Greetings from Kenya #2

Good Friends,

Jambo!  Greetings from Meru!

I know Gary emailed all of you to let you know we all arrived safe and sound in Nairobi Friday evening.

After Gary e mailed you and we had some breakfast at the Methodist Guest House, we departed for Meru at about 8:30.  Our two vans traveled north and then went around Mt. Kenya on the west side of the mountain.  We stopped at a gift shop to stretch our legs, and took a second stop because there were no clouds surrounding Mt. Kenya, which is a little rare, so we had the opportunity to take some pictures of the mountain.  At about 12:30, we stopped at a restaurant called the Trout Tree just south of Nanyuki.  The restaurant is build in an open air deck supported by a huge tree - there are Columnbus Monkeys in the surrounding trees, which are pretty funny to watch - they like to get to the food, of course, if they can.  The restaurant also is on the banks of a river and has tanks where they farm trout, hence the name.  The primary dish is smoked whole trout, but there are other things for those who don't like fish.  Afterwards, we went through Nanyuki and stopped at a women's ministry called Spinners and Weavers.  It provides employment to women and was started in 1977 (I think that's when it was - I may be off a year or two either way).  The women get raw wool from the surrounding area, sort it, make yarn from it on spinning wheels, and then it is weighed for market.  The yarn is then cleaned several times in water and finally in soap.  Some of it is dyed, and may either be sold as yarn, or woven into rugs, scarves, place mats or wall hangings.  We were, of course, given the opportunity to purchase some of their products, and most of us did!

The other thing about the drive is to watch the scenery and the people who are walking along the side of the road - even out in the country.  The many roadside stands selling everything from produce - potatoes, mangos, pineapple - to things I normally don't think of as coming from a stand - furniture, clothes, even a coffin!  The people attending the open air markets in the towns, and on this trip the politicians were campaigning for the upcoming elections here in Kenya.

We arrived at Thiiri Center in Meru at about 5:00, where we will stay until next Monday morning.  We took a little time to settle in to our rooms, and then had dinner at about 7:00, followed by a little meeting for devotions, but we were all so tired that it was pretty short lived, so we retired a little early.

This morning, we gathered for breakfast at 8:00 and left for Mwanika Methodist Church at a little after 9:00 for the 9:30 English speaking service.  As in the past, we were very warmly received, and enjoyed the music - Kenyan style versions of some hymns we sing in Ann Arbor as well as Kenya, as well as some Kenyan pieces. Nancy preached the sermon.  We were all invited to the front of the sanctuary to introduce ourselves, and were referred to as the Ann Arbor chapter of the church (as in prior visits).  The service was over at about 10:45 and we were invited for some tea and biscuits at their social hour.  We all chose to go back and attend the Kimeru language service - Nancy again preached, and Moses translated the service into Kimeru.  The women of the church had prepared us a wonderful lunch after the second service - mashed potatoes with carrots, seasoned rice with meat and vegetables, and a black beans with a mixture of other vegetables and some Kenyan flat bread - I should remember the name for it, but can't at the moment.  I always find the warmth and sincerity of our hosts to be absolutely moving - they welcome us so graciously.  We got back here to Thiiri at a little to 3:00 this afternoon.  Later today, we will prepare for our first day at the schools tomorrow - BLISS, and then the two primary schools where we will be - Kithoka and Guchuge -  and have some dinner.

Everyone seems to be in good health and we are all fine. The weather is nice and sunny and in the low to mid eighties (hard to take, Denise Leonard), and is projected to stay that way for our entire stay.

Another update will be coming soon!

Until then, Peace be with you.
Ted Brokaw for the 2013 Kenya Mission Team.