Wellspring and Rain

Why can't I sleep past 5:00 a.m?  I think it is because that's when the birds are the noisiest. It's also when all the crickets and night bugs stop their chirping because the birds are waking up.  It he sounds of Africa are amazing!  You don't need an alarm here.  I even wake up now at the sound of a mosquito in the night.

Jeff gave us a one hour tour of the complex, explaining the vision of developing a Christian school of the highest educational standards.  Much of the teaching and learning style here is by rote and memorization, the "chalk and talk" scenario with little student input and participation.  They began 7 years ago with kindergarten and the lower grades.  They gradually added more grades until in January they will add Grade 10.  This year they received the highest recognition by being awarded a certificate for the top academic school in the District of Kigali.

To achieve the goals of reaching international standards of education, they have also begun an intense teacher training program featuring in service practical experience using more interactive teaching styles.  In fact, the program is receiving so much attention that they are training 2 head teachers from each of 800 schools.  Because they have trained Rwandans to teach Rwandans, the program is looked on very favorably by the Ministry of Education.

The school has grown to 500 students and eventually will have capacity for all the grades right up to Grade 12.

When the Komants first came to Rwanda, this piece of property was the least desirable plot in the city.  It was 17 acres of undeveloped overgrown brushland.  In 12 years it has been developed into a complex that includes the church auditorium with it's administration offices, several residences, classroom buildings, 2 science buildings, a library, covered meeting areas, playgrounds another administration buildings housing offices for the school and the Wellspring Foundation.  Almost the entire property is beautifully landscaped with one corner that is rented for outdoor weddings.  But by satellite, the drainage ditch looks like a natural stream bed, but is actually a concrete, stone lined run-off channel.  The foundation spearheads the teacher development program and the catering group that provides food to the students 5 days a week.

At another corner of the property with a separate access gate and guardhouse, a firstclass medical clinic is under construction. It will be open to the community at large.  It is a beautiful 2-storey building that houses offices, waiting rooms, toilets showers, examination rooms and doctor's offices.

Ingeniously, about seventeen 40-foot shipping containers have been configured in such a way as to provide 2-storey storage space with a roof spanning them to provide a dry metal working shop area for fabricating everything from metal bench brackets to railings and metal doors and posts.  It is also where they keep things like wheel barrows, welders, cement mixers, etc.

With what we saw today, you would want a dry place to work.  At noon, the heaven's opened and the rain beat down, rather across...horizontally!  Even with a 10 foot awning over the patio, rain canhit the windows!  We happened to be in a corner room above the church auditorium having lunch when the rain hit.  You could not see past the tree outside the window.  The rain literally thundered.  It was like trying to look out your car windows in a carwash.  The rain was so intense I thought the windows might crack.  Brandon thought it would be cool to go out and have look.  He got an umbrella from somewhere and went to open the door which knocked him backwards as soon as he unmatched it.  The force of the wind and rain was unexpected.  He tried to take a video with his ipod andhe sounded like a reporter giving a commentary on a tsunami!  Fifteen seconds and he was more than soaked...the umbrella not doing one bit of good.  Locally, they have been praying for rain.  The bean crops are planted and rain was sorely needed.  The price of beans has tripled because of poor bean production and it is a staple food here.

The rain kept us indoors for part of the day, but by 4:00 we were able to walk the 12 minutes to the MTN Center for supper and some breakfast groceries.  Then home again...In the dark.

Oct.28 Ride to the City

Catching a ride with Pastor Ed from Victory Family Home Of Champions into Kigali is one of the smarter things we did today.  Hauling two suitcases, three backpacks and a bag onto a matatu would have been a colossal nightmare!  And it most likely wouldn't go to our doorstep either.

Ed takes two of his children to the international school which is just like an American school and based on the American school system.  Since the family is returning to the US it makes sense.  The school is basically for the children of diplomats and International dignitaries that come to work in Rwanda on a long term basis.

It so happens that Ed drops the kids off at the school and then drives right by the front gates of Christian Life Assembly. It was kind of him to agree to take us, but it meant being at the road at 7:00 a.m. He stopped along the way to fuel up the Landcruiser.  Regular gas is 1000 francs per litre or about C$1.50.

Dropping the kids off at a school with armed guards at the gates really took Branden by surprise!  But with children of high profile people in the country, the protection needs to be extended to the most vulnerable.

Ed drove us onto the CLA grounds and took us almost to the door of our guest house accommodations.  We unloaded and went in search of a key and found Jeff in the Administration Offices of the Wellspring Foundation.  We walked leisurely through the grounds, gleaning information along the way.  What an amazing operation.  We scheduled an hour with Jeff to get a guided tour of the whole operation the next day.

Our quarters were more than adequate and very comfortable.  We took the rest of the morning to have hot showers and get cleaned up.  There is a catering group on campus that provides meals for the school.  We are able to eat a big cooked lunch for 2500 Rf each (less than $4).  Now we are really feeling spoiled!  After a lunch like that, it's time for a nap of course.  Then it's homework, journalist and blogging.  We can't get a wifi password until tomorrow, so to connect to the Internet we need to go to the Bourbon Cafe at the MTN Center.  It's only about a 12 minute walk.

When we reach the MTN Center, I am able to get unlimited Internet on my phone for a week for about $10.  And I top up my airtime for the phone.  Next surprise.  The ATM's here don't accept Mastercard.  OK, we'll go and eat supper.  The supper tab came to a little more than what I had, and Branden hadnt brought any money.  Down three floors I raced to get what I had left of Kenyan currency changed into francs.  Now we had enough.  We walked home in the dark down a cobblestone street, wondering why the street was vacant and coming up with scenarios that got more weird with each one.  I mean, is this street one that has a reputation for muggings or robberies?  There are no street lights...I wonder why.  Look!  There's someone coming out of the bush...and he's got a stick!  It's a piece of bamboo.  Grab it, Branden!  Why me?  Cause you said you could run real fast!  Just then the shadowy figure turned off the street onto a path that took him away from us.  So much excitement.

I tried accessing my bank account on the cell phone that night with my new unlimited connection, but my bank must have recognized a foreign source for the access request and blocked my password.  Not much we can do now but research a few options.  I texted a friend in Rwanda who is also from Canada.  He too had serious difficulties in transferring money on his first trip.  On a return trip to Canada, he got an international Visa Debit card and has no trouble at all now, unless a bank machine has run out of money.

I have time to make a Skype call to my Diane in Canada before she heads out the door to work,  and I turn in for the night.

Sunday in Humanga

There's a knock at the bedroom door in the morning and a request for any clothes I wanted ironed.  Wow.  So I hand Fulgence my white shirt I had set out for the day.  African tea for breakfast with some sweetbread and donuts while still in sleep pants.  Since we are going 30 km farther south to Humanga, we need to leave early to catch a matatu.  It's only a 10 minute walk to the roadside stop to catch the bus, but you never know how many full buses you have to let pass before there is one with room enough for three people.  I had 5 small bouncy balls in my pocket.  You never know when you need to start a riot.  We were at the bus stop for quite some time and getting to be the focus of attention.  I took out one ball and bounced it toward a boy of about 15.  Well, he had fun with that.  Then a couple more boys crossed the road, so I asked Fulgence to get their attention, and I tossed them another ball.  Well, a much bigger boy saw the ball bouncing and grabbed it from the boys and got on a bus.  Oh,well, our bus rolled up just then and we were off.

There are about 24 passengers on these buses and it seems the drivers have to jockey for position, constantly passing each other to get to the next client before another driver.  What makes me apprehensive is, how fast can you go around corners without rolling one of these buses over?  I just know the bad feeling when two wheels leave the ground when you're making a righthand curve, too far to the left, another bus coming from the other direction, also hugging the line and your driver has to correct even more to the right to avoid a collision!  UGHH!  Miraculously, we arrive safely at our destination.  Someone must be praying!

A short 15 minute walk and we arrive at the house where a large basement with daylight access doors has been cleared and set up for a meeting room.  The only musical instrument is a large cowhide drum on the floor and a smaller handheld drum.  There are about 8 children, 6 women and a couple of men.  It's still early, though.  Don't get discouraged.  People straggle in and the elder announces we are starting on time, 9:30.  The bass drum starts a beat and the children's choir stands and sings a couple of songs.  Then the 6 women sing a song.  Meanwhile, people are straggling in and finding a seat.  Eventually there are over sixty people in the room and there is a brief announcement and some words about being on time for church.  There are introductions and welcomes and Branden and I are asked to bring greetings.   There is more singing, more enthusiasm, and now dancing.  Then it is my turn to preach with Fulgence as my interpreter.  My, he was good and we had a great time together.  The people received the message with enthusiasm and we were able to pray for each one individually at the end.  Then more dancing!  And more singing as we closed the service.

Afterwards, Fulgence and I walked down to a piece of property that had been purchased where they planned on building a church.  When we got back, a lunch was prepared.  We ate and visited with the elder who had conducted the service.  A group from the church followed us to the bus stop and we made that harrowing journey again, hanging on for dear life!  We were dropped off right where the truck accident had taken place the night before.

We walked home in the brilliant, hot sun, got changed into something cooler, had a light lunch with some fruit.  We were going to go play soccer with the kids from the orphanage.  We brought a brand new soccer ball from Canada to leave with the kids after our game.  There were 30 who wanted to go but we could only cram 24 into the Landcruiser.  A half dozen started off on foot to the bus stop where a road went off and climbed about 3 km to the top of a hill.  We jostled the kids around, I had 2 on my lap, Branden had one, and we were crammed in like sardines.  At the bus stop, Ed stopped and the six got on the roof for the journey to the top of the hill.  We played soccer until 4:45 then headed back down the hill.  We could only go 10 km per hour as there were so many ruts.  At the highway again, the roof passengers dismounted and the orphanage kids went home in the vehicle. The rest of us walked home.

Supper with the family and then pack up.  I got re-packed before the power went out.  Branden by candlelight.  We had arranged to catch a ride with Ed when he made the school run with his kids at 7:00 a.m.  I was awake at 5:00.  The family was up with breakfast for us, the first time Branden ever had an open Denver sandwich.  All the way from Canada to try something new.  Hahaha.  We had quite an entourage from the house to the orphanage gates, everyone except Branden carrying our suitcases, backpacks and bags.  "I feel useless", he said.  No, you should feel honored!

Sheli

Saturday morning in Sheli, Rwanda.  What to do? After breakfast, we spent a couple of hours at the Victory Home of Champions.  We had some things we had packed for an orphanage in Rwanda but did not know of any before we got there.  How cool that not even two blocks away from the family we are staying with, there is an orphanage!  We had a good assortment of children's clothing, mostly t-shirts, and some toys and school supplies.  Well, school just happened to close for the summer vacation this weekend, except for the American kids who attend international school.  They follow the American schedule.  We thought Ed and Deb would be best suited to distribute the booth.  They will choose those most needing a piece of clothing.  And the gifts will be used for prizes or birthday gifts.  We took a couple skipping ropes and some bouncy balls and went to find the kids.  We played with them and talked with them, encouraging them to use English as much as possible.  Of course, we were able to pick up some of their language as well in all the jabbering.

After lunch, Fulgence was our guide back to town on a mutata (mini-bus) and we found an MTN wireless agency to set up my phone for Internet service.  The telephone instructions did not match my brand of phone and none of the techies in Sheli could figure it out.  The man I met was a wiz and in a minute he had my phone connecting.  With that settled, we took motorbikes and went to CLA (Christian Life Assembly) to check on accommodations again.  Without phone service, people were wondering if we had gotten lost since we had not shown up on Friday.  We connected and apprised them of our plans, that we would be in Sheli for the weekend.  Anyway, Sheli was the address we had used on our immigration landing cards.

After a brief visit with Jeff, who I had held as a baby in Zambia, we went to the Bourbon Cafe at the MTN Center, had a meal while watching a soccer match on the television.  It only costs fifty cents each to catch a motorbike.  Almost dark, but that's how we chose to go back to the central bus station to catch a matatu back to Sheli.  It's amazing how many vehicles are on the road that are ill-equipped to be on the road at night.  No tail lights, no brake lights, and sometimes no headlights.  So riding a motorbike at night could be risky. We arrived at the bus station and in the mess of 50 or 60 buses (or more) you have to find one going the right direction and to the right place.  Getting on a bus here is no small feat, especially when all three of us must be on the same bus.  No one lines up and waits politely to board.  Five people at once are trying to squeeze through the door.  Fulgence was is an expert.  He's on.  Branden is ahead of me.  A couple on his right are trying to elbow their way on and a fat lady hauling a big bag is trying to squeeze through the door on his left. I give him a push and he is at least on the step, but he's inside.  I am wearing my small backpack and I grab the edges of the bus door, spin sideways, get a foothold on the step and heave.  There is some yelling of an African word that seems to carry the meaning, "Make room, make room!". So I joined loudly in the chorus and everyone began laughing.  I was almost the last one on.  Good grief, what a production just to get on a bus.  You don't buy tickets beforehand.  You must pay the amount for the distance you travel when you get off.  And the bus is ALWAYS crowded!  It was well after dark when we arrived at our stop and walked to the house.  That evening we watched a movie about Nelson Mandela after the power came on.  Then it was bedtime.  It happened just at the bottom of the hill from us, between 9 and 10 that night.  A big gravel truck carrying a load of sand, lost its airbrakes, rolled at the turn several times, and crashed into a concrete roadside building.  Ed, from the Victory Home, has seen 5 bad crashes in the year he has been here.  He responded to the sound of the crash and transported 3 men to hospital.  The one with a long gash in his back, right down to the rib cage, had just gotten a lift at the top of the hill!  One of them had severe head injuries.  All were badly hurt.  We saw the wreck on Sunday morning.  Not good.

What value is a chicken?

Emmanuel has a dream...and a plan.  He wants a cellphone of his own, but his mother and father are not going to buy one for him.  So he saves his money until one day he can go to the market and bought a chicken.  Once he has made his selection and paid for it, he tucks the chicken into his jacket and boards the mini-bus (matatu) for home. When he gets home, he fusses over his chicken and at bedtime takes the chicken to bed with him.  Well, when his mother finds out, she puts a stop to that.  Now Emmanuel is waiting for the chicken to start laying.  He will sell the eggs at 100 Rwanda francs each until he can afford a cellphone.  His mother declares, "I am not buying you any airtime!". That's okay, my chicken will just lay more eggs and I will buy airtime!

A chicken can cost about 3000 francs, or about C$5.  That might not seem to be a big deal until you discover that a national medical card costs 3000 Rf a year, which one needs to get medical attention at a government hospital or clinic.  Each visit will cost an additional 100 francs or 15 cents.  I thought that might help put things in perspective.  We know of many people who do not have medical cards.  In one village church, I asked an elder how many do not have medical cards? 30.  That was about half.  How many who do not have a medical card now, need medical treatment but cannot get it?  5.  There it was.  A need that could be filled.  We paid for 5 annual medical cards.  Or 5 chickens!

Flight to Kigali

It was one of those early flights that Brandon hates.  Up at 4:30 to do final packing, clean up dishes and stack bedding and do a final cheque of the flat.  Erastus arrives 15 minutes early and that puts even more pressure on. We arrived, aiming at being at the airport by 6:00 a.m., at exactly 6 a.m!  Our flight with Kenya Airways was smooth and uneventful.  It actually arrived early in Kigali and we were through Customs and Immigration at the baggage claim at the original arrival time.  Fulgence was there to meet us with his big smile.  We hadn't received confirmation for our accommodations in Kigali so we agreed to go south to a village called Sheli.  It is about 45 minutes south.  The route crosses a river into South Province, Kyomini District.  The river banks are thick with papyrus reeds.  It flows south to Lake Victoria making it one of the headwaters of the Nile River.

First order of business is to exchange foreign currency.  The airport rate was apparently too low at 650/dollar.  The taxi driver took us to an exchange where we got 678/dollar.  The rate actually changes depending on the size of the bill.  The taxi then took us to a place where I could get a SIM card for my cellphone.  That cost a whole $1.50!  Then I added about $3.00 airtime so I could text and make calls.  Now we were off on our adventure.

Rwanda is very clean.  There is almost no litter anywhere on the streets.  We discovered that on the last Saturday of every month, they have "umuganda".  One representative from each family is expected to work together with others in their communities to keep their neighborhoods clean.  It's like a national workbench.  Not only that, plastics are. Other allowed into the country, like grocery bags.  You can actually be fined at ports of entry for bringing in plastic.  I actually saw a woman detained by security who was engaged in an argument about her plastic bag!

We finally arrived at the village where the cab driver refused to drive up the access road, oops, trail, no, washed out path.  He hardly got off the paved road and stopped.  We understand,oaded lure suitcases (3) and our two backpacks, and the three of us went up dirt paths, through yards, past brick and mud buildings, all the while being stared at by the local citizens as if we had just come from another planet.  The little ones showed obvious fear and wonder at the same time.  Fulgence assured us that his father knew we were coming and that everything was fine.  In fact, we were given a very warm welcome and our bags were whisked through the house, out to the back courtyard and in to a two-room building made of mud bricks and painted plaster.  And the door had a functional lock...and there were mosquito nets hanging over the beds! What more would we need?  The toilet facilities were of the non-flush type a day the shower room was typical baked mud walls with a polished cement floor.  No running water, of course, except for the yellow buckets that someone had run to the river to fill.  The kitchen was a wood fired earthenware stove made of mud bricks.  Good thing, because the power went out frequently while we were there.  I preferred to have my tea from the electric kettle.  We generally relied on buying water bottles for daily consumption.  There is a sanitizing liquid of which they add a small capful to every 5 gallon container of water to make it safer for drinking.

Fulgence has a brother, Ivan, two sisters, Yvette and Yvonne plus cousins or nephews, Emmanuel, Safari and Eric who also seem to live at the house.  I don't know where they put them all but we were added to the mix.  His mother and father obviously have a gift of hospitality because there were always new people coming through the door and sitting down to share tea, a meal, or just have a conversation.  Fulgence' father, Sylvester, is a lawyer and often has clients come to the house for consultation.  The power goes out sometime around 6:30 and comes on again after 8:00.  So dinners are often eaten by candlelight.  I've even seen Sylvester read and write his documents by the light of one candle!

Since we had arrived quite early in the day, we wwalked down the highway about 2 blocks to the Victory Family Home Of Champions.  We were introduced to Pastor Ed and his wife Deb and three of their children, Samantha, Caleb and Kiera.  They are from Colorado and have been here almost a year, and will be going home in January.  There used to be over 60 children in this orphanage, but the government has instituted a policy of integrating orphans into family units and closing down orphanages.  There are still 18 children here who have not been placed.  We were told that some children have not been placed in good situations for them, and 40% across the country have returned to the streets, either because of abuse or re-abandonment.

We were given a tour of the orphanage and it's facilities.  A large wood-fired kitchen, boys and girls dormitories, shower rooms, classrooms, and a beautiful chapel.  There was a cow and and calf, goats and a couple pigs.  The cow gave 15 litres of milk a day!  More milk than needed, so some is sold.  They used to have chickens, but there are nesting jawks nearby that knew wherebtheir dinner was, and if the chickens were free-ranged, they were often stolen.  On December.6, all the former students will be coming back for a reunion.  They will stay overnight and have a celebration.  Each one that leaves will have the opportunity to take a live chicken home with them.  We have entrusted Fulgence with the responsibility of finding 40 chickens for this event and left him with enough finds to do that.

Ed and Deb invited us to snack with them and stay for a movie with the kids.  By movie time, the power was out and thought it best to leave and visit with our hosts where another meal was being prepared.  We were offered shower and toilet facilities at the orphanage if we wanted them, but we felt we could manage where we were.

Cellphones are often used for flashlights here, so we managed to make our way home in the dark with a cell.  The path is steep ago times a nx rugged.  Got there safely.  We had an interesting conversation by candlelight, sometimes in French, sometimes in English, at other times in Swahili and also in Kiwandanese with Fulgence translating.  Branden hit it off with the boys and they were off to see the animals...a cow, 4 goats and 5 chickens.  We ate and the power didn't come on again until after 9:30.  It was an early night a day just as well.  We had been up since before 5 a.m.

Farewell Kenya

Even though it's our last full day in Kenya, we aren't finished yet!  Because the trip from Nakuru was so sickening, we slept in.  Needed it, and the Tylenol helped knock me out.  It doesn't take anything to knock Branden out, he is a sleep machine.  We had been notified by phone while in Nakuru that our order was in at the pharmacy across the street from where we stay.  We picked up two first aid kits, one for the orphanage in Riruta and one for the school in Kwangyare.  That many children and no way to treat them for cuts that can easily get infected.  Branden liked the kits so much, he ordered one for himself to take back home.  While at the chemist, I got some medications for decongesting the football on my shoulders.

Really feeling under the weather so took a nap after the pill until Pastor George came to pick us and take us to the orphanage.  School was just out when we arrived.  My what a flood of kids!  This visit, we got a tour of the orphanage, the sleeping quarters and the kitchen.  We saw the progress on the chicken coop and the goat pen.  It should be usable by tomorrow evening.

Branden just can't stay away from the animals.  Along with some of the school kids heading out the gate, they took some time to defoliate some shrubs for goat treats.  Branden can now get close to them as the level of trust has improved.  The goats have come from enclosures and are now enjoying some limited freedom although the nanny is tied up and her baby won't go far away from her.  I am told the resident children are so excited about the goats, they go out during their school breaks to watch them and pet them.

Everyone seems to be happy with the whole operation.  Of course the hens are still a little traumatized but they will soon settle down in their new quarters and begin to lay.

Speaking of laying, I'd just love to do that but we need to finish packing for our 5:30 departure in the morning.  Next entry will likely be from Kigali, Rwanda.  Signing off til then.

Oct 23. Nakuru

Our driver had an airport pickup in the morning and the client's flight was late.  So we got off to a later start than we had planned, leaving Nairobi around 10:30.  It's a beautiful drive as the road north traverses farmland and meadows and even pine forests at the higher elevations.  Donkey cart seems to be a more popular form of transport for these locals.  From the escarpment one gets a magnificent view of the Rift Valley and the dormant volcanoes.  Everything is such a lush green.  Makes me forget winter is coming back home in BC.  Three hours later we find a Java House in a Nakuru mall and have lunch.

As we drove into town, we saw the sign for Section 58 that was part of the individual structions I had received at Heathrow Airport from Josey.  It was near the Dog Section where they train police dogs. I think we asked directions from 4 or 5 people on the street and it seemed like each one had a different interpretation. There is no signage yet as this home was opened just this October 1st.  The "blue" gate wasn't to a residence, but the entrance to a gated community with a guard.  On that lane we found a black iron gate through which a child peered and then ran to get a key and let us in.  Great security for the "Masters Touch Children's Center".  There were 3 children and 2 caregivers on the property when we arrived.  Two children were away for some legal paperwork to be completed.  The children there were 4, 6 and 7 years old.  Mwangi, Rosemary and Daniel.  As the manager was away, we spoke with the two ladies and our driver was an able interpreter.  They tried hard to contact people about sources for goats and chickens.  How fortunate that on the backside of the property lived a man with goats.  So out the gate and around to the other side of the block we found the goat caretaker.  He gave us the phone number of the the owner and then ran off to herd the goats from their  grazing area back to us..  As he arrived with about 20 goats, the owner also drove up.  After introductions all around, we talked goats.  Of, course the one I wanted could produce 4 litres of milk a day.  She had a kid and the price for the "prize" goat and her kid was 38,000 KES or almost $500.  He wouldn't budge on the price because he had paid a lot for her to import her.  She was a Germany Alpine breed.   Another German Alpine was in the herd and she had lost her kid due to poisoning.  The herders had neglected their duties and the whole herd was showing it.  With good food and care, the goat we finally chose would do well.  She was pregnant and in a month they would have to stop milking her so she could gain strength during the last 4 months of pregnancy.  Then after three months with sucklings, she would be producing milk for the orphanage. This one was priced at 15,000 KES or about $180.  To make sure they got off to a good start with their little farm, we also purchased a two month supply of dairy meal and 50 kgs of chicken feed.  There's lots of grazing for the goat in the yard.  A cow would need a lot more pasture.  The seller of the goat also offered a free stud service in future and also free advice to help them manage and learn about raising goats.

After sealing the deal for the goats we went downtown to the market and bought the feed and got some nice laying hens.  Had to get the rooster at another market stall, and he was a  fine specimen.  We put the whole lot into the trunk of the car and headed back to the home.  Well, there was some excitement.  Then there was the planning of where and how big to make the pen and the coop.  With the assistance of our driver, we came up with a quick and dirty budget and I emptied my pockets for the materials.  After some photos and a prayer, we headed south in the dark.  Drivers are constantly flashing their high beams a day transport trucks often have no tail lights.  No wonder oir driver sticks to 60 km/hr.

This was the worst part of the trip.  The transport trucks literally puke out black diesel smoke, especially on the uphill grades and with the amount of traffic, there is very little opportunity to pass.  Result, a pounding headache and sneezing and stuffy, runny nose.  Don't feel so good, but on the other hand, feel great.  Mission accomplished in Kenya.  Just one more thing before we leave...to deliver the two first aid kits we ordered for the school and orphanage here in Nairobi.

Now for some sleep!

Oct 22 - Got Your Goat!

This morning we were picked up by Bishop Stephen and taken to the school in the slums, and I mean slums.  The homes are sheets of corrugated tin and mud walls eroded by rains.  There is no running water and no sewer facilities except the open ditch paralleling what might pass for a road.  Across from the shacks is the school yard and buildings.  I would estimate the property itself is 250 feet by 120 feet.  There are approximately 8 classrooms in the school with tin roofs causing the rooms to get quite hot when the sun is shining and quite noisy during a rain.  Can you imagine the learning environment?  They don't have the benefit of air conditioning or even a fan!  The children range in age from 3 to 16.  They start school at 6:30 in the morning and are given their first meal of the day at 11:00, a bean soup and a chipata or a deep-fried bun that is served and eaten outside where they sit on the ground.  They get another meal after one o'clock.  The children do not look forward to weekends because they go home to their shacks and there is usually nothing to eat until they get to school again on Monday.  The families typically try to survive on $1.00 a day or 80 Kenya shillings a day.  There are 160 students in the school.  They wear a simple, inexpensive uniform, even if it is just a uniform shirt.   A uniform will cost on average 1500 shillings or $18 Canadian.  There are 22 students who have recently come into the school from the neighborhood who have no uniforms.  It is one way to distinguish from kids in the hood sneaking onto the property during school hours.  There are no school fees.

One boy, Alfred(14), was brought into the school with open sores on his left leg.  We later put together a simple first aid kit to treat minor cuts and help prevent infection.  Alfred was a cart-puller.  It's basically a two-wheel car axle with tires and fitted with a wooden frame and pulled by a crossbar in the front.  It's the local method of moving furniture, building blocks, cement and steel and anything else.  I wouldn't want to do it because your feet are both the power and the brakes and if you're load is heavy or out of balance, it would be easy to have an accident or a runaway.  I think that is what happened to Alfred as his legs were covered in bruises.

We had the opportunity to visit each class and each teacher, led by Lawrence, the headmaster.  He has been doing this for 10 years with little pay, getting only enough to give basic support for his wife and child.  For him, it is not a job, it is a calling.  He is so proud of the students, some having already gone on to college.  The students are studying for the country wide standardized tests held on Nov.11 and in particular, he pointed out students who scored over 400 points out of 500, and others who were over 390!  These kids live with many disadvantages yet many have excelled in academics and done so eagerly.  In Kenya, there are many classrooms with 70 students and one teacher, we are told.  The largest class here had about 20 to 24 students.  Branden was able to share with the senior class a little bit about the seasons in Canada that generated a few questions about surviving in the cold.

We were introduced to the dream for what might be on this plot of land in the middle of the slums that is already making such a difference.  We went to the new office building constructed of concrete and nicely finished and painted.  It is fitted with a washroom and shower room, a waiting room and office.  We saw the plans for adding another floor and toured the adjacent development for a medical clinic.  Plans include another floor for visiting physicians, eg eye specialists, gynecologists and ear,mouth and throat specialists to come and treat people in the locality.  The third floor will become hospitality quarters for visiting professionals.  There is provision in the plans for a dispensary after clients have seen a doctor and received their prescription orders.  There will be another gate constructed to the medical facilities from the roadway.  If the work on the office building is any indication, this facility will be a jewel in this community and provide an absolute miracle for many of the local residents as it serves the poorest of the poor.

After lunch, we were picked up by Pastor George and his wife, Regina to go on a goat and chicken hunt.  It took awhile on very rough road, but eventually we found the farmer who had goats and cows.  He had 10 goats and gave us a choice of two nannies.  One was pregnant and wouldn't give birth for 5 months, then a 3 month wait before the kid(s) were off suckling.  The other had a male kid and would be giving milk for human use next month.  Both the same price.  They decided on mother and kid and so we stick them in the back of the wagon.  We stopped at a feed store and paid for 70 kgs of dairy feed and 50 kgs of chicken feed that will do for the first two months.  There will be milk and eggs and hatchlings very soon.  A couple of men are coming tomorrow to build the goat bedroom and dining room and chicken coop with nesting bins.  The goats and chickens have to be locked up at night as it is very difficult to get a firearm to ward off predators, if you know what I mean.  We picked up the chickens in two cardboard boxes and got the whole lot to the orphanage and stuck them in an extra storage room and LOCKED the door.  We returned to the feed store to pick up the feed sitting in front as they had closed.  Everything is shut down for the night.

While picking branches to push through the barred window of the temporary goat pen, Branden had a three-horned Jackson chameleon crawl off a branch onto his arm.  Regina thought they were poisonous as they are used in witchcraft and said if they bit you, the flesh would turn black and begin to fall off.  No,... he likes us.  We'll take him back to the flat for the night.  So we have a room mate for the night.  We checked on the Internet and they do make very good pets, just illegal to export.  Once in awhile Branden goes to the bathtub to check on Kevin and I overhear him talking to his new friend.  Yup, its been quite a day!

Oct 21 - Hero's Day Holiday in Kenya

I can't believe how cold it was at 6:30 this morning!  I actually had to put on my sweater.  Erastus, our driver, came at 8:00 to take us on a safari in the Nairobi National Park.  Roads crisscross throughout the park with road names and arrows pointing you to every point of interest with unique names, like;  Leopard. Cliffs, Impala Plains, Lion Dip, Hippo Pools, Lion Valley, Ivory Burning Site, etc.  The only problem was that there was usually no indication as to where the main gate was!  We put on a few miles just trying to get out of the maze of roads.  We found the main gate at about 3 pm and headed straight for Java House for a very late lunch.  Some of you know what it's like when you are on the hunt.  Food was only on the menu of the wild things.

Branden was the only one who was able to get a glimpse of a lioness lying in the tall grass.  That's because he managed to climb out the car windows and stand on the sill.  We did see a lot of wildlife; zebra, Thompson's gazelle, Impala, eland, wildebeest, hart beast, water buffalo, bushbuck, giraffe, warthog, baboon, monkey, crocodile, guinea fowl, ostrich, vulture and more.  There was one place we could get out and walk along the banks of the Hippo Pools, but only with an armed escort.  Rhinos had been spotted there in the morning and they don't take chances that a park visitor will have an unwelcome encounter.  The hippos were no where to be found, but we did see the old croc that may have intimidated the mother with the young hippo causing her to move to another location.  The park is beautiful and very large covering 117 square kilometers, a jewel within 15 minutes of our location.  Hard to believe you are in such a vast parkland of savanna and valleys and rivers with jets taking off overhead and city skyscrapers as a backdrop.

Oh, by 10 o'clock in the morning, the skies had cleared and the sun was starting to heat things up.  Got a bit of a sunburn on the one arm nearest the window.  After lunch we went to our flat for a nap.  Five hours later, Branden still isn't awake and often yells in his sleep about something...sometimes it's intelligible with words like Nairobi mixed into the garble.  I think he's having a really good time...even when he's asleep!

Oct 20 This is the Day

At 8:30 we are out the door and walking to church.  400 meters to the Valley Road roundabout and then another 600 meters down the hill to Valley Road Pentecostal Church (renamed Christ is the Answer Ministries or CITAM).  Well, the cars and buses and pedestrians converging on the main gate was astounding, then as we got closer we found out why.  There was a security detail of 3 uniformed officers with metal detectors checking each person entering and others checking vehicle under carriages with mirrors before they were allowed to enter the gates to park.  We were 15 minutes early and just got a seat before the service began.

Get this.  A 7 a.m service for the staff.  A 9 o'clock public service that lasted til 11:15.  It's like fighting your way upstream against the incoming crowd once the service is dismissed and the next crowd is coming in for the third service that starts at 11:30 and just as full.  About 5000 in attendance filling the main floor and balcony to capacity while at the same time two other services are happening in other buildings, one for youth and another for young adults with 1000 in attendance at each.  There was quite a traffic jamb in the parking lot AND on the side streets around the church that reminded me of PNE parking in Vancouver.

The music team was amazing, consisting of keyboard, drums, guitars, bass and a saxophone player.  There was a lead singer and 3 or 4 singers and at least a 50 voice choir.  Superb!  The choir did a number featuring an amazing female vocalist that could have taken top marks in one of those "Got Talent" shows you see on TV.

After fighting our way out through the crowd, almost everyone we met was on their way to church and buses again were lined up and unloading passengers for church.  This is one lively place on Sunday morning!  Oh, that's not all, on Friday there is an all night worship from 9 pm to 6 am!  It will include a songwriter and worship leader from Uganda.  These people are fervent and dedicated.  This church has sponsored a number of other churches in the area.  One of the branch church pastors was on the platform and announced the dedication of another new church building.  This group of churches numbers about 50,000 members.

We stopped in at our flat and then headed for the YaYa Center and the Masai Market and to get lunch.  Just as we turned off the lane towards the market, a man came up to us wanting to sell us bunches of flowers.  I wasn't interested, but he said he was just starting his new business.  Guess what?  I made an investment in his business of $5.75 for 21 red and white roses.  Branden and I thought we could come up with 21 reasons to smile or the "21 Rose Mile".  We began to give roses to every woman we met on our walk to the mall.  Even reaching into cars with women inside that pulled in front of us from a side street to enter the main street, the lady begging in the shade of the fence, the 4 Muslim women who were surprised by the old guy and the handsome young guy, and then the last woman just outside the mall who was almost in tears at the gift saying, "You made my day"!  We often asked the question of the ladies, "Can I make you smile"?  And Branden tried to get a photo of their smile.  The last one called me into the picture, too.  All of them were grateful as we walked away without asking for anything in return.  Well now, wasn't that fun?  The 21 rose mile.  Try it some time.  Good therapy for the soul.

We found the Masai Market on the 3rd floor patio and browsed for quite awhile.  It was difficult to get away from the vendors as they tried every trick in the book to part us from our money.  We had only brought enough for lunch.  An Ethiopian I had met the previous day wanted money for food as he hadn't eaten in 2 days.  So we stopped in at a bakery where he selected 4 big kaiser rolls and a sweet bun.  Branden and I ate a smaller lunch than we had planned, but somehow it felt like it was more than enough and we were satisfied.

Heading back to the flat, we had a vendor skillfully prepare a sugar cane stick for us, dicing it into a plastic bag.  We couldn't eat all of that.  You can chew and suck out the sweetness in the cane for a minute, but then you end up spitting fibers for another five minutes.  The return trip became the Sugar Mile as we gave out samples to folks we met, with the last few cubes going to Joel, the gate keeper.  That cost us a whole 60 cents!

We dozed while waiting for Bishop Stephen to come and get us for a visit to the orphanage and school. Once he arrived with his wife, Florence, we went and spent a couple hours with 64 children ranging in age from about 5 to 16.  A lot of them are survivors from the election massacres or 2008.  They sang a few welcome songs for us as we arrived and genuinely happy to see Bishop Stephen and his guests.  We had a suitcase full of Tshirts and balls and skipping ropes and girly things and Canadian flags.  You wouldn't believe how excited they were about the little flags!  And could they skip?  Oh, my!  I saw skipping moves I'd never seen before.  We had to inflate the soccer ball and left the pump with it (and a whistle) which the older boys used to get their version of keep-away going.  There were balls bouncing, skipping ropes swinging, and a lot of smiles and laughter.  The sound and activity was enough to crack your face and warm your heart.   We had also left a good quantity of school supplies with the teacher to distribute as needed and also reserved some supplies for the other school.  In order to integrate these kids into society, the orphanage accepts over 100 students from the community who come for classes at the orphanage school.  Out of 1800 schools in Kenya, this school ranks in the top 100 in the standardized tests administered in the whole country.

Bishop Stephen has had a pretty hectic schedule with the recent conference and was flagging, so we left the orphanage for our base and visited with the staff here.

Here I must acknowledge the generous donations of school supplies and gifts from congregants at both the Church on the Hill in Logan Lake and Terrace Pentecostal Assembly where Branden comes from.  YOU have been a genuine blessing.  And the Bishop has invited you all to come for a visit.

Fun and Pain

First order of business is to book flights to Kigali, Rwanda for Friday.  I found out you can't book tickets online for persons under eighteen.  The solution was to walk 25 minutes down the road to the YaYa mall and the Kenya Airways outlet.  I love walking and there are lots of interesting people along the way!  Well, we ended up walking past the mall for about 10 minutes and got directions to go back to the main intersection.  Of course, we remembered that.  It was the major intersection with no lights, no 4-way stops, no obvious procedures and where traffic just went in to the center and jostled and blew horns to bully their way through.  By the time we got back, there was a policeman and a civilian frantically waving their arms to get the traffic moving again. And a bus trying to make a u-turn in the middle of it all.  We stood there for a few minutes watching the chaos unfold.  That's probably what distracted us from seeing the mall when we went by the first time.

The mall is new and shiny, and six storeys tall.  To enter, you are met by two guards, who use one of those airport security wands to detect metal and you have to empty your pockets of everything that sets off the alarm.  We found the Kenya Airways office and were able to secure the tickets we needed.  Then we went and had breakfast at the Java House.  Very fine breakfast at a very reasonable price.  We checked for the date and time of the Masai Market which we had heard about earlier.  We strolled through the mall window shopping and planning on coming back with more shillings.  An interesting expat who has lived in Kenya for 45 years had some personal perspectives to share with us.  When she found out we were going to Rwanda, she insisted we go see the mountain gorillas. She had been within 20 feet of a huge silverback for an hour on her trip there and refused to leave with her tour group until she was satisfied with her visit.  The cost was $700 each.  We thought we should just hike in through the mountains and see them for ourselves without the wardens.  You should have seen her face!  Priceless.  As we left the mall, we stopped to thank the security guards for their thorough work in making us feel safe while we relaxed at breakfast.

Back to the flat and past the Kenyan cooking show on our lane.  We saw how they were washing their eating bowls, so went to the flat and got a tin server for the ugale and a bowl for the meat and veggie relish and asked Joel, the gate keeper, to go and buy some for us.  He would know which vendor to go to.  So we had ugale (oo-gawl-ee) for lunch!  The taste, the texture, the one-handed procedure for forming the ball and impressing your thumb to make a spoon-like depression with which to scoop up some relish and put it into your mouth brought back many memories.  It was so good!

While waiting for Bishop Stephen, we unpacked and sorted out things for the school and the orphanage.  We heard kids playing on the other side of the security fence.  It sounded like a school yard so we went in search of the entrance.  Out our security gate and through the neighboring security gate, getting permission from the gate keeper, we found kids.  We had taken a handful of the really bouncy balls and showed the kids how to bounce them off the ground and about 20 feet into the air.  Well, there were kids running in every direction trying to catch the erratic balls as they bounced every which way.  Then in the chase one of the boys stepped on the back of a sandal of a little girl and she went down hard on the broken tarmac, tearing out the knee in her slacks and skinning her knee quite badly.  So much fun suddenly came to an end.  Five balls were still going, but the girl was on the ground crying.  We hadn't brought slacks or trousers with us, but I went back to our flat and found a fancy white t-shirt with glitter, went and asked for her as she had gone into one of the apartments.  Lavalee came out without her pink slacks and wearing a hijab and bare legs.  I examined her road-rash which looked painful.  I apologized for causing such a commotion that resulted in her being hurt, sorry I couldn't replace her slacks, but would she accept a gift to make up for it.  She smiled and said yes and thank you.  Branden almost lost his camera as children wanted to see it and he learned how quickly and easily it could be grabbed and gone.  Now we have to face 64 orphans who all want a piece of whatever we have to give.  I think we will involve the orphanage staff to keep chaos under control when the time comes.  Good insight for Branden as to how quickly we can instigate a riot, a revolution and a ruckus!

Eventually, Bishop Stephen arrived and we visited for an hour and made plans for our schedule as he still had a part to play in the conference as the plenary speaker tomorrow.  We will start on Sunday afternoon.

It was now approaching 5:30 pm and time to go for supper.  Branden and I struck out in the same direction as the Fairview Hotel because there had been another Java House along the way.  We were stopped along the way by a sock salesman, so I bought a pair of cotton socks for about $1.85 and we chatted for awhile about Canada and snow.  It took awhile for our orders to come and darkness was falling only as it does in Africa, like a curtain!  It was raining and dark when we left the restaurant and the sidewalks are neither wheelchair friendly nor pedestrian friendly.  There are many tripping hazards and cavernous holes where storm drain covers are missing and then watching out for cars and thugs hiding in the darkness.  No streetlights to speak of, only vehicle lights if they are not glaring in your face.  Branden has a theory that if you walk along cracking jokes, the Africans will smile and the white smile will immediately give them away in the darkness.  So we chat it up with the people in the road side market who are now packing up their fruits and vegetables and flowers.  We ask them if it is going to rain and they retort vehemently that it IS raining.  Oh, "yanera pura", which is Chibemba for "It's raining", that I learned in Zambia.  Then they teach me the Kiswahili expression with another comment which I wasn't supposed to understand.  So I just replied back, "Inkoko" (chicken) and they breakout in peels of laughter.  Now we can see them!  We were wet but warm when we arrived back at the flat.  Still about 24 degrees, even in the rain.  Time to wind down for the night now.  It's nightfall for us and your day is just starting back in BC.  Have a great day!

First 24 hours.

Apparently, most people who come to Kenya, and arrive as late as we did, tend to sleep in until 4 pm.  I was awake at 10 (yes, in the morning!) and Branden was fast asleep so I went on a fam tour of the neighborhood.  The lane we came in on last night was dark and deserted, but now it was lined with people using charcoal cookers making omelettes, porridge, chipatas and other things.  Don't ask about the other things.  I noticed the office front door was open on my return and went in to meet Susan, the receptionist.  What a wealth of information!  She has family in Rwanda and Uganda.  We talked!

Then I met David B who has been here since July 2.  He offered to take to get a SIM card for my phone.  The airtel card was a good deal costing only about 75 cents with $5 worth of airtime that would allow me to call Canada for about 3 cents a minute!  I don't know why we pay as much as we do in Canada, unless we are subsiding the telecom here.  We took the SIM card to David's office to cut it down to fit the SDmicro slot in my phone.  He's done it several times including his own.  Well, it didn't work.  I tried the London SIM and it recognized that and the iPhone SIM worked fine as well.  So it was back to the shop for some advice.  The "no -working" SIM worked in the agent's Nokia though, so no refund. Back to the office to troubleshoot on the Internet, but no luck.  In the end, I went and bought a safari.com SIM card for $36 and about $3 of air time.  It's working finally but all that nonsense took until 4 pm.  I should have slept!

In the evening we walked a kilometer to the Fairview Hotel with some of the staff for supper.  Along came a couple of other people from the University of the Fraser Valley!  Calen, who bunked in with us to get some rest before a 3 am flight back to Canada.  A student who was here with a research team studying urban agriculture and sustainability.  He liked our approach.  His team was just on there way to visit Westgate Mall the day of the attack by el-Shabab and ordered out of Nairobi by the Canadian university authorities.  So he went to Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.  Now he was finally returning home.  The other person, Sherry, is the daughter of Gary and Marg Foreman, missionaries we met years ago.  Gary passed away about 15 years ago but was one of the influencial men in my life who encouraged me to pursue missions.  Imagine meeting his daughter who is now an instructor at UFV who was on contract with Save the Children to research and write a child-friendly version of the charter of rights for children in East Africa.  She had just come out of the dusty Sudan and was also heading home.  What an interesting dinner table discussion we had.  Well, it was well after dark, so the staff would not allow us to walk back in the dark as it can be quite dangerous.  It seemed like a wasted day, but in the end, very interesting.  With the phone working, I was able to contact Bishop Stephen who was actually involved in a conference and unable to meet us til Saturday afternoon.  So ends our first 24 hours in Kenya.  Oh, it also makes me feel real good when people we meet assume Branden is my son!

Thursday Oct 17 - Leavin' London Behind

We could have slept in, but my alarm clock scared us awake at 7 am, well, not Branden, I had to scare him awake! We were cleaned up, packed and out the door at 7:35.  A five minute walk to the bus stop and we arrive just as the #140 is pulling away.  Missed it!  I knew we should have been out the door at 7:30.  This bus service runs 24/7 and in10 minutes another 140 arrives.  We step aboard and tell the driver we are going to Central Bus Station.  "It's alright, mate, this one is free to the airport".  At the airport, it's up two floors in an elevator, then across to security, and then enough time to catch breakfast at the Giraffe Cafe.  We order a breakfast omelette each, without toast, at double the price we pay in Canada.  $5.95 didn't seem so bad at all and I forgot we were looking at a menu in British pounds.  Then the currency conversion nails you with just about double the price!  Branden thinks everything in London is inflated.

As we were getting up from the table, a jolly black lady is trying to get in at the table next to us.  I smiled at her and asked her where she was from.  She just got off the plane from Nairobi, so I mentioned we just happened to be going there.  She asked what we were doing and we mentioned visits to schools and orphanages.  Well, she lit up and shared how she just opened up an orphanage in Nakuru on October 1st.  She was starting with 5 children, and another being added and by the weekend, 2 more children from Kitale (where Rebecca spent some time this summer) whose parents have both died of Aids.  That makes 8 children.  She showed us pictures on her iPad of the children and the home she is renting.  It was the former residence of the local MP who had just vacated the premises to move to his own newly-constructed home.  It wasn't available in August when she was searching for a suitable location, but then it came open in September and she signed a lease for the equivalent of $500 Canadian a month.  Pastor Josey was educated at a Bible School in Colorado Springs.  She is traveling in the US for about six months to raise support for this new orphanage.  I couldn't help but admire her dream and her vision.  We may even get to Nakuru on this trip.  It's only a couple of hours north in the Rift Valley.

After breakfast we go back down to ask for gate instructions since the board was flashing, "Please wait".  Well, no gate number and only 30 minutes before they close for boarding.  We went down to the lower floor where there was an information booth and showed that our tickets had no gate numbers.  The girl told us it should be up on the board, but said it was displaying a wait notice.  Wouldn't you know it, that as she took us to another departure board, it read Gate 48.  It must have changed on our way down the stairs.  Now comes the complicated directions to get there.  Go to the end of the terminal, take a left down the elevator (two floors) and follow the directions to the underground train where you wait for the right train to get to terminal 5.  At the platform, there is an 8 minute wait for the train but it is going to the wrong terminal.  Another wait for the next train and it is a 4 minute underground ride to the correct terminal.  Wow, we're not there yet!  Up two more flights to departure level.  After check-in, guess what.  Down the outside stairs to tarmac level, across to the plane and then up the stairs into the plane. Finally!

Nope. Now we get to wait another 45 minutes because a passenger who was in a wheelchair couldn't be brought down the stairs to the tarmac, the person responsible was on a first responder call and other staff had to be located to bring her by another route to the waiting plane and then use a lift to get her up to the aircraft door.  I was just telling Branden how lucky he was to have the middle seat with the window seat vacant beside him when the pilot explained the reason for the delay.  Guess whose seat if was? Yup!  The very person we were waiting for, Sahra.  Sarha is only 38 but moved like she was over 80. She took the window seat but eventually took my aisle seat because she had to get out in the aisle frequently because of severe back pain.  Sarha is Somalian, born in Mogadishu.  She fled as a child due to the civil unrest and somehow made her way to the US where she became a citizen and now resides in Massachusetts.  She has a cousin in Nairobi that she has come to visit 3 times since 2007.  She wore a head covering and was in obvious pain, holding her head and awaying back and forth or holding her head in a pillow against the seat in front of her.  The cabin crew brought her pain medication every four hours, so she was a bit out of it.  How do I know all these things?  Because of her condition and lack of understanding of the visa application and landing card, I helped fill out her forms from the information in her passport. She could barely print.  Her speech was slurred and it took careful attention to understand her, but for the last 30 minutes of the flight we chatted.  She asked what we were going to do in Kenya and after telling her some of our plans, she simply said, "God bless you".  Well, with a 186 km tail wind, we not only made up for the lost time, but got to Nairobi 5 minutes ahead of schedule.  How does that work?

Well, that got our feet on African soil.  Erastus was sent to pick us and waited for us to get through immigration and customs.  Both were a breeze.  Two guys with four gigantic suitcases should have brought more attention.  We proceeded to "Nothing to Declare" and one customs lady asked what was inside and I explained we had gifts for friends, and some gifts from family members for missionaries...and we had gifts for orphanages.  For orphanages?  Yes.  Keep going.  We came out of that ordeal (hahaha) to find Erastus holding a pink sign with Harry H printed on it.  After exchanging some money, Erastus took us to the PAOC Guest house.  We arrived at 11:30 ready to come to rest inside a locked iron gate.  Safe.

London Layover - Wed. Oct.16

Although we left Vancouver at 7 pm, we traveled 9 hours until 4 a.m. Vancouver time to find out it was already 12 noon when we landed.  Time zones can sure mess you up.  Now it's 10 pm here in London but we are wide awake because our bodies tell us it's only 2 in the afternoon!  So I'll just take an afternoon nap and get up to catch our next flight 9 hours from now.

The first shock on arrival was the cost of a taxi to take us out of the airport to the Apple House guest house just 12 minutes away.  $60!  The young proprietor of the guest house was from Venezuela and he gave us some valuable tips.  A free city bus back to the airport and then about $20 for all-day passes for the two of us to travel anywhere on the subway.  So we did take time to traipse around the city for quite a few hours.  First and foremost was to ride the giant ferris wheel known as the London Eye.  Another $60 I wouldn't normally spend but it was a unique once in a lifetime time experience and an engineering marvel.  The ride lasted about 40 minutes inside enclosed capsules that can hold a dozen people.  The floor in the capsule stays level the whole time and you can walk around to all sides for viewing and taking photos.  We then crossed a bridge over the Thames and wandered around Parliament Square, Westminster Abbey and walked under the shadow of Big Ben.  Then we went for the traditional English fish and chips for supper!  That was worth it.

Now to find our way back at night while taking a different route...oh, and the bus driver from the Central Bus Station didn't know about the street we wanted to get off on or even the name of the Guest House where we are staying.  So we kept our eyes peeled and yelled when West End Lane came up and a five minute walk later...voila, there we were!

The weather was drizzling when we arrived in the morning but by mid-afternoon the skies had cleared and it was warm and sunny.  Tomorrow, Africa!

Tuesday October 15

We did not miss the Quick shuttle bus from Surrey to Seatac airport!  But the bus driver was wondering about the four gigantic bags with the old guy and the young guy.  He was quite animated about our trip to Africa.  He wished he could have taken a trip with his grandparents who had passed away when he was still quite young.  When we parted company after he unloaded our luggage, be sent us off with a God bless you and we hadn't even talked about that aspect of our trip.  It seems we are being blessed by strangers at every turn!  How great is that???

Well, they are pre-boarding our flight now.  Next communication will be from London.

Monday October 14 - Thanksgiving Day

We left Logan Lake at 8:30 a.m. thinking we might need extra time if there was fog or snow, but the sky was cloudless and the roads were clear and dry.  We were an hour and half early for our appointment with the Consul General of the Republic of Kenya!  So we dropped in to see Egan and Lee and their daughter, Darlene.  They have another daughter in Burundi and a couple of grandchildren in Kigali, Rwanda. Had an inspirational visit and received some gifts to take with us for them via the "Two Harry's International Courier Service".

Our next stop was at the Consular offices, out in the countryside of Abbotsford.  We got there with three minutes to spare.  While the Consul General was preparing our visas for Kenya, we chatted and got to know him.  In just a few short minutes, we discovered jewelry had graduated from a three year course at Columbia Bible College, had another two years of seminary, worked on his degree at Trinity Western University, worked for the United Nations and now as a representative of the government of Kenya.  His octogenarian parents are still alive and reside in Kenya.  He himself was born in Canada.

Our conversation turned to matters of faith and health.  His words, "Five hundred people a year die of Aids in BC, but that, any die EACH DAY in Kenya.  In contrast, there is spiritual poverty in Canada where there might be a handful who attend any given church, but in Kenya faith is alive and vibrant!". How's that for a commentary?

He also left us his personal cell number so that if we had ANY problem in Kenya, we could text him, even if it is on the weekend, and he would see to it that we had the attention and help of the right people ASAP!  Wow!

Just 25 minutes later after he had given us a blessing, we were in the parking lot with visas glued into our passports and heading for Surrey for the night to bunk in at Branden's other grandparent's home.

Oh, we went to Walmart at Guilford to print some photos.  Coming up the escalator behind us were three young men speaking Arabic.  I greeted them in Arabic and asked where they were from.  All three are from Iraq and have recently emigrated to Canada.  Two of them are cooks and the third is looking for work.  One was wearing a gold cross on a necklace so I asked him about it.  "I am a Christian!". "So am I! We are brothers!". We shook hands all around as we discovered a commonality of faith.  I knew there was something different about them!

Another turkey dinner and pie for dessert!

Adventures in Africa - Preparations

Harry Holmquist and grandson Branden William Harry Holmquist are off to Africa starting Thanksgiving Monday, Oct. 14, 2013.  Yup, there's two of us!  Besides all the shots for yellow fever,  typhoid, hepatitis, and pills for malaria, we had to jump through the hoops for visas to 3 African countries, Kenya, Rwanda and Ugtanda.

Believe it or not, Rwanda has an online visa application that was processed and returned via PDF file within 2 days!  Pay $30 each on arrival.  We had a glitch for a day with the Uganda High Commission in Ottawa who required the Parental Letter of Consent to Travel with a minor to be notarized by a Commissioner of Oaths AND photocopies of each of the parents passports.  First time for everything.  In the past only signatures and a witness were all that was needed.  Cost of U$50 each.

With that done, we waited for the ExpressPost package with our passports to arrive by Wednesday Oct.2 for a quick turnaround to the Kenya High Commission in Ottawa for that country's visas.  They promise a turnaround within 7 days.  However, Canada Post sent the package from Ottawa to Richmond to Kelowna.  Upon calling Customer Service I was assured the package would be delivered as Kelowna was only 2 hours from Kamloops.  Nope.  Package went back to Richmond for re-routing to Kamloops and finally arrived in Logan Lake on Friday morning.  Wow, that only took 8 days!  The consolation apparently is a refund of the cost of  Xpresspost from Ottawa to Logan Lake.  Now we only have 5 business days left to get visas for Kenya!.

A call to the Ottawa-based Kenya High Commission to ask if there was any way to shorten the time frame for processing a visa.  Is there an office in Vancouver that I could drive to rather than depend on the Postal Service?  Yes!!!  Call the Consul General of the Republic of Kenya in Abbottsford and see what can be done.  Knock me over!  The Consul General did not want me to make an extra trip, but we could stop in on our way to the Seattle Airport.  "But Monday is the Thanksgiving Holiday."  "No problem," he replied.  "Make an appointment for Monday and I will be here and process your visas in 15 minutes!"  Unbelievable service!  So that little problem was solved without the help or interference of Canada Post.

Since we are allowed 51 lbs per bag and 2 bags each, we are Packing a lot of gifts for the children at orphanages and/or schools.  Soccer balls, skipping ropes, school supplies, T-shirts, bouncy balls, ball pumps, and referee whistles.  We are going to have FUN!  We have also received cash contributions for buying goats and chickens to give away.  We'll see how that goes, but it's part of the Adventure!