This is Simon from Narok, Kenya. I had been in Africa for three days but when I met Simon I had only been in Narok one night and a morning. I was still nervous about the whole Africa thing but this guy really put me at ease - at least while I was at his place. I mean how can this face be anything but comforting? He ran an outdoor bar that was surrounded by tropical plants and stuff so it looked kind of nice in probably the poorest city I've ever been in. Narok has a good amount of people in it to not have any paved roads (besides the one leading to it). When Luke and I arrived here he had us out two beers and a little appetizer. This would be the last beer I had for about two weeks. Man it was good. It was like a little oasis. Luke gave him a New Testament Bible the previous year and he had become a minister in the year since we were there. I thought that was pretty cool - a minister/bartender. I think he felt like there wasn't any better place to preach than the bar.
This is us sitting at the little oasis. Here is some of what I wrote about this day in my sketchbook that I kept while I was there. It's taking me forever to type it all in.
5-22
What a day! I don’t remember where to begin. We got up this morning after sleeping semi-well. Penny and Dolly made banana pancakes that were so good. George dropped us off in the small town of Narok and went back to help Penny and Dolly run some errands. We would meet later for lunch. Luke really knows this town well. All of the people he’s met over the years are happy to see him and he really looks like he’s in his element. I’m glad to know him. We run around looking for various souvenirs and end up at Simon’s. Luke has told me about this man before. He’s a preacher/bartender of all things. He saw us coming and when we went in he already had two Tuskers and an appetizer (fried wontons) set at a table for us. We spoke with him a while and I really enjoyed the atmosphere except that we were the only people there. No one from Narok can afford it and tourism is really down there.