Sorry for the delay in communication. I am a little late getting this newsletter out, but I’ve had some obstacles along the way. I am now in Kenya after a long journey back to Mbita and Christ’s Gift Academy. Some of you have heard pieces of the story. Here is the full version of the events that have taken place since I left the United States on Dec. 26th.
After spending a wonderful Christmas with my family in St. Louis, I boarded a plane the next day to head to Kenya. I had a two day layover in London and enjoyed seeing some of the sites that historical England offers with some great friends, Bethany and Joe. We were able to see the Towers of London, St. Paul’s, Westminster Abby, Big Ben and the London Eye just to name a few. It was cold, but we had a great time and I’m thrilled that I was able to see so much history. It’s a beautiful city and it was a great way to transition back to Kenya. I am grateful for the opportunity. God must have known what was ahead…
I flew out of London (to Nairobi, Kenya) on the 29th of December. I landed late and spent the night in Nairobi. The next morning, Joe flew in and we (along with Jay, a friend of Joe’s from Montana who was visiting Kenya for a few weeks) headed for Tenwek, a hospital on the way, where we to drop Jay. We planned to go through the Masai Mara on the way to see some of the amazing animals residing here, in Kenya. We were going to spend one night there and move on to Tenwek and be in Mbita in a couple of days. God had other plans.
We arrived in the Mara on the evening of the 30th after flat tire #1 and being pulled over and hassled by Nairobi police. We had a wonderful evening game drive. We were so close to an elephant that I think I could see right into his eyes. I don’t think he was as impressed with us as we were with him. We saw some of God’s most amazing creatures. We had a lovely dinner and went to our rooms. My tent was beautiful. However, it was big and in the middle of Masai land. I have to admit, I was a bit scared to be there by myself. I was just hoping someone would be able to hear me if I yelled. Despite the fear and a bat flying over my bed, I was able to fall fast asleep; only to be awakened by the loud trumpeting of an elephant and the roar of some other animal I could not quite make out.
This went on for quite some time. I was grateful for the fence surrounding our camp, but was wondering just how much the metal would be able to keep out. The sounds stopped and I fell back asleep. Breakfast was to be at 6:30 the next morning so that we could go on another game drive and get on the road. However, there was a knock on my door at 6:15. It was Jay explaining that some of the sounds heard in the night were actually Joe getting sick. He said we needed to try to find a doctor. This is not always that easy. We had seen a clinic nearby, but found that they did not treat mzungus (white people). Slightly discouraged, Joe decided to try to rest and see if he could wait and drive the 45 min. to the next clinic.
While we were waiting, Jay and I took a walk through the Mara with some Masai warriors. They taught us a great deal about tracking. Who knew you could get so much information from dung? We also came upon the fight that I heard taking place the night before. Apparently the other sound was from a African buffalo. He lost. We finished our 3 ½ hour walk and headed back to camp to check on our sick friend. He was feeling better, but not up to driving far and it was getting late. We decided we had better stay another night. Joe continued to feel better and decided to do a short evening game drive to see if we could find some hippos. We found many hippos bathing and hanging out with a few crocodiles.
Upon getting into the vehicle, we noted the smell of gas. We saw that there was a slight leak, but didn’t worry a great deal as it was small and recurrent. We drove on as we needed to be back in camp before dark…. Don’t want to be out the Mara after dark with vicious elephants and lions. We stopped to get fuel and use the restroom and realized that our slight leak had indeed turned into a gushing river of gas flowing from the tank. We had to do something immediately. We found a very kind and helpful Kenyan man working at the balloon safari shop that was willing to give it a go after close (getting dark) on New Year’s Eve. This was, perhaps, one of our first indicators that God was sticking close to us. He was able to fix the leak in about 3 hours. Joe was pulling the vehicle off of the ramp and we were ready to get back to camp. The workers were ready to get on with their New Year’s celebration as well. As he backed down the ramp, we heard a loud hiss and watched the tire deflate before us (flat tire #2). The exhausted gentleman kindly asked us to just put the spare on instead of having him repair the tire. We understood and went to get the spare (flat tire #3). The person using the vehicle while Joe was away had put the tire back on… ruined. So, the man repaired the tire, we returned to camp, enjoyed a nice performance by the Masai and received a new name (Nasha-meaning rain/brings blessings). Joe and Jay both received the name most blessed. Hmmmm….
We headed out the next day without a tire to spare. We had a man from Bomet (by Tenwek) join us and he talked us into taking a “short-cut,” down a road that was unfamiliar to the driver. The roads in Kenya are always less than desirable to travel. This one surpassed them all. We actually ended up off any sort of “road” and in a ravine…. Flat tire #4.
Now we are in a predicament. We have 3 tires on the car and a demolished spare. We drove up to the road on the rim. As soon as we got to the road, a matatu passed. They were coming from Bomet and the driver would be returning. He promised to come back from us. This would be the last we would see from him or any other vehicle for the next 3 ½ hours. We were in the middle of nowhere; only a few mud huts and every child that lived in those few huts were gathered around watching the silly mzungus trying to figure out what they would do next. I was able to get a hold of some friends I had made while I was at MTI training in CO in Nov. Dan was actually working at Tenwek (where we were taking Jay). We had planned on visiting with them on our way through. Thankfully, he was able to find someone to drive him out to rescue us (Dan and his family would come to the rescue several more times). Jeff and Dan sat out with Jeff’s spare tire to find us…. a difficult task. We jacked up the vehicle (again) and prepared for the new tire. Unfortunately, we were on uneven ground and the vehicle fell off of the jack. Planted firmly on the ground, we were unable to lift it to get it back onto the jack. With nothing else to do, we decided to get in the car (the brutal sun was frying our skin) and play cards.
The Masai put manure around their homes to keep wild animals out. The problem with this is that it attracts flies. Many flies. Apparently, they wanted to be in the vehicle too. This made our situation all the better. I think it was at this point that I lost the ability to think clearly. Luckily, God was kind and gave me good company that was able to find the humor in the situation. A few hours later, the original matatu we saw returned. In Kenya, time is not of great importance. Just as something 70 miles away can be “just over there,” just a short time can mean several hours. I’m working on my patience as I learn this. It has helped to know the meaning behind it…. Kenyans are very relationship oriented. They want to please and the idea or situation at hand is secondary to the relationships or friendships they have. It’s quite endearing, really. Anyway, the matatu driver was kind enough to help us with a jack and we were able to get the car back up and ready for the tire that was on its way. A short time later, Dan and Jeff showed up (another sign that God was watching over us as the road was hard to find, and we didn’t even really know where we were). The matatu driver was quick in getting the tire on while we got everything else gathered and ready for our journey. We were happy with his eagerness as we were ready to get back to the fish tacos Dan’s wife, Heather had waiting for us back at the house. We also had not eaten since leaving the Mara early that morning. We all took off; the matatu driver leading. As we started our ascent up to Bomet, it was noted that the tire was wobbling back and forth. We got out of the vehicle and realized that the tire was the wrong size. I guess the matatu driver had other relationships that he was more concerned with; hence, the eagerness to get his jack back and get out of this predicament he’d found himself in. Unfortunately, because we had driven on the tire, we were unable to get it off. It was stuck. After hours of problem solving and pulling/pushing on the tire, we realized the only solution was to drive on the wobbly tire to a safari club that was about 8 km away. We did this at a speed of about 5-10 km/hour. Those of you who are mathematicians have probably already gathered it took us about an hour to go “just over there.” They were able to get the tire off, but had none to replace it. We left the vehicle, went back to the Galats and enjoyed some great fish tacos. This was the last meal Joe would enjoy for a few days.
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We enjoyed the evening with Dan and Heather and their kids. They were so hospitable and eager to help us find some rest after a stressful day. We thanked God for seeing us through the day and went to bed. I was sure I would be sleeping late the next day, then, get tires and return to Mbita. Again… God had different plans. At about 1:30 am, I heard a lot of noise down the hall. I got out of bed to see what was going on only to find Dan and Heather in Joe’s room. Joe was laying in bed, shivering with an IV in his hand; Dan with a stethoscope in his ears, listening to Joe’s lungs. Evidently, they did not sound so good. Diagnosis #1: pneumonia. Dan, very nicely (but adamantly), encouraged Joe not to leave the next day. Since he was in no condition to argue, we both agreed that it would be best to stay so he could rest through the weekend. This would give us time to find tires as well. He got better the next day, but 2 nights later, he began throwing up again. Diagnosis #2: malaria. So, I’m in the middle of Kenya with only three tires on the vehicle that is supposed to be taking me home, a driver and friend that has both malaria and pneumonia and little to no way to contact anyone to let them know I have made it to Kenya. However, God put us in the home of great friends who not only knew how to take care of my ill friend, but were also so much fun to be with. They certainly helped in lifting our spirits. Also, Joe’s friend, Jay was staying nearby. He is a powerful man of God and his prayers kept us going, along with his eagerness to play games for hours at a time.
We stayed the weekend, enjoying good food and greatcompany. I even got a chance to teach a little English to Dan and Heather’s children.
On Tuesday, Steve and Judi (friends and team leaders from Mbita) were passing through. Steve was able to get 4 new tires in Nairobi. I said goodbye to Dan and Heather, loaded up in a taxi and set off to meet Steve and Judi on the side of the road. I was able to get in the vehicle with them and was back in Mbtia by the end of the day. Joe and Jay got the new tires put on the vehicle and were back early the next day; in time to be a part of the first day of school. It was such a joy to see the road leading to Christ’s Gift Academy and even a bigger joy to start seeing familiar faces and friends at school. My own ideas and choices had taken me on a long, difficult journey, but God had brought me back to the place I belong. It wasn’t until I stopped my own problem solving and was still before the Lord that things started falling in place. It was also at this time that I was able to find peace in the situation and see God’s hand truly at work. Lesson #1: I need to lean completely on Him for everything. I can do nothing on my own: at least not if I want it to go right. Lesson #2: It’s hard to hear God when I’m busy talking. God clearly wanted there to be a transition back to Mbita. His ideas are always so much better. 
So, I was in Mbita for about a week. I was able to spend some time with the kids. I spent the first few days of the new school year with them. I was even able to experience my first boat ride of Lake Victoria with several of them. This was great fun as it was the first time for most of them as well. I am now back in Nairobi ready to start my 2 months of language school. It was difficult to say goodbye to them so soon after being welcomed home. However, my time with them was very rewarding and fruitful. It confirmed that I am right where God intends for me to be.
I look forward to learning Kiswahili over the next couple of months. I have many gracious friends in Nairobi that are teaching me how to get around. Bethany (the friend that was in London) is letting me stay with her while I get settled into the big city. She’s a good friend and keeps me laughing. It will be a rewarding time of learning more about the language and culture while waiting to return to Mbita and the kids at CGA. God really does know my needs and continues to provide me with more than I can hope or imagine.
Thanks for your continuous prayers and support!
In Him,
Jen
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