Beyond Kitui...rest and back to Chaos! (Marie)

As I am sitting in the van trying to think back over what we did the last three days, Dan the man, (our driver) Scott and Garth (also known as dad) are thirty seconds in to changing our first flat tire. I don’t see a Les Schwab around this hilly, orange dirt landscape but we are in good hands. There are no worries whatsoever and we are using this time as a small break on our five hour drive to Tsavo. Our team is so fun and easy going so I imagine it will take much more then a flat tire to ruffle our tale feathers. We departed from Kitui at seven thirty this morning after saying good bye to our host families. We were all fortunate to have stayed with such wonderful and hospitable families and we all shared bitter sweet farewells but are looking forward to the second half of our adventure. It has been an amazing time thus far.

Syd & Marie on 'The Rock'!

The past few days have been a bit slower than usual but God has been good as always and we have learned many great things through some amazing missionaries that are supported by GMO. On Friday we sat in the GMO office (that in reality would probably only hold four people comfortably) with six missionaries who each gave us updates about their work in the mission field in all parts of Kenya. It was very encouraging to hear about the way God is working through these men and their families and bringing many different people from every sort of background into His kingdom. Hearing their updates and stories helped give our group an idea of what GMO is all about and how we can be praying for them in their individual ministries. The missionaries themselves really enjoyed their time together and it was evident how thankful and encouraged they were to share their passions with us.

Kids at 'The Rock'

The time here has been great and as your eyes and ears I can say that the driving is crazy, you can’t walk into a village market and come out empty handed, I feel like taking a sanitizing shower every time I go in a public restroom, there are goats and cows every where and you are most definitely expected to eat all of the food on your plate . . . even if it’s your fourth one. The people here love visitors and we have been celebrities almost every where we have been in Kitui. People stare in amazement as we drive by, groups of children yell “how are you?!” excitedly in unison, and dozens of kids young and old gather at the fences of their school yards just to get a peek at the mzungus (white people in Kiswahili). Please continue to keep us all in your prayers. Your support for this trip has been such a blessing and we are all looking forward to coming home and sharing our experiences with you. God has been good and we have all been protected and in good health so far so thank you for your prayers. Since I have started writing this the spare tire also went flat but thankfully we were able to make it to a nearby village, Gary and Dan went to go find a tire. The other three men are skeet shooting using poisonous balls of fruit as pigeons into a field on side of the road. We will let you know what becomes of us.

God Bless,


Marie