Maasai and Chai

Welcomed. Embraced. Celebrated - three words to describe how I (and our whole team) felt this past week as we traveled to Moi Ndabi (about a 2 hour drive from Kijabe) and lived in a Maasai village. I honestly had no idea how we would be received - the Maasai people are some of the most traditional of all the Kenyan tribes. After all, if a group of strangely dressed, oddly loud young people came to your home and essentially camped out in your backyard, how might you feel? But the reception that we received from these beautiful people as we set up camp on their land and visited their homes daily was nothing short of a royal welcome. When we arrived last Monday (6/27) and set up our tents in what felt like the middle of nowhere (yep, you guessed it: no running water, no electricity, no showers - just us and the African bush!) the pastor's wife had 3 teapots full of chai and a huge tub of bread prepared for us. This trend continued throughout the whole week - practically everywhere we went we were greeted warmly and enthusiastically with huge smiles and an emphatic invitation to come in for a cup of chai (and often times massive plates of food as well!) It was equally beautiful to see and to learn from these peoples' immense faith in the Lord and the simplicity of their lives. When we asked one elderly couple - Samuel and Margaret - that we visited what they generally filled their time with on a day-to-day basis, Margaret responded, "Just breathing in and out and waiting for the Lord!" Another much older Maasai woman we encountered was sitting on the ground outside her hut, peeling potatoes. We asked her if she lived there alone, and she replied with a huge toothless grin, "No, not alone - I stay here with God!" I was struck over and over again by the pure faith, joy, and simplicity by which these people live.

In the interest of saving time, as usual, here are a few other highlights from this past week in Moi Ndabi:

• camping outside and living it rather rustic for the week :)
• going to a traditional Kikuyu funeral - a huge celebration with singing, dancing, and massive plates of food!
• playing games, singing, and teaching at two primary schools - the girls are always fascinated with my long hair and like to braid it and stroke it for hours
• praying healing (both spiritual and physical) over Denayo - an elderly man paralyzed in the left side of his body
• having fellowship each night with the local people around the campfire - LOTS of traditional Maasai singing and sharing of testimonies
• hours and hours of waiting (we truly learned the meaning of "African time" this week!) during which we were able to read, journal, and talk lots
• STUNNING mountainous views and gorgeous landscapes that reminded me weirdly of the mountains at home!
• playing volleyball at the school and again the next day with the locals - them vs. the "Mzungus" (white people) (...we got killed both times, of course)
• walking to the wildlife park about 2 miles from our campsite - we've now seen a number of antelope, zebras, warthogs, flamingos, some hippos from a little ways away, and a few beautiful giraffes (I'm still crossing my fingers for a lion and an elephant sighting in the next few weeks though!)

On a slight tangent, I also want to take a second in this blog to brag on my incredible, fantastic, insanely awesome team. We're more than halfway through the trip now, and consequently already freaking out about having to leave each other in a month, and making plans for how and when we will visit each other after that :). We have grown into a family, a unified body, one in the Lord. I love them like they are my brothers and sisters (which they are!) and we laugh together and cry together and joke and play and pray together. This past week we wrote each other letters of encouragement and love - one to a different person each day - and as we spent many hours together around the campfire, we formed new bonds and new appreciation for one another. We chased away livestock, we made friendship bracelets, we had Harry Potter duels with African sticks (don't judge - we had to find ways to entertain ourselves!), we snuck into the "kitchen" (two tarps strung together) to get peanut butter for dessert, we played Mafia and sang funny songs and shared favorite memories.

Yesterday we returned home to Kijabe, tired and drained and beyond disgusting (8 days without a shower!) and celebrated the Fourth of July with a huge American-style feast - burgers, french fries, and mac and cheese (which our Kenyan friends who joined us found very weird and rather gross). And now we will be staying put in Kijabe for the remaining 3 1/2 weeks! We will be working at Kijabe Hospital and teaching in a number of schools, so please pray for our time here and the relationships that we already have and those that will be formed.

Much love and Mungu akubariki (God bless!),
Bethany