Sunday, a day of rest

I sympathize a lot more with pastors now. Everyone else has the day off on Sunday. That’s their big work day.

Today is Sunday, supposedly a day off, a day of rest, a day to go to church and praise God and hear His word expounded on. Well, all that happened, but the start…

Yesterday I flew the airplane to the lower airstrip. Gatab has two airstrips, Gatab and Luai (the lower strip). Gatab will sometimes fog in of a morning. Like yesterday and Friday. So, yesterday afternoon I moved the airplane to Luai because today I had to fly Phillip (one of the dorm parents at Haven Home here in Gatab) to Loiyangalani to preach. The Teasedales and Hinds are all in Nairobi this week, so there was no one in Loi to preach. So…Phillip steps in. And everyone heard the airplane was going to Loiyangalani and wanted to go too.

So yesterday Susan and the kids and the dog and I all drove down to Luai. It takes about 25-30 minutes to go the not quite 6 miles. The road is very steep and very rough. We ran up and down Luai for a bit (Hunter loved it) and then drove back up. Or rather Susan did, the point of the trip being so that she could see the road before she had to drive it solo. This morning she drove the car back after dropping me and my passengers at Luai, but that’s getting a little ahead of the story.

This morning, waiting outside the house are 8 people. No way all these people will fit in the airplane. Not possible. Some of them will have to stay. They are Not Happy. A little hemming and hawing and Susan asks, “Do 2 flights?” Brilliant! I knew I married her for some reason! Everyone is suddenly happy. So we load them all up in the land cruiser. Three of the guys are on the roof rack, three people in the back seat, two in the back of the car (three really, the mama had an infant in her arms) and off we go down the rocky bumpy steep road to Luai.

Load the airplane, two trips to Loi…stay the second time for church. I get there a little late, but only a little, and no one minds. The start time is a little nebulous here anyway. The preaching is all in Swahili, translated into Turkana. I get about 1 word in 10. Oh well. It’s a good chance to pray at least. Lord, help me learn this language!

Loiyangalani, but the way is hot. Hot. HOT! It was about 40 C today, or about 105 F. Hot. Fortunately there’s always a breeze there. A breeze? More like a gale. Winds were about 25 mph when I landed, and picked up as the day went on. About 30mph when I took off.

We had lunch in Loiyangalani and then came home about 3 this afternoon. It was good to get back to the mountain, and some cool weather.

Sunday, a day of rest? Actually, it really was. I had a great time today.

The Northern Frontier District

That's what the part of Kenya that Gatab is in used to be called. It's not anymore, but in some ways the name still fits. This is where the Chalbi desert is, and Lake Turkana. The vast majority of the land is desert, either alkali like the Chalbi or volcanic like most of the rest of the area. There are very few towns here, (there are some) but most people, and there are not many, live in small traditional villages.

Gatab, on Mt Kulal, is like an oasis. It's one of the green areas. The mountain collects what moisture makes it across the desert from the Indian Ocean, so there is water, and trees, and green.

We've been here about 3 weeks now. I drove up from Nairobi on the 16th of February, getting in on Monday the 18th. I could have done the drive in two days but we got a late start Saturday. Nathan Rozema, one of the short term volunteers at the hangar drove up with me. We stayed in Nanyuki Saturday night, and in Maralal Sunday night. It's only about 300 miles, but after Nanyuki the roads are dirt, and often little more than a four wheel drive track. It was about 16 hours of actual driving. The same trip, by airplane, takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Anyway, we're here in Gatab now. The airplane is getting regularly used, and everyone I talk with says how relieved and glad they are to have the airplane here. So far it's been lots of little flights, with one long one. I flew from Gatab to Moyale to pick up Tim Kelty and take him to Nairobi. Moyale is way up north east, right on the border with Ethiopia. In fact I landed in Ethiopia and taxied back into Kenya...the airstrip cuts across the border. Then back to Gatab. About 7 hours of flying yesterday. Most of the flights have been Loiyangalani and back, Nolpilipili and back...15 miles or so each way, but 10 minutes in the airplane takes the place of 3-5 hours by car. It's often less expensive too.

Susan is settling in here too. She's busy getting the garden in order, and learning to deal with the local women. The vast majority of whom don't speak English, and many of whom speak very little Swahili. We're taking Swahili lessons again, and it's helping. We can always find someone to translate from Swahili to Samburu. English to Samburu is a bit harder to find a translator for.

Alex and Beth are coping with home school. They've made the adjustment and so far seem to approve. Right now the Woodworths and Heidorns are down in Nairobi, so playmates are a little in short supply. Samantha in particular has hit it off with the younger Woodworth kids (David and Kayla) and spends most of the day with them.

So...Gatab. No stores, no movie rentals. No traffic!