 Dear All,
The Harambees are over, the planning meetings no longer needed, the after glow dying down and we can begin to take stock. What a great time we had, both in Marsabit (October 11th) and Nairobi (October 25th). How the Lord blessed us and helped us negotiate the inevitable hiccups! And the rains have come too, filling water tanks, sprouting greenery everywhere, bringing life and hope!
Here is a flavour of the Nairobi expedition. At 5am as we woke up, the heavens opened. By 6 we were ready, people sloshing through the rain to our house. Everyone was soaked before we started. Two vehicles were going south today, mainly clergy, and two more were following the next day. We headed down the muddy road through vast puddles and mini rivers to Karare, a manyatta, where the small huts stood forlornly in pools of water. The evangelist David Taraya met us and gave us some wonderful  beaded belts and necklaces, made by the women’s group, to be gifts for the Special Guests. Then we slithered on down the mountain into the desert where eventually the rain petered out. We had survived the rains, now for the insecurity! We ran the gauntlet between Merile and Serolevi, not stopping for our usual cup of tea at Merile, as we were advised that doing so would enable the message to be sent ahead - an unarmed vehicle is on its way! We were two land rovers in convoy and we had our driver Mike who is very experienced, and we had your prayers so we felt safe. We have been told since that a major peace and security meeting has identified the bandits, and things are now much better. Please pray this is true.
 Getting 3 choirs to Nairobi - Turkana, Rendille and Borana - was a tough logistical exercise. The vehicle our Rendille choir were in broke down, after just over half way, of the 350mile journey, the driver of the Turkana choir forgot his licence and had to turn back and the Nairobi Marathon happened on our Harambee day, closing most of the city centre roads! In the end all got to the right place, sang and praised the Lord in their own wonderfully diverse way, and were much appreciated by the Nairobi folk. Even getting the Rendille choir up the mountain for our Marsabit Harambee had been a problem as the skies opened that day too, the rain poured down and the lorry collecting the choir got stuck!
The day before the Nairobi Harambee, Rob had been asked to be the Guest preacher at Carlile College’s graduation – preaching on servant leadership. It is the Church Army Training College. The principal (and wife), Tim and Gertrude Wabunya, are fellow Crosslinks Mission partners, and old missionary friends Mano and Emil Chandran are also there, so it was a good time to catch up on news.
 The day of the Harambee dawned and at 6.30am, we and all the clergy headed for the Cathedral. The clergy were speaking briefly in different services, the Boran choir sang at two, and the Rendille sang at St. Francis Church, Karen (who are supporting them). Gift envelopes were given to all and Rob preached at one service – I heard 3 sermons on the benefits of giving before my turn came, so I kept wanting to adjust mine! People were very welcoming and concerned for the North. The Archbishop presided at the Harambee in the afternoon, and we raised an amazing Ksh6.4 million (£55000) approx. It enables us to survive for two years and put a little aside for an income generating asset. Ksh 2 million (£16400) came from you all, so thank you, all who gave! Praise the Lord!
 On our return, we passed through Isiolo on the Tuesday 27 th Oct at 3pm. At 4pm riots broke out because several people had been killed on a parallel road; police tried to restore order with guns and tear gas and the market was burnt down. Fortunately all is quiet again. You never know what may happen!
Now life is moving on. We have a confirmation at Uran on 15th Nov. and will check out our new Moyale church plant at Qate on the same visit – the evangelist sent there has sadly joined the SDA Church and has been undermining the new plant from the beginning – please pray that this new church may flourish despite these early set-backs. Then on Nov. 22nd I am ordaining 3 people - an occasion to draw all our clergy together, and have a welcome Clergy Chapter. That is followed by our Church and Community Mobilisation Programme (CCMP). I have meetings down south on 26th November to discuss the future strategy of our Development wing, Christian Community Services - we will take the opportunity to have our trusty land rover serviced. Then not long till Christmas and the joy of a brief visit home to see our family!
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