Hello, my Lovelies,
I suppose I should start with a few apologies. The list serve was an admitted disaster, and I do apologize for clogging up everyone’s inbox. We may attempt a re-launch in a week or two when the bugs are worked out, but to be safe, please send any response to my personal e-mail and not to the list address (tidings@elew…). Anyway, all web-related work is on-going, albeit hampered by snow storms on one side of the pond and slow internet on the other.
In other news, Nelson (the Bishop’s oldest son) and I have spent the week scouring the Kenyan countryside in search of a new vehicle for the Elewana Project. Sad as it may seem, the time has come to gracefully usher the Mother’s Union Land Rover (back) into semi-retirement and procure a means of transport that won’t leave us high and dry at every turn. The best part of this search has been the requisite drive across the entire width of Kenya, from the border with Uganda (Amagoro) to the Indian Sea (Mombassa). And Kenya is a truly stunning country. The Rift Valley alone, with its breathtaking lakes and lush farms, brings to mind oft neglected phrases like “escarpment” and “Dear, please have one of the boys take the Louis Vuitton steamer trunks to the veranda.”
Searching for a car in Kenya runs much more smoothly if you ‘have a guy’. There is ‘a guy’ for just about everything in Kenya (taxis, airport shuttles, car repairs, computer equipment, etc.) and anyone who has been here for any length of time has an entire book shelf of business cards of ‘guys’ they call when they need something. Admittedly, I did not have a ‘car guy’…but the Bishop did…so I borrowed his…which was fortunate, as the used car salesmen here have refined their craft to an extent worthy of the Louvre. Odometer readings are particularly unreliable, and with only the slightest warning most salesmen can produce the coveted make and model with exactly the desired mileage…at a good price too!
Nelson and I had been in Nairobi for a few days hitting every dealership in town before our ‘guy’ called us with a good tip on a vehicle in Mombassa. Without delay, we hightailed down to the land of ports, beaches, and hot sun, where, sure enough, the vehicle checked out. After much wheeling and dealing, an oil change, and a new seat cushion, the Elewana Education Project became the proud owner of a burly 7 seater (Landcrusier) capable of handling the people, goats, luggage, and 50 kilo bags of corn we routinely schlep around the Kenyan countryside. Such news is devastating, I’m sure, to the legion of readers who wait with baited breath for the latest installment of Land Rover news (always bad, if not amusing). Don’t worry, she’s only semi-retired.
Poor Grace Hornsby. Peter Omaset, our project manager, has been off completing a computer course while I’ve been gallivanting around Mombasa, leaving Grace with the day-to-day running of the project. With Job’s (a.k.a ‘Chaplian’s’) help, she has about finished paying the school fees for our ‘returning’ students and has kept a good eye on the final touches of the mission house. When I get back to Amagoro (in the next couple days), we will select from our pile of applications those new students who will receive scholarships this year. Admittedly, the response to our scholarship program has been phenomenal, and I am so grateful to all of you who have given of your hard-earned cash to support these young Kenyans. The students, as you might imagine, are even more appreciative. We need a bit more time to collect and send out everyone’s thank you letter and photo, but they are forthcoming and should be in your hands within the next six weeks.
In other news, the electricity came on at the Mission House last week, and the solar hot water system went ‘live’, so now we are just trying to get some furniture in the place and we’ll be rolling. Just in time too. Our first series of guests, including the irrepressible Rev. Keith Butler (of 2009 infamy), is set to arrive at the end of March.
More very soon, I promise. In the meantime, keep me in the loop on your latest news – I love hearing from you.
Mad Love, Zach
