Last Sunday, we attended Mass here at Gekano parish.  There was a new priest in town!  Fr. Henry, the pastor that had been here for about 8 years was transferred.  The new priest, Fr. Evans Mititi, had the 7 am Mass on Sunday.  Much to our surprise, Mass started at 6:58 am and his homily was 25 minutes in length…we hope that Masses starting on time is the beginning of a trend.  Fr. Mititi’s homily was a mix of Kiswahili and English so it was easy to follow along.  Also, there were no question-and-answer periods during the homily…we’ll just say it flowed nicely.    

On Tuesday, Wes took a young boy named Dominic to Tenwek Mission Hospital which is about a two hour drive from the Mission house.  Dominic had corrective surgery for “squints” (cross-eyed) about 2 years ago and lately was having some issues with being able to read words on the chalkboard at school.  Usually, Kathy would go with Wes to these appointments but due to working on some other projects for the Mission, she stayed back.  Celestine, the older sister of Dominic, usually came along which was nice because she spoke English well enough that communication was not an issue.   When Wes stopped to pick up Dominic at 8 am by their shamba, Grandma was with Dominic instead of Celestine.  As stated in past blogs, one does not make an appointment – you just show up and hope the line is not too long when you arrive.  In the past when Kathy would go along, Wes would drop the three of them off at the front gate while he parked the vehicle some distance away as there is no parking next to the clinic nor even a block from the clinic as we are used to at home.  Kathy would go with Dominic and Celestine to get in line to pay the consultation fee which then gets you in the line for seeing the doctor.   While Kathy was back at the Mission house, she got a text from Wes asking if in the past, she paid the consultation fee with cash or M-Pesa.  M-Pesa is a mobile phone-based money transfer service which works great.  When you want to make a payment for goods you are purchasing or in this case a doctor’s appointment, you pull up the app on your phone, enter the Till # or Paybill # associated with the business, the amount to pay, your PIN # and you are good to go.  This works to send money to another person as well by entering their phone number though you need to be careful you have entered the correct phone number!  Back to the story:  Kathy decided to call Wes to see what was going on.   He relayed that while he went to park the vehicle, Dominic and Grandma got in line to pay the consultation fee with the cash Wes gave them but when they got to the window, payment was required by M-Pesa not cash, and since Grandma didn’t have funds on her phone to pay the fee of Ksh 500 ($4) they had to go back to the waiting room.  Kathy always paid with M-Pesa but didn’t know they didn’t take cash and had she known this she would have told Wes so he could plan accordingly.  Wes relayed that after parking the vehicle, he walked back to the clinic. The waiting room is outside of the building so Wes could see that Dominic and Grandma were no longer in line. When Wes entered the waiting area to find out what was going on, Grandma rattled off a bunch of words and the only one Wes really understood was the word lipa, the Swahili word for pay.  Dominic wasn’t able to communicate the problem so one of the employees at the clinic explained that payment was by M-Pesa only.  So, they got back in line to pay the fee and then sat in the outdoor waiting room for the next 4 ½ hours.  Finally, at 3 pm, they called Dominic’s name and performed some eye tests.  After the testing was completed, they had to wait to see the doctor until he came back from lunch.  After seeing the doctor, another test was ordered but no one was around to do it so had to wait again. Eventually someone came and performed the test.  After the testing was completed and Dominic saw the doctor, it was determined Dominic needed spectacles (what eye glasses are called here).  The doctor wrote the prescription but because it was getting late and Wes would have to drive in the dark – something we try to avoid – it was decided the prescription could be filled in Kisii.  It was 8 pm by the time Wes got back to the house…it was a very long day!

On Wednesday and Thursday of this week, we held Water with Blessings follow ups.  Prior to leaving for Italy, we did a marathon of follow ups as well as two trainings in the first two weeks of February which was a lot.  We are grateful for Lilian and Emma’s knowledge and help with the trainings and follow ups.  Without them we would not get much done because of the language barrier that exists – we don’t know Kiswahili well enough but even if we did, the women need to be taught in Ekegusii, their tribal language, because that is all some of them understand.  On Wednesday we had follow ups at Nyamotenenio and Nyaborabu while on Thursday, we went to Nyasumi and Emenyenche conducting follow ups for approximately 90 women between the two days.  Nyamotenenio and Emenyenche are the two locations that sit high on the mountain side and give one spectacular views of the areas.  For some of the mamas, it was their 6^th follow up which means we will deliver blankets to them in the near future.  There were quite a few little ones at the follow ups and the majority of them didn’t want anything to do with Kathy though last month they were happy to be held by her.  Last month 9-month-old Esther kept Kathy at arm’s length though this month, she let Kathy hold her until the end of the follow up…what a difference one month makes!  The same is true for little Elyjoy who, last month, let Kathy hold her almost the whole time while this month, she wanted nothing to do with Kathy.  Even bribes of biscuits didn’t help this time for some of them! It will be fun to watch them grow and see their personalities develop over the next five months.  Since we do follow ups once a month for a total of six months, a few of them will be almost one year old or older when we see them for the last time. 

A few blogs ago, we wrote about Zack, the young boy that was coming everyday and sometimes more than once a day wanting to wash the vehicles and/or to ask for pesa (money) for different items.  At that time, Wes had made a deal with Zack telling him that if he didn’t come for the rest of that week asking for money or to buy something for him, Wes would give him some money to buy the sweater or shoes that he wanted or to get his soccer ball repaired.  Surprisingly, Zack had made it the whole week without asking so Wes gave him Ksh 500 at that time.  Now that we have returned from Italy, Zack has been on our doorstep almost every day but the funny thing is he doesn’t ask for anything though he always make it a point to say, “I just come to visit you”!  We’re not sure but in the back of our minds we are wondering if Zack is thinking that if he doesn’t ask for anything, he might be given money.  If that is Zack’s thought process, he will be disappointed because that can’t be the reason for giving him money. Once the rains start and our cistern fills up to a comfortable level, we will let him wash vehicles and that way he can earn some shillings for doing work instead of for the reason that he is not pestering us to give him money or to buy him something.  We shall see how it progresses in the coming weeks. 

Last Sunday evening, Evans who is probably in the 2^nd or 3^rd Grade, came with a couple of his buddies to have air put in the ball they were playing with.  Wes had already put air in it several times that day as well as the day before.  When they came to have air put in the day before, they brought a bar of soap.  Wes asked why they brought soap and soon after Wes filled the ball with air, Evans demonstrated the reason for the soap. He rubbed the bar of soap over the hole to try to plug the leak though as we know that can only work for so long and thus why they came back on Sunday.  After filling the ball with air, Wes asked where the soap was.  Evans did not have any so he left the porch for a short time while Wes visited with the others.  Evans returned with something in his hand and smeared it over the hole in the ball.  It was too bad Wes wasn’t able to smell what was in Evans hand prior to him smearing it on the ball…it was cow dung and some pretty odiferous stuff.  It wouldn’t have been so bad but Evans dropped some on the steps up to and on the porch so after they left, we had some cleaning to do not just because it stunk but we didn’t want to get it on our shoes and track it in the house.  Kathy told Wes she is going to have a talk with them about bringing cow dung on the porch the next time they come…at that moment she also decided she better start figuring out how to say that in Kiswahili so they cannot claim they didn’t understand! You have to give them kudos for being resourceful even if the bar soap or cow dung didn’t fix the leak!

On Friday, we took Dominic to Kisii to get his spectacles. His sister, Celestine who is in Form 4 (Senior in high school), came along instead of Grandma which was good since she can speak English.  Upon arriving at the eye clinic and after showing the prescription written by the doctor from Tenwek Mission Hospital earlier in the week, the technician told us they needed to do some testing to verify the prescription.  After the testing was completed, the receptionist took Dominic to a counter where there were frames to choose from.  She picked some frames off the display that were blue in color and put them on Dominic.  She then turned to Kathy and said, “Kati, what do you think?”  to which Kathy took Dominic to a mirror so he could see himself and asked him what he thought though he gave no response…Celestine didn’t say anything, either.  Kathy didn’t care for them mostly because of the shade of blue so she asked the receptionist if she could try a few more frames on Dominic so he had a few to choose from.  The next ones she pulled off the display were big and round as well as very thick reminding Kathy of the spectacles worn by Alvin the Chipmunk!  Again, Kathy was asked her opinion and Kathy thinking she is not the one who has to wear the spectacles, turned to Dominic and asked him if he liked them.  He gave a slight nod indicating a weak “yes” but would not express himself verbally.  Kathy asked if they could try more frames and the lady pulled out frames that were square and put them on Dominic again asking others for their opinion.  The other receptionist as well as Dominic’s sister, Celestine, thought they looked good and again, Dominic was not expressing any opinion.  Kathy thought they seemed too big for his little face but let Celestine make the decision.  The receptionist then took the frames to a man in the back who cut the lenses and put them in the frames. After about 25 minutes, the man came into the waiting room looking for Dominic.  He put the spectacles on Dominic taking the next minute or so to see if they fit tight enough around his ears and then he left the waiting room.  The receptionist then told us we were done to which Kathy then asked, “Do you not do something like have Dominic read some words off a paper to make sure the lenses are okay?”  She said, “no, they are okay”.  Because the receptionist still had not given Kathy a receipt for the exam, frames and lenses she paid for shortly after walking in the eye clinic, Kathy asked again for a receipt and the lady disappeared.  While she was gone, Kathy told Celestine to have Dominic read the posters on the wall to make sure the spectacles were okay!  The bill for the exam, frames and lenses (no frills like anti-glare, scratch proof, etc.) came to Ksh 8000 ($63).  No pun intended but it was an eye-opening experience for Kathy!  Back home, when we sit down to choose and eventually buy glasses, we have so many choices – maybe too many choices.  Also, the extras that add on to the cost of the glasses were not even asked about as we are used to but you have to ask yourself, who here could afford those extras.  At least from what we saw, one gets basic spectacles but, in the end, if they do the job, that is all that matters. 

Shamba update:  while we were in Italy, they poured the cement for what will be the ceiling of the second floor and the roof of the house.  This week it was 21 days since the cement was poured which meant the support structure of poles that held the tin sheets up could start to be taken down and by the end of the week, the maze of trees that gave it the appearance of a forest, were cleared from the second level.  The bricks and/or blocks of stone for the inside walls of the bottom level have been put in place and within the week they plan to begin mudding the inside walls.  The window frames and outside doors for the bottom floor were delivered and they will soon begin to install them.  The frames and doors were made by a local welder – here you don’t go to a lumber yard or Menards/Lowes to order windows.  The glass for the windows will be installed at a later date by a different fundi (skilled worker).  The electricians came late in the week to start putting the electrical conduit in.  Things are moving along nicely and if it continues to go well, the house may be done by the end of June or beginning of July. 

The weather continues to be very warm with most day time temps this week in the upper 80’s to low 90’s…way too hot for Kathy!  It rained about a half an inch and so we continue to haul water from the well at the new shamba – water to do dishes, wash clothes, clean, and to fill the toilet tank.  We are still conserving what water is left in the cistern for taking a shower.  The forecast for this coming week shows a 70-80% chance of rain each day…something we look forward to seeing, hearing, smelling, etc.  Everything needs a good bath and we need rain water to fill our cistern.

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:  stjparish.com


https://stjparish.com/photoalbums/kenya-3-12-23