I have just had the great privilege of spending three weeks in East Africa. For the 3rd week, my daughter Susie and I went on a road trip adventure. This involved hiring a 4×4 and driving down to Tanzania to visit our link parish and for Susie to deliver a training course for her women’s health project.

The traffic in Nairobi gets very bad, so we started our trip at 4am. This was a great success, as we got out of the city easily and got to the Tanzanian border by midday. Once in Tanzania, we were met by the link person for the diocese, Peter Oyoo. We spent the first night in Tarime and set off the next day for Sakawa, our link parish, in time for the Sunday service. Driving on dirt roads in the rainy season is very difficult and we were glad to have the 4×4!

We had a most warm and enthusiastic welcome with singing and dancing outside the church, followed by a lively service. They       produced a feast afterwards, which was humbling to receive. We had sent funds for a rain water harvesting system from the church roof. We saw it had been completed, albeit only two days earlier. We exchanged gifts and shared prayer needs. They promised to dedicate a special day of prayer for our church building and securing a long lease. The next day found us at Kowak where Susie did her training about health and making sanitary towels using locally sourced materials. She expected 15 people, but 63 turned up! It really showed how important this is. We will watch to see if the ideas and lessons are taken up.

We went on to meet with the Water for Life team in Musoma and Tarime. We visited one of the well sites that has stalled as they have reached rock. They are not allowed to use dynamite as they are within the town boundaries. One solution would be to drill, but that would be very expensive. The lack of resources means that problems that would be straightforward to solve in this country, are almost impossible there. Susie met with Lucy, a dynamic lady working in women’s health.

From Tarime we returned to Kenya and successfully negotiated the border. The next day we drove through the Maasai Mara game reserve, then had the long drive to Nairobi through very heavy rain and awkward police checks. Thank the Lord we arrived safely exhilarated by our journey. Thank you for your support.

Rev Bill Henderson