The Borehole is Unveiled

For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring.

Isaiah 44:3

In my last installment of my Kenyan travel series here, I mentioned that we were on our way to a community borehole. I don't actually know the name of the village where the borehole is located but I had been there years before (and it is several hours by dirt road to the west of Marigat). In my first visit about 5 years ago, the missionary at the mission station took me on a tour of this arid area and told me of his hopes and dreams for building a borehole and a new church as well. I didn't have the funds myself or the contacts for helping but I said I would commit this matter to prayer.

It took another year or more but through God's grace he led me to a Christian humanitarian group that promised to visit Kenya and see what they could do to help. Though it took them another year or so they did make good on their promise to visit Kenya. Once they saw this arid place for themselves, they committed to raising funds for the borehole. Now a borehole has been built but the community still has no water. The area has been terribly plagued by drought and some of the hostilities that have arisen have resulted in huge tensions in the surrounding area and even led to loss of life.

What is needed now are significantly more funds and a pump by which the water can be transported over large distances to the people who need it. I'm told that the humanitarian group hopes to make another visit late this summer or early Fall. I pray that they will make it and that they will indeed be able to raise the funds required. This would surely be a huge blessing to the people. In my most recent trip to Kenya, I just had to see the borehole for myself and recollect just how much has gone into the state of things as they are currently.  There have been other changes since I first visited,  including a new missionary to this village.  Thank God for people who are willing to go and minister in areas like this.

This road goes through a more densely populated part of the village where we were visiting for the day.

It led us to this road which I love as it has an umbrella of trees making it look like a pretty country road.

Despite the significant drought that has affected this area, the children are like children anywhere...

...laughing and playing and alternately confident and bashful with visitors.

Here I pose with some of the leaders in the community as well as the children in the neighbouring area. We are posing with the honoured guest, the reason for our trip, the borehole.  The clouds look like they are about to burst open with raindrops and drench the parched ground. But it wasn't to be.  Before long, the sky was clear once again and the heat remained.

Here is the borehole. It represents lots of prayer, struggle, ups and downs, anguish and dashed hopes. It also represents the hope that is still there for clear and pure water for this community of people.

It was very hot and dry in the area. These mud huts are the traditional abode of the people and I was invited into one. The adults were not home but some local men let me in.

I could not believe how absolutely cool it was inside and what a welcome relief!  The newspapers that hang from the rafters are cut into pretty shapes to decorate the inside.

The laundry flutters in the small breeze.

It was a blessing to visit this village again and now I continue to pray for their water needs. Would you join me in praying that this well could indeed be completed so that the children, the elders and the people in general can have some clean water to drink? 

God bless you.

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Canada Day & the Maple Leaf Flies Abroad

I started a series on my Kenyan travels several months ago but for various reasons have taken a hiatus.  One of the reasons included having to continue the recovery process of most of the photos I took on my trip.  Recently, I made some time to complete the photo recovery process for the trip I took to Kenya in November/December 2010.  I hope now to re-start my travel series on Kenya.

I thought this particular post was fitting given that it relates to Canada's flag abroad and the fact that Canada just celebrated it's birthday on Canada Day, July 1st. I hope you enjoy it.

One of the delights of travelling in Kenya is crossing the equatorial line.

The latitude of the Equator is 0° (zero degrees). The length of Earth's equator is about 40,030.2 kilometres (24,873.6 mi). To calculate the actual length of the Equator would require taking into consideration that the Equator goes up and down various mountains and hills in South America, in Africa, and on various islands. The Equator is one of the five notable circles of latitude on Earth, with the others being the two Polar Circles and the two Tropical Circles: the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The Equator is the only line of latitude which is also a great circle. The imaginary circle obtained when the Earth's equator is projected onto the sky is called the celestial equator.

The sun passes directly over the Equator twice each year, at the March and September equinoxes. At the Equator, the rays of the sun are perpendicular to the surface of the earth on these dates.

Places on the Equator experience the quickest rates of sunrise and sunset in the world. They are also the only places in the world where the sun can go directly from the zenith to the nadir and from the nadir to the zenith.  Such places also have a theoretical constant 12 hours of day and night throughout the year, though in practice there are variations of a few minutes due to the effects of atmospheric refraction and because sunrise and sunset are measured from the time that the edge of the Sun's disk is on the horizon, rather than the center of the disk.  (source: Wikepedia)

A new tourist centre has opened up at the Equator. Jointly sponsored and funded by the Government of Kenya and the European Union it is a wonderful addition to Kenya's growing efforts in supporting tourism in the country.

It is a beautiful site with many flags of various countries flying there in the stiff wind.  There is a stylized metal globe standing next to the flags.

I found the Canadian flag was hanging upside down and I let the tourist official know that.  He was good enough to promptly correct the problem and we shared a laugh about it.

Here is a scene of the premises and the buildings on the site.

 

You can see our van as we were the only tourists stopped there at that moment. The Kenyan flag is waving in the background.

The grounds are quite lovely considering that this is a dry area. These fields lay just beyond the tourist centre.

On the other side of the highway you will see the original site marking the Equator. This is where I stopped several years ago to take photos on my first trip across the Equatorial line.

Here is the tourist official re-hoisting the flag.

While I visited the site the young man called his superior on the cell phone and asked me to speak with him which I promptly did. The boss was very engaging and had no problem speaking to a complete stranger. He asked me if I would be so good as to find a new Canadian flag for their centre as the one they had was getting a little worn. I promised to see what I could do and I haven't forgotten my promise. I need to get on this and see if one of the government offices could send our flag abroad.

Here is a map I found in the centre. I wanted to study it as we were on our way to Lake Baringo and Lake Bogoria.

July 1st, is the national holiday of Canada on which we celebrate the anniversary of the July 1, 1867 anniversary of the enactment of the British North America Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867).  This year the celebrations were extra special in our nation's capital city, Ottawa.  The reason is  because the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are here on their first royal tour together. I couldn't be there because Ottawa is a 5 hour flight to the east, but I did manage to catch the festivities on television. I also managed to enjoy some of the fireworks in our city. This latter part was a huge and pleasant surprise for me.

Canada Day 2011, fireworks from my patio. I wasn't aware that I could even see the fireworks from my home until after they began. It's too bad I didn't have a proper video camera for taking night shots.

To read earlier installments of my Kenyan travel series you can go to this post where you will find links to most of my Kenyan travel posts. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this series or any of my other posts. It's great to hear from readers!

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Victoria Day Weekend 2011

I spent a fruitful and fun weekend.  It is my birthday weekend. Normally I am not even home when I have my birthday so it was nice just to do things I don't normally get to do.  It was raining but that didn't stop me.

The first stop was Dressew on Hastings and the Army & Navy Store. I was on a shopping expedition for stretchy knit jersey fabric to make my mom some plain coloured skirts to wear this summer. I found just what I needed and the sales lady was very nice and helpful. I got served and assisted and my fabric cut in no time at all.  This was delightful considering how some of the reviews (which you can read by clicking the link above) would have you believe that the service in this shop is terrible. Now I just  need to find some time to make the skirts. I also had a great chat with another shopper and found out we share an interest in sponsoring children in Kenya. She sponsors hers through SOS Village and I sponsor mine through Compassion International Canada's office.

As I was walking from Dressew to Army & Navy, I could not believe my eyes and my luck. I turned my head at the first corner and recognized a woman I have been trying to find for years. I don't even know her name but I know that she makes and sells hats. I bought one from her years ago at a Garden Show and I've since lost it and needed another one. I stopped to talk to her and sure enough it was the woman I've been looking for. How fortuitous. I gave thanks to God because truly he knows how I've been searching for this woman for such a long time.  It turns out she doesn't even live in the city anymore!  She was only here to sell her hats at  a local Farmer's Market. She gave me her card and told me I could drop by the next day.  I was thrilled.

I carried on to Army & Navy and was happy to find a suitable pillow there but not a suitable sofa cover. Sofa covers are not so readily available here in my city so I'm thinking maybe I should order it online instead. However that will have to wait because Canada may be having a postal strike as soon as Wednesday of this coming week. While there I was getting hungry so I stopped at their small lunch counter for a grilled cheese sandwich. The young woman who served me started to chat with me about the "end of the world". I told her I didn't believe that the day would bring the end of the world because the bible says "No man knows".

But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.

Matthew 24:36

Then I told her that the Bible does give a hint as to the end of the world and I asked her if she wanted to know what it is.  She said "yes". I told her that the Bible says the gospel will be preached to every nation and then the end of the world will come (Matthew 24:14).  I let her know that there are groups that monitor the number of  unreached people groups  and that the Lord will come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2).  I said that the end of the world was not likely May 21st but it seems to be coming soon.  I gave a silent prayer of  thanks to God for giving me an opportunity to share what the Bible actually does say given that there is so much misinformation out there from people who claim to know the gospel.

After my shopping and a stop for a sandwich, I made my way to Chinatown and the International Village to take in a movie called Water for Elephants. I enjoyed it immensely though there were some very harsh scenes of violence toward animals and people. It was very well done and I think very realistic about what times must have been like for a struggling circus during the Great Depression.

Here is the beautiful Millennium Gate in Chinatown.

The 'China Gate' on Pender Street was donated to the City of Vancouver by the Government of the People's Republic of China following the Expo 86 world's fair, where it was on display. After being displayed for almost 20 years at its current location, the Gate was re-built and received a major renovated facade employing stone and steel. Funding for this renovation came through some government and private support; the renovated gate had its unveiling during the October 2005 visit of Guangdong governor Huang Huahua.

I think the gate is a beautiful addition to the City and really captures the essence of this part of town.

On Saturday I was up late as I had stayed up very late. My first stop was at the Farmer's Market at Trout Lake in Vancouver. I was on my way to buy a hat.  I needed a new summer hat and since it was raining I decided to buy a rain hat too! I forgot all about taking photos of the lake which is a pity since I don't get to the lake very often and I wanted to show you photos of this little treasure in the city. Hopefully I will get there again this summer and I will show you then. I did take photos of my hats for you. I was blessed because the hat maker gave me the summer hat for $10.00 off as a repeat customer. I was also pleased because the hat was already $10.00 less than when I bought it many years ago so that was a $20.00 savings on the hat.

My summer hat.  I'd like to own these in several different colours.

My rain hat.

After that I made my way to Commercial Drive where I had Chinese food and stopped at various stores.

I stopped in at Design Dreams to buy kapok to refill some of my sofa cushions. Unfortunately the shop doesn't sell kapok anymore but the nice young man who worked there gave me some ideas as to how to fluff up my pillows.  I also discovered that the store now sells buckwheat.  That is good to know because my buckwheat pillows need to have the buckwheat replaced.  I will have to go back there when I have more time to work on the pillows.

I stopped at one store that sells international goods and purchased an animal print shawl. I then went on to a thrift store that I haven't been to for many years. On my way I stopped to ask for directions and talk to a young mom with her baby. It turns out that the woman moved here with her husband from Switzerland and while we both waited for the bus we had a very nice chat.  At the thrift store, I bought some Croc type shoes for $2.99 and two books, one was Anna Karenina for $1.99.  The shoes and the book are in perfect condition and haven't been used.  Again, I felt very blessed because the two paperback books are actually $4.50 each but the sales clerk gave them to me for $1.99 each.

This print scarf is reversible with brown as the main colour on one side and cream as the main colour on the alternate side.

These Crocs are a pale pink and will go with a lot of my neutral and jewel toned clothing. Great for the summer.  They fit perfectly and are more supportive than the last two pair I've owned.

This book hasn't been read. I look forward to reading it and breaking it in.

I spent more this weekend than I have in a long time but all in all I needed these items and I am happy. I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend and today the rain continues so I am staying inside to catch up on a knitted dishcloth in a new to me, pattern.

One Sunny Day in Vancouver

As I am not yet home I'm going through my recent archives to share a sky post with you. These ones were taken on one of our rare, sunny, Spring days last month.

Please click on the badges above to see the wonderful entries posted by people around our wonderful globe. Happy Easter weekend to you too!

My Safari in Nakuru Park Comes to a Close

It has been fun showing you around the national park located in Nakuru, Kenya. I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have. It has been great reliving the memories of my safari there.  Today will be my last post on the trip to this wonderful park. If you've missed out on the rest of the safari, please be sure to check out the links at the bottom of this post.

In the late 1970s and 1980s poachers decimated Kenya's rhinos, of which there are only two species in the country, white and black rhinos. Before the rampant poaching Kenya had an estimated 20,000 black rhinos in 1973. Today, black rhinos number only 610, according to the Kenya Wildlife Service.  The David Sheldrick Trust was instrumental for the conservation projects related to preservation of the rhino in Kenya. You can read  much more about their wonderful efforts here.  The link will take you to the efforts to save the black rhino.

White rhinos are even more endangered in Kenya with only 240 in the country.  The Nakuru Park is home to a rhino conservation project and I consider myself very fortunate to have seen a group of white rhinos as we were driving around in the park.

The white rhino's name comes from the Dutch word "weit," meaning wide, which refers to its wide, square muzzle, adapted for grazing. The white rhino, whose real color is gray, has a pronounced hump on the neck and a long face.

These photos are of the extremely rare white rhino.

 

I feel very blessed to have seen the rhino up close as I did. As we sat in the vehicle and watched them graze, I felt an sense of awesome wonder.

It is sad that just just after my visit to Kenya a group of poachers was arrested for killing a southern white rhino for its horns.  The horns sell for more per weight than gold and are used in Asia to make medicines, and in the Middle East to make dagger handles.  The Kenyan Wildlife Service (KWS) is doing a great job to try and project the country's wildlife but they face huge challenges.  If you are ever in Kenya, please take time to learn about the KWS and ways you can help them or you can read here and see that there are different ways to support their work, including wildlife conservation.

As we move on in the park, I see many other types of antelope, both in the wooded areas and on the Savannah. I just love to watch them.

 

I also love to see the many birds feasting in the lake.

They provide many photo opportunities too for the tourists.

As I was going through my photographs I came across this water bird who I forgot to feature when I did my post on the flamingos and pelicans. I'm not sure what kind of a bird this is but it is obviously some kind of water bird with it's long legs.  Perhaps one of my African readers can identify it for us.

Now I must say that for me it is always a highlight to see the majestic lions of Kenya. These truly are magnificent creatures and unfortunately they are a dying breed in Kenya.

My driver was not so sure I would see a lion before I left the park but I had a sense of certainty about it.  Just as we were leaving the park, we came across this female lion. It was a little difficult to get a good photo but I did the best I could.  She was just going to find a resting perch on a fallen tree.

Here she is making her way to the end of the tree when we spotted here.

Ah, there she is now resting on her perch.

I thought it fitting that my last shot of the wild animals in this park was one of a lioness taking a rest. We make the journey back to the main part of the city, passing by the park sign and other photographers. I hope to pass this way again some time.

Click here to read Part 1 in this series. It starts with my stopover in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 2 in this series in Kenya. It continues with my sojourn in Nairobi, Kenya.

Click here to read Part 3 in this series on Kenya where I stop to view a stunning lookout.

Click here to read Part 4 in this series on Kenya where I stop at Lake Elementeita.

Click here to read Part 5 in this series on Kenya where I talk about some hotels in Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 6 in this series on Kenya where I show you some tourist sites around Nakuru.

Click here to read Part 7 in this series on Kenya where I show you the Castle Without a Princess.

Click here to read Part 8 in this series on Kenya where I feature a collection of scenes from around Nakuru. 
Click here to read Part 9 in this series where we enter the park and begin to tour it. 
Click here to read Part 10 about the flamingos and water buffalo. 
Click here to read Part 11 about  the Baboons of Nakuru Park.

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