Note from Joy

Today was parachute day for Joy and Helen. We had brought a parachute to use with the smaller children to teach them their colors and how to work as a team. By the end of the two hours we had about 100 kids running under and yelling out the names of the colors in English and Swahili. While we were outside, Ray continued building shelves for the school and John was at his post in the clinic giving a blessing to each child who had been treated by our two doctors.

This afternoon we went to the Maasi Market which is an outdoor market where hundreds (maybe thousands)…it’s hard to tell due to the levels going up the hill and the circumference of the market…of folks are selling their wares on Tuesdays and Saturdays.

There are bowls and plates and carvings of ebony and bone as well as dresses, paintings, and musical instruments. Even clubs (to keep order) are available. The hardest part is deciding what to buy, then negotiating the price (this is expected and encouraged) and then once a price is determined, trying to come up with the proper number of shillings.

Our team continues to be amazed at the dedication and excellence of the teaching staff at Mercy Care Center. Tomorrow Joy will attend the music competition. The Mercy Care Center will be singing and hoping to place well so they can go to the nationals!

Over the weekend we went on safari in the Riff Valley. In addition to seeing all the animals in the wild (elephants, lions, hippos, baboons, cheetahs, monkeys, leopards, water buffalo, and a host of members of the deer family.

The most interesting thing for Ray, Helen and John and Joy was a visit to the Masai Village. Each village is made up of families. You know the number of families because each family has its own gate in the briar fence used to keep the cattle inside at night.

They are polygamous with each wife having her own house. The houses are made of tree limbs, a metal roof and a coating of cow dung. Inside the house is divided into two halves. Half for the calves and half for the people. The husband and male children in one bed and the mother and girl children in the other bed. When the husband visits a wife all the children over the age of 5 go to another wife’s house for the night. The beds are made of cow hides.

Fire is made by rubbing sticks together over elephant dung. All adult men carry a stick and a knife or sword. They use these things for herding and for defense.

Water is scarce and sometimes families squabble over water rights. From the age of five, the girls carry water and wood for the fires w hile the boys herd the goats and cows. The main diet is cows milk and cow’s blood (cows are bled about twice a month) We did not stay for dinner, but we did get an opportunity to dance with the villagers…men with men and women with women all in a line. The songs tell a story.

There is competition with jumping. The fellows I saw should be recruited for American basketball teams. It is a hard life, but we all agreed that life in the Riff Valley is easier on children than life in the city slums. No one we have met has an easy life here. Unemployment is very high. Salaries are low. Transportation is usually walking.

Driving in Nairobi is thrilling to say the least. Dodging traffic either on foot or in a vehicle is a real talent here. (Today on a walk in the valley with some of the high school students, they pulled Joy to safety several times.)

Today we tried some of the roasted corn (roasted over a charcoal fire) and some fried wheat bread that tastes sort of like a New Orleans style beneits (sp?) Wayne and Carol hosted us all to samosas made of either meat or vegetables and seasoned with lime juice…Great stuff!

Tomorrow morning will come quickly, so the Mission group will be headed for sleep time now. Tomorrow some will be going to the animal orphanage with about 200 of the kids for a field trip and some will go to the music competition. Tomorrow night we will all go out for an Indian dinner and Friday night we will host a teacher appreciation dinner.

We pray for all our friends and family back in Roanoke each night as we know you are praying for us as well. On Saturday Ray and Helen will head for Tanzania. John and Joy will start flying west on Sunday night headed for home. God is good and we are trusting Him each step of the way.