[Oe List ...] Our Friend and Colleague

[Nancy Lanphear]

Mutiso John Rupert Barnes IS a Man of the Universe and a Child of  
God.  He moved across this globe as if on wheels and yet could stop  
and share ideas and conversations with anyone he met.  His life  
changed ours!

  During the Kawangware HDP he was very present to “all is possible”  
and went about his daily life to illustrate that it was true.

  There was the time he decided to get some grade cows for the  
Kawangware Urban Farm.  Someone up-country offered us two pregnant  
cows if we would come to get them.  Of course, this did not stop John  
Rupert!  He and Christopher Foya (a vet tech) left on their trip  
(likely by hitch-hiking) and made plans to come back by train with  
the cows.

  Fred happened to be giving the witness at House Church that evening  
and told the story of the escapade with mention of many other events  
that featured John Rupert.  We all knew of his wildness and  
creativity but were never sure if the event would actually happen.   
By the time Fred completed his witness, 1/2 of the group around the  
table was ready to meet the train at midnight to complete the journey  
of the two cows and walk the several miles back to Kawangware with  
the animals in tow.

  The train was coming down the track and all were excited!  It  
arrived on the “other” side of the tracks that meant that the cows  
(one very pregnant) and a new-born calf would have to come across  
many tracks, stepping over the switching cables that were a foot off  
the ground. And, if that were not enough of a challenge, ANOTHER  
TRAIN WAS COMING DOWN THE TRACK!

  They all got across safely, requiring some aggressive pushing of  
the cows from the rear, and began the journey back to the Farm. The  
calf was carried across the tracks and put in the back of the Morris  
Minor where he licked the driver’s neck in obvious gratitude for not  
being required to walk with the others. Great stories were told of  
the journey as they walked along in the dark in such wild  
excitement.  And to this day, those stories are still very much alive  
for those involved.

Mutiso John Rupert Barnes created events wherever he went.  He is a  
Man of the Universe and Child of God!

“Mutiso, we’ll miss your presence but your energy and spirit live on  
in us!  Thank you for being in our lives”!