Last Sunday, we attended Mass here at Gekano.  Just like last week, no one knew for sure when it would start, so we prepared to attend as if it were starting at 7 am.  It was around 7 am when the Sisters and girls started to walk to the church so we followed.  After waiting for approximately five minutes and still no priest, the girls decided to sing songs and got through five to six of them before the priest came.  Mass started at 7:23 am, the homily lasted 45 minutes and total time we were at the church was almost two hours.  During different parts of the Mass, people would stream in to the church with some getting there during the homily, the Eucharistic prayer, and others even later and by the time the final song was sung, the pews were a lot fuller than when the Mass started!    

This past week Wes and Kathy drove to Kisumu which is about 70 miles north and approximately a 2 ½ hour drive from the Mission house.  Kisumu is located on the shores of Lake Victoria – the second largest fresh water lake in the world.  Kisumu has a population of around 380,000 and is the third largest city in Kenya after Nairobi, the capital, and Mombasa, a major port which is on the eastern coast.  The drive there was beautiful and very diverse as you drop about 3000 feet in elevation from where the Mission house is which also means the temperature gets noticeably warmer.  The landscape in this part of Kenya, even though less than three hours away from the Mission house, is much different.  As you get closer to Kisumu, one can see rice fields which we haven’t seen anywhere else on our travels in Kenya and on the roads are many large trucks hauling sugar cane.  It is a busy city and since it is flatter compared to the Kisii area, there are many tuk tuks that take the place of the pikipiki to transport people and materials.  We were able to get a few pictures of the tuk tuks (see photo album). 

Shamba update:  On Tuesday of this past week, they began to pour the concrete for the ground level floor and because the weather was good, they were able to get the job done in one day.  The process was amazing to watch as each worker had a specific responsibility.  There were around twenty people at the site, one of which was a woman!  It was the first time we’ve seen a woman helping – she was responsible for filling the water containers that were dumped into the cement mixer.  They did bring in a mixer due to the amount of concrete needed and wanting to get the floor done in one pour.  The assembly line for this process started at the rock pile where two men were filling individual buckets with a shovel.  Four to five other men picked up and hoisted these buckets of rock onto their shoulders and walked them to the cement mixer and alternated pouring them into the mixer.  There were others as well who would add a bag of cement, a bucket of water, a little sand, etc. all at the direction of the head fundi (skilled laborer) until the concrete was of the consistency the fundi wanted it to be.  Once the cement was mixed and dumped out, two other men were moving it away from the mixer with shovels and spreading it out.  After that, another guy came with a 2x4 to try to smooth it out the best he could.  It was in awe that we watched the orderly process all done without machines other than the cement mixer.  These men are not big guys and yet they lifted bags of cement weighing approximately 100 pounds, buckets of rock, sand, etc. and made it look like they were picking up a 25 lb. sack of flour and slinging it onto their shoulders.  By the end of the week, they were able to put the forms up for the second floor and pour concrete into them.  After that, they started to build the support structure that will hold the concrete for the second floor.  Once the concrete has dried on the second floor, the support structures – trees that were cut down on the property – will be removed. 

On Wednesday, Kathy and Emma went to make home visits for the Water with Blessings program.  We went to the homes of mamas who received a bucket and filter approximately one year ago.  The first home we went to was that of Esther’s, the woman who was our guide and took us around the area.  Without a guide’s help, we wouldn’t get very many visits done as there is no way to identify a home.  One just needs to know which trail to take through a certain field of maize or tea, or a hidden trail that goes in between or borders two or more shambas, etc.  When we went to the second home, word must have spread quickly that there was a mzungu (white person) in the neighborhood.  It didn’t take long after our arrival (maybe two minutes at most) before ten children from the surrounding area streamed into the sitting room we were in and because the room was full, the remaining children and adults stood outside the door with them taking turns to peek inside to see the mzungu and all the while you could hear them whispering the word “mzungu, mzungu”!  Some of the children were apprehensive while others would immediately strike up a conversation with first wanting to know “how are you?”.  In 3 ½ hours, we visited the homes of twelve women and because they were all using the filter and caring for it properly, all twelve will receive a 210-liter water barrel with which to collect rain water.  It was a joy to go to these homes and see that these women continue to use the filters and share water with neighbors long after they were asked to.  In one home, we had to train the husband to clean the filter because his wife has since become bedridden and she hasn’t been able to clean it very often.  In another home, the grandmother wasn’t cleaning her filter very well because her eyesight had deteriorated since her initial training so she had her grandson doing it.  When we checked the filter, we found it to be dirty and after asking the grandson a few questions, found that he wasn’t cleaning it properly because he was never shown how.  This gave us a chance to teach him the correct way and in turn for him to demonstrate his ability to clean it.  After some words of encouragement and getting the technique down, he gave us a smile that warmed your heart.  In the end, all of the women and/or a family member were making the effort to filter water regularly.  Whenever we left a home, words of gratitude for the gift of the filter were expressed over and over.  The people are truly grateful for maji safi (clean water) and we in turn were so grateful they continue to make use of this precious gift that provides clean water for them. 

On Thursday, Kathy and Emma went to Nyantaro and Mosobeti to conduct follow ups for five different groups of women. Nyantaro is the place where they have the piano so Kathy did take some time to play a few songs – something she misses.  After the follow up, a couple of the young girls that were probably in 7^th or 8^th grade, came up to Kathy and asked her to teach them to play.  One of the girls, who said she could play some, was trying to figure out how to play the melody to the Lamb of God that is sung in English at Masses here.  They have many different settings for not only this song but the Kyrie, Gloria, and Sanctus which they rotate at Masses in three different languages:  English, Kiswahili, and Ekegusii.  It is interesting because the Gloria might be in English while the Sanctus might be Kiswahili and the Sanctus in Ekegusii all at the same Mass – they like to mix it up!  The Lamb of God setting the girl wanted to know how to play is one Kathy has finally figured out in her head as it has a very beautiful melody so she played it for the girls.  Kathy told the girl if she comes next month with her mama to the follow up, Kathy would try to teach her how to play the song during the follow up.  It will be quite interesting and fun if this girl and her friends are able to come back next month though if school is in session, it won’t be possible.  During the follow up at Nyantaro, there were a number of small children – the same ones we saw when the mamas were trained in October.  A couple of them warmed up to Kathy but only because she bribed them with lollipops!  The only one who was not shy at all was Amos who is probably less than 2 years of age and looks like he could be a linebacker on a football team someday!  He would try to talk to Kathy but it was more like babbling but then Kathy’s Kiswahili probably sounded like babbling to him so the two were able to have a conversation!   

While Kathy was out working with Water with Blessings, Wes, Rogers, and Robert went out to finish up the inspection process for awarding heifers and houses to applicants.  There will be two homes awarded and as explained in a previous blog, the Mission provides the materials but the family must take an active role in the building of the house.  As for the heifers, there are many people who apply and would qualify if they had enough land to raise the Napier grass that is needed to feed the cow, but they don’t.  This year three heifers have been awarded. 

On Saturday, we began the big mattress give-away at Mission Saturday as mentioned in last week’s blog.  The mattresses were given in addition to the ration of maize and stipend the orphans receive monthly.  We started at Ichuni and then traveled back to Gekano for one of the groups.  The largest number of orphans are here in the Gekano area and so they are split into three groups.  Next weekend, we will travel to Manga and then back here to Gekano to do groups two and three since the following weekend we will have the Christmas party for the orphans.  We will post photos next week from the mattress give-away on Mission Saturday. 

This past week we received a little less than 2 inches of rain and we are grateful for whatever amount it is because we are in the dry season for the next few months.  Any rains we get help to fill our cistern with water that we use to drink, wash dishes and clothes, shower, etc.  The temperatures have been a little warmer as well with two days reaching 85 degrees by noon but by 4 pm or so cooling off some.  Because we are close to the equator, it can be quite toasty if you are in the sun even for a short amount of time, though on the plus side, the laundry on the clothesline dries much faster!

Finally, this week on Tuesday, December 6, it was exactly one year ago that we stood in the Williston airport and said our tearful good-byes to our sons, Aaron and Nathan, and boarded a plane to begin our three-year commitment to the Mission.  When we reflect on this past year, we know that it is by the grace of God as well as the love, prayers, and support of family and friends that we are here in Kenya.  Some days have been hard and others much easier.  The hardest part of being here has been not being able to see our sons and other family and friends as much as we used to since 8000 miles separate us.  The second hardest part was language school and even now, trying to speak Kiswhaili to others.  We know more Kiswahili than when we came but we still have a long way to go and that, at times, can be frustrating.  Some days, when adults come to the door wanting something or the small children wanting something other than sweets, it becomes a guessing game with Wes and Kathy trying to put their heads together to figure out the words they are saying!  The other day, a girl in the 8^th grade and her younger brother came to the door and tried to tell us something in Kiswahili.  Finally, because we weren’t getting anywhere, Kathy asked her to say it in Kiingereza (English) because we know they learn it in school but they kept up with the Kiswahili.  So, we said we would have to get Fr. David to interpret and the girl then blurted out in English what they wanted!   

We are grateful for this opportunity to serve here at the Mission and to have met the people we have since arriving in Kenya.  So, we begin our second year and we have no doubt it will be filled with many more adventures.  It will also be another year of opportunities to be the hands and feet of Christ for others as we serve here at the Mission.   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:


https://stjparish.com/photoalbums/kenya-12-11-22