I’m currently in Cape Town, So. Africa. Ever since Diane got here, things have been on a bit of a fast-track because I left so many things to do until she arrived. Once again, I have to back up to an earlier date due to internet problems, no time to post, and getting ready to move from Kenya. This is an entry I started earlier. I will have to continue on later on, but I wanted to let you know I am alive and well... Just having MAJOR internet problems. Please don't give up on my blog when I haven't written for awhile. It's usually that I can't get the internet to work right.
Monday, November 14:
We went to Louis’ for dinner and Henry’s friends’ Maasai dancing and goodbye party for all the people that work for Louis who were going home for the holidays. Unfortunately, my video clips seem to have gotten ruined in the download. Here are a couple of pictures, however. Henry is the next to tallest Maasai. I don’t think he knew the dances like his friends who do it for pay nightly at the hotels, but he still participated. It was so much fun! I love the look of the Maasai warriors. Our Kenyan dinner was great, also.
Tuesday, November 15:
Diane and I did laundry most of the day and then walked up to Ukunda to order some earrings to match necklaces we had bought. That’s about all we accomplished.
Wednesday, November 16:
We left early in the morning to go on safari in Tsavo East. We thought we were doing so well to drive right up to the ferry without even a line, but we ended up having to wait for over 1 1/2 hours because there were so many people who wanted to get on the ferry to go to work that they pushed and shoved so hard that they literally broke down three gates! There was a dock workers’ strike over the weekend, and this was a residual effect of peoples’ anger over what they did. The ferries ended up taking only people for two whole ferries (I’ve NEVER seen that before). Because of this, we got to safari much later than usual so most of the animals were not out – it was too hot. We only saw two animals on the way in to lunch. However, after we left the restaurant we saw many more. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed in what we saw compared to all the animals I saw last year. I wanted this to be such a good experience for Diane. She enjoyed it, nonetheless.
Friday, November 18:
After reading about all of Samuel’s trials recently on my blog, Emily, my step-daughter, decided her family would like to do an early Sub for Santa for his family. Eventually, she and Chris, Tayler and Meghan, Diane, my brother Bill and Kathy, and I put our money together and were able to give them 25,500 shillings (about $255). Samuel and Grace were so overwhelmed by this outpouring of love. I was hoping that they could have EVERYTHING they owed and needed to pay for taken care of with the money we gave them. They'll be close, but I'm not sure if they will be totally free of debt. They have, no matter what, gotten much closer. (We gave them the money on Thursday night.)
He had a higher debt to the bank than he had told me at first, so they won't be able to get totally out of debt and be able to buy a mattress, pants for Samuel, a lock for the door, and a cooking pot for Grace to replace the things that were stolen. I also suggested that he use some of the money to pay for a legal marriage license because they can't become members of the church until they are legally married. They were married the traditional Kenyan way with a dowry and a signed agreement between he and Grace's parents. Last Friday, he went into Mombasa to check it out and found out it costs 3500 shillings, and he also finally got his first driver's license which cost him Ksh 800. I know he's excited about that! He’s been waiting for months to save enough money to pick it up. It is so exciting to think that so many people can care for a family half way around the world that they don't even know.
I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving.
Kadi
No comments:
Post a Comment