Day 4 “Raining season in Africa + dirt bumpy roads = not good”

After almost 4 days we were all very tired. As much as we tried to sleep we all were awake at 500am eating breakfast. We had cereal and oatmeal with orange mango juice which is a very good way to start any morning. Also, Duncan came in with fresh milk from his cows that he milked this morning. He taught us how to pasteurize milk which included boiling it, freezing it, removing the cream on the top and then freezing it again. I guess the extreme temperatures both hot then cold help to kill the bacteria. We also finally got a hold of our families even though the cell phone charges will be outrageous we wanted them to know we were still alive and well. Also, my laptop charging connector broke so I was unable to write the blog till now. We still have not gotten to access the internet because the school library has been closed due to school being out and we have been too busy to stop by the local cyber cafes. Soon I promise this will go up so sorry for the delay!
Rachel and I had plans to go to the market and the internet café; however, instead we were going to take a quick trip up to visit Michael (one of the Hope without Borders directors here in Africa) and his family. The trip was suppose to take only 30-45 min and with 5 of us squished into one small car we thought that would be fine. Unfortunately, most of the roads had been shut down because the president of the Dominican of Kenyan was coming through the streets due to a new referendum that was being passed. On top of the roads being closed and dead lock traffic the rain had washed away most of the dirt roads, so our 30-45 min trip took up to 4.5 bumpy hot hours. We introduced everyone to road games that we play in the states; nevertheless, the language barrier left 20 questions very hard so we just joked around for the long trip. I finally made Duncan (one of the other Hope without Borders directors here in Africa) laugh which I have been trying to do since we got here, because he is a very sarcastic and serious man. Also, Lance kept falling asleep on the bumpy roads, an impossible feat, but it kept us entertained.

Once we finally got to Michael’s house after many wrong turns and interesting detours, we were introduced to his wife (Margaret) and his 8 yr old daughter (Martha). They were very welcoming and had prepared a wonderful meal of goat, rice, kale, and a type of flat bread. Also, even though they lived in the country they specially bought soda for our visit. They had a beautiful house, yet it was still rustic with chickens, an outhouse and no electricity (due to vandalization of their transformer). Martha returned from Sunday school, where she was practicing a dance for next Sunday, and she showed us her welcome sign that she drew for us in chalk. Next, while the men sat and discussed the plans for the rest of the trip Margaret and Martha showed us around their village. It was gorgeous because it was in the country a very different landscape then the bustling downtown streets of Nairobi. The air was clean and you could see Mount Kenya clearly. Some of the younger kids from the village came out to see the Muzungos (white people) and spoke with those not too shy to talk with us. They showed us the border of Nairobi and Muchakos where a little river separated them and supplied them with their water. It was getting dark so we decided to be on our way. Due to the darkness and the eroded path we had a very long bumpy ride home to Daystar. Whether from the long day or the bumpy roads we were all a little goofy so we had fun naming Duncan’s car the “Smooth Operator.” However, there were some scarier moments when cars in front and around us were getting stuck in the mud and potholes. We had to do a little creative driving to circumvent them.


Finally, we got back to Daystar where we met Bob and Matt who came back from Garissa tired and full of stories. As Lance got them settled in Rachel and I went with Duncan, Gilo, and Peter to the Nakumatt. This Nakumatt was 24hrs and reminded me of a super wal-mart on steroids. It sold everything from groceries to cars, furniture to electronics. We got lost just getting some basic goods for the house. After that, Duncan took us on a night tour of Nairobi showing us the ministry of defense to the president’s house. However, after our long car trip we needed to get back home and rest. We were home by 10pm and were able to get some much needed rest.