Memories of Uasin Gishu

 Excerpts from notes made by Fr. Piet Grobler during his latest visit to Kenya 18-26 July 1992

I arrived in Plateau, via Ainabkoi at Bwana Loubser Mission (now the Reformed Church of East Africa) and are greeted by Pastor Festo Okonyene, who was known by 'Rev.' Eybers and was trained in 1944-1948 before being presented to the 'Church Council.'

Mzee Okonyene still speaks with appreciation of Rev. Eybers, Abraham Mouton, Fanie and Johannes Barnard, Schalk Steyn, Jimmy Davies and Adam van Rensburg. The Plateau BLM has been developed into a large complex of buildings - school, new church, student houses, hospital and residences for the pastor and evangelist.

The Promise Festival Hall - The old festival hall on Plateau was developed as a Bible Technical College where young people are trained in the gospel as well as technical and agricultural skills. The farming here has been expanded with land that originally belonged to Fanie Barnard and the wheat is very beautiful.

The Reformed Church of East Africa' has expanded the clinic on Ainabkoi with a secondary school. A beautiful church was consecrated in 1976, which has since become quite neglected. The house of evangelist Jackton Siarira is next door, as well as an apartment for nurses. A nice service is provided to the community and the people are very positive towards the Reformed Church. Honor to Adam and Hennie van Rensburg who started that mission post years ago. Ainabkoi has now become a town.

We visited three Kaburu Farmhouses. It's neglected. Better not go and look; one no longer recognizes it. The trees have grown up after 30 years. Other trees were uprooted and roads were overgrown. The house of Adam and Hendriena van Rensburg was burnt in the living room. The block floors are out and corn is in living room saved. Gideon du Toit almost killed a hen on her nest.

From Ainabkoi we drove via Hennie and Joey van Heerden's house, which is now a clinic and looks good, to Plateau-Broederstroom. The long-gone wheat fields have now become plots/shambas, with wheat, maize, pyrethrum and a few cattle.

Sergoit hill is still in place with green wheat fields like in the old days, and the Kruger’s neat farm yard. Fanie and Carol live on Christie Addison's farm, while Lenie still lives in Ernst's old farmhouse with Tienie and his son, Michael, who speaks fluent Afrikaans. The fever trees, kapok trees and pine trees have dwarfed the house after 30 years.

After we unpacked, Tienie took us to our old Parsonage in Eldoret. It's dark and muddy when we get there and the resident minister, Abraham Chebiego, is not there. The house is inhabited by two families, while the old library also houses a family, as well as the garage and servant's room. In the garden where the bananas were, there is now a cattle pen with a cow. It's all different but the Lord's work is going well.

On Abraham Mouton's old farm we visit the first convert and baptism of the RCEA (Reformed Church of East Africa). This is Joseph Sengerut. The farmers called him 'Fingerhat', but his Elgeyo clan name is Chebiego Chesere Sengerut. Mzee Joseph was born in 1901 (when the railway was completed to Kisumu) and worked for Abraham Mouton. He still remembers the thatched church near Plateau and also Bwana Loubser who himself talked to him about Jesus until he converted. He was baptized on July 17, 1937 by a visiting pastor from Thompson's Falls on Plateau. Joseph is now the owner of 100 acres of Abraham Mouton's original; farm and decided to give a portion of it for a church building. Mzee Joseph prays for us before we go to see Abraham Mouton's grave which he still looks after with respect. He also asks that the Kaburus in the RSA will send money for 'project church building' on the Mouton family farm.