New Wheel Chair For Francis

I am very excited to tell this story. I moved out of Nairobi last May. In all the months since then, any time I ventured out and head back toward Nairobi, I would see this young man in his dilapidated wheel chair somewhere on the side of the road.  He always had a smile on his face and seemed to know everyone.  In November 2012 back in the U.S, as I was preparing items to put on a shipping container I saw my grandmother's wheelchair sitting in my sister's storage area.  I asked my brother-in-law if anyone needed it and he said no, so I had him load it up and I put it on the container that left the U.S. in December. I anxiously awaited the arrival of the container in Nairobi, just believing that grandma's wheelchair was going to make a difference in this young man's life.

The container arrived two weeks ago.  Then we had the election and everyone stayed home for awhile.  Today, Thursday, March 14 I enlisted the help of my new young friend, Paul, to go with me to deliver the wheelchair.  Paul works at the roadside car wash where I go once a week.  He knows this young man personally.  I also took my Teresa with me (she was behind the camera).  We found Francis on the side of the road and greeted him.  He was all smiles.  Paul had already told him someone was bringing him a new wheelchair.

Paul pulled the "new" wheelchair out of the car and we started trying to open it up, only to discover that on its rough sea voyage, it had gotten mashed and it needed a little adjustment to make it open up!  Thankfully, it wasn't damaged.  We needed a good before and after, so Paul and I stood with Francis for the picture.

Next came the moment of transferring Francis from his old chair to his new one.  It required Paul literally picking him up and placing him in the new chair.  Francis explained that he had suffered from polio as an infant and had lived his whole life in a chair.

 After determining that Francis literally had to be helped with every step, Paul very graciously and carefully lifted him in his arms and shifted him to the new chair.

Francis, was a great sport about everything.  Here you get a good look at his old chair.  It was made by some locals who made a very sturdy frame, attached wheels, and the seat part was simply a plastic chair that fit into the frame.  His particular plastic chair had seen better days.  It was split in several places and had been repaired.  I can't imagine how it must have felt to him.

Notice in every picture he is grinning from ear to ear. He was so happy.  Paul makes the adjustments and makes sure Francis is comfortable

Then Paul decided to take him for a ride!  He tipped the chair back and took off.  Francis was laughing all the way  It was awesome.

Then Paul demonstrated how easy it was to just simple push him.  Francis told us he loved the wheels on his new chair.  He said the old one kept getting flat tires!  When that happened, he was forced to stay home until someone could go get his tires repaired.  This new one won't have that problem.

This man came walking up.  Apparently Francis does know most everyone along this route and people kept walking by and stopping to see his new chair.  He was so excited.

I am so thankful we had a way to get that chair here.  Thank you Lord for letting me find Francis.  Thank you for Paul who was such a willing helper!  When we got in the car, Paul and Teresa were also grinning from ear to ear and talking about how wonderful it felt to be a part of making a difference in the lives of others.

Thompson Falls

There is place in Kenya called Thompson Falls.  Its located on the equator and is a place I have wanted to visit for the 11 years I've lived here.  I finally got the chance the end of February.  Teresa, my friend and househelp has wanted to take her daughter there, so we asked our friend Moses to accompanying us and we all took off!  This is some of the landscape we encountered along the way.

After a few hours, we reached the equator.  

We all  had to have our picture taken with "the sign".

Ok, last equator "sign" picture.  

This little pot you see under this sign is very important.  There is a young man nearby who is eager to show us what happens to "draining" water on the equator.  Basically, there is a wooden match sitting in a bowl.  The bowl has holes in the bottom so the water can drain into the bucket below.  On the equator (right under the sign) the match doesn't move even though the water is dripping through the bottom.  If you move 20 feet south of the sign, the water drains out of the bowl in a clockwise manner.  The match helps you see the direction the water is moving.  Then you go 20 feet south of equator, and the water begins spinning counter-clockwise.  It looks like a trick, but it is really just a demonstration of the gravitational pull of the earth.  Very cool demonstration.

Another sign along the way.

After about four hours of driving, we arrived at Thompson's Falls, our destination.

Our first view of the actual falls.  

We took turns standing at the "best picture" site.  After all, there isn't much else to do there except just stare at the falling water.

Teresa and Wambui

This adorable child was standing at the railing.  I couldn't resist taking her picture.

These are some Kikuyu people dressed in traditional dressed.  They were hanging around hoping to earn some extra money by having tourist pay to have their pictures taken with them.

Kind of scary.  I'm sure it all meant something in their culture, but I'm not sure what.

Stunning views.  There is something about falling water that is just mesmerizing.

If you are fit enough, you can walk down to the bottom of the falls.  Of course that also means you have to walk back up!  I stayed at the top while Moses, Teresa, and Wambui went all the way down.  There  was a whole bus full of students from a local school.  Of course they went to the bottom.

We took a picnic lunch.  It was breezy and cool and perfect weather for our picnic.  The falls were in the background, and with plenty of good fellowship, it made for an awesome day.

The picture below is off coffee bushes.

As we headed back to Nairobi, over to my left, I realized there was a full moon.  It is very hard to capture the beauty in a moving car, but this is what I captured.

Then I looked to the right and saw this incredible sunset scene -- again from a moving car!

The day was restful and enjoyable.  I always enjoy opportunities to move around in this beautiful country.  I look forward to future journeys.