January 19, 2013 Kakamega



Greetings

Today was a really long day.  We got off to a late start.  Earlier I could not get my ATM card to work or the machine was out of money so I had to make the adventure to the bank to get some shillings.  I don’t know what it is about some people and lines.  Sometimes I wonder if people are taught proper etiquette while standing in a line.  Each of us humans we have our own personal space and when I can feel your breath on my neck you are way too close.  I stood in that line for what seemed like forever with a guy who kept invading my space.  I always make sure that I give the person in front of me plenty of room.  So here I am inching my way closer to the person in front of me so I can give the guy behind me some room to breathe on someone else.  Every time I inched forward the dude behind me inched along with me.  Even if I moved a half and inch he was right along with me.  Finally I had to realize that we were going to be inseparable for the duration of our time together in line.  I made sure that before I left the states I had 2006’s and above.  Not sure how many more years 2006’s will be valid here in Kenya.

After we fueled up we were on our way to visit a small church near Busia to see some of the Orphans that this church is taking care of.  The number was supposed to be five and yes they had five.  However it seems like they had another five that I assume were vulnerable children or partially orphans.  One of the Orphans in attendance was still considered an Orphan but she had a small child of her own.  Of course the father is no where to be found.  I still need to think about that one.  While I was at this small church I started to get sick and really did not feel like doing anything but going to sleep.  We still had a long day ahead of us and luckily I started to feel better a little later on.  I am not sure how much more Orphan information I can digest on this trip.

Pastor and Bishop with some members of Busia church

(the five children in front are the Orphans)



After we left the church it was off to see Pastor Robert in Bulimbo to discuss micro-finance and see his passion fruit orchard.  We went over his by-laws of the micro-finance program and spoke with some of the members of his committee to help them finalize the program.  After the meeting we took a stroll to the passion fruit orchard.  They still look great however Robert tells me that the vines are in a state of dormancy while the dry season continues.  This is what took us out last year when the drought hit here in Western Kenya.  The vines were not sufficiently large to withstand periods of no water.  Robert told me once the rain starts again the vines will start to produce again.  As we went through the orchard there still seemed to be a large number of fruit on the vines and there were also some flowers meaning more fruit will be coming.  The main problem for the orchard is theft.  It sits right next to the road and it is easy picking for all.  I think there are some witch doctors not far from here that can put a spell on the vines so if anyone steals the fruit they will be frozen on the spot.

This trip was not much to do with passion fruit since any future passion fruit will have to go through the micro-finance entities we are setting up.  However my understanding is that the surviving orchards in Bungoma area are doing quite well.  The vines that made it through the drought have survived the second dry season.  Some of Mumias orchards are still alive and a few of the churches are going to replant in other areas.  Kakamega took a hard hit and most of them switched back to maize.  I still feel that passion fruit is a viable crop and my prayer is that once the micro-finance programs are up and running passion fruit orchards will be back on the agenda.

Pastor Robert explaining dormancy during times of little rain

Young man showing me a passion fruit flower

Some of pastor Robert's family

The passion fruit orchard from the road



After we left Pastor Robert and family it was back to Kakamega.  On the way we stopped in Mumias to pick up Mr. and Mrs. Ometi to have dinner with the Bishop and Melissa.  Melissa has been sick for the last week or so.  She had been in the hospital and they could not find out what was wrong with her.  Everyone thought it was malaria but the doctors would not confirm it and sent her home.  She still does not feel well but she is doing better then she was.  My prayers are to you for a speedy recovery.  Maybe she has the flu that is going around in the states.  Do they have the flu here?

After dinner we started to discuss church based Orphan care and how we are going to undertake such a task.  I told them we need to take this from the ministry level and move it to the church level.  It has become obvious to me that there are some that have Orphans in their care that might not need any help.  It is also obvious to me that there are some that have Orphans in their care that could use a little help.  It is also obvious to me that there are people that have Orphans in their care that need a lot of help.  Now the question is we have this little or God willing large pot of money to help and to whom are we going to help?  I am not sure if I would ever be in a position to answer that question but as Maurice said last night with proper training and discipleship the church can.

This morning Hezron had called me and said we are going somewhere but I am not sure where we are going.  I know we will be going to the Elgon area tomorrow for church services and then to Eldoret so we can be close to the airport for my departure on Monday morning.  There is only one flight out of Eldoret and I need to be on it or there might be a problem getting back to the states.  The Bishop does not have the most reliable car at times but it serves its purpose well when it does.

An Eagle that landed on a branch while I was typing this blog

Take care and God bless

Dave