August 1st, 2008

     Today we go to Mfangano Island.  There is to be a dedication of a building that Calvary Church in North Carolina has been building at an orphanage there and we have been invited.  Don, Nancy, Leah, Allie and I are to meet Kennedy at the ICIPE boat dock at 9:30 and we did as planned.  Kennedy has a nice boat and we made it there without any incident.
    When we arrived at Mfangano we found some fellows from Calvary who had built a trebuchet (mid-evil war machine used for throwing objects) and were trying it out next to the airstrip.  As we were standing there a plane arrived and offloaded some dignitaries as this event was very important to the island and the region.  We met up with some old friends and a few of the people from the Mbugah family I have known for a few years.  It was good to get caught up with them and I will be visiting them for the next day or so.  One funny thing was a woman named Ruth Durie was there.  Her and her husband Ron are with Wycliffe Bible Translators and helped a late friend of mine get through college.  We have visited their home in NC and consider them friends.  When a friend of hers wanted to get her and I in a photo together I told her it was not going to look good with her hanging around a biker looking dude here in Kenya while her husband Ron was still in the states.  She is a good sport and we ended up taking a photo with her and I on a motorcycle together.  Too funny.   I am feeling better as far as the stomach issues but am still having a bit of a problem with my left knee.  I think I may have sprained it and it simply has not had the chance to heal with the demands I have here and the rigors of the trail.  I am limping around a bit but getting around nevertheless.
     The days festivities consisted of several dance groups, singing groups, various religious and political leaders giving speeches.  The local Boy Scout troop also did the flag raising and a marching demonstration which was very well executed. The young boys may not have had very nice uniforms but their pride showed through nicely.  They were impressive to be sure. I got the chance to meet Bill Lineberger there who I had talked to on the phone in the states but had never met.  We joked about how we live basically in the same neighborhood but had to travel half way around the globe to meet each other in person.  We committed to getting together in the states for sure.  Don, Nancy, Leah and Allie left early to get a ride back to the mainland.  After the festivities we had a small lunch and Benter Mbugah (The widow of the late Thomas Mbugah, a friend of mine), Devaline (her daughter) Ben and James Mbugah and I went to catch a boat to the other side of the island to a village named Ugina. We walked to Sena and caught the boat to Ugina. As I boarded the boat I was informed that Michael Mbugah (the head of the family) was on the boat with Thomas’s brother.  I found them and took a seat directly in front of them. The local chief of Ugina was there and I greeted him by name.  He was very surprised that I still remembered his name after all this time, as was everyone.  The boat arrived after several stops at Ugina late in the evening.  We had a small snack at Thomas’s sister Seraphim’s restaurant.  She was very much excited to see me as are everyone there.  I have not been to the village in about 2 years.  We had some mandazi’s and tea before leaving for the house.  My visiting is the buzz of he village as not many people from he outside venture this far.
     We left Seraphim’s restaurant and walked the trail to the house and got seated for the evening.  Several people came around to greet me and they were all very happy I was there.  After a while I told them I wanted to set up my camping hammock between a couple trees and they all wondered why I would prefer to sleep outdoors.  The main reason for me was twofold.  The main reason was the hammock I made has a mosquito net to protect me from the malaria carrying mosquito’s here and two was it is just much more comfortable for me.  I finally convinced them to allow me to do it as it would show them something they had never seen before. We stretched up the hammock between two good trees and I set p the tarp over it.  They were convinced I was going to come crashing to the ground and they all gasped as I crawled in to demonstrate. They were so amazed when it did not come down and when invited to give it a try were equally amazed at it’s comfort.  There was a lot of laughing and chatter but I think they began to see my logic.  There was still a lot of skepticism as to my ability to sleep through the night without falling down or out but I assured them I have spent many nights in this hammock and I was quite safe.  I must admit though the first night I ever slept in a hammock I too was amazed that I was still swinging between the trees the following morning.  The thought of sleeping in mid air is really challenging for them though.  They have given my hammock a name and they call it the flying cube. To most this doesn’t mean much but here a “cube” is what they call their houses.  The mud homes here are square with a thatched or tin roof on top.  When they saw this was essentially a small house they named it “the flying cube”. Pretty cool, if you ask me.  We went back in the house for some dinner and fellowship and then off to bed.  When I exited the house I had quite a following that wanted to see turn in for the night.  I really had to make a "nature call" but was not interested in being any more of a sideshow.  I went to the Hammock, got in and closed the mosquito net around me.  I turned of my flashlight as many more shone around me to look in at me going to bed in this “new invention”.  A good friend of mine there Ben, calls me the crazy Mazungu for all the different ideas I have brought to them.  Mfangano Island is quite remote and Ugina village one of the more remote on the island.  Not much get's back here in the way of innovation.  They finally left me alone shaking their heads and laughing in amazement.  It will be nice to get a good nights sleep.