Going Where no Truck has gone before

We were adventurous this past week, going places where few muzungas go, much less a vehicle. We already blogged our Tuesday adventure down the muddy road. Our escapades since then are regaled here in full color.

The six of us missionaries were invited to dinner Wednesday night, provided by Marcelus and his wife. He is a great cook. Notice the six pans on the table with our dinner, and the plates of fruit on the table in back. All this food was prepared over a charcoal cooker; beans, ugali, greens, stew, fish. A former pastor, he and his family joined the church last fall. They are some of the most humble and teachable people I know.

Friday the truck took us to the equator. Each time we travel west to Busia, we cross the border. Our trip today was to visit the branch president and his family in their home and another member in the same area. While we have driven past this marker many times, we had never stopped for a photo before. The Lion’s Club is to be thanked for providing this marker. If you become a shellback for crossing the equator upon the seas, is there a commensurate designation for crossing it on land? Snail?

We turned off the good road onto another paved road; although its quality paled to the previous one, unless you like a road with more areas unpaved and rutted, than paved. The Branch President (BP) met us at the local hospital to serve as our guide for the rest of the trip. No way we would have found our next three destinations on our own. Our first stop was to deliver a tricycle wheelchair to a ‘mama’ near his home. She is pictured here with her daughter on her right and some of her grandchildren. She has spent her life crawling on her hands to work her shamba, providing food for her family. Maize, pumpkin, millet, bananas, beans and more dot the freshly weeded large garden she cares for. While the wheelchair won’t help in this labor, it will permit her to ride to market and back and enjoy greater mobility and freedom for other activities.

We then headed to the BP’s house. Did I mention there are no paved roads to his house? I have included several pictures of the ‘road’ there. It is more of a footpath; it starts out wide enough and you think ‘I can do this’. The channel slowly narrows until you are aware of the bushes scrapping the sides of the truck and you think: ‘How am I going to get out of here?’ A great analogy of how Satan so often deceives us. The BP and his wife built the mud house they live in; no electricity (okay, he does have a solar panel for a TV); no running water. They live here with their three daughters and two sons. They have a small shamba and she teaches at the local school. While I had indicated there was no need to feed us, he informed me that tradition held that visitors get fed. We had mashed baked bananas (tasted just like mashed potatoes), cow peas, and ungali. Great food again.

Here is the BP with his wife and two sons; the three girls were at school. Their home is in the background.

The BP guided us our next visit; no way to find it otherwise. Justin lives a short distance away, over the same type of ‘road’ as the pictures indicate.

The road may be narrow, but you will be amazed at what you might end up sharing the road with. Note the pile of rocks on the photo of laundry day below. The pile of gravel was reduced to its current size by using a small hammer, beating big rocks into these smaller ones.

This is when we are really glad the church provides 4-wheeled vehicles for us. Would not make the 'grade' on roads like this.

Again, do you feel the world closing in on you?

Are we there yet?? His house is just around the corner... and other myths.

We found Justin at home, met his lovely wife and visited with several of his friends. They are most interested in hearing about the restored gospel. Such good people live here.

Justin and his two girls walk about an hour just to get to a road that is serviced by transportation; then it takes another hour of riding to get to church. The BP and his family do much the same thing, just from a different location. For those of you who are wondering how I got the truck turned around, it was not a matter of skill; fortunately, both of these homes we visited had sufficient room in their yards to turn the truck around, otherwise, I would still be backing up. Yes, I did come home and wax some of the scratches out of the finish.

The End!