I’ve been back in Kenya now for 7 weeks. 7 weeks! Where did
the time go? And what have I been doing? One of the things that I love about
Kenya is that no two days are alike. Living here is a constant exercise in
flexibility and going with the flow. So I can tell you what I’ve been up to
over the past 7 weeks, but as for the weeks to come, only God knows! My part in
this story is to choose contentment with where I am, and to follow God
faithfully as he reveals the next step. Here are some of the ways God has
blessed me and used me this time around in Kenya.
Living Room Hospice children’s
room mural
If you haven’t heard of Living Room, you need to. It’s an
amazing place. A hospice for the sick and dying in Kipkaren, Kenya and the surrounding
areas. Many people come here to finish out their days in peace. Yet even though
it is a place filled with people who are suffering and even dying, there is also so much joy. God is present at Living Room, working through the staff and
patients alike. There are currently 8 children living at the hospice. They are
children who suffer from cerebral palsy, HIV, tuberculosis, severe burns,
epilepsy, malnourishment, and neglect.
Looking at these children every day, I hurt for them and
wish I were some kind of medical professional. I wish I could offer them more
than paintings on their walls. But I am here to use the gifts I have been given,
and so I paint their room. A giraffe, an elephant, a monkey in a tree… I add a
rabbit at the request of one of the boys who says it’s his favorite animal. And
everyone at Living Room is nice to me and the children smile with happiness and
I feel like I’ve answered the call God placed on my heart to serve. On the last
day, I paint a verse above the window:
Psalm 150:6
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
The room before painting
And after
Big elephant, little birds
Norbert giving the lion a coat of paint
Finished Simba
Dan practicing his fundi skills
Sharon was happy to have the bed by the elephant
Theme verse for the room
I left Kipkaren last week to go back to Ilula where I am
based, but I haven’t forgotten the children at Living Room. Dorcas, Jepchumba, Chris, Julia, Dan, Norbert, Emmanuel, and Sharon. I know that they are being
well cared for, and I know their lives matter even in the midst of their pain.
I hope you will take some time today to pray for these 8 beautiful children.
Dorcas
Jepchumba
Chris
Julia
Dan
Norbert
Emmanuel
Sharon
Simit classroom
paintings
Let's leave Kipkaren now and travel to Simit. It’s really hard to describe this place and the week
that I spent painting there in October. Simit is a village situated deep within the
breathtaking valley in Keiyo, and the hike down to the primary school of Simit
is 6 kilometers of sheer natural beauty. I went with my new friend Colleen, who
is another ELI volunteer living and working nearby in Kenya.
Hiking boots and Chakos with skirts
We spent the week staying
with two wonderful hosts, Helen and Pastor Stella. We were shown such amazing
hospitality and generosity while staying with these ladies that we dubbed their
grouping of single room huts, outdoor shower, and pit latrine the “Five Star
Lodge”. If ever you find yourself
in Keiyo, these are the people to call.
The Lodge at sunset
Pastor Stella and Hellen, hostesses extraordinaire
We arrived at the school on Monday with little to no idea
what the headmaster had in mind for us to paint. In typical Kenyan fashion, we
were prepared to need to be flexible and up for anything. The idea formed that
we would paint learning materials on the walls of the 3 Early Childhood Development classes: Baby Class, Middle
Class, and Top Class (aka 3-year-old class, pre-school, and kindergarten).
The ECD building
Warm welcome from upper primary students
We
tackled the first room in typical American fashion, task oriented and driven
towards completing the goal of 3 classrooms in 5 days. But after 2 days of fast
and furious painting of the alphabet, animal charts, maps and other educational
tools it became apparent that these two wazungu
were never going to finish all three rooms on time. (It didn’t help that we
kept getting called away from the job to greet classrooms of students, present speeches
to parents, and or make other appearances as the token white people in the
village).
So many animals, so little time
Colleen learning to paint with an audience
Just when things were looking totally impossible, something really
cool happened. The teachers came to us on day 3 and said to us, “We’ve seen
what you do and we understand the process. We are going to help paint the other
two rooms!” And so they did. We completed all 3 classrooms pamoja--together. By Friday Colleen and I felt completely a part of
the community. We had worked together, taken meals together, laughed together,
sang together, and become a family together.
Top class teacher paints the parts of the plant
One almost finished room
Baby class teacher has avocado painting skills
The flag and map were a big hit
Tutaonana, see you later Simit
Pamoja--together!
Home Sweet Home in Ilula
Besides my two trips out to paint in Simit and Kipkaren, I’ve
been in Ilula working at Empowering Live’s Ilula Children’s Home. I spend my days hanging out with the
102 orphans who also call this place their nyumbani,
or home. We share meals, I work on my still babyish Swahili, we play
basketball, sing songs, draw pictures, and hand wash clothes (I’m becoming an
expert in this).
The usual suspects
Pack of washamba
Visitors outside my door
Basketball in skirts
Laundry time
Last month while the kids attended school, I busied myself
giving the gate to the home a facelift. This gate was my first outdoor painting
project in Kenya, and it was a beast to tackle. Not only is it very big, but it
has to be painted with oil based paints which are about as easy to manage as
painting with tar. It took me 3 weeks, and I amazed every Kenyan who passed by
on the road by being the first female mzungu
fundi (white craftsman) they had ever seen. Women don’t paint here, and
being a white woman painting is a real spectacle. So I made a lot of friends,
and put a smile on a lot of faces.
The best part of painting by the road was I got to enjoy seeing the kids run home from school every day to check out what new progress had been made on their gate. Usishike, don’t touch, I’d say. Ni mbichi, it’s wet. But inevitably, someone would end up with paint on their nose or school uniform. Their favorite part of the gate, and mine, is the chicken which they christened “Kuku Sarah”. So now, even after I am gone from Ilula, I will be remembered by that chicken on the gate.
The cutest friend I made
This scenario ended badly...
Work in progress
The best part of painting by the road was I got to enjoy seeing the kids run home from school every day to check out what new progress had been made on their gate. Usishike, don’t touch, I’d say. Ni mbichi, it’s wet. But inevitably, someone would end up with paint on their nose or school uniform. Their favorite part of the gate, and mine, is the chicken which they christened “Kuku Sarah”. So now, even after I am gone from Ilula, I will be remembered by that chicken on the gate.
Finished gate!
What’s next?
I get asked this question a lot. And the answer is, I don’t
know. I will stay here in Kenya until it is time to go. I will paint in more
places, and make more friends. It’s an interesting way to live, this one day at
a time trusting in God kind of a life. The challenges are many, but so are the
rewards. So for now I am waiting and trusting and enjoying today.
Ecclesiastes 7:14
When times are good, be happy;
But when
times are bad, consider this:
God has made the one
as well
as the other
