Rift Notes from the Taylors: The Trip of Tests, Tents and Temps

Sometimes you get ideas of great adventure and exploring new places in new ways. These ideas lead to pumping hearts and adrenaline flowing...especially when there are young men involved. There has been talk of making a piki (motorcycle) trip to Lake Turkana in our house for at least 4 years but it never seemed to be possible. However, this April, Evan's last month off from school before his graduation, we decided to go for it. The trip was questionable due to raids and bandits on one of the main routes so we carefully chose to take a less direct route and go around the volatile areas. There were still plenty of issues to sort out. Lake Turkana is beautiful, it's even called the Jade Sea. However, it is extremely hot there and out side of the lake, the region is dangerously arid and hot. We had to calculate for water, fuel, food and how to keep food from spoiling. Originally, it was to be our family and our good friends. The boys would drive bikes most of the times but the Dads were planning to drive in the high traffic areas. The planning and routes finally came together and we ventured out on April 12th.

Now I don't want to take time to turn this into a travelog but instead I hope to share some highs, lows and lessons learned. Day one would actually turn out to be the worst and most difficult day of the 6 day trip. Within the first hour, both boys had thorns from the iconic Acacia trees bring their bikes to a halt. It put our trip 2.5 hours behind schedule. We pushed on and made it to a town about 100 km short of our goal for day 1. We decided to continue on. It was the Dads' turn to drive through the congested towns. As we exited the busy town and got on the main road we pulled off just to confirm that all was good. I got back on the road and looked in my mirror expecting my traveling buddy to come catching up but the moments lapsed and my heart sank. Jon wasn't coming. I turned around and headed back only to see a bus stopped and a crowd gathering. Now my heart was racing as I thought Jon had been hit by the bus. After I stopped, Jon explained that he had tried to get back up on the high way but lost control and the bike spun out. He calmly informed me that he had broken his leg. As I looked down at his leg I realized there was indeed no question. His leg was contorted in a nauseating angle at the ankle. Some very kind people helped get him into their car and rushed him to a good hospital back in the town we just left. Jon was then transported by ambulance back to Kijabe where an orthopedic surgeon repaired the broken leg and dislocated ankle. Jon's wife Susan went with him. Meanwhile the 5 of us were graciously cared for by some missionaries in town and we slept in their guest house.

The next morning we cautiously made the decision to carry on with this epic journey. Jon was in good hands, and preferred that we not cancel the adventure on his account. As for the rest of the journey, it went rather smooth. We never had another flat tire, no one crashed again, no one even got sick or bitten by critters we found along the way. I can honestly say that going to the lake, I learned a new meaning to hot and remaining hydrated. We carried 110 liters with us. When we arrived at the lake we stayed at a small hotel called Palm shade resort. We were grateful for cold drinks. We spent the afternoon by a pool fed by a natural hot spring. Yes...even the pool was hot. Oddly enough, the air was refreshing after you got out of the pool. The next day, after barely sleeping because it was so hot, we got back on the road. We took lots of photos of the lake and then began our return. This day our challenge was that Ben's bike frame cracked. We spent about an hour conjuring up how to hold his bike together.

After another hot day of driving on day 4 I drank 3 liters of water and never felt close to water logged. Water was everyone's best friend. By this point in our excursion we realized that we had a lot of extra water so we were stopping and handing out water bottles to parched people begging for water along the road. We camped again in the bush just off the road. The next day we made it back to our new friends with a guest house. One more day of driving, bumping, finding places to eat and we finally made it home. We went straight to Jon and Susan's house to visit the patient. He was in good spirits but a lot of pain too. The boys drove in on bikes a few minutes after us and we collapsed. After almost 1500 km, Kijabe had never felt quite so cool to us, and never more refreshing.

Things I learned on this trip ??? Well I won't share all of them. But here are just a few.

*Adventure is great but the risks are real. Yet even in pain and "disaster" God provides and cares for his children.

* Water is something that is so easily taken for granted, yet it is essential for life. I value a glass of water in new ways and cold water... well that's just a huge bonus.

* Jesus said he is the living water. I've learned to pray more for my brothers and sisters in Christ who are working in such hard places trying to share the good news about Jesus. They live in this place that can get to 110 degrees, with out a thought of air conditioning and very little water. They endure so many hardships. I learned I need to pray for them much more intentionally.

* I learned I take Jesus for granted and I need to be well hydrated with the Living water.

* I learned that even just 1 hour north of the the town we stayed in along the lake shore, there are tribes that have never heard about Jesus or the Bible. They have invited missionaries to come. I need to pray for more workers.

* I learned that slowing down is hard for me and yet so beneficial. It was so great to just sit in a camp site and see God's magnificent creation. Throughout scripture we are reminded that to see creation is to get a glimpse of God.

* I learned that as I like to look at photos and read about other peoples adventures that I can maybe bring awareness to readers on my blog. I hope you learned something from our adventure.

Grace, Peace... and Water!