A week has almost passed by since I left home, bound once again for Africa and the work awaiting me in the village of Runo in north west Kenya. The trip began with a 17 hour delay of the flight from L. A. to London which, of course, caused the domino effect of missed connections all the way down the line so rather than a 30 hour trip the journey took 3 days. I was therefore on African time before I left the U.S. as deadlines and schedules are not typically a way of life here as they might be at home. It's always bitter / sweet heading back here as I leave family and friends and the comforts of home for the challenges life in Africa can offer. Of course there are many rewards also and once I arrive I know I'm in the right place, at least for now. On the final leg of the journey I drove or rather bounced my way over the rutted, potholed road to Runo where the focus of my work has been over the past year. I was anxious to find out how many people are now attending the church planted there and how many kids are now enrolled as the new school year begins. I was also ready to get back to work and begin the construction of more buildings. As I arrived I was greeted by my friends Samwel, the headmaster, and pastor John who founded the school with his wife Monica 4 years ago. It's almost a year now since we installed a water pipeline to Runo and the enrollment has since increased from 188 to over 400 with more kids arriving almost daily. In fact I was told that 116 kids were expected to return soon but they were currently a little pre-occupied having gone through the circumcision ceremony over the Christmas break thus marking their right of passage into adulthood. How about that for a Christmas present? Both male and female students went through the ceremony. I actually got to witness first hand a procession of boys emerge from the bush marching in a single line, silent except for the eerie shoo, shoo, shoo sound from the decorative beads they wore to cover their faces. All part of the ritual so foreign to us westerners but so important and so deeply rooted in many African cultures. The procession of young men, who will spend several weeks in the bush, alone before rejoining their society, marched by us and headed toward the water tap we installed last year to fill their containers before disappearing back into the bush from whence they came. I wondered what perils previous groups had undertaken to quench their thirst.

Boys right of passage

In a couple of weeks some friends from Riverside will be traveling out to meet me and help with the construction of more classrooms they are helping to sponsor. There is a lot of work to be done before they arrive not least the removal of a 16 foot high, active termite mound in the path of the new building. I had to get an estimate to remove the termite mountain, a first for me. Lowest bid was 6 picks and shovels, a sack of maize, 30 kilos of beans and a goat. Work begins Monday.

I'm so looking forward to the teams arrival and working together with them. I'll send an update of the progress and the story as it unfolds which will no doubt be an adventure as usual. We may be out of our comfort zone for a few days but we'll be in His grasp.