IN-TUNE A CAPPELLA

Dates: 19th - 21st September 2008
Cast: In-Tune, AMO Junior, NCSDAC Drama Band and Youth Choir
Venue: Masinde Muliro University of Agriculture and Technology, Kakamega
The Saga:
Poised to be an action packed weekend, courtesy of all those who promised to be there, the air was rife with anticipation and excitement. Admittedly, it would be my first trip with the youth of Nairobi Central, but for the majority of the rest, they were veterans of the widespread Ministry, having been as far as Mbita, Coast and Amboseli National Park, but to mention afew. But with the added likes of Davie of AMO and our very own wacky but 'sweet' Tichy, the trip to Kakamega was the place to be.

If you know Maxwell Youth, then you very well know that despite their many strengths, one of their weaknesses is punctuality. The initial plot was for all and sundry to be in the Church compound by exactly 7.30am, but two and a half hours down the line and there were still individuals waltzing in from Milimani Road. The show did however get on the road after a prayer and the 52 people on the list settling in the Evangelism Bus of Nairobi Central SDA Church. Let me just say at this point that Kakamega town is 8hrs away from Nairobi, thats approximately 310kms.

As with all road trips, the excitement was clearly evident in the group as the bus wound its way through the city streets to Westlands and then past Uthiru and out of the jurisdiction of the City council of Nairobi. Guys were singing and girls were clapping, it was an amalgamation of different personality types crammed up into the confines of a bus for more than 9 hours! If this were reality TV, it would be a recipe for disaster! But In-Tune and AMO set the ball rolling with singing acappella company songs to the delight of all acappella lovers in the bus. This went on until we arrived at Gilgil and the next activity on the itinerary was appreciating the wild beauty that the Gilgil plains had to offer...zebra, shrub, lakes, savannah and streams. It was breathtaking to watch the mammoth sized Mount Longonot as we passed it by into the Great Rift Valley. Then we saw the majestic Lake Elementaita. We all agreed that we were indeed lucky because this time of year the usually scrubby plains were plush and appealing. This can tell you how touristy we all felt.

Our first stop-over came on rather early, at a Naivasha Petrol Station where most of the Youth stocked up on food and drink supplies, then we were off to complete the rest of our journey. Arriving at Nakuru, the girls protested at the location which the driver had chosen, but this was due to a road expansion exercise that was being undertaken so he was unable to stop anywhere else in Nakuru town...we were all in agreement to move on directly to Kenya's and arguably Africa's tea capital, Kericho. The well trimmed tea bushes and softwood pines were a welcome site as we stopped again at a petrol station just to stretch our legs in preparation for the real lunch-cum-supper stopover at the Lakeside city of Kisumu.

In Kisumu, we stopped at Nakumatt Mega City, just on the city's outskirts, but again a section of the girls were the complainers that they were inthe fish capital and so they wanted fish and they wanted it then! And so, after having a conversation with Ronnie, who resides there, we agreed to hook up at the shores of the lake, directly opposite Kisumu Airport. The tantalizing smells of native 'ugali', 'sukuma' and fish rent the air as the rest settled in for heavy meals...surprisingly, the very girls who wanted the fish changed their minds and opted to go into the city to do some shopping!

Tichy is a vegetarian and thus stayed away from all things fishy...as Ronnie and his sister, Daisy, made an appearance. The mealtime was a fun but hungering affair...fun if you were watching but hungering if you were watching on an empty stomach. We left Kisumu at 6.00pm, prepared for the one hour or so it took to reach Kakamega which was now to the North. The sun had by now settled in a haze as we moved on in the mild glow of the half crescent moon. The gate ushering us into Masinde Muliro University came into sight at 7.10pm...the ministry had officially begun...

-End of Part One of Three-