Greetings
Today we went back out to the orchard site and checked up on the progress of the plot. We arrived and found that the plot had been plowed and that most of the red dirt had been moved. Tomorrow and up through next Tuesday the widows will be back on site to break up the clumps and smooth out the dirt across the plot. On Tuesday Hezron and I will be on site to lay out the pattern for the support posts and the plants. Mathew will be up from Mumias to cut the raw timber into posts. The widows will be digging the post holes and transporting the posts from down the road a bit. Hopefully by the end of next Wednesday the posts will be in the ground and wire run for the vines to spread. Soon after the plot is prepared we will be ready to plant the seedlings.
After we left the orchard site we headed to Shibuli to have dinner with Hezron’s family, his Deputy Bishop, and Director of Evangelism. I picked up some ground beef and other items to make a pot of spaghetti for us. I learned that you can take the ingredients here and make something taste just like home. However it did need a little beef base and garlic salt. The Deputy Bishop so enjoyed his meal that he wants me to come before I leave and cook for them again. His request is another bigger pot of spaghetti. After dinner we chatted and discussed projects and with God’s help try to make them happen.
I listened to another example of how the Deputy Bishop earns his income. He pays 300 Ksh ($3.75) a day to the owner of his motorbike that he uses to transport people and stuff in and around Mumias. I asked him how much he makes a day on the bike and he told me somewhere around 500 to 600 Ksh ($6.25 to $7.50) if it is a good day. After fuel costs and maintenance his net is between 150 to 200 Ksh ($1.88 to $2.50) a day. He has to pay the owner of the motorbike 6 days a week for a total of 1800 Ksh ($22.50) per week or 93,600 Ksh ($1,170.00) per year and he has been renting it non stop for 3 years. Without the ability to get a loan he is forced to rent and will probably never save enough money to actually buy his own motorbike. The cost of a new motorbike is around 70,000 to 80,000 Ksh or around a thousand dollars. In three years time he has spent enough in rent to buy 3 motorbikes. The motorbike he is riding is over three years old and still in great shape. I asked how much to buy the one he was using or is there a way to buy a used motorbike? Used motorbikes are not easy to come by. Most owners keep them until they die and they go off to the scrap yard. If you are able to find a used motorbike they tell me buyer beware and it could cost up to 50,000 Ksh ($625.00) to purchase.
Motorbikes are a fairly new item here in Kenya
Tomorrow we are off to Mumias and Eldoret to look at some more machinery. On the way back from Eldoret we will stop in Lumakanda so Hezron can make arrangements to accommodate the pastor from Mumias in the new room next to the church.
Take care and God bless
Dave
Dave, kind of disappointed that we did not get pictures today of the Spaghetti feast and the Deputy Bishops motorbike. At a top speed of just 40 mph and 100cc it sounds about like a moped, is it a motorcycle or more in line with a scooter? Thanks again for your hard work and may God continue to bless your efforts and guide you through your many adventures on this fact finding mission.
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