A Real Baby Boomer!

Saturday morning I was awake by 4:00 and driving down to the ferry in Mbita. There is only 1 small ferry these days since the bigger one broke down so the demand is high which means you have to arrive early if you want to get the chance to get your vehicle on it. After parking by the gate I turned on the computer in the pitch black of the morning to connect with the church bakc home so that i could "attend" my dad's retirement party. It was quite the expericne through video skype to be in my vehicle by the ferry in Kenya and in a church in the U.S. at the same time.

Eventually the darkness turned to light and other showed up at the ferry and we headed across a part of the lake. Several friends and I were driving to a funeral in Western Kenya. It was a 2 1/2 hour ride from after the ferry reached the other side. We went through many back roads (and bad roads) and even had a stop to see the grandmother of President Obama, though she wasn't ready for visitors at that time of day. Eventually we reached.

The father of my pastor (Gombe) and my assistant football coach (Dave) passed away. I didn't know the father at all but am close to the brothers. What a life. He was a 95 year old Kenyan man who fought in World War 2. After returning home he "settled" down with 4 wives and 27 children. Yep, that's right, no misprint there. Talk about baby boomers. He created his own generation. The grandchildren and great grandchildren are uncountable.

After my dad's retirement party and then this funeral, it really has me thinking about my own legacy. Still 34 and not even married yet (or even close). By this time my dad already had 4 boys and this other man had probably more. Not that legacies are measured by the number of children you have, but it does make me think a bit deeply. I do want to continue to trust in the Lord and be faithful to what he has called me to and where he has called me to.

All in all, it was a good day, in fact a great day. It meant a lot to Pastor Gombe and Coach Dave that we had come . It was an encouragement to them in a tough time.

On the way back we were too late for the ferry, so we drove all the way around the lake through Kisumu, Kendu Bay and Homa Bay. It took about 5 1/2 hours, but God saw us through with no car problems, flat tires or any other issues.