The Masai women having lunch
Rachel and her aunties (Rachel is in the yellow blazer)
Lauren fitting John (a new boarder) for his new shoes
Showing off the new shoes!
One group with their shoes
It's been a busy and exhausting few days... Thursday we drove to the Serare School - one of the best boarding schools for girls in the country. My friend, Rachel, is the principal there. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner and stroll through the garden and spent the night in their guest apartments. After breakfast Friday, we toured the school and then drove about 2 hours deep into the bush to Masailand. The Masai are one of the tribes in Kenya who still follow an ancient culture that is centered around cattle. Rachel's grandfather was Masai and she took us to visit her Masai relatives. Her uncle passed away a few years ago, but we had a wonderful lunch with his 4 wives and their 20 children (and a number of grand and great-grand children). They roasted a goat and made several other traditional foods. We usually "pocket" the goat meat so we don't offend our hosts, but I ended up wearing pants without pockets, so I had to hide my small piece of goat meat in the couch :). We sang praise songs together and danced Masai style before leaving. Last night we were very dirty and tired.
Today was a beautiful experience. My mom sends me money each month to use toward our work in Kenya. This year, we decided to use it for shoes for the boarders at the orphanage where we spend so much time working. They had already been given sturdy school shoes, so we decided to transport them to the local shoe factory where there is an outlet store. We had 16 in the first group, and we took them one at a time to select and be fitted for shoes. None of them had ever been to a shoe store or selected their own shoes, so it was a little overwhelming for some. After we finished with the first 16, the matatu (public transportation) arrived with the rest - about 25 more. Many of the girls chose high heels - we made them demonstrate that they could walk in them before we bought them, and the boys all chose tennis shoes (their school shoes are black leather loafers, so many don't have any athletic shoes). One of the littler guys even found a pair that light up when he walks. Everyone was thrilled with their purchases, and we were so humbled and thankful to experience this with them. Thanks Shosho (grandmother) Shirley!
Tonight we're hosting the caretaker of our house and his family for dinner. The six Kenyan high school students that share the house with us are cooking a traditional Kenyan meal. Tomorrow is our big day to cook spaghetti for about 100 people over a fire at the orphanage - that should be interesting! We're also doing a giant "hunt" with the kids. We have over 500 small wrapped bundles that contain candy and toys and we're doing something along the lines of an Easter egg hunt.
Our team is well and getting along together. Please keep our continued health and endurance in your prayers!
No comments:
Post a Comment