Holy Cross Lutheran Church of Emmaus Milimani

Saturday, November 14, 2009

It was another very late night last night. It was about 2am when we finally settled in to our rooms and went to sleep. We had decided to sleep in a little this morning, and then meet for breakfast at 9am. I was up at 7 o’clock. With the noise from the dining room below, there wasn’t much chance of sleeping in! I worked on reports until the battery in my laptop was about dead and then plugged it in to charge while I went to take a shower. The Mid Africa Hotel was a very nice one, but no more expensive than the Southern Blue and the Zonic. It was clean and well maintained (which was a nice change from Kisii)!

After a nice breakfast in the dining room we packed up and called for a taxi to take us to Mois Bridge. It was about a 30 minute drive south, back toward Eldoret. Anna’s daughter, Mary, met us at the main road and then led us down the winding dirt roads to the family home near Mois Bridge. This area is a bit more secluded then other places we have been. Everywhere we go people stare at the white men in the car passing by. Children are less reserved. They see us and then shout to their friend: “Wazungu! Wazungu!” Russ now replies, “Indyio, wewe ninani?” (Translation: “Yes, who are you?”)

After another 20 minute drive we pulled into the beautiful Sagala property. You could easily tell that someone has a very green thumb and loves to work outside in the garden. The buildings are also well cared for and maintained. Upon our arrival the yard fills with people. We are greeted by Anna and her son Eric as well as a group of young children. Introductions are made, while the children sing for us (in English!).

Anna invited us into her home where we could eat and visit for a while before going to the proposed site of the church. As we walked into her living/dining room I heard Pastor Maas’s voice! On her kitchen table a CD player was going with a recording of a service from Holy Cross in Phoeniz, AZ. It was good to see that they were making use of the CD’s that were sent by our Phoenix church. We visited with the family and reminisced about Anna’s time in the US visiting her family there.

Visiting at Anna's house

Anna’s granddaughter, Linda, soon brought out lunch and we ate a hearty meal of stew with potatoes, and other vegetables, goat meat, rice and fruit. It was a very delicious meal (especially after the past few days on the road!). Following lunch we brought in a box of material sent by Holy Cross for the young church here. It was primarily made up of Sunday School materials and teaching aids, but we also gave them catechisms, a catechism workbook (and CD), English Bibles, Lutheran Spokesman issues, a laptop computer, and a some school supplies for the children. They were very appreciative and send their thanks to Holy Cross in Phoenix and to the members of the CLC.

We then made the trek to the property Anna donated to the church. They are planning to begin construction on a church in the near future by making bricks from the clay on her land. They hope to break ground for the church next summer, possibly during my summer visitation. It was quite the drive to the church property and took us about 20 minutes. We had to go back to the main road we had come in on, and then cross over it going the opposite direction.

When we finally arrived at the site, a tent had ben set up and there was a group of about 50 people gathered there. Larry, Russ and I were each asked to participate in the planting of a tree as a dedication of the property to the LORD for His work. After this ceremony, we were introduced to the group and we were given the opportunity to speak to the people. During the course of our stay there the number of people continued to grow to somewhere in the vicinity of 100 people! We directed their attention to the importance of the Word of God as the primary responsibility of Christ’s Church and the need to know and hold on to the truth of His Word throughout our lives. After the service the people ate a meal of rice and beans, while we walked the 2 acre property and discussed the plans with Anna’s son Eric and daughter Mary. Jeremiah had journey here with us on the return trip from Uganda, and plans to visit this group again on his trip to Uganda in December. They have several young men that are interested in going to seminary so that they can be the spiritual leaders of the congregation here in the future. It is an exciting opportunity here in Mois Bridge!

The people gathered at Emmaus Milimani

Although we would have liked to stay longer, Jeremiah needed to return home (he has not been feeling well since before the conference in Kisii) and we decided to return to Kisii to attend church in Chotororo tomorrow morning. So we said goodbye to the Sagala family and the people of Mois Bridge, and returned to Eldoret to catch buses there. Lord willing we will be able to spend more time with the Mois Bridge group next year and see how things have progressed following Jeremiah’s visits. We pray that the LORD would bless these believers through His precious Word of Truth!

In Eldoret, Jeremiah purchased a ticket for Arusha via Nairobi, and we found a mini-bus that was going “direct” to Kisii. The only one that was going was already full, but they squeezed us in (four-to-a-row instead of the already tight three-to-a-row!) Poor Larry was in the very back row with no leg room at all. He had luggage on the floor at his feet and couldn’t move one way or another, causing his legs to go numb for a while! I was in the next row up and had to sit on a wooden board that bridged the isle between two seats. That was pretty uncomfortable as well, although I had some leg room at least. Russ was a row ahead of me and probably the most comfortable of all of us (although he might beg to differ!). After they finished strapping our luggage on the roof (since there was absolutely NO room left inside the Matatoo!) we were off. We spent the next four hours crammed into that small bus with aching legs, knees, bottoms, and sometimes heads (from hitting the ceiling of the van when going over a bump). Let me tell you: Matatoo traveling is not for those who dislike when their personal space is invaded! There is no such thing as “personal space” here. It may be for those who enjoy riding roller coasters in confined spaces though...

As we came near to Kisii, they began to let people out and that helped to free up some space. We arrived at the Kisii bus station at 9:30 and walked through the near empty parking lot, up the hill and down the street to the Zonic Hotel. It sure was nice not to have to carry the extra box of material which we left in Mois Bridge. I lugged that box through five different countries in order to get it here, but I was sure glad to drop it off.

It was a very busy couple of days with many miles traveled, but it was a very rewarding trip. May the Lord continue to bless the members of KIUCLC and the new group in Mois Bridge. I look forward to visiting them both again next year. Please keep then in your prayers.

May the LORD be with you all,

In His service,

Nathanael Mayhew

“But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you” (1 Peter 5:10).