Only 2 days left and it is hard to say goodbye !!!!

Mama Bryan who took us up the mountain said that she is not saying goodbye she is saying "see you later". We never though that it was possible to fall in love with people and now we know what it mean to love  like it hurts . It is easy because they don't ask for anything just that we would pray for them till we meet again. Andre and I do not have enough words to describe all our experiences and emotions and it all have to do with relationships that we formed . We are humbled by what we have learned from them through their pure , blind faith in Jesus , their acceptance of death and struggles as part of life and their hope and believe in a better tomorrow . There is so many Bible verses that have new meaning in our lives but if there is one that I have to say that stands out for me it has to be Philippians 3:20 " But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body."
I visited the orphanage yesterday with Laura ,permanent missionary here with her husband Bill - the Orthopaedic / Urology / General / Plastic Surgeon , and 2 of the medical students. It is a 45 minute walk to the orphanage and when I say walk I mean "very fast" walk because everybody who lives here walks very fast and it is as if they don't even see the hills anymore. Laura was in front and the 3 of us were huffing and puffing to stay with her. The orphanage is at a beautiful spot and the view from there is just breathtaking !!!. There are 12 children at the moment and they range fom 7 to  18 years old . These children are just unbelievable, they have a very big piece of land that has to be cultivated and harvested every season with corn crops. That they also have their own , sheep, chickens and vegetable garden to be able to sustain themselves. They also have a  watertank that is a huge plus in this area and meant that they don't have to look for water everyday. The local school is also on the same piece of property and therefore very close and convenient.Laura and Bill also started an education fund for these children and they have success stories of children who have become lawyers, aircraft mechanics, nurses and a doctor.  These children are very well fed but the one thing that they need the most is a permanent stable couple who could be mom and dad. They currently have Ruth , a beautiful Kenyan woman who takes care of them but if somebody gets sick  she has to walk with them to the hospital and  has to leave the other children all alone at home. They had multiple people taking care of them in the past and some were not as caring and consistent as what they would love to have.There is a very close bond between the younger  and the older children who takes the responsibility to be like a father or mother for them. While we were there they sang a beautiful song of Jesus' love for us , it was also Good Friday  and hopefully the internet will let me post it for you.

Laura with Christine and Jamesm(medical students) with the children.

Farming with chickens and sheep

Very important watertank

A beautiful hike to the Cherangany Hills!!!



Kapsowar hospital has currently 4 visiting  medical students 2 from the UK and two from the US  as part of their rotation in finishing their medical degrees. There are also 3 other visiting specialist plus Andre. Saturday was special because we all had an off day to hike up the mountain. Those two bumps in the mountain were our targets starting in the town of Kapsowar at 6.30am .We knew that this is not going to be easy when we saw our beautiful Kenyan guide Mama Bryan, she looked like one of those long distance Olympian runners . We were rewarded with a spectacular view of the Rift valley below once we reached the top.It was a good 9.5 hour hike there and back with about an hour lunch break on the top of an overhanging rock. We had a brisk glimps of 3 monkeys and squirrels but no leopards or other wild African animals. This area is protected and have beautiful big trees but we found traces of human and cattle presence  very high up the mountain.  The peak of the mountain is about 3300 meters ( 10500 ft ) high and the high altitude  is the part that none of us are used to and sapped our energy  because we started at the bottom of the valley.

 

Andre and Mama Bryan - our Kenyan - guide at one of our lookout spots.

Our lunchbreak on an overhanging rock , for some reason we are not on the rock!!!!! Mama Bryan was even taking a nap  on the edge of the rock while we all  were nervously waiting for her to wake up and not turn over in her sleep.

Ezekiel , Priscilla and Dan's adorable 9 month old son  only sleeps in this position ,like the traditional way the African women carry their babies. We took turns to carry him in this sling and it is surprisingly easier than you think.

At the bottom of the mountain we came across three Marakwet women who were carrying huge bundles of wood with ease. The task of finding wood for the week's cooking sessions is left to the women and children to do.