Losam Part 1 – Ready Or Not, Here We Come

After a crazy few days of scrambling to make all the last minute arrangements and a prayer from the church elders, we set off for Losam.  We didn’t make it too far before the first issues arose.  After about a half hour of driving, we got stopped at a police check, which is usually no big deal, that is, unless your driver does not have his license or permits with him.  Thus, we waited around for almost an hour.  I finally went to talk with police myself, and he told me our driver was being arrested.  I told the policeman that we would make arrangements for the company we were using to send us another car.  After about 5 more minutes, the policeman let us go when he realized he was not going to get any chai (bribe).  We were off again.  Luckily, at the other police checks, they never asked to see  our driver’s documentation.  We arrived at the church in Kitale where we were going to sleep for the night at about 7ish.  The food was not prepared as it was supposed to be so we went to town to make arrangements for the 80 plus youth that had come from several churches from around Kenya.  The planning committee met while the youth were eating to make all the arrangements for transport and food in the morning.  We finally finished at around 1 in the morning and tried to get some sleep.  I woke up around 6 to discover that my sandals and my hat had walked off with one of the youth.  This was the first of many of my things taken and one of the cultural differences that I don’t think I could ever get used to.  I learned quickly not to leave my stuff in the open.  I finally found my stuff and explained to the youth that he was not to use my things without asking first.  We set off for Losam in the morning and arrived around 6 in the evening with only a few minor issues.  The trip was long, hot, cramped, and bumpy.  Upon arriving, we received a great welcome from the locals (welcoming party video), and the youth were excited about the coming week. ~ Jeremy