Last Sunday we attended the 9 am Mass here at Gekano – it was the only Mass which meant there would be lots of people and there were.  Fr. David was the celebrant so it started on time…in fact a few minutes early!  At the start of Mass there were not many people in the church but by the Gospel, it was full – approximately 800 inside plus more outside - and people were still trying to find a place to sit inside.  People were pulling out the plastic chairs that were stacked in the back, thus making a lot of noise.  Before the start of Fr. David’s homily, he waited…and waited…and waited until the people got situated and stopped moving the chairs around.  During the Gospel, the back doors were closed so no one could come in which meant there was no longer any kind of breeze coming in. By the time we got through the homily and to the start of the Offertory, Kathy had to leave as it was very warm in the church plus, we were packed in like sardines on the bench we were sitting on.  When Mass started, there were just the two of us and one other person on the bench.  When Kathy got up to leave because of how warm it was, there were eight people sitting on the bench with a couple of them being children – the bench is not made for eight people!  Poor Wes was at the end of the bench sitting half off and half on!  As Kathy made her way to the back to get some fresh air outside, she had to walk through a maze stepping over legs and feet as there was no aisle or even a small pathway to the back.  The people in the back were also packed in like sardines with some sitting on chairs, others standing, and even some sitting on the floor…definitely a fire code violation!  Later in the day, Wes asked Fr. David if we could be the altar servers at Mass so we could have some personal space during Mass…Fr. David laughed! 

After Mass, we went for a walk as there was substantial cloud cover and it was relatively cool out for being almost 11 am.  As we walked along the road and turned around the bend where our little friend Amos lives, he caught sight of us and came running towards us shouting “bim-bop, bim-bop” which meant he wanted a lollipop.  We walked to his house and there Wes handed lollipops to his two siblings or maybe they were neighbor kids but he didn’t give one to Amos.  Wes then proceeded to show Amos his empty hands making Amos think there were no more though Wes really did have one in his pocket for Amos.  The look on Amos’ face with his puppy dog eyes was so sad and therefore Wes didn’t joke with Amos for very long.  Once Amos saw Wes pull out another lollipop for him, his face lit up with excitement and he laughed…he seemed to have liked the joke as well!  We continued on our way and not long after we could hear voices behind us some distance away shouting “mzungu, mzungu, mzungu” which got louder as the voices caught up to us.  There was a group of children running behind trying to catch up to us.  One of them was Simba who is quite the character.  He had a plastic ball in his hands and proceeded to pose for us and show us some of his football (soccer) moves including hand gestures.  He and his entourage also wanted sweets but we told them to come to the Mission house in the afternoon.  Letting the whole neighborhood see you give sweets out means you will have many more following you begging for sweets including adults!  Simba and his buddies did come for a sweet later as did another 15-20 children throughout the afternoon with one of them trying to fool us by coming twice but Wes was on to him.  When Wes confronted the boy about already receiving a sweet, he denied it and tried to plead his case but Wes didn’t budge…little stinkers!   Later in the week we had gone for a walk past Amos’ house again.  Amos ran up to Wes and extended his hand thinking Wes was going to give him a sweet but Wes shook his hand instead!  Amos had that look of surprise and disappointment as Wes gave sweets to the other three children that were there. Wes finally turned to Amos and gave him a sweet which brought a big smile to his face.  We think Amos is starting to catch on to Wes’ joking around!  We also think back to the first time when we met Amos - he would scream at the sight of us when we were still some distance away and would bury his head in his mother’s arms so he didn’t have to look at the wazungu since they frightened him.  And now, some months later he comes running to us…granted we have sweets but it is neat that we have a little buddy on our walking route who greets us with a smile and fist bump. 

Monday was laundry day.  We got the clothes washed but they didn’t dry thoroughly as it was cloudy all morning and then it started to rain shortly after noon.  Therefore, we had to put the electric dryer (fan) to them.  As for rains, in the month of April we had around 14 inches.  According to Fr. David’s weather records he keeps, it rained on 27 of the 30 days in April with as little as a 0.10 up to 1.20 inches.  For the month of March, we received 18.15 inches of rain.  March to May is considered the long rains – the major rainfall season.  Where we are at is an area that gets over 70 inches of rain a year.  People back home have emailed asking if this area can handle that much rain and if homes get flooded.  The landscape here is mountainous with people living on the sides of the mountains so when it rains whether a little or a lot, it all runs to the rivers at the bottom.  After heavy rains we have seen the rivers overflowing and flooding on the bottoms but because people don’t live next to the rivers from what we have seen, their homes are not flooded. 

On Wednesday, we held Water with Blessings follow ups at four different locations involving 75 women:  Botana, Makuura, Esamba, and Kianyabao.  It had rained the night before so the roads were very muddy and slippery in places but once the sun came out and baked the ground with its intense heat, they were much better.  Lilian’s son, Ivan, came with us since the children are on a break between Term 1 and Term 2.  We were able to reach out to this many women with the follow ups because we split up.  At one of the locations that Kathy and Emma went to, there was a little boy who just cried and buried his face in his mother’s arms if Kathy got within 15 feet of him!  Kathy found it hard to try and take any pictures because of how scared he was – lollipops and biskuti didn’t help to soften him up, either!  On the other hand, there was a little girl who was not shy at all though Kathy could never figure out what her name was.  Kathy would say, “Jina lako?” (Your name?) but the girl would never give her name.  Kathy would then try to guess and rattle off some common names like Mary, Lilian, Faith, etc. and to each name the girl would nod her head as if to say yes…Kathy never did figure out her name and most likely the little girl didn’t understand Kathy so they were even! 

On Thursday, we traveled to two locations to do follow ups for another 60 women though we didn’t split up:  Nyaborabu and Emenyenche.  The reason we could not do more was because of the terrain we had to cover to get from one place to the other.  The roads were again muddy and slippery and therefore, we left Emenyenche for last hoping the sun would have dried the roads some before we drove them.  It is surprising how fast the heat from the sun will help the roads to dry up to the point where you don’t slide around as much and not get stuck as easily.  Emenyenche sits high on the mountain and has beautiful views of the large tea fields in the distance – another place we enjoy coming to though the drive there can be a little stressful if it rained the night…stressful for the passengers but not Wes, the driver! 

On Saturday, there was no Mission Saturday since it was the first Saturday of the month – Mission Saturdays are held on the 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th Saturdays of every month.  What we did do was to see some pregnant heifers being delivered to the shambas of two different orphan families as part of the Heifer Program.  Each year the mission budgets money for several heifers to be awarded to the neediest of our orphans or to widows of Gekano, Ichuni or Manga parishes.  The program is designed to assist these people to become economically independent through the raising of heifer cows.  Those who are awarded a heifer are required to raise their own Napier grass and care for the heifer and its first-born heifer calf until it is weaned.  Once the first heifer-calf is ready to be weaned, the Mission will reclaim the cow or the heifer calf to benefit future applicants.  If a male calf is born, it remains the property of the applicant.  The two orphan families that received the heifers on Saturday were chosen last year.  Once a family is chosen, they must plant Napier grass within six months and the grass must grow to be shoulder height before a heifer can be awarded.  Once the grass is fully grown (takes about 6 months), the Mission makes a final inspection and if they pass the inspection, a heifer that has been inseminated is delivered – that is what we were a part of on Saturday.  The first family we visited were so excited and they came running down the steep hill as soon as they heard the truck.  The children in this family are Albert, Celestine, and Dominic.  Dominic is the child we have taken for several eye appointments and most recently to Kisii to get spectacle (glasses).  The mother to these children died some years ago while the father is still alive but has serious health issues and is unable to work.  Because they are considered vulnerable children due to the family situation, they were enrolled in the orphan education program.  We asked the children if they were going to give their ng’ombe (cow) a name and Dominic laughed.  They said they can’t wait until they get milk so they can have chai (tea) though it will take a few more months until the cow delivers.   The second ng’ombe was delivered to a young boy named Steven.  Steven has no parents and lives with his uncle who is Steven’s guardian.  Steven was also happy to get a ng’ombe.  The Mission will make periodic visits to these families until the cows gives birth.  Visits are made to make sure the animal is being properly fed and cared for.  If there is evidence of things like the family feeding the cow banana leaves, they will be given a warning – banana leaves are plentiful here but they are not nutritious for animals.  If the animal is not being properly cared for, the Mission will repossess the cow which has happened, unfortunately.  There are several benefits from this program:  a cow offers a family a small income from the sale of milk while also allowing them to not have to purchase milk for their own consumption. This was the first time that we have been able to be present when a ng’ombe was delivered to the children and it was a very touching experience.  In addition to the families being present, a lot of the neighbors came out of their shambas to check out what was going on.  Owning a ng’ombe is a big deal.  There are many orphans where the need is great and could use a ng’ombe but unfortunately, they do not have the land to grow the Napier grass needed to feed the ng’ombe and thus cannot be awarded a heifer. 

Shamba update:  work continues on the parapet and the enclosure over the steps leading to the roof.  The trim around the windows is almost completed and the window frame where the Blessed Sacrament will be is currently being installed. 

We received 2.15 inches of rain this past week. We were without power a couple of times which wasn’t too bad because it was during the day or if at night, the power was back on by morning so we didn’t have to get ready by flashlight.  On Friday during a thunderstorm, the power went out at 3:30 pm.  The Sisters had the generator turned on from 7-9 pm.  The power didn’t come on during the night or the next day until around 4 pm which meant we had about two hours of power out of 24 hours!  The daytime temperatures this past week ranged from the mid-60’s to upper 70’s.  These were ideal temperatures for Kathy while Wes and Fr. David thought it was a bit chilly a few of the days as they could be seen walking around the house with a light jacket or sweatshirt on while Kathy was in her t-shirt and shorts! 

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-5-7-23