OUR TRIP TO NAKURU
part 2

The Engashura church building

Ab Fisher listening to a conversation

One thing unique to the church setting here is being able to bike to church. Lees have about a 15 minute ride.

You'll see Daniel with David on the back and Josiah with Glendon.

The Lee Fisher family-back: Jeremy, Lee, Sadie, Merle, Cynthia and Josiah

front: Timmy, Katie and Jeffrey

Life is a bit busier these days. My brother Martin and Kristy Bender and five children arrived in Nairobi on March 24th. It will be a date never to be forgotten since this was our 20th anniversary. Jonathan Martin, Sam, Miriam and I drove the 5 hours to meet them. We failed to meet them on time because of the worst traffic jam we ever were in! Oh, we arrived in Nairobi in plenty of time to do some sight seeing and shopping. We ate a leisurely supper, then started the half hour drive to the airport. This capital city is getting fuller and busier and the roads are not being improved. The conditions worsened when it began to rain and rain it did! The drainage system seems to be poor or non-existant. It took us 4 1/2 hours to get to the airport. Martins landed at 7:10 and we finally arrived at 11:00 PM. Due to some quick thinking on Jonathan's part, he was able to call the airport and notify them of our predicument. We found them patiently waiting on the curb. Cousins; Miriam-13 and Amanda-12 could hardly wait to see each other.

As we missionaries usually do; we slept at the one of the guest houses close by and drove the 5 hours to Kisumu the next morning. Within the first 3 hours, you'll see wildlife in the wild of various kinds.....zebras....impalas....baboons......! It was interesting hearing remarks from my little nephews that so reminded me of my brothers years ago. "Yuck! The baboons bare butts are SO ugly!" God must have fun creating some of these animals. The Nakuru mission is about the halfway point so we made a rest stop at Mel and Fannie Beilers. We arrived in Kisumu around 5:00PM. In Kenya it takes most of the day to drive 5 hours. It was Martina's 19th birthday and we'll remember this arrival date as well.

Life is also abit sentimental these days. Our hearts go out to the Esh/Gingerich/Kramer families with their loss of numerous family members. We didn't know them very well even though Sam was a 2nd cousin to Sadie Esh. We do know the people whose wedding they were planning to attend in Kalona, Iowa; Lorena Ropp and widower Alvin S. Miller. Lorena and I were little Amish girls in Kalona years ago. In those days, Alvin was a dashing young man from Aylmer, Ontario and was dating Dad's first cousin, Ella Beachy. This coming September, it would have been 42 years since Dad married Alvin and Ella in Kalona. (Mom wasn't able to be at the wedding since brother Martin was only 4 days old.) Now Alvin comes back once again to Kalona and marries Lorena. Isn't life interesting?

How did Eshes know Lorena? Several years ago, Lorena was along on a seed team to Ukraine. Also on the team was Johhny Esh, who was killed in a snowmobile accident while in Ukraine. Upon arriving home, Lorena, being the big-hearted person she is, went to visit the Esh family in Kentucky. They became good friends......and the Eshes wanted to go sing at her wedding.

Ashley Kramer, adopted daughter of Alvin and Leona also was killed in the recent accident. They had been on the mission field in Ukraine, thus becoming acquainted with Lorena. Even though, I had known the Kramers and their older children for many years, I learned to know Ashley when they made a return visit during my Ukrainian stay 2 years ago. The Gingerich boy, we did not know personally, although we did his parents. Ruth, Joel's mother lived in Spencer, Wisconsin years ago.

Yes, we are constantly being reminded of the brevity of life and how quickly it can end. Last week, the first of my aunts and uncles passed away. Adin Miller-73, was married to Dad's oldest sister. He was bishop in the Amish church in Sarasota, FL. A day or two later, Ivan Yutzy-71, from Brookfield, MO dropped over from a heart attack. He was deacon when we Benders lived there in the 80's. At his funeral, Ivan's niece and a very close friend of mine, Eva Gingerich-45, had a heart attack. She is recovering at the Columbia, MO hospital. Eva is married to Larry Gingerich and they live in Millersburg, OH. They with their 8 children have plans in the near future to go serve at a fledging mission in Cambodia. Pray for them as they sort through this interruption in health.

Ida Byler-81, grandmother of Kristy Bender, was buried yesterday.

Having lived in numerous areas wasn't always easy, but it does enlarge your world of friends considerably. A friend once said, "One can never have too many friends"......even though it does affect you when you get death messages......

Mattie Kauffman