Bado

As my last few days here are quickly coming to an end, I have truly enjoyed my time I have spent with my friends here in Mombasa. I have been slowly coming back to civilization as Mombasa is much more like America than Arusha. 

I spent a whole morning with my dear friend Mary at her house with the other mama’s and babies while all the kids were at school. They made chai so we could all drink and eat bread together because ...you always feed a guest... anytime and anyone. While the chai was being made I just walked around the village as though I was at home. I would pop in and out of houses (mud huts) and have little conversations with the families. I met another Kadzo and her children which was naturally followed by the joke that I am really the baby’s mom because my name is Kadzo also. Even though there were three different languages going on (English, Swahili, and Giriama) I felt right at home. I know enough Swahili that I can get by on my own and be able to carry on conversations which made my visit so much more meaningful. I was able to love on Mercy and her little sister, maybe the happiest baby ever, baby Jane. We had a small photo shoot with Mary and her husband because she asked me to come and bring my camera so we could take pictures. We also took pictures with the babies and with the other women. On our way back I stopped and tried my hand at hoeing a field of one of her friends...let's just say I need some practice. I can’t explain my connection or my deep compassion for her along with many of these dear friends of mine out here, but it is there and it is deep. 

The village area Mary and Jackson and Mercy live. It is a common middle area whit huts surrounding it on all sides.

Mary, she is TINY! She is about 44 ...I think is what she said.

 Sunday afternoon, Chris and I were able to drive out to Richard’s house and visit him and his family again. Baby Lisa was still afraid of us mzungus but she let me hold her for a while with out crying. But little Elijah I adore. I cannot express to you how much I love this little boy! As soon as I got there, little children were yelling “mzungu, mzungu!” and so I yelled “mtoto, mtoto!” (child) and as soon as Elijah heard my voice he runs out the door with the biggest smile on his face and into my arms. We sat on the couch talking and laughing and tickling and letting everyone know that he knew my name and where I was. I adore this family and feel so incredibly blessed to be able to call them my friends. Richard and Pauline have one of the best marriages I have seen on the African side. They have a beautiful family. So this is the conclusion we came to.... since I can’t take Elijah home with me, if my first born is a boy then he can come over and marry baby Lisa when they grow up and we can just be one big family, or we can trade kids. 

Elijah, me, Lisa, Richard

You can't not love him

Then today was spent preparing Mbewau for our guests from Hallmark Church in Ft. Worth who will be out at school all day long. They brought sharp new embroidery polos for all of the staff which I handed out today so they would look their best tomorrow. I also spent some time trying to finish out the shoe fitting process which we are ALMOST done with, but not yet. I would like all of you sports people out there who use fields with lines on them to appreciate the wheelbarrow carts that roll the chalk lines on the dirt for you because today Rama, Chris, and Jackson spent a few hours bent over sprinkling the chalk lines by hand. 

In my attempt to take a picture of the all of the children from my favorite family I was able to go out and see Mary again. Today she took me to her shamba which is a farm like area where she grows crops- a square area about 10 yards wide. On our way out there she told every one we saw that we were going to see her shamba. She was quite proud as we walked through the villages holding hands to show off her work. She grows corn in a small square area with sand like dirt which is a plot in a row of about 5 other shambas all growing corn. We walked around the entire perimeter and she showed it off to me telling me that corn was there and a big mango tree was here and so and so’s house is over there....then we we reached the area with her biggest corn she asked me to take a picture so I could show all of you how big her corn is. So she ran over and stood in the corn so it would measure against her. I am going back tomorrow to say goodbye and give her pictures of me and my family that she has asked for. 

Mary and one side of her shamba

Us showing how tall the corn is. A girl took this picture that had never held a camera before and wasn't quite sure about the whole thing.

Pictures of baby Morris at 10 days old!!!

Lucy and baby Morris at 10 days on his coming out party

Lucy and her mom. This was his first day out of the hut

Lucy, Morris, and Lucy's husband's mom

Spring Break

Spring break, the mid point, the marker of the middle. I can't believe it already came and is about to leave. Two more months of school then a few weeks of service, it will all be over so soon. 

This week has been such a blessing to me, such a refreshment, such a much needed break while getting my hands dirty, and being in community with fellow Christians. 

Tuesday we travelled down to "south coast" where R4C is in the process of planting a new church then school. This area is very heavily populated by a tribe who believes they are born muslim. This area is very poor. Church is currently being held under the mango tree and water is fetched by bucket daily. Due to the severe drought going on right now, the bore hole has been dried up. Therefore, the community walks 10 minutes (from the church to the pond) to a pond in the middle of a field where they fetch their water, do their laundry, and then walk 10 minutes back. I was able to make this walk and see this water for myself. It is so hard to see this and think that never once growing up was I concerned about having to find clean water or carry water for drinking, cooking, bathing, or washing. 

Beautiful! You can see the ocean in the distance

Church under the mango tree

Wednesday was teacher fun day! We woke up to a beautiful rainbow, which means it had rained the night before!! We arrived at the school and I found all the ladies in one of the rooms using face paint as make up and painting their nails to ensure they looked their best for their special visit. Everyone was dressed to impress. We all traveled to Vpingo, another school which is run by Crossroads Church (here in Mombasa). The teachers spent the morning talking and exchanging ideas with each other. We then stopped to kill some time at the super market.  Can you believe this was some of the teacher's first time to ever be inside a supermarket??? I could not believe it. I was buying candy for the staff and asked Lucy, one of the teacher assistants, to help me pick out what they would like. She had no idea where to begin or where to end. After we picked out all the candy, she was still searching for something. I asked her what she was looking for and she asked me where the biscuits (crackers) are. She thought everything was on that one isle. We found the biscuits and then she was overwhelmed with the selection she had to choose from. Let's just say this was an eye opening experience for both of us.

God's promise

Immanuel, the music teacher, dressed in his best

house across from the school

Grandmother of the house and 3 of her grandchildren she wanted me to take all sorts of pictures with her and the kids

she moved nextdoor and had me take pictures of all of these kids. 

They make their own cars out of cardboard and sticks and use the wheel and a stick to drive it. Super cool invention.

Mbewau staff!

Jackson, Chris, and Rama wanted some MBEWAU pride and had their thumbs painted with blue nail polish

 We then took the staff to the animal and environment reserve park. The excitement they had about seeing these animals was childlike and beautiful. It was everyone's first time to see giraffes, crocodiles, hippos, turtles, and water buffalo in real life. They even were able to feed the giraffes. They were at first very afraid of getting close to the giraffes but then became very excited and all took pictures in front of them and were yelling and calling each other and oh, what a sight! There were a good amount of Europeans in the park with us. Everytime we passed one, one of the staff members would come up to me and ask me if I knew them because they are mzungu. They figured we all come from the same place and all know each other. They were quite shocked when I told them that some of the mzungus didn't even speak English.

beautifully colored birds

Mbewau staff: changing lives

HUGE, real turtle

 Thursday morning was game day for the staff. The church youth volleyball team came out to play against the staff and beat them pretty well, in all three games. However the games were very intense and very entertaining to watch.

Preparing the chicken for lunch

Immanuel, always dressed ready to go

Jackson, going up for a block

 Friday we set up for the sale we were having to raise money to buy reading books for the school and today we had the sale. The sale was similar to a garage sale. There was an overwhelming amount of children's clothes. Everything had been donated by Americans, mostly from mission teams that came over and a children's resale shop. Everything was sold for under $2. Most items ranging under $1. The most bought items were the travel sized soaps you get at hotels which were sold for about 8 cents. We raised almost $200!! Praise the LORD!

Gymboree from the 90s

Some awesome overalls for a little boy

HUGE millipede/centipede 

look at all those babies on the backs!

shop till you drop

this poor boy had no idea he was wearing women's heels. He knew he needed shoes and he found himself some shoes. 

Simon the gardener who served today as Security and crowd control. I LOVED his hat!

acrobats came to perform

My namesake, Kadzo. She came and sat with me and told me how her kids were doing and how much they had grown and asked all about how I have been. I feel so blessed by these loving people. She later told Jackson I need to hurry up and get married and come live in their village because "we want to see Kadzo every day!"

Last night I had the wonderful opportunity to get dinner with my friend Kristen. We both were in Mombasa in 2008, 2009, and now. She has been here for the last year as a missionary and is getting married in July to a missionary in Mozambique. I am so incredibly excited for her and know that the Lord will bless their marriage. It was so nice to sit down and share our hearts and talk about the problems we are facing and the grace and mercy of the Lord and how he provides. We are very similar and both share a deep passion for this wonderful country. This was the first time I could truly talk to someone who shares and understands what I feel for these people. If you are looking for a way to give, she has set up a sponsorship program for the children at the schools around Mombasa. I strongly encourage you to get involved if you have the means. Her organization is called Operation Give Hope. She is also in the process of trying to help the water situation in some of the villages to get more info on what Kristen is doing, click here: operationgivehope.org

Feeling blessed,

Cathy

KADZO!

I am back.
Back to the motherland.
Back in Kenya.
Back in Mombasa.
Back among the people I have formed friendships with over the last 3 years.
I am so happy to be here.
So overwhelmed with thanksgiving.

I arrived yesterday and spent the afternoon grocery shopping with Chris & Lisa, getting lunch, and settling in to my new home for the next 10 days. Chris and Lisa are full time missionaries here in Mombasa. You might remember them from my previous two adventures to Africa. They run a ministry called REAL4Christ. They started a school in one of the nearby villages called Mbewau (said em bay wow) in Mtepani.

Today I regrettably had the opportunity to attend a funeral for the father of one of the students. This man died last week after being hit on his motorcycle (pikipiki) by a bus. He left behind a young wife (24-25) and 4 children ranging between 10 and 2. The oldest, Janet, was having a very hard time dealing with the situation and was holding back tears the entire time I was around her. The funeral was huge. Because the father was so young and a pikipiki driver, many were there. Chris said a couple thousand. There was literally a sea of people. Chris and I were the only white people there.

one small part of the sea of people.
The casket is under the tree on the right side

the people beside me

Within about five minutes of being there, I saw a man walk by with a picture safety pinned to his shirt. The picture was of the father after he had been hit, laying on the ground with blood. Can you image someone wearing that at a funeral at home? Here I suppose it showed a sign of respect.

There was dancing and food and drinks and music at this all day event. Family had come in for the entire weekend and it was a mixture between sadness and celebration. The wife has been in mourning with the other ladies of the village for the last 9 days.

dancing--these ladies pulled me into the middle and started dancing with me

The pikipiki drivers came and drove loops around the casket and spun around in circles to stir up dust. It was their way of showing respect.

PLEASE pray for this family. He was not a believer and his wife has not been saved either. The funeral was not religious because it was mostly run by the pikipiki men. Please pray that his death will be a way for the widow and others to come to know the Lord and the peace He can give.

On a happier note, I was able to reunite with some of the women of the village and the pastor/school advisors from the school. I was so excited to see them, and they seemed genuinely excited to see me. I was standing on a dirt hill watching the pikipikis when I saw a few women starting to walk towards me. The lady in front had a HUGE smile on her face and started saying "Kadzo, Kadzo!" (They named me Kadzo last time because I spent so much time with them they welcomed me into their community and gave me a local name which means beauty). I immediately recognized her, "Mary!" Joy and thankfulness overflowed from me. I embraced her. Feeling her frail body, skin and bones hug me back. She got the attention of some of her friends, the other mothers of the kids from school, and we all hugged. She pulled me up to where she was standing with the other women and held my hand for the next 20 minutes. She would turn and look at me every once in a while. My heart was so incredibly happy.

Mary in 2009

Me & Mary in 2009- I know I look super cool

"Eucharisto means grace..the Greek word chara means "joy."... Deep chara joy is found only at the table fo euCHARisteo- the table of thanksgiving... is it that simple? Charis-grace. Eucharisteo-Thanksgiving. Chara-joy... The greatest thing [of life] is to give thanks for everything. He who has learned this knows what it means to live. He has penetrated the whole mystery of life: giving thanks for everything. " ---- One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voscamp.

Stop and think. When we give thanks, we are praising God and accrediting Him for things. Kidogo na kubua. When we thank Him and appreciate Him and take the time to marvel in what He has given us, we become filled with joy. It is hard to be mad when you are giving thanks and telling God how great He is.

Tomorrow we are going to church at Mbewau and I will show the pictures from before and now. There have been some amazing transformations with this school and what it is today. God is good. 

Mbewau today. WOW

From my thankful heart to yours,
Cathy