Woman to Woman
Vol. 6, No.6
“And ye are complete in him.” Colossians 2:10
Nov./Dec. 2003
Spotlight on Orphans
A Memorable Visit Shared
By Esther McDaniel
The six-hour
bus ride from Nai-
robi to Kisii was
tiring. Kenya
buses, unlike our
American ones, have two seats on one side of the aisle and
three on the other, making each individual seat several inches
narrower. There must have been at least one more row of
seats also, because the leg room seemed much more cramped
as well. I couldn’t tell you if it was the lack of springs on the
vehicle or the condition of the road, perhaps a combination of
the two, but the jarring seemed constant—sometimes enough
to make my teeth rattle.
A “bus evangelist” stood in the aisle near the front of the
bus playing his old accordion and singing at the top of his
voice. The music was not unpleasant but the accordion was
extremely “weathered” to the point where I wondered how he
could coax a tune out of it at all. Then the preaching began.
Since his language choice was Kiswahili, I did my best to
tune him out. On and on he expounded, though, from my van-
tage point, few seemed interested. Now and then he would
play and sing another tune, presumably to wake his audience
up. Then the preaching would begin again. At some point I
noticed that he was walking down the aisle with some kind of
plant in his hand, giving samples to all who would take one.
My interest began to be piqued. He did this again and again
with several different plants. Finally he passed out a sheet of
paper with typing in both English and Kiswahili. Due to my
apparent lack of interest, I’m sure, I did not receive one but,
looking over the shoulder of the person ahead of me, I real-
ized that he was some sort of natural healing “expert,” invit-
ing people to his clinic. My appreciation for his efforts
increased somewhat.
Periodically the bus would stop to let off or collect pas-
sengers. At such times the “walking markets” would envelop
us: ladies with large bowls of sweet bananas, carrots, or other
produce carried on their heads, young boys sporting packages
of roasted ground nuts (peanuts), popped corn, biscuits
(cookies) or other snacks, men toting bottles of water, soda or
juice, some carrying watches, calculators, sunglasses, or
other wares fastened to large displays. All were vying for our
attention; trying to make a sale.
Finally we reached Kisii and the search for a van to take
us the rest of the way to Oyugis was begun. Had we caught
the earlier bus from Nairobi we could have ridden the whole
way by bus but we were running late and the later bus only
went as far as Kisii. The van was an experience all its
own—one that was repeated many times during my visit.
No matter where you are, it seems, all you have to do is
get yourself to a road and you can flag down a van that is go-
ing your way. If you see three or four people standing in the
open side doorway it’s a good indication that the van is
packed. That doesn’t mean they won’t stop for you, though.
They can always squeeze in one more—or two, three or more.
Even when you explain that you will wait for a less-crowded
Inside This Issue:
Editorial
For Time and Eternity···············Page 2
The Heart of God ···················Page 6
Giving Thanks—A Year-long Celebration ·····Page 7
Shepherding Our Flock (Part 2) ···········Page 8
Recipe Corner
Stuffed Manicotti ·················Page 9
Dreams Out of Time ················Page 10
A Trunk of Memories ················Page 10
Fearfully and Wonderfully Made ·········Page 11
Homecoming ····················Page 16
(Continued on Page 4)
