Last Sunday, we got the surprise of the year and since it is almost the end of the year it probably won’t happen again in 2022!  There were to be two Masses celebrated here at Gekano with the first one at 7 am.  We got to the church at 7:00 am knowing it never starts on time and it didn’t - it started at 7:30 am.  The celebrant was Fr. Henri who tends to have very long homilies (45 minutes to one hour) and likes to quiz the people in the pews during his homily.  To our surprise, his homily lasted only 15 minutes and the closing song was being sung by 8:33 am!  Upon seeing Sr. Stella Principal later in the day, Kathy made the comment that Fr. Henri’s Mass was haraka haraka (very fast) and Sister’s response was, “yes, and I like it” and we had to agree! 

Because Lilian is finished with her accounting exams for this year and doesn’t start class again until January, we want to try and make as many home visits as possible to the women who received their water filters about a year ago.  These visits do take a substantial amount of time so we decided to split up with Emma and Wes making up one team and Kathy and Lilian the other.  We went to the village of Kenyerere where we picked up two mamas to be our guides.  Wes and Emma went one direction with their guide, Ilene, while Kathy and Lilian took Jane and headed in another direction.  Together, we were able to visit 14 mamas and since all were using and caring for their filters, all of them will receive a 210-liter water drum.  We have about 8 women left to visit in this area and hope to finish them this coming week.  When we were done with our visits on Tuesday, several of the mamas insisted on giving us gifts in appreciation for the filter and bucket.  Wes and Emma received maize (corn) and mboga (leafy green vegetables), and ndizi (bananas) while Kathy and Lilian received a live kuku (chicken)!  We were very glad we had the Hilux which has a box and topper as opposed to the car because the kuku left a few presents which Wes had to clean up when we got back to the Mission house!  The kuku went to Lilian’s son, Ivan, who just finished first grade.  When Lilian asked Ivan if they should eat the kuku or keep it, Ivan decided that they shouldn’t eat the kuku but rather let it lay eggs as then they can get one egg every day to eat!  Kathy thought Ivan made the right decision more for the reason the kuku was pretty skinny.  The next day, Lilian reported that Ivan tied a rope around the kuku and took it for a walk in their yard – wish we could have gotten a picture of that! 

We held two Water with Blessings trainings this week.  On Wednesday, we went to Esamba where we trained 14 women and on Thursday to Kianyabao where 15 women were trained.  At the training in Esamba, Emma was trying to show the women where and how to put the two rubber washers that are part of the assembly.  These washers have a curve to them on one side with the curved side of each washer needing to face one another - one inside the bucket and the other on the outside before tightening the nut.  This is a hard concept for some of the women to comprehend and if not placed correctly, the filter assembly will leak around the opening.  Lilian and Emma usually try to demonstrate how the washers should go by putting the back of their hands together and while Emma was trying to explain it this day, a young mama, without saying anything, got up and went to a bench in the rear of the church, picked up two bowls, and then came back to her seat and sat down.  We were not sure what she was doing but then, without saying anything, she placed the two bowls in such a way to mimic how the washers should be placed and as soon as she did that, the women were oohing and aahing…the lightbulb went on as to what Emma was painstakingly trying to explain.  From now on we are taking two bowls to serve as our demonstration tools…why couldn’t we have thought of something so simple! 

We have previously written how the KCSE (Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education) exams are currently being administered to Form 4 students (Seniors in high school) and how important this score is to the young man or woman’s future – if they don’t get a certain score to go to college to be a teacher, nurse, etc. they cannot pursue that field.  The atmosphere here on the school grounds is different – it is much quieter since only the Form 4 girls are here but also because every effort is made to not have any distractions on the grounds including the gate guards who “mow” the lawn by hand.  Also present are armed police, usually two of them.  Each day (for three weeks), Sr. Stella Principal has to be driven to Manga which is the sub-county.  There, she receives the examination forms for that particular day.  This is true for other schools as well – they come to the sub-county location to receive the exams. The Principals, along with the police, are then driven in a different bus and dropped off at their respective schools - the process is the same or supposed to be the same for each school across the country.  Here at St. Theresa’s, Sr. Stella Principal, along with the police, takes the envelope of exams she was given in Manga to the center manager who is the person in charge of administering the exam.  This manager cannot be someone from the school so no chance of “cheating” for your school.  Sr. Stella explained to us that she has to sign her name at three different times during the course of one day to witness and verify things such as the correct number of exams are in the envelope to signing off at the end of the day that the same number of exams are being returned.  Sr. Stella Principal and the police are then driven back to Manga where she delivers the exams to the proper authorities.  These exams are then forwarded in sealed envelopes to Nairobi where all exams from across Kenya are scored.  It made the news last week that in Kisii, the police arrested a KCSE center manager for aiding in the escape of two individuals who were caught revising a Mathematics exam inside one of the school bathrooms.  These two individuals were in the possession of the center manager’s phone which had pictures of the exam on it which he obviously gave them.  We can only assume there must have been chai (bribe) involved in this deal; otherwise, why would a manager whose job is to see that the process is done properly, risk his position.  The government takes great measures to try and make the exams be fool-proof in that no one can cheat but every year people find ways to break the rules.  Getting good scores helps not only the students but also the schools since certain schools are designated as a National School and are highly sought after because they provide good learning and boarding facilities.  National schools will also receive a greater share of the funding available to the schools.

Work at the new shamba continues on the second level of the Mission house where the men are putting the support structure in place so the concrete can be poured.  It takes a considerable amount of time to do the prep work and therefore will probably not be pouring the concrete until after Christmas.  The stone masons continue to chip away at the stone to form the design which will be the outside wall of the house.  Soon, they will put doors on the barn and plaster both the inside and outside walls giving it much the same look as the caretaker house.  The electrical work also needs to be completed in the house and barn. 

As mentioned in last week’s blog, in addition to the monthly ration of maize and stiped being given away at Mission Saturday, the Mission also gave away mattresses.  This week we went to Manga where we gave away about 40 mattresses and then at Gekano, gave about 140 mattresses to the orphans as part of their Christmas gift.  It was neat to see the smile on their faces when they saw the pile of mattresses, received them and carry them away…we wonder how many children in America would be excited to get a new mattress…something that is probably not found on many children’s Christmas wish list for Santa!  At the end of this coming week, we will have the Christmas party for all 462 orphans where they will receive a loaf of bread and bottle of soda as a treat. Each child will also be given a 2.2 kg (5 lb.) bag of flour and a small jug of cooking oil.  The flour and oil will most likely be used to make mandazi or maybe chapati which is a treat for them.  Because the cost of flour and oil have risen sharply, the children tell us they rarely get mandazi or chapati. 

This past week we received a little over one inch of rain which is not much but we will take it.  If anything, it helps to keep the roads from becoming very dusty since this is the dry season.  We saw pictures from back home with the most recent snowstorm and can’t say we miss that much snow coming at once.  We will miss not having snow for Christmas but definitely won’t miss the cold temperatures. 

Last week someone died in the surrounding area and we know that because of the music that is played 24/7.  This goes on until the matanga (funeral) is held and sometimes for a few days after.  There is no escaping this music as the windows in the Mission house do not seal very well and the music is very loud because of the large speakers they set up in the yard.  What was surprising was the type of music as it sounded like the type of music you’d hear being played at a bar or a club.  We don’t like when the power goes out but one night it went out about 10 pm and didn’t come on until later the next day which was a good thing as it meant no music and therefore we got more sleep that night! 

The children continue to come most every day to get their “sweets” aka lollipop.  We have also started to buy boxes of prepackaged biskuti or kuki (cookies) since they are a little cheaper than the lollipops and are something different.  This week, we had one little boy (maybe four to five years of age) who came alone to get his treat and then an hour or so later came again acting like he didn’t get any.  The rule here is moja kwa siku (one per day) and Kathy tried to tell him that but he kept nodding his head meaning he didn’t get any.  He did leave for a short time and then returned with his sister who insisted her brother didn’t get any though Kathy was positive he got one.  But Kathy broke down seeing his puppy dog eyes and that pouty look and gave him another one.  A day or so later, he did this to Wes.  He came alone, got his treat, and then later came back with his sister.  Wes gave the girl a treat but none to the boy because he already had one.  He wouldn’t leave the porch and Fr. David finally had to tell him he needed to go and eventually he did.  A short time later, there was a small voice at the screen door and when Wes went to the door, found it was the same little boy but now he had on a red sweatshirt with the hood pulled up!  His bright yellow shirt he had on earlier when he got a treat could be seen underneath the sweatshirt but he didn’t fool Wes!  After Wes told him endeni (a command to go), Wes came back inside the house and made the comment that next time the little stinker might have a fake mustache and glasses on!  The little boy didn’t leave for another 10 minutes or so; he stood on the porch thinking he could probably wear us down but we didn’t budge and finally he left.  We have to tell the children only one treat per day or else they would be at the door ten times a day.  We also have to ask one another between the three of us if so-and-so (for those names we know) got a sweet today or sometimes we come to the door to verify after looking at the children because some of them don’t like to tell the truth when it comes to getting a second sweet.  So many of the little boys look the same with their clothes and hair while the girls can be easier because of their dresses.  We got a good chuckle out of the little stinker’s creativity and ingenuity and we are getting a little wiser when it comes to giving out sweets…can’t blame them for trying! 

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-12-18-22