Last Sunday we got ready for the 7 am Mass here at Gekano only to find out 10 minutes before there was no Mass – it was moved to 3 pm.  With Fr. David not here, we no longer have inside information for the Mass schedule.  The same thing happened on Ash Wednesday.  We got ready for the 7am Mass only to find no activity on the compound in the way of girls gathering and heading to the church.  We later found out from the Sisters Mass was scheduled for 9 am and it would be outdoors.  Around 8:50 am we headed to the church courtyard with our plastic chairs so we didn’t have to sit on the ground and an umbrella to shelter us from the heat.  We parked our chairs under a tree hoping to stay somewhat in the shade.  By the time Mass started around 9:30 am, the grounds were packed with about 95% of the people being school children.  Needless to say, it was a Mass that had a lot of activity happening so it was hard to pay attention.  At one point, we were surrounded by at least 50 children – they slowly formed a circle around us and proceeded to stand and stare at us!  Wes made the comment that now we know how animals in the zoo feel! After some time, the circle dispersed and then some of the younger ones came up to our chairs to shake our hand.  One small boy, who was around kindergarten age, came up to Wes numerous times asking for pesa (money) and every time Wes told him sina pesa meaning I have no money – Wes wasn’t lying as the only money he had was for the offering!  Besides, you could not possibly give one child money and not expect everyone else to get in line for pesa not to mention the commotion it would have caused during Mass! A couple of the little ones came and asked us for sweets…it doesn’t hurt to try even at Mass!  It was hard to pay attention when a lot of attention was being paid to us. 

On Wednesday, we went to a place in the Kisii area to pick up some beds, coffee tables, and night stands that were hand made.  These items will be placed in the new house.  On the way into town, a traffic cop that stands on the side of the road collecting county taxes, motioned for us to pull over.  The cop was a woman and when she came to the passenger’s side said with a big smile on her face, “Happy Valentine’s Day” and then asked Wes what he got for Kathy.  Wes told her that we were on our way into town and he was taking Kathy out for dinner – of course that was not the truth and she probably knew it!  She then asked what we had for her and immediately answered her own question by saying, “You give me that water”!  We had a bottle of water in the vehicle which she obviously spied and so we gave it to her.  It wasn’t opened but something told us that even it was, she would have wanted it – she seemed quite happy to take it!  In her defense, it was warm out so she probably could have used something to quench her thirst.  She didn’t ask to see any identification and after handing the bottle of water over, told us to have a good day and we were back on the road.  It was a strange stop and if it had happened when we first arrived in Kenya in 2021, we would have been nervous but we weren’t…time has gotten us used to lots of things we thought were strange.     

Usually, we are busy with Water with Blessings activities on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday but we didn’t schedule anything on Wednesday because it was Ash Wednesday.  Between Tuesday and Thursday, a total of four follow ups for 60 women were conducted and we finished up the remaining home visits at Nyantarago.  We will now start doing home visits in a new area in the coming weeks. 

The little ones and many big ones continue to come for sweets and we tell them to come on Sunday or we would go broke.  For those who live on the compound we give them sweets almost every day they ask with the rule still being moja kwa siku (one per day) though Brighton and Osongo like to ask multiple times a day when not in school.  Kathy has gotten tired of picking up the lollipop wrappers in the yard so one day, she brought a small garbage can out to the porch and instructed Osongo and Brighton to put their takataka (garbage and in this case, the wrappers) in the garbage can.  Obviously, Kathy didn’t explain it well enough in Swahili as they had a puzzled look on their faces and proceeded to put their lollipops (wrapper and all) into the garbage can.  So, Kathy had to give a demonstration.  People here are not used to throwing garbage into a waste receptacle – it just goes on the ground or whatever they decide.  On a different day, Osongo and Brighton came for a sweet and while they waited on the porch Osongo climbed onto the railing.  Brighton yelled at Osongo and said, “Shuka chini” which means “get down/come down”. Osongo would say, “Juu” which means “up” so the two then had a game going.  Kathy decided to intervene since climbing up and down the railing and shoving each other didn’t seem all that safe.  While they stood on the porch instead of the railing, Kathy would alternate saying “Shuka chini” or “Juu” and they would squat down or jump up.  To mix it up Kathy would say “Shuka chini” two or three times in a row and they would laugh thinking it was a fun game to play.  They were entertained by the game and they kept Kathy entertained with the sound of their gleeful laughter.  It doesn’t take much to occupy their time. 

We haven’t given an update on the shamba in some time and that is because it has been slow going.  The carpenters (two and sometimes only one of them) are making the wooden frames for the screen and have been at it for some time.  We are anticipating the window screens to be done in the next few weeks.  A security wall made of bricks is going to be built around the compound and hopefully that will be started soon.  Robert, our caretaker at the shamba, has had his first batch of baby chicks – seventeen of them.  The hens are beginning to lay enough mayai (eggs) that we plan to start boiling them for Mission Saturday and distribute them to the orphans which we did do on Saturday.  Wes and Robert boiled a pot of mayai over a gas cylinder – there is no stove at the caretaker house.  We had enough boiled mayai to distribute at Manga - our mayai pilot project!  When the orphans were told they would receive one boiled yai (a single egg), there were many smiles.  The donor’s intent, when giving money for the chickens, was so the orphans could have another source of protein in their diet.  The kuku will have to ramp up their production in order to have approximately 150 -170 mayai every week for Mission Saturday! 

The weather here has been unusual in that it has been raining.  January and February are considered the dry months.  Last week, we received 5.6 inches of rain which are welcome rains – it keeps us from using water from the cistern since the borehole still has water in it.  Around this time last year, we had to haul water from the new shamba - we are hoping we don’t have to do that this year.

This past week brought some unexpected news for Kathy concerning her health.  Last Sunday morning, she became ill with nausea, vomiting and lower back pain and spent Sunday and Monday going to doctors in Kisii and then a Urologist in Kisumu. To make a long story short, Kathy will be coming home for a consultation with a urologist and further testing as needed.  Two different CT’s revealed a stricture or narrowing of the left ureter (tube that drains the urine from the kidney to the bladder) and over time because of the flow being restricted, the kidney has developed hydronephrosis - a swelling of the kidney.  The urologist in Kisumu believes it is something that has been present since birth.  Kathy will be flying out of Nairobi on Monday, February 26^th, arriving in Williston on the 27^th and then heading to Bismarck later that week for a consultation with a urologist.  After the consultation it may be another 3-4 weeks before the next procedure can be scheduled.  Therefore, Wes will stay in Kenya until more is known and should surgery be necessary, Wes will fly back to ND.  Before deciding to make a commitment to serve at the Mission for three years, the health care aspect was something that was in the back of our minds but us both being in pretty good health decided it was as good as any time to serve.  In the end, it is out of our control and we place our trust in God. 

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/2-18-24