The joys of village visits

Four of our last eight days were spent in villages for church services, so there were many parts of the routine we started getting acquainted with well! Such as...the (at least) one hour drive to get to the village. Kids chasing our vehicles they were so excited to see us. Being served chai tea and bread (unsweetened donuts of sorts) in the morning. Playing with frisbees, bubbles, or other simple toys we brought along that the children delighted in. The endless game of taking photos of people, them looking and laughing at the pictures, and wanting more pictures taken. Eventually beginning the worship service after several hours of fellowship. The choirs that would come from miles away, on foot or by bike, and the way their voices carried in spirited praise. Sharing the peace with every single person as we all formed one large circle at the end of the service. Eating rice and goat for dinner—and feeling honored that they would kill a goat. Meat is very expensive and not eaten often, yet they spared no expense for us!



On our last visit, the guys had the privilege of seeing the Maasai men kill the cow and prepare the meat, while the girls were welcomed into a home to hold a baby who had just been born the day before. Even the baby’s father isn’t allowed to see it for two weeks, but we as strangers were honored in this way. Another highlight was our visit to the village of Twatwatwa earlier in the week— a village with which Wartburg has visited consistently and formed a special relationship. Money that St. Paul’s Church in Waverly has raised will be used for constructing a church building there (which costs around $3500). We also brought school supplies and hope to do something about their school building. They informed us that it was constructed incorrectly and is dangerous for the students to be in, yet the government offers little to no support for this remote village. Unless they can build a new school, it will have to close. In yet another village, we shared in the joy of the water to which they now have access because of a well dug with funds raised by Cedar Falls Rotary. So many people met in such a short time! Even if we don’t remember a lot of names, many smiling faces are still with us.