Friday, April 15, 2011

This was a day worth waiting for, in spite of the fact we were up at the break of dawn to catch bodas into town where we met our friend Sammy Wafula. He and some of his ministry partners arranged to take Ellen and I to the Pokot area to spend some time with some unreached peoples. What a long haul it was to get to this place! We were told that if we wanted land in this area, it was FREE but as I looked around I understood why! The area reminded me of the Arizona desert; sandy, dry, and not a lot of shade. Pokot is very remote; so much so that there are no schools for all the children and no medical care within range. We were told that some people have died while walking to the nearest hospital. The only water source is what the government has hauled in and it only arrives every two to three days. Did we mention Pokot remote?! The drive was well worth the travel, though, as we were welcomed to the church by singing women and children. Kenyans sure do know how to worship God! A unique experience to us this time was the use of two translators. One pastor translated from English to Swahili and the second one translated from Swahili to the Pokot dialect. Ellen spoke first and before I could speak the pastor asked us to move outside because there were too many people to fit into the small church. It was really neat to see people sitting on benches in an open air meeting. After the service we were invited to the pastor’s home for lunch and chai. Then we were back on the road for the long drive back to the shamba. It was a very long day, but also very rewarding.