A MOM’S VIEW

violet’s wedding: getting ready

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:29:35 -0600

Imagine getting eight bridesmaids dressed and ready for a wedding
in a house full of primping girls!!!
Here’s the way Gretchen described the process:

The night before we had all worked on getting the bridesmaids ready for Saturday. After we ate,
I painted about 14 sets of finger nails and toe nails
while Jane worked on getting old fingernail polish off.

Margaret was blow drying hair,
Julie was putting in treatment
and doing hair, etc.

They all did such a great job of helping each other, at least most of them did!:)
The day of the wedding began early. The bridesmaids and I got up at 6 for them to take showers and for me to make breakfast.

The hairdresser came before 7.

The other girls got showers from 7-8, four girls had to leave at 8:15 to get to Violet’s place to make sure they got transport on one of the vehicles, I did the girls’ makeup, and the girls were mostly ready at 9am—the time we were all supposed to leave. The bridesmaids were being picked up in their own vehicle and I would follow with four more girls. We were in a rush, until Violet called and said the vehicles were stuck in traffic so it might be an hour until they got to us. We had more time to take pictures and get the girls’ totally ready. They looked so pretty!

Actually getting to the wedding proved to be the biggest challenge of the day. Ten o’clock came and went. Eleven came and went. Grace was with Violet during this time and said that Vio said that she was just going to cancel it. I THINK it was a joke. At 11:30 I gave up and took a nap in my dress. Some of the girls did too-- trying not to wrinkle their dresses. Twelve came and went. Finally, at 12:30, I told the girls they could eat a sandwich. At that point, I thought that if I didn’t have to take girls, I just wouldn’t go. At 12:45 they finally arrived with the explanation that they got lost and ended up in Thika! You’ve got to be kidding!

We piled into our cars and went down a Mwiki road to Vio’s brother’s place. One of the transport guys kept telling me to turn the car around since I was in the way of the “convoy” and another guy told me that my tire was flat (of course it was!). So another couple of guys came over and debated what I needed to do, all while the first guy was telling me to move the car. I told him that I had been waiting for 4 hours for this thing to start . . .he backed off. :) So they finally agreed that the tire was just low and I needed to put some air in it. I turned the car around and we headed down Kangundo Road to a petrol station since that was the direction that we were heading. Got air in the tires while the station attendants snickered at the mzungu, and waited on the side of the road for the rest of the “convoy.” We only had to wait for a few minutes and then we were on our way, following behind the safari van with the bridesmaids in it. Traffic was not too bad and we arrived in Ongata-Rongai at around 2 o’clock. The wedding was supposed to start at noon. The church was way back on a “Mwiki-like” road and had somewhat of a parking lot. It was a pretty small church and quite rustic/African, but was decorated for a wedding. Once we got there, things went pretty quickly and the ceremony finally started. We had already had quite a day!

violet’s wedding: the night before

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 14:13:12 -0600

Gretchen wrote of Violet’s last night at Faith House:

Violet spent her last night with us last night. I wanted to do something a little special so I had them do a silly bridal game in which the girls were divided into two teams. Each team had to design a wedding “gown.” Then Violet had to choose the best. In her diplomatic way, she said that both were really good! After the craziness, I had the girls each write something to Violet on a 5x7 card (and African girls are so good at writing notes of encouragement and blessing!), and then we spent some time praying for her.

upcountry on a bus

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:28:09 -0500

GRETCHEN’S ADVENTURE:
Since we don’t have a car that is very trust worthy right now, Hellen and I took transport upcountry (2-3 hours outside of Nairobi) to visit one of our girls, Jane C, at boarding school. She will finish high school in November and we wanted to visit before she graduated. We took a Kenyan bus from Nairobi and let’s just say it was a true Kenyan experience.

As we climbed up into the only available bus that would take us to our destination I was met with young men pointing and laughing that a mzungu (white person/foreigner) would be on their bus. I ignored them and climbed the stairs into a vehicle that was crowded with people and bags. No animals that I was aware of. :) We were told to head back into the bus, but there were no seats left. I told Hellen I was not going to sit 4 across on a seat only meant for 3—especially when it would be a couple of hours. We were then directed to seats just opposite the door. I was on the aisle with a momma and baby next to me and another lady by the window. Hellen was in a middle seat squished between two Kenyan men, one who had a large canvas sack of vegetables on his lap and partly on hers. I’m not a very small woman, but I have no idea, if three big Kenyan mama’s sat down on this seat, how they would be able to get up. Let’s just say it was a tight fit.

We started off and before we could even make it out of town, our bus hit a pick up truck. Thankfully it was at a very low speed, but our bus driver apparently didn’t care that he had smashed the headlight of the truck and continued down the road. The pick up driver was not of the same mind so he pulled ahead of us and blocked the road. I’m assuming that some money was exchanged because we were quickly on our way (which was quite surprising—the “quickly” part). But as we were waiting we had street “vendors” come up onto the bus and try to sell biscuits (cookies) and handkerchiefs. The one selling handkerchiefs leaned against my seat (and me) while trying to sell his wares. A lady a couple of rows ahead of me wanted one so my head then became buried in this man’s armpit as he leaned forward to make his sale. Thankfully I was able to turn at the last minute so at least it was just the back of my head.

We then headed out of town and onto the main road which has major construction on it so we sat in some traffic for awhile. We were clear of traffic and driving at a pretty good speed when I noticed the guys who had laughed and pointed, again laughing. I glanced back and one of the guys was waving his hands around his head just as my hair was doing around mine because of the wind from the open door. I couldn’t help laugh myself, and I told them, “yes it does move.”

The toddler on her mom’s lap next to me was enjoying some milk and cookies. The milk of course was provided “naturally” by her mom. As the mom and the baby fell asleep as we continued our journey, the bosom just sat there in all its glory for most of the trip. And the baby’s head kept falling lower and lower until I had the baby’s head resting on my side, with the mom’s heading bobbing on and off my shoulder.

After an hour or two, we left the main road and turned off onto a road that led us further “upcountry.” As we let some people off at a stop, half of the window pane that the lady in my row had just adjusted, fell gracefully out of the window. We were then left with half of a window. Oh well.

By the time we reached our needed stop, Hellen and I were quite ready to depart. After catching a taxi for the short ride to the school, we stepped onto the school grounds and became the center of attention of about 500-700 pairs of eyes. The prize giving part of the program had just started and we tried quickly and silently to find open seats. We had to wait another hour before the program finished and we were able to spend some time eating and visiting with Jane. Even then I wished I had posted a sign around my neck that said “yes, I am a mzungu, price to stare is 3 ksh.” I could have made some good money that day. Needless to say, I was the only white person there—which is not unusual. Anyways, since we arrived quite late in the day, we only spent an hour with Jane and then we had to make the trip back home. The trip home was quite uneventful.

Despite some of these “uncomfortable” moments, it was really wonderful to get out of Nairobi and to see the beauty of the Kenyan countryside. No pollution, no trash, no traffic. It’s my idea of a pretty good day.

high school graduation

Mon, 7 Sep 2009 09:31:09 -0500

In October and November of 2009, five of our Faith House girls will be taking intense national exams that will mark their graduation from secondary school and, to a large extent, will determine what opportunities are open to them as they pursue university or vocational training. In a one month period, the students will take from 18 to 21 exams covering everything they have been taught in high school. Grades on these exams are the only grades in high school that count.

For our girls, completion of high school once appeared way beyond their most creative dreams. And yet, in spite of overwhelming impossibilities, they never gave up hope and search and prayer that they would somehow be able to complete secondary school, and perhaps receive further specialized training. God provided Faith House, a safe home and a sponsor for the education so necessary for them to find a way to contribute to the care for their families and the building of their country.

It is not the custom in Kenya, as it is in the U. S., to celebrate high school graduation with big ceremonies or with gatherings of families and friends. But in Kenya, families and friends support their Form Four (senior) students through the intense exam time, with much prayer. The girls would greatly appreciate your prayers.

INTRODUCING OUR FIVE GRADUATING STUDENTS:

not easily discouraged . . .

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:49:26 -0500

Jane Mwihaki is one of our Form 3 girls at Danana Girls Secondary School, the primary boarding school that our girls attend. Jane is a quiet, behind-the-scenes leader whose very presence in a group brings peace, joy, and music into that group. When she is at home on school breaks, singing accompanies chopping onions and ironing and loading the washer and hanging out clothes. Laughter and, sometimes, dancing, bring Faith House to life in a new way. At Thanksgiving, she wrote:

-I am thankful to God for my faith in Him.
-I am thankful for being given another chance to be in school and all my school needs are being catered for.
-I am thankful for how God has helped me in my studies.
-I am thankful to God for many special people He has placed in my life.
-I am thankful to God for my mum, my siblings and all the members of my family. This year I have seen a lot of transformation in my family which I am very thankful for.
-I thank God for good health.
-I thank God for good meals and many wonderful gifts I am privileged to have in Faith House.
-I am thankful for the guidance I get in Faith House, Church, School, and in books.
-I thank God for very wonderful friends He has placed in my life.
-I thank God for wonderful teachers and how they stuck with us without transfer the whole of this year.
-I thank God for how He helps me cope with some hard situation (I don't always do very well.)
-I thank God for the Faith House car! It makes a lot of school trips and other places for our good, not without Miss Gretchen being the driver or sometimes Paul. I am thankful for both of them for making it possible.
-I am thankful to God for my very special nephew (Charles Kamau). He is very healthy against to human expectation).
-I thank God for the principles He has installed in my life. (I am not perfect on them, but I am working to maintain them.)
-I thank God for the fact that the list of his faithfulness is endless.

Perhaps her overflowing gratitude is one of the reasons that she so transforms her surroundings.

Jane began secondary school several years ago but had to drop out for lack of school fees. Before Faith House, she had little reason to hope that she would be able to finish her education. But now, at Danana, she is consistently the top student in her class, and hopes to go on after graduation to study nursing or perhaps medicine.

When Jane applied for a place in Rafiki Girls’ Center, before secondary school was a possibility, her description of herself was, “I am not easily discouraged.” She has faced more than one family tragedy with quiet, overcoming faith. Only recently, her self-assessment was tested one more time, when her mom was in a matatu accident in which both of her legs were broken. Though torn by her desire to be the caregiver, Jane continues in school, trusting God for her mom, preparing for the day when she will have the training and skills necessary to be a real help to her family.

In Jane, Faith House has been entrusted with one more precious diamond.