Kathy's Sabbatical Saga

A final posting from Africa!

2011-12-09T05:32:00.000-08:00

As I near the end of my incredible 6 weeks in Africa, I want to do one last blog - sharing with you some of the pictures from our Safari. Both Art and I have been deeply touched by the strength of heart and the grace-filled dignity of the people we have met both in Kenya and in Tanzania. To finish off our time in this country by watching and learning from the animals was a real gift. We had 3 days, and two nights out on safari. We began in Tarangire Park. As we were waiting for our guide to fill in the paperwork, I took a picture of this monkey - mostly because the kids at Sunset made it clear they wanted to see a monkey or two!

One of the things that I loved about Africa was the trees. This park has many baobab trees - huge old trees that provide great shade.

As we drove along that first afternoon, it was lovely to see a small group of giraffes. Hopefully you can see the small birds on this female - they are called "tick birds", as they eat the ticks and bugs that must be very difficult for the giraffe to get rid of otherwise. It was wonderful to just sit and watch these extremely tall, and somewhat elegant creatures move across the road - they were moving slowly - both left legs together, then both right legs together.

That first night we stayed at the Tanganire Lodge - this was our room!

At the back of the tent, there was a flush toilet and a shower - very comfortable. And the food was very good - amazing how we could work up an appetite just sitting in our vehicle and being driven around!

We did our next drive at 6:30 a.m. - a pre-breakfast look at the wildlife! This is looking out at the Serengetti as the sun was coming up - the view from the dining area of the lodge.

Our first treat was a group of elephants right near the lodge. We just parked the vehicle and watched them walk along - no hurry, no fuss - extremely peace-full to watch. How can you not love those baby elephants??

We saw many water bucks along the way - this one seemed quite happy to stand and pose for us.

One of the incredible gifts of that morning was discovering this group of 10 cubs and their two mommas - just lying there beside the road. We took many, many pictures - rather than doing a "home movie" moment, I will just share a couple of our favorites. Sammy (who I will tell you more about a bit later), figured that these cubs would be 8 to 10 months old. They tend to stay very close to their mothers for the first couple of years. Beside the mothers there were two younger cubs who were still nursing.

The other animals we saw a lot of in this park were impalas - here is one of my favorite pictures of them.

These next two pictures just say "Africa" to me - certainly not scenes you would see on our prairie fields in Canada:

After we had our breakfast, it was time to load up and head for the next stage of our Safari. Here is Art on the pathway to our room. And this is one of the porters who decided it was easier to carry my suitcase on her head than it was to pull it along on its wheels!

We had two amazing experiences as we were driving away from the lodge towards the park gates. One was this moment where Sammy parked the vehicle and we watched this rather large group of elephants approach us. They were majestic - both powerful and gentle somehow. It is very difficult to describe how absolutely beautiful it was to just sit there as the group came and walked around our vehicle. They were so close we could have reached out and touched them. They were not at all concerned about us. It was one of those indescrible holy moments - we sat in silence as they slowly and deliberately walked past us, until at one point they completely surrounded our car on all sides - I actually felt a wee bit weepy at the beauty of the moment.

The other incredible moment was seeing this cheetah. Sammy just happened to glimpse it roll over with its feet in the air as we drove by - I have no idea how he saw it. He told us we were very lucky - they are shy creatures and don't show themselves that often.

Our next stop was Ngorongoro crater. Here is the entrance to the park, and a picture of me contemplating how incredibly blessed I felt to be on this African adventure!

Just past the entrance we saw this group of baboons, and this time I asked him to stop so I could get a picture - kind of a laid back old guy!

We stopped at a viewpoint to get our first look down into the crater. Apparently this was once a mountain, taller even than Kilamanjaro, but once it erupted it caved in on itself and created this amazing grazing land for a wide variety of animals.

It felt very different than being in the Tarangire Park, and we saw many new varieties of animals. But we before we get to the animals, let me introduce you to our driver, Sammy. He has been a guide for about 20 years - he told me he took a course to learn to guide, but he doesn't have any formal education. I told him that his lifetime of living and watching the animals here was worth way more than any academic degree - he just grinned at me. He is an amazing man. He told us that you can't be in a rush - you need to take the time to just sit and watch and see what will unfold. It was good not to just snap our pictures and rush on. We would sometimes sit 20 - 30 minutes and just watch the scene in front of us. He clearly enjoys what he does - and would often chuckle when we saw the antics of the babies. He would often throw in little tid-bits of information. Like, you can tell if an elephant is left-handed or right-handed by watching which one of the tusks is shorter than the other. Sammy was a huge part of what made this experience enjoyable for Art and I - we are very, very thankful that he was our driver. He also had a great sense of humor and it was fun to see that playful side of him - like how he sat on a seat cushion with a spider-man cover on it!

One of the animals that we saw an abundance of was zebras - this is where they come in the rainy season. Along with the wildebeests.

Here are a couple more zebra shots - they tend to roll in the mud lots, so that is the reddish look on their backs. And this was near a huge flock of flamingos that were too far away for us to get a really good shot of - thank God for a camera with a powerful zoom!

The crater is the one place where you can still see black rhinos - again, I have no idea how Sammy spotted these guys, but at least we got to see proof that they are there. They didn't move at all while we sat there, but it's pretty clear that they are indeed rhinos!

This was also our first view of gazelles - this one is a beauty.

As we were driving along we saw this flurry of black and white - apparently we just missed seeing two ostriches mating! But I was just happy to arrive when we did - this guy looks pretty proud of himself! Part of the way males make themselves attractive is by turning their necks and legs very pink. The female on the other hand, is quite dull by comparison. It was pretty funny to watch. The intimacy was done - and they both walked away in opposite directions, never even glimpsing back to see what the other might be thinking!

Sammy wore this hat on the drive cause it tended to be so dusty - he didn't like having to wipe the dust out of his hair!

We were able to see a couple of black-maned lions as well. These guys co-operated nicely and let us see their faces a little bit - they were a fair ways away from our vehicle, but the power in their bodies is still fairly visible - I was fine with just viewing them from a distance.

At one point right beside the road, we came across 4 female lions. Literally, I could have reached out and touched one of them. Sammy told us that lions spend 18 hours a day resting and/or sleeping. They were incredibly relaxed when we saw them. Kind of strange to think they are there and not that far away, there are zebras, wildebeest, and ostriches - all a tasty meal for a lion! It would be kind of hard to stalk anything in this wide open crater - most hunting would happen after dark when the many safari vehicles are long gone.

And, just so you know we saw it, here is a rather comical picture of a buffalo.

Again, we sat and watched this elephant crossing the field beside us. Sammy guessed it would be about 60 or 65 years old. Elephants live to be about 70 or so. It was lovely watching him walk along - as Sammy said: "no rush here in Africa!" Just one foot in front of the other - same as he had been doing for 60 years before this - before Art and I were even born - a little amazing to think about.

I'll close with this one last picture we took as we drove up and out of the crater.

This whole time - Marsabit, Nairobi, Longido, the Safari, and now here on Zanzibar - has been an incredible adventure. I can't quite believe that in two days Art and I get back on a plane and head back to Canada. I can't even begin to describe how my heart and soul have been touched by this journey. I have many, many moments that I will continue to ponder and absorb over the next while. I know that I will indeed leave here a changed person - which was one of my hopes for this time of sabbath. It is impossible not to slow down here - to leave behind the urgency of time schedules and agendas. My body feels more rested and relaxed than it has been for quite some time. For this final month of my sabbatical, I will be spending much time reflecting and re-adjusting and sorting out how to integrate this African experience into my ministry with Sunset United Church - but I will not be blogging again until I am back to work, and back to our regular website. Just to give you a wee glimpse into life in Zanzibar, here are a couple of pictures from swimming with the dolphins - we will be leaving this island much rejuvenated! Hopefully that will still be the case when I am back to my desk on January 10th. Thank you for those who have travelled along with me - bye for now...

A final look at Longido

2011-12-07T07:11:00.000-08:00

While we were in Longido, we stayed at the Tembo Guest House, which was built several years ago by a group of women from Ottawa. This is where we ate our breakfast - the building is round, with the bedrooms on the outside walls, and this eating space on the inner circle.

One of the lovely features was this patio area at the back where we could relax, enjoy a cool drink (those who know me know which cool drink I ordered the most often!), and view the setting of the sun. Somehow this picture of the trees as viewed from our patio, taken as we watched the sun go down, captured for us the spirit of an evening in Longido.

Since Art and I were only in Longido for 2 full days, we didn't get to know the staff of Sauti Moja Tanzania as well, but they were very helpful in touring us around a little bit. We travelled in this vehicle nicknamed "the beast"!

Ngoresa (may not be spelling that right!) was our driver. When we were getting in, he said "the Momma should sit up here" - that was me, and I got the passenger seat in the front. Tim, Jenaya and Nashapai were very gracious about climbing into the back seat!

The roads here were nowhere near as rough as the roads in Marsabit. However, the rains have eroded the roads in this area as well. At one point we had to cross a river bed, and the banks were rather steep. Ngoresa said "no problem - the beast is an old strong truck - lots of power". I covered my eyes (which he found hilarious) as we drove straight down one side and a steep climb up the other side - but he was right, we got through fine without getting stuck. One of the places we visited was the school at Oltepesi. Unfortunately, the rain has badly eroded the mud walls again, and the inside of the school was flooded so the floor was a mess.

What they really need is for the walls to be cemented, but at this point there is not enough in the budget to do that. So everytime it rains they will be in a bad spot. This is a pre-primary school - using the Montesori program, they teach the Masai children some basic Swahili, and some math, so that when they go to primary school in the village they will not be so alienated from the other children. Here I am standing with the teacher - he is Masai himself, and has received the Montesori training, so he can now teach the children. He made all the teaching materials he uses himself - clearly he is very proud of the work he does. I just hope that some day his school will become more permanent so that it can withstand the heavy rains. These are roads we were driving on to travel from Longido out to Oltepesi - not as bad as Marsabit roads, but not exactly a highway either!

Another day we travelled about an hour away to visit the village of Mairowa. This is where Cory Wright began the experience of community conversations to help address the struggles of HIV/AIDS. Our first stop was to see the progress on the resource centre which has been an ongoing project. You may not be able to see it in the picture, but they began with cementing between the bricks, then ran out of cement so there are a few layers that are mudded, and then they were able to do the top layers with cement again. Inside there is a large open room where the community conversations and education sessions can be held, plus there are two smaller rooms for an office and for storage space.

Here is the Sauti Moja Tanzania staff looking out of what will be their office. Their main office will remain in Longido, but it will be good to have space to meet in Mairowa as well.

Our first visit was with two people who have self-disclosed that they are HIV positive. In Mairowa, there are a few people who made it public that they are living with HIV/AIDS. That is one of the most positive effects of these community conversations - no longer are people living in such isolation and fear once they have tested as positive. By self-disclosing they are HIV positive, they can access a support group, and get more education about how to live a healthy life, even with the diagnosis.

The man sitting with his head down was the first one to admit to testing positive. He told us about how in the "glory days" he could walk for miles, often taking part in livestocks raids as far away as places in Kenya. However, he kept getting weaker, and was diagnosed 3 times with TB, each time getting a little more sick. So they did a test for HIV/AIDS, and it was positive. He told us he feels fine now - the only struggle he has is that he is now blind as a result of the disease. But otherwise, he manages quite well.

He had 3 wives. 1 refused to get the test, 2 others tested and both were positive. One of those wives died a short time ago. But the other woman here is his second wife.

She has become a very important spokesperson for how to live a healthy life-style even with the diagnosis. She has spoken to groups in Longido, and usually begins by asking them to describe how they think someone would look who was HIV positive. Once they have described all the probable symptoms of someone, she tells them that she has been tested and she is positive. They are usually shocked because she looks so healthy. She then tells them why she is so healthy looking - that she gets the proper medication and she does her best to eat well. She is a very helpful spokesperson in terms of encouraging people to have the courage to be tested, and then educating people about how to live longer even after the diagnosis. She is upbeat and filled with both grace and strength. Once again I was touched by the warmth of her heart, and the beauty of her smile.

The other thing this woman made clear in speaking with us, is how very much she appreciates the support of Sauti Moja. Over the years they have helped by providing them with a donkey so they could get water, plus they have made it possible for them to get the transportation necessary to travel to the clinic to get the medication they need. Part of the difficulty of this illness is that people can't afford to travel to the clinic - the actual medication is not costly, but the transportation to get there is not easy. What they are now hoping to get assistance with is a way to work their fields. They own land, but they are too weak to do the plowing themselves. If they had some assistance to work the land, they could do the planting and the weeding themselves. That might be one way for them to stop relying so heavily on food relief, which is not always dependable for feeding their family. All the children have been tested, and none of them are positive, so her concern continues to be to give her children a healthy diet and to make sure they all get to school.

The last night in Longido, Jenaya treated us to her gourmet pasta dish - the ingredients in Longido are a little sparse, so she had to be extra creative to come up with the meal she prepared for us! We bought her a little magnetic dart board so that she could have something to do in the evenings besides talk to her cat, Pete. I know that I will continue to be processing much of this experience for a very long time. I am profoundly thankful for the experience I have had both in Kenya and in Tanzania. Tim and Jenaya helped me to see a face of Africa that I know that I would never have seen on a regular "tourism" kind of tour. Art said it well to me - when all the layers of "stuff" that we tend to surround ourselves with are stripped away, it enables us to see human decency at its best. The women we were introduced to through Sauti Moja have a dignity and a strength that is impossible to miss. The work that Sauti Moja is doing with the most vulnerable women in Kenya and Tanzania spoke strongly to me of our call to seek justice, love kindness, and always to walk humbly with God. I don't expect that I will ever forget that group of widows saying to us that they never expected that they would survive the drought, so to be alive is for them a clear sign that the God of the poor is not asleep.

As we move ever closer towards Christmas, I hope that you will think of Tim, Jenaya, and the others who work so hard for Sauti Moja - for "one voice for peace". If you are at all able, go to their website and make a donation - it will help to build a school, or feed a child, or bring hope to these women who are doing their utmost best simply to survive. One of the things we talked about was how so little cash can make such a huge difference in the quality of lives here in Africa. I know that I have gone out for supper in Regina and easily spent $50 - that amount of money will feed a whole family here for a month or so. I know that my finances are stretched thin in Canada - but I also know that I will be thinking about what I can afford a little differently now that I have have sat in the homes of some of these women in Africa. If you can't make a donation at this point, please hold these people in your hearts and prayers. As one of the widows told me with great emotion in her voice - it helps a huge amount to know that there are people across the ocean - strangers - who will pray for the well-being of herself and her children.

My next post will be moving away from the vulnerable widows, as I share with you some of the amazing pictures and stories from the 3 days we were on Safari in Tanzania. Amazing what we learned from watching the animals of Africa!

A first glimpse of Longido, Tanzania

2011-12-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

We have been away from the internet for a few days while we spent time with Tim and Jenaya in Longido, Tanzania. We are at a hotel in Arusha for tonight, so I will introduce you to Longido tonight while I have access to the internet. On Tuesday morning (Nov 29), Tim and Jenaya had work to do, so Art and I had a morning to just relax. We walked up to a place where Tim's son, Cory, has built a permanent tent camp. As we walked up to the site, a couple of women met us along the path and came and sat for awhile with us. They didn't speak any English. My Swahili consists of "welcome"and "thank you", so the conversation was pretty sparse! But we smiled a lot at each other and they were quite happy to have their pictures taken:

Below is the view we were enjoying with them...

Unfortunately we didn't have any Tanzanian money yet to buy any of the bracelets this woman wanted to sell us, but she enjoyed wearing Art's sunglasses - so he squinted, and she grinned:

It was actually pretty funny - it was like the word spread about these white people sitting up at the camp, and the visitors continued to come. So this was our next visitor - one of the Masai men from the village. Once he saw we had a camera, he insisted on posing for us. And what fascinated him the most was our binoculars. He couldn't stop looking through them and grinning - who knows if he was focusing them or what he was actually seeing through them, but he sure enjoyed them:

The next visitor was a young boy who we had been watching as he herded his sheep on the hill just below us. I imagine he would have been about 7 or 8. He spoke no English at all. But he seemed to think we were hilarious - he giggled a lot with us. He loved looking through both the sunglasses and the binoculars. He especially liked looking through the binoculars backwards - he and I spent time sticking out our tongues at each other while he looked at me through the binoculars backwards - he found it very funny!

After lunch, we went out to one of the sub-villages of Longido called Oltepesi, which is where one of the child mothers lives. She lives in a group of houses called a "boma" - several traditional Masai homes grouped together. Inside the grouping of houses, they have enclosures that are fenced in with the thorn bushes to keep the livestock close to them at night. The child mother we visited is a woman named Sara. The first two pictures are outside their home. Sara's mother is holding Sara's daughter, whose name is "Happy". There were several other family members visiting with us as well:

This is a picture of Sara holding her daughter Happy:

Beside Sara, is a woman who works with Sauti Moja Tanzania - her name is Happy as well - kind of a popular name here apparently! Once we had finished conversation outside, we were invited to go into their home. You will see the little girl in the red stripes behind Sara? That is the doorway we were to go through. Honestly? It was completely dark once you stepped inside. I literally had to be talked over to the place where I could sit - it took forever for my eyes to adjust! Once we were seated in the house, we had some chai tea. Here are a couple of pictures from in the house:

As we were sitting there enjoying the hospitality of this Masai family, the grandmother, who was sitting right beside me, leaned over and said she had a present for the "mama" - that is me. She took a necklace off of her neck, and put it around mine. Later I was told that the Masai people are very generous and like to give gifts. I don't think I will ever forget the feel of those cool beads as they touched the back of my neck - I felt very honored to wear the necklace that she had been wearing. You can see it around her neck in the first picture I posted of her holding her grandchild. And here is a picture of us standing outside. I think we were deeply connected - mother to mother - it was a very good moment.

All in all it was a wonderful first day in Longido. I have more pictures and stories from our second day, but Art and I are off on a Safari tomorrow - yeah!! So I won't be back to the internet until Sunday evening. Check in again in a few days...I will just leave you with this picture of Art in the little patio behind the guest house in Longido. The frigid temperatures of the Manitoba prairies, and the chaos of a busy work place, seem a very long ways away at the moment...

On the road again....

2011-11-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

So, the rains let up and our plane arrived in Marsabit Saturday morning about 11:30 a.m. - this is Martha coming to tell us the good news. She was involved with a wedding from her church and looked like so beautiful in her wedding finery that I couldn't resist taking a picture:

This time the plane we were travelling back to Nairobi on was quite small - 5 passengers and the pilot. Weight was a critical issue, so the pilot had an amazing job to do. First of all he filled the plane with fuel, then weighed all our luggage, asked us all our weight (I chose to be very honest rather than my usual cutting off a pound or two!), then began to figure out how to distribute everything so that the back end of the plane was not too heavy. That took us until 1:00 to get sorted out!

The luggage mostly fit in that storage space beneath the plane, except for one suitcase that wouldn't fit - that belonged to the one man on the flight! I ended up sitting in the very back of the plane. Jenaya had my camera because I couldn't hold anything on my lap - no extra weight allowed - so these are the pictures she took - beginning with her self-portrait! We were very, very happy to be finally on our way....

These are a couple of shots of the Marsabit mountain - it was quite incredible to see how very green it is. It hasn't looked like this in 10 years is what we were told. So I am glad Jenaya felt free to use my camera to capture it!

It was, of course, quite wonderful to arrive in Nairobi and find Arthur here with Tim (who was quite glad to see us arrive with his suitcase of clean clothes!). Today Art and I had a chance to play tourist, and gave Tim a break from being our tour guide. The first place we went was to the elephant orphanage. We saw 18 of the orphaned elephants - we arrived to see them get their 11:00 a.m. feeding. These animals have all been orphaned for different reasons - sometimes their mothers have been poached for their tusks, sometimes the mothers have died of other means. But a baby elephant needs its mothers milk for a minimum of two years - without that milk, they will very quickly die. So this organization called the David Sheldrick wildlife trust has created a haven for these baby elephants. I now have many, many pictures of elephants - and of Arthur!

This was bringing the elephants to get fed.

Yes - he's in Africa!

A baby elephant needs to be fed milk for a minimum of 2 1/2 to 3 years. Then what this organization does is try to re-introduce them into the wild. A trainer will walk with the elephant out into the forest early in the morning and return with it around supper time. Out in the forest this elephant will begin to interact with the other elephants who live in the wild - eventually one of the groups of elephants will accept this new elephant into their group. But this process of introducing the orphaned elephant to the a new group could take up to five years. The trainers might be working with one particular elephant for up to 8 years - it was quite touching watching their interaction with the elephants - clearly they developed personal attachments!

The other place that we went was to the Kenyan Giraffe Centre. Not as many interesting facts, but some great pictures!

Tomorrow afternoon we will be heading to Longido, Tanzania, to find out more about the work that Sauti Moja Tanzania does. I have been told that although we will be staying in a very nice guest house there, that we will not have internet. So my assumption is that it will be a few days before I can post anything again - I may be silent for a bit, but I will be back! Today I am well aware that it is the first Sunday in Advent - I can't even begin to tell you how far away I feel from Christmas right now!

Surprise - another day in Marsabit!

2011-11-25T05:12:00.000-08:00

I am kind of wishing that I didn't tell anyone that this was going to be adventure - adventures have a way of turning any plans upside down! This new adventure began when Tim discovered the airplane that was available for today didn't actually have enough seats for all 4 of us to return today, so he began to scramble to find an alternative to get home. He actually bought a bus ticket, even though the bus trip from here could take 2 days to do what should easily be manageable in one day. However, late yesterday he was able to make arrangements to go in a 4 wheel drive, smaller vehicle with some workers from one of the NGO's here. He left at 6:30 this morning, thinking that he might be able to be in Nairobi early this evening. We just got a cryptic text from him that they were having car troubles, but still expected to be in Nairobi later this evening. MEANWHILE, back here in Marsabit, Nashapai, Jenaya (2 of the staff from Sauti Moja Tanzania who have been with us for a week) and I were feeling sorry for Tim because of his long trip, fully expecting that we would be on the plane and back in Nairobi by late afternoon today. At 1:00 we discovered that the weather had been too bad in Nairobi so they couldn't take off after all - the plan is that they will try to get the plane again tomorrow, but there are certainly no guarantees as this is the rainy season. MEANWHILE, right now, as I write this, my husband is on the plane from Heathrow airport. Yesterday when I was in touch with him, I told him - no worries - I will be at the airport to meet you. Our internet was down all morning, so I couldn't be in touch with him again before he left England. So, here's hoping he figures out what to do when he walks out into the terminal and there is a taxi driver there with a card with his name on it - welcome to the African reality of trying to make plans!! At least Tim will be at the guest house in Nairobi sometime tonight so that Art won't be totally on his own for all of tomorrow. It is a good exercise in learning to be an adult in a situation that is totally beyond our control. We have shelter, we have food, we have water, we have internet - all will be well! I do have a few pictures I can show you of some of the people we have spent time with. Two days ago, we walked out to see a friend of Tim's who has had a home for children in Marsabit for many years. These children are all orphans, meaning that their fathers are not living, and if their mother is living, she is not able to take care of them. There are 30 children who sleep at this home, and all of them are in either primary or secondary school. John, the director of the home, arranged for all of them to gather and pose for a picture:

Last night we were invited to Martha's home for supper. Martha is the manager of the Child Mother's program, plus she does most of the administration for Sauti Moja Marsabit. Martha has been in many of the pictures I have taken of child mothers, and of the widows that we have been interviewing. She has a deep compassion for the beneficiaries of Sauti Moja, and it is clear in watching the conversations that she is deeply respected in this community. I know that when I picture Marsabit after I have left here, Martha is one of the faces of compassion that I will remember. I wanted to find some small way to offer her some support, so I decided to "re-gift" her with the prayer shawl that I received from Selkirk United Church. Often in the evenings while I was writing these posts, I would have the prayer shawl around my shoulders. It feels very good to be leaving the shawl here - to offer Martha the strength of knowing that there is a community of people across the ocean who will continue to pray for her ministry here.

Another person we spent a fair bit of time with was Philip. Philip is the project manager for the livestock program - the goats and the donkeys. Philip came and had a visit with me this morning and talked a bit about his own life story. When he was young his family couldn't afford to pay for him to go to Secondary School, so he was only able to go up to Class 8. Eventually he found work as a night watchman which enabled him to begin to save some money. Once he had saved enough to pay for the school fees, he asked a friend who was a teacher to give him some help to prepare so that he could study enough to write the final exam. He worked hard and was able to finish Form 4 in 2007 - that is the equivalent of Grade 12 in Canada. He has now been working on distance education and will soon have his diploma in social service and community development. Again, I was very touched by his dedication to the work that Sauti Moja does. He works hard to find the most vulnerable women in the surrounding villages, and treats them with great respect as he works with them to provide the livestock and instruct them in the care needed to ensure they have healthy animals. I wanted to leave him with some small symbol that would let him know we will continue to pray for him across the ocean, and so I re-gifted him with this rock that I was given by someone from the Sunset congregation. The rock was given to me before I left Canada, so that when I felt alone or overwhelmed, I could wrap my hand around the rock and know that I had a community of support - that I was not alone. It felt right and good to leave this Canadian rock with a man who is clearly a rock of support for many who need to know that they are not alone.

Martha and Philip are often the contacts for all the beneficiaries of Sauti Moja who live in very isolated villages in the Marsabit district. The only way they have of getting out to do those personal visits is on this motorcycle. Philip usually uses it himself, but if Martha needs to go somewhere, he gives her a ride - side-saddle! They were very gracious in posing for me, since I told them Canadians would have to see it to believe it! So, as you get in your cars to go wherever it is you are heading this weekend, please remember these two Kenyans, who are living their faith by reaching out to those who live on the very margins of this society. My heart has been touched, and my faith has been strengthened by the witness of these two people:

And please - pray for clear skies for Nairobi for tomorrow - I would like to actually spend time with Art for the remainder of my time in Africa!!

Conversations in Goro Rukesa

2011-11-23T10:31:00.000-08:00

Today we traveled to a village about a 1/2 hour away: Goro Rukesa. The road was eroded, the drive was slow, but I must be getting immune to it all - my mind is picturing the green fields along the way rather than focusing on the deeply rutted and rocky road we were driving along. I am also getting used to the mode of transport here. We travel in a vehicle that has room for a passenger in the front, and then 4 of us squeeze onto the bench seat in the back - a seat that sits 3 comfortably. Sitting like sardines certainly cuts down the amount we bounce around - there is nowhere to go when we are squeezed that tight together! Goro Rukesa is the first community that received livestock from Sauti Moja - that was about 2 or 3 years ago. What Tim was interested in hearing about this time was how they survived the drought, and how are they feeding their families these days. Martha and I interviewed two women. The first was a woman named Kula.

Kula has 6 children to look after and feed. Her husband left a number of years ago, and she has never heard from him again. The drought was very difficult - her donkey died, and only 1 goat, and 1 very young goat survived. Right now, there is lots of water in the water pans nearby, so she has more time to go to the forest to get the wood that she needs to burn charcoal. She sells the charcoal the easiest during the rainy season because it is cool and the people in town like to burn the charcoal to keep their houses warm. Right now the price for a bag of charcoal is about 750 - 1000 Kenyan shillings (up to about $11 Canadian). In the dry season the price goes down to about 500 shillings (about $5). Although burning charcoal is illegal in Kenya, primarily because of the environmental concerns of cutting down all the trees, for these women there are very few alternatives to make money. And it is far from easy.

I asked Kula if I could take a picture because I have heard often of the charcoal but have never actually seen it. Those pieces of wood individually are very light, but the full bag weighs about 40 kg (80 lb or thereabouts). Since her donkey died, she carries that on her back very long distances. I helped a tiny bit in transferring it to another bag and my hands were instantly black - heavy and dirty work.

Hopefully there are some Canadians who will go to the Sauti Moja website to look at their Christmas donation page - buying a donkey could make an incredible difference to these women. If Kula has a donkey to help bring back water from the well during the dry season, it means she might get a day in between trips. Without the donkey, she has to do the trip every day - leaving home at 6 a.m., walking 3 hours, standing in line, filling her 20 litre can with water, then carrying it home on her back, arriving at home at 6 p.m. Because of the work that she has to do either hauling water or finding the wood to burn for charcoal, her two eldest children (15 and 10) do not go to school - they stay at home to do chores and to look after the younger children. Again, it is her faith that gets her through - she told me she wouldn't be here if it weren't for the grace of God. If God gave her these children, then God will help provide the bread she needs to feed her children. And she said if she can encourage the younger ones to stay in school, perhaps one day they will be able to look after her and look after themselves.

The other woman we interviewed was a woman named Salo. She lives alone with her 12 year old daughter, Buke. Several years ago her husband abandoned her, and went to marry someone else - he has never given them any financial support. Salo works as a cook at a nursery school, but makes very little money. She relies on the relief food to feed herself and her daughter. Tim was telling us today that there has been no relief food delivered to this village for quite some time - the women he was interviewing told him they had been eating leaves off the Shaqeda trees for two weeks. One of the reasons the trucks have not been delivering food is that the big food relief agencies have not been paying the truckers money in a timely fashion, which means the truckers either get fed up with no payment, or they simply can't afford to operate the trucks - so they simply stop driving. Salo has lived in this area all of her life, and she has never seen a drought this bad - she said it was very, very hard for all her people. Her donkey also died, but 3 of her goats survived. So this tiny little woman will be hauling 20 litres of water on her back once the dry season starts and the water pans near her home dry up.

Even though she is very small in stature, I told her that when I went back to Canada, I would be telling everyone about this very strong woman I met in Goro Rukesa - because clearly, only a very strong woman would have been able to survive the drought like she did. She found it funny to be described that way, and was quick to say that it is only God who helps her to survive. I wasn't quick enough with my camera to catch her laughing, but Martha didn't stop laughing as quickly:

As I walked along between the two houses I took a picture of this little girl - I found her very adorable. But just after I took the picture she ran away crying very loudly. My guess is she had not seen a white woman very often, if ever. That has happened several times where very small children are quite frightened of us - perhaps we remind them of ghosts or something! I didn't get a picture of them, but there were also several older girls who giggled every time I looked their way - just as giggly as I remember little girls being back in Canada!

Hearing the two women today strongly reinforced the incredible gift it is to have a donkey - no wonder they are called a beast of burden - they are fully capable of carrying these very heavy loads that the women have had to carry on their own backs for so many years. As I look at this donkey, I give thanks for the ways it will help to ease the work-load of whoever it is that owns it. Before coming here, I would not have necessarily named these animals so clearly as a gift from God.

A relaxed day in Marsabit

2011-11-22T11:13:00.000-08:00

We are only going to be in Marsabit for two more full days. That means Tim has many things to do with his staff and others in the community since he likely won't be back to Marsabit until April or so. While he was busy today, I took a few pictures to show you where I have been staying. The first picture is of the Food for the Hungry guest house. There are several bedrooms, plus a communal kitchen where we can make our own meals, and a bathroom which has a flush toilet and showers - living in the lap of luxury!

My bedroom is that first one you see on the left as you look towards the building. Behind those trees, there is a lovely courtyard area with some flowers, and a table and chairs. Here is a view of the courtyard through the door of my bedroom:

Tim has been coming to Marsabit for 13 years, working in a wide variety of projects. He has come to know many of the people here quite well. We have been in Marsabit close to 3 weeks, and each week there have been more and more people popping by to visit him. Often we sit out there at that table and have conversations about family and friends, about the drought, about the rains, about the horrendous roads - it has been a place where I have certainly learned many things about daily life here in Marsabit. I have also listened to the dreams of several people who long to see an improved quality of life for the people of the Marsabit district. As you look from the guest house towards the road, you will see the rather large generator. Electricity seems to go off often in the Town of Marsabit, and the generator has been MUCH appreciated. Beside it is the little shelter for the guards - there is a guard present all the time. The most they have been called on to do while I have been here is to kill a snake in the bathroom one evening - he just took his stick in and quickly cut off the head - it was very fast. I don't think it was a poisonous snake, but I was glad he was here to deal with it!

When you walk through the gate beside the guard's shelter, you cross the road, walk over a little grassy patch, and you will arrive at the Sauti Moja Office.

Sauti Moja is hoping to buy a vehicle in the next few months - it would be a HUGE help in the work that they do to have their own transportation. At the moment all that they have is this motorcyle - here they call it a "piki" - not sure of that spelling! When I first arrived here Tim said if I was going to be hurt here it would be because I had been hit by a piki. There are many young men who drive their piki's much, much too fast through these narrow little streets. They honk their horns, but don't slow down much, and you are expected to jump out of the way. This piki that is owned by Sauti Moja is driven by Phillip. Phillip is the project manager of the livestock program for Sauti Moja Marsabit. If Martha (the project manager for the Child Mother program) needs to go anywhere, she gets a ride from Phillip on this piki. Martha, like most women here, always wears a long skirt, which means she rides on this side-saddle. That is not bad when it is around town. But if she needs to go somewhere out in the country, on these very bumpy roads, I imagine it would be a very uncomfortable ride. What she really would like to have some day is a scooter type vehicle that she would easily drive herself even while wearing a skirt - it would make her job much easier if she had the freedom to drive herself to wherever it is that she needs to go. One of those scooters would cost about $1600.00. If anyone feels so inclined, donations would always be most gratefully received towards the purchase of a scooter for Martha!

Just outside the gate of our compound, and before you walk across to Sauti Moja, is the road towards town. This is the road we walk down every day on our way through the market to get our lunch. When the rains were here, this road was a mess of mud and was quite slippery. Now that it hasn't rained for a few days, it is quite dry and easy to walk on. Just at the end of that road, you would take a right turn and head towards the business section of Marsabit.

Everywhere we walk in Marsabit, we are kind of obvious - definitely foreigners. Little kids from all directions will call out "How are you? How are you?" It is often the only English phrase that some of these kids know, and they never seem to tire of calling it out to us as we go by. Yesterday Tim and I went for a walk and along the way stopped in to see Phillip (project manager) and his wife Rosemary. They have a lovely little home, and it was very good to sit and visit with them for awhile.

The other picture I took along the way yesterday was of these two girls. The older girl was braiding the younger girl's hair. It was a great image and I couldn't resist taking their picture:

I can't believe my time in Marsabit is almost over. It has been an incredible three weeks - I feel very blessed to be here, and I am glad to give you a little glimpse of the place where I have been staying. Tomorrow we are heading out to another village that I have not yet visited, so I would imagine I will have a few more stories to share!

A community conversation in Logologo

2011-11-22T00:55:00.000-08:00

One of the main purposes for our trip to Logologo was to take part in one of the community conversations. Even though the wedding meant that it didn't happen on the Saturday afternoon, eventually people trickled in and the conversation began on the Sunday morning - only about an hour after when we expected it might start! Let me begin by giving you a little background about these community conversations. Sauti Moja has developed this innovative approach to both prevent and to strategize ways to care for those living with HIV/AIDS. It begins with a year long process of monthly meetings with a core group of leaders who have been identified by their communities. Over the year they develop a relationship with each other, and begin to identify what the issues might be in terms of the disease and the impact on their communities. Once they have worked on educating themselves and each other about the issues involved, then they can begin to develop some action plans for prevention, testing, treatment and care. It is very important that this phase not be rushed so that they can get to the core of what the issues are and not just come up with "band-aid" type solutions - the hope is that they will initiate plans that lead to social change - plans that will have a long-lasting effect for the health of their communities, and the families living in those communities. So, this group in Logologo has just been meeting for a few months now - they are very much in the beginning phase. Here is a picture of part of the group who were were there:

Part of the challenge of these conversations is to create an environment where all who are there feel free to speak their minds. For those of us from the Western world, it is easy to take for granted the freedom of speech that we enjoy. For these cultures here in Kenya, it is sometimes difficult for women to have the courage to speak their minds - especially women from the more traditional communities where perhaps they haven't had the opportunity for education. This group appeared to have a pretty good cross-section of representatives among the women. Here is one of the women who appeared to be a little more vocal than some of the others:

The whole conversation was done in Swahili - translated into Rendille for a couple of the people there who didn't speak any Swahili. Tim told them there was no need to translate into English since this was their process and really wasn't about us at all. What that meant was there was much opportunity to observe the patterns of who was speaking the most. When I was studying for ministry, we used to draw maps of the patterns of conversation - you can generally track who has the most power and the most influence in the group by who is doing the most speaking, and watching who it is they are directing most of their conversation to. So, part way through the time, Tim stood to say that even though he couldn't understand what they were saying, he had noticed that every man in the circle had spoken at least once, but that some of the women had not spoken at all. He said that he wanted to make sure that it was an equal conversation, and that the women knew that their opinions were very important - he encouraged the women to speak up a little more. It was soon after that that we noticed this group of women beginning to speak a little bit more:

One of the things that was encouraging was that some of the younger women were actually being very honest in the conversation, even in the presence of two of the older men in the group. Traditionally, older men do not show any interest in whatever it is that a younger woman has to say. But these men appeared to genuinely consider what it was that was being said by the women in the group.

There were times the conversation was very animated - particularly when the women started to speak their minds. The conversation was focused around polygamy, which is generally an accepted practice in this culture. However, it is clearly one of the ways that HIV/AIDS can be spread. And so they were debating the pros and cons of such a practice. I will leave it to you to consider who would be speaking up in favour of polygamy! This particular conversation lasted for about an hour and a half. The group was made up of 2 or 3 representatives from the various sub-villages around Logologo - some of them had walked 10 km in order to be there for the meeting! After we left, 6 of them would be staying for some facilitator training. Nashipai is a Massai woman from Tanzania, and is on staff with Sauti Moja. She has been involved with the community conversations in Tanzania for about 5 years. So she stayed in Logologo to do the training for 3 days - giving them training in facilitating 12 sessions for these community conversations. They will continue to be part of the larger group in the initial picture I showed you. However, with the extra training they have received, they may be able to eventually initiate these community conversations in their own villages. After a year of these conversations, once all 12 sessions have happened, they will begin to identify some of the micro projects that they could start in their own communities. Some examples of these micro-projects might be to support a counselling centre for women about the disease, its treatment, and care for those infected; or perhaps some trained male youth might begin an education program about condom use and behaviour change; or perhaps there might be some education provided around migrant workers - for those young watchmen who work in Nairobi for long periods, encouraging them to adopt sexual practices that will avoid infecting those who live at home. It is up to the group to come up with their own projects, and Sauti Moja will provide the financial and technical support for developing these micro-projects. This community-based cycle never ends, as they continue to identify emerging issues and reflect on any achievements they have made. Here is a picture of Nashipai standing beside the dining facility at the women's centre:

Nashapai will return to Marsabit on Thursday so that she can fly back to Nairobi with us on Friday. It will be very interesting to hear from her how the training sessions went. It is an encouraging sign to see these communities involved and engaged in the work of building safe and healthy living situations for their own people.

A walk in Logologo

2011-11-20T22:46:00.000-08:00

This past weekend we traveled once more to Logologo - the Rendille village that we visited with Karen and Lourne (Tim's relatives) 2 weeks ago. You may remember the pictures of the road and the immense difficulty of mud and pot-holes. We have had more sun than rain in the last few days, so the road has dried out and is quite passable now - no vehicles were stuck along the way. However, the severe erosion and the pot-holes continue to make the trip extremely bumpy and slow - we likely averaged 30 km/hr instead of the 15 km/hour of 2 weeks ago! Perhaps because I wasn't looking down at the mud so much this time, I was able to watch the scenery a lot more. It was much more obvious to me this time that we were driving around the Marsabit mountain, and down onto the lowlands, which is where Logologo is. It was also clear to me how dazed I was at everything I was seeing 2 weeks ago. It felt good this time to feel like my head was not up in the clouds somewhere. At a few points along the way to Logologo, we saw large groups of baboons on the road. Being the Canadian that I am, I was thinking it would be great to get pictures, but the driver never did slow down - here they are just rather large pests and not seen as photo ops! Once again we stayed at the Isogargaro women's centre. This organization hosts many of the NGO's who come to Logologo, and is quite a comfortable place to stay. Logologo is very rural - the residence we stay in is a traditional Rendille home. It is very much liking camping - just up off the ground. The bathroom is the one where you are in an outhouse, but just squatting over a hole - rather rustic! One of the services they offer is a school for those who have to shepherd their animals all day long, but who come back at night so that they are able to take some classes. Here is their classroom:

We arrived in Logologo thinking that we were going to have a meeting with some of the people from the community. However, most of those people were involved in a local wedding. The pastor who was officiating at the wedding was at least 2 hours late - that is quite often the norm for events here in Africa! Hour long sermons, and 2 hours late for weddings - I hope I can remember the Canadian way when I return to work in January! However, for we Westerners it was a little bit frustrating. Basically we sat and played cards most of that afternoon as the wedding ended up going into the supper hour and our meeting never did happen that day. However, we did go for a little walk, and came across this group of women in traditional dress heading towards the wedding. I tried to be discreet in taking a picture - I don't do discreet very well - but hopefully it will give you a sense of how very colorful they were:

For me, one of the highlights was going for a walk through the field that evening as we went to meet one of the child mothers who has been recommended to Sauti Moja for sponsoring. As we walked along, the sun was just beginning to set, and the animals were being brought back to the village for the night. Because of all the rain lately, the field was covered in small flowers and lots of greenery for the animals to graze on along the way.

This is the group of us who were visiting. Two of the staff from Sauti Moja Tanzania are here to do some work. The male Kenyan who is walking with us is our driver for this trip.

The sun was just going down - it was quite a peaceful time to be out walking - and a relief to feel a bit cooler after the extreme heat of the day.

This was such a lovely picture of Africa - watching this woman walk across the field towards her home in the setting sun...

All around us the animal herds were heading towards their homes for the night. The sound of bells on the necks of the goats was all around us. In the distance we could hear some people singing. Occasionally there was the braying of a donkey. It was while we were walking through these fields that I got this almost surreal feeling - Holy Hannah - I'm in Africa! Somehow I just couldn't stop grinning at it all. It was most definitely a walk that will stay with me when I am back in the deep freeze of Saskatchewan and wondering just what this trip was all about - it will be one of the places I return to in my mind when I need to re-connect with Africa.

I will leave you with this picture of this child mother with Tim. She was dressed in her finery from attending the wedding in the village that afternoon. She and Tim had a good visit - it was an upbeat way to end our day of sitting and waiting. In Africa, very little is done in a hurry - it's both good and somewhat frustrating to let go of our time-driven agenda, and to learn to just sit and wait - all will be well - even if it is not in a hurry!

Meandering reflection on my two weeks in Marsabit

2011-11-18T01:31:00.000-08:00

I have now been in Marsabit for 2 weeks. It is amazing to think of all the people I have met, and the communities that I have seen, and the stories that I have heard. Here are some of my thoughts - welcome to the random world of my brain!

In Marsabit itself, there are many NGO's here, many of them doing very good work. It doesn't appear that there is a lot of collaboration between them - unless it is to sometimes share their vehicles, which seem to be in very short supply these days! With the immensity of poverty and the incredible shortage of both food and income, there is more than enough work for each one of the organizations that are here. However, beyond the work that the NGO's are doing, what has touched my heart the most is the generosity of the Kenyans in terms of looking after their own people.

One of the people who is very involved is Tim's friend, Paul. It was Paul who first approached Tim many years ago and asked him the simple question: "But, Tim, what about the widows?" Paul has lived in the area all of his life, has worked at many different things, and he knows the area very well. He could see that even with all the big agencies and the work that they were doing, that the widows were often falling through the cracks. These women could have 10 children who were dependent on them, but they weren't getting help in any significant ways that would enable them to move beyond just relying on food relief. So Paul and Tim together chose one widow and found the money to build her a new house, and then provided her with some goats to get her started. When they saw how that worked so well, they carried on to create the work that Sauti Moja does today. It began with one widow, and has now expanded to a dream of providing assistance to 1000 widows! Paul believes that things have progressed very quickly (over the last 5 years) and he is very happy with the work that is being done. Tim is not sure it has been so fast - could have moved a lot more quickly in his opinion!

When we were in Qachacha, we stopped to wait for our vehicle beside this school - the kids were singing and so we stopped in so I could take a picture of them. As Martha said, "we need to just have fun with the children for a few minutes".

Below is a picture of Martha who was interpreting for a grandmother who provides childcare to enable her daughter to go away to school.

Martha is on staff with Sauti Moja Marsabit, and is deeply committed to the work that she does with the widows and the child mothers. Martha has also lived in this area most of her life. As we were standing there in the field beside the little school house, there was a man sitting by the side of the road. He was wearing a heavy, quilted fall coat and thongs with bare feet - I do find the clothing choices rather intriguing at times - it was hot enough that I got quite a sunburned nose that day! We often see people wearing wool toques as well. Another intriguing thing was that as we sat there his cell phone rang. There are many, many cell phones here - but it still feels rather incongruous to be in such a rural setting and hear the ringing of the phone. Anyways, one of the things that he told Martha is that the villages really appreciate the work of Sauti Moja - that they see that when the people from Sauti Moja walk away, the widows have something that has really made a difference in their lives. The help that they get lasts much longer than only getting food relief, which helps in the short term, but which won't help them to improve in the long term. Those comments meant a lot - they came from a man sitting there by the side of the road who just wanted to thank Martha for the help that he sees the widows from his village are receiving.

Another person who has impressed me very much is Pastor Moga. Moga's family is mostly from the Logologo area, and that is where Moga's church is. But these pastors cover HUGE areas - Moga seems to constantly be on the move. When we met some of the child mothers in Kamboi, we would talk with them for a little while, and then move on to visit with others in the village. I watched each time as we moved away from that particular child mother - Moga would put his arm around the girl and walk off with her a little ways offering his own words of encouragement and support to her. It wasn't done in a flashy or oppressive way - it was pastoral care at its very best. He showed us his church as well. They used to worship under this tree.

Over the last few years they have done some fund-raising, and have managed to raise enough to put up a roof and pour a cement floor. But he said when it is raining they still get wet cause they haven't managed to get enough money to build the walls. He said they have also grown quite a bit, so they have a dream that some day they will have the funds to move the walls out even further so there will actually be room for all of them so sit under shelter. I told him that when I return to Canada to worship in my building, I will picture him and his congregation worshipping there under their tin roof.

I have heard it said of both Africa and Nicaragua, that in these places God is very close to the surface. I know that as I continue to spend time here, that I am most definitely walking on holy ground.

Through the eyes of a mother

2011-11-16T06:22:00.000-08:00

Today we travelled to another community near Marsabit, Garqasa. Garqasa has not yet received any livestock from Sauti Moja, but in the next few months they will be the next village to receive help for their most vulnerable widows. The process for choosing recipients of the livestock is to first of all meet with the elders of the village to explain the objectives of Sauti Moja, and then to ask the elders to name the poorest widows who also have children who are dependent on them. One of the staff from Sauti Moja then goes to each home to interview those widows who have been named. Sometimes, the person doesn't meet the criteria, so Sauti Moja will go back to the elders and explain why this person won't meet the criteria, and they name another. Once Sauti Moja has received enough funds from Canadian donors, they then purchase 4 goats and 1 donkey for each of those women. The aim is to have the animals remain healthy, so they also arrange for the Ministry of Agriculture to come and train the women on caring for their livestock, including disease control. In the case of major droughts, Sauti Moja will provide the women with hay and food concentrate to keep the animals alive - they have done that twice in the last 6 years. The understanding in this process, is that when the animals reproduce, the widows, as a group, will choose the next poorest woman in the village who needs to be the recipient of that baby animal. In this way, the hope is that the aid that is given will eventually benefit the whole village. Today was the first time for Sauti Moja to meet with the widows who have been named. This is the group outside of the church where we were meeting. In the midst of a rather rainy afternoon, it was quite beautiful to see the color of the scarves of these women - I felt very white beside them!

As we met with them, I brought greetings to them from Canada. I told them that when I went home I wanted to be able to tell the mothers back in Canada about this group of strong, courageous women in Africa - that we would connect with each other, mother to mother. Here are some pictures from inside the church, where Philip and Tim were spending time explaining the process of receiving the livestock, and asking the women if they had any questions. There were moments when the women became quite animated - one of them was when I talked about how mothers around the world were connected to each other. Another was when Tim made the promise that within the next few months they would be receiving their livestock.

After we had finished the large group discussion, Tim, Phillip and I went to the homes of two of the widows to hear their individual stories. Before we left the church, these four women wanted their picture taken. They very rarely smile when they see the camera - but as soon as I showed them the picture, their faces lit up - you will have to do your best to imagine them giggling!

The first woman we met was Bokayo. She has 7 children - plus she was offering shelter to her mother-in-law. Although she used to do some casual work in town - washing clothes for other people, or burning charcoal - she has not been working for some time now. So to feed her family she relies on food relief which is generally delivered every one and a half months or so. She fears that with this rain and the washed out roads, that the food relief might be spread out to two and a half months since it is so difficult for the trucks to travel right now. The food that she has to make spread out for all of that time is 20 kg of maize, 4 kg of peas, and 1/2 litre of oil. I told her she is very wise to know how to make that amount of food feed her family for so many days - I would find that very hard. As she says, she has no alternative but to make it work. During the dry season she has a very long ways to go to get water - she leaves home at 7:00 in the morning, and comes home about 6:00 at night, sometimes not having been successful in actually getting water. Right now, in this rainy season, there is plenty of water close by, and she is very thankful for that. When I asked her what gives her the strength to keep going, she said knowing that God would take care of someone like her encourages her to keep trying her best. She knows that she is only alive through the grace of God, and through God sending her help through groups like Sauti Moja. Here are Bokayo and I in her home, and a couple of pictures of her and her children outside of her home:

The second woman we interviewed was Wato. Wato has 3 children - her eldest son is 15 years old. Wato has some difficulty with one of her legs, so she is not as strong as she used to be, and can no longer work. She used to be a house maid for someone in town, but since she has not been able to work for quite some time now, she relies on food relief to feed her family. Because of her difficulty walking any great distances, she cannot carry her own 20 litre jug of water. For awhile now, she has been getting water from some of her neighbours, perhaps a litre or so at a time. She is very much looking forward to one day having a donkey. In that case, her eldest son could go with the donkey to get water for their family - she says that will be extremely appreciated. Before we left her home, Wato modeled for us the piece that she makes for those occasions when people wear traditional outfits - beads and bells - it was quite lovely.

One of the effects of all this rain is that the countryside is very beautiful - green and lush. People keep telling me that I am seeing a rare thing - that normally everything is very brown and dusty. But today we certainly had some beautiful scenery as we walked between the homes:

As we left this small village and headed back to Marsabit, it began to rain very heavily. Driving on these roads when they are wet is very similar to driving on black ice in Canada - only include in that experience huge boulders to climb over, sometimes large pot-holes, or places where the road is quite eroded. As I said to Tim, at least if we got stuck somewhere we wouldn't freeze to death in our vehicles! However, our driver managed to get us back to town without us ever ending up in the ditch - it was quite a relief to get back to solid ground!

My afternoon with the Anglican Mother's Union

2011-11-15T11:07:00.000-08:00

For anyone who was trying to comment, thanks to my computer guru back in Regina I figured out what box I had checked off wrong - comments should now be easy for you to do - so comment away - I'd love to hear from you!

So far, absolutely every day I have been in Africa I have had intriguing conversations with people that I would have never predicted possible. Today was yet another unpredictable experience - a visit to the local prison and to the hospital. One of the women's groups that is quite active here is the Anglican Mother's Union. I had never heard of them before, so I googled the name. Apparently this is a group that was founded in 1876 by Mary Elizabeth Sumner in England. Her original purpose was to found a group in support of women in their role of mothers. Her concern was not only the physical well-being of the children, although that was important - she was also very concerned that they be raised in the love of God. Over the years since she first launched this group, it has grown and diversified immensely. There are now 4 million members in 83 countries around the world. I assume Anglicans may have heard of it before - it was a new group to me! This week, the Mother's Union group here in Marsabit is focusing on outreach. Yesterday they spent time in their own fellowship - hearing about each other's concerns, and spending time in praying together. Today they visited both the prison and the hospital, to pray and share their faith. The rest of the week will be spent on visiting the widows, the orphans, and the most vulnerable in their community. To finish off they will be leading in the worship service at their church on Sunday. This is a picture I took of the group. Many of them are wearing the Mother's Union uniforms - which is why they are all in blue. When I was with them yesterday they were in their "civilian" clothes, as they call them, which were a beautiful rainbow of colors, but unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me.

When we arrived at the prison, we first met in the warden's office. There were a lot of us crowded into this little office, but they insisted I sit on one of the fancy chairs with a high back & arms on it. When we came back into the room at the end of our visit, I made sure I was standing in the back and insisted that one of the older women sit on the chair! The warden was very welcoming - he was glad that we had come to visit. He even welcomed the special visitor from Canada. And then we moved into the open courtyard of the prison. We never went into any cells at all - just sat on benches out in the courtyard. There were about 50 male prisoners and about 5 women. Normally they are kept in very separate places, but for this special visit, they brought the women over to hear the message. Of the 5 women, there were 2 younger women, one had her very wee baby with her, and one had a toddler with her. All the prisoners, men and women, wore uniforms that were black and white stripes (just like on the cards we use when we play monopoly!) The first one to speak was the Anglican vicar. He spoke for an hour long sermon - that is the African way! And then we sang a couple of chorus's. There was another man there who is a member of the Anglican church, and who is a guard at the prison. He was quite wonderful. He introduced his wife, who was one of the women in the Mother's Union. He spoke about how they are very good companions and they look after each other well, and so when these men go home, he encouraged them to treat their wives well, and to show them as much love as he has received from his wife. It made all the men cheer and clap to see his wife - he is obviously a guard who is well liked. The president of the Women's Union also spoke for a bit. She then turned to me and asked if I would have a few words of advice for the prisoners. She had asked me earlier, just before we came into the prison - she didn't just spring this on me. While the other Anglican priest was speaking I only listened with 1/2 an ear as I tried to figure out what I might say! (there was a woman there who interpreted for me the whole time which was quite kind of her). So I stood up and amazed myself - I was able to quote scripture, even without a bible in front of me! I shared with them one of my mother's favorite pieces from Isaiah: "do not be afraid - for I am the Lord, your God, and you are honored and precious in my sight - my beloved". I told them I would not forget them - I would return across the ocean to my own church and I would talk about seeing their faces and we would pray for them - for courage in their hearts, and strength for whatever it is they are facing. Not bad for a sermon of the top of my head! But it was Canadian style - only about 5 minutes long! The Anglican vicar was speaking mostly in Swahili, and one of the women there translated into Borana for the prisoner's who don't speak Swahili. Her name is Esther and she seemed quite keen for me to take her picture, which I was glad to do:

After the prison, we walked across the street basically and visited the hospital. We were only in the hospital a very short time - we divided into 3 groups and went to 3 different wards. I was in the ward with the men. We spoke with 3 or 4 of the men, and said a brief prayer. Again, I was drawn into things when we met one man who had been a policeman in Marsabit. However, in the last few days he had accidentally shot himself in the foot - very sad, and very painful. So they asked me to say a prayer for him. He is another man I will not be forgetting - and it was an honor to be able to pray with him. All I can really say about the hospital is that it was very basic. The families come to provide the care for the most part - there were no nurses anywhere in sight. At the end of our time, the women all spread out to walk to their various homes in the Town. I took this picture because I loved watching the woman in the front, walking with her umbrella held behind her back. She is about 70 years old apparently, and clearly has walked all her life. She has a tiny wizened face - and watching her walk strengthened my resolve to keep on keeping on - we never spoke a word to each other, but I felt quite strengthened watching her.

Along the path on the road home we saw this banana tree and in the background is a mango tree. These women were telling me I was very lucky to be here in the rainy season when everything is so green - normally all I would be seeing would be brown bushes and lots and lots of dust. I can't quite imagine it.

And so that was the end of my adventure for today. Won't it be interesting to see what tomorrow holds?

Walking - the Marsabit reality

2011-11-13T11:36:00.000-08:00

Walking is the way of life for many, many people in this area. Even when we were driving on those very muddy roads on our way to Logologo, we could be far from any community and we would pass people who were walking along the road. One of the child mothers who had agreed to come and have conversation with me walked to get here - 13 km one way! It is just a way of life. So it felt very good today to go for a long walk with Tim. We headed north of Marsabit to go to see the Gof Choba Crater. Once again, we were struck by how very green the fields look - hard to believe that just over a month ago the dust was so thick a plane was not able to land here. Here is a view of one of the fields along the way:

In the background, you will notice the rocky slope. That rock will be cut up to be used to make bricks to build houses. The tools that are used are a pick, a chisel and a hammer - all done by hand. It is very hard, labor-intensive work. However, it is one of the ways that people can make some money - by breaking up stones to build bricks. Along the way we also saw a couple of water pans. These are areas that have been dug out, with the sides built up, to collect water during the rainy season. During the drought these water pans were all empty, but they are quite full right now. Very few people here treat the water. One of the widows we spoke with said that she grew up drinking this water, and so she was fine with not treating it. I worry about the health complications. However, I suppose it would be helpful to have the water close by, even as dirty as it is.

Along the way we stopped to visit with a friend of Tim's. She and her two sons were very happy to visit with us. She, like many others in this area, is very concerned about the effect of the rain on her house. The mud walls are getting eroded and softened to the point where they will collapse if it rains much more. And then she would lose her house, and have to start all over again to re-build once the rains stop. There is no predicting when the rains will stop, but they could easily continue on through December. Today was the first day in about a week where we had no rain at all - another week or two of sun would be welcome right now.

After walking about 1 1/2 hours we arrived at the Gof Choba Crater. It was quite spectacular! There is no way to really capture it on camera, but here is my attempt.

It felt very very good to stand there and simply look out at the world. There are times when the views of life in Marsabit and the area around here can be very difficult - it can weigh heavy on the heart to see some of the ways that people struggle. So it was very good to clear the brain and just stand there in the wind and the sun and look out at the beauty in front of us. In the picture below you can see the road that goes out into the desert. We are here until November 25th. If it is heavy rains and the plane can't land at the Marsabit airstrip on the mountain, then they may carry on and land at the next community out in the desert. We would drive along that road for about 45 minutes (assuming the road is driveable!) and meet the plane there. Here's hoping the skies are clear that Friday!

Remember how I said that everyone around here walks for miles to get where they need to go? Well here are two pictures of women who most likely left their homes at the break of dawn, and who were now getting close to the town of Marsabit after hours of walking. And they were carrying heavy loads on their backs. Although both Tim and I were feeling the effects of our walk - it was the most exercise I have had since I left home - I looked at these women and knew that I am extremely fortunate to be able to walk through my own choice - unlike these women who walk in order to survive.

Later this afternoon Tim and I were visiting with Charles - a local man from the Marsabit area. He was telling us that he had spent about 6 months at St. Francis Xavier college on the east coast of Canada. He told us that as he spent time there in the snow and the wind and the freezing temperatures, all he could think about was getting back here to the sun - and to knowing that at any time he could get on his motorcycle and ride out into the desert! While it may seem harsh in some ways, this place is home to many - and today I saw both the trouble and the beauty. May we each give thanks for wherever it is that we call home, and give thanks for the strength to walk whatever path we find in front of us.

Another tribe - another view

2011-11-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

A few days ago we went on another road trip - this time to Qachacha. The road there wasn't too bad - meaning that we managed to drive it without getting stuck! There was one place where we had to put down some big rocks in a mud hole so that the driver could get through - and thankfully it worked. Qachacha is where many Borana people live. In Kenya there are several different tribes - in Marsabit, people tend to live in small communities of their own people within the larger town. In my last post I gave you a glimpse of the Rendille people who are pastoralists - moving their animals around to find food. The Borana also have livestock, but they are agriculturalists - they tend to have farmland and cattle. Their houses tend to be quite different than the Rendille houses. Here is a sample:

Life has been extremely difficult for these farmers, especially with the severity of the drought. Tim wrote an update on the conditions that will explain it more fully than I can:

"The highlands around Marsabit are very suitable for production of maize and beans, which provides another source of food for locals. Normally, good rains would be a cause for optimism among those who have a field. This season, it is different; most fields are overgrown with weeds. As most cattle have died, farmers are without ox traction for plowing the fields. Only a few could afford seed for planting, and have planted a small plot. Others have been so discouraged by repeated crop failure associated with unreliable rains that they did not buy seed; it is much too early to say that they made a bad choice. (I am still unclear as to whom and how many were provided a packet of maize seed by the Ministry of Agriculture.) Weed control will be a huge problem, as few have food or cash to pay casual labourers who would normally weed the fields. The bottom line is that, in spite of good rains, local grain production will have minimal impact on hunger here."

One of the interesting things we saw was that some are now using camels to plow their fields. Camels are strong enough and can plow large areas, but when a camel is tired, it will just lie down - and it is very hard to get it moving again! However, here are a couple of pictures of the camels at work:

One of the reasons for going to Qachacha was to interview a couple of the widows who have received support from Sauti Moja. We wanted to find out how they are doing - whether their goats survived the drought and how they are managing to look after themselves and their families at this time. Phillip and Martha are on staff with Sauti Moja Marsabit, and they went with us as interpreters since these widows don't speak English at all. Here is a picture of Tim and Phillip with one of the widows:

Martha and I interviewed two widows, Darmi and Fatuma. Darmi invited us into her home, and while we talked, her daughter was doing the dishes. She would fan the flames of the fire to keep the water hot, so the room was quite smoky. Here are Darmi and her daughter:

Darmi's husband died some time ago. Darmi was the second wife and had been living on another piece of land. But after his death, she moved to the land where his first wife was living - he had left the land to look after both of his wives. She was a bit nervous about how they would get along, but since they each have their own houses, it is working ok. Having 5 children to feed means that Darmi is constantly working - she said you can't just sit on your hands when you have hungry children. She was given 4 goats by Sauti Moja - one died in the drought, but she said now that the rains have come and there is pasture land nearby, the others should survive and begin to multiply. She is clear that her goats would not have survived without the support of hay and extra feed that she received from Sauti Moja. One of the main tasks she has is to go and get water. It is a full day's work - she walks 3 hours to get to the well, then stands in a long line to wait for the water, then walks back, often not arriving back until late in the evening. The donkey which she received from Sauti Moja carries most of the water, and she carries some herself. She calls it a luxury when the rains come because then she doesn't have to do the long walk to get water. When I asked her what gives her the strength to keep going, she was quick to say it is God - God pushes her from behind and gives her the strength to cope. Darmi is an amazing woman - strong, and capable, and even though she and I did not speak the same language, we seemed to laugh often together. I have no idea any longer what was so funny, but here we are...

When I was thanking Darmi for letting me come for a visit in her home, I told her that what I would remember about her was her strength. I know that it is very good for me to be here, and for me to hear the stories from these women who lead such different lives than I do. But the reality is that I will be returning home, and they will continue to walk this road - I am glad that I have this picture to remind me not to forget the road that Darmi will be walking...

Fatuma lived up the road a piece and in a different looking house. Her husband died a little over a year ago, and her brother allowed her to put up her home on his piece of land. She was able to buy some sheet metal for the roof because of a small loan she received from an institution that helps women in business. But her home has lots of open spaces between the walls and the roof and must be quite cold in the rainy season. She told us she is just grateful to have a place to sleep with her 4 children. Here is a picture of Fatuma with Martha - I wanted to show you her home, but I also wanted you to see their faces - so two pictures:

Fatuma is a very wise woman. She said some things that have stayed with me since our visit. One was that it is very hard when you are hungry, and your children are hungry, for you to think about anyone who may be hungry in another house. That is why she is so thankful for the donors who live in other countries who don't forget about those who are hungry in Kenya - they are very, very thankful that Sauti Moja doesn't forget about them. The other thing that has stayed with me is her reflections about poverty. She said that when she received the goats, the donkey and the feed from Sauti Moja, she began to feel like she might climb out of poverty. The drought made it impossible to climb out - one of her goats did not survive. However, one of her goats is now pregnant, and when it gives birth, Fatuma will have milk for her children again. So even though the drought was a huge setback, she feels like she may climb out of the deep poverty because Sauti Moja is helping to keep her goats alive. And finally, she offered her reflections about education. She had to drop out of school at Primary 5 because her mother was ill and they needed Fatuma to help out at home. Her parents didn't realize the importance of education, and so they never encouraged Fatuma to return to school. Fatuma now realizes how important education is, and so she is going to do everything she can to make sure her children stay in school. Again, I was deeply touched by the courage, and the faith of this woman. She told me clearly that it was God who keeps her going - without God she would not be able to provide a life for her children. I told her that I would be sharing her story with the churches that I work with back in Canada, and so she could know that there is now a whole community of faithful people across the ocean who would be praying for her well-being. I will leave you with this picture of Fatuma in her home:

A glimpse at the pastoral life of the Rendille people

2011-11-09T04:31:00.000-08:00

The longer I am in this area, the more I realize how little I know - and how impossible it will be for me to really understand this life when I am only here for three weeks! I am doing my best to keep my eyes and my ears open. So even though I will share some of what I have heard here, please know that there is LOTS more to learn, and this is just a small glimpse at life as I saw it at Logologo. In order to understand it a little more fully, you could go to www.sautimoja.org, and look at the sustainable livelihoods under the Kenya heading. The Rendille people build their homes in family clusters and those homes are placed in a particular order according to your age in the family. When we went to see the camels, we were at one of the Moga family sites. To keep their animals close to them at night, they have pens, and the fences for those enclosures they have are made of an intertwining of brambles and branches. I didn't get a very good picture of it, but these young camels are in such an enclosure to keep them separate while the milking happens.

During the dry season, the goats are taken long distances away in order to find some pasture for them to feed on. They will travel several days away with them. Once the rains come, they can bring their animals back to their home communities. This year the rain came much earlier than expected. One of the great difficulties is that during the drought when the animals are not getting enough food or water, those that don't die of starvation become very weak. When the rains do come, the animals don't have enough body fat to keep them warm, so they will often die of hypothermia. One of the farmers that Tim was telling us about lost all 135 of his animals that way - came out to see them and they were all lying in the field. Very sad. And very difficult to recover from such a huge loss. When Sauti Moja provides the widows with goats, they also provide them with hay and with the veterinary medicines needed to keep them healthy. As one widow told us, without that extra support given by Sauti Moja, she would have lost all her animals. The drought meant she lost 2 goats, but 2 survived - much thanks to Sauti Moja.

Now that the rains have come, and the pastures are greener closer to home, the goats, sheep and donkeys can be taken out early in the morning, but not to such great distances. They can then come home again in the evening. And then the worry will be wild animals, so the men will often stay outside beside those pens at night to make sure the animals stay safe. That is another difficulty when a woman is alone - it is much more difficult to keep the animals safe. One of the widows told us that she would take the goats into her house at night sometimes, both to keep them warm, and to keep them safe. This is a picture showing a small grouping of Rendille homes.

Back in Canada, the focus is on snow and blizzards. Here it is very much on rain and drought. It is clear that people are very, very happy to have the rains right now. Rather than dust everywhere, I am seeing a much different picture of Marsabit, with mud and puddles everywhere. The beauty of the green bushes and grass is extremely welcome. However, we had lunch today with Tim's friend Paul, who lives in HulaHula, a community about 6 km south of Marsabit on the same road we followed to Logologo. As is common with nomads, walking is just a way of life - Paul walks back and forth between the communities every day. Anyways, he told us that the road is even worse today than it was last weekend when we were on it. Last night there was a huge storm with thunder, lightening, strong winds, and a very heavy downpour. Even fewer trucks are getting through right now - he told us there are trucks thoroughly stuck right near his community. So now one of the concerns is whether or not supplies such as food and petrol for vehicles will be able to get through. But as another man said, "we are happy to be stuck as long as the rains keep coming!" One of the things that I am learning as I spend time in this community is that it is important to appreciate the sun when it is out, and to give thanks for the rain when it arrives. Both are needed. But since you have no control over one or the other, all you can really do is simply live in the moment and know that this is the moment you have, so live it well!

Logologo - real live camels!!

2011-11-08T04:56:00.000-08:00

While we were at Logologo, we enjoyed the hospitality of a woman's organization. After that long drive over such challenging roads, we were very ready for a more comfortable place to rest than the bench seat of our little truck. This is the guest room that we stayed in. I will show you the outside, and what the beds looked like on the inside.

The women looked after us very well. We had their chai tea, which was boiled tea leaves with packaged milk and sugar added - very tasty. Our supper was rice and cabbage and spinach, along with both chicken and lamb - we were hungry, and it definitely filled us up. The next morning we traveled a short distance to where one family had about 6 homes, and all their livestock - goats and camels. I wasn't feeling very well (although it turned out to just be a bit of upset stomach which I recovered from quickly), so we were driven there. The people here walk everywhere - and not just around the block. They will easily walk 40 km if they have to - it is the only way they have to get where they need to go. Remember, these are pastoralist people - nomads. They move great distances to make sure that their animals have water and pasture. In the dry season they can cover immense distances.

We arrived at this grouping of homes just as they were about to milk the camels. Generally the camels are milked between 6 and 7 in the morning - we arrived about 6:45 and they were just about to begin - in African time that meant we only waited about 15 or 20 minutes! In Rendille culture, women are never allowed to milk the camels, but it was ok for me to stand close by. Before milking, the men wash their hands very carefully. When camels are distressed, their milk dries up. So it is always two men that milk, one on either side of the camel, and they milk as quickly as they can. Here, they are catching the milk in traditional woven baskets which are completely leak-proof. More often now they don't have any of those baskets left and milk into plastic containers. I was glad to see the baskets. So...at long last...pictures of real live camels being milked!

Sunset United Church raised enough money to buy 4 camels. None of these camels here were purchased by Sauti Moja. The community where they have provided camels was another very long drive away and with the condition of the roads, it would have been much too difficult to travel to. So, just know that camels are very much needed and will be deeply appreciated wherever and whenever they may arrive. Selkirk United Church spent time learning some facts about camels before I came. They will be happy to know that I wasn't spit on even once! Here is another fact: in the first picture you can see that they tied one of the front legs up? That is so the camel can't kick. They have a very powerful kick - and they can kick sideways. So just like with horses, you need to be very careful in how you approach them - they can really hurt a person if they want to. As I continue to learn more about camels, and about how they are necessary to survival for the Rendille people, I will share what I learn with all of you. And then it was back to our guest house to have tea and wait for our ride back to Marsabit - I think it was about a 3 or 4 hour wait - it's good to learn a new pattern of managing time! I must be on sabbatical or something!

Making heart connections in Kamboi

2011-11-07T12:20:00.000-08:00

Our first stop on the road towards Logologo was the village of Kamboi. Karen and Lorne have been supporters of Sauti Moja for several years, and one of the child mothers they have supported is Ntamian. Ntamian is quite shy, but it was clear that she was happy to meet her sponsors, and to introduce them to her daughter, Felista. It was quite wonderful watching the conversation unfold, and hearing Ntamian's dreams of working her way through school to one day becoming a doctor. No longer was Ntamian simply a picture on the computer. Karen & Lorne were visibly moved to find themselves actually speaking with this girl, who they have heard about for years, who they have been supporting financially, and who is doing her best to provide a quality life for her child by making sure she gets an education.

This is the view from the front of Ntamian's home:

As we talked with Ntamian, others from her family and the village came to see what was going on. This is Ntamian's sister - and her beautiful baby.

From there we went to visit with another child mother - Ahado - and her daughter Patricia. As soon as we got near Ahado's home, we were surrounded by children in the village. They were great fun - giggling at us and trying to teach us a song in Swahili. As soon as we took their picture, they all wanted to see themselves - thank God for digital cameras! As we laughed and played with the kids, we felt very welcomed by this tiny little village of Rendille people.

Right beside the tire we were sitting on with the children, one of the village women was sitting there and she was just too beautiful - I had to take her picture as well! She was very gracious at posing for me - and she was just as giggly as the children when I showed the picture to her.

We met three child mothers from this community. It was very good to be able to look them in the eye and commend them for working so hard to get their education. We did the best we could to encourage them to dream big - and to believe in themselves so that their dreams could eventually become a reality. In this part of Kenya, where simply to survive is a daily struggle, it truly is a miracle when children are able to make it all the way through secondary school. But for these girls, who are mothers at such a young age, the struggle is doubly difficult. I am so thankful for the work of Sauti Moja. I watched as Tim and the others from their partner organization "PETI" talked with these young women. They treated them with much respect and deep compassion. I hope and I pray that people outside this country will continue to find ways to offer their support, both emotional and financial. And I also encourage those of us who live back home in Canada to never ever take for granted the gift of education and the freedom to make choices about which education paths to follow.

An adventure with Tim

2011-11-06T11:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, at about 7:00 a.m., Tim began making the arrangements necessary for us to go and visit Logologo - a community about 50 km from Marsabit. The first difficulty was that most of the usual vehicles that Sauti Moja hire for a trip like this were already being used. With so much food aid being distributed in this area, every spare vehicle is put to use. At about 10:00 he finally managed to find one - a Toyota 4 wheel drive truck. The driver told us he would be ready to leave very soon. In Africa that can mean many things apparently! Our vehicle arrived about 1:30 I think. We were definitely a full load - there were 3 in the cab of the truck, and four of us squeezed into the covered canopy - we did have a bench seat, but it was rather cozy fitting ourselves around the huge spare tire! The other major problem was that it rained very heavy throughout the night and most of the morning. This is what the Town of Marsabit looked like as we were leaving:

As we left town, it was clear that this was going to be a true adventure. This road is part of the highway that goes from South Africa to Cairo - but oh my! I still can't believe that we actually made it. It is bad enough in the dry season, but with the rains, we had to cope with mud, which was both thick and very slick, and huge big pot-holes. This is a glimpse of what we were driving through...

Our vehicle was relatively small. But this road is travelled by many big trucks - often loaded down with food aid to be distributed in various communities along the way. The only way the drivers are paid is if they deliver their cargo, so they wouldn't turn around. The other vehicles along the road are buses, filled with passengers. We passed one bus that had slid off the road, was at about a 45 degree angle in the deep mud, and they had been there all night. As the sun comes out and dries up some of the mud, people are generally able to dig themselves out and carry on - when we returned this afternoon, the bus was no longer there, so I am glad that people didn't have to spend 2 nights out in the mud! However, there were many other trucks stuck, often right up to their axles, and so in our little truck, our driver would change into 4 wheel drive (often not soon enough for the male passengers I was sitting with!), and we would find a way to get around these huge trucks, often by driving up on the bank, or through the ruts alongside where the trucks were stuck. Often there was a line of half a dozen of these big trucks or more, just parked and waiting for the roads to dry up enough to keep going. Here is a picture of one of those trucks:

Apparently one of the ways of describing what it is like to ride over these roads is that the passengers are receiving an African massage. What Karen told me is that we likely just saved ourselves some money on one of the newest weight-loss machines. You can buy a machine that you stand on and it vibrates so fast you lose weight. We figured we vibrated off a fair number of pounds on this trip! Remember I said it was a 50 km trip? It took us about 2 1/2 hours to drive it! Here is a picture of our little truck:

Just so you know that it wasn't all about looking at mud and rocks and ruts, we did see some pretty spectacular scenery as we went up and around the mountain. Here is one picture looking out over the flatlands:

I will write more about the actual visit in my next post, but I will leave you with a picture that speaks volumes about why we did this trip. Everywhere we went, the children were very excited to see us. They laughed and giggled and were very much like children round the world. They all wanted their pictures taken, and the beauty of a digital camera is that you can show them the picture immediately - which of course led to more belly laughs. These little boys were quite thrilled to pose for me, and my guess is they would love to know that they are now part of this photo story of my trip to Kenya. As you look into their faces may you find ways to give thanks for the gift of children worldwide. And may we all find ways to work to build a world where children everywhere will be safe, and where their bellies will be full at night, and where they, each one of them,will know themselves to be loved.

My first glimpse of Marsabit

2011-11-04T12:33:00.000-07:00

This morning began with a very long taxi ride to the airport in Nairobi. The roads would have to be seen to be believed - makes me think I will never again complain about potholes in Regina - our cab could have disappeared in some of the holes we drove around today. I am rather amazed at how the vehicles all seem to know how to drive without hitting the pedestrians, the bikes, the motorcycles, the occasional goat or cow, or other cars. From where I was sitting, I had no idea what the rules of the road were! But we did arrive safe and sound and began with all our bags getting weighed - mine was the heaviest, but was still under the limit thank goodness! Each person then had to be weighed - made the check-in at Westjet seem very simple somehow! This is the plane we then flew in - 8 people. We flew high above the clouds, with the cabin air being pressurized just as it is in the larger planes. So all we had to look at along the way was the tops of the clouds. It was about a 2 hour flight.

This is Tim Wright, and his cousin Karen, and her husband Lorne. Karen and Lorne are from Alberta and will be here with us until Tuesday. One of the first things that Tim noticed was how very green it is right now. The rains have come early, and there has been more rain in the last while than there has been in about two years. Because the rains are heavy, and then the sun comes out right away, you can almost seen the grass growing - it gives everyone a sense of hope to see the green land rather than the usual clouds of dust. However, the wet, muddy roads bring a new set of problems - many, many stuck vehicles. The man who came to meet us at the airport told us that last week he had spent the night out in a mudhole in his vehicle waiting for someone to come and help get him out. Any plans we make to go out and about will be contingent on whether it is raining, and whether we can find a 4 wheel drive vehicle available for use. Many of the vehicles that would normally be available are being hired out for the food aid in the villages in the district around Marsabit.

While we are in Marsabit, we will be staying at the "Food for the Hungry" guest house in the town of Marsabit. It is good to set myself up in this room and to know that I will be here for the next 3 weeks.

Today has been very full. We have done a lot of walking around the townsite. It is going to be difficult to take many pictures. Partly because there will be some people who will expect to be paid if they think they are in any pictures. And partly because it feels rather uncomfortable to look so much like a tourist. We already stand out enough with the color of our skin - the last thing I want to do is feel like I am somehow putting this community on display. I will do my best to get some pictures, but mostly I hope to be able to simply absorb being in this world for awhile, and find ways to share it with you as I continue to listen and to watch and to wonder. I think what I am holding the closest in my heart tonight, is my thanks for the deep compassion of so many of the people we met today. Compassion and generous hearts. Life is far from easy for many people living here, but the sense of community is strong. Tomorrow we are hoping to meet some of the child mothers who have been sponsored by Sauti Moja - I am looking forward to hearing their stories in the context of this place rather than simply reading about them on the website. It is very good to be here.

Yup - I'm in Africa!!

2011-11-03T00:31:00.000-07:00

In spite of all my worrying about everything that could go wrong, I had a completely uneventual trip - yeah!! It was a long two days of flying, but I managed to get all my connections, and sailed through customs with no difficulties. It feels like it has been such a long build-up, that it is hard to believe that I am actually here! I woke up to the sounds of many, many birds - and not chickadees or robins I might add. For 2 nights I am staying at the Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi. It is very comfortable, with this lovely little sitting area outside my room.

I have arrived here in the short rain season. It is a bit cooler than normal - likely about 16 or 17 Celsius right now, but as the sun comes out and burns off some of the cloud, my guess is that it will warm up some. There likely will be some rain most days, but that is more than manageable - it is a far cry from the cold winds at Gimli! The colors of the vegetation here are amazingly vivid - these are some of the plants I see as I look out from that little patio towards the main room where we eat our breakfast...

Looking back from the place where we eat our breakfast, that is the building where my room is - I have one of the ground floor rooms.

My room is just behind those very colorful bushes..

I ate breakfast this morning with a man who is a volunteer with the Mennonite Central Committee - and he is from Ontario! As we chatted, we discovered we have a friend from Canada in common - and what a small little world we live in! He has been coming here for several years, so shortly he is going to take me for a walk to see some of the sites, and to find some lunch. Tim Wright will be arriving this afternoon sometime, and tomorrow is the day that we will be heading up to Marsabit. And so my adventure has begun...
ps. For those of you who don't know, I think you can click on the picture itself and it will show up a little bigger on your screen - I will be uploading them pretty small so that it is quicker to upload. Such a computer whiz that I am!

All my bags are packed - and I'm ready to go!

2011-10-31T14:10:00.000-07:00

I can't quite believe that I have reached my last day in Canada - tomorrow I will be leaving on a jet plane, as the song goes. I am so glad that I have had a couple of weeks to prepare my heart and soul to simply be on sabbatical. It is not an easy thing to let go of the working world - and it has taken me this long to get into the rhythm of a sabbatical life. I woke up after 9 this morning - that is most definitely a new experience for me! Yesterday I had the grand privilege of leading in worship with my friend Deborah Vitt at Selkirk United Church. Deb and I were classmates at the Centre of Christian Studies and it is rare we get to actually worship together anymore. We speak on the phone quite a bit, to put it mildly, so we both know a fair bit about each other's communities - it was great to actually be immersed in her world for a morning.

The United Church of Canada is actually a very small world - there are all kinds of ways that we are connected to one another. At Selkirk, one of the young women stood to speak about the Manitoba Youth Retreats that she is on the leadership teams for - the two retreats are called Alf, and Zeebu. My oldest son, Brian, was on the leadership for those very same two retreats - but about 10 years ago! It is wonderful to think of a new generation of youth who continue to carry on those traditions. The anthem which the choir sang at Selkirk yesterday was "River of Judea", which is clearly one of the favorites of our congregation back in Regina - it was lovely to feel the connection to our Sunset choir as this choir sang their hearts out in Selkirk. This past summer I was able to lead in worship at Minnedosa United Church, which is one of the congregations where I worked in Manitoba ten years ago. I spoke about Sauti Moja in Minnedosa, and in Selkirk, and in Regina - it is quite lovely to think of all 3 of those congregations following me along on this journey. And I am ever so grateful to each of the three congregations who have graciously let me share the story of this sojourn to Kenya and Tanzania that I am about to set out on. The more that I can articulate it out loud with others, the more clear it becomes in my heart and soul that this is the path I want and need to embark upon at this stage of my faith journey. I know that there is concern out there about the current situation of unrest in Kenya and Somalia. No matter where we are in this world, there are great risks involved. Tim Wright has assured me that we will not travel to areas of high risk, and that there are many police checks in place. I will do my best to be safe, and I know that I am held in prayer by many, many people. Remember that song from Iona? "Don't be afraid - my love is stronger - and I have promised to be always near." That is the song that I will carry with me. I have a rock from Scott, a toonie from Jeremy, a prayer bracelet from Karen, a necklace from Sunset, a prayer shawl from Selkirk - all will be well!!

This afternoon Deb, our friend Donna, and I went to Gimli just for a relaxing outing. It was freezing cold - helpful way to get me ready to actually get on that plane and head for warmer weather!

And my next post will be from a whole new country - yippee!!

Where do I come from?

2011-10-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

It is an intriguing thing to think about what we name as our "culture" - what is it that defines who we are and where we come from? For the last couple of weeks I have been spending time in Erickson, Manitoba. There is a definite culture to small town living that is separate and apart from city living. I was out walking one morning and I stopped to talk with a young woman so that her two children could pat my dog. She asked me if I was new in town. I told her: "no, I am married to the lawyer here." And she replied: "oh yeah, you're the minister who lives in another town somewhere." It still makes me laugh to think of that conversation! I knew nothing about her, but just knowing who I am married to meant she knew a whole lot about me. And therein lies both the beauty and the difficulty about small town life - hard to be anonymous here, but when there is a death in your family you can bet that the fridge will be overflowing with food from the neighbours. Here are some pictures that I took on my afternoon walk down the Trans Canada Trail that goes right alongside the field by our apartment...

This is the Apartment Block we live in:

And across the road, this is the Trans Canada Walking Trail:

A view from the trail:

I think it is helpful to think about culture as I prepare myself to fly across to another world - another culture. This is a picture of my father at the local market in the small town where he lives in B.C....

Over the last ten years my father has travelled to many places. In our last conversation his words of wisdom to me were that the best way to really learn about another culture is to not make comparisons to "home" - or at least don't make them out loud! He said that you are changed a little bit with each trip that you make, but the best learning comes when you really listen to the people you are with and appreciate the world through their eyes. I agree. It changes it from thinking about what is better or worse, to recognizing the beauty in diversity - to recognizing that there are wide varieties of approaches to life and it is good to step outside my own comfort zone and experience life from a new perspective.

And so...as I prepare to experience a whole new culture I pray that my mind and heart might be open to a new way of seeing - a new way of being. I pray that I might have the grace to appreciate the diversity and not critically or cynically judge a "different" way of living life. And I pray that I might have the wisdom to be able to share the story in a way that invites all of us into becoming connected to our global community.

Just what will you do???

2011-10-19T14:36:00.000-07:00

When I first began to think about taking a sabbatical, the words of a hymn came to my mind..."clear the chaos and the clutter, clear my eyes that I may see - all those things that really matter, be at peace and simply be". Working in the church, like working anywhere else, can begin to feel a bit like life in the fast lane - filled with many, many activities and not nearly enough time to just step back and sift through everything to discover what it is that really matters. Sometimes the best way to get perspective is to actually be immersed in a completely different world for awhile. Shortly after I moved to Regina, Candace and Helge By introduced me to Tim Wright - Tim and Helge are cousins. Tim has lived in Africa for many years, and is the director of a charity he helped to found called Sauti Moja. To find out more about the work that they do, check out their website: www.sautimoja.org. When Tim came to our church and made a presentation, I think what touched me the most was how Tim would show us pictures of individual people, he would name them, and then tell us their stories. It wasn't about "Africans" - it was about the people that Tim names as his friends - as his community. He didn't describe the "project", he described the daily life of individual people. As Tim has told me often, Sauti Moja is not some kind of "project" - it is about building relationship with the people in these remote villages that very rarely get visited by any other aid agencies. It is about learning to work in partnership with them to improve the quality of life for them and for their village. I am incredibly thankful that Tim has agreed to have me come and walk alongside him and the rest of the Sauti Moja community for a few weeks. This is not the kind of trip that has a fixed agenda, or a detailed itinerary. What Tim and I have spoken about is how this is a trip that will simply evolve - we don't know exactly what we will be doing until I get there and we see what will emerge. It is truly an adventure - and I am doing my best to prepare my heart and my mind for a new reality. Here are a few of the things that I have been doing to get myself ready...

Karen went for a walk with me to help me learn to use my brand new camera - so hopefully I will get some great photos of a very different world - thanks to Karen and her willingness to teach me!

Two very good friends from Manitoba helped to launch me on my sabbatical by spending the first weekend with me - they wanted to make sure I didn't miss preaching too much, so they let me talk and talk and talk! And we celebrated with a tea ceremony just like Daniel taught me to do - tea and good conversation! That is what is in those tiny little cups - tea.

When I do arrive in Africa, my hope is to look for those holy moments that will remind me that we do indeed live in God's world. I will look into the eyes of those I meet and trust that I will come to know more about life and about strength. And I will do my best to get pictures of camels and monkeys and giraffes, just as the cards from the children at Sunset asked me to do!

Carried by the community

2011-10-17T12:44:00.000-07:00

When I began to share with people my plans to travel to Kenya and to Tanzania as part of my sabbatical this fall, the two questions I got asked the most often were, "are you scared?" and "what is it that you will be doing over there?". Let me start with the first one. I am not scared about travelling to such a different world. There are times I feel nervous or a little anxious about the details of it all, but I am not scared. I will be spending the majority of time with Tim Wright, who is the director of the Canadian Charity, Sauti Moja. Tim has lived in Africa for about 30 years - he knows the people, he knows both the Canadian and the African ways of life very well - he will be a very good companion on this journey. I also am most definitely carried by the community of Sunset United Church, as well as a wide variety of friends and family who will be holding me in their hearts as I travel the world. In those times when I feel nervous or when I feel lonesome for the familiar, I will close my eyes and picture our "camel-lot" and I will be strengthened. These are pictures that show the camels around the walls of our sanctuary at Sunset - the aim was to color 200 camels ($5 per camel), representing raising $1000 for the purchase of 2 camels. In reality, we raised twice that much - a gift that was far beyond our expectations. Although these girls and others colored MANY camels, we did stop at the 200th camel! I will answer the 2nd question in my next post....