Fetching water...

Can you see the bubbling water? Apparently a pipe burst underground and has been furnishing this watering hole for a while now...stay tuned for the water hole activity.
I was fascinated to watch the community residents gathering throughout the day to fill various containers with water. This young woman filled her gerry can with water...
...to wash her family's clothes...


Kids with containers...

I think they spotted me...
...yep!
This is the small 'river' created by the spill over from the 'watering hole'...
This mama brought her three kids to help...
Looks like she has filled two gerry cans...one left with the girl and now two more leave with the boy...

...and another with the smallest child...

Mama carries the biggest load - looks like a 10 litre water jug...
...these women are STRONG!
...not water, but heavy loads...yikes!
I think he is washing his handkerchiefs...




All of the above photos were taken from the balcony of the building where I work...I love watching life go by, and sharing what I see with my friends!

The Little House

I call it the little house because, well, it's little! But then so am I so it fits me just fine. See the flower box in front? I have visions of colorful flowers...and Kariuki the caretaker says he will help me create that vision :)
From the front room you can see the drive and my gate...
The walls are such a pretty yellow...this is the front (or sitting) room.
...and the little kitchen...I can stand in the middle and reach everything (but I think I will need a stool to reach those cupboards above the counter!) The kitchen door (black) leads to the back patio.
Okay, if you look through the kitchen you can see the little bathroom...and the little sink just outside the bathroom...
...and here is the little bathroom...no separate shower, the bathroom is the shower...
...view from the front door...and the gate I will share with my neighbors in the 2 bedroom attached to my house (I guess it is a duplex)
...complete with cows! See iron sheeting to the right above? Behind it are the cows...
...current view from the back patio...a block wall is being built to give me privacy...and I am told that there are plans to build another 2 bedroom house. This yard continues all the way to the cows. Below you will see an iron sheeting fence that will be moved to separate my house from the yard and the cows...
...here I am letting Kariuki know where I would like that wall built...to maximize the patio area.
...the kitchen door...and you can see the edge of the 2 bedroom next door.
The water works!
The front door...
View of the 'big house' where the owner/landlady lives. Her name is Lucy. I think she is about my age because her oldest is 27. The iron sheeting 'fence' will be moved to separate my house from the yard next to me...
...taking rocks out of my shoe on the walkway past the big house to my gate.
Here is the big house. Kariuki is showing me the temporary gate being used by my neighbors to get to their house. It will be blocked once my house is finished and I will share a gate with them.
Outside the main gate to the compound, this is my new street - Ridgeways Drive.

The apprehension and anxiety I felt when I made the commitment to move here is being replaced by excitement and anticipation of the many blessings God has in store for me as I begin to walk the path of this new adventure.

Margaret's wedding...

"I think the wedding has started" said Dan, my friend who took me to the wedding. "I don't think so, it was to start at 10 and it's not even 11 yet!" I answered "No, I think it has started" he repeated. I looked up at him quizzically "Dan, this is Africa!"

Sure enough, the wedding was not even near to starting. In fact it was another hour before we saw the wedding party dance through the church doors.

I am fine with that and have even come to expect it. What I cannot figure out (and my Kenyan friends just laugh) is WHY they print the wedding program WITH TIMES!!! I tell my friends that Americans automatically assume and expect the times to be followed. It's a puzzle! In all fairness, we ended only about 1/2 later than the program states...
Let the show begin!
...as the couples dance their way down the aisle...
...lots of fun!
Both parents walk Margaret down the aisle...
The praise band was great!
I thought it was interesting that the bride and parents sat in the front pew during the start of the service...
Then her dad presented her to her groom, Alex.

Exchanging of the rings...
Signing the marriage certificate was at the back of the church, but was shown on the screen.
Wedding prayer...
Pronounced husband and wife! Pastor Alex and Pastor Margaret.

Photo ops...
This is David, the photographer at Missions of Hope where I work. Turns out he and Pastor Margaret are friends!








Wedding party was whisked away for photographs...
...while the guests lined up for lunch!
Daniel displaying the delicious food. His wife Amani (they were married in March) had to come late due to a prior commitment...

I was quite impressed when Dan took my plate and then began picking up plates and bottles from other guests...
And of course dancing...
Left is Bishop G, the MC...he also MC'd at Dan and Amani's wedding. In fact he was their committee chairman - but more about that later. In the middle is Pastor John Wesley - he was the senior pastor at a church where I used to attend...and, of course, Dan.
...and more dancing...


The wedding party arrives...
...and more dancing...
I flicked a bug off of my chair and it almost landed on his food...so he moved his food and after that he was extremely wary of me!

Amani arrived after lunch was finished, but she managed to get a plateful...
Okay - back to the committee. Most couples form a committee to help plan and organize the wedding. They are also responsible for raising funds to pay for the wedding. Bishop G was the chairman for Dan and Amani's committee and at the last minute their MC was a no show, so Bishop G filled in...Margaret was so impressed she hired him for her wedding! This is not his gig - Dan says he is a youth pastor!

Here you see him with envelopes in his hand...he is handing them out to guests in order to make it easy for them to make cash donations to the couple...
The happy couple! I did an entry on their wedding also...
Time for gifts...
Okay - he has a rope in his hand...this is a symbol of the goat he is gifting them...
A mattress...
See the umbrellas...it began to rain...

And the cake...it was a Bible, a basket, two pots and a hut. I suspect there is symbolism but I confess I don't know what it is!
Cutting the Bible...and they presented pieces to both sets of parents and then cake was brought also to the guests.
God is so good, He kept the rain at bay until the very very end and all the guests were leaving. It rained pretty steady while I was on the bus, but was not raining when I dropped at my stage - so I barely got wet at all!