June 2

Ministry Partners,
After and early breakfast in the garden it was time for us to pack the different van that Aaron went and picked up after we returned from our farewell diner last night at 11pm. With the issues we had been having with the original van, he was concerned that that we might have more issues as we traveled the long distance to and in Kenya. The new van is not as large so it took bot Aaron and I cramming and shifting to get everything in. I guess moving 15 times in my past was just training.

I saw Frieda appear while we were loading the van and then she disappeared. Aaron said later that she could not say goodbye and had left crying. People may not remember what you do but they will remember how you make them feel. I am glad I had the opportunity to make her feel special.
Last night was filled with such wonderful memories. Due to a BAD traffic jam, Alfred went ahead of us on a motorbike to greet our guests. It was good to see Commissioner Elizabeth and although she was seated when I arrived, she got up and changed seats so she could sit next to me.

After dinner when everyone had an opportunity to share what it meant to them to be working with IRM, Elizabeth took my hand and told everyone that she and I were friends. She also said that although she understood that titles did not mean anything to me they do to the people of Africa and not to take my new title lightly as the pastors in Africa were honoring me for the great work I do.    
Before my arrival, Alfred had passed a card around and then had everyone write something inside to me, It was a gift that humbled me for sure. He then gave it to me along with a handmade Safari bag made by the women at Gulu’s Women Prison.

It should have taken us 30 min. to drive back to our hotel but it took us two hours. And since I have explained before about driving patterns here, I will not do so again except to say that at one pint two motorbikes trying to get around the traffic jam and us actually got too close to the edge of the road and they and their passengers fell off the road into a 3 ft. deep ditch. Another man going the opposite direction told Aaron that he had been there two solid hours and had not moved, he said he guessed he would sleep in his vehicle right there for the night. So we were blessed, for sure, to get back to our hotel in just two hours.  

Travel went well today but it did take us 2 hours to get through the Uganda/Kenya border crossing. We arrived safely in Kitali, a city of about 2,000,000, at 5pm. We wondered where we might call Pastor Ben to meet us when right in front of us was the bookstore that Alfred has been dealing with to purchase our Swahili bibles. God was so gracious that the first place in a town of this size would be one we had been dealing with on the phone.

We checked out a few places to stay but they were unacceptable so we thought we would just go where we stayed last year although I did not care for it much. So, we were on our way there, following Ben, when we got a flat tire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Praise you Jesus it did not happen on one of the LONG stretches of desolate road coming here. It happened while we were in a town where we could easily get it fixed. Somehow, we picked up a huge piece of sharp curved metal. I felt bad for the guys having to unpack our “stuffed” vehicle to get to the spare tire and jack and then having to repack everything again.

Another flat tire????? but it came with a HUGE oppertunity

 When he saw we were not following him, Pastor Ben returned to help us. A young man also stopped to help saying he was a cook at a hotel just down the road, actually a hotel I had seen last year. We gave the young man an English Bible and Booklet as a thank you and Pastor Ben said he would take the tire to get it fixed. He accompanied us to the hotel the young man told us about, Alfred secured rooms for us. Then because it was late we all had dinner together before Ben set off.
Chaplin Edward will be here at 8 in the morning and since the Wi-Fi is not working here and we have not had time to buy a Kenyan Sim card for my portable Wi-Fi hot spot, therefore it is a shower and off to bed for me.

That none would be lost,

Arlene