A group of local people, including a native of Kenya, spent from 10 days to two weeks in March and April on a mission trip to Kenya.Members of the group are pictured above at the equator, from left: Pastor John Hanson; James Arati, a Kenyan and employee of Baldwin Dairy; John Vrieze a dairyman and entrepreneur; Joy Grognet; Lori Hetfeld; and Nancy Rowe, who was on her third mission trip to Kenya.
The group traveled to a town called Maseno, which is about 30 miles from Kusomo, and stayed at a compound with two doctors. There is also a small college there and James has family there.
According to Hetfeld, the weather was pleasant, with the temperature in the low 80s during the day and dropping to the upper 60s at night. She said the compound where they stayed was modern and had electricity and water. She also noted that although there has recently been
violence in Kenya stemming from elections which were alleged to be fraudulent, there were no flare-ups while the group was there.
According to an article that was published in a Kenyan newspaper while the group was there, the goal of the group was to help orphans at Esivalu Primary School. They assisted the children with food, school uniforms and books. In addition, they are assisting the village with a water project.
Pastor Hanson also took solar ovens on the trip, which can be operated without wood used as fuel. They are manufactured in the Twin Cities.
