The Methodist Guest House in Nairobi where I’m staying at
serves chips for breakfast. My home for the next couple of days is making it
possible for me to start the day with chips.
I don’t have long to savour them though - I’m off to the MAF hangar at the city’s
Wilson Airport, where I’ll be briefed about the organisation’s work in Kenya and
South Sudan and then jump on my very first flight!
Along with a group of MAF UK’s trustees, we head off to
Marsabit in the country’s north. All of us are flying MAF for the first time
and we’re giddy with the excitement of schoolchildren. Our chatter comes to an
abrupt halt as soon as the engine starts though – sitting on board a
non-pressurised small aircraft has to be one of the best conversation killers
going. Brad, our pilot, passes us all some much needed air plugs.
As with yesterday’s taxi, my views from the window are
obscured – this time by clouds. With nothing but white fluffy stuff to see and
no-one I can hear to talk to, I settle down for some of the sleep I lost en
route to Kenya.
We’ve been advised by Brad to save our photos until arriving
in Marsabit, because it apparently “looks much more like Africa”. As the plane
lands on a remote airstrip, his description proves itself correct; reddish mud
tracks snake through small basic units of accommodation, while the lush
greenery thrives under the relentless sun.
We’re in Marsabit to see an orphanage that MAF has helped
support. We meet Pastor John Arero who oversees the home and we head to his
house first for lunch. The walls of his homely abode feature several
certificates and photos; the pastor graduating from Bible college; and being
presented a certificate by one of Kenya’s former presidents for his work
amongst Marsabit’s least fortunate.
The orphanage is surprisingly empty, with most of the 35
children still in classes at the local schools they attend. We do however
explore a sturdy chicken coop that MAF donors have provided the funding for.
Ultimately this will be home to a hundred chickens and provide the orphanage with
some much needed income. With there being no chickens in Marsabit, the animals
will be flown in by MAF too. I’m left wondering if Brad also has a stash of chicken-sized
earplugs?
Walking back to the airstrip I speak with Gabriel, a former
resident at the home who is now a young man. His passion for Christ is
overflowing and I’m delighted to hear that MAF is subsiding flights for him to
complete a community development course in Nairobi, in order for him to assist
the orphans and others in the town.
More clouds and more nod on the way back to
Wilson. The four of us from MAF UK are being hosted by Brad and his wife for a
meal that evening, but any road between the hangar and his accommodation has
seemingly been shut for construction work. We complete the eight kilometre
journey in slightly over two hours. Thankfully the trip back to the guesthouse
takes a matter of minutes and I’m soon in bed, dreaming of fried potato.
