Kenya Thursday, 6/10/10

Today we left Nairobi. It was a stutter start we were supposed to leave at 9:00 but the sisters ended up getting detained with some church work. As we do not have a cell phone here they could not let us know so we knew that we were where we needed to be and they would come we just waited. The arrived around 11:00 and we went over to Assissi house and packed the truck with materials they were delivering to the houses we would stop at in our trip. Then we had to stop for tea and a check of the water system.


Off we went at about 12:30. Through town and on to the International Trunk Road heading west which we shared with people walking, donkeys pulling carts, street vendors and large 6 wheeled trucks. It was the best road we had been on in Kenya. Little did we know what was coming but Sister Pauline keep telling us we were going on the Dancing Road. We climbed into the mountains and after about an hour we pulled off the road to overlook the Great Rift Valley. We were at 8000 ft. What an amazing sight.

We continued on and drove through Naivasha, Gilgil, until we reached Nakuru. On the way John, our driver, pointed out the Zebras in the distance (they were really in the distance, white dots). We were promised that we would see some at another time.

At Nakuru we stopped for lunch and to drop off some of the material we were carrying. When they heard that we were the ones from Assisi house we had to go see the well that had just been completed but not hooked to the house. They have been stopped from hooking up the well because the city council will lose money from the sale of water to them. Does that sound like city councils we know?

Then back into the truck and off we go heading to Kericho, the tea producing area of Kenya. Sister Pauline had John stop along the side of the road so we could walk out into the tea plants and she coulde show us how they were harvested.

As it got dark (as it does at 6:00 here) we arrived in Kisii and visited the sick sisters at Christi Mary Hospital. We dropped off bedding, hospital supplies and Sister Pauline Mary’s books. We were then given a tour of the hospital. (Can you believe that the hospital did not have water when Sister Pauline Mary was assigned a month ago? Only in the operating theatre does she have running water but that will change. She is a force to be dealt with. She wanted me to stay and work on the plumbing.)

Back at the truck we headed out to the “Dancing Road.” What we did not understand was this was a dirt road rutted by rain water and filled with rocks. It makes the road to Pico Blanco look like a freeway. It was now really dark. John is an amazing driver. We arrived at 9:00 at Asumbi and went to the Order’s Generalate house where they had dinner ready for us. Finally to bed at a 11:00 in their guest house.

It was a great day and we got to see a lot of this portion of Kenya.