A visit to Mike's Home away from Home

Friday and Saturday, October 7-8, 2011

Praise the LORD! For it is good to sing praises to our God; for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting (Psalm 147:1 ).

We left the Jazz Hotel at about 7:00am to make our way to the bus stage for our trip north out of Kisii to Eldoret.  We had a nice shuttle, which meant that we weren’t packed in like sardines.  We each had our own (paid) seat, and there were no stops between Kisii and Eldoret to pick up passengers.  It was about a five hour journey, and we arrived in Eldoret a little after 12:30pm.  We had a few errands to do so we visited the bank, the Bible Book store, the Grocery store and a few other odds n ends.  Finally we were ready to leave Eldoret for Mike’s home in Matunda.  We had another 45 minute ride, but the roads were much improved from what they were last year.  When we arrived, Mary was at Mike’s already and she was busy making supper!  We visited with Eric for a little bit and soon Anna arrived.  She had been at Emmaus church supervising the construction of the second classroom there.  We made a quick journey to the church to see the progress and I had the opportunity to get up on the roof and help the fundi (carpenter) install the iron sheets on the roof!  He looked at me skeptically at first when I asked about coming up, but by after driving a few nails, he saw that I had experience and invited me to keep helping!  It was a nice change of pace!

We returned to Mike’s for the supper Mary had prepared for us (which we enjoyed immensely) and after visiting with the Sagala family for a while, turned in for the night.  We settled into Mike’s house, which is the upper story of a duplex.  He has a kitchen and living room as well as three bedrooms and a bathroom.  It is in a much better location than his previous house, and although he is a little further from church, he is closer to town.  To top off the night, Mike made us grilled cheese sandwiches, which were REALLY good.

 Russ gets a picture of me at work in Mike's living room the night before we leave.

On Saturday we went to the church to meet with the school children, their parents and members since Russ and I were not going to be able to be there for Sunday services.  We began at about 10:00am and finished up at about 2:00pm!  After that we went to a little restaurant for a small lunch with Anna and Mary, and then went to Mary’s house for the rest of the afternoon.  We wrapped up at around 6:00pm, said goodbye to Mary and Anna and walked across town to Mike’s.  It was a somber evening....  While Russ and I are glad to be going home, it is difficult to leave our compatriot behind.  But he only has two more months left and he will be following.

Mary, Mike, Anna and I after our lunch on Saturday afternoon (Mike and I were a little burned!)

Please keep Mike in your prayers during the coming two months.  You can follow his work here:  http://emmausmilimanimission.tumblr.com
 
In Christ,

Nathanael