Last Sunday we attended Mass at the Cathedral in Kisii and for the first time in a long time, there were no extra collections at the end of Mass – just the announcements that took around 15 minutes with Mass lasting 1 ½ hours.  After Mass, we drove to Lilian’s place to spend the afternoon with her and Ivan.  Wes took us out for a belated Mother’s Day meal! 

On Monday, Kathy did the laundry while Wes took one of the orphans and his guardian for an eye appointment.  Because there were only 10 people ahead of them when they arrived, the trip to the doctor took only half of the day.  Wes was back home by 1pm and in time to help Kathy trim more shrubs. We continue to trim and plant the cuttings and if they grow, will eventually plant them at the new shamba.  We already have a number of plants and shrubs growing from cuttings including hibiscus, poinsettia, spider plants, Easter Lily, several different varieties of rose bushes, and a few other plants in addition to the trees Wes was able to get started.  We would like to do some landscaping at the new place – something we like to do - and hopefully before our commitment is up at the end of 2024, we will be able to see the fruits of our labors!

This past week we had 2.20 inches of rain.  On Monday afternoon we had a heavy downpour and lost power around 4 pm.  The generator was turned on from 7 pm until shortly before 10 pm when the power came on.  About 15 minutes later the power went out again and stayed off all night.  On Tuesday morning, we had to get ready for daily Mass by flashlight since the generator didn’t get turned on which was unusual since school was in session.  We went without power until the generator was turned on from 7 pm until 10 pm.  When we woke up on Wednesday morning, we were quite happy as sometime during the night, the power was finally restored.  Basically, we were without power for about 36 hours though we were grateful for the 6 hours the generator was on during that time.  On Friday, we witnessed a miracle – we had 24 hours of power with no interruptions!  But then, our hopes were dashed thinking that maybe we could go two complete days with power.  On Saturday, the power went out around 10 am and was out for 9 ½ hours.  It came on for about an hour and then off again through the night.  Power outages are pretty much an everyday occurrence and a fact of life that you learn to live with…besides there is nothing we can do about it.  Though, when we move to the new place, we will have control of the generator! 

On Wednesday, we had two follow ups – one at Geta and the other at Nyamotenenio.  We also delivered nine blankets to a different group of women at Geta and then traveled on to Mongorisi where we delivered 39 blankets.  The mamas were very happy though there were a few who were not.  Only those who earned the blanket by coming to at least five or all six of the follow ups are called the night before to come to one last follow up.  Word travels fast and almost every time we deliver blankets, there are mamas who come that didn’t get a call because they did not earn a blanket.  These mamas will sometimes give Lilian or Emma a piece of their mind but the funny thing is the other women will tell them to back off and leave Emma and Lilian alone since “they didn’t follow the rules”!  On Thursday, we made home visits in the Mosobeti area with Edna and Paris as our guides.  In the end, we were able to visit a total of only 11 women but that is 11 more we can cross off the list of 60.  We hope to finish this area in June and get their water drums delivered as well. 

On Friday, we had to have a change of plans since one of the orphans here at St. Theresa’s school needed to go to the eye doctor.  She was having severe headaches and instead of waiting until next week, it was decided it was best to take her in.  Wes took her and another girl who is also from St. Theresa’s School to the eye clinic.  In the end they both had to get spectacles (glasses).  Because they had gotten to the clinic relatively early, they were number 2 and 3 in line which is a first!  While Wes was waiting at the eye clinic for the girls, one of the clerks came up to Wes and asked if he was the one who would bring a boy and his grandma for appointments.  Wes immediately knew the clerk was referring to Vincliff and his grandmother Agrapina.  Agrapina died in December leaving behind four grandchildren she was taking care of.  The clerk mentioned to Wes what a lovely lady Agrapina was and that he was sad upon hearing of her death.  Everyone must have known Agrapina…we miss her joyful spirit as well.  After the two girls finished with their appointment, they told Wes they were hungry as they never got to eat breakfast before leaving.  Therefore, Wes took them to the area in town where we usually get groceries as there are a number of dukas (small shops) nearby where they can purchase food items.  Wes decided to go into the grocery store to find something to snack on and as he walked the aisles, he realized the two girls had come in as well.  Once they were all back in the vehicle, Wes asked them if they had ever been in that store before and they both said, “No”!  Wes also asked them if they would need to have their food items eaten before they arrived back at school to which they gave an emphatic, “Yes” so Wes told them he would drive slowly!  The girls at the school will be reprimanded and punished if they bring in any food items from the outside and are caught - Wes definitely didn’t want them to get in trouble. 

Our porch was a busy place just as it was last week and perhaps even more so.  This week, we saw quite a few people seeking help for medical expenses such as pneumonia, toothaches, infections, and one mama came with two fingers bandaged up as she cut them with a panga (machete).  This same mama came back after another four days with her fingers now infected and had to go back to the clinic.  At the same time, she begged for some money to feed her five children.  Since she had two bum fingers, she couldn’t work on the shamba to pluck tea and sell for money to buy food.  Therefore, we paid for her medical out of the Community Support fund and we gave her our personal money to buy some food.  There were also a few people asking for help to pay for medications as they had malaria.  With the rains being more prevalent, it seems the cases of malaria are up as well.  We see mosquitos but not very often though we don’t go out after dark.  Since we have screens on our windows, we don’t get them in the house for the most part.  When you look at the houses here whether they be made out of brick, stone, mud, etc., you never see windows with screens.  Windows on a mud house consists of boards with a padlock while brick homes have glass panes with bars but still no screens.  The contractor wasn’t planning to put screens on the windows at the new house but we insisted on having screens so the house will have screens.  Even though we take medication daily as a prophylactic measure to prevent malaria, we still insisted on having screens.  The suggestion from the Kenyans was to put bug zappers in each room and we said, “No bug zappers, we want screens!”

In addition to those seeking help for medical issues, we also had a number of students wanting money for a variety of school related items:  lunch fees, reams of paper, shoes, exam fees, etc.  On the days, we were around the Mission house the entire day, we saw upwards of 15 or more people come seeking help.  We try to help those we feel are being honest and sincere but that was not always the case.  If it is medical related, the Mission has the Community Support fund if felt it  is an honest request and one of true need, whereas if it is school related, we pay it as the Mission cannot help them unless they are enrolled in the Orphan Education Program.  On Friday we had a number of students come asking for school fees.  A young lady, who said her name was Debra (we shall refer to her as Debra #1 for this story) and in Form 3, had a report card proving it was her and that she was in school.  With the report card she also handed us a letter that was neatly written and had good grammar.  The letter stated she was being sent away from school because she did not have the Term 2 fees of Ksh 3,000 ($22).  She also stated that her aunt, who was a judge, used to pay her fees but she passed away and now no one to pay the fees.  She went on to write that her parents are needy and cannot afford to pay her fees and if we would help her, she can go back to school and do better and ended the letter by saying, “May God bless you for you to bless me” - we found that last choice of words interesting!  We decided to not give her any money as we had already helped a number of students from this same school plus her letter didn’t strike us quite right.  The aunt who was a judge also didn’t seem right – not many women are judges.  On Saturday, we had a different young lady come with a report card and a letter.  Because we have learned to make copies of report cards, letters, medical cards, etc. to help us with remembering who and what was paid or not paid, as well as anyone who might be trying to scam us, Kathy went to the book we have filed these copies in along with the notes we have made that may help us to remember a particular situation…something that is almost a full-time job lately.  The report card we were just given had the same first and last name as the girl who came on Friday showing she was Debra.  The letter, though, was not the same as the one Debra #1 from Friday brought.  So, we took the copies we had in our book along with what Debra #2 just brought us and asked her what her name really was.  She insisted her name was Debra.  We then showed her the copies of the report card and letter from Friday and she proceeded to tell us she did not come to us on Friday.  We asked her to explain how someone came with her report card the day before and was trying to cheat us.  She said her friend had her report card to which Wes told her she should probably find different friends.  In the end, we told her we don’t know who Debra really is – the one from Friday or Saturday.  We also told her she can come back with her friend – the other Debra - to discuss the situation.  We hadn’t given anything to Debra #1 on Friday nor to Debra #2 on Saturday so we were not out anything but we were frustrated with them trying to cheat us.  We highly doubt we will see either of them again. We had another situation on Saturday where a young man came to the door with a medical book in his hand.  Wes asked him what he needed and the young man stated, “I am sick”.  Wes asked him what was exactly wrong and he kept saying “I am sick, I am sick” but no specifics.  Kathy then came out to the porch and looked at the medical book he had pulled out of his pocket.  The name on the front of the book struck Kathy so she went to the file where we keep those copies of help given and found that same name.  Kathy compared the information with the front cover which identifies the clinic as well as the patient’s name, DOB, etc. to the book just brought.  The front cover was exactly the same but the first page inside the book was totally different with the remainder of the book being empty.  In April for this same name, the Mission gave some financial help to pay for some medications.  Kathy smelled a rat so she asked the young man whose book it really was and he said, “it is mine”.  Kathy then presented him with the copies from April to the book he just brought.  Kathy told him she doesn’t know who is trying to cheat us but someone is and therefore, we won’t give any money no matter if a true need or not.  She asked him again for the truth about whose book it was and then he came clean.  He said, “my friend gave it to me to come here”, to which Kathy said, “you need to pick a better friend”.  She then said to him, “he gave this to you so you’d get money and then you two would split it” to which he kind of nodded his head.  After being confronted, he apologized several times and proceeded to ask us for help with his school fees!  We asked him why we should help someone who just tried to cheat us.  He again apologized profusely.  We asked him what grade he was in and told us he was in Form 1 (Freshman in high school).  We debated his request but he seemed sincere or as Wes said, “maybe this kid got an A in Drama”!  We told him to go and get his report card and the fee schedule for his school.  It didn’t take him long to be back on our porch with the report card and fee schedule. He attended a day school so the fees there aren’t as bad as a boarding school.  Kathy asked him again why we should give money to someone who was trying to cheat us and he started apologizing again and again and said he really needs school fees.  In the end, we gave him a lecture and decided we would pay his Term 2 fees of Ksh 3500 ($25).  We told him we are giving him a second chance so he better make the most of it.  Also, he must come back on Monday after school is over with an official receipt that has the school’s stamp (no copies) showing the Term 2 fees were paid.  He promised he would be back on Monday after school.  Kathy called Lilian later and while talking, relayed these two incidents along with a couple of others.  Lilian said, “you guys are too kind and have big hearts” – she would not have given the money.  She then said, “I am going to get a mask and am coming to your house and see how much money I can cheat you out of”!  She was joking, of course, but at the same time was trying to be protective.  Maybe we do have too big of hearts and maybe really naive – sometimes it is hard to know when you should and should not help because we know there is a definite need.  We wish our hearts and head were always in agreement…we feel our intentions our good and, in the end, if someone is purposely cheating us, that is between them and their Maker.  When it came to some of the mamas who sought help to buy food, it was hard because your heart aches for the little ones who are probably hungry and yet, Kathy was not sure if some of them were being totally honest because of things they stated.  Kathy has asked herself many times since being here, what would she do if she had nothing to feed her children.  Would she lie, steal, cheat, etc.?  She would like to think and hope she would not resort to doing such things but she has never been in that situation…it does make one think. 

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/kenya-5-28-23