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Greetings to all from Kitale (a main town north of Moi's Bridge),

Pastor Gurath here on behalf of team number one.  So far I can assume that once these mission helpers return home they will come away thinking that I was making up stories about my time in Kenya, painting a picture much more bleak than reality as far as living conditions go.  The place where we are staying is a missionary compound of sorts is ways north of the church and school, but it is absolutely gorgeous!  The name of it is Love Mercy and it is also an organization that runs an orphanage further south and owns heavy machinery for borehole drilling.  For sake of comparison and contrast, I stayed in Matunda and was absolutely, positively, the ONLY foreigner (AKA white person) in the entire area.  As it turns out, Kitale is crawling with westerners who are either going to school or working with any number of NGOs.  Anna and Marie have outdone themselves in preparation for our arrival.  Every detail has been ironed out: the living space was booked, the private vehicle for our work in the coming weeks has already been negotiated, and even a permit from the police was obtained so that our evangelism work doesn't get interrupted, lest the authorities think that we are somehow linked to Al-Shabaab and their heinous activities.  Our trip up from Nairobi was the first taste of East African chaotic roads for most of the members of our group.  Let's just say all the swerving, bouncing, speeding, and sudden braking took its toll.  We were greeted by the Sagalas and it felt as if I'd never left, we picked up right where we left off in December.  "Sometimes he's my baby....and sometimes he's my pastor" is how Anna summed it all up.  Today, Thursday, we had a chance to rest, get our bearings and plan for the upcoming weeks.  A few of us headed into town to get supplies for the week, we have the opportunity to cook our own meals as we have access to a full kitchen.  Tomorrow, we head out at 8 in the morning for the first day of partnering up with our school.  We plan on getting to know them, see how these dedicated teachers carry out their work, and assist where we can.  In the afternoons we have sites for children's evangelism lined up, and, of course, frequent visits up to Anna's farm.  I'm sure the other team members will chime in soon as our electricity has returned after being gone all day.  Thanks for the prayers and encouragement.

Pastor Mike Gurath