This morning the contingent was headed in three
directions. One group headed to Tom’s
church, another volunteered to stay at the worksite and the third was off to Skrita’s
church (Skrita is a boisterous, laughing, singing nurse at the clinic). The group chosen to go to Tom’s church - Nash,
Eric Post, Kayla, Charlotte, Kevin and Tom walked to the church, which is
located near the clinic. On arrival,
though, they found church was almost empty due to a fundraiser that day. Since the goal was to go to chuch, we
bundled into a matatu - a local taxi
– and blasted off to Skrita’s church.
When we pulled up we were greeted the church’s minister and
escorted to our seats. The rest of the contingent looked at us quizzically, but
we had to wave off their questions because the singing marked the beginning of
the service.
Like last Sunday the service was filled with dancing and
singing. Although we didn't know any of
the songs, it was great to listen to it all.
When the pastor and his translator took to the pulpit he led the service
in English while the other man translated everything into Swahili. He preached about Evangelism, and did so very
well. The service ended up being much
shorter than the one last Sunday (which was welcoming).
Once the service was over, everyone returned to the worksite
for a lunch of potatoes, warm coleslaw and a mixture of beans and maize. It was all delicious. David told us it would
be a day of moving dirt away from the walls and shunting bricks from point A to
point B. Seven Kenyan masons managed to
lay the first layers of bricks on the concrete foundations.
After working and supplying water for the labourers, Kayla,
Caitlind and Charlotte left for the market with the leaders, stopping at a bank
machine en route (an uncommon service and this one was a 30 minute drive away).
The market itself was an terrific experience. Everything was fresh, and right there. Vendors sold from rickety wooden stands or
from small tarpaulins spread on the ground.
Although some vendors were trying to make an honest living, others were
approaching us to ask for money. “Just
50 Bob, please.” It was an incredible
experience. We wandered from stall to
stall, picking and choosing what we needed for for dinner. Visiting the butchery (butcher) was somewhat
shocking, as there were skinned cow carcasses hanging up in the back, at room
temperature, waiting to be carved. We
made all our necessary purchases and then went in search of a snack (one of the
perks of being on the market run). We cleaned
one place out of their samosas (here they call them sambosas) and purchased two
bags of French fries, referred to here as chips.
The rest of the contingent remained at the worksite, where
there was very little work for them to do, although there was a little
excitement when one of the barefoot Kenyans stepped on a used needle turned up
when we stumbled across an old clinic disposal pit while digging. We made arrangements for him to get a Tetanus
shot Monday. We continued work until Eric
Davison found four really adorable baby bunnies, which were quickly named: Sherlock,
Watson, Monty and Dexter. The workday
quickly degraded into playing with them.
We are ready to lay bricks tomorrow.
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