nairobi was a mess as always.  I know it had been a few years since I had been back, but it seemed like the area outside the Guest House looked more impoverished and trashy than ever.  There also seemed to be a large population of men peeing on the side of the road!  We probably saw 3 that morning alone, but the trend would continue throughout the week to the point where we began imagining a peeing-man-of-the-month calendar and started labeling those we saw as "Mr. October, Mr. November, etc."  Yep, spend too much time in a van looking at slum-like conditions and your mind can slip right into the gutter!

The long van ride to Kisumu is physically hard because the roads are so rough - although I will say this year they seemed improved - but that long ride affords you the chance to get your mind wrapped around the culture and the people you are about to work with.  Staring out the window, seeing the people and how they live, waving our Mzungu hands at wide-eyed children and making them smile, these are the things that get your head in the game.  I like the long drive and I think Kenya is a beautiful country. 

Not long after getting out of Nairobi you come upon an overlook of the Great Rift Valley.  It was foggy for us so the visibility was low, but I can say from years past that it is stunningly beautiful.  The overlook sits high on a ridge and as you look down there are several large ridges that lead to the valley.  The ridges are natural (I think) but they are spacious enough that people live and farm on them.  Then as your eye scans the horizon it is nothing but flat savanna and farm land as far as you can see.  In the distance you can see a lake with blotches of pink covering it which are actually flocks of fishing flamingos (say that 10 times fast) and when the sun hits the water, the pink is a brilliant highlight to the sparkling blue.

The road then leads you into farmland and eventually into the higher elevations where the tea plantations are.  There is a town called Kericho which is surrounded by tea plantations.  In fact, I'm sure the plantations came before the town since one of the leading brands of Kenyan tea is named Kericho after it's plantation.  The road through this area is higher up and the vista is of rolling mountainside filled with row after row of dense tea hedges.  Surrounding the tea fields are forests of eucalyptus.  Scattered amongst the hedges are men and women harvesting the new growth off the top which is the part used for tea.  This scene continues for several miles. 

Some of the land is cleared for schools and row houses where the workers live.  I asked Aidah if this was a good life to have, working on the plantations, and she said it was a very hard job, but that it was a pretty good life since you were provided a home during harvest season.  For me, it was the closest thing I could imagine to what the deep South might have been at one time.  Yes, the white-washed row houses looked nicer than other homes we had passed, but I wondered in reality how many people lived inside each one and how well they were treated by the plantation foreman.

The road to Kisumu was much improved since my last time traveling it.  There were less pot-holes and sections of dirt-only road.  Still, there is the hazardous practice of passing slow drivers along the way.  Our driver would ride up on their bumper and keep swaying outward checking for a clearing, then when he was ready he would give a friendly "beep-beep" with the horn as warning then gun our little van around the obstacle.  At home, I just don't pass cars unless I have miles of visibility, but in Kenya it's more like a game of chicken.  If you can get in the way first, you can succeed in making the other guy swerve out of your way!  My friends and loved ones must have been praying hard that day because I wasn't nervous about it at all.

The trip to Kisumu took 8 hours, including a lunch break in the town of Nakuru.  We arrived at our hotel exhausted, but glad to be out of the van.  The hotel was decent enough, but the food wasn't great and there were many team members who lacked air conditioning.  I kept reminding myself that the average Kenyan would feel like a King staying in our hotel which helped me keep things in perspective.  My biggest complaint was with the lack of water pressure.  I absolutely hate cold showers and to couple that with not enough pressure to wet my hair...let's just say it was my cross to bear.

Yet still, despite the challenges of the road and the hotel, our team kept in good spirits ready to begin our work.  I had prayed that day for continued cheerfulness no matter what and God answered that prayer.  Throughout this trip I saw Phillipians 4:13 live and in action:

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Even cold showers!

- Julie