On to Lake Victoria....

Today we have a long drive. Out of the city and into the country side. Passing villages and people selling whatever they can find to sell.





























































Poverty and people finally give forth to incredible landscapes.
Lush green rolling hills of tea plantations.

































































Along the way we stopped for tea at an old plantation who must have been
quite a beauty in her day.
She needs quite a bit of work to restore her, now days, but in my imagination, she was still glorious. We enjoyed a cup of Kenyan mixed tea....that is with milk and sugar....by candle light.
Electricity in Africa is not something that one can count on.








































We finally arrived in Kisumu at our destination, Inn Kiboko Bay, on the shores of Lake Victoria.










































Tomorrow I would get to meet Pastor Gordon and have one of the most memorial experiences of my trip. Tomorrow's post..."Bottled Joy!"

A New Day Dawns.....An African Morning

A new day dawns.....magnificent color all around us.

Today we're off to see the property that Grace and Peter have leased (with the support of Rebecca and Valerie's connections ) that will allow them to begin their dream of planting gardens and providing for the women and children of the Zion's Daughters.















As we were all standing on the land, a beautiful elder woman came walking towards us.
She lived on the land next door.
She told us that she was 15 yr. old when she worked for Karen Blixen, which was around the time that the British shilling came to Africa
That would make her age to be
104 years old! She was fantastic. Her ears cut in the Kikuyu style.
Sassy and proud and so loved our company. "Come back" she said...
"But let me know when, so I can cook you lunch!"



























































We say "Asante sana" (a Swahili word which means "Thank you very much") to our hosts, Peter and Grace and the women of the Zion's Daughters and drive off to meet with several orphanage groups.
The first stop was a clean and well organized home for boys and girls just outside of the city of Nakuru.
Here street children without parents or homes are offered the chance live in this compound, to be educated and cared for. The need is so great....there are so many street children.













The kitchen is run by a young woman with a beautiful smile and two children of her own. There is no refrigerator or sink. Only a wood burning stove.
The children sing for us and we give them books...and we're off again to meet more children.












Along the way, always, children wave and call "Jambo!"









The next stop is the Samaritan Home for Boys and the Samaritan Home for Girls. This project, began several years ago, is a wonderful example of what is possible. They have dorm buildings, a kitchen, a gathering hall, and even a medical clinic that also serves the community. And a huge abundant vegetable garden. The children greet us with happy "Jambos!", shake our hands and kiss our cheeks.




















They prepare us a wonderful meal, pouring water over our hands before we eat.
They sing and perform for us and afterwards, take the buckets to the lawn to wash the dishes.
Again and again we are greeted with a great welcome, colored with smiles and songs and the sharing of food. I feel we are given back so much more than our presence gives.

Tomorrow our Purposeful Tour Group heads through lush tea plantations, to the city of Kisumu
and Kiboko Bay on the shores of Lake Victoria.
More adventures in Africa....I'm so happy that I said "Yes!"