We were in town by 8am and had time to rest a bit before being picked up by Pastor Paul at around 9. First stop - CMM (Clarence Matheny Ministries) to pick up boxes of books shipped from the US to Kenya for Starfish Charities via an annual container sponsored by the Mathenys.
Next week they are hosting 1,000 pastors from all over East Africa for a Leadership Conference - sooooo they needed the space being used for storing our boxes.
Our boxes are marked with yellow tape. This is Richie identifying our items before he arranges for extra help to get them ALL into our vehicle.
Pastor Paul helping Richie to strategize...
Surprise! Evy is a niece to Pastor Paul and it has been a year since they've seen each other.
She volunteers for CMM every year sorting through books that arrive on the container. She told me she LOVES organizing...I hope so since she will have to sort and categorize hundreds of books and then separate them into three groups for three different trainings being conducted this year.
These guys are amazing!
Mom supervising :)
They did it!
...with just a few boxes in the back seat...
Approaching the property where Starfish Charities has several buildings and a bore hole which provides water to people and animals in the surrounding communities. The color green is so beautiful as it signifies R - A - I - N!
James (Mr Starfish with his shirt and cap) has been working on the property for the past week building a pedestal for another water tank. He is also a member of the Starfish board.
Jeremy (works on the property and is also a member of the board), James and Pastor Paul (Chairman of the board) strategizing how to get the right boxes out of storage and into the vehicle, and boxes out of the vehicle and into storage...
...I guess they came up with a plan...and they are using the assembly line method!
Quick trip to check on the pedestal...lookin' good! But...wasn't this supposed to be a 5 day job? Hmmm...I think you are on about day 10 by now :)
That's Gregory in the blue...he is James' right hand man with the project.
Mom and Jeremy wander off...I just know they are having a heart to heart about his heart...
Tea time! Pastor Paul serves us tea prepared by Gregory, whose abode we are in...we brought donuts and cookies, which are perfect with tea :)
First stop - the community of Kimuka where we are offloading all those boxes of books we took out of storage...here is a member of the community giving us a warm welcome...
The library before our books arrive. These are donations from members of the community - in this photo is Pastor John, a Maasai pastor who is also on our board.
Jeremy and Mom admiring the current collection.
Small office off to the side, where the librarian keeps the records.
Pastor David is from this community. Many of the books came from him...he is currently in Bible College. As he finishes a course, he donates his text books to the library. He also volunteers his time here when he is not in school.
This will be a resource library for children and adults alike. They will come here to read, but will not be taking any books home. It is a great environment for learning!
Mom, Pastor John and Jeremy...
A member of the community, this lady is actually a step mother to Pastor David. Polygamy has traditionally been a common practice among many of the communities in Kenya. As the people embrace Christianity, this tradition is quickly being abandoned...
Offloading the books for the library - exciting!
This lady in the orange is named Alice and she was extremely interested in the books...
Here we are anticipating how much this community will benefit from the influx of books. Later on this same day, after the children were out of school, many people arrived here to unpack, organize and display the books.
Alice does not speak English, but I heard her reading a few of the words as she was picking one book after another, flipping through the pages.
I couldn't resist snapping this photo - they were all so excited!
Just can't keep the books out of her hands!
Pastor David is thanking us on behalf of the community (as Pastor John is reading!)
Alice was asked to say a few words...she expressed her deep gratitude to Starfish and especially to God for providing so generously to her community.
Pastor John speaking with Jeremy as translator
Children from the nearby school, heading home for lunch...some of the kids who will benefit from the books we brought on this day.
We were told to "follow the mama" and I thought this was a great shot of Jeremy helping my mom traverse the terrain...
Shot of some giraffes in the distance, right behind the 'homestead' where we were going.
Following Mama to her home...
They are deep in conversation...
Mom was escorted to the kitchen where she watched lunch being made...this is a sister in law to Pastor David.
Not like any kitchen I have ever worked in!
After enjoying a cup of tea, chapatis and githeri (made with maize and beans) we went on our way...passing these children returning to school after lunch.
Our next stop - to check on one of our literacy classes. Starfish provides materials; the students pay a registration fee to pay for the facility and a weekly fee to pay their teacher. To the far right is Pastor Richard who is also the teacher for this class. This girl is performing the appropriate greeting for Maasai children to adults...and James is 'blessing' her...
Church where class is held...
I was impressed with how diligently the students were working. They barely looked up when we walked in and did not even greet us! Very unusual and very telling of how serious they are.
Two students take their exercise books to the teacher for checking their work.
They did pay attention when Pastor Paul began speaking.
He encouraged them in Swahili and Jeremy translated to Maa (the Maasai language)
Cute kid :)
Pastor Paul later told me that he felt awkward disturbing the class since they were all so serious about their studies...needless to say, this was a quick visit!
Pastor Richard (their teacher) took a few minutes to acknowledge our presence and to thank Starfish for giving them the opportunity to hold these classes.
Then we took James and Jeremy back to the property...and left them with snacks; Payday candy bars and tuna & crackers...they were haaaappppyyy!
It was a great day of fellowship, laughter and good food. It was gratifying to see how much impact Starfish Charities, with the help of so many generous people from the states, is making in these Maasai communities. It is a delight and privilege to work alongside the Kenyan people to help make their nation great.
