Church and fellowship

Salvete omnes!

The days grow shorter as the relationships grow stronger.

Today was a special church service from 10am to around 3pm, nearly entirely in Kikuyu (Virginia helped me by translating some of what was going on, and the minister dropped in English from time to time). All 9 churches in the parish were in attendance as today Elders were ordained. There were tents and sooooo many chairs set up by the kids at Tumaini. The Meadows team presented a song that was in Kiswahili , and luckily I got out of presenting a song alone, though Peter brought it up later when he saw me after the church service. Whoops! The sermon was based on Nehemiah chapter 3 and 2 Timothy 2:20-26.

Ready for church with our friends Reuben and Eunice!

After lunch, I looked for some kids to spend time with and ended up being called over to a group of older kids (Form 1-4) and some younger children followed. We ended up spending a couple hours just talking, laughing, and dancing. At one point we went back to Imani Hall (the multi-purpose center) and continued to talk as we made bracelets with beads based on a design following Psalm 23.

Then the work began! I carried in some benches with Gladys and Martha, swept a portion of the walkway for Mary and Sharon to wash, washed a small portion of Naomi's area, and milked some cows (after washing their udders)! YES! I MILKED SOME COWS! The minister has since given me a Kikuyu name because of it! Unfortunately, none of these events were captured in photographic form, but I really enjoyed helping some of the kids with chores, and I gained an even greater appreciation of the work that they do. There was quite a bit of laughing from the kids as they watched me (some came to the cows who never go just to watch), but I think that it meant something to them since I was doing something with them that I didn't have to do!

Unfortunately, my time with the kids ended too quickly as dinner time arrived. The celebration dinner included a fine meal with many Elders of the parish. I sat next to Virginia, whom I will miss very much as I have come to really care for her and have enjoyed talking and joking with her. The Kenyans went around the table to add what they have seen from our trip, and the Meadows team did the same. Gifts were presented and tears were shed.

Late night packing began after the dinner, and I also had the pleasure of reading a few notes that some of the older girls wrote to me. I am heartsick that the time here at Tumaini is coming to an end when the relationships have just begun to solidify. I continue to contemplate the merits of staying more than one week, as that would offer more opportunities for fellowship and deeper conversations.

We will be walking the secondary students to school tomorrow and I'm not exactly sure what that will be like. Please hold the Meadows team and the students in your prayers as we bid adieu.

ex animo,
Stella aka Ngwaci (Sweet Potato)

Doing chores in GIF form: