Clearly our work in the Kisumu area was excruciating, grueling and draining so we were begging for breaks at the end. Ok... not really. We LOVED our work so so much, and were blessed by LIA with the opportunity to be tourists for 2 days. It was fun!
Towards the end of our last week in Kisumu we were sad to think about leaving but were very excited when we were met by our LIA-Kisumu staff in a matatu, ready to head to the equator!! I think everyone was expecting some kind of large sign or line or indication at the equator, something official. I’m sure we were all mulling over how the government sign and drawn line would look as we counted the number of pregnant goats we saw along the drive and guessed how many kids they were going to have. Elise was so excited she even got out her camera to take a picture of the yellow indication statue informing us that the equator was near, only to find that the yellow globe was the actual equator “site”. Pretty hilarious. If it weren’t for the Lions Club International the world would not know that the equator runs through a large patch of grass next to a highway, behind some people’s backyards 45 minutes outside downtown Kisumu, Kenya. The understated equator was laughable, but we had a great time, regardless. First we wanted to make sure that we established where the equator was exactly, and found that the Lions Club had (thankfully) placed the support of the yellow globe in all correct directions of N, S, E &W. They just forgot to mark those directions. So we started taking photos of us straddling the hemispheres, climbing the equator, jumping off the equator, leaping across the equator, carrying one another across the equator, kissing the equator, licking the equator, burping, crying, smiling, sweating, highfiving, testing gravity, etc. ON THE EQUATOR! Epic. Much more fun than it probably should have been.
The very next day we were blessed AGAIN with the opportunity to go view hippos with our LIA Kisumu staff! It sounds anti-climactic because hippos are fairly underrated in the 21st century. But in reality they are Africa’s number 2 killer, after the mosquito (and it’s bff Malaria). Much respect, hippos of Africa. We got into a boat with our blindingly orange life-jackets at 7am and were taken around the Kenyan coast of Lake Victoria (world’s second largest fresh water lake) to view the wildlife and disgruntled fishermen of the morning. The birds that we saw were fascinating but when we passed by a hippo having his traditional breakfast of lake deliciousness the birds became an afterthought. We saw the bull hippo first and found out that there can only be one male in a territory at a time and the fathers will kill any sons they have if the mother does not isolate or hide them. Being LIA we put our house-visit skills into action, but I don’t think our evangelizing and family reconciliation attempts were too successful. We didn’t get to perform a follow up visit so I guess we’ll just have to keep praying for daddy hippo. A few kilometers down the lake from the bull male were his two wives and 3 kids, also enjoying breakfast. I think the ladies may have gotten into a bit of an argument because there was a lot of splashing and we got to snap the stereotypical “hippo-with-its-mouth-open” shot. Pretty epic. As we continued on our tour of the lake we got to learn about the many birds of Kenya/ E. Africa and just drink in God’s awesome creation. The scenery/ lighting/ weather was phenomenal.
Needless to say our Kisumu experience was awesome, as can be seen in everyone else’s account (below and above this post). We loved the staff, our friends from the community, the short term teams and everything! These touristy activities were just the cherry on top. That made it tough to leave, but we know that Kisumu will forever have a piece of our hearts and a place in our prayers. Thanks for reading! Be blessed
-”Commander” Pontón
Personal note: God really showed himself working in Kisumu and that was really awesome to see. I have never been in a place of so much need and seen so much hope and felt peace spread. Granted, I still feel there is a lot that can be and needs to be done but I felt very little frustration because I knew our Father was taking care of everything in His own time for His purposes. I also just loved getting to know everyone in Kisumu, I was very happy to have time to build friendships, and quality time with Jesus was great. Miss you Kisumu!
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