I am back

After what seems like forever, I finally have time to do some writing again. Big things have happened in the last 10 or so months and more are on the way....life can be a strange bedfellow and love powers all.....

Up, Up and away....

First First Tracks

For the first time in his life, Reed gets first tracks.

Oh the joy of it all. Nothing like new fallen snow.

dgh

Sweet......

I like

I like Good Coffee. I know that good is a relative term, but there are certain criteria that must be met.

1. Coffee should not come out of can or jar. Especially a can or jar with the Term "flavor crystals" or any other crystals. Coffee was never in crystal form. This rule can be reevaluated if you are in Africa and you have not had a decent cup of coffee in two weeks.

2. The only thing that should be instant about coffee is when it comes out of an espresso maker.

3. Powdered creamer should never be used. Powder and cream are two terms that should never be mixed together. Nothing that is creamy should have the words powder associated with it unless it has to do with snow.

4. Coffee should not sit around waiting to served for more than 15 minutes before it is BAD.....old coffee is never good coffee.....

5. In wine making there is a phrase that goes something like this

You can't make good wine out of bad grapes. For coffee....the beans are the root of all things Good.

Thomas Edison once said, "Wine is how we know that God loves us."

Some would argue that you could say the same about dark roasted black beans .......

Anyway.......

The Truth Can Hurt

"I believe that the greatest trick of the devil is not to get us into some sort of evil but rather have us wasting time. This is why the devil tries so hard to get Christians to be religious. If he can sink a man's mind into habit, he will prevent his heart from engaging God."

Donald Miller

Love God not Religion.........

Anyway......on to other things to waste my time.

1-mile Solution Again

In response to Kim........

Unfortunately that is the way it is in newer Cities. They were built around the car and using it as transportation. Still, can you take one or two trips a week and make them with the bike, feet, bus, etc.......Oh my Gosh I actually suggested that somebody could use the bus. I have to admit I have used the bus a couple of times hear in Fresno. It is interesting.

You are right. Convincing the general public to do this is very hard. Most people think it is crazy to ride a bike in Fresno. It is either too hot or too cold or too far or too something or other. The only place in town where it is different is the Tower and Fig Garden. The other day I saw a couple I would have never ever imagined riding bikes anywhere, all dressed up riding their bikes to the village to have dinner.....it was refreshing to say the least....

One or two trips a week? It can have a huge difference in a lot of things

Ride your bike....a lot. It changes your perspective on things. It is amazing how much better I feel at work when I go there by bike......different attitude, mindset, experience.

Anyway......Just ride your Bike....

Bikes Rule.....

One or two trips a week?

1-mile solution

http://isocrates.us/bike/2008/12/the-1-mile-solution/

Its a great idea.......

Last Kenya Post and Book Recommendation

Ok,

I just dug the majority of the text from my last blog post about the trip to Kenya off of my smashed computer. And remember, if a baggage handler ever makes you check your computer bag at the door of the plane, say no and clutch the bag with your dear life. So, with that in mind the last bit of the story will be up soon. However, since I have been back I have done nothing but get our new house ready to move in, so not sure when the post will be up.

Anyway, I wanted to say this.

Anybody who believes in Jesus, and especially those that do not, should read Joel Roseberg's Book Epicenter. This book is an eye opening look at the events happening now and predicted to happen in the Middle East in the future. I highly..... no strongly...... no sorry adamantly suggest that you read this book. If you are at all interested in World events, the end times, or the new wave of Christianity sweeping the world, you need to check it out.

http://www.joelrosenberg.com/

More pics----Story to come

Dinning at Comos house
Girls of Kipkaren River

Driving into Eldoret

Typical Scene on the Road

Soren's shop - where the bridge came together

The Kenyan Crane - Who needs hydraulics

The welding went into the night

Major soil problems before lift off

Finaly up in the air

There were about 1,000 people on site to see the placement of the bridge.

Monday Tuesday

The beginning of the second week. Monday the 24th of November 2008. The day started out slow. We woke late had a breakfast of boiled eggs and peanut butter sandwiches. Doug and I wanted to go over to the secondary school site and verify a couple of measurements to make sure we didn’t make any mistakes on the survey. Mark went with us and we walked down to the bridge site to see the road the Kenyans had been building. Then we headed up the hill and across a field to the bottom of the 20-acre parcel that David and the Church purchased. We took some bearings and verified some distances then Mark and I showed Doug where the Shoshone (sp?) river comes together with the Kipkaren River. The Shoshone drops a good 30-feet over the last 150 yards producing a series of small cascading water falls. After Doug took some pictures we then headed back to the Training Center ate some lunch and headed into to town to check the progress of the bridge fabrication and then do some shopping.

I can’t say enough how crazy driving in this country is. There are no traffic laws, and if there are they certainly don’t enforce them, no police and most drivers are either way too slow or way too fast. Motorcycles swerve in and out of traffic seeming to have a death wish. Our driver Meeshack lives on the way into town and stops often to pick up friends to give them “lifties.” We drive past his house and he honks as his wife waves from the side of the road. Mark rides shotgun and the rest of us sit on the benches in the back. The roads are a sea of humanity. People are everywhere, even way out in the middle of nowhere. Bikes, carts, tractors, you name it and it is on the road side. We make our way through Turbo, a small roadside town that houses a bunch of roadside shacks and stores. The way the Kenyan government gets people to slow down through the congested parts of the road is to put multiple speed bumps in the highway. Just imaging you are driving up Highway 41, you get to Coarsegold, and there is a bunch of speed bumps in the road. It is crazy. Cattle in the road, u-turns wherever and ill-advised passing are common occurrences on the way to Eldoret.

The City of Eldoret is a swarming mass of humanity. It seems that everybody is outside. There are major intersections with no stoplights or traffic control. Side streets are dirt or gravel and road grading is non-existent. It is wild being the only white people around. Everybody stares at you and looks you up and down. You hear Muzungo’s (white man) whispered from all around. We go into Tusky’s, a large Longs Drugs type department store. Two floors with groceries on the bottom floor and clothes and other miscellaneous stuff on the top floor. There must be 200 people working. On every aisle there a guy just standing there watching for shoplifters. Dress shirts cost about 200 shillings, or about two dollars and 50 cents apiece. The dollar goes a long way here.

Before we went shopping, we stop by Sorens to pick up Ben and my Dad and check out the bridge fabrication. Things are going well, and once inside you see how large the bridge actually is. It looks huge in the shop. Six by six tube steel frame, 95 feet long, and about six feet tall. Soren is going to transport the bridge in four 23-foot long sections. One section on the back of his flat bed truck with a crane and the other one on a trailer with the sides taken off. Soren was planning to leave Eldoret at 4:00 Tuesday morning to beat the traffic and hopefully the possible lorry (large trucks or big rig) inspections.

Apparently, they had some issues lifting the pieces with Soren’s crane and he could not completely lift each piece off the trailer and truck so they did not get going until 6:30. After three and a half hours, they got to the bridge site. However, with Soren not being able to lift each piece completely, things were going to get tricky getting each segment off the truck and trailer. Now, each section weighs in at over 4,000 pounds, so the plan was to use about 40 Kenyans to lift the first section up and set it on the four steel drums with wood blocks. This would allow us to pull the trailer out from under the sections and then use the crane to lower one half down at a time. Things went smooth with the first section and we set it down nice and easy. The next section was a little trickier. We set the steel drums and lifted each side onto the drums. We pulled the truck out, just squeezing the wheels past the drums. However, the drums in the back were a little crooked, as we were on uneven ground. We had to shift the weight in the front with the crane and when we did the rear section shifted and I swear was going to go down, but didn’t. The only was it stayed up was by the hand off God, cause it was the ugliest looking thing I had ever seen. We used the crane to set that end down and then lowered it into position. The Kenyans lifted it into its final position so the two pieces could be welded together. Remember, every time this thing had to be moved it involved about 30 to 40 Kenyan men lifting in unison and sliding it into position. It was impressive to watch the community come out to watch and help put this thing together. Young men came from all over the place to help lift these sections off the truck. David made an impassioned plea for everybody to come out early the next morning to repeat the exercise once again on the next two sections. The welders would also be there to melt this thing together. It was quite a day’s work.

Later that evening we were schedules to have dinner at Cosmas and Helen’s house. They live just on the other side of the road from the training center. They were married about 5 months ago and Cosmas would have loved for us all to be there, but since we couldn’t he had a small celebration for us. He planned to kill a goat, and since Chris was the guest of honor, he had the privilege of killing it. Apparently, there is a specific technique involved when it comes to killing the goat for a feast, but after Chris got back, he said it wasn’t really the case. But, anyway, I won’t go into the details. So, Cosmas and Helen rent a small place, and when I say small, I am not talking about 1,000 square feet or anything. I am talking about 300 square feet at best. Dinner quest included David and Alison, Julie, Mike and Debbie, Doug, Mark, Chris, Peter and myself. They literally had to move all the furniture out of the house to fit us all in for a meal. I have to say it was a very nice intimate time. The food was great, roasted goat, mashed potatoes, cabbage salad, goat stew, and flat bread (can’t remember what it is called). For dessert, orange slices and hot Chai tea with milk. Delicious.

David entertained us with stories of when he, Cosmas, and Peter were boys going through Moran training. Which is a right of passage for young men in this culture where they go out, sleep in the bush, are circumcised, and practice warfare techniques by raiding other camps. The training sends the boys into adulthood. The stories had us laughing and before long, it was off to bed.

The interesting thing about this place is you feel like you are stepping back in time, while at the same time, you get little glimpses into the modern world. Doug used this analogy; Living in the US we can see the future, here they are still in the past, we just need to connect the dots in between. It always makes me smile. We be out walking amongst the homesteads, mud huts with thatched roofs, cooking by wood fires of corn cobs, and then you look up and there is a woman coming out of the hut talking on a Nokia cell phone. Makes you double take every time.

The next two days will be the crux of the whole trip as the final pieces of the bridge will be put together and the big crane will come to lift it into place. Should be interesting.

Check back later to see how everything went. More pics to come......

Thanks
Tim

Pictures Finaly

I borrowed this fancy card reader from Mike, so I can upload some shots...