Saturday

Saturday at the Carriers is cleaning day. So, while I was not really prepared for what that meant, it was an excellent experience for all of us. (Rosenberry ladies, that is)

Cody and Boaz and Natalie 

We woke around six-well, earlier than that actually, thanks to the two roosters outside our window. I have to put a word in for those two guys tho. There are two, like I said, I could hear that. "Er-er-er-er-errrrr" then the other would echo. Well anyway, I asked Brent while it was still dark out how many hens for the two roosters and he told me they only had one hen!! I didn't really know this before my children told me, but at home when we had borrowed a rooster for our 14 hens, my children realized something. The rooster would crow and the hens would come to him. Crow, hens come running, like only hens can:) so. I can only wonder if these guys keep crowing on hopes that more hens will show up...I don't know...

So we got up , got dressed and combed, without the luxury of running water or mirrors. There is one small mirror in the main room, but I would rather take a guess than do my grooming in front of strangers. Thankful to Tara, she had brought a hand mirror, so that was a huge blessing! To be completely honest, I never thought about saying thankyou for my mirror at home before! 

We ate breakfast of coffee(thanks to Natasha) a yummy banana bread and some delicious lemongrass tea. There's no refrigeration here in this village. There is never any cold milk because they need to boil the milk 3 times, and how do you cool that down without a fridge? Or keep it cold, for that matter? So the milk they drink is in the form of hot chocolate or chai. But I'm pretty sure there was no milk at the 'store' and so we had the lemongrass tea. I don't mind, I'd take that over hot choc any day. However, Mrs. Carrier said hot choc is about the only way to get calcium.! Think about it, no milk, no cheese, yogurt, or anything that is a 'staple' to us at home. 

After breakfast, Mr. Carrier(Marc) took us on a tour of the village, where we saw the 'store'. You cannot begin to imagine, and I will have a difficult time giving you an accurate picture. I walked out to the store, which was a door about 32-36" wide. Inside was a 'booth', which was part of the doorway and about 24" deep. The goods were displayed behind chicken wire, to protect it from being grabbed by little black hands(or big ones) Silas runs the store. In the booth, behind the wire was bread, rolls, mandazes, sugar, candy, and even lollipops for sale. (When you think sugar, think raw sugar, when you think size of bag, think baggies w 1/2 cup in them. Just saying:) As I allowed my eyes to adjust and focus beyond the wire and things in the forefront, I saw soda, salt and Silas' wife and young son. 

Natalie and me in front of the store.

We walked from the store to the new permanent house that the mission is building,

which will have a well, a couple shops and homes, as well as a clinic. 

When we returned home, cleaning was in full swing. Mrs. Carrier had the living room area rug (8x10) slung over the swing set and was beating the dirt and dust out of it with a 30" piece of rubber. We entered the house to find furniture moved and young Carrier girls sweeping the living room. I walked thru to the kitchen and watched Jonah(13)and younger sibling mop the floor. The way they did it was dip mop in water, scrub the floor, use a large squeegee to work the water toward the door, wipe everything up w a large towel( which was very red w Kenya mud by the time I came on the scene) I was amazed how much cleaned the floor looked. This process was continued for the dining, living and hall area. 

I walked outside to assist Mrs. Carrier. Tara and I got the chance to beat small door mats and then she showed us how to scrub them with a scrubbing brush and bucket of soapy water.

I didn't realize she was only making it LOOK easy until I began to scrub. There was four of them and we scrubbed and then hung them in the swing set to dry in the African sun. 

Meanwhile Mrs Carrier was having her laundry scrubbed by an African laundress.

Think low, wooden workbench, dish pans and literal scrubbing! The wash was draped over the 4 ft high barb wire fence that serves as a protection along the boundaries of the yard. 

We returned to the house and swept the bedrooms, not w a central vac, but by pushing a kitchen broom w a broken handle over dusty, gritty concrete floors. 

I give these details, not in any way to degrade or expose these people,(I admire their commitment to live in this way)but for 2 reasons. One, to help those of you who've never been privileged to see, get the picture. And, two, so I remember how spoiled we are, to pull out the vacuum and suck up dirt[( I'm struggling to remember if it's even dirt that I pick up w that vacuum) it is American dirt, which seems far cleaner than this African dirt. It might just be me] whatever the case, it was a very good experience for us!

Then we were done and I actually got a hot shower at Natasha's. That was made possible by the garden hose style solar hot water rigged up on the roof of their house. I don't really know, but it was nice!! 

On Saturday afternoons, Mama Charlton(Charlton's mom, also called Wanda) holds a little class for children. She reads a Bible story and they all sing. The children, dirty with red mud and unwashed bodies, sat wide eyed and attentive, singing, clapping and moving. And I smiled just watching them.

The rest of the day was leisure and we all enjoyed(the Carriers and Sweazys especially) an American supper. We had brought a frozen ham over, which is a treat for them. Followed by a campfire and s'mores that Charlton and Natasha had arranged(and we brought the chocolate-also a luxury)

It was a fun, full day as we learned to know just a little bit more about these brothers and sisters who have dedicated their lives to serving the people of Kenya. 

Continue to pray for safety and protection. Nighttime is the worst for me, when the dogs bark and all I can imagine is dark people prowling around, and fear creeps in. All I can do is pray and trust God w my family in a brand new way. Thank you!!