Last Sunday morning we went to the 7:30 am Mass with Fr. David at Nyabigege since he had only one Outstation Mass instead of the normal three.  When we arrived at the church, there were people standing outside which meant no room inside which we were okay with but some of the men in the back motioned for us to come inside and go to the front - we declined as we wanted to sit in the back.  Being up front would have been too hot not only because of the number of people but also because the roof was mabati (tin).  A couple of the mamas brought us chairs and insisted we sit on them.  The church was full – the term packed in like sardines came to mind.  We were glad we were in the back near the door because there was a slight breeze drifting into the church.  Wes estimated around 500 people were inside and another 100 or more outside.  We didn’t leave the Outstation until after 10:30 am because a number of collections were taken up before the final blessing.  The collections were counted on tables that were brought into the sanctuary (think money changers in the temple) and the amount given by the different groups was announced to the congregation immediately after.  While that was going on, we made a bee line for outside to visit with the children and take pictures.  When we got back to the Mission house, the Mass here at Gekano - which started or was supposed to start at 9 am - was still going on.  They too, had the collections and finally around 1 pm we could hear that Mass was over…we were glad we chose to go with Fr. David to the Outstation.

On Monday, we did laundry including the bedding though washing sheets by hand is not exactly fun.  After laundry, Wes took Janet out for driving lessons while Kathy worked on policies.  In the afternoon, we along with Fr. David, went to the shamba to check on the progress and to pick paint colors for the decorative parts on the outside of the house such as the window ledges and pillars.   

On Tuesday, Kathy made a batch of mandazi and a quadruple batch of chapati.  She was making extra chapati because we were to have a guest visit us by the end of the week.  Francis, a lay Maryknoll Missioner from Maryland that we met at language school, had planned to spend a couple of days at the Mission.  He is currently living outside of Mombasa which is on the eastern side of Kenya on the Indian Ocean.  We received a call from Francis on Wednesday, saying he would not be able to come due to some things that came up last minute.  We were looking forward to his visit as we have not seen him since our final day at language school in April of 2022.  Hopefully he can visit us another time and at some point, we are able to visit him in Mombasa. 

On Wednesday, Kathy spent the morning at the clinic here at St. Elizabeth’s with a couple of the orphans who came to see the visiting optician and another provider – these were orphans who were referred based on the Wellness Seminars last week.  One of the orphans, a young man in Form 2 (Sophomore), came early before the optician arrived so Kathy visited with him.  By the time she got done listening to his story, she wanted to cry but at the same time was grateful for where the young man is now.  His mother was a single mother and died when he was five years old.  He recalled being able to “remember his mother a little” but he was very young and he talked of having a picture of her which helps him to remember her.  When he was around 9-10 years old, he was sold by his relatives to a couple who had no children – just hearing that someone was sold broke Kathy’s heart though it is not the first time we’ve heard stories of children being sold.  His relatives sold him because they could not afford to care for him and thought the boy would be taken care of by the couple who had no children.  The boy was mistreated and so he ran away to a city several hours away.  He then relayed to Kathy his experience of being a “street kid” at the age of 11 years old.  Kathy asked him about life as a “street kid” and again her heart broke as he told his story.  First of all, he made it clear that “street kids are a family” and “we look out for one another”.  For food, they rummaged through garbage and at times found things to sell.  He relayed that if you were able to sell something for a few coins, you shared that with another “street kid” who was down on his luck and they in turn helped you out when you needed it – during this conversation Kathy kept thinking how could it get any worse for these kids.  Eventually, he was able to be enrolled in a program that helped youth get off the street – a program “run by mzungu just like the Bismarck Mission”.  It was a program that helped youth up until they were out of primary school.  At that point, the program told his family they needed to take him back.  The family agreed but told him that if he came back, they could not afford to send him to Form 1 (Freshman).  By the grace of God, the Bismarck Mission came into the picture and he was accepted into the Orphan Education Program.  Because he had a very good KCPE score, the Mission sponsored him at a high school boarding school.  Kathy asked him what he would like to do one day and his answer was without hesitation, “I want to be a lawyer so I can help others who are falsely accused of wrong”.  As he was telling Kathy of his future hopes and dreams, they were called in to see the optician. It ended up that he needed to get glasses which seemed like a sure bet when he stated, “I can’t see the writing on the chalkboard when I sit in the back of the classroom”.  Kathy asked him how long it has been that he is not able to see things in the distance and he said, “two years”!  He stated that no one could afford to take him to the doctor and pay for “spectacles” so he had to go without.  Last week was the first opportunity for him to come to the Wellness Seminar since he was just enrolled in the program in the past year.  One steps back after listening to this young man’s story…it makes one very grateful for the Mission and all those who support it in whatever way that is whether it be by prayers, financial, etc.  There are many children who are being helped and yet there are many more who cannot be.  But for those who are, it is life changing provided they take advantage of the opportunity.  Kathy has no doubt this young man is very aware of the gift he has been given with the Bismarck Mission and will make the most of the gift. 

On Thursday, we along with Lilian and Ivan, went out for Water with Blessings follow ups at Karantini and Riamisiani. Lilian finished her exams on Wednesday and she was a happy camper on Thursday!  She stated that her shoulders seemed much lighter!  Lilian felt the exams were extremely difficult but hopes she passed all four of them.  She will not know how she did until the end of December and maybe even into January but if she does pass all four accounting exams, she will have a CPA certificate.  Ivan came along to the follow ups because all the children in Kenya are on a school break until the second week of January when the new school year will start. 

Friday was the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and we attended the Mass here at Gekano which Fr. David celebrated.  When we walked into the church, there was a red carpet going down the middle aisle and on the front wall in large letters it said “NANCY WEDS DAN”!  We surmised there was going to be a wedding at some point during the day which surprised us since it was a Holy Day.  Shortly after 9 am, the buses rolled in with the wedding party and soon after the guests began to arrive.  We weren’t sure what time the Mass started but the singing started early on and was still going into the afternoon.  Around 2 pm, a DJ set up outside on the school grounds for the reception.  The music was very loud and when the celebration was over around 5:30 pm we were very glad for the peace and quiet.  In the afternoon, we met Joe, the architect to go over some things at the new house that needed to be looked at.  In the meantime, we were waiting for Josephat, the carpenter from Consolata who built the kneelers, chairs, altar, and ambo for the chapel.  He was due to arrive in the late afternoon with the furniture.  In the end, Josephat didn’t arrive as expected.  The trucking company that Consolata hired to haul the furniture from Nairobi to the Mission had a flat tire shortly after descending the escarpment.  At 10 pm when it was time to go to bed, Wes called Josephat to see where things were at.  They still had another 4-5 hours or so to drive before they would arrive in Mosobeti where we were to meet them.  Wes told him they would have to wait until morning because we couldn’t go out at that time of the night to unload the furniture at the new house.  If Wes had known what happened next, he would have driven in the dark at 2 am if only for Josephat’s sake. 

On Saturday morning as soon as it started to get light out, instead of going to Mass, we drove to Mosobeti to meet Josephat and the guys hauling the furniture.  When we got to Mosobeti, we drug main street (the only paved street) twice looking for a larger truck.  We called Josephat wondering where he was and he directed us to come to a small gas station on the side of the road – one we had already passed by twice.  When we drove up, we saw Josephat sitting in a chair and all the furniture out in the open.  When Josephat saw us, he greeted us and then proceeded to apologize profusely.  The guys from the trucking refused to wait in Mosobeti at 2 am and they made Josephat help them unload the furniture for the chapel and they left.  Josephat sat in the cold guarding the furniture from 2 am until we arrived around 6:30 am.  Not only did Josephat guard the furniture, he also was looking after sungura (rabbits) which were in a box.  The rabbits were raised on the shamba at Consolota.  Josephat told us there were dogs that kept coming and wanting to get into the box of rabbits so during the night he found a small pickup nearby and placed the box of rabbits inside the box of the pickup to keep them safe.  Wes felt terrible – never did he or Fr. David think that the trucking company would just unload the items and leave them and Josephat sitting there by himself.  As daylight arrived, the people in the town started gathering and walking by to see what was going on with the mzungu and the furniture by the side of the road!  Eventually, Josephat was able to talk to a guy who talked to someone else and they brought a truck to haul the furniture the remaining distance to the new house…obviously for a price!  At that point, we didn’t have a choice and Josephat negotiated a price for us.  It cost Ksh 3000 ($20) and a few loaves of bread for the guys who helped load the items.  The back of the truck was open which we didn’t care for but again we didn’t have a choice.  A couple of the items got scratches and the leg of one chair broke off during the trek from Nairobi so Josephat assured us he will come back to make everything look like it did in his carpenter shop.  Josephat then told us the reason they were delayed for so long.  The front tire of the truck went flat and when they went to change it, the spare was flat.  Instead of calling someone to bring air or take the tire to the nearest town or village to fix it (they weren’t far from one), the guys called their company back in Nairobi and another truck was sent which meant when that truck arrived, Josephat had to help them unload all the items they were hauling into the other truck – not just the chapel furniture.  It made no sense to Josephat or us and it didn’t make any sense at all for a trucking company to carry a spare around that was flat!  After unloading the furniture at the new house, Josephat headed to Kisii to take a bus back to Nairobi.  Josephat is such a kind man and we felt terrible for the experience he had…just never thought dumping the furniture and the carpenter on the side of the road was something the trucking company would do but they did.  As for the sungura, a friend of Josephat’s and of the priests at Consolota, came to pick up the rabbits – the friend was from Kisii.  When the man took the box and put it in the back seat of his car, Kathy cringed because the box was quite soaked and had a little bit of a smell.  The poor rabbits had been in the box for almost 24 hours.  The morning had been quite the adventure and it was only 8:30 am! 

Because we were at the shamba from just having unloaded the furniture, we stayed to help Robert, Janet and Rogers load kuku (chickens) into the back of the Landcruiser to take to Ichuni for Mission Saturday.  A generous donor to the Mission gave money to purchase every orphan a kuku (chicken) for their Christmas present.  The donor wanted each child to receive a kuku so they could have meat for their Christmas meal – to have meat is a rarity for most Kenyans.  For Mission Saturday yesterday, over 200 kuku were needed.  Robert, Rogers, and Janet were kept busy during the week looking for kuku in the surrounding area and once purchased, were kept in the barn at the new shamba.  After we had Mission Saturday at Ichuni, we went back to the shamba to load up another 100 kuku to take to Gekano for Mission Saturday there.  For the next two weeks, the three of them will again be out looking for kuku to give to orphans at Mission Saturday.  We will still have a Christmas gathering for the orphans in a couple of weeks where they will receive cooking oil and flour as they do every Christmas.  It was felt that it would be less chaotic to give the kuku to the orphans on Mission Saturday as opposed to the Christmas gatherings where up to 300 children would be present at one time!  When it was announced at Ichuni that a very generous donor from America was giving them a kuku for Christmas, the children clapped – they were quite happy and excited.  Seeing their reaction made us think – would children in America be that happy to get a live kuku for their Christmas present?  Most likely not but these kids were and they were very grateful as well.   

We had electricity all week which was awesome!  As for precipitation, we received 1.60 inches.  The rains are coming less and the roads are starting to get dusty.  The next few months are Kathy’s least favorite months here because of the lack of rains, dusty roads, and warmer temps.  On Thursday, the day time temp was around 86 degrees which is way too hot for Kathy!   

Work at the new house continues with the big news being there is now electricity in the house.  The tile fundi (skilled worker) are cleaning and grouting the tile. The cabinets are all in and soon the fundi will install the curtain rods for the 33 windows…yikes!  Because of all the windows, there is lots of natural light which is nice.  There are other minor things in the house to complete.  Outside, they hope to start some landscaping to keep water away from the house.  Pavers will be laid as well.  We don’t have a definite move in date but hopefully within the month we are a lot closer. 

Please know that we keep you in our prayers and ask that you keep us, the Mission, and those we serve in yours.  Mungu Akubariki!

See photos from this week in the album section by clicking on the link below.  Note:  If unable to view the photos using the link below, you can still view them by going to St. Joseph’s Parish website and scrolling down to the section titled Kenya Mission – photo album.  The website:  www.stjparish.com

https://stjparish.com/photoalbums/12-10-23