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Tuesday, April 7
Neil and Francis have completed their teaching and interviews at the churches in the Kisii District. On Tuesday morning, Hellen's church members gathered at their church and had their quiet memorial service for their friend who had died, sharing meaningful stories of the ways she had impacted their lives. Neil told of Horatio Spafford, head of a large law firm in Chicago and friend of D. L. Moody. Horatio sent his wife and daughters ahead on a family vacation to Europe where D. L Moody was scheduled to speak. Horatio stayed behind to finish business before he could join them. However, his family's ship was struck by an iron sailing vessel, and it sank losing 226 people, including all 4 of their daughters. As Horatio sailed to Europe to join his grieving wife, the captain came to notify him when they were passing the location where his daughters had drowned. Horatio went to his cabin and filled with the comfort and inspiration from the Holy Spirit, Horatio wrote the words for the well-loved hymn, "It Is Well With My Soul." It was that hymn that the Holy Spirit sang to Ruth in the Willmar hospital in 1980, when a nurse came to her room during the night to let her know their first son, born prematurely had died at the University of Minnesota hospital in Minneapolis. Ruth didn't know the words, but the Holy Spirit sang all the verses to Ruth in her heart that night as He wrapped His comfort around her.
After the memorial service, Francis brought Neil to visit his favorite barber shop run by a friend of Atkinson. In Morris, Neil is his own barber, so Neil felt especially pampered. After haircuts, Neil and Francis had lunch consisting of cooked bananas, ugali, kale, and boiled potatoes. Neil passed on the bananas, ugali, and kale, opting for boiled potatoes with fresh diced green onions and tomatoes to top off the spuds.
The pastors traveling with Neil to the Hama Island conference are looking forward to meeting their friend, Jim Hallaway from Menagha, in Kisumu tomorrow. Atkinson will be their driver and three pastors, Hellen, Rosemary, and George, will be fellow travelers. Another pastor, James from Naivasha, is accompanying Jim Hallaway on a bus from Nairobi.
To prepare Neil for what to expect on Hama Island, Francis said, "Think the Kabara slum," which is the worst slum in Nairobi. But my curiosity began to take over. Hama is just over the border into Uganda, and their tourism industry advertises the island as a sought-after destination for honeymoons and anniversaries. The pictures on the tourism web site show lovely sand beeches with palm trees and resort accommodations. Neil was quite certain that nothing like that would be in the part of the island where they would be staying. We both thought if Holly Witt was in charge of logistics for the conference, she would find a way to upgrade the facilities.
Wednesday, April 8
Hellen, Rosemary, George, and Atkinson were at Hellen's house a little before 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning (9:00 p.m. Minnesota time), so they got off to an early start. Just after they were on the road, Neil called Ruth and put her on speaker so she could greet each passenger. Then Neil settled into the van seat for a nap.
He had no sooner fallen asleep when he heard the loud whirring sound of the tire stuck in mud. The van had slid into the ditch. Most Kenyan drivers spin the tires when that happens. Neil hopped out of the van and took over. Easing the van back and forth while Francis, George, and Atkinson added their strength pushing and pulling, the van was soon back on solid ground. Then Neil noticed they were low on fuel. However, there seemed to be a general gas strike of some kind. They finally found gas available at the 5th station they tried. Neil and the others had not heard that Iran had closed the Straight of Hormuz, and there is a serious fuel shortage in many parts of the world.
When they arrived at Usenge, on the shore of Lake Victoria a few miles beyond Kisumu, Jim and James were there to greet them. Francis suggested that Neil needed to switch out of his muddy jeans, because he looked like a farmer. Coming from rural Minnesota, Neil takes that comment as a compliment, but Francis soon was trying to help Neil look more presentable. As they stood together working on Neil, Ken kept their attention by telling his testimony, all the while doing his part by washing Neil's shoes. The plan was to board a boat in Usenge. Usenge is the village where a pastor named Ken lives. Actually, Jim Hallaway got a short sleep at Ken's house before Neil and Francis arrived. For those of you who know Rich Kao, a very gifted prophet, pastor, apostle and Bible teacher, Neil calls Ken "the Rich Kao of Kenya." Their visit at Ken's house was extended, because the boat did not show up.
By then it was mealtime. As fish were being prepared to feed the group, Neil walked down the street and bought some French Fries from a street vendor. Francis was upset that the boat was taking so long to arrive, so Neil reminded Francis that Neil is the most patient man in the world. Francis said that if that is true, that would make Francis the "Super Patient Man!" They were visiting with Ruth on the phone, so she asked Neil to tell Francis that she might be considered to be a super patient woman by others, but our impatience comes out in due time, which is usually longer than expected. That got Francis laughing.
Then they got word that the boat "is coming". Apparently there were engine issues. Neil asked a riddle, "What is worse than a van broken down along a Kenyan highway?" Ruth asked, "a boat broken down on Lake Victoria?"
Ruth didn't want to say goodbye to Neil, because she thought he would have no phone reception after leaving shore. However, a few minutes later while making their way across the water, Neil called from the boat. The reception was as clear as if Neil was sitting next to Ruth in their Morris home. So Neil reported that the boat had 11 passengers. They were experiencing some pretty strong waves crashing around the front of the boat: nothing dangerous, but exhilarating. Just to be sure they were safe as the front of the boat kept rising up and then crashing down in the waves, Neil glanced back at the pilot of the boat. Neil didn't worry when he saw the pilot had a big smile on his face, but Neil said Ruth would not have enjoyed the ride.
Neil called again a couple of hours later after arriving on the island. There was a crowd of children around the group of pastors with Neil. The children were all laughing and chattering excitedly. One little girl took Neil's hand and was happy to walk beside him. Neil thought they should bring her back to her mother, but others said not to worry. All the people in the village knew who the child belonged to. Yet, Neil sent the little girl back just to be sure. Ruth asked Neil what his accommodation was like. He said, "Think one-star hotel." There is a fishing village on the island, but the rest of the island is mostly farmland. The church is in the middle of a field of corn. From the church he was looking out over Lake Victoria. There were sandy beaches and there were some palm trees. The island was about 2 miles across.
Francis had been at the church just a couple of weeks before Neil arrived to set up a new sound system purchased by Neil's friends who had donated funds to Outfitters for Adventure. Francis noticed that the floor of the church was dirt, so from his own funds, Francis helped the church members buy bags of concrete so they could lay a cement floor. The church members were very excited to be hosting a pastor's training conference. They had never had such a wonderful event on their island! James of Naivasha was the first pastor of their church before moving to the mainland.
Neil has never seen himself as a builder of church buildings, but rather as a helper when Jesus is establishing believers. But looking back over his 22 years, when he began visiting Kenya in 2004, the churches met in the open. They didn't have shade or shelter. Neil began by buying tarps that they set up on frameworks of poles. They made wooden benches to sit on. Neil bought Bibles by the case to make sure each pastor had one, and then distributed one per household. Then Neil gave out mosquito nets for them to use at night to guard against malaria. Friends of Outfitters for Adventure kept asking how they could help. Their financial gifts provided transportation so those with HIV or full blown AIDS could get to clinics where the Kenyan government was furnishing medicine to ease the symptoms of that dreaded disease. As Neil was brought around to visit the places where the destitute children lived, he noticed the holes in the thatched roofs that let the rain pour through on top of the families trying to sleep inside. Funds were given to purchase steel roofing sheets to replace the thatch. In time, more funds were donated to purchase roofing sheets for churches. If the church members were provided with the roofs, they put up the walls and built the rafters. So, although Neil doesn't think of himself as a builder, God sees the needs of people and provides. The work can be overwhelming when thinking about the part we play. But when we think of it in terms of what God can do, it is just so exciting to see God go to work as He opens up heaven's storehouse.
Prayer Needs:
- Much thanks to the generous friends who offered to sponsor Esther's grandchild. That need has been supplied. There, of course, are other similarly needy urchens who Neil is meeting.
- Pray for peace in the Middle East and that the Straight of Hormuz will be reopened and the mines removed so that the shipping lanes for the oil tankers can safely supply fuel again.
- Thank God for the conference on Hama Island, and pray that the villagers' hearts will be drawn to Jesus as they hear Him being joyfully praised and worshipped in the little church.
Love,
Ruth