Adventures in Nyanza

It's the land of fishing and tilapia, fireflies and chickens, bicycles and women carrying things on their heads. It's home of the Luo tribe. Obama's tribe. It's located next to the 2nd largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Victoria. The lake boarders many countries in Africa. The nile river flows into it. It is the source of life and a huge economy for many Africans. 

Last week I was able to travel to this part of the country. I have never been to this part of the country before so I was a tourist. It was a great week of just enjoying and learning about this culture. It was nice not to have to worry about work or school and just hang out. 

We sat next to Lake Victoria and order fresh tilapia. It was delicious! I don't usually enjoy fish but I gobbled this one down.

This is where Obama's relatives are from so people in this area are Obama crazy. Every house you go into has some sort of Obama poster in it. I found this funny book in the supermarket there. I wonder if  Obama knows that people are dressing him and his wife here in Kenya.

We visited a small, rural church and they asked me to preach. Once they heard that I had just finished bible school, the made the assumption I was a pastor. I explained that I wasn't but that I was capable of sharing a few things with them. The man beside me is translating into luo. It was a small church in a mud building. It was interesting. I had to process through a lot of the things I saw. I could see the hearts of the people. They really craved to know and experience God but they were lacking education. I was told later that many of them can't read so they can't read their bibles. They rely on the pastors and unfortunately these pastors don't have a lot of bible training. I pray that these people will be guided to the right path and that their leaders would strengthen in their knowledge of Him!

This was the house we stayed in. It was very rural. It's made of mud and has no electricity. It has no water either so we would collect the rain water in the barrel. It was a delightful stay though. So peaceful, quiet, simple. 

We went visiting some more relatives who lived by the lake. It was so beautiful. You can see the lake in the background and some of the islands. It reminded me of Vancouver island but it was much hotter. 

We had an amazing time just relaxing, visiting, and eating delicious homemade food. One thing with the Luos is that they use the land they have to do everything. They build their houses from material on the land, the eat all the fresh food the land can produce, and they are very inventive in making tools from the land. Amazing!