Thursday, November 5, 2009

This morning we had another exciting trip planned. We were going to visit Pastor Papani’s district in Kijairdo, Kenya. That’s right, the barren wasteland of southern Kenya. This area is so remote that we needed to rent a 4 wheel drive Safari truck to get us to Papani’s church. We were scheduled to leave at 8:00am, but our transportation didn’t arrive until 9:00am. This is a pretty common occurrence here. Pastor Jeremiah, our driver, Larry, Russ and I piled into the big vehicle for the 4 hour ride east. To be truthful, even though it rode like a truck, it was very comfortable. There was a bench seat in the front and then four captains chairs in the rear. The roof had three removable partitions in case the riders wanted to stick their heads out the top to look at animals on the savanna. We didn’t remove them on our trip!

We drove east back through Moshi and at Himo turned north driving around the east side of Mt. Kilimanjaro. At Murangu we got off the nice paved road and began winding our way around the side of the mountain. This road was full of switchback trails curving around deep gullies and hills. The road from Murangu into Kenya was being completely reconstructed. Graters, dozers and rollers were in full service, and many small bridges were seen in different stages of construction. There were many diversions while this work was being completed. We were told that this construction was being done because an election was coming up and they were trying to get reelected. When the road is finished, it is supposed to go all the way to Nairobi around the east side of Kilimanjaro, as an alternate route to the Nairobi - Arusha highway. Maybe it will be done by the time we return next year....

Finally we turned east again and started to leave Kilimanjaro behind us. As we dropped in elevation the temperature began to rise and the landscape began to change drastically. The banana trees gradually thinned out and gave way to flatlands used for grazing and farming. We were on a rougher road now that consisted of two deep ruts between fields. After a while we turned off this as well. There was a road, although most people wouldn’t call it that. In many places we just drove in the direction we wanted to go. Kilimanjaro was in the distance behind us now, and the land here was very dry. The fields for crops were ready but waiting for rain which has not yet come. The cattle that we saw were very sickly looking with the ribs showing clearly through their tough hide. The goats looked better, but they can fair well on just about anything they can find. The people here are really struggling right now because they depend on the rain for their survival. The Maasai are generally herdsmen, but they do some farming as well. Pastor Papani has also received a loan from the CLC and has used it to drill a well for water. He is using this to grow tomatoes and other vegetables to provide for his family and the members of his churches. We were hoping to see his project but were not able to due to time constraints.

We arrived at Papani’s home and were shown around. His yard is surrounded by acacia branches wound together to form a thick three foot high wall to keep unwanted animals (like lions and hyenas) out. In sided the fence there was a corral for keeping goats and other animals in when necessary. There was a cookhouse which was a round building about 8 feet in diameter with mud walls and a thatched roof. Then there was Papani’s house. It was rectangular in shape, about 8x25 with a metal roof and mud walls. There were three rooms inside the house: A “living room” with bedrooms off to either side. It had a wooden door that could be locked from either the inside or outside and wooden window built into each room for sight and ventilation. In spite of the heat it was quite cool inside the house. They offered us sodas and then fed us a dish which included rice, cabbage (grown in Papani’s garden) and roasted goat meat. It was pretty good, although they gave us much more than we could eat!

Pastor Papani's house and "yard"

After the meal we walked over to the church building which was less than 50 yards from his house. This also was a mud building with a metal roof and holes for windows. It was about 15x45 with a dirt floor and a slight step at the back of the church for an altar area. Slowly the people began to arrive. The Maasai people dress in very colorful garments of red and blue and the women wear colorful beaded jewelry around the wrists and necks and in their ears. Soon the church was filled to overflowing with people. Today we had to use two translators since Pastor Papani doesn’t have a good knowledge of English and Pastor Jeremiah doesn’t have a good knowledge of Maasai. But it was still a very beneficial visit, and it was clear that the people were glad that we had come.

Papani has started about seven stations in the area here, and since we were not able to visit them all, the people of these churches traveled here to see us. The other stations have started building churches similar to the one we saw here, but they cannot afford the metal sheets for the roof. The problem is that if they do not get roofs on these buildings, the rain will wash the mud walls away and they will have to redo the work. They have requested our help to get these churches roofed, but the MDF has been almost completely depleted. It is hoped that we will have money in the MDF soon so that we will be able to get these put on before they are washed away. It would be nice to be able to get a mission helper trip here to put these roofs on and teach them how to do it.

The other thing that is needed is transportation for the pastors. We would like to get Papani a motorbike to visit the congregations, and bicycles for the other pastors so they would be able to travel more quickly in this difficult terrain. This too will have to wait until the MDF is built back up. We pray that the Lord will bless His people so that they are able to assist in the work of His kingdom in this way.

At about 5:00pm we said goodbye and loaded back into our Land Cruiser for the long trip back to Arusha. By the time we returned to the Eland, we had been gone for over 12 hours. It was a long day, but it was a rewarding day – for us and for the people we were able to visit. May the LORD be with them and bless them physically and spiritually.

In His service,

Nathanael

“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).