Steve on Monday in Kitale

7 am Monday
The house is starting to wake up. I’m in the garden with my coffee. It’s pleasantly cool. It rained yesterday, the chairs on the garden gazebo are tipped up against the table to keep them dry. A dog is sleeping on top of the table. He see’s me and realizes it’s time to get down from his perch.
The birds are chirping and dancing among the dew covered leaves, everything is damp and luscious. It’s very peaceful, but it’s a false peace. In a few minutes the house will be awake and active, and that will only be the beginning. Yesterday the maize was delivered that we will distribute, but is has to be divided into individual bags. That will take most of the day.
There are seven kids staying here at the Transformed International compound. They are here in faith based personal growth internships. They stay for three months and work on different projects within the community. Many of the projects that they take part in are funded by Hope2Kenya. While at the compound they have duties and responsibilities. One of the those responsibilities is to cook. We’ve had two meals prepared by them and both have been delicious. Right now the girls are preparing a hearty breakfast for us…apparently we’ll need the strength today.
Monday – Noon
Wow, we just finished bagging food that will feed about 130 families. Each will get 100lbs of maize and a smaller bag of beans. We had help from the TI group and several local people. The work is extremely difficult, and I don’t think I’ve ever been dirtier. It is however very rewarding.
The TI compound is at once very busy and very peaceful. There’s a group of 40 women in the garden being given classes on elementary business skill, sponsored by Hope2Kenya. This, along with a small amount of money will allow each of them to start their own micro business. They began their lesson today with a prayer and a song. There’s a awful lot here to admire.
We had lunch in the garden with the 40 women that are taking the classes. Lunch was beans, rice and cabbage. It was cooked over open fires in the yard. It was one of the most delicious meals I have ever eaten. The company and surroundings were magical. While we were having lunch one of the TI workers Mark saw a monkey in the trees. He was coaxed down with a banana. I’ve a couple of great pictures. Unfortunately the internet here is too slow to upload anything. I’ll post them later. There a few nice shots.
Monday Dinner
It’s 5:30 here now. We’ll be having dinner soon. I’m sitting in the garden writing this and the smell of dinner from the kitchen is wonderful. Don’t know what we’re having, but it sure smells good.
Tomorrow will be another long day. In the morning we will be giving out the food, and then we have another busy afternoon. Remind me later to write about the amazing amount of organization that has gone into this trip by Sandy. The three weeks here is merely the culmination of a year of organization and fundraising. It’s amazing.
Steve