This blog should have been posted several months ago. I somehow loaded the pictures and put it on hold and never got back to it. I found it in drafts this morning!
In early March when I first returned to Kenya, the top priority on my list of things to do was to visit Nendorko, a remote Maasai village. My acquaintance with this village is through the pastor of the Nendorko Baptist Church. Pastor Matayo was involved in our literacy training in 2007. He came to class faithfully for 6 months and impressed everyone with his willingness to learn. The road to his village is ridiculously rugged. It is only about 23 miles from our starting point, but it easily takes two hours to get there.
Its very difficult to capture just how bad it is, but trust me, it is a very rough ride.
Of course you do get to see some very intersting creatures along the way.
On this particular trip, we had our driver and friend, Mosses, Jeremiah, and four ladies. A trip to the local facility is always necessary on these bumpy roads. I knew of a church at the halfway mark, so we stopped to relieve our burden!
At last we arrived! This trip was multi-purpose. Jeremiah and I were here to talk to the Pastor and the men of his community about the possibility of drilling a deep well here. My friend Zula was here to teach a Bible lesson and just generally have fun with the children at the village school. Joanna Kelley (another Global missionary here in Kenya and a faithful board member of Starfish Chariities) and her visitor from the states, Debi, came along to assist in any way they could.
This was our welcoming committee. You can't enter this village without one as they get so few vehicles here and you can hear from very long distances.
Ladies with babies on their backs is a given in a Maasai village.
The school children were excited to see us and waited anxiously while we exited the car.
You can always count on smiles of welcome.
The first order of business was the official welcome. This village faithfully prayed for me during my yearlong cancer journey. We had an adult literacy class here while I was gone, so officially greeting everyone, reporting my progress, and thank them was a must.
Then we introduced Zula. The man in the red shirt is the teacher, Noah. He also acted as interpreter as Zula taught the children.
The adults in the community couldn't stay away. The ladies came with the babies. Even men got in on the teaching and activiities prepared for the children.
Zula was in her element with these children.
We brought crayons and color pages. What a treat for them.
You can see how crowded these children are at these desks. These are typical school desks. I have seen as many as 5 children squeezed into these small spaces.
Even some of the men got in on the fun.
The students proudly holding up their completed work.
We took salvation bracelets to pass out to the children. These are used worldwide to present the gospel. An elderly woman in a nursing home in Orofino, ID made these for us to pass out.
Love the contrast.
Meanwhile, I was outside along with Jeremiah talking to the men about the water well (borehole)
The umbrella was to keep the hot sun off of me. We finally had to move under the trees for our discussion. This community has really sufferred due to lack of water. We are thrilled at the possibility of helping them with clean water.
We finished our meeting in time for recesss. Zula brought balls, frisbees, and a few other outdoor toys. Kenyans love soccer and even in this remote village, you don't have to spend any time teaching them the sport. What fun to see them join in.
Zula brought ball caps she had collected. The men were anxiously awaiting us passing them out.
Very happy men sporting their new ball caps.
Debi in the midst of the children.
Joanna with her ever present camera recording the events of the day.
The little old lady in the red ball cap (seated on the ground) provided an impromptu market. Maasai women always have their beadwork handy.
I bought this headdress -- typically worn by the Maasai warriors. Jeremiah modeled it for us. Its made on a cow hide base covered with ostrich feathers.
Time for lunch. This is the way you wash your hands before eating. They pour water over your hands. Very effective.
This man is proudly displaying the coloring page he did.
The adults were seated and eating, while the children looked on.
Leaving the village was bittersweet. It was a productive and enjoyable day, but now we faced that ardulous journey in reverse.
This picture should have been somewhere in the beginning. It is the "signpost" on the road telling us where to turn to go into the village.
Well, I cried as I read this post. Thomas's mom's legacy lives on, even tho' she is gone. Love you, sweet friend.
ReplyDelete