ROOF IS ON AND WALLS ARE BEING PLASTERED

The last weeks have seen a flurry of activity in the village.  The progress being made with the Clinic expansion is moving along at an incredible pace.  In the last 4 weeks, the following activities have occurred:

• Installation of the metal roof (it's BLUE!)
• Fitting of the windows and doors
• Plastering of the walls
• Laying of the drainage tile
• Installation of water piping
• Installation of electrical wiring

It seems that it is really going to be possible the Clinic expansion will be completed in time for the arrival of the Village Visit 9 team in late February.

I am also pleased to share we have received over 85% of the Climb pledges which means we have $17,332 in hand to fund the constructions.  We are so thankful for the many faithful supporters to this noble project and we hope the remaining pledges will trickle in before Christmas.

I hope you are having a blessed Christmas season.

Ned

TRUSSES ARE RAISED

A weekly update from David Kayando on the clinic expansion progress:

"I want to share the joy of how the dispensary expansion work is coming forth. You can see apart from the rafters which are up, we already have the Phaser Board well placed. The iron sheets will be up as from Tuesday next week.

What a mighty God we serve!!!! Thank you all for your support. This is completely changing the face of the dispensary and giving Kager as a village a completely new look.

For me it is a long time dream. After many years of work with great struggles with the Dispensary, what I thought would not happen and no one ever thought will be there, God at his own time has made it possible. He knows us better than we know ourselves and has great plans for us.

This morning I pray for you to find strength and joy in Him, knowing that he holds the future for you. Be comforted and may his grace be sufficient for you to take you through the valleys and mountains ahead."

WHAT A SURPRISE!!!

One of the things we have seen in the past few months is the Kager Dispensary is now getting increased attention from the Ministry of Health (MOH).  We attribute it to two things: 1) the start of the KEPI Immunizaiton program and the stationing of a MOH nurse (Linet) at the Dispensary 2) the news of the expansion of the Dispensary to become a Regional Health Clinic.

So in addition to the good news on the progress of the Medical Clinic expansion, we have good news to share of some unexpected medical supplies for the village.  Here is what David emailed me this week:

"Greetings to you in Jesus Name. This morning is a suprise blessings to us as Kager Dispensary. The Ministry of Health, through its medicines supply agency, KEMSA (Kenya Medicine Supply Agency), suprised us with medicines and drugs from the government of Kenya.  We have received 26 boxes of different assorted drugs and medicines.

I have not received any official communication from the MOH office, but I hope to. Linet has gone to Homa Bay for a meeting and these were delivered when she had left, but received by David.

The work of the expansion is on and we have the ring beam up as you can see. It is our hope that sometimes next week, we can begin planning on the roofing and then proceed to final finishings.

This is marvelous in our eyes, and it is the Lord's doing."

WALLS ARE BEING RAISED

Received this email today with pics from David Kayando, JVP Lead Champion and Medical Dispensary Administrator:

"I pray this day may God give you his grace sufficient enough to take you through the activites of the day.  Please see attached some pictures of the dispensary expansion, which is going on at a very good pace. The building of the walls are up and with the use of the Eco Tech blocks, it goes much faster.

I presume by the end of the year the building will be fully complete and will only wait furnishings with the equipments.  This is coming out smart and a great encouragement to me and the entire community."

Poured Foundation

Progress!!!

Local Masons At Work

EcoTech Interlocking Bricks Made With No Firing

Future Laboratory

FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE BEING LAYED

This week we received an update from David Kayando, Kager Dispensary Administrator, the following update on clinic expansion:

"The clinc expansion work is currently going on.  They have now started building the foundation after which they will fill the base fully.  The men are continuing to make the stock of EcoTech Bricks which we will soon use for the construction of the walls.  I have taken the following pictures so you can see and share the progress with all the Climb and JVP supporters."

WHAT ZACH TAUGHT ME ABOUT SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP

One of the great things about being in the mountains for five days is you have a lot of time just to think about life and meditate on spiritual matters – all of which helps bring clarity in my own life.  I also had the opportunity to observe my Mt. Kenya climbing guide, Zach Maina.  Zach is a pretty humble and unassuming young Kenyan man, but watching him for five days was a learning experience in itself.

Zach at Nithi Falls

During those five days, I saw a lot of parallels between being a mountain guide and also being a spiritual leader.  Here are some of the things I observed:

·         They know the terrain and watch the changing conditions – it was interesting to see that even when there wasn’t a path, Zach knew how to read the terrain to get us where we needed to go.  I also noticed he looked up at the clouds a lot and was always on the watch for a change in the weather…spiritual leaders need to be on the lookout at all times, for both opportunities and opposition.

·         They know their climbers – over the course of five days, Zach figured out what I could and couldn’t do, both physically and mentally.  He took the time to get to know me not just as a climber, but also as a person…spiritual leaders need to treat a person individually and personally, not just one of many numbers.

·         They have a climb plan, but are willing to change it – on the third day of our climb, Zach made a change to our established climb plan.  We arrived at our set camp 2 hours early, and he pushed us on to climb another 3 hours and 1,000 feet.  By doing this, he made the summit the next day that much easier and doable…spiritual leaders need to have a plan for where they are going, but they need to be willing to change it if opportunity or obstacles arise.

·         They know how to set the pace for others – I know Zach could have climbed the mountain a lot faster than we did, but he set our pace each day for me.  He knew when we needed to slow down (pole, pole – slow, slow) to not get nailed by the altitude and when he needed to push me to speed up (twende – come on)…spiritual leaders need to be more concerned about those they are leading and set their pace for the people they are leading, not themselves.

·         They aren’t afraid to go off the beaten path – one of the favorite parts of my climb was when Zach took us “off road” for about one hour to go see Nithi Falls, a two-tiered fall of about 100 feet that reminded me of Kauai.  Most people climbing Mt. Kenya don’t get to see these falls because it takes a little extra time and is a little treacherous…spiritual leaders need to be willing to break away from the pack and explore where others may not go.

·         They emphasize the climb, not the destination – one thing Zach never did was tell me how far we had to go in either time, distance or altitude.  He kept me focused on the paths we were on and what we had ahead of us and it really helped me enjoy what I was doing at the moment and not worry about what was ahead…spiritual leaders need to understand the power of “being present in the moment” and not talk only about the things to come and the mountaintop experiences, but talk more about the here-and-now and daily life.

·         They come back to the mountain with more climbers – Zach shared with me that I was about his 150^th climber and he anticipated there would be many more after me.  He makes a living not climbing Mt. Kenya, but guiding others to climb Mt. Kenya…spiritual leaders need to keep discipling others their entire lives and not be satisfied with their own mountaintop experiences or having just disciple a few people

It truly was a powerful experience to climb Mt. Kenya, but I was equally pleased with the way God spoke to me during my time there with Him.  The people of the Kikuyu tribe believe that Mogai (God) lives on Kere-Nyaga (Mt. Kenya) and he talked with their ancestral tribal leader on the mountain many, many centuries ago.  I think I heard from Mogai on my climb, too.

WHY I CLIMBED -- THE MEDICAL CLINIC EXPANSION

So after the climb to the top of Mt. Kenya and my return to Nairobi, I met up with my two Hoosier buddies, Keith O'Dell and Al Lay.  We then flew to Kisumu and then travelled to the village of Kager in the Homa Bay District.

It was the eighth time a team from Indiana of the Jubilee Village Project had been to Kager -- and in the three years of these visits -- the village really has started to transfrom.  During our week in the village, we conducted six different vision and goal setting workshops with villagers.  We also introduced 4 "innovation projects": SODIS (solar water disingection), solar bottle light bulbs, solar tire cookers and aquaponics.

The Expansion (Next to Existing Dispensary)

On Thursday (9/22), we met with the newly formed Village Health Committee, made up of 3 staff from the clinic and 12 community representatives from Kager and surrounding villages.  It was on that day that we had a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kager Medical Clinic expansion -- the sole purpose of the Climb To End Poverty.

I was honored to join Mr. Michael Anayo Oyudo, Chairman of the Health Committee, to lift our traditional African hoes and break the hard rocky ground of Kager for the new foundations of the expansion.  It truly was "a dream come true" to know that because of the many faithful sponsors back in the USA, the clinic expansion we were breaking ground for was already funded and was certain to be completed.


Ned and Michael Oyudo

When finished, the Clinic is planned to look like the following plans:



FAVORITE FIVE PICS OF THE CLIMB

So the memories of the Climb are so incredible.  But I learned in my study of architecture that "constraint causes creativity"...so here are my five favorite pictures from my time on Mt. Kenya:

#1 - This is my favorite -- it captures the essence, the beauty, the majesty,

the enormity and the farawayness of Mt. Kenya.  I took this picture with

my Blackberry, but the colors and sharpness are awesome.

Vivienne Falls

#2 - Battian at sunrise from my summit of Pt. Lenana

I love the colors of the rocks and clouds,

the darkness and cold of the shadows,

and the light of the white snow and white moon

#3 - well I couldn't not have one of Zach and I at Summit

#4 - this was climbing back down from Summit to Base Camp.

The yellow tents below are like wildflower growing out of the Mt.Kenya rocks.

It also captures both the rawness and the grade of what days 3 and 4 of the Climb.

#5 - my Climb Team!

Naftaly (cook), Zach (guide), me

Josephat (porter)

We all have our Climb "uniform hats" on

DAY 5 (9/16) – THE FINAL LEG

I bedded down at 10 pm last night and, even over the chatter of the French climbing group next door, fell fast asleep.  I woke at 6:30 after what was no doubt my best sleep of the Climb.



The road out from Old Moses

 Having my last breakfast of tea, passion fruits, pineapple and toast was a little bittersweet, but the thought of a hot shower and a cold Coca Cola awaiting me in Nairobi got me going.  The last trek from Old Moses to Sirimon Park Gate was really a cake walk.  Wide trails and gentle downhill was a relief from the monster trek the day before. 

Crossing the Equator

About two hours in Zach stopped and had me stand on a pile of toppled carved stones on the side of the road and announced, “You’re standing on the Equator.”  He went on to explain the geographic milestone used to be bigger and erect, but had been torn down by the elephants…I guess when you live at the Equator it really isn’t that big of deal.

Naftaly, Zach, Ned and Josephat at the Sirimon Gate

It was about noon when we arrived at Sirimon Gate and there were both teams coming and going from there.  I was really so thankful for my Climb team and we took a team pic in our logoed stocking caps with earflaps.  I got a real kick when they told me all the other porters had asked them where they had gotten their “corporate uniform.”  I also shared with them their porter tips for the week and they were real appreciative of it.

Leaving the Park, Mt. Kenya in background

So the final Climb tally was as follows:

·         Day 1 – 15 km – Montane Forest to Meru Mt. Kenya Bandas (2,800 m)

·         Day 2 – 7 km – Bandas to The Nithi Gates (3.200 m)

·         Day 3 – 21 km – Nithi Gates to Upper Simba Tarn (4,500 m)

·         Day 4 – 19 km – Simba Tarn to Pt. Lenana (4,985 m) to Old Moses Camp (3,300 m)

·         Day 5 – 9 km – Old Moses (Judmaier) Camp to Sirimon Park Gate (2,660 m)

A grand total of about 75 kilometers or about 47 miles in five days – not bad for a middle-aged, slightly overweight American that had never climbed anything close to being a mountain.

I really can’t say enough about the beauty of the Mt. Kenya National Park – the diversity, the weather, the flora and fauna – I truly was blessed with a great time with my Creator (and 3 new Kenyan friends).

“I BELIEVE, BUT I’M NOT SAVED.”

So right alongside reaching the Summit of Mt. Kenya, the other “mountaintop experience” of my Climb happened our last night.

Old Moses Camp

After we got settled in at Old Moses Camp, my guide Zach asked me if I would join him and the other two men on my climb support team for dinner in their “porter’s kitchen.”  On the first day of our climb, I had told him that I wanted to eat my meals with them, but it was pretty clear that this was not customary, so most evenings Zach might join me, but not Naftaly or Josephat…so his offer was music to my ears.

So at 6, I joined them in their kitchen: a small 8 x 8 room with one small window, a small sink with a faucet and a wood chopping block.  They cooked as they had every night over a small camp stove and we had our fourth night of rice, mystery meat (four days old, no refrigeration), veggies and hot tea.  But the best part of the night wasn’t food, but the incredible fellowship and real life discussion that followed our meal.

It went something like this:

Josephat: “We see you read your Bible each day, can I ask you a question.”

Me: “Sure thing.”

Josephat: “Can I be a believer if I don’t go to church on Sundays?”

…which led to a ½ hour discussion of what the Christian life is really about and how we need each other as the Body of Christ

Zach: “I believe, but I’m not saved.”

Ned: “What do you mean by that?”

Zach: “Because I haven’t gone forward in my church and been anointed by my pastor, I am not saved in the eyes of my church.”

Ned: “Well I don’t think that’s what the Bible teaches.”

…which led to another lengthy discussion about what Jesus and Paul taught about being saved and how we can enter the kingdom of God on our own without the help of any others.

And our discussion continued on like this for more than an hour, one question after another in the dark of the small porter’s kitchen, three brothers in Christ enjoying a beautiful fellowship.

It truly was a mountaintop experience and was a perfect way to end the Climb To End Poverty.

DAY 4 (9/15) – SLIDING AND SLOGGING TO OLD MOSES CAMP

We made it back down to camp at Upper Simba Tarn (Lake) from the Summit at about 8:30, had a quick breakfast, packed our big packs and were off by 9 am.  On the descent down, I figured out why they have you make the Summit in the dark – because I think most people might quit if they saw how steep and long the climb is to the top.



The climb down from the Summit



Base camp below (yellow tents)



But we still had a long way to go to make camp that night so Zach said “Twende” (come on) and off we went.  The climb down from the Upper Simba Tarn to Lower Simba Tarn was very difficult and steep and full of lose rock.  With both the weight of my pack the weariness of my legs, I tripped and fell my way down the 570 feet “cliff” from the upper lake to the lower lake.

The good thing was I could see how far we had to go – the bad thing was I could see how far we had to go!!! 

I since have learned that Upper Simba Tarn is the highest lake in Africa and the 28^th highest lake in the world at 14,960 feet -- no doubt I will always remember Upper Simba Tarn as “the lake that almost killed me”!!!



Looking down at Lower Simba Tarn



Looking up from Lower Simba Tarn



About thirty minutes further from the lower Tarn was Shipton’s Camp where there were lots of climbers and porters, as Shipton’s is part of the Sirimon route which in one of the most popular ascent routes.  We didn’t stay at Shipton’s longer than to take a pee and a bottle of water before we headed down through Mackinder Valley. 

Mackinder Valley really was a welcome change as we were now on the “downhill” side of the Climb, but it was fairly steady and away from the barren rock of the mountain.  As we wound our way down the valley following some small creeks and a descent path, the whole setting reminded me a bit of a wild west scene.  With tall rock walls on both sides and large cactus (giant lobelia) dotting the landscape, it wouldn’t have surprised me to see either smoke signals or a band of Apaches appear.

It was beautiful – but I wasn’t much in the admiring mood – so we marched on…and on…and on.



Mackinder Valley



Giant Lobellia



About 2 pm we hit the moorlands – and a freezing rain with small ice pellets.  It really was miserable as we made our ways across the soggy moorland with sleet in our face.  3 hours later, the sight of Old Moses Camp was a welcome sight as I knew a warm meal and a mattress awaited me.  Summit Day was over – my longest day with 12 hours of climbing and hiking behind me.



Sleet and ice on the Moorlands



Finally -- Old Moses Camp after a long, long day



DAY 4 (9/15) - SUMMIT DAY!

Zach woke me up at 4 am after another pretty sleepless night.  Naftaly had a hot cup of tea and biscuits waiting for me as I shook the ice off my tent.  I got into my 3 layers of clothing and strapped on my LED headlight and was ready to go at 4:30 to start to the summit.  Into the vertical darkness we headed.

It seemed like the climb started from where it had left off the day before – a complete step-by-step trudge with my body crying for oxygen.   Zach and I were climbing alone, but I could see further up the mountain about 200 feet the headlights of the French team that had started out 30 minutes before us.  Although the moon was out, it was still the best I could do was to focus on the next step my headlight illuminated and make sure I somehow kept up with Zach.  He pushed us hard so to make Summit by sunrise.



The First Wall (done in the dark)



Base Camp Below (yellow tents)

The final summit ascent was 1,573 feet – but it might as well have been 15,730 feet.  The first “wall” we hit was all scree (loose rock) and seemed to go straight up.  It was a real struggle and within ten minutes I had broken into a full sweat, despite it being about 20 degrees F.  Two steps forward – slide one step backwards.  The altitude impact continued to hammer me, although I was so thankful for the 1,000 feet we had gotten behind us the day before.  

But we kept pushing on…the sun was starting to light the horizon line and we really did want to be on the Summit at sunrise.  So we kept climbing and closing the gap between us and the light beams ahead of us.  The last 300 feet or so involved some hand-over-hand rock climbing – nothing dangerous, but for me it was a welcome change from the steep assault on scree that made up most of our early morning climb in the darkness.

We could hear shouts above us as two teams from other camps had reached the Summit and it provided me an extra shot of adrenaline to really push me past the point of exhaustion.  I finally reached the last ladder and Zach gave me a hand up to pull me to the top plateau of Pt. Lenana.  He greeted me with a great big hug and I was so thankful that he had been my guide.  We had made the Summit! 



Day Break 1



Day Break 2



And then, no more than 3 minutes after we had reached the Summit, the sun burst over the horizon and lit up the blanket of clouds that lay spread before us covering for as far as the eye could see.  We both climbed up to the Pt. Lenana flagpole – at 16,335 you wouldn’t think you would have to wait in in line.  But there were teams that had started before us and we waited for a Japanese team to get all their pics.

Finally, as I stood there on the very top of Mt. Kenya with the Point Lenana flagpole in my hand, a few thought raced through my mind:

-          Praise to God for the incredible journey He had called me on to Mt. Kenya

-          Thanksgiving for all of the supporters of Climb To End Poverty

-          Hope for all the people of Kager and Kochia who would benefit from the medical clinic expansion


Teams at the Summit



The Climb Team at Summit - Zach and Ned



Point Lenana, Mt. Kenya - 16,335 Feet

For just a few minutes, I was overwhelmed by the whole situation -- physically, emotionally and spiritually.  It truly was a vision from God that had come true  – and then it was quickly someone else’s turn to get their picture taken at the top of Kenya.

And with the suddenness of a high altitude sunrise, we snapped a few more pics and our time on the Summit was over.  Certainly, there was no rest for the weary as we still had 9-10 more hours of hiking ahead of us.  And down we went…

DAY 3 (9/14) - ON TO MINTOS AND BEYOND

Good night’s sleep last night, although I am still waiting for a better invention than the mummy sleeping bags – keeps you warm but if you’re a side sleeper, it doesn’t give much flipping room.


Plains Moonscape



Sunrise on Outhouse

Awoke to the sounds of a song bird battle at about 6 -- just in time for an incredible light show by God.  Sun rising to the east over a valley of clouds, moon setting along the mountain ridge to the west.  Then as the sun topped the horizon, the mountains just lit up in reds and oranges – a small glimpse of what the Glory of God must look like.

Today was the first day to be drinking stream water.  I had treated it last night and it had two very interesting layers on it this morning: a layer of ice on the top and an interesting copper colored sediment layer on the bottom.  I know I would have had a hard time convincing Melissa it was safe to drink, but by drinking real slow, the sediment stayed asleep on the bottom.  Slight headache this morning -- fairly typical at this altitude -- a lot better than the poor Belgian guy that blowing chow for the whole evening.
The hike to Mintos was breathtaking through the Gorges Valley – you can tell that a glacier used to be there because it’s completely carved out.  Vivienne Falls, about midway through the valley, was absolutely beautiful.  The valley stretching before it and steep cliffs to both sides – and Mt. Kenya in all its majesty looking down upon it.


Zach and I at Gorges Valley

Our original plan was to camp at Mintos at 13,776 feet and then summit from there the next day (3 am start).  After we got to Mintos, Zach asked me if I wanted to keep going to Upper Simba Tarn and gain another 900 feet and shorten our ascent on Summit Day by 1.5 hours.  It was only 2 and I was still feeling pretty strong so I said sure – little did I know what I was saying.
So off we went and the first 45 minutes were pretty easy and just a steady climb – and then before me was a 200 feet wall of rock that looked to go straight up.  We started up it and it was as if every ounce of oxygen had been sucked out of me.  We moved up the wall through a series of 10 or 12 foot switchbacks that just kept getting steeper and steeper – and I was completely gassing out.  For the next 90 minutes, it was a battle between knowing I had no other option to climb (where else could I go?) and wondering if I really could physically do it or not.  It became a battle of measuring off 40 half steps at a time – 38, 39 and 40 and then resting for 2-3 minutes before starting again.  I think only two things got me to the top: 1) knowing the cause I was climbing for and heading back down wasn’t an option, and 2) the prayers of many back home.  It truly was the most physically exhausting and mentally challenging thing I had ever done in my life.

At 5:00, we finally crested the top and trudged into camp.  All I could do was grunt hi to Josephat and Naftaly, drop my pack to the ground and pass out on my sleeping bag for an hour.  They served me dinner that night, but between my exhaustion and the thoughts of eating 3-day old meat (no cooler) and spaghetti, I really didn’t eat much at all.  It was freezing cold and there was a sleety drizzle, so I ate dinner in my tent alone.  I packed my stuff for the next day and knew my 4 am wake-up call wouldn’t be long for the ascent to the summit.