2006 (what we started out to do)

What we started out to do.

James 1:27 This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.



Fund-Raising

We made a few presentations of our trip to Africa and donations made were set aside for orphans and widows, the vision was to have an orphanage similar to Hope Village Malawi where a house could hold 6 children under the guidance of a Christian person, or couple. We did some fund-raising efforts which brought in several hundred dollars. The money raised during this time we brought on our trip in October 2006. At that time we did not really know what God’s plan was, but we believe that what ever money was provided would go to help orphans and widows.

There were 6 children Alan called the Ruai kids that Alan felt God had placed into his path to help. Alan met these children on his trip at the beginning of 2006. But as it turned out, circumstances showed us that we were not able to proceed



Our Trip to Africa, Oct. 22nd, 2006

We left Toronto Sunday evening, Oct. 22nd, 2006. At the time we checked in for our British Airways flight we discovered that our flight was delayed and the person who checked us in transferred us to another airline so that we would not miss our connecting flight in London. Off we went to check in for the Air Canada flight and lo and behold, the longest line I had ever seen. There is a reason for everything and as it turned out, during the waiting in line, Alan was given the opportunity to witness to an Orthodox Jew, and for the first time in his life he was able to tell a Jew that he believes Jesus is the Yeshua we’ve been waiting for. The reaction was clear and abrupt; he turned away and acted like we weren’t there any more. Maybe it made a bad day for him, but it made the day for Alan. Not long after that there was an announcement for our flight and we were pulled out of the line and given priority check-in. We boarded the plane; the captain announced that there would be a delay! We decided we were in God’s hand, if we miss our flight we miss it.
As we arrived at Heathrow Airport we realized we were going to miss our flight to Nairobi. It turned out to be a blessing, as you might have guessed we were quite stressed out, we had a good rest at the hotel where we were able to enjoy the sauna, lunch and dinner and a goodnight sleep, all compliments of British Airways.
We finally arrived in Nairobi at around 9.00 p.m. on 24th, Tuesday night. However, one of our bags did not arrive, and so we were delayed getting out. But God was taking care of things for us because the next day our lost bag was delivered to our door steps!
I would like to mention here that at the end of the trip I counted from Oct. 24th to Jan. 8th, we were 77 days in Africa. I wonder if there is significance to this, because had we arrived on Oct. 23rd we would be 78 days in Africa.



The Trip to the Pokot Market

We have been in Churo since Saturday, Nov.11th, 2006, and we were supposed to leaving On Monday, but because we were told that there is a market day on Tuesday mornings where the Pokots from the surrounding villages come to do their shopping we decided to check it out. We were interested in the Pokots because the school has been telling us about the girls’ school that they have started just 2 years ago. These girls who get to go to school are saved from being circumcised as they are away at school. I was horrified by this information and I felt such a sense of hopelessness that in this day and age we are still doing such inhuman things to our own people.
So early Tuesday morning we were up and waiting at the school before 6.00 a.m. as we were told to be ready for, but forgetting that they were running on African time, we did not set out till 8.15 a.m. The ride to the Pokot village was not too bad and we arrived at the market place at around 9.30 a.m. and the people were just setting up. It turned out that the Director's wife has a business selling animal drugs and so that was why we had to go there so early. The market actually will not get busy till about noon. So we just walked around the village, I had to relieve myself real bad by now, and Alan said I will just have to go somewhere and do it, so we walked away from the market place into the inside of the village, and then we walked away to some where I could hide, and I did what I had to do. Alan was having fun; he wanted a photo of me in action!
We walked back to the market place, and we met a Pokot girl named Esther, I chatted with her for a bit and later I asked Alan to take a picture for us. I was glad that I met Esther. She is a Pokot and she is one of the fortunate ones as she went to school, she finished Standard 4 and soon after she got married and she now has 2 children a two year old and a baby. She told me she is very lucky, because her mother was converted by a missionary, she became a Christian and her mother hid her and her sister when it was time for girls to be circumcised. They went to live with their aunt and she went to school and finished high school. She is married to someone whom she herself picked and now she is trying to earn a living by selling stuff here at the Pokot market. Her story lifted my spirit and sense of hopelessness for these people. And in my heart I thanked God for that missionary who converted Esther’s mother and her story is a witness to God’s servants who are following their calling to save every soul on earth.

We watched different groups going around the market, there were a few Pokot girls that Alan wanted to take a picture of and one was very shy about this, and every time Alan went near them, she would run away. After some persistence Alan was able to get a picture of them. Then there were another group of young Pokot men, I would call them just teens, they wore some kind of head ornament, and they carried a stick and a stool, which were the signatures of them being considered adults. There was this group that Alan took pictures of. They were just standing around and letting Alan take their pictures, and then afterwards one of them came over and asked Alan for 200 shillings, so Alan said no. And we walked away. This boy followed us and after a time, he again told Alan that he owed him 200 shillings for taking his picture. At this point Alan decided he had to give this boy a lesson and he looked for an interpreter. So we found the Director who translated for Alan and told him that he doesn't deserve to be paid, and if he thinks we have no right to take his picture, we would gladly delete the picture we took of him. After much explanation he just walked away. After a couple more hours we felt there was nothing much for us to do there and fortunately there was a car to take us back to Churo.
We walked around the village in Churo, we met a few women who were having lessons in the afternoon at a church house, and they were very happy to meet us. Alan asked them, if there was something we could do to help them what would it be. They said an orphanage, because there are many children without parents, and they just have to take in these children because there’s no one to look after them.


A day I will not forget

Our Trip back to Nairobi, Nov. 15th.
Alan had arranged with a mini-bus to reserve the 2 front seats for us and for that we would pay an extra 100 shillings. We were told to be ready to be picked up at 5.00 a.m.
We were ready and this time, they arrived pretty on time, at 5.10 a.m. It was another rough ride but we got back to Marigat. Again, because of the Esther anointing, we ran out of gas and we waited a bit till another mini-bus came to take us to the town centre at Marigat. At Marigat we waited not too long for the minibus to Nakuru,
At Nakuru we found the mini-bus to take us back to Nairobi. It was supposed to leave right away, but of course this was not the case. It was too hot for Alan to wait in the bus, so he stepped out to wait and stretch his legs. I was sitting next to the window and it was slightly opened and every vendor was trying to sell me their wares and I turned them all down until the ice-cream vendor tempted me for an ice-lolly. Now this is not the same as the lollies in Toronto, they are homemade lollies and has a different taste, ice-cream without the creamy taste is as best as I can describe it, you probably think I have weird tastes, anyway being quite hot already I wanted it, and Alan happened to just come by the window, so I told Alan I just bought an ice-lolly and would he like one. Here again Alan has a good story to tell, I made the mistake of not asking the price first, and when the vendor charged me double the price, alan made a big issue of it giving the vendor a lecture on stealing. Ten minutes later the bus left for Nairobi.
Now here is where I would say was one of my worst suffering on this trip so far. After about half-hour into the ride, the trip would last another 11/2 hour and I needed badly to be relieved. I kept this to myself and didn’t complain, all the while just praying and asking God to help me survive. Each minute seemed like an eternity until we arrived in Nairobi at about 2.30 p.m. By this time we have been up and on the road for 9 hours so you can imagine how tired we were. Alan said let’s just go straight to the mini-bus stop and get back home to Donholm, and I told him that I needed to go real bad. To my surprise he said I’d just have to wait till we get home. I looked blankly at him and thought to myself, I should have complained all the way on the bus so he would know what condition I was in. Well I just walked ahead of him to a big building that looked like a decent place where I could find a washroom. It turned out to be a hotel, so I said let’s just go to the hotel. He did not think they would let me use the toilet there. I didn’t mind him; I went straight in and into the restaurant and asked the waiter where the washroom was. Alan took my knap-sack and waited for me. When I got out Alan was seated at a table looking at the menu. It was a welcome sight as I was very hungry. Now why am I telling you this incident? It’s another witness to how God is so good at looking after us in all the necessities of life. We had one of the best meals we had in Nairobi, and the price was reasonable too.
We arrived home by late after-noon and we planned to treat ourselves to a sauna at the end of the day. So after a little rest that evening we went to the gym which was just a 10 minute walk from the house. After the sauna we were walking home and just as he was telling me to be careful as he fell into a ditch one night going home, I suddenly let out a scream, I had just fallen into a ditch! Alan got me out and I was soaked through from the waist down to my shoes and socks. I couldn’t believe what had happened to me, I was feeling so good, all clean and feeling refreshed after the sauna with my hair washed and now here I am all dirty again, not just dirty but I was dirty from the muddy ditch! You can imagine how I felt. We arrived back at the house with Laz and Liz just finishing dinner and Alan started to tell them the story and he told me to just stand still where I was standing, just in front of the kitchen door so as not to dirty the whole house, whilst he went in to take the camera so that he can have the picture as evidence of what happened. Well, I had a good laugh with them.


Trip to Mombassa, Nov. 21st - Nov. 25th

Tuesday, Nov. 21st was my house cleaning day. We were leaving for Mombassa at 9.00 p.m. that night and I thought before I left it would be good to come back to a clean room. So I swept the floor and using a piece of rage to wipe the floor on my hands and knees. I have also by now got used to doing our laundry when it is a nice sunny day. Lilian came and helped me make dinner together after dinner Lilian went home and Laz took us in the hired car to the bus station.

Wednesday, Nov.22nd

The ride on the bus was fine for me, however it was a bit of a trial for Alan as it wasn’t air-conditioned as it should have been and it was too hot for him. He survived the overnight ride and we arrived in Mombassa around 6.00 a.m. Alan knew where to get off when the bus was near the hotel, he asked the driver to drop us off, after a short distance on foot we arrived at the Excellent Hotel. We took a much needed shower and went straight out again for breakfast. We walked around and Alan gave Agnes a call. We would meet her for lunch at 12.30 p.m. Here I should tell you about Agnes, Alan’s success story, she is the very reason we have come to Mombassa. Agnes is an ex-prostitute whom Alan met on his first trip to Mombassa. Agnes had called Alan shortly after we arrived in Nairobi to tell him she is now working in a hair salon and said she will never go back to the streets again, she is also going to a church and her son is doing well at school. Before this call, Alan had been wondering what has happened to Agnes since he met her last.
We spent the rest of the day with Agnes, she did not speak English very well so we met her employer and she was able to translate for us. Agnes has some stomach pain and is worried about it. The employer took us to her doctor’s office near by so Agnes could be treated. He advised to get some tests done and x-ray and made an appointment for Agnes to see him the next day.

Thursday, Nov. 23rd.

We went to visit Florence, another ex-prostitute; she had a little boy who died just this March. Alan had spent a few days with her family on his previous trip and he wanted to see how they are now.
We found our way to their house and we were met with much fuzz by the whole family. I met Florence, Rose, Florence’s sister, her 3 younger brothers and her mother. I did not have a good feeling in this house, I did not feel at ease with the way the mother acted feeling that she was acting a part and I believe it is God's spirit giving me this feeling. We sat chatting with them and they gave us lunch, Alan took me aside to ask me what I thought about giving support for the youngest boy because he had wanted to support Florence’s child before and the child had died. However I felt this was not the right thing to do and I told him so and so he didn’t make the offer. After lunch they arranged for a taxi to take us to the beach area. We went to walk along the beach and then had some drinks at a restaurant. Alan asked them how far away are we to go back to the house and Florence said it was more than a half hour so alan said perhaps we should take the taxi back to their house. Again I did not have a good feeling about it and we didn't take the taxi but walked back to their house, it turned out there was a short cut and it was only a ten minute walk. I felt that Florence just wanted to be treated to another taxi ride because we were there. I was anxious to go home but they said the father should be home around 6 p.m. and Alan felt that we should see the father or else he would be offended. But by 6.45 p.m. and the father was still not home we had to leave and we said good-bye to them. After this visit, Florence sent Alan an email saying how sorry she was that she has decided not to follow God because she needed the money. She didn't want to tell us face to face as she knew it was something we would not be happy about. I believe God was taking care of things there as I sensed the whole time we were there, that something was not right.

Friday, Nov. 24th

We went to visit Agnes’ and her son Ben. It was good to see where they live and where Ben goes to school, we walked to their house and then went back to the main street to go back to Mombassa with them, and we wanted to buy them some stuff.
On the way back from their house into the main road Alan saw the sign “Mombassa Synagogue”. Alan wanted to see what this was, so we walked to find this place and after Agnes asked some people we were able to find the place. We met Joseph and it turned out that he is the Rabbi and Mombassa Synagogue is Messianic. Joseph invited us to the crusade they were planning for that evening. I am not able to convey here how excited Joseph was to have met a real life Jew.
He arranged for someone to pick us up at the hotel that evening. Agnes wanted to come and she would meet us there. Florence also wanted to come. We were picked up by them and the drive to the place was unnerving. In the end Agnes was not able to find the place and Alan apologized to her and asked her to go home. Florence was quite rattled as she told us that where we were taken was a very dangerous place to be! We did not know this, Alan preached and people came forward to be prayed for. This is one of Alan’s highlights of our trip.

Saturday, Nov 25th.

Agnes came with Ben to our hotel to say goodbye to us as we were taking the Coach bus back to Nairobi. We went to breakfast together and then walked to the bus station. I wanted to get some toy for Ben but along the way to the station we didn’t see anything we could buy. We were early so I told Alan I wanted to walk back to find something to buy for Ben, so he let me go and as I walked back I prayed that God would lead me there. After walking just a little while, I found a place and bought Ben 2 little cars. I felt it was God’s blessing.