Friday, July 13, 2018

First Impressions of Kenya

As one descends the steps of the plane to the tarmac in Nairobi, you notice the difference from Dubai. Kenya is a much more modest economy. Here you have steel girders and cement rather than marble and glass. The temperatures are in the 70's, rather than 110! Animal statuary dot the landscape as we leave the. Airport entering the city of five million souls. Traffic is heavy, but our driver for the two weeks, Patrick, is quite capable of swerving between lanes while answering questions from members of Team Kenya. We spent our first night in Hotel Milele, a Presbyterian hostel, located next to an ornate mosque. Our meal at their cafeteria was reasonably priced and convenient. We were tired and ready for bed.
Wednesday brought nearly eight hours of travel through the Kenyan countryside heading west and north. Words to describe what we were privileged to see--diversity of wealth from a Nairobi slum of over one million souls to some of the most beautiful homes I have ever seen; diversity of landscape--lush farming country with small fields of corn and beans to large fields of wheat, prairies with herds of Masai cattle and goats, rolling hill country with banana groves and tea plantations, and then, of course, the Great Rift Valley--a gorgeous expanse of land on a major geographical fault line; diversity of human endeavor--thousands of small shop owners featuring everything from farm produce to furniture, people on motorcycle taxis to workers on road and railroad construction, schoolchildren dressed in dark green skirts or shorts to grandmothers carrying bundles on their heads.
We arrived in Kisii shortly after 4:00 p.m. and checked into our home for the next six days--the Hotel Dans. We were greeted by Pastors Enosh and Fred--godly men who welcomed us warmly and helped to build our excitement for the work soon to begin. The day, which had been mostly cloudy, ended with a brilliant sunset reminding us of God's grace and the joy we hope to bring to the children and teachers at Etago tomorrow. May the LORD bless those efforts!
Pastor Paul Nolting and

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