Jan. 16

Ministry Partners,

Today was another early morning as the alarm went off at 5:30. Aaron said he wanted to leave Heart Lodge by 6:30, as it was a 6 to 7 hour drive.

Heart Lodge is a wonderful Christian place to stay, they always do all they can to make your stay comfortable, pleasant and refreshing. Everyone that works there has such a servants heart and the only thing that is a bit different is that at mealtime you are asked to please clean up after yourself, scrape off your plate and rinse it off then put it in the rack along with your rent step cup and silverware. It is nice to be able to do such a small thing to show them how thankful you are for the wonderful service.

The chef there was so sweet that when he found out we were leaving at 6 he wanted to know if we wanted breakfast at 5:30. I told him no, that I could not ask him to rise that early but if we could get some bananas and bread I could make us a PP&J sandwich.

I told him how much I enjoyed staying there and he said that he and his staff were always excited when they found out we were coming.

OH MY GOODNESS, these are the boxes he packed for each of us: bananas, juice carton, milk carton (he added later) & bowl that he wrapped with a spoon, box of cornflake, PP&J sandwich, chips, 2 hardboiled eggs and water. We not only ate breakfast out of those boxes but we also had lunch.

I was disappointed that my camera was not working for we drove through the same area and again I saw zebra, Giselle and a huge baboon. The zebras and baboon were too far to even capture with my phone but I did get to see them.

We arrived in Kisumu in 6 ½ hours and set about trying to find the camera shop I have found on the Internet when I google searched, “Is there a camera shop in Kisumu?” Sorry to say I was not able to get a new battery for my camera. While Aaron left me in the van and set about getting what I needed for my portable Wi-Fi. 

I noticed an older man sitting outside one of the shops who after some minutes he came up to my open van window and begin talking to me. He wanted to know what International Reconciliation Ministries was all about. We actually chatted for quite a bit and he told me that he was a Catholic and that was my opportunity to talk about having head knowledge, knowing some religious facts and doing good works is not enough according to Ephesians 2:8&9. We actually talked for quite a while and I ended up giving him a tract, which he went over and sat back down in his chair and kept reading. It was a great opportunity to share the gospel with him.

Then we called Bishop Moses and he gave us the address of the hotel where we would be staying. I am glad that it is also by a Christian organization. My room is small with two beds, a target, a shower, a mosquito net and an air conditioner.

Edward left yesterday with the bibles and booklets from Nairobi and from here today He also took the other supplies we purchased to start off-loading them at each prison we will visit. It will take him a few day before he returns.

There is a church right next to where our rooms are and I listened to them singing, “Majesty” in English. What a nice welcome to my room. Oh well, maybe I spoke too soon the very loud preaching has begun. 🌝🌝🌝

Tomorrow is the first two prisons of the 17 we have to do here. We appreciate your prayers.

That none would be lost,

Arlene