Exploring Bumala

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I'm now on my third day in Bumala and the strangeness is beginning to disappear. I am staying in the Western Ambience Hotel which is a four storey structure right on the main street. It is modern but some things are not what you would expect. My room is at the back at the end of a long corridor with only one way out and only one stairwell which is not lit at night. The staff aure very helpful and are dealing with the problems in the room, Including a toilet which did not flush. And the phone and TV didn't work. Food is plentiful. I didn't come here to be pampered.

It seems as if almost nobody in Bumala has a job and so they set up stalls at the roadside to sell whatever they can grow or resell. Most of the women Ben works with are doing that. Can you imagine sitting all day in the sun hoping to sell some steel wool like Rose, a young widow Ben took me to meet. What courage and independence to keep trying to make ends meet. Many of the young men ride around on cheap motorcycles, probably from China. They buy petrol a litre at a time. They often stop to see if you want to pay for a ride on the back. The most common means of transportation are the matatus, which run often to neighbouring villages. They're long minivans with four rows of seats. There is a driver who is in charge of the horn and a fare-collector who jumps out at every stop, and may just hang on the outside if all the seats are taken.

On Tuesday I was invited to Ben"s home in Bumala to meet his wife Lillian and his'aged mother' who it turns out is three months older than me. They live in an extended family since his father, before he became a Christian, had three wives, each with a separate home on his land. Lillian made us a fine lunch. Ben's home has two roooms and he lives there during the week and goes back to Ahero where Lillian works as a secretary at the orphanage. They rent there and plan to move the family to Bumala when they can do without her income.

Yesterday we had a meeting with the women who are enrolled in the Bumala Vision project. We had a time of praise,led by the women, then I was introduced, and the bags of clothes were opened. Somehow everybody got something and nothing was left over. Last night I entertained the members of the Bumala Vision Project to dinner at the hotel. We are all looking forward to the dedication of the project and the new site tomorrow.

Please pray for all this.

Alan

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