Kenya 2013 - Day 8-9

In Kenya there is a phrase, "The Big 5" that people often reference, which I'll tell you more about later. During one of our pre-trip team meetings we came up with a Turkana Big 5 or all the things we might not want to see while sleeping outside in Chokichok. Things like sand fleas, scorpions, snakes (think spitting cobras), spiders (think hunting spiders), and 'squitoes (mosquitoes).

When our team returned from our trip to Lake Turkana, we prepared our mats and settled in a bit before dinner. Erus' wife had prepared a wonderful feast of rice and goat and chai. There was so much food! After dinner we called it a night and went to sleep under the moon. It was just a few days past the full moon so the sky was bright and most of the stars had disappeared, except for the Southern Cross. I was far to excited to sleep so I did a little journaling and watched the stars and moon move across the sky before I finally fell asleep.

The girls asked me to sleep on the end because they thought if any of the Turkana Big 5 found us, the creatures would find me first and I wasn't as scared as they were. They also made me check the outhouse for creatures.

We woke up the next morning to the sounds of roosters all around the village talking to each other. While we did wake up up with a few bug bites, this guy didn't bother us but he did get into a hut and found a place to keep warm during the nights strong winds.

While we were having chai in the morning, we asked Jeff to read a little bit from 1 Samuel for us. We three girls had been reading through the book each night and whenever we had some down time together.

Then a handful of people from the church came to visit. Bill and Erus translated for us and we had a great time. We all learned a little bit more about the walking sticks and stools the Turkana men carry with them and Jeff and Eric got their very own stools.

After many laughs it was time to pack up our beds and head to school. On the way I learned how to carry baskets like the Turkana women. It might be awhile before I can carry a 30 pound tote like my friend.

We didn't spend much time at Erus' home but every moment there was amazing. I will forever cherish that night in the desert. Tomorrow I'll share about the our visit at the school.