The Rhino Gate House

The Rhino Gate House (its like living in a dream castle)

When we arrived in Kitale we were dropped off at the petrol station as we requested.
We waited for Ryan who was picking us up. Ryan Schumacker is the person that alan connected with back in Toronto and with whom alan will be working. Ryan is with Love Mercy Ministry, and they have just bought this big drilling machine for drilling wells which at present is being transported to Mombassa.
Ryan came shortly afterwards and it was just a short drive to the Love Mercy House from the petrol station. We were very tired and we got all our bags into the room we were taken to. It was a nice big room with a Queen size bed. However, as we unpacked Ryan told us that the President of Love Mercy and his wife, will be arriving on Monday and we would have to vacate this room during their 2 weeks visit. It was a disappointing welcome for us and I guess we were not very happy about it since the other rooms were too small for us. Our 5 bags filled this big room already. Ryan suggested another house where at the moment; Todd from Montana is living in. Todd is house-sitting for a young missionary couple who has gone back to the States for the birth of their first baby. Ryan will check this out, maybe we could stay there until Noel and Mickey left.
Ryan said he had to go to town and asked if we wanted to come with him and we could decide what to do later. Alan is thinking that perhaps we could find a place to stay in town. So we went to town with Ryan.
We then visited “the Rhino Gate house” and met Todd and he was very gracious, he said Kim and Bud are happy for us to stay at their house, he would move out of the master bedroom since he doesn’t really need such a big room. We like Todd, he seems such a nice guy and we planned to move all our stuff from the Mercy House later in the day.
By 3 p.m. I was losing it, I couldn’t keep my eyes open, alan told me to take a nap and he’ll get things ready for our move. At 4.30 p.m. we were packed up again and we moved to “the Rhino Gate” house. Here there are no numbers to the houses and there are no names to the streets. We just know that this section is called “Mili Mani” meaning many hills. This is how we came to be staying at the rhino gate house, so named because each side of the gate has a rhino painted on it.
The Rhino Gate house is a very nice house, there are 4 rooms, 3 along one end, the corner room has an ensuite, the one Alan and I are in, then 2 other rooms, one has a crib; one has 2 bunk-beds. On the other side of the corridor are the laundry room and 2 bathrooms, one has a tub and the other a wash-basin and toilet. There is a door to close this section of the house. We like this as this gives us some privacy.
We come in the house from the kitchen door, which is the entrance we use to the house, from the kitchen we have the dinning room to the left of it, our section is the other side of the dining room. To the right of the kitchen is the big sitting room; in the centre is a fireplace. The fireplace divides the sitting room into 2 sitting areas.
From the sitting room area closest to the kitchen is the 4th room which also has an ensuite and is the one Todd is occupying.
This plot of land is about an acre. From the gate the drive way is an L shape turning left. On the left side of the driveway is a big grass lawn which surrounds the front and other side of the house. The drive way is lined with banana trees on the left side and as you turn left on the drive-way to the back of the house the left side is lined with plants and flowers . The driveway ends just at the entrance to the kitchen door. There is a guest-house at the back of the house, just off to the right from the door of the kitchen that is on the other side of the driveway. This house has 2 rooms and the garage. The back of the Guest-house is a grass lawn, where there are many lines for hanging clothes, and the 2 kennels which house the 4 dogs are at the back of the guest house.
There are flowers planted in front of and all around the main house and in front of the guest-house, a little further away from the front of the guest-house is a big avocado tree and there is a swing there supported from branches of the tree.
The house is enclosed on all sides by tall hedges so that there is complete privacy. There are cactus plants here and there and other flowers and plants, the garden is beautiful and well maintained. There are 3 guards that alternate their shifts, one is the main gardener that comes daily from Monday to Thursday and the other 2 guards alternate their night and day shifts between them.
The kitchen has lots of cupboard space and is equipped with everything you need for cooking, baking and storing things. Our bathroom has hot water for the shower and the wash basin.
If you have read my first story of what’s it like living in Africa where I had no fridge, no stove, no oven and no heater, you can understand why I think in this house it’s like living in a dream castle.

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