Last Sunday, we chose to go to the 7 am Mass here at Gekano since Fr. David had an 8 and 10 am Mass at two Outstations. The Hilux is still in the shop so we are down to one vehicle which Fr. David needed to travel to the Outstations. Prior to last Sunday, Fr. David had received a text from the pastor here at Gekano which listed the places and times where Fr. David would have Masses as well as Masses here at Gekano which were scheduled for 7 and 9 am. Around 6:40 am, Fr. David walked to the church to get some altar bread to take with him to the Outstations. While at the church, one of the seminarians was there and in the course of their conversation, Fr. David found out that there was no longer a 7 am Mass at Gekano – only a 9 am. Upon his return to the house, Fr. David told us the news so we changed from our church clothes and decided we would go for a walk. Eventually, we made our way to the church around 8:45 am because we wanted a plastic chair to sit on as opposed to a wooden bench. With only one Mass, we knew there would be a lot of people. Mass started 10 minutes late, the homily was 35 minutes, and then after the final blessing, three different lay people in addition to the pastor got up to speak though we have no idea what any of them were talking about. They also took up another collection and after the collection, the pastor took the mic back and started talking again – we were already at 30 minutes after the final blessing. Since it seemed like there was no end in sight to the talks going on and because the final blessing had taken place, we decided we would go. Once we got back to the house, it took another 15 minutes or so before we heard the final song. Total time for Mass was 2.5 hours – one of the longest we have been to. At the beginning of Mass, the church was half full but by the time the priest started his homily it was packed which also meant that with a tin roof and many bodies, it started to get very warm. During the homily, two little girls came up to us and stood in front of us like they wanted to sit with us so we hoisted them onto our laps where they stayed until it was time to stand and it was then they decided they would sit in our chairs! Eventually they did move but not on their own – a man that was in the back of us made them move. We really didn’t mind them sitting with us and in fact it was kind of sweet as they were not scared of us – they just wanted to sit with us and to look at and touch our white skin!
On Monday, Kathy stayed back to do laundry, household chores and made a large batch of chapati to freeze since we have Kaleb, the seminarian, arriving this week – frozen chapati come in handy for quick meals. The first time Kathy told Lilian she froze chapati, Lilian didn’t think it would work but then she tried it and decided it tasted good. Most people here don’t have a freezer much less a refrigerator so why would they ever freeze it! While Kathy stayed back, Wes took two students and their mama and guardian to the eye clinic for checkups. After they were done at the clinic, Wes drove to an area in Kisii to drop off one of the mama’s older daughters who had come to the clinic to visit with her family. He pulled off the to the side of the street so vehicles could still pass him, stopped the car, and got out to open the back so the young lady could get her bag. While Wes was doing this, a traffic cop from across the street saw Wes – most likely because he was a mzungu - and came over to him. He told Wes, “You are obstructing traffic and will have to go to the police station to pay a fine”. In Wes’ eyes, the flow of traffic was just fine and there was plenty of room for other vehicles to pass. Wes told the traffic cop that the matatus (vans that carry people) park there so why couldn’t he to which the traffic cop said, “you are obstructing traffic”. Wes figured the cop just wanted chai (aka bribe) and proceeded to tell the cop he needed to get the people that he had in the vehicle to their home. Again, the cop told him “You are obstructing traffic and you need to go to the police station with me” and again, Wes told him he needed to get the occupants of the vehicle to their home. Because the cop wasn’t relenting, Wes asked the cop what the fine was and if he (the cop) could take it to the police station for him to which the cop replied, “You need to go to the police station”. Wes again asked him what it (the fine) would be to which the cop then asked, “where do you live?” and Wes said, “Gekano”. At this point the mamas in the back seat realized that Wes was not getting anywhere with the cop so they took matters into their own hands and started talking to the cop. The two mamas were jabbering away and after about five minutes of the conversation between them and the cop, he turned to Wes and said, “Ok”, pointed to a street, and then said, “You must leave right now and go home!” As Wes was getting ready to drive away, the cop told Wes, “You should apologize to me and give me some chai”. So, Wes said to the cop, “I am very sorry and how much chai do you need?” The cop answered, “Ksh 300” to which Wes said, “that is a lot for chai!” Wes proceeded to dig into his pocket to find some money. Note: Rule #1 is put only a small amount of money in a certain pocket in case you need to pay chai so when you pull it out, they don’t know how much money you really have on you. From his pocket Wes pulled out several different paper denominations including a Ksh 1000 and 500 bill which the cop saw. Eventually Wes found a Ksh 200 bill (about $1.40), handed it to the cop and asked him if that was enough. He took the Ksh 200 bill and then told Wes to “make a U-turn and head out of town to Gekano”. Wes saw that he would have to cross the traffic by going the way the cop was telling him to leave town so Wes asked him if he would get in trouble for crossing the traffic to make the U-turn to which the cop said, “Just go”! The cop stopped the traffic and waved Wes on…. Wes was thinking the cop couldn’t wait until this guy left and he then headed out of town with his passengers. They had planned to stop at a duka (shop) to get some snacks but that didn’t happen though once they got back to Gekano, Wes did give them some shillings to purchase some snacks in the village. On the way back to Gekano, Wes asked the mamas what they said that he let them go. The mamas told the cop “He is a mzungu, he doesn’t know where he is going, and he got lost”! They probably said other things as well but for whatever reason the mamas must have done some fast talking as the cop believed them and sent them home. Wes told the mamas that all the cop wanted was chai anyway. He didn’t even ask Wes for his National ID card or Driver’s License and is why Wes figured he just wanted chai. Kathy is going to have to start driving in Kisii while Wes sits in the passenger side so he doesn’t end up on the police’s “Most Wanted Mzungu” list!
On Wednesday, we had a couple of follow ups. Because the Hilux was still in the shop, Wes borrowed the Landcruiser from Rogers and headed to Nyamotenenio with Lilian – Nyamotenenio is the place that you drive on prairie trails including a few rock formations on the side of the hill that the car probably wouldn’t have made it through. Kathy and Emma took the car to Geta – Kathy let Emma drive since she needs the practice. The only practice Lilian and Emma get is when we go for Water with Blessings events but lately with the rains, we need to take the Hilux and neither of them can drive the Hilux. At Geta, there was a little boy around 2 ½ years of age who Kathy gave a lollipop to early on but shortly after getting it he threw it on the ground and wanted another. Kathy waited for a while but eventually gave him another one which he licked on for a while and then bit it so that half of it was gone. He decided to give it to his grandmother who he came with and then came back to rummage through Kathy’s supplies looking for another one. She finally gave him one more but that one, too, ended up in the grandmother’s mouth and back he came for another one. Kathy told him, “Hapana” meaning “no” and he gave her those puppy dog eyes but she didn’t relent because she was quite sure it was going to end up in the grandmother’s mouth which the grandmother probably didn’t mind. If one mama has a tom-tom in her mouth, they think they should all get one! We tell them tom-tom kwa watoto (tom-tom for children)
On Thursday, we had planned to make home visits but because we were still down to one vehicle, we decided to not go out. We did laundry and started to get the room ready for Kaleb, the seminarian who arrives this week. We washed bedding and tried to clean the spare bedroom as best as possible moving some things to the hallway, office or to our room – the spare bedroom is also the storage room and catch all room for whatever needs a home. Our shipment of 270 water filters and supplies from the US by cargo ship arrived in Kisii on Thursday so we had to add the two 75-gallon drums to the room furnishings as well. After washing the outside of the barrels, Kathy put a towel over the top of them and they will serve as a counter since there is no desk in the room to put items on. On Thursday afternoon we drove to Kisii to visit the bank where we became signatories on the Mission checking account a few weeks ago. We thought all the paperwork was in order but on Tuesday, Kathy received a phone call from an employee at the bank telling her that she and Wes needed to supply their Social Security Numbers and to fill out a form for the Internal Revenue Service of the US. Fr. David verified with the employee this needed to be done so after taking Lilian home on Wednesday, we stopped at the bank in Kisii to do this task but the bank was closed. The guard out front said it was a national holiday but when Kathy asked what the holiday was, the guard didn’t know - they do have a lot of holidays here or so it seems. Thus, the reason for the trip to Kisii on Thursday. Upon arriving at the bank, there was a long line of 15-20 people standing outside the bank as they only let so many in the bank at a time. We decided that we weren’t going to wait in line for hours so we ran some errands and checked the mailbox. After finishing our errands, we went back to the bank and this time the line was even longer so decided we would come back another day. Hopefully, this IRS form is the last one…time will tell.
This past week we were without power several times with one of those times being without power for 42 hours straight. In last week’s blog we mentioned that because there was no school, the generator probably wouldn’t be turned on and our guess was correct. Three girls out of the 200 some that go to school here stayed on the campus – some of them live far away such as Nairobi or Mombasa and it wouldn’t be worth the fare to go home for a week. We were thinking that because of the three girls, the generator would be turned on but it wasn’t. On Tuesday afternoon, the power went out and we didn’t get power restored until Thursday around 10:30 am. The Sisters did not turn the generator on during that time which was disappointing and at times frustrating. We were very grateful when the power was restored. We had power up until 7 pm on Thursday when a heavy rainstorm along with thunder and lots of lightening came through which in turn knocked the power out again. The generator didn’t get turned on so we were again enveloped in darkness other than our flashlights and lantern…we can’t wait until we control the generator at the new shamba! We didn’t have power from 7 pm until 10 am on Friday so another morning of getting ready by flashlight. Kathy was very grateful when the power came on because she didn’t have to heat water in kettles to finish cleaning and scrubbing the floors. We have learned to be grateful for the many things we have taken for granted back home with electricity being one of them.
On Saturday, we traveled to Nairobi with Joe, the architect of the new Mission house, and Rogers. On Monday we will pick out the tile, sinks, and other fixtures for the mission house. Our other reason for going to Nairobi was to pick up Kaleb from the airport. We will have more in the blog next week as to how shopping went and Kaleb’s arrival.
This week we received 3 inches of rain with 2.3 inches of it coming the evening the power was knocked out – rain that came down in less than 2 hours.
Heifer update: This past week, Blessings, one of the bred heifers that was awarded to a family gave birth to a calf. The most exciting part is that the calf is a heifer and not a bull. This means once this calf is old enough, it will be taken back by the mission and then awarded to another family. The mission has had its share of bull calves born so it is nice there was finally a heifer. The family decided to give the calf a name – they are calling it Jessie! So now, they have Blessings and Jessie to take care of!
Shamba update: The parapet is almost completed in that the welder has put a rail pipe on the top of the cement wall and still needs to do the final welding. Kathy is going to have to get a small step stool to stand on to be able to see over the top or else she will be looking through the bars! Another railing will be put around the deck on the second floor. The masons have finished cleaning the stones and a couple of the guys are painting the area between the stones with a black paint for contrast. After that is finished, they will put a clear coat on the stones to enhance the color. The painters have also started to put the base coat/primer on the walls in the house though they still have some cleaning to do in the way of cement splatters on the walls, window panes, etc. We have been assured the splatters will be cleaned up.
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