Judy' Africa Journal Kenya Dec. 25, 2009
We leave in the am for Kenya. Everything is going well. I have been very tired as we put in very long hard days. The video work is a huge project for me, but I am getting it done. Peter is going to Kenya to help me there, too. He will be good help. There was an extra cord in the speakers mic sack that I don’t know what it is for.??? The co-ordination of getting the speaker’s mic turned on on Bill hasn’t worked real well, but there’s always the ambient… hopefully!
We went to the orphanage out in Lake Victoria yesterday. That was an adventure! I wouldn’t have gone when I got to the boat and saw the situation, but I was reminded by Drake all the way to the launch that he had made special arrangements for me to get there in a car, rather than a bike. He thought that the motor on the old wooden boat was what made everything ok for the boat ride. Getting in the boat was difficult. I’m sure that the locals standing around were enjoying it way too much. Getting out was even scarier. They insisted on carrying me out and up the steep rough bank and I insisted that it wasn’t going to happen. I found it too difficult to trust them. They carry the women out at this place all the time, but they wouldn’t ever be the same if they carried me!!! Finally they jockied the boats around and helped me transfer to another rocking boat and then they held my hands while I stepped up the cliff myself. We really enjoyed visiting the children. One little girl was so sad when I left. She will always remain with me. The kids sang and danced their traditional dances for us. Billy was like the Pied Piper with those kids. He had a ball!
Well time has slipped by and we are now in Mombasa, Kenya. We’ve tried several times to send email but it wouldn’t go.
The crusades here in Mombasa have been interesting. We are set up in a very poor area that is mostly muslim. Not very many people come out, but we know they are listening in the dark of their houses or out in the dark streets selling or buying at the little crude stands & shops, because our speakers are very loud. One young girl was delivered from demon possession the first night. She claimed she had been married to the devil. She was very happy afterward. It takes a lot of courage for these people to take a public stand for Christ.
Well here it is, Christmas Day. Something doesn’t feel right when it is so hot and sweltery humid. A few times we have caught ourselves wondering why they are playing Christmas carols “this time of year” because it seems like a very hot summer day! We especially miss you today.
We have had much difficulty with being able to send email. It has happened several times that we were able to obtain internet service but when we went to send the email it wouldn’t go and sometimes also just disappeared. For one thing, Mozilla doesn’t seem as reliable as at home. You techy guys will have to figure this out. People here say to use Internet Explorer instead.
Bill has been sick the last 2 days. He was finally able to eat a little this morning. It is hard to be sick so far away from home. The electricity went off as we arrived back at our hotel last night. It is difficult to sleep when there is no fan or AC after we had been spoiled with both here at this hotel in Mombasa. It sure makes you re-appreciate the cool room. This is the first fan or AC we have had this trip. The lights finally came back on late this morning. This hotel is clean and comfortable and we are resting well here.
Yesterday Billy and I were taken to a local game park that was developed in a reclaimation project by planting trees in a large area where cement had been mined. Many of the animals are loose and you can walk pretty close to them, others are in pens, ponds or fenced areas. It was a very long walk through the place, and we only had time to see half of it. I thought I was going to pass out from the heat and from getting too tired from all that walking. There wasn’t time to return to the hotel and clean up so they quickly picked up Bill and we hurried to the crusade. I was terribly tired by the time we finished taping the crusade and could sit in the car. I am still tired today, so we stayed in our room until the crusade tonight to rest. It is too much to do other things in the day on crusade days. Traffic is awful and the fumes are strong and it all adds to the difficulty.
Two more nights and we begin the journey home. We will leave Sunday and get home on Tuesday. It sounds like we will have to sit out the night in one airport before we can catch the next leg.
It will be good to see you all again when we get home. We think of you and hope that your Christmas time is blessed.
Love,
Judy & Bill, and Billy
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