January 20, 2013 Turbo



Greetings

Yesterday we left Kakamega and headed our way to Turbo which is on the main road from Eldoret to Webuye.  I have passed thru here on numerous occasions but the last time we stopped was way back on the very first trip in 2009.  We met up with Beatrice and after four years she remembered my name.  In fact she remembered all of our names that paid her a visit that day.  I am lucky to remember a name at the end of the day.  She pulled out some pictures from the visit and she told me I was now fat.  I really thought I was on the Kenya diet losing some major weight.

Beatrice and the four Turbo churches have eleven Orphans that are presently in Bishop Hezrons program.  Actually there are another nine more that are being helped to some extent.  A few years ago Hezron had hundreds of children in his program and over the years he has had to reduce the number for lack of funding.  What I am finding out is that once the funding decreases the rules have to change to adjust to the situation.  The Orphans do not disappear just because the money stops coming in.  Since the program here in Turbo is more for helping with their education the children are only helped through a certain grade then their assistance stops.  If there is a little extra money then some food will be given.  All of these children here are placed in a guardian’s home.  Some of the guardians are relatives and some are not.  Some of these children have both parents gone some only one parent gone.  It is my understanding that most or all the children here in Turbo that still have one parent alive do not live with the surviving parent for one reason or another.  All of the children live in the slum area of Turbo.  Hezron is going to have a meeting with the guardians on Wednesday to find a way to distribute the funds he has based on needs versus just handing everyone the same amount of money.  I am anxious to see how this works out.

After we left Turbo we paid a visit to Lumakanda to see the progress on the Freedom International Church main headquarter complex.  Since my last visit there are some more columns put up.  Seven thousand five hundred bricks are ready to be fired.  The church has been added on to.  There is now a three room school house for the little ones of the village.  A new toilet is being constructed and a kitchen was added on to the Pastors residence.  While we were visiting the church there was a young lady that had been selected to give the church a fresh new cow poop floor.  It seems that every two weeks this process is repeated by one of the members mostly by the youth.  In the states I am not sure if this would be a good recruiting tool to get kids to join the youth group or maybe it would.  I must say she did a really good job at it and she was fast too.

Freedom International Church compound Lumakanda

She really moves fast putting in a new floor

She did an excellent job

Bishop Hezron and some of the kids in the area

New three room school house

My guest for the evening



Yesterday’s blog I mention a guy in line that kept invading my space.  The guy in yesterdays blog is nothing compared to the guy in today’s blog.  I think God was reading my blog yesterday and thought it quite funny and decided that it was not funny enough.  So he throws in a new character.  You know God does have a sense of humor.  Here we are at the Lumakanda church and the neighbor guy sees us so he decides to pay us a visit.  Talk about being a space invader let me tell you that it is a real treat to be a captive audience to a drunken Kenyan.  You know Jim it is all about the relationshipJ

Today it is off to Mt. Elgon to visit a small town called Mototo (I think) for church services.  Also some of the Freedom International leadership will be there to speak to the members about tithing.  After the services I assume we will have some lunch and then I will say my goodbyes to the area and head for Eldoret so I can be near the airport tomorrow morning.  

Take care and God bless

Dave