Good Morning! Can't believe it's Friday already

Good morning!

I am still surprised to believe I am actually here in Kenya. Last night I slept through for the first time.

Both Peter's came by this morning to bring me to a local cyber shop as the connection just wasn't reliable enough to do at home.  So, here we go!

I am hoping to be able to upload some of the pictures, and maybe even the video clip from last night.

I am not able to connect with my personal email, nor has anything I sent from the Netherlands gone out,

It is taking about 5 minutes to load a single picture, so I will have to be very choosy!  I will try to get the video clip perhaps.. funny; here I am in the cyber shop and all of a sudden the manager/owner began playing Above All!  Praise Yeshua!!

I spoke with Bob last night and he said all is well there. 

blessings to all!

Day 3 Thursday     Returning from  overnight in Kissi

Amazing days!  The people in Kisii were so welcoming and appreciative of our choosing to get to know them better.  You know, they are amazed that there are people coming into Torah in America; not just in Kenya! Funny how we are always thinking that our experience defines everyone else’s experience! Both Peter’s put their heads together and were finally able to make the online stick work, so I am trying to write about this last day while we are on the four hour drive home. I hope to be able to upload these words into the blog, too. (NOTE: well, I was able to type most of this while driving home, BUT the mobile service unit just wouldn’t work so we thought we would be able to do it on arrival home.  It still wouldn’t stay on consistently, long enough to get the text entered.  The plan now, is to leave a little early in the morning to go to the downtown computer online shop where I can hook up to a hardline and give it another try.  I learned last time that I will have to enter pictures individually, as they will not transfer as part of cut and paste action from Word.  Sigh.  Some things just aren’t easy.  And in Africa, I am learning that one doesn’t count on much of anything to be as it “should” be.)

It is so hot today that the Kenyan’s are complaining….so I am most certainly uncomfortable.(Thanks for the face spray, Mildrid! It was much appreciated today!)  The red dust is blowing and just seems to be in everything.  My white canvas shoes aren't white anymore so I may have something to ask Jane to see if she can do anything with them. I think I have had 4 bottles of water so far and I am still dry.  The computer keyboard feels a little gritty too.  I almost brought along a cleaning rag; now wish that I had done so. It is so hard to comprehend what conditions might be like where you have never been; and especially in an area that is so primitive in some ways, yet so modern in others.

I have to mention our driver who is called Francis, not to be confused with Francis/ Chege who is one of the elders of Set  Apart here in Kenya.  This Francis has taken this car through places we would call a path; not really a street or a road.  I will try to include some pictures; especially the short portion where everyone in the back seat got out to walk, but they insisted I stay in and ride. When he’s not navigating around rocks and tree stumps, he is equally comfortable navigating around people, vehicles, bumps and potholes.  As we are going along the highway at anywhere from 80-120 KPH he still manages to do the weaving back and forth that seems like a dance here, as all drivers work around the potholes and pass anyone slower than them at the first chance.  He also knows the location of every speed bump along this whole highway and slows down long enough to gently navigate over each one; and there are many!

I took some pictures today while going through a town that continually looked as though we were going to have a head on crash, only to have both vehicles swerve at the last possible second, all in greatest of calm and ease.  The idea of lanes on the road is rather a loose concept, too!  If the road is smoother on the right, you drive there, until someone is approaching. It seems almost amiable how people cut out and around to pass a vehicle, and then cooperatively slow down enough to allow that split second of time for the approaching car to get back into the correct “lane.”Bob would be proud of me; i am not flinching at every turn or seeing the drop offs next to the road as we are careening around the traffic.  I have already decided I am here and that's it.  We go with the flow and YHWH's in control.

Last night, Peter, Francis/chege and I came down the hill to go to a hotel for the night, while Francis and Mama Kamau, my assistance who accompanied us, stayed with friends there.  It was difficult enough getting into the settlement area in the daylight, and even more so coming through it after dark.  On the way back up this morning, Peter happened to land on several rocks right under my feet and sideswiped a tree trunk that dented the left front door so that I couldn’t get out when we  arrived. They eventually found a machete and used it to pry the metal away from the door so it could be opened.  I have  a picture that seems like a universal one to me:  men standing around shaking their heads at what has happened and doing what is necessary to get the car back on the road.  They had it fixed and looking like new by the time we were ready to leave today!

But I am getting ahead of myself! After my first rest day at Peter’s brothers’ apartment, we left to make the four hour trip to Kisii.  After the delays trying to get the computer to work, and various other little things along the way, we arrived at 3 rather than at noon.  We stopped at a western supermarket and I was able to find some tuna fish, which they’d never head of, as well as some Sprite and juice and ultra pasteurized milk in a carton to use with my Herbal Life shakes.  We had traveled through the Rift Valley and I will try to put a few pictures in here.  It is magnificent.  Several of the elders did know that this valley is part of the same geological fault line as the Dead Sea and Jordan River in Israel. We went through the Massai Reserve as well, and saw many Massai tribes people and herders.  Peter explained that they choose to do all things the same,  and still favor the same red clothing of generations. They are like the Bedoins in Israel in their nomadic lifestyle.  Of course, there are “tourist” gift shops along the road where the local people offer a good view for pictures, and various souvenirs of the “big five” animals.

Several times Peter said  we were getting close; the last time was when we turned off the paved road to a dirt road, which just continued to get smaller and more rough until it truly was little more than a trail that mountain goats were have trouble with. Usually, he and the other elders travel by public transportation, and the walk up this last few miles that took us an hour to navigate.  A new business venture in Kenya in the past year or so, has been the purchase of motorcycles/mopeds  which the owners make available at the main highway; so people can either rent for the day or hitch a ride on one, rather than walking up to the village. Peter expressed his concern several times that these drivers have no special training and are dangerous! He isn’t any happier with them than he is with the public buses.  After the first “wild ride” from the airport in the dark, I could now see more of these buses, many of whom are big vans, with the sliding door usually half hanging off the track, gaping open.

Francis says if you take care of your car and make “repairs and repairs” you can make a car last up to 20 years here!  I am amazed they’d last a year, having ridden in one going up these paths and hearing all the protests of the vehicle. They also say that cars in Mombasa don't do as well because of the high salt content.  I think we can relate to that, for different reasons.  Peter tells me that the final stretch of road to each of the more rural places we will be going will be of the same poor quality.  This trip was just the longest at 4 hours driving time.

Today, the other Peter also was present and translated for me when I spoke with the people; while “our Peter” translated last night. The second Peter came in a little Toyota like we had with 5 people in it, riding with 13 people.  He said he had to sit still for a little while when he arrived so that his legs got over being numb and he could walk. But again I am ahead of myself.

Since we were late, the planned schedule changed a bit.  The ladies there insisted on serving us chai tea and flatbread/ what they call --chapati--The Chai tea was wonderful, and since it was hot, it was something I could eat.  I was really trying to be careful so as not to entertain traveler’s diarrhea but the bread seemed okay; and certainly it was part of a welcoming guests ritual, so hardly one I could refuse. I did realize that I am on antibiotics for other symptoms I had been having which worsened while flying so should probably still be okay!  We sat in chairs at two tables set together, covered with a lace tablecloth, in a hut made with mud plaster, and wallpapered with newspapers. There was the usual corrugated metal roof and a curtained door to the other room. I think I have pictures that will give you an idea.  It is amazing to be in such a home and also be working with the computer!

Their church gathering building is of similar construction reached via a path through several gardens and pasture lands and sugar cane crops and down a gravel path yet they had an electric sound system, with a keyboard for Joshua, the talented musician who leads their worship, together with several others. He would like to come to America. Not only that, but I realized as I was talking and Peter was translating, that a young man was videotaping the whole thing!  He even taped our walk back out to the “road” loosely speaking. Peter said he thought I would be able to get a copy of that. I said you all would probably not believe me what this looked like! The simple huts with metal roofs, and wooden tables outdoors for the food, interspersed with some cattle grazing between lots, and garden plots are set in an awesome valley in which you can see the roofs dotted among the trees.  They practice some kind of land management  I think with all the patterns on the hill side. The ladies carry water jars on their heads as we’ve seen in movies, and sometimes even bundles of sticks.  Along the way, we also saw the local children heading off to school for the day, each in their uniform. They were truly amazed to see me and some were afraid to shake hands while others eagerly reached out.  (It is custom to do a handshake with a special grip here) The ladies said it is because they hadn’t seen light colored hair  ( or skin either maybe?)

And when we gathered in the simple building for worship, they raised the roof with a song extolling Yahweh and Yeshua Messiah. They seem to feel strongly, as expressed by Peter,  they are well able to write and sing their own praise music in their style and do not need to rely on doing things in a “Jewish” way.  HalleluYah!

One New Man in action, I think. Yet , on the other hand, other than the leaders, most of the people haven’t yet learned much Hebrew. There seems to be a universal love for and desire to go to Israel as well so there is little doubt of where they stand.

With so many leaders/pastors in the room, it is important to include as many people as possible and give them an opportunity to speak so we heard many strong messages of faith in a short time. It is also a custom to honor the “old men” present, a term of honor, by allowing them a moment to speak. Several ladies were also asked to speak or sing, and there was a wonderful praise team, choreographed a bit, too.

 There were 4 variations/tribal languages present there, and some of the people didn’t understand Swahili or English so Peter Ndungu W. translated for Swahili, and Peter Ndungu M. translated as best as possible for the others. It is such a blessing to hear people speak the Word and really lean into what is said and how the message of truth was brought by the Disciples.  One of the elders had said that they knew they are just planting a seed and if it takes root, we praise.  If people don’t want to hear, or they don’t want to receive the truth and become “set apart’ they don’ t worry about them.

Peter gave me a good introduction and spoke about the need for all people to grow together in Messiah as well as learning how to get along.  Peter Ndungu M. said to them that it was amazing that MamaRachel understood Yahweh called her to come and she came to a country she didn’t know to people she’d never met by sight, and didn’t know if she would be safe or unsafe with them. He said if Set Apart Ministries in America was concerned enough about them to send her, they should be encouraged to know that they are important to Yahweh!

Peter had asked me to do the hand teaching first so that’s where we started. They were very appreciative and it was hard to say good bye even for just the night, and even though Peter was trying very hard to get us all in the car and down the road before dark.  Looked like herding cats to me.  I think he needs a tri-broom.

I haven’t even mentioned another whole story.  When I had spoken with Brad and Carol Scott about coming to Kenya, they were also concerned I was going alone and gave me the name of several men they know in Nairobi to contact them if possible.  I did write an email to one Joseph Oluich. and he did respond just one day before I left.  He uses a public computer and doesn’t get there often.  He did respond to this “brother” and was especially happy to visit our website and find that we share faith so he said to have the brothers’ there call him on his cell number and we would try to meet.

I did give Peter the number and we called Joseph who then arranged to meet us on the way to Kisii with his pastor friend, Maurice. Since we were late, they had waited for several hours, but when we met it was joyful.  I learned later that Joseph hadn’t realized that Barbara was a woman’s name so was surprised to hear “a sisters’ voice” on the phone.  They enjoyed meeting Peter and Francis and MamaJamai so agreed to come along to Kisii with us for the evening.  They enjoyed that so much that they stayed over night to be with us this morning too.  Turns out they were from Gospel Formation Conference church and their leaders had just  begun studying Torah several years go so they are pretty new and only knew about Tabernacles so far.  They did not know that Peter and Set Apart Ministries groups were around and were so thankful for new brothers and sisters.   They said how excited they were that this referral by Brad and Carol would lead them to like minded people. So I think that was one of the YHWH appointments we have been praying for. HalleluYah!They left me with greetings for our Set Apart community and thanks for making it possible for me to come.

The local congregation we were at was headed by Pastors Daniel, Ezra and various others.  They too, extend their thanks and joy and appreciation for making it possible to hear about growing up in Messiah.  This morning, after the trouble with the car, we got a late start again after chai tea and chapati but people just kept coming in.  Peter again spoke eloquently of how important it is for us to know that we can shine like stars in Messiah. That it is good to be different in His ways so that people will be drawn to His light in Us; not to us, but to Messiah.  He said that we can shine in our own homes with our famlies and out in the world but we should pay attention to what our gifts are.  If we are gifted at home and try to go out in the world, we will make a mess.  And if we are gifted to go out in the world, but stay home we also make a mess. I don’t see how he could have presented me in any more honoring way and bless Yeshua that we were indeed correct that He is a brother in Messiah.

A pastor, DK, ?  from a neighboring village especially spoke thanks for coming and expressed a direct request that Bob will be able to come and visit them sometime when I come back. That was a strong hint from many…WHEN you come back.

Peter and Francis had explained to me that this part of western Kenya is considered the inmost parts, and that the people here are more isolated; girls and boys marrying as young as 13 and 16 and having children, never leaving the villages during their lifetimes. They are good people and are among the newest groups to have joined Yahweh’s Set Apart Assemblies so are young in understanding of what they teach.  He thought they would benefit most from the relationship teachings so we covered Understanding Self Worth and the Responsibility chart today. Once again it was well received, in the midst of such good solid instruction, and wrapped up with a few praise songs beginning and end. I think I was able to get about 10 minutes of the final song and words of several of their leaders. If I can, I will try to enter that, too!

They insisted we stay for lunch so I was treated to corn bread, kale, chicken.  I am afraid I was insulting to the ladies though I tried to say they had served much more on a  plate than I could eat.  Peter M. insisted that I needed a picture of myself eating their corn bread and kale so he ran for the camera. 

Someone always insists on carrying things for me and MamaJamai was surprised that I was so comfortable walking on paths through the sugar cane and between the hedges, even climbing through a fence.  I tried to explain a little about camping and enjoying the country, but I’m not sure that the idea of camping would mean much, for people who live, camping!

So now we are on our long way home. We stopped in Bomet for some more water bottles, and like before there were some people from the Set Apart community there again.  Today, I met Edward  who is a welder, and have a picture, as well as shaking hands with a number of smiling children!  Then a young girl was looking troubled, and Peter began to ask some questions.  Turns out she was visiting her grandmother and was on her way home to her parents, but the money for her bus was missing, so she is riding home with us, now 4 people in the back seat, though not nearly like the 13 in the other car!

I see the battery is running low so I will see about entering this now before it stops entirely.

While I am waiting for the video to load, ever so slowly, I am adding a few more notes:  the young lady rode with us, taking us a bit further south than we'd originally come.  We passed a communications center, that looked a lot like the one we saw in Israel; with so may cell phones in constant use, the traffic must be amazing. We also saw group of monkeys. Peter and driver, Francis,  were quick to stop the car and offer them some bananas, as they said they are hungry this time of year.  Got a few quick pictures, one even of a mom with a baby clinging to her back.  No sign of a giraffe as yet!

NOTE:  Again the mobile unit wouldn’t remain steady long enough to enter this note, so I will be trying to get to the same shop I used a few days ago, in the morning.

Despite little sleep, blowing sand, the strong “Kenya” wind odor, bumpy roads, and worries about illness with food, I am already so glad that YHWH called me to come and that you all made it possible for me to do it!

NOTE:  one picture loaded; it was a 747 that brought me from Amsterdam to Nairobi, bigger than the one we came across the Atlantic in!  Excellent service every step of the way, I am thankful to say.

Watching and  praying 

Barb   aka MamaRachel 

OH!  Here we are at the end of the day to see whether or not the internet connection might be faster and able to upload the video.  Perhaps!

In the meantime, I do have some notes started for all that has happened today!

Friday February 11, 2011

Well, the day is getting off to a great start! Since this was the first night I slept through, I finally feel more awake. Had a nice praise/prayer time this morning, and then I hung out clothes on the line and took a few pictures of the neighborhood before Peter came to take me to the cyber café. We are in a housing area just off the main street of Kamiti.  A man came along and offered to take a picture of me. So I am in the front of the little shop run by Edna, which is in front of the apartment I am in.  She is my contact person to add minutes to my cell phone. 

We were supposed to be at the children’s home at about 10. It is 9:50 now, and I am still waiting for the brief video clip to load.  So, perhaps I won’t do THAT again!  

************

It is now 6 oclock pm and we are heading home as the sun is setting for Shabbat! It has been another amazing day. There must be another word but I don’t know what it might be. Today we started at the cyber café, in the midst of the hustle of this small town of Kamiti, and then covered many miles on Kamiti Road through beautiful valleys and lush tea fields. We saw the mansions of those who own the tea fields as we also observed those in the fields gathering. Peter tells me that the workers arepaid very poorly, on the order of $1 a day  for 8 hours of very difficult work. Comparatively, a public school teacher may earn $400 a month, and a private school teacher slightly less.

I am still amazed at the number of churches we see on every street.  Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, and every flavor in between.  It is custom for many of the vehicles, buses and trucks to have Christian sayings on them, so you might find your self behind a truck that says “God Bless You”  or “Jesus Saves.” Most of these places are in a small building of variable material; some nicely painted and kept up and others little more than a collection of boards and sticks with a sign proclaiming them to be “The Saving Church”   or “Soulwinning church.” Schools, too, are everywhere. Public education isn’t highly respected so there is huge business in private, usually parochial schools. 

 

Eventually, we turned off the paved road onto dusty red “roads.” I happened to decide to wear my white skirt today and the ladies were shaking their heads at me because of the dust.  No time to make a change, but I understand now why they were concerned. The skirt is definitely not white any more!

The road got progressively less like a road and again, more like a goat path, though this time, there were more crevices than rocks.  The trees and any fences or buildings along this road are all a dusty red color. As the road wound further and further up the mountain, it became more narrow, and eventually, again, was more like a path that no car could really navigate. Near the end of this part of the journey, we stopped at a local store to purchase bread and soda to bring to the children along with the bag of supplies provided for them. Peter introduced me to Elizabeth, the woman who began attempting to meet the needs of the children of her area in 2004. She has the use of a small area of land with a rustic building and a garden and is currently helping about 60 children. Many of them have lost parents  and are with extended family members who aren’t well able to teach and support them. She especially asked for prayer for one little boy, Samuel, who has a spinal problem that makes personal care very difficult. Her hope is to be able to purchase the land so she won’t need to worry about it being taken away, and then to build 4 dormitories to house up to 80 children and begin a regular feeding program.

The land would cost approximately $1,000.  In the meantime, she and two volunteers spend time with the children daily over many hours, teaching them about  Jesus, and teaching the alphabet sounds and colors  and numbers. As they learn and become able to handle attending the local public school, they have moved on.  She sees the need for the meal program and education to help these children overcome all of their handicaps and go on to live productively.  She and Peter have been friends for some time, and Peter’s vision is that there would be some kind of affiliation between her work and Yahweh’s Set Apart Ministries. 

As we finished talking, the children were released from the building for lunch.  They came over in a group to greet me, and another young man was video taping.  Again, they were wide eyed on seeing me. I asked if they’d like to touch my hair since that seems to fascinate them.  Elizabeth asked if they would like that and all hands went up. So I was surrounded by them all, also extending their hands in friendship handshakes after they checked out my strange light colored hair. I had no idea it was going to be so interesting!  Eventually, the soda and bread was set out for them all and I spoke with Elizabeth as we sat  with the children.  She was very excited to receive the colors and books with Bible stories and explained in detail how she sees these tools as helping the children learn the message of the Bible and who the Bible stories are about as well as helping their imaginations and creativity. She is a mom, too, as well as working for the government right now. Her heart is in this work with the children. Of course, she would get no argument from any of us as we all have been learning how much it helps children to learn and be stimulated, especially while being loved, right? We sang a few songs with the children, I shared a few I knew with her, and then the balloons came out.

I have no idea how we can be of any help to them, but certainly see the need and the vision.  Yeshua willing, some way will open. It is all on video, whenever I can make that available.

The rest of the day was spent in visiting the building where they gather for Shabbat—the one we saw in a picture awhile back—and then visiting various people in the area.  I met a woman who keeps 600 chickens, and gardens; as well as a 97 (or 100) year old woman, depending whether she or her son is right about age. She welcomed us into her mud and stick home and the family members rushed to bring us benches on which to sit and visit.  Too much to say to do more now.  We are hurrying home now for Shabbat.

Miss you and praying for a wonderful Shabbat for you!

Barb

Friday February 11, 2011

Well, the day is getting off to a great start! Since this was the first night I slept through, I finally feel more awake. Had a nice praise/prayer time this morning, and then I hung out clothes on the line and took a few pictures of the neighborhood before Peter came to take me to the cyber café. We are in a housing area just off the main street of Kamiti.  A man came along and offered to take a picture of me. So I am in the front of the little shop run by Edna, which is in front of the apartment I am in.  She is my contact person to add minutes to my cell phone. 

We were supposed to be at the children’s home at about 10. It is 9:50 now, and I am still waiting for the brief video clip to load.  So, perhaps I won’t do THAT again!  

************

It is now 6 oclock pm and we are heading home as the sun is setting for Shabbat! It has been another amazing day. There must be another word but I don’t know what it might be. Today we started at the cyber café, in the midst of the hustle of this small town of Kamiti, and then covered many miles on Kamiti Road through beautiful valleys and lush tea fields. We saw the mansions of those who own the tea fields as we also observed those in the fields gathering. Peter tells me that the workers arepaid very poorly, on the order of $1 a day  for 8 hours of very difficult work. Comparatively, a public school teacher may earn $400 a month, and a private school teacher slightly less.

I am still amazed at the number of churches we see on every street.  Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Roman Catholic, and every flavor in between.  It is custom for many of the vehicles, buses and trucks to have Christian sayings on them, so you might find your self behind a truck that says “God Bless You”  or “Jesus Saves.” Most of these places are in a small building of variable material; some nicely painted and kept up and others little more than a collection of boards and sticks with a sign proclaiming them to be “The Saving Church”   or “Soulwinning church.” Schools, too, are everywhere. Public education isn’t highly respected so there is huge business in private, usually parochial schools. 

Eventually, we turned off the paved road onto dusty red “roads.” I happened to decide to wear my white skirt today and the ladies were shaking their heads at me because of the dust.  No time to make a change, but I understand now why they were concerned. The skirt is definitely not white any more!

The road got progressively less like a road and again, more like a goat path, though this time, there were more crevices than rocks.  The trees and any fences or buildings along this road are all a dusty red color. As the road wound further and further up the mountain, it became more narrow, and eventually, again, was more like a path that no car could really navigate. Near the end of this part of the journey, we stopped at a local store to purchase bread and soda to bring to the children along with the bag of supplies provided for them. Peter introduced me to Elizabeth, the woman who began attempting to meet the needs of the children of her area in 2004. She has the use of a small area of land with a rustic building and a garden and is currently helping about 60 children. Many of them have lost parents  and are with extended family members who aren’t well able to teach and support them. She especially asked for prayer for one little boy, Samuel, who has a spinal problem that makes personal care very difficult. Her hope is to be able to purchase the land so she won’t need to worry about it being taken away, and then to build 4 dormitories to house up to 80 children and begin a regular feeding program.

The land would cost approximately $1,000.  In the meantime, she and two volunteers spend time with the children daily over many hours, teaching them about  Jesus, and teaching the alphabet sounds and colors  and numbers. As they learn and become able to handle attending the local public school, they have moved on.  She sees the need for the meal program and education to help these children overcome all of their handicaps and go on to live productively.  She and Peter have been friends for some time, and Peter’s vision is that there would be some kind of affiliation between her work and Yahweh’s Set Apart Ministries.

As we finished talking, the children were released from the building for lunch.  They came over in a group to greet me, and another young man was video taping.  Again, they were wide eyed on seeing me. I asked if they’d like to touch my hair sine that seems to fascinate them.  Elizabeth asked if they would like that and all hands went up. So I was surrounded by them all, also extending their hands in friendship handshakes after they checked out my strange light colored hair. I had no idea it was going to be so interesting!  Eventually, the soda and bread was set out for them all and I spoke with Elizabeth as we sat  with the children.  She was very excited to receive the colors and books with Bible stories and explained in detail how she sees these tools as helping the children learn the message of the Bible and who the Bible stories are about.  Of course, she would get no argument from any of us as we all have been learning how much it helps children to learn and be stimulated, especially while being loved, right? We sang a few songs with the children, I shared a few I knew with her, and then the balloons came out.

I have no idea how we can be of any help to them, but certainly see the need and the vision.  Yeshua willing, some way will open. The rest of the day was spent in visiting the building where they gather for Shabbat—the one we saw in a picture awhile back—and then visiting various people in the area.  I met a woman who keeps 600 chickens, and gardens; as well as a 97 (or 100) year old woman, depending whether she or her son is right about age. She welcomed us into her mud and stick home and the family members rushed to bring us benches on which to sit and visit.  Too much to say to do more now.  We are hurrying home now for Shabbat.

Miss you and praying for a wonderful Shabbat for you!

Barb