In the middle of our time in Kenya, all of us had the very distinct privilege of spending a night with the families of our host students from Daystar University. Now that we are back in the states, and students are back into the routine of classes, I'm going to share about my experiences that weekend, and invite our students to contribute as they have the time.
My roommate at Daystar was an older student by the name of Kimeli, a non- traditional student, in that he is about 25 years old and has a wife and two small children. I came to know Kimeli as a good friend, and as w
e spent time together the first week, I began to eagerly anticipate the opportunity of traveling to his home and meeting his extended family. As it turned out getting to his home town of Marigat, about 4 hours north of Nairobi, was an adventure all its own.
A matatu is a 14 passenger minivan, that will
take you, rapidly, to your desired destina
tion for a small fee
but only when the driver decides
he has a full loa
d. And in our case, a full load meant 24 people. On our journey north, up the great rift valley, I learned we would be crossing the equator... well I was
not about to let this momentous occasion pass me by, so
I kindly asked our matatu driver if he would stop and let me take a picture at the
equator. He did, I did, and I was promptly accosted by a host of souvenir sa
les folk who wanted to sell me a little something to remember my equatorial crossing. What can I say, I was a
captive westerner with more shillings than sense, they've seen my type
before. SO... there I stood with one foot in each hemisphere, contributing to the local economy!
Just another 15 minutes down th
e road, Kimeli asked the driver to stop, and we got out, and as I looked around I saw a small gravel road heading off to the west. Next to the road was a small wooden stand where local folks would sometimes sell honey. On the other side of
the gravel road was a small enclosure with a crumpled piece
of tin for a roof. As it turns out that shed was just large enough to serve as the local pool hall. In the center was one functional pool table, and along the side was another older pool table that had seen its better days. I was introduced to the players and learned, that like most folks in this area, they were related in som
e way to my host, Kimeli.
After visiting briefly with the local billiard pros, I couldn't help but wonder where our next stop would be. Two of the guys we met at the intersection were Ki
meli's younger brothers, one who is still in high school, and the other who is studying engineering at anoth
er university in Nairobi. After Kimeli consulted with his brothers, he said, "We're going for a walk, I want to show you around." Well that sounded great, but in the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder, where in the world we were going? We crossed the highway and began to walk down a path... straight into the brush, and that's when things really started to get interesting.
At our first stop Kimeli showed me a water retention pond where people and animals came daily for water. It was not very clean, and he shared about how he hopes after college he can return to this area and help improve the water sour
ces and living conditions for his people. We hiked on another half mile or so and we came to a small compound. It was a small fenced-in area complete with goats, a mule and two metal sheds and two mud huts with thatched roofs. "This is where I grew up" Kimeli said, as he invited
me into one of the sheds. He showed me the kitchen, and he described
how he used to stay close to his mother's side as she would prepare "ugali" over the fire. "Ugali" is a mashed potato sort of texture, but its made by mixing corn flour in boiling water. He explained how each structure was for different family members, his younger brother still sleeps in one of the huts when he is home.
On our half mile trek to the next home we stopped to meet a neighbor and her extended family. Once we arrived at his aunt's, we negotiated a small ga
te and we were greeted by more family members. Meeting his aunt was another treat. His family members were all very gracious and so excited about having a guest drop by for a visit. Kimeli explained and helped me realize that I was the first
westerner to ever come to his family's land and take the time to stop by and visit for a little while.
The picture at the right, shows me, Kimeli, his grandmother and a young cousin. She only spoke Swahili, and so Kimeli translated as we got acquainted and visited about how long she had lived in the area. She said nice things about Kimeli and his brothers. Kimeli told me that I was the first white man she had ever met.
I told her what an honor it was to get to visit her home and to meet her and I g
ave her a small gift. She was so touched and thankful that she grabbed my
hands and shook them vigorously, then she did something I was not expecting... she spit on my hands, and continued to thank me and shake my hands. Kimeli must have seen the surprise in my face after she spit on my hands, he leaned toward me and whispered how his grandmother had just bestowed a tremendous blessing on me, and was showing her deep appreciation for my small gift. It is said that when an elder blesses you in this way, they
are blessing you the hope peace and prosperity. After a couple of pictures, it was time to make our way to
one more home.
As we walked toward Kimeli's second mom's home it was beginning to get dark. I learned that in Kenya, men may sometimes take a second wife later in life. This
was the case with his father. They often do not divorce, but they just mo
ve on to live with another woman. The father often continues to support the first wife. Unfortunately, I did not get to meet Kimeli's father, he works for the highway department and was out on a job in a remote area. I did get to talk to him on Kimeli's phone and he also
thanked me for coming to visit.
As we approached their compound we were greeted by Winnie, a cousin, who I learned, is a first year college student at nearby Eldoret. We were invited inside for a cup of tea. As I mentioned it was pretty dark by now so they lit a small kerosene lantern and set it on a small coffee table. We en
joyed a cup of tea and what they called ground nuts, I learned later they were peanuts. Again, I was reminded
what a novelty I was as a guest. As we visited and
enjoyed our tea, Winnie sat next to me and constantly brushed my hair with her hands. She was very curious, and g
entle as she stroked my head. It was truly a blessing and I felt that this was a great opportunity to experience real immersion as Kimeli's family members shared their time with us.
We finished our tea and said our goodbye's and by the light of the full moon we started our one mile hike back out toward the highway. When we reached the highway we met Kimeli's mother. She met us and we took another series of pictures, and visited briefly. Again I wondered, what are we going to do now? Kimeli's home, where we were spending the night was another 1
0 miles down the highway, and I was pretty sure there were not going to be any Matatus coming by this remote stretch of road any time soon. Kimeli ssured me, "Don't worry, we will get a ride." And sure enough, a car came by and pulled over and offered us a ride to Marigot. I got to meet Kimeli's wife and two daughters. And we had a great evening sharing stories and more tea.
The next day before we started our journey back Kimeli took me to Lake Bogoria
a beautiful park where we saw hot springs, giesers, flamingos and an ostrich or two. More about that in my next entry.
Deo Fisus Labora - Jeff
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