Kenya feedback 1

Since I have so many impressions from Kenya I will have to post quite a few times for all the information to get written down.

Those of you you have been at church on Sunday past, you will get a lot of overlap - actually you will get the exact same thing :) Maybe some elaboration that might not be the same, or extra.

All I can say is, that the trip was GMT - good missionary training. But there were too many impressions – I wish I could import smells, sounds and turn the thermometer up a notch or three. Especially at night, where I'm sure the temperature did not drop below 25 degrees Celsius.

Let’s start at the beginning: I’ve come from apathy and lots of prayer as well as lots of hard work (Hannah, Carine, Kim, Cathy’s sister) and all your contributions in terms of encouragement, asking about preparations and your finances of course (we were 27 000 rand over the budgeted amount when we left and could leave this money with Grant and Loki for the building of the pastor's houses as well as for material for he new Bible School). I think I and the team could not have gone if it were not for God’s prodding as well as all your praying. I have doubted so often along the way and even Friday before my flight, there I was put before the choice of changing my flight, or not going….

Yet God works in mysterious ways and I left on the Wednesday morning at 5 for Jo'burg. Those of you who wan to find out where Korr is, got o Google Earth and search. It's really in the middle of the desert.

I think my first impression was a strange familiarity – like landing at WHK airport. But then, in the airport, colours, colours, colours and real Africa. People are friendly and have an ability to just make time for you and getting to know you. I met some South Africans at the guesthouse and got chatting. One of them knew Tanya de Waal – how small is the world and how amazing is our God to bring something of home to where we are, when we are far away from all things familiar.

Landing bush-style is something that cannot be told! I think anyone who's done it will agree. Still, a strange familiarity was present. This place looks like home – like the Great Karoo or even the south of Namibia. It’s amazing to think God prepares you for such a long time for this, like having you grow up in Namibia.

Korr is much bigger than I originally thought with a mix of built houses and traditional huts side by side and again I was struck by the – colours, colours, colours.

A short overview: the first week we spent on youth camp, which finished on Tuesday. Wednesday was our “day off” and we took a trip up to Kargi and the Chalbi desert - a salt pan with volcanic rocks to the one side.

The next few days we spent helping Nick and Lynne and Grant and Loki with a bunch of things in and around their houses, anything from changing a 5000L water tank on the tower for a 2000 L one, to ripping out ceilings,

to dusting,sorting and cataloguing the library of the new Bible school , to sewing new covers for Grant and Loki’s living room (guess which was my responsibility…) We also took a trip to other missionaries in Ngurunit (one hour’s drive) the next weekend, where we could go swimming in a river.

During our last week we watched camels being milked, crushed 20 people into a Rendile hut to hear Nariyo’s testimony, visited the pastor’s houses and talked about missions a lot.

On our way back we spent one night in Samburu National Park and saw way too many elephants - sometimes a little too close for my liking, a few reticulated giraffe as well as gerenuk antelope duikers, buffalo and waterbuck. Some even spent about 50Rand to take a dip in the Samburu Lodge pool. We then still had two nights in Nairobi and one full day, where we spent all our money on coffee and curios.

So far a quick overview - more next time. Over and out.