Kenya, April 25 - May 14, 2002

Kisumu Rangi Migori N. Kinangop Aberdare

North Kinangop, Engineer Town, May 7-13th

On Tuesday the 7^th of May, we were driven very early in the morning up to Kisumu to meet Bros Otuoma and Kairu at the Imperial Hotel. We arrive just after nine and were going to have breakfast in the Victoria Room. Bro Kairu showed up with Bros Kirk, Josephat and Peter along with Peter’s wife Elizabeth. Peter and Elizabeth live in Kericho, and the others had spent the night in the Tea Hotel. Kenya is the fourth largest exporter of tea and coffee in the world. They had driven to Kisumu from Kericho when we actually could have driven to Kericho, which would have been the same distance for us that we drove to Kisumu. That would have saved those guys from a three-hour trip.

It turns out that Pastor John had done something to the reverse gear going to pick up Kirk on Sunday, and we couldn’t park in the hotel parking lot of the Imperial. So we skipped breakfast and headed back through Kericho to get to Nakuru. The tea fields of Kericho were so beautiful. The workers there work the same bushes every nineteen days. They mark their plants with certain markings that are unique to them. Interspersed through all the fields were groves of fast growing gum trees that they used for fire to dry the leaves. This is quite an operation.

From there we headed out to Nakuru on the Trans-Kenya Highway. When I was here in 1973, I remember this as a gem of a highway. Now after 30 years of neglect it is one of the worst roads you could ever drive on. Pothole after pothole after pothole. The big trucks just ramble on and make it worse. What should only take 1 - 1-1/2 hours takes over three. On the way Bro Kirk told us about his ordeal. It seems he missed the flight to London and had to take the red-eye. This meant that he would be one day late arriving in Nairobi. The benefit was he got to spend the day in London as we did.

Pastor John on the way to pick Kirk up on Sunday morning got stuck on the way down the hill. The engine blew as he tried to extricate himself at four in the morning. The van then lost its reverse transmission as he tried to remove himself elsewhere. This did not seem to star out the way we had all planned. Until this day we had had no glitches. This was just another part of God’s testing to bring us to full maturity.

Once in Nakuru we stopped to by some guitar strings for the church guitar. We drove around the block a few times before the job was done. The street vendors are tenacious. They don’t stop for anything. One tried to sell 5 postcards for 200 Ksh ($ 2.66 USD). As the answer kept being no they kept lowering their price. Finally the price was 10 postcards for 100 Ksh ($ 1.33 USD). That is quite a difference. But I guess if it is your living then you try to get whatever you can. Once done in Nakuru we headed 5 km south to Lake Nakuru National Park for our safari. Once inside the park we began to see the wonders of God’s creation for this land. It is a park of around 200 sq/km and it is all fenced in. You can see the millions and millions of flamingoes around the lake immediately. The edge of the lake is lined with a pink hue. There are two colors. One of them is pink while the other is more of an orange hue. Both colors hang around together. They all eat the algae that grow in the shallow soda lake. When they take off the fly in this undulating formation in a single line. It is quite the site.

By the lake we also saw these big deer like animals called waterbucks. They are about ¾ of the size of an elk. The horns on the male are about three to four feet long, shaped in a sweeping curve. There are herds of them all over. One the side of the road we saw a tortoise. It was about 18 inches long. David was told that he could get out of the vehicle (not a good idea with lions and leopards around) so he did, even though he questioned it. He picked up the tortoise, which must have weighed over 15 pounds. It hissed a lot as he pointed it towards the van so the photographers could get candid shots.

As we moved along through the park we saw huge water buffaloes, black and white rhinos, Thompson’s gazelles, antelope and Masai giraffe. On the cliffs to the right we saw a Rock Hyrax, which is big rodent. The assortment of birds was amazing. There was such a diversity of colors shapes and sizes. The pelicans (of the mutant variety) looked like they could swallow a flamingo whole, maybe two. They were HUGE! One special treat was the leopard that was lounging by the lake within a few feet of the flamingoes. It was only around 150 feet from the van. What a magnificent creature. He did it all for us. What a good God we serve. We serve King Jesus, who loves His body of servants. Bwana asifiwe! On the way out of the park, we saw two Secretary Birds. They are beautiful with the crown on the top of their head.

We tried to eat at the Lake Nakuru Lodge but they had shut down for a break one hour before. I forgot to mention that a dear friend from the Gilly Hotel in Migori, named Ruth had wanted to make sure that we ate breakfast before we left for Kisumu. We declined since we were going to eat at the Imperia. Remember that we did not get to do that either. So we had not eaten all day. John told us that we would eat in Nyvaisha, which was 45 minutes away. That is forty-five minutes when all goes well. Well all did not go well. We ran into the remnants of a rainstorm on the road. Plus they were redoing this road and they forced us off of the road into the mud pits. We went through some very deep water and the third time the vehicle stalled in the middle of the puddle. What we did not know is that the fan belt got dislodged and the battery was not charging. We thought at first that the alternator had gotten wet and was not putting out juice to the battery. We finally made it to Nyvaisha were we ate at Labelle Inn. We had a great meal at a great price. Pastor John had the car repaired and did not get to eat.

By the time we headed out to North Kinangop it was 8:45 p.m. The trip to John’s should normally take an hour. Due to the recent rains it took us two. It is only a distance of 24 km (15 miles). For those of you mathematicians, that is an average of 7.5 miles an hour. Almost walking speed for you rabbits out there. But we made it in one piece and we were blessed to finally meet John’s wife, Esther. Off to bed we went, for a well needed rest for all.

The next morning started off slow as David had developed some “bug” overnight. We don’t know necessarily how it happens, but somehow even under the best of prevention we get hit. So David stayed in bed while Arne and Joe headed out to the Gathara Church plant. This was the latest church plant for the Jesus Revival Centre Church in Engineer Town. Joe taught on Patience in 2 Peter 1:5-7. Arne taught on The Hope of His Calling. They had a great time with around forty people in the middle of the day.

Kirk went out and taught on Prosperity in God’s Kingdom to two home groups in the surrounding region. The people were blessed to see how God desires them to prosper in all conditions. Kirk shares some salient truths from God’s word regarding prospering in all areas of life. Prospering in the spirit, in the soul and in the flesh. It is an awesome presentation of God’s Word. We discussed bringing him into the church to teach How to Manage Your Money.

On Thursday, the 9^th, Kirk and David headed out to two more home groups, where Kirk once again taught on the previous days teachings. Pastor John wanted them all to get the same teaching. Kirk had spent the night previous writing it all out so it would be concise. They brought forth some great questions, which Kirk and David answered. One of the things that really got them was that cattle food was actually good for you to eat. That’s right, they don’t eat turnips and beets. They give them to their cattle. They could believe it. We promised to cook a meal with these that night so that Pastor John and Esther could let them know how it was. Kirk would take care of the turnips, while David would cook the Borsch. Thank you Xena and James for the idea.

Meanwhile back at the Gathara Church, Arne taught on The Power of the Holy Spirit and sundry items. After the teaching, they led 13 of the 20 present into the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Joe then expounded on The Benefits of Speaking in Tongues, which led into The Believer’s Authority and The Armor of God. Arne relays that it was all quite powerful.

David got to drive the Suzuki all around today. John was very impressed. He set me up as a driver for our Saturday’s trip to Aberdare National Park to see the elephants and maybe a black leopard. All those years in the mountains of New Mexico paid off. The right-side drive was no problem for a lefty, Praise God!

By the way, the Borsch turned out excellent, and the turnips even though they had been on the ground for a while were okay for those who like turnips. The Kenyans could not believe it. Here we are eating cow food. Here’s the recipe: Big beets, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage and beef. Add some salt and seasonings and you’ve got Cattle Borsch.

Friday, we all headed out to the Gathara Church where David taught on Faith to Overcome. This is the first time that he had been out there. The Church is made up of the old Jesus Revival Centre building of wood slat boards. All they did was pack it up and move it out of town. There are about 40-50 that attend this church plant. It is located at the foothills of the Aberdare Mountains. It is quite a beautiful site as the farms rise up onto the sides of the hills. All of the congregation are subsistence farmers. It is a hard yet simple life. Prosperity can be described in having everything you need, and having good fruit coming off of the land.

After Gathara, we headed out to the other side of Engineer, to a place called Weru. This was another house church that they were going to build a real church for in July. When we got there we could see why they needed to do this. There were 49 people in this 15 x 12 foot room. That figure doesn't include the five of us. A total of 54 people were there to hear Kirk share on God's Prosperity. No wonder they need to meet in a bigger building. Bro Martin will be the pastor of that congregation. May God continue to bless their growth in numbers and in standing with the Lord Jesus Christ.

That evening we headed into Nyvaisha town to eat at LaBelle Inn. Once again the food was excellent. The hard part is the 1-1/2 hour drive it takes to go the 24 km down and back.

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Kisumu Rangi Migori N. Kinangop Aberdare

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