Cross-Culture Ministry in Kenya, Part Ten

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Nov 7, 2001

I just returned from five days in the rural doing follow-up home visits. I should mention that Sean and Jamie are safely back in America to start another school year. Sean left home in June at 13 years old and came back to America at least 25. Jamie has decided to become a missionary.

She is currently a Computer Science major at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach, FL. She is exploring her options that will prepare her for missionary work.

The schools in Kenya are closed for the month of July. The school year follows the calendar year with April, August and December being the holiday breaks. April is the last of the planting season, and August is maize harvesting month.

As we walked in the rural, the children were out in the field picking corn and bringing it to the family compound. They shuck the corn, remove the kernels, and lay them on sheets to dry in the sun. The corn is stored for the rest of the year and made into corn flour as needed. This year has been a bumper crop and there will be surplus. This is something that hasn't happened in years. This year will be the first year Kenya will not have to import corn to meet the demand in a very long time.

Mary left for the rural with Heikki and Eeva as soon as school was out. David was taking driving lessons so we joined them about a week later. David is now a licensed driver in Kenya. As we were walking from the main road to David's rural home, we took a different route from the first time we went there. This route was longer but less hilly and therefore easier on me.

We were walking along a path by a family compound when we heard the women getting excited about something. She was talking very fast in Luo. David said she was calling to her son to come quickly and see the mzungu (white man). I turned around and walked into her compound and greeted the mother and son.

The rest of the family came out to greet me. We could not speak each other's language but it was clear that we communicated. She was so thrilled she was clearly beside herself. David said that I created history for her that day. For the rest of her life, she will tell people about the day the mzungu came into her compound to greet her family.