TO MARKET, TO MARKET

Purchasing fruits and vegetables from the downtown market proved to be a challenge for the first few visits; now I find the market a great adventure and the people a pure pleasure. It is a large market, filled with people in every corner to the point you have to keep your head up and be aware of the surroundings to stay out of the way of men carrying the heavy bags of beans or the large stalks with bunches of bananas. When we first started shopping here we had the feeling the people did not enjoy our visits to their market but now we are met with hellos and smiles every time. I'm not quite certain what caused the change but I do wonder if we are now able to relax, enjoy such a different way to shop, admire the excellent produce, and find it a pleasure to talk with the many men and women who market their wares.

Noah

We planned to deliver a pair reading glasses to Esther, a woman living not far from the Kapsaret Primary School. It turns out that William Kipsang, Head School Master wanted us to come on the same day to pray for a facility member, Noah Korir from his school. Noah is in a state of kidney failure and travels to Eldoret a couple times a week for dialysis. William used us as an example to all in the community for giving in the fund raising campaign for Noah. In the small community of Kapsareth, if you become involved, even in a small way you don't know if you will be in the media, or what. Anyway, William put together a meeting for us with Noah and his wife for later that afternoon.

First we went to Esther's but she was not home so we took a walk over to the water falls and goat stream not far from her home. I had previously arranged to have two of the missionaries come with us so we could give Noah a blessing before his future surgery to receive a new kidney. Following our hike to the stream and falls we returned to see Esther at her home. When she saw us she hugged Elder Harper from Blackfoot, Idaho, Sister Babcock and me, but Elder Odungo got no such treatment. When Sister Babcock pulled out the glasses she grabbed them put them on and said, "clear" in the native tongue. I talked her out of the glasses and adjusted the nose pads for her with my fingers at no extra cost and did a good Kenyan job on them. Esther invited us inside her mud hut and Elder Odungo from Busia, Kenya began a discussion in Swahili with her about the gospel. Esther's children had gone to the dispensary to get malaria medicine so we missed them, but promised we would return some other day to greet them all. Esther said, "No, I will get my neighbors to all come and listen to you.....I will call and we have many people here." Esther was so excited to see to read it was a pleasure to have done something nice for her.

Bridge to Esther's home.

After our visit at Esther’s we crossed the stream and found the truck still in one piece and drove up the rough dirt road to William’s school. We found him waiting and ready to go and we immediately left for Noah’s, his home was not far, perhaps three miles from the school. I didn’t know what William had in mind regarding our visit to Noah’s but I made it clear we would not be doing a prayer circle but rather a priesthood ordinance as explained in James 5:14-15. He was good with that and said the elders from the African Inland Church could do that but not him, his is just a pastor. Elder Harper explained that we have the Priesthood of God and are the authorized agents to exercise this authority. The Elders and William piled in the back and we were off. As we drove into Noah’s yard the front door opened and Noah and his wife Rebecca came out immediately, they had been waiting since morning. We were promptly invited it and sat down. Rebecca began preparing to serve us, I requested we wait until the we had given the blessing to Noah and she obliged. We again read James 5:14-15 in another language other than Swahili. We made necessary explanation and all were comfortable with the ordinance.

As we proceeded with the blessing William jumped up to see what we were doing, I don’t know what we would have done had he joined in the ordinance..... yes I do. We completed the ordinance and took our seats, Rebecca placed four serving bowls on the table and William started removing the cats from underneath the table in a Kenyan fashion. The food was traditional Kenyan, rice with some vegetables, beans, boiled and fried mutton and chiptalis. We drank the water, it had been boiled and then cooled. The food was delicious and we were comfortable with the water. As we finished eating William sat his bowl on the table, he had manufactured a huge pile of mutton bones, a cat jumped on the table and proceeded to stuff it’s mouth full of bones. After lunch we continued our visit. We had brought pamphlets on the Restoration and Joseph Smith the Prophet and had given them to Noah. He could not keep his hands off them our entire visit. Finally, Elder Ogungo announced he had a copy of the Book of Mormon and would leave it with them.

Prior to the blessing, I should note, Noah’s mother and another lady entered the room to join us. Neither of these women spoke any English whatsoever. Noah’s mother communicated that she had never been around any white men but she noticed we were so kind and gentle. Mama (expression for a mother/grandmother) didn’t realize that it was the spirit of God she was feeling with us. That made our day. William, later explained that the British had been extremely brutal and cruel to these people and this woman no doubt has some vivid memories from her experiences. Anyway, the clock was setting on 3:30 PM or so and I knew the missionaries had a 4:30 appointment we had promised to get them to if they would go with us.

Suddenly, William jumped and said he wanted to talk with me outside. I agreed. He said, “We are not leaving until you explain the Restoration of the ancient Gospel of Jesus Christ throught the Prophet Joseph Smith to Rebecca and Noah. I was stunned and wondered why I had been negligent. As you know, William is a pastor of the (AIC) and he reminded me of my responsibility. We returned into the house and I launched a discussion that went just short of a half hour. Noah and I kept eye contact throughout, his attention and interest was remarkable. The love and goodness of the people is something to behold. We were very much impressed. We will never forget our afternoon with Noah and Rebecca, they were wonderful, humble, loving, carrying, gracious people, none better anywhere. We came as strangers to this family and left feeling almost as if we were leaving family.

THE "RUNNING" RIFT VALLEY

Check out the web link below! We've been to Iten a number of times and the Kapsaret School is smack in the middle of the "running" Rift Valley. It is true about the children of the Rift Valley, they milk cows before school, fetch water, run to school, run home for lunch, run back to school , run home from school, fetch water again, and tend to the cows at night! These children are well behaved, beautiful, and have the greatest smiles I've ever seen.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/apr/08/kenyas-marathon-men?newsfeed=true

BAPTISM DAY

25 March 2012--Baptism Day -- Edward Mulati Wekalao & James Namasake Mzee

Today was a day we have been anxiously waiting, it seems like a lifetime. Edward and James were baptized today. We felt unspeakable words for them and ourselves. Nothing happens here quickly and so it was for this baptism. Edward’s approval was delayed for several days until we could obtain a review from leadership in South Africa, and an approval came late last week. He had waited very patiently for this day. James and Edward are cousins and they wanted to be baptized together and consequently James was patient as well.

I requested they be ready at 9:30 AM and that I would pick them up. At 9:30 we opened the gate and there they were looking smart (sharp) and their cousin Newton was with them. These young men glowed with anticipation and their baptism into The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Their testimonies, though young, are taking root and they sense something very special happening in their lives. Edward wants to teach the Gospel Essentials class and I believe he can handle it.

After their baptism they radiated a look in their eyes and faces that I will not forget soon. They remarked how they indeed felt different and reborn. Next week they will have the Gift of the Holy Ghost given by the laying on of hands. They both desire the Holy Ghost to be a constant companion. Both desire to serve missions. We hope and pray for them and can only wonder what their lives will be like as they take their place in the Kingdom. At the end of the service the branch members surrounded them and expressed their love, confidence and care. It was a wonderful experience for us.

LAKE BARINGO

After six months of work without a day-off, other than our preparation day we decided to take a three day trip to Lake Baringo. The lake is not one of the big spots for tourists, that was good for us and the cost was appealling. In the northeast direction from Eldoret one can locate Lake Baringo in the Rift Valley. From Eldoret we passed through Iten, Kabnaret and lastly Marigat. The terrain varied from heavy agriculture, mountainous and parched to dry desert. Throughout the trip we passed village after village. The evidence of water was hard to find, some streams flowed at a trickle and a couple of rivers were , flowing well. Many people as well as donkeys were carrying water for long distances.

At any rate, our journey to the lake was scenic and interesting. We were glad the Nissan performed well and that the air-conditioner did not fail. As we left the main Kenyan highway we were on local road from Marigat to the lake. It is still hard for us to understand that driving off the pavement surface can be better driving than on the pavement. This road was another constructed by the British and never maintained since. There were washes where the rivers had deposited rock and debris on the hard surface but never removed.

We planned to stay at the Lake Baringo Club and it was great for $95 USD. This included three meals and maid service, but not hot water, I think it was a llittle warmer than cold. No air-conditioning but did have a ceiling fan and a mosquito net. The resort was known for its 420 different bird species, though we did not see that many there were many and interesting variety. The hotel had some fifty rooms and we shared the facility with a Brit or two and some Frenchmen. Tuesday afternoon after lunch we wandered around and discovered many people ‘fetching water’ out of the lake on the east end of the hotel. We walked down to visit with them, most were children, and as usual we were celebraties. One young man and I talked and agreed he would guide us around the lake on a tribal-village boat Wednesday morning. He employed an operator of the seven meter boat and we were off. Our plan was to see some wildlife besides birds. I walked around the shore in hopes to see a croc sun-bathing, it was in vain but did see a few monkeys and a three and a half foot monitor lizard, he was very fast on his feet.




As the boat darted in and out of heavy grass we finally located Hippos bobbing up and down, they being somewhat shy did not allow us to get too close. Eventually, we came upon a Njemps fisherman riding a small little boat smaller than a life raft made of Ambatch, simalar to Balsa Wood. With help of a couple other like fisherman they were running a gill net and hauling in a days catch. We purhased a few fish for the African Fishing Eagle. We were still looking for a crocodile but eventually our able guide swished his fingers in the water and a five-footer came over to the boat. He seemed to like the fish we had just purchaded. After seeing a few more birds we were off to the island in the middle of the lake. We were told that there was a ninety-two year old Afrian man living on an adjacent smaller island who had five wives and 25 children. The children all paddled to the larger island each aday in an Ambatch for school. The last born of this man was nine years old. I inquired as to what the secret to his virility, I was told he drank Kenyan beer frequently. We continued to motor to the Northwest end of the lake to see the African Fishing Eagle and as we neared a big tree at the edge of the lake the operator of the boat whistled and through a fish in the water. The large bird snatched the fish out of the water close to the boat. Then the second eagle performed likewise. The birds were big and spectacular in their grace and ability. The island was very dry and we saw a man in an Ambatch hauling some branches with green leaves to feed his goats. Our next destination was the Hot Springs on the side of island.





Finally, we saw a few people at the hot springs waiting to greet us. As we walked from the boat we saw a few goats and some lean Africans. We received a tour of thera some six to eight bubblers producing sulfur smelling gas and learned about the miracle healing of malaria and other ills from the moist vapors. As the short tour concluded some other Africans had layed on a cloth on the ground a few food carrying gourds and some necklaces. We bought a few gourds and a necklace or two. Then it was off to our hotel, a twenty minute ride that made it a three hour event.

An African ant hill!




Felix, our guide offered his services again to find a few monkeys and a baboon or two later in the afternoon. As we wandered around next to a very steep and sheer escarpment we saw a family of perhaps twelve black face monkeys crossing in front of us. We put the binoculars on them and took a few pictures. They seemed curious and moved through the brush towards us. They were interesting. Next, to see a baboon, we found a family up 250 feet or so on the edge of the escarpment with eight or so baboons moving around. Their ability to come down the vertical cliff was remarkable, they held on to cracks and branches until they found a relative flat resting spot. We were in a state of disbelief to have seen there movement decend this precipice so quickly. I estimated the big baboon to be 250 lbs.

We went back for dinner and retired for the evening. Thursday morning we got up and headed for Lake Begoria an alkaline lake to see thousands of flamingos, a few hot water geysers-bubblers, and a few gazelles.

TO OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN-THANK YOU FOR THIS STUNNING DAY

Our children and grandchildren draw names at Christmas to give a gift, each of our children gives to a brother or sister and receive a gift; each grandchild gives to a cousin and receives a gift. As they read our blog and learned about the Kapsaret Primary School near the Nganiat Village they decided as families rather than receiving a gift they would like to donate the money to a gift for the primary school children. Elder Babcock and I visited with William, the headmaster about what might be the best purchase for students. The headmaster went to his Class 8 students, the oldest children in the school, children that will leave Kapsaret Primary School at the close of this year. These Class 8 students will move on to High School only if they score high enough on their end of year Kenya Exams. The Class 8 students decided there was a need for a class set of calculators to share among the grade levels, a class set of New Testaments for Class 8 so they might study for the Bible portion of the Kenya Exam, and books in English for the library.

Later that week Elder Babcock and I met the headmaster and one of the teachers in a bookstore in the downtown markets of Eldoret. Books were chosen, and we also purchased a volleyball net and ball for the lonely volleyball poles in the back of the school. We received permission to plan a special afternoon for the students during the “handover celebration” the school wished to hold. What a great afternoon we had. We invited all 10 of our missionaries to help with the celebration. We created an American Field Day with eight stations of activities for the classes to visit.

Tug-of-war and jump roping, a visit to a classroom where all the books were on display and students could see them, hold them, and read them, volleyball, sack races, duck, duck goose, relays (and the students are fast, this is the home of the famous Kenyan runners that break Olympic records), tag, and of course football (known as soccer in the U.S.A.). Many of the games they had never played, the teachers had never experienced anything like the day we planned and kept saying, “This is a day to remember, we are just speechless. There are no words to describe this day as we have never done anything like this.” Francis, one of the teachers was very much touched by the event and declared us to be never forgotten at the school. The students were filled with smiles, and giggles, and laughter, and happiness. Parents came and joined in the games. Women of the village in their native skirts loved the tug of war, jump rope, and sack races and the men enjoyed watching the soccer and volleyball.






After the games we gathered for the handover with speeches from Bruce and I, William, the headmaster, students, and the missionaries each introduced themselves. Elder Babcock and I found it interesting that the students and villagers were most attentive and interested in our African missionaries. Many were asked why they were in Kenya so far from home. All of our missionaries worked hard to make certain each child was important that day and that each student did well on each of the activities. William, the headmaster, and the faculty were so impressed with the missionaries and they were in a state of unbelief to what we had assembled and what was going on at their school. Our missionaries assisted students, were enthusiastic, and happily talked with many of the parents that attended.


Elder Babcock and I received gifts, a tiara for me and I felt like a village princess from the Nandi Tribe and Elder Babcock received a matching shell bracelet. Those are now priceless treasures and a great remembrance of a special, special day with special, special friends. We were told, “You are now one of us. You are welcome to visit the school and the Nganiat Village anytime.”

The school wants all of us back to teach a geography lesson to the primary students as we represent many countries of Africa and states in the United States. The event was an act of charity and in the true sense of the word was accepted in such a humble and sweet way that was so touching by these people who have so very little. Many of the students have no shoes and many dress in rags.

This day was a treasure but I have not even told you the miracle of the day, the blessing that we received through a special prayer by Elder Babcock. The children leave the school at 12:30 P.M. to walk back to the village to their home for lunch then they return back to the school at 2:00 P.M. All of the missionaries arrived at the school about 1:15 P.M. and once we all arrived the heavens opened up and the rain poured down. We gathered in a classroom and the rain pouring down on the tin roof above our heads was deafening but it did give us an opportunity to introduce all the missionaries to the teachers as well as to talk with one another. At about 1:45 I leaned over to Elder Babcock and said maybe he needed to bless the sky for the rain to stop and he assured me he had already had his prayer. I had been praying that it just would not rain between 2:00 P.M. and 5:00 P.M. At precisely 2:00 P.M. the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun appeared. The sky clouded over again after all the activities were completed, all the speeches were over, after the children left for home, and after everything was gathered in. Please know that I know that miracles still happen and prayers are still being answered.

What a stunning day in Africa.