My ministry, Starfish Charities, recently acquired some equipment which would enable us to show Christian videos like The Passion of Christ and The Jesus film in remote areas. On this recent trip to Western Kenya we were scheduled to show the films in two different villages. Unfortunately we had some technical difficulties and we weren't able to do so.
There are times in our lives when we have to take the lemons and make lemonade. This was one of those times. The villages were so disappointed and we will definitely have to plan for a future trip to fulfill our promise. When our projector overheated, we hoped we could make the necessary repairs to the circuit board in the nearby town of Kakamega. James is a technical saavy guru with amazing skills. While he was in the electronic shop repairing our machine, the rest of us sat in the car and watched the busy market area.
Morning tea is an essential to Kenyan life. This little girl is standing in front of a beauty shop drinking her tea and watching the world go by. Notice the words painted on the door. The word "perm" was self explanatory, but when I reached the second word "calkeat" I thought I was looking at a foreign language. Jeremy and Jackie help me sort it out. It really mean "curl kit" -- meaning hair rollers! The intricacies of another culture trying to adapt to the English language can sometimes be so baffling. Mostly, I laugh at myself when I try to wade through it.
We had the usual inquisitive passers-by who sometimes stopped to see what we were doing. This man was so drunk he could hardly stand. He was carrying a trash bag full of empty soda and water bottles. He told us a wild tale of being an "announcer" on a local radio station and asked if we had ever heard of him. We know he was looking for money for his next drink and hoping for a handout. As funny as he was with his wild tales, my heart broke for him but I felt so powerless to say or do anything that would truly help him. Even sharing the Love of Christ and the hope he could have in Him was lost due to his drunken state.
Everyday life on a market street.
These ladies were setting up their shop and displaying their wares, getting ready for a busy day.
James was in the shop upstairs. We could see him with many interested guys crowded around him. The people on the street below we going about their business oblivious to anything else. 
The hour we spent sitting and watching was entertaining and in many ways life-changing for me. Experiences like these remind me that while I am an unusual site in these people's daily lives, their friendliness and acceptance of me reminds me that they are so much like me and the obvious differences quickly recede as we share in the human experience called life!
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