Going Without Meals

January 7, 2014 (Tuesday) The school children are scattered throughout the hills of three villages and some of them live way out in the hills.  From the highlands of Makoi we can see acres of rich fertile farm land. However most people here do not own the land that they are living on so they don’t benefit from the produce grown here.

Our first stop is a long stop as the needs are great.  A grandmother opens up her heart and cries for help. She has lost one daughter to HIV and is raising her five children, two of which are positive as well.  Another daughter has come home with a baby.  This daughter is visibly thin and looks unwell. She is HIV+ and she is nursing her baby.    

As we visit I notice that the children are gathering at the gate. They will wait for a long time just for a smile or a wave of the hand. They giggle with happiness when they know that they have been seen.

We start out walking alone but the further we go the more children trail behind us. We seem to collect them along the way. They are just as happy as can be walking behind us and passing the day.

It’s time for drying the beans. The bushes are pulled and they placed out in the open for the sun to dry them.   The mamas are hard at work but welcome us and very often offer to prepare us tea or cook something for us but because of time we decline. There are many places we must reach today.  As we leave one home the mama comes running behind us.  She has gathered a few eggs and with a huge smile she places the bag in my hand. She has so little but her heart is big. 

 

We walk higher into the hills using small narrow foot paths through the open fields that are just waiting to be plowed. The rains will come soon and it will be time for planting. There are times of crawling through barb wire fences and jumping over muddy brooks but still we continue on.                                    

There is excitement when they see me coming up the path to their home. They run and put on their best shirt or wrap up their hair.

Alice and her husband are extremely happy to see us walking up their path. She quickly runs in her mud hut to pretty herself up a bit. We are welcomed and sit together within the dark, but cool room.  It is nice to have a place to rest from the hot sun. This couple has three children that go to our school. Even though the fees are low they find it very difficult to keep up.  They don’t own the land that they live on and cannot work the land for crops. Their hardships are many and the resent loss of their 12 year old son put an added burden on them of medical and funeral expenses.  This mama came to church on Christmas morning with tears flowing down her face.  She stood before us and told us of her son’s passing just hours before.

Her husband reaches for something on the small table. He holds up the red New Testament that we gave him last year. He can’t read, like so many here in the villages, but he has found someone that can.  The Bible is used regularly and it benefits more than one person :)

It is a beautiful area and we are high enough to look out over the land around us. It is green and full of life but the struggles here are never ending.  A few months ago one of our little girls passed out during school because of lack of food.  Going without meals is way too common here.  The children know the pain of hunger and many times they have cried themselves to sleep. 

When the children come to school we give each one a cup of porridge so that they will start the day with something in their stomach.  For lunch the children were allowed to go home or bring a lunch.  For most children there wasn’t anything to go home to which put those that brought their lunch in harm’s way!  We had fighting and squabbling as everyone wanted the few lunches that were brought in.  Sometimes the lunch ended up in the wrong child’s stomach.  To avoid such issues and to keep the children healthy and strong we added a hot meal in the afternoon to the school schedule.  Githari is a traditional meal of corn and beans and the children love it! 

Our last stop is at Madeline’s house. When I first met her she was loud and very drunk.  She came into church when we were celebrating Christmas with the children.  She took a glass bottle of soda and put it up to her mouth and ripped off the metal cap cover with her teeth.  She’s not the same Madeline now as she accepted Jesus into her heart.  She has been coming to church and we are encouraged to see her changing. She doesn’t have any children of her own but she has family living all around her and as we sat and talked they were soon to join us. The house was full!

 

The sun is setting and we have completed our house visits for the day. It has been a good day and we are pleased to have been able to spend time in the children’s homes. We’ve prayed for many.  We’ve prayed for a man with a big piece of his leg missing because a motorbike ran into him. We’ve prayed with a very troubled woman and we’ve joined hands with so many facing struggles. We’ve walked from early morning to sunset. We’ve walked many miles through the hills of Makoi and the surrounding areas. It’s been a busy day and crawling underneath the mosquito net for the night is looking pretty good to me!

 

January 8, 2014 (Wednesday) School break is over and classes have begun. As I arrive in the village there are little ones waiting for the school door to open.  The children here love to go to school and they have arrived early!

There are many tribes represented in this land. Each tribe comes with their customs, beliefs and gods. It is a hard land and a land that fears change. So many here within the hills of the villages are uneducated and live in poverty. Living this way has become "normal" for them and they resist change. Trying to help them often comes with many challenges. It is a land that desperately needs Jesus.

Matthew 25:35-40  For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in,  I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you?  When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’