Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Today was a day of unexpected turns. This morning we were planning to leave Nairobi for Arusha early in the morning. We didn’t think we would get the early start we planned because Charles was having problems with the CV joint on his car, and he was going to have to get it repaired before we left. So instead of a 9:00am departure we were planning a little later. So after breakfast at the Hotel Southern Blue we decided to get some computer time in and do some e-mail before we had to get on the road. After that I worked on a few reports while waiting for Charles to show up. At about 10:30 Russ came by and said that they needed us to get out our rooms. We found out they had a big conference coming in and they needed to get things ready for them. So we went down to the hotel restaurant and waited some more there. While we were waiting we spent the time playing Rummy, which is a new game that Bruce taught us.
After another hour had passed with no sign of Charles, we decided to eat lunch so we would not have to stop after getting on the road. After downing some food (Goulash for Russ and me, and fried veggies for Bruce) we finished our card game and then called it quits. Russ went to rest on the couch in the entry way of the hotel and Bruce and I read. At about 12:40 Charles called and said that the repair was almost done and that he would be there to pick us up in about an hour.
He arrived about an hour later and we loaded up the car. We didn’t have quite enough room in the trunk so we had to pack a couple of the smaller bags in the back seat with us. It was a little uncomfortable, but not too bad. By 2:00 we were on our way through Nairobi traffic on our way to Arusha. Little did we know....
Traffic was a bit slow in Nairobi but picked up as we came out the south side headed to the south east. Once we passed the airport we ran into the same road construction we had hit when we went to Mombasa. That went on all the way to the turn off to Arusha when we headed straight south. There the road was better for a while. But it didn’t last long. Soon we ran into construction on this road as well. And when I say construction I don’t mean they had one or two lanes closed. I mean the whole road was torn up and we were on a full blown rocky road detour!
It is hard to do much of anything when you are on a road like that. Typing on the laptop is almost impossible, and it is hard to read too. You could look out the window, but there is nothing to see. The land from Nairobi all the way to Arusha is practically the same. Mostly dry grass wasteland where only the hardiest plants can live. There are bat nests and termite hills galore and the occasional Masai man or woman along the side of the road. There are some hills and mountains from time to time, but other than that, the view seldom changes!
Then at about 3:45 our car broke down! At first I thought it was the transmission because it seemed like we were stuck in neutral. We popped the hood, jacked up the car and took off the driver’s side wheel. It turns out that the rod which comes from the transmission to the wheel (making the wheel spin) had popped out and was not turning the wheel like it should. For almost two hours we messed with it trying to pop it back into place. We had people from nearby towns stop by and try to help. One thing that is very impressive about this part of the world is how most people are willing to help out in times like this. One young man on a bike stopped by to see if he could help. He rode off to somewhere and came back with a few tools and a friend to help out!
By this time it was staring to get dark and we were still only a quarter of the way to Arusha. Charles suggested we stay in Namanga (the border town) and then leave when it was fixed the next morning. I hated to take a chance, and miss the conference which is scheduled for tomorrow, so Bruce and I decided we would try to go on to Arusha by bus yet tonight if possible. Charles would stay with the car and bring it to Arusha when it was fixed. So we hitched a ride with a man who said he would take us to Namanga for $50. At first the car was over full. It was a little station wagon not much bigger than my old Plymouth Reliant wagon. Inside we crammed 8 men and some luggage! Russ and I were stuck in the way back and Bruce shared the middle seat with three other men. We arrived at the border at about 7:30pm. Now we had to decide what to do. Should we find a bus yet tonight or get a hotel here and leave first thing in the morning? As we unloaded our luggage and contemplated this a man came up to us and asked if we were going to Arusha. He said he could take us the remaining 120 km for about $60. We talked it over and agreed.
We went through customs without any problems - not even for Bruce and Russ who had to purchase visas right there. What a blessing that was! We drove through no-man’s-land showed our passports on the Tanzania side, got back into our new ride and were off again for Arusha!
The young man who drove us was named Ibrahim and his ride was a unique 1985 Pugot seven passenger wagon. It had fancy rims and a air intake on the hood! It was even pretty comfortable inside. By now it was past dark. In the darkness we saw two forest fires on the east side of the road, both in the hills. It is very dry and the wind is blowing furiously, making these fires very dangerous. We sure hope that no one gets hurt.
Finally just before 10:00pm we arrived at the Eland hotel in Arusha. We paid our driver, checked into the hotel, dropped our bags off in our rooms and went down to get something to eat for a late supper. Over supper we discussed the day tomorrow and reminisced about the events of the durrent day. How thankful we are to have arrived safely in spite of all the troubles we had! May the LORD also bless our work tomorrow as we meet with the leaders of the CLCEA for our Pastoral training seminar!
In His service,
Nathanael
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