As I guided my Suzuki dirt bike onto the path leading to our remote Africa home, something felt different. What was it?
The narrative unfolds in detail in the Amazon-published memoir, Giants in the Rough*.
A distressing spectacle now caught my eye. Just adjacent to my family’s home stood our African pastor’s house. . . its’ roof missing!
The past hours had found me miles away on a pastoral visit to another leader’s home.
While the land of Kenya was no stranger to the occasional disturbances of nature (mild earth tremors along its ancient Rift Valley, floodings from torrential downpours), the thought of an Oklahoma-style tornado blowing in seemed quite remote.
Though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam. . God is our refuge and strength. Psalms 46:1-3 NIV
To my relief, I found my wife and our two little ones safe and unscathed in our still-in-tact dwelling.
I crossed the few meters over to Pastor Moseti’s place. Large remnants of twisted corrugated metal sheets and shredded lumber – the makings of his former rooftop – adorned the limbs of nearby Eucalyptus Trees. The pastor, who survived the horrific storm without a scratch, recounted, in measured disbelief, his up-close encounter.
As a deluge of rainfall and raucous winds assailed the mission station, William Moseti stood gazing out his front window.
“I was watching the roof of your own house over there”, he exclaimed. “It was lifting, then settling. . . lifting then settling, and I thought, surely that roof might get taken away!”
Suddenly, Moseti heard a great ripping and crashing above him. Able now in the aftermath of it all to relate his story from a place of safety, the pastor concluded with his trademark smile,
“And now I was quickly getting very wet.”
©2025 Jerry Lout *GIANTS https://shorturl.at/o9WxG
Oh my – those twisters go everywhere. So glad you and the family were safe!
They seem to at times! Thank you.