Krismasi njema!  Belated Christmas greetings from Kenya.  Today (26^th) also happens to be Wes’s birthday - his first in Kenya!  This past week has again been a busy one but we are good with being busy.  On Monday we traveled to Kisii (approximately a 40-minute drive) to run some errands including the bank, the post office and grocery store.  When a package has arrived at the post office, there will be a slip of paper in your box to inform you and if you don’t stop to retrieve your item within 7 days, you will be charged a storage fee for each day past the 7 days.  Fr. David knew he had a package but getting it was another story.  When he walked in, he was told by the man sitting at the computer working on something that they were on strike to which Fr. David replied “why are you here working at the computer if you are on strike?”  The man then told him to come back a different time but Fr. David did not relent as another trip would have to be made just to get the package or pay the storage fee as his 7 days were almost up.  Fr. David finally made him see things his way and he got his package after he paid tax on the shirt inside the box!  On Tuesday, we drove to Kisumu (about 2 hours away) which is on the shores of Lake Victoria – the second largest fresh water lake in the world.  The drive there was beautiful and very diverse as you drop about 3000 feet in elevation from where the Mission house is.  Near Kisumu you see large rice fields and currently sugar cane is being harvested so many large trucks on the roads.  We went to Kisumu for one purpose only and that was to get our phone situation taken care of.  Up to this point we were unable to use the M-PESA feature which is a mobile bank account where you buy minutes for airtime, texting, buying goods at stores by entering a code given at the till when purchasing items, etc., as well as transfer yourself money from back home…all done on your phone.  We had gotten our SIM cards in Nairobi when we arrived in early December but we didn’t get registered as we should have and we didn’t know that nor did Rogers who was helping us…there was a lot of talk in Swahili that day none of which we really understood but we all took for granted we were good.  When we arrived at the Safaricom store (compare to the Verizon store) in Kisumu, Kathy’s setup went smoothly but Wes’s did not.  They could not find his information though they had scanned his passport in Nairobi.  In the end, it was realized they had put his name in the system as Weglef instead of Wesley!  It took about a half hour to get that fixed but now we are set up with our phones, finally.  All this online mobile banking is new to us and makes one hesitant but it is how it is done here as more and more places do not take credit cards and/or KSH (KSH is the Kenyan schilling – currently 1000 KSH is the equivalent of a little over $10.00). One would have to carry a lot of KSH around to buy goods and Fr. David has stated that not many places have change if you don’t have the exact amount.  So, we have to get with the times here and go the M-PESA route.  On Wednesday there was another Water with Blessings training for 15 women.  The appreciation they have is hard to express in words.  At the end of the training when trying to take their group picture, they broke out into song and dance…how grateful they were for this gift of clean water for cooking, drinking, and bathing small children…a gift we in America take so much for granted.  On Thursday, we had the first of three separate Christmas gatherings for the orphans.  In the last blog it was mentioned that goats and chickens are given for good marks on their report card…we stand corrected.  The goats and chickens are given for good marks but are not given until April as these marks are based on the report cards that were just given out here in December.  At this gathering, Fr. David read from St. Luke’s Gospel and spoke to the orphans about the characters including the angels, the shepherds, Joseph and Mary and how they are examples for us in our own lives.  Fr. David also had the five of us who are involved in the Mission helping the orphans (Rogers, Sr. Theresa, Lilian, Emma, Wes and Kathy) say a few words.  Kathy and Wes did attempt a few words in Swahil to greet the orphans and wish them a Merry Christmas.  Wes had practiced something he wanted to say but after he spoke his words, people started to giggle.  He wanted to say may God bless you to the orphans but what he actually said was something like may God bless a kettle!  The word “bless” in Swahili is Bariki while the word “kettle” in Swahili is Birika…changing a few letters has consequences but we did have a good laugh!  After this, the orphans came as a family unit to get their flour and cooking oil.  The amount they received is based on the number in their family.  For example, if five orphans in the family, they received 3 bags of flour (5 lbs. each) and 3 tubs of cooking oil.  We came to find out that this cooking oil and flour will most likely be used to make two bread items for their Christmas meal: Mandazi (deep fried bread dough) and Chapati (unleavened flat bread comparable to a tortilla).  We have tasted both and like them very much.  In addition to the oil and flour, each child received a loaf of sweet bread and a bottle of soda.  The most popular soda was by far orange Fanta with Coca-Cola coming in second!  It was so humbling to watch their eyes and see the smiles on the faces when they got in line to get their soda and bread…how joyful they were for a simple loaf of bread and a soda.  (The pictures in the photo album section below do not do justice when trying to capture those moments.)  In talking with some of the orphans and asking what they will have to eat for their Christmas meal, you realized how overly abundant our Christmas meals in America can be.  Many said they would have the mandazi, chapati and hoped they would get to have kuku (cooked chicken) which seems to be their favorite meat of choice.  Families do not have much in the way of any extra money so having meat at a meal doesn’t happen often except for maybe a special day like Christmas.  The giving of gifts is not something they can much afford either.  What is important to them is getting together with family and spending time with their cousins.  We were able to experience this when we were invited to Emma’s house on Christmas Day.  Emma is a former orphan and the young lady that is patiently trying to teach us a little Swahili before going to language school in January.  For our meal we had ugali (a starchy, polenta-like dish made from maize flour and water), kuku, and some boiled greens.  Our treat was the mandazi.  We were told it is tradition to not eat with utensils so yes, we ate with our fingers!  There is a trick to scooping up your food with the ugali but one we didn’t master.  The food was tasty except for the ugali as it doesn’t really have a taste.  We were offered sour milk to drink but we weren’t quite ready for that so we graciously declined!  The family was so welcoming and gracious.  Fr. David said Mass at one of the outstations and this was the Christmas Mass we attended.  The music, though not the traditional Christmas hymns we sing, was still very beautiful.  The decorations were pieces of fabric tied to a wire strung across the church.  The people, young and old, participate with their whole being.  With the singing and dancing going on it was a sight to see…the church was alive!  Fr. David received live animals for his Christmas present from the parishes where he celebrated Mass - two goats and four chickens as well as some other produce. We were so surprised when just before the final blessing of the Mass we attended, the goat was brought forward on a leash to be blessed and given to Fr. David!  This was our first Christmas in Africa and though we yearned for Christmas with family and friends and missing some things we always did at Christmas, we are very grateful to have this experience here with the people of Kenya. See additional photos:  https://stjparish.com/photoalbums/kenya-12-26-21