Hatua kwa hatua is another Kiswahili saying we heard at language school and it is one that Fr. David will quote often.  It means step by step.   This past week we kept busy with various projects and in the process, we are slowly learning how the Mission, with its different programs, operates.  There is much to learn…hatua kwa hatua.

We have written about the scheduled start times for Mass and how they really don’t mean Mass will start at that time.  Often, we hear “it will start on Kenyan time” which basically means it will start whenever people get there and in the case of Mass, it starts when the priest gets there.  Last Sunday, Mass was scheduled to start at 7 am and it finally started at 7:15 am.  We looked at each other and smiled both thinking the same thing…only fifteen minutes late today!  The only exception has been when Fr. David is the celebrant - his Masses always start on time.  There have been a number of daily Masses where Fr. David has started a few minutes early and, on those days, one may see through the church windows, the Sisters scurrying to get to the church!  Last Sunday, the Mass was moving along until we got to the homily.  The priest started his homily by first asking different groups of students to come forth to have their picture taken with him.  When the picture taking was finished, the priest proceeded to preach for the next hour.  The Mass lasted a total of two and one half hours…we have told each other that we will never complain about long homilies once we get back home!  What makes it seem even longer is that we are not all that proficient with our Kiswahili language skills and therefore have a hard time understanding the homily; thus, we tend to get a few rosaries said during the homily!  We do have a Kiswahili book that has the Mass parts and responses in Kiswahili which allows us to participate in the responses but even then, you are saying the words to participate but at the very same time, you are also trying to go through the file cabinet in your head filled at language school to figure out what that word means in English and by that time, one finds himself many lines behind.  When Vatican II allowed the Mass to be celebrated in the vernacular (the language or dialect spoken by the people in a particular country or region), rather than in Latin, it allowed the people in attendance to better understand the word of God and the Mass.  We can truly empathize with people who don’t have regular access to hearing and participating in the Mass in their spoken language.  For us, our hearts and minds long to hear the Mass in English.  We have come to see how back home, we probably took the words spoken at Mass for granted and now we long to hear the words of the Eucharistic Prayer or the Our Father, etc.  When you are able to connect with the words, they mean something.  We hope that in time (sooner rather than later) it will come…hatua kwa hatua.

We traveled to Mosobeti (Mo-so-bay-tee) again this week to do another Water with Blessings training.  We also had two follow-ups, one in Kenyerere (Kane-yeah-ray-ray) and the other in Biticha (Bee-tee-cha).  Between WWB trainings and follow-ups, we have been to these three villages a number of times in the last month and we are confident we could find our way back to the Mission house by ourselves.  Kathy did drive once this week on the dirt roads (no tarmack driving yet) and managed to keep the vehicle out of the ditch!  Roads from one village to the next can be quite narrow and sometimes the ditches on either side can be steep as you ascend and descend the terrain.  Meeting a Pikipiki driver on the dirt road is not that nerve wracking whereas meeting the big lori (truck) hauling bricks, tea, dirt, etc. can be a little stressful.  The majority of lori drivers drive like maniacs and think they own the road…according to Fr. David, they do own the road since they are bigger! Kathy’s ongoing issue while driving that day was forgetting that the turn signal is on the right side of the steering wheel; consequently, the windshield wipers (lever located on the left side of the steering wheel) went off more than they should have since it was not raining! 

Lilian drove us through Kisii on Thursday which was a Market Day and it was an adventure we’d rather not have had.  Besides it being Market Day, there were funeral processions, and we also came upon a few political activities taking place.  In August, Kenyans will be casting their votes for the various positions including the President, Members of their National Assembly and Senate, and the various County Government positions so we have started to see the campaign season underway.  On this particular day as we came to an intersection, there were several hundred Pikipiki drivers following a candidate who was standing on the back of a pickup box and a huge loudspeaker was broadcasting his campaign message.  Pikipiki drivers usually wear fluorescent safety vests advertising something whether a business or a political message especially with the upcoming election. On this day these newly looking vests and the hats on the heads of this herd of Pikipiki drivers had the candidate’s picture and logo on them.  Lilian explained that these drivers were probably getting their pay from the candidate for their support of him by wearing the clothing.  Back home we listen to endless TV ads during the campaign season while here, since most people don’t own a TV, they have to get innovative in their campaigning.  We were glad when the sea of Pikipiki drivers finally turned off in a different direction from us as they tend to swarm like bees on every side of the vehicle as you drive, seeming to ignore any traffic laws that do exist as well as rules of common sense when driving.  As for the funeral processions, Lilian explained that it is usually on Thursdays, when the mortuaries will take the body of the deceased to the family home where it will stay until the next day.  When the body is taken to the family home, there is a long procession much like we have when people go to the cemetery for the burial.  Getting caught up in one of these processions can delay your travels for some time.  Funeral Masses and/or Services are usually held on a Friday for the reason that it gives time for family members and friends to travel during the week.  We forget that people here may not have that far to travel but due to the modes of transportation available to the majority of people – a Matatu, Basi/bus, or Pikipiki - it can take a while to get to a place.  Lilian lives about twenty-five to thirty miles from the Mission house and it takes her about two hours to travel here.  She first has to take a Pikipiki for a certain distance, then travels by a Matatu for some distance before getting on a different Matatu and then finally getting back on a Pikipiki which takes her to the Mission house.  If someone needs to travel for a funeral from a long distance away such as Nairobi or a more remote village, it may take them a day or more to travel to Kisii. Nairobi is approximately 180 miles from the Mission house. 

Last Sunday, we had to get tough with some of the children who come to the Mission house for “sweets” as they call them.  What they want is a lollipop and they know the Wazungu (more than one European or white person) in the house have a stash of them!  The children range in age from preschool to around fifth grade.  We happily give them their lollipops but something they have been doing a lot is throwing the wrapper on the ground.  Putting garbage in a receptacle seems foreign to them.  Unfortunately, one tends to see lots of garbage piles in the villages and towns with the chickens, goats, cows, and sometimes people rummaging through those piles.  We had asked the children multiple times to not leave their takataka (garbage) on the ground but they continued to do so.  When they came on Sunday, Wes was the bad guy.  He told them “Hakuna sweets today” (No sweets today) because of leaving their wrappers on the ground.  The dejected looks on their faces made us feel bad but we figured they would be back and later in the week a few of them did come back.  So far, we have not seen any wrappers on the ground!  We’re pretty sure it won’t last for long but it is a step in trying to teach them to not throw their garbage in the yard…hatua kwa hatua.  Another bad habit some of the children have is to pick the flowers that are growing in the flower garden in the front yard of the Mission house.  For some reason they like to pick the flowers, look at the flower(s) and then proceed to throw them on the ground.  It was so disappointing and disheartening when they picked some of the Easter lilies while in full bloom.  It wouldn’t be so bad if they picked flowers that bloomed constantly.  It is hard to make them understand that we enjoy the flowers while attached to the plant…maybe it is because they see flowers everywhere all year long. 

Yesterday (Saturday), we had Mission Saturday for the orphans at Ichuni (Ee-chew-knee) and Gekano (Gay-ka-no) Parishes, seeing around 150 orphans. Mission Saturday is when they come to get their monthly ration of maize, bring their report cards for review, and get their stipend and any remaining school fees paid if not already paid.  They will also get words of encouragement and praise or if needed some stern words telling them to do better at school.  We have come to recognize more and more faces and can remember the names of some of the children as well.  It has been a joy to see the children as they grow, especially the younger ones.  Because we were at language school from January until the second week of April, we hadn’t seen some of the orphans since last December but this past week, we saw them at Mission Saturday.  This was also true for WWB trainings and follow-ups where we tend to see the really little ones come.  In the photo album section, there are pictures of two children whom we had taken a photo of in December and then another taken this past week.  Emmanuel was around six months old when his mama attended a WWB training.  At a follow-up this past week, he was with his mama and Kathy immediately recognized him.  In December, he had to be held while this past week during the follow-up, he was crawling, pulling himself up to walk along the benches and was drinking chai out of his very own cup!  Another child, Virginia, is an orphan in the Education program.  In December, she stole our hearts with her generous smiles and warm personality and truly amazed us when, at the Christmas Party for the orphans, she downed a bottle of soda and loaf of bread in one short sitting.  She is now in Pre-School and as friendly as ever.

This past Friday, it was one year ago that we had met with Chuck Reichert, the Director of the African Mission in Bismarck, to tell him that we had made the decision to serve at the Mission for three years.  We remembered the day well because it was the Feast of our Lady of Fatima.  It was a day of many emotions… we trusted that this is what God was asking of us and at the same time, we knew that it would not be easy leaving friends and family, especially our sons, and leaving the familiar for the unknown.  We feel fortunate to be serving here in Kenya working with Fr. David, Rogers, Sr. Teresa, Emma and Lilian to serve the orphans and helping to carry on the work that many missionaries before us started.  It has been a humbling experience as well and from the people here, we have learned much since arriving in December.  They live life with a deep sense of gratitude to God and joy in spite of the hardships and poverty that is a part of their daily lives.  Hatua kwa hatua na pamoja (Step by step and together) we all have a part in helping to be the voice and hands of Christ to serve our brothers and sisters in need.  We continue to keep you in our prayers and ask that you keep us and the Mission in yours.  Mungu Akubariki!
See photos from this week in the album section: 


https://stjparish.com/photoalbums/kenya-5-15-22