Bandits, Breakdowns, and Bumpy Bus Rides

Recently I traveled from Nairobi to Ugunja, a small town in Western Kenya for a weekend. I went to visit Lucy’s sister, Jacinta (nicknamed Chi Chi) at her high school. While there we also spent time with some of Lucy’s relatives and visited with a ministry to former street children in Kisumu. It was a great trip, but a long journey. The bus ride to Ugunja is about 10 hours and covers some very bumpy and uncomfortable “roads.” One particularly rough stretch of “major highway” features more holes than a donut factory. At one point during the night our driver accelerated rapidly over a series of bumps. He had sped up to avoid a gang of rock throwing, machete-wielding bandits on the side of the road. Later, when we were in a passenger van, we received help from a friendly butcher after a mechanical break down in his small village. It was quite an adventure.