STORY OF THE second HIKE
After about a week in town, Dave Fraker, a missionary who did work in the Pokot, saw Jacob and me in town. He had heard what God had done in Chemorongit, and later he woke up one night with a burden for the people there. He wanted to know if we were willing to return because God had given him a great desire to go there, as soon as possible. I initially said “not now, but maybe next year.” I was still exhausted from the trip the week before. As I was trying to graciously say no, Jacob said that he would be willing to return. I must admit I had a mixture of feelings at that moment. I was surprised, frustrated, and proud all the same time; frustrated that I was feeling a pressure to go and proud that my son was showing such courage. I was again seeing God’s wisdom in sending this young man with me. Well, we left the next morning! I realized that if I was going to lead my son, I had better stay in front of him!
Early the next morning we set out to drive the 7 hours to Nakali. The people greeted us with great joy and were surprised that we had returned so quickly. “So am I,” I quietly said to myself. In less than a year, the church there had grown from 8 to 60 people. That night they worshiped and prayed into the early hours of the morning. One thing I was very surprised at was how many different people participated in prayer. Benson was translating for me, as I heard one young woman quoting several verses from Romans chapter 8. I asked if she was able to read Pokot. Benson said no, but that she had been listening to the” Proclaimer” (audio Bible). This tool has greatly helped these remote people to grow in their faith. It was getting very late, and everyone was still listening to the audio Bible. We decided that we should get some sleep, since we had to get up before daylight. This time Jacob and I slept in a hut while Dave slept in his vehicle. We went to sleep as we heard the Word of God being proclaimed in Pokot, in the distance.
Again, Benson woke us up at 4 in the morning, and we set out on the 14 hour hike. I remember waking up and wondering if this was real or was I just dreaming of our last trip. Then the cold air confirmed that it was real. So I stumbled around with my flashlight trying to make sure I had gotten everything out of the hut. As we were about to go, I noticed that the Pokot brother with the “lion drum” was not there. I was concerned, but Benson assured me that we were not to worry and that the lions would not bother us. I decided to trust the local Pokots who live there, but I thought to myself that if the Pokots panicked, I would be running right behind them.
Just a few days before it had rained and this made me not only concerned about the lions but also about the snakes, because they move around more after it rains. The Pokot area is notorious for its deadly snakes, mainly mambas and cobras. Both are considered two steppers; if bitten, that is about as far as you could go. Needless to say, this led to increased prayer for our journey.
About a quarter of the way on our trip, we suddenly stopped on the trail. Benson and Elijah, our two Pokot guides, were violently beating something with their traditional walking sticks. By the time we walked up to see what was happening, they had already killed a snake and had thrown it deep into the bushes. We asked them what kind of snake it was, but their only reply was that it was poisonous. A few minutes later, we encountered a green mamba on the trail that was coming straight for us but it turned to our left and went up a tree and vanished from our sight. From then on, I was keenly aware that the snakes were on the move, and I decided that I needed to be more alert in prayer. And be assured, it was prayer with my eyes wide opened.
Early the next morning we set out to drive the 7 hours to Nakali. The people greeted us with great joy and were surprised that we had returned so quickly. “So am I,” I quietly said to myself. In less than a year, the church there had grown from 8 to 60 people. That night they worshiped and prayed into the early hours of the morning. One thing I was very surprised at was how many different people participated in prayer. Benson was translating for me, as I heard one young woman quoting several verses from Romans chapter 8. I asked if she was able to read Pokot. Benson said no, but that she had been listening to the” Proclaimer” (audio Bible). This tool has greatly helped these remote people to grow in their faith. It was getting very late, and everyone was still listening to the audio Bible. We decided that we should get some sleep, since we had to get up before daylight. This time Jacob and I slept in a hut while Dave slept in his vehicle. We went to sleep as we heard the Word of God being proclaimed in Pokot, in the distance.
Again, Benson woke us up at 4 in the morning, and we set out on the 14 hour hike. I remember waking up and wondering if this was real or was I just dreaming of our last trip. Then the cold air confirmed that it was real. So I stumbled around with my flashlight trying to make sure I had gotten everything out of the hut. As we were about to go, I noticed that the Pokot brother with the “lion drum” was not there. I was concerned, but Benson assured me that we were not to worry and that the lions would not bother us. I decided to trust the local Pokots who live there, but I thought to myself that if the Pokots panicked, I would be running right behind them.
Just a few days before it had rained and this made me not only concerned about the lions but also about the snakes, because they move around more after it rains. The Pokot area is notorious for its deadly snakes, mainly mambas and cobras. Both are considered two steppers; if bitten, that is about as far as you could go. Needless to say, this led to increased prayer for our journey.
About a quarter of the way on our trip, we suddenly stopped on the trail. Benson and Elijah, our two Pokot guides, were violently beating something with their traditional walking sticks. By the time we walked up to see what was happening, they had already killed a snake and had thrown it deep into the bushes. We asked them what kind of snake it was, but their only reply was that it was poisonous. A few minutes later, we encountered a green mamba on the trail that was coming straight for us but it turned to our left and went up a tree and vanished from our sight. From then on, I was keenly aware that the snakes were on the move, and I decided that I needed to be more alert in prayer. And be assured, it was prayer with my eyes wide opened.
On this trip, we were making much better time. We reached the mountain brook after about 10 hours of walking. There we rested some and then went straight to the village. We made it there in about 2 hours. We were surprised that we were able to make the entire hike in 12 hours! Judging by how I was feeling, this had to be God. I could not believe that I was even doing this again, and I was amazed that we were even able to keep up with our Pokot brothers. The Lord was surely helping us, and I was grateful.
Upon reaching the village, and because the rains had started, we found out that most of the people had left to go to the mountains looking for food or planting corn. One older woman said that she had told the others not to go because she thought that the missionaries would soon return. We gave them one of the
“Proclaimers” and spent some time teaching about 15 adults and numerous children. Seven adults were there from a neighboring village, and all seven gave their lives to Christ.
We told the people we would bring 800 pounds of beans to the village of Nakali on the first of May. They were to walk to that village and collect the beans. The same older woman, who had said that we would return soon, asked how many days away that we would be in Nakali. I then realized they had no concept of months. I counted and said that it was 10 days from that day. She slowly got up and walked over to pick up some small stones. She then said that she would keep these stones and each day she would remove one until there was only one left. Then they would begin the journey the next day to collect the beans.
After spending one night in the village, we decided to leave the next afternoon. Two men from the village agreed to travel half way with us. As we left, they told us of a shorter way to go. It proved to be shorter, but much more up hill. The evening sun was beating down on us as we slowly climbed the steep hills. It took us about 4 hours before we finally reached level ground. About half way up, I became very tired and hot. I told Dave, Jacob, and the Pokots to go ahead and find a good place where we could sleep for the night. Benson stayed with me to make sure that the old white man made it up the mountain. He saw how hot I was, so he prayed that God would send clouds but not to let them rain on us. Rain clouds began to form over a large mountain, and it did rain there, but not on us. It was a blessing to be shielded from the hot evening sun.
Without us knowing, the team ahead was walking very fast. As they were hiking at this fast pace, a snake quickly came between Dave and Jacob. Jacob almost stepped on it. The snake was so fast that later we assumed it must have been a mamba. The two Pokot guides decided on a place to set up camp. It appeared to be fine location to them, but to us it seemed very rocky. They quickly began to start a fire because the temperature was dropping rapidly. When we got there, we got out our bed rolls and tried finding the best place with the least amount of rocks to lie down. I was really exhausted, but it took me a while to go to sleep. It was probably a combination of the cold and the thought that some mamba might want a warm place to snuggle up for the night.
Upon reaching the village, and because the rains had started, we found out that most of the people had left to go to the mountains looking for food or planting corn. One older woman said that she had told the others not to go because she thought that the missionaries would soon return. We gave them one of the
“Proclaimers” and spent some time teaching about 15 adults and numerous children. Seven adults were there from a neighboring village, and all seven gave their lives to Christ.
We told the people we would bring 800 pounds of beans to the village of Nakali on the first of May. They were to walk to that village and collect the beans. The same older woman, who had said that we would return soon, asked how many days away that we would be in Nakali. I then realized they had no concept of months. I counted and said that it was 10 days from that day. She slowly got up and walked over to pick up some small stones. She then said that she would keep these stones and each day she would remove one until there was only one left. Then they would begin the journey the next day to collect the beans.
After spending one night in the village, we decided to leave the next afternoon. Two men from the village agreed to travel half way with us. As we left, they told us of a shorter way to go. It proved to be shorter, but much more up hill. The evening sun was beating down on us as we slowly climbed the steep hills. It took us about 4 hours before we finally reached level ground. About half way up, I became very tired and hot. I told Dave, Jacob, and the Pokots to go ahead and find a good place where we could sleep for the night. Benson stayed with me to make sure that the old white man made it up the mountain. He saw how hot I was, so he prayed that God would send clouds but not to let them rain on us. Rain clouds began to form over a large mountain, and it did rain there, but not on us. It was a blessing to be shielded from the hot evening sun.
Without us knowing, the team ahead was walking very fast. As they were hiking at this fast pace, a snake quickly came between Dave and Jacob. Jacob almost stepped on it. The snake was so fast that later we assumed it must have been a mamba. The two Pokot guides decided on a place to set up camp. It appeared to be fine location to them, but to us it seemed very rocky. They quickly began to start a fire because the temperature was dropping rapidly. When we got there, we got out our bed rolls and tried finding the best place with the least amount of rocks to lie down. I was really exhausted, but it took me a while to go to sleep. It was probably a combination of the cold and the thought that some mamba might want a warm place to snuggle up for the night.
Benson got us up again at his favorite time of 4 in the morning, so we could begin the last part of our journey back to Nakali. Since it had been raining, the bugs were really swarming around our faces as we traveled in the dark. Three times I felt something crawling in my hair or on my beard. They were ticks. I then began to pray about that as well. About an hour later, it began to rain heavily. It was strange to be in Pokot and to be so cold. Now it was hard to even see where we were walking. This was especially hard for me because I had only worn Chaco sandals on both of these trips. My feet tend to hurt when I wore any other shoes, so this was all I had. The rain made it very slippery over the sharp and sometimes shifting rocks. Our guides know the terrain very well, but even the rain made visibility difficult for them, and we made a wrong turn. We traveled for quite a while before they realized we were lost. We should have been crossing a dry river bed by now. We finally came across two young boys who were sleeping by the cattle they were guarding. They were quite startled to be woken up and especially to see white men there deep in the bush. One of them went with us and guided us through some very thick bush back to the dry river bed. It was still raining heavily as they used a machete to cut their way through the sharp thorn bushes. We finally made our way to the dry river bed. The sun began to rise in the eastern sky, and the rain finally began to let up. In a few hours, the air quickly warmed up, and we began drying out. We finally reached Elijah’s village of Nakali. We had been walking a total of 14 hours, not counting our few hours of sleep. They welcomed us again with hot camel milk tea. We rested for about an hour, and then started on our 7 hour drive back to town. Once we arrived, we went straight to a local restaurant where we enjoyed a great meal. We then went to the house where we were staying to get a long hot shower and a much needed good night’s rest.
| pokot_spring_2012.pdf |
