HOT, HOTTER, HOTTEST

Greetings from Tana River, the land of HOT, HOTTER, HOTTEST temperatures!

Thursday last week, the temperature reached 130 degrees Fahrenheit by 10:30 a.m.!!! Each day’s high temp has been around 127 degrees . . . with humidity to match! Even the Kenyans are saying it is hot! Now that’s hot!

Our trip to Kenya began at 1:15 p.m. on Friday, February 4th in Omaha with arrival in Mombasa at midnight on Saturday, February 5th. Kenya is 9 hours ahead of Nebraska, but it was still a loooooong trip!!! In Detroit, we met up with the 3-member team from Jackson, Michigan. From Detroit, the 5 of us flew to Amsterdam then to Nairobi then to Mombasa!

Sunday (6th) was spent in Mombasa, where we attended church at 9 a.m. Monday morning was spent running errands . . . left in the afternoon for Tana River, about a 5-hour van drive. Basket of Hope purchased a 9 passenger, air conditioned van in January.

On the property, an outhouse was built – thank you, Louis! – and a banda (the first building on the property) was built around a big tree. Not only does the banda house our kitchen, but it provides MUCH relief from the sun and heat!


Between February 8-16 . . .

Kenyan men dug the footings for the pole shed, 30 feet x 80 feet. The men were paid by each 10 foot long, 4 foot deep, 2 foot wide section they dug. All the footings were completed in 2 days and concrete poured on Thursday and Friday!

Digging of the pit latrine began. The finished hole will be 25-30 feet deep and 6 feet across. The hole was about 15 feet deep when we left Tana River on the 16th but heard today it is at 20 feet.

The team from Michigan dug red soil at an off-site location. The red soil was moved by truck to the church in Itsowe, where they sifted the red soil, black soil, and sand in preparation for block making.

Women from a near-by village cleared the remaining small brush. A couple of days later, the Michigan team raked the area and burned the debris.

Ken and Louis worked on a variety of projects, along with the Kenyan laborers.

Arlene cooked breakfast for the team 4 mornings – French toast, pancakes, scrambled eggs – and washed dishes! She watched and “learned” how to cook some of the Kenyan foods!

Sunday the 13th, the team divided up and spoke at 4 area churches. It’s wonderful to worship with the body of Christ in another part of the world.

On Wednesday, the 16th, the team left Tana River for Mombasa and drove in rain nearly the entire way. This was the first rain in the area for 2 or 3 months.

We are 5 now . . . Ken & Arlene, Howard & Sharon, and Louis. We will return to Tana River tomorrow, Monday, February 21st for 5 or 6 days. The Michigan team flew out of Mombasa on Friday evening (18th) for their journey back to America.

We’ve heard that Nebraska has been enjoying warm temps, melting the snow! When we return on March 3rd, the crocus could be up and blooming declaring it will soon be Spring!

Hope you enjoy the pictures. Will post again soon. Would love to hear from you.

Thank you for your prayer support during our time in Kenya!

P.S. Will post pics later this evening.