It's always an adventure on Mt. Elgon!

Well, we made it to Kenya. After 2 days of travel we woke up early our first morning here and headed up to Mt. Elgon with Butaki, and Philip and Dalene Hamer. We are very blessed to have the incredible talent of Philip to put a video together of the Saboat People giving their testimonies of how they have benefited from Fruited Plains. We will show this at the benefit on October 4th. It was also a blessing to spend time with Philip and Dalene in a place we love so much with people we love so much. The ride up to Mt. Elgon is always an adventure and the roads are even worse. It is more like off roading than anything else. Unfortunately, Dalene and Philip were a little under the weather which made the ride up a challenge for them. Every time we go to Mt. Elgon it is a new experience and this time was no different. First, the starter on the van came loose due to all the banging around we did. No one knew exactly how to fix it so we had to park each time we arrived at a new homestead on a down slope so we could get a rolling start and then jump start it. Thank God we were on a mountain where there were plenty of hills! We then were eating lunch in one of the churches we assist when we were hit with thunder, lightning, RAIN, and hail! Philip decided to use this as an opportunity to teach the children Spanish and Japanese. Once the rain stopped, we waited to determine if we could make it up the mountain to ICM where we planned on spending the night. We played out front with the children in the meantime. Mike and I entertained them with our "stupid human tricks" which they seemed to appreciate. We knew our talents would come in handy one day. Butaki determined that there was no way we could make it to ICM but there was a school we could walk to and stay the night there. School was out of session so we could sleep in the dormatory. A new adventure! There was no running water or electricity and of course the restrooms were nothing more than a tin shack with a hole in the ground. We sat in the staff room as day turned to night. We took out our flashlights and Mike entertained us with unrecognizable hand puppets. They put a small pot of charcoal (not what you are thinking. It is actually pieces of burnt wood) to keep us warm and they cooked some maize on top of it. Around 8:30 pm some of the women waked in with a lantern carrying pots full of food for us! Their hospitality is amazing. Cooking is not an easy process for these women and they took it upon themselves when they heard we were stranded to pull together and prepare food and bring it to us. We then headed for our sleeping quarters for the night. Mike and I had the "Pent House Suite" as you had to walk up some steps to get to our section of the dorm. The door to the dorm house had iron bars but no glass, their were window panes missing in our rooms, it was cold and we had no mosquito nets. I know we should have been miserable but Mike and I could not have been more full of peace, contentment and joy. It has to be a God thing because any where else, I would have been MISERABLE. Unfortunately, Philip and Dalene were not feeling well and this was definitely not the place to be when you are sick. We felt so bad for them. They were such troopers and despite everything, we laughed a lot and had a great time. During the night We were woken several times by a baying donkey that lead a chorus of barking dogs and other unidentifiable animals. We discovered the next morning that the donkey had been right outside our window the whole night. I know I am a vegetarian but I was tempted to have a little cooked donkey for breakfast!! We heard some amazing testimonies from the people both days on the mountain. The children who were once afraid of us were now excited by our visit. There was one exception to this however. As we crossed a farm, there was a very young girl, maybe 2 years old. She did not seem scared so I slowly approached her. Suddenly from behind me I heard another child shouting and suddenly the toddler with a stricken look on her face "ran for her life", screaming and crying. I turned around and Butaki was almost lying on the ground he was laughing so hard. Apparently, the girl saw me approach her little sister and thought she was in danger and screamed to her, "My sister is in danger. She will be gone forever." On Mt. Elgon, the people tell their children ghost stories. Guess who the ghosts are in these stories? Yep, it is us Mazungoos (white people). We made it down the mountain safely. I should also let you know (Kathleen) Philip and Dalene are both feeling much better today! We have not been able to see Lucy yet but will go get her this afternoon. I can't wait!!!! I miss her soooooooooooo much. I will blog again soon!