Head Cold From Hell... A Farmer's What?

If there is such a thing as barely functional, that is how I would have described myself on Thursday night. My new friend Julius drove Judie and I to Baraka Home on Thursday afternoon after lunch. Julius, Judie, Ryan and I had lunch with Peter Kimeu of CRS and GUW Africa Board fame. He really is an amazing man.

I got to know Julius a little better on the drive. When we arrived at Baraka Home, the orphanage run by James and Irene - Kenyan's who now live in Minnesota, they were ever so gracious, but my head was one big soupy fog - I sloshed through the next 5 hours. We had dinner with the 18 orphan girls who live at Baraka. I could barely keep my eyes open as we did introductions "before" dinner. James gave me some allergy medication and I slept through the night for the first time since I arrived in Kenya.

I had agreed to photograph the girls for Irene so at 6 a.m. the next morning I got up and took headshots and a group photo of the girls. Feeling only slightly better - I'm sure the girls don't have a very good impression of their visitor. Sorry girls. I will be in better spirits the next time I visit!

Then Irene accompanied us to Embu to meet Paul Maringa. I met Paul in the Amsterdam airport in December of 2007. We have kept in touch randomly as he is the general manager of the building project for a US-based non-profit called An Orphan's Dream. They are building an orphanage outside of Embu. You can check them out online... just google An Orphan's Dream.

We toured the building site which was incredible and spent most of the day exploring the site and Paul's homestead... this being only my fourth day in Kenya and my first really spending time outside... I forgot to put on sunscreen... so yes, I have a Farmer's Tan!

After the tour and then headed to Paul's mother's house, where his family had gathered and prepared a meal for us. (They had exactly 24 hours notice that we were coming!) They were so wonderful! They showed us their homestead, the crops they had planted, houses they were building... And then Paul took us to his sister's house to sleep for the night. She lives in Matendeni Camp which is housing for KenGen, Kenya's hydroelectrical generation company staff. We had dinner at the staff club. The club is located in a semi-arrid region, but they have trucked in dirt and exotic plants... it was absolutely beautiful and lush. Judie especially liked the huge heated swimming pool.

I again slept through the night with the help of the allergy pills. Woke up Saturday morning feeling pretty good and my nose had ceased to be a faucet! Paul, his friend Moses, his sister Margaret and Judie and I headed out to tour Masinga dam (I think that's how's it's spelled). It was constructed by the Saudi's in the 60s (I'm not quite sure about the date). Anyway, because of the drought the water has receeded considerably. There were still some beautiful pictures to be taken, but hydroelectric power is not the savior it used to be in Kenya.

We then went to Kiambere Power Station. Margaret, Paul's sister, works for KenGen, so we were given the royal treatment which included a tour of the guts of the power station. It was really eerie, especially when the man giving us the tour turned the lights off instead of on... being 150 meters underground in the dark is not a warm fuzzy feeling! The set up was very interesting. It is all computerized now so no one works underground anymore. It's a perfectly preserved 1950's world. Only one side of the station is working because there is not enough water to warrant using both sides.

After the tour we ate at another camps club and then Moses and Paul drove Judie and I to Meru - which is a two hour drive from Embu! I can't believe how generous Paul has been. He has become a very good friend. I'm sure his project will be a wonderful success. He has the energy and determination to see it through.

I know he was brought into my life by God, because I only have flown the Amsterdam to Boston flight once in all the times I've come to Kenya and that is the flight I met Paul on. It had to have been divine intervention!