July 1 - We traveled into the northern hemisphere today. It made us feel a little closer to you. We were on our way to Kogelo Village when we crossed the equator. There is a sign at the side of the road so that you can tell which side of the world is which, otherwise we aren't really sure how you would tell. It was a different kind of day for us. We took a road trip. The land was beautiful filled with boulders and outcroppings of trees, bordered at times by small mountains. It looked a little primevial. Devin was pretty sure a Tyrantasorus Rex was just around the next corner. We were on our way for a visit with a lady of some renown in this area. But first, we needed to stop by the District offiice of the President to receive written permission to do so. As fate would have it, he was in the southern hemisphere back in Kisumu. Perhaps we had passed him on the road. Nonetheless, we decided to forge ahead without our written permission and see if we could make our visit anyway. There were guards at the gate and the area was surrounded by a high fence. We noticed a sign with visitor hours posted. We were no where near being within them. Our driver Philemon talked briefly with the head guard, and we waited word from the house. When it came, the answer was yes, and we filed past the guards and toward the home of Sarah Obama.
Within the small plot of land, there were chairs in a small circle under a mango tree, and we were invited to sit down. While we waited to meet the president's grandmother, Mary became visibly excited and Larry had a hard time sitting still, but that could've been because Larry always has a hard time sitting still. When Ms. Obama came to sit with us, it was obvious that there was a deep peace to this woman. She sees to the care of over 100 orphans, and we presented her some blankets and hats donated by Auburn Grace Church. She was intently grateful. We talked a while asking questions which were being translated into English by another woman, who we came to find out was Marsat Obama, our president's aunt. So there we sat, under a mango tree, visiting with the president's grandmother and aunt, like we were old friends. These ladies didn't much like the guards and the gates, though they undertsood them. When asked if she was excited about her grandson's visit in September, Sarah said no more than our visit today as we were all her grandchildren. And like all grandmothers, she would not let us leave without feeding us first. So mangos were brought out and we ate them, laughing and talking with our president's family. It is fair to say, it was just a little surreal. Before we left, pictures were shown and we saw the image of a young Barack standing in the place where we stood then.
On the way back, we stopped by the equator - all of us can now say that we have stood in the northern and southern hemishperes at the same time. And, we have pictures to prove it. By the time we returned to Kisumu, it was the dinner hour. So we ate. We talked. And then we went to bed. It was a good day - a day to take a breath. This day our prayers are for you as we know yours are for us. Until tomorrow...
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