Safari Njema

Karibu Kenya #6: Puddles, prime ministers and long walks

The last few days I’ve gotten into somewhat of a routine- teaching Spanish, reading in the afternoons, going to church and taking long walks outside the compound. I’ve really enjoyed the slower pace here. Of course, living a slower paced life is quite doable when you are not working full time and there are no distractions like a television or the constant questioning of 144 children, for example.

I think it is safe to say that rainy season has finally hit us. The nights are met with heavy rains followed by grey clouds and light drizzle in the mornings. It’s not a depressing kind of rain though. The temperature remains very mild while everything continues to bloom and turn as green as it possibly can.

With rains, come large puddles-so large that you might consider swimming across when navigating by foot proves to be a challenge. The less than kilometer, puddle-dodging walk to church was very invigorating and made me wish I could walk to church every day. I even managed to find a puddle that was in the exact shape of Africa! I contemplated the walk to my home church in Murfreesboro, but quickly calculated that I would have to leave at least two hours early to make it on time. Ridgeways Baptist is the name of the church I visited this week. It is where Aimee, Mim and the Ahadi boys attend. The service was primarily in English but still had its own Kenyan flair with some songs and commentary in Swahili. After an hour of worship, the pastor began his sermon on “Conquering Temptation”. For some reason, I couldn’t stop taking notes. I assume the Lord had that message specifically in mind for me that morning. Before service let out, I finally got an explanation for the 7 cameras I had seen filming the service. Apparently former Prime Minister Raila and his wife were in attendance, in addition to his political entourage. He was asked by the pastor to come to the pulpit and greet the congregation. Before I knew it, we were in the throes of an impromptu address to the Kenyan people. I have to say, this was a first for me-never have I seen a former president of any country during a Sunday morning service.

On other notes, walking has been one of my favorite pastimes here in Kenya. Yesterday, Robbie, Austin and James decided they wanted to accompany Aimee and I as we took Mim’s dog Sweetie (very deceptive name for a vicious dog) on a walk around the block. It was hard not to laugh when all three of the boys met us at the gate, each wearing only one roller skate. Somehow I missed the memo about it being the cool thing to do these days. They made sure to stay within watching distance as Aimee and I leisurely followed, trying to take in all the scenery. Of course, a couple of times we might have lost them. But not to fret, after screaming their names, we would hear rustling in some bush or a banana grove. Sure enough, these little mischievous fellows would pop out holding a handful of berries or ground tomatoes. After two hours had passed, the boys had exhaustion written all over their faces. Robbie, the 5 year old, was carrying his skate on top of his head the last 30 minutes of the walk, feeling quite defeated from falling numerous times.

As I finish my post this Monday afternoon, the sun finally decided to make its way out for the day. We finished our weekly shopping for ourselves and the Ahadi Boys at Nakumat and later had a filling lunch of ugali (white cornmeal paste) and collard greens. Resisting another afternoon nap, I joined Aimee and Grandma as we went to buy vegetables and fruit at a local stand called Mana-just another day on the homestead. I’m off to make some afternoon tea. Only four days til our safari in Samburu...and who can forget, the World Cup!!! Óle!