It is an election year here in Kenya and all of the candidates are sporting caps and heats or headdresses for the ladies. I told Frank I wanted to buy a "senator's" hat. We found one in Eldoret. So, what do you think< bring it home or leave it for Frank?  :)

Ending and misc. We will be catching a small plane to Nairobi later today and than a flight back to the states tomorrow night, so this is more than likely the last post.

It was getting late before we headed back (left at 7:30)

Simon the driver waiting for the drive back. It took 1 1/2 hours to get back to the hotel.

One of the observers that showed up at the new site.

Watch your step! These were everywhere.

This is the new church site on land donated by a church member

Unloading the lorry "truck"  British you know :)

The contractor and his men will be left here to work. Sleeping mats, water, food etc. were brought with  them.

Metal supports made ahead of time (they dull the termite's teeth)

Building plans being discussed between the pastors and contractors. (no county sign off required :)

Doors made ahead of time and workers items.

We met two other missionaries from other groups who were here helping with food and drought assistance. One man had lived here previously and was working on food and water relief. He asked World Vision to partner with his organization on a well and they did. They found water very deep down and will be drilling a well.  The lady from Maine has been coming here for 10 years.

Pastor Mike prayed for rain at both of the churches. He told me "you know you have to come back."
I said o.k., if it rains tonight. I woke up that night startled as I thought I heard thunder, but no rain.

 Pastor Lucas and a bundle of ground maize

Unloading ground maize and sacks of beans

Prices have increased greatly for food because of the drought. This is $500 us dollars worth of food

Additions and corrections

The "anthills" are termite hills. Mary said she could not see the "chair" Mike was sitting on. 

I copied a video of part of the trip out to Logurum off of the API blog. 

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDlvrWiz2f4

The next church is located in an established village.
They are renting a very small warehouse for their church. We brought all the material to make them a new church, plus food as there is a drought and food is costly.

 Mike and brush fence

 I brought them a new soccer ball and pump. I gave it to the pastor so he can keep track of it.

 Church members listening to a audio bible.

 The ball made of plastic bags is the regular soccer ball.

Few of the older people read so this is a society that learns by story telling. Mike brought a audio bible in their language { Turkana} It has a heavy duty flip chart that goes with it.

 Nataaba church the first in the area. They were meeting under a thornbush before the new building

 Pastor George trying out the drum.

 One of the older gentlemen of the church

 The man has a staff and a small chair they carry with them.

 Mike "resting" on the man's chair. I would have too much "overflow," if I could even get up!

The benches are tree limbs. I was happy they had a plastic chair for me.

On the way to visit the 2 churches

WE saw quite a few anthills from as small as three feet up to about ten feet. I was going to have my photo taken as we came back, but we taveled in the dark on the return trip. These were the closest camels that we saw.

 

Photos taken in Lodwar as we were leaving.

Lodwar continued:

Sunday afternoon, we met with pastor's George Lokwawi and Boniface Lokuruka to plan out the week. We have several churches to visit and a church building to put up. We also decided to bring food, as well as building supplies to the church we are putting up in Lorugum because the drought has really raised the price of food around here and many people do not have enough to eat.
Mike was to go early with the pastor's to buy the building materials and they were going to purchase the food and get an early start out to the bush. Well, this is Kenya. WE ate lunch and left at 2:30, but still had to stop and get fuel, plus stop by and re-negotiate with the "fundi" or contractor who will build the building.
The bush reminds me over the area around Yuma, Az., except the trees look different, the people are different and a lot more ant hills and camels, it really felt good to be there even though it was hot. The rig we were in had no A.C. of course and in Kenya you always load more people than space.

Mike and I arrived in Lodwar Saturday afternoon and were met by some local pastors. We were taken to our lodgings and later had dinner at pastor George's house. Sunday mike preached at a local church. We all went to lunch at a restaurant outside of town.

Lodwar reminds me of the Yuma, Az area. The homes and roads are similar to San Luis Sonora in the '70s. At the convention center the trees look almost like mesquites....except there are monkeys playing in them! I have not be able to get a good photo of them yet. Re: the airplane engines, they are just off the runway. Mike said he did not want to know the story behind them :)

Frank and I traveled

back to Eldoret Saturday morning, as I had a 3pm flight to north to Lodwar. Pastor Mike had boarded the same flight in Nairobi so we sat together. In Eldoret Frank and I had brunch, and went on a search for a hat I wanted.  As we came into town there was a hotel with thatched roofs, also a very large building under construction with tree limbs as the scaffold. We passed a bakery that had a heavenly aroma being sent out into the street. We also went by Moi University were a professor teaches that my wife knows.

Frank and I had dinner with Pastor Moses and his family. They have 3 girls and a boy, plus 2 young ladies staying with them to go to school. My donation to the dinner was a package of Guerro flour tortillas.

Friday I wrapped up training with Frank and Moses on their machines and software. We took a break and went to bungoma for lunch at the Elegant Hotel. World vision was just ending training on their Save The Children program so it was a full house.
I enjoyed Down Hill Springs restaurant and Hotel getting to see people that I knew from previous trips. The hallway to my room has bars and is screened. Looking down is a local dirt road where a lot of foot and vehicle traffic is. In 2015 I told my buddy Dave Johnson that the hall

is the muzungu (foreigner) zoo, as we were caged in and fed...."look a fat one, hey I see a tall one!"