WEDNESDAY - July 17^th, 2002- Had a nice buffet breakfast and now we are ready to go again. Every day has been action packed. Can’t imagine what this day could bring. Pastor Fred had wanted us to go to the mountain church yesterday, but because of our late arrival we had to postpone it until today. However, our first stop on our journey for the day was to witness a baptism. Pastor Fred has about 30 people he is to baptize. He was threatened by some of the Muslims in the area and warned not to baptize where he had planned, so we just went a little further down the river. Several people stopped to watch and what a blessing.

We went to Mt. Elgon mountain range and climbed Butandiga Ridge. We climbed 14,000 feet above sea level. It was not a picnic, believe me! Our van took us most of the way up the mountain, however, when we started sliding sideways toward to edge of the mountain we were convinced that the walk would do us good. So, off we went. Straight up the mountain. Oh, did I mention it was 14,000 feet above sea level? At that height, the effect did a little trick on our lungs and we were not able to move very fast. These people climb this mountain on a regular basis. We did find out that no white man had ever been to the top of this mountain because they were afraid of the mountain. Wimps!! It took us about 2 hours to climb the mountain the rest of the way.

As we were walking, someone said, "Look behind you!" There were at least 50 or more children running toward us! They were giggling and speaking in Swahili.

Some of the men took me on a short cut through the bushes. I reached the top of the mountain before the others. They took the long cut! It was a beautiful sight. Some of the preachers that came along showed me where they had plans to start churches in the valley. They pointed out several places where they were going to start a new work. As we neared the location of the church, we saw that there were about 50 people under a make shift tent. This was their church. They had waited since the day before for us to come. What an honor and how humbling! As we sat there, trying to get our breath, one of the men came up to us with a crate filled with cokes for the white people! Pastor Carver said he felt like King David when his men brought him water from the wells of Bethlehem! It was an overwhelming experience. Again, our hearts were touched by their thoughtfulness.

Just as we were getting ready to head down the mountain, it started to rain. Again, we were told that we brought the rain and we brought blessing to their country. For those who did not have an umbrella or jacket, the people gave us banana leaves to cover our heads. 

Pastor John was my escort down the mountain and good thing too. I would have slid all the way down that mountain on my back side had he not had a grip on me. Margaret and I felt that we were at least 5 inches taller with all the mud we carried on our feet on the way down.

Pastor Carver did fall. They thought it funny and called him old, big and slow. He didn’t think it funny after a while! HA!

We went back to Pastor Fred’s church for supper and a short meeting with his people. We were greeted again by many people. We had a wonderful meal prepared by the ladies of the church and Pastor Fred’s wife. Again, our menu consisted of turkey, cabbage, rice, beans, cooked bannana, goat soup, goat meat, chapati, potatoes (mashed and fried), bananas and pineapple. And of course, soft drinks!

Our feet were so muddy and dirty. The pastor and some of the men took our shoes and cleaned them for us. We were honored in so many ways. We represented hope for them. They were so excited about the fact they were going to be able to study God’s Word!

We went back to the church for a final meeting. They wanted to honor us with a gift from them. We were all presented a traditional dress by special people in the church. How wonderful to be able to experience this blessing!

Now it is time to head back to Kenya and on to Eldoret. It is getting late and we must cross the border again. We reached the border around 9:00 PM and it is closed!! Imagine that! We cannot cross the border at night. They locked up everything.

Well, here we are sitting in the van and Pastor David sets out looking for a man with a key. Two men come up to our van and suggest that we pay them for information and the retrieval of the man with the gate key. Of course Pastor David does not fall for this scam so he sets out to find the man himself. Finally, he finds a Christian officer and tells him about the two men . The officer finds the two men and beats them up. Finally, we are allowed to cross the border. We have to wait for a few minutes while Pastor David tries to get our passports stamped. The officer in charge is irritated because we got there so late. He will not stamp the passports and there is a problem with the van papers so we have to come back in the morning. Oh no, another wait! Pastor David finds us a place to stay. Well, it isn’t the Holiday Inn or even Motel Six, but I guess it will do.

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