MUDDING A HOUSE

Finally the day arrived to have the mudding for Fred and Caroline's new house. It had been delayed a week because of Silas Opiyo's funeral. We loaded up 2 vans of Kajulu people and headed out early for the Bondo area which is a lovely 1 1/2 hour drive. Martina had gone the night before with Sarah Esh, Melody Helmuth, Caroline and her sister Josephine. After sleeping in a mud hut with a thatched roof in pitch darkness they helped get an early start the next morning with food preparation. Martina was found cutting mandazis below and frying them in hot oil. For you Lancaster folks, the mandazis are the same as fasnachts. They are delicious freshly done.



Upon arrival we all decided to sit....and rest awhile...so unlike we hard-working Germans.......and no one seemed to really be in charge. After awhile, someone decided to go after geri cans so the ladies can start carrying water from the river. The men started chopping up the reddish clay dirt with huge hoes around the house. The water was dumped into the ground up dirt and 'grown men' jumped around in this stuff until it was just the right consistency needed to pack into the house. They declared this was beautiful mud......and it really did handle nicely...it can't be too wet, it will run out; it can't be too dry, it will crumble. We barely got started till someone called the group together for a noyo, mandazis and porriage breakfast. It was 11:00 o'clock. Hmmm.... when you are in Kenya, you do like the Kenyans do.....may as well go for breakfast to...

Church brethren preparing the mud. It looked too funny and they got such a kick out of us 'picturing them'. The work may be primitive but everyone knew his place and how to do his work. The women carried the water, certian men knew how to do the mud just right and others were good at plastering. It was an art in itself and quite facsinating. It was also a great social time.

The church sisters carrying the water from the river. For those of you interested, the ladies are right (front) to left, Conselata, Pamela, Elida, Rose and Helen. Pastor Glen looked a bit out of place in line regarding race, gender and mode of transportation.The ladies were very tired until the end of day. These buckets were full and they hardly rocked the water.

Monica, Daniel , Martina and I helped pack the mud in between double layers of sticks tied together with bark strips. (no nails in sight, even the tin roof was tied on.) They like when Americans help mud. They thought we acted experienced even though we didn't handle the stuff since childhood mudpie days. "You don't build houses like this in America...with wood...? How does a person explain a large house, garden and yard.......? you don't even go into much detail. They just can't comprehend such riches with them being so poor, especially these country folks.

This was the initial mudding. After it dries well, they do another one and smear it smooth forming a concrete look. It's surprisingly cool in these huts. They may do it several times inside and out until it pleases the wife of the new 'dala'. There's even a partition/wall dividing the house. It's amazing what finery they can come up with in these remote places. White embroidered linens and some exquisite doilies decorate their couches. They often plaster the inner walls with obsolete calenders and photos. It does take annual maintenance to keep the houses in shape. I couldn't quite decide if this house was built on the rock or the sand.

FUNERAL OF SILAS
part 2


The casket with Pastor Eric walking in front. The green bowl on the casket was for the people filing by to put in their offering. Later Pastor Eric poured the money into Jackie's leso ( a small cotton blanket ladies use for various reasons), tied it up in a knot and gave it to her.

When the body was carried out to be buried behind the house, the church ladies made up 2 lines and the casket was carried in between on the way out. Half of the the palbearers jumped into the hole and slid the casket into place.

Native pastors delivering the graveside service. When the first dirt clods hit the coffin, 2 women began wailing again, but they were soon removed into a nearby house. The Rhabour ladies chior sang in beautiful 4 part harmony.

After the funeral; a tot eating his millet and broth. African mothers try to teach their children to eat with their hands instead of eating out of the bowl. American mothers try to teach them to eat with a spoon instead of their hands. Interesting! :)

Mattie Kauffman

FUNERAL OF SILAS OPIYO
We had planned for some time to do Fred and Caroline's house mudding on Saturday but like anywhere , at any time God can take a person from this life and cause OUR plans to be delayed.

PART 1 ( the blog doesn't let me post more than 4 pictures at a time which is why they are sometimes done in 2 parts)

Brother Silas passed away very unexpectly last Saturday a week ago. He was in town doing business and just dropped over. Being only 41 years old, husband of Jackie and father of 5, it was quite a shock! The autopsy showed he died of cardiac arrest with bloodclot passing through his heart. He was was also diagnosed as having puenmonia, being diabetic and HIV positive which he had known and was on medication for. Being involved with the Agape Ministries, he was carrying quite abit of money and when a person collapses in public like this, a mob can soon strip a person of all his belongings. In this case, God arranged another young church brother, to arrive on the scene at just the right time and he protected the body and quickly took his valuables.
Silas and his family attended the Kasongo church and were members there. The funeral was held at his home close to the church. It was a whole week since he died and we wondered how a body is held for a week in this heat. They are embalmed, sealed in a casket and are viewed through a glass. We were also informed they often wait a week to give relatives time to arrive and also to give the family time to make money for food to feed the people attending. Even then only the family and CBF members were fed and they didn't have enough.
An hour before the service, there was testimony time. His mother, the in-laws, brothers and sisters and school board members spoke and lifted Silas very highly. Even the local tribal chief, a young, handsome, impressive young man, was given an opportunity. He was very respectful and spoke well of the Christians. Later we were told he has a brother who's a member in one of the churches. It amazing how God speaks to the great and small, the rich and poor alike. Last of all the widow, a beautiful, petite young woman, was asked to give testimony.......it was difficult for her.....but she was strong!

Silas will be sorely missed by many......a very vibrant, energetic man, he was involved with Agape Ministries and a very talented interpreter. He was on the local school board and spoke to many of his own people about God. Truly more people are touched in his death.


The service was held under a different tarps providing shade under the hot sun. A side wing held many locals, neighbors and relatives. I was struck by the miserable, stricken expressions these people had on their faces.

The CBF pastors were given a couch seat. From left to right is Sam, John Glick , Glen Helmuth and Tommy Wagler. Pastor Tommy was given the main sermon preaching on "The Judgment". It was a very timely message and the people listened intently. It may have been the first time many heard about Jesus' love and only God knows how much fruit this will bear.......


Wodow Jackie, flanked by her 2 daughters, giving her testimony.

It was definitely a black, Beachy funeral, and we wondered when the traditional wailing would begin. But for the most part things were serene and composed. Once, through the service, a local young lady ran around the congregation flailing her arms and wailing. We all looked at her like she lost her marbles and she soon disappeared into a nearby hut.

-to be continued

BIBLE STUDY IN THE KAJULU MOUNTIANS

Last Wednesday, we again had Bible Study in someone's home. Michael and Terry have one 9 year old daughter. It was a lovely setting on the mountian side overlooking the city of Kisumu and Lake Victoria. The homesteads called 'dalas' are most times a combination of houses built in a circle. The son marries and bring his wife home to his parents and builds his house, the next son does it as well and the process goes on. The system is for practical and security reasons. The wife goes with her husband to his dala unless there is an exception.


Walking up the mountianside is Conselata, our neighbor lady on Ring Street and Wilburforce (right) our language teacher. In background is Sam, Galen Helmuth, Nehemiah, a polio victim and Daniel



Approx. 30 people cram into the living room. The ladies sit on the floor with their feet straight out and sit there for 1 1/2 hours. Try that if you can without a backrest. The men and we soft Americans sit on the couches they drag in from nearby houses.

Afterwards we are fed the usual rice and beans with chai. For some people this is their meal for the day. Little Rosanna is having fun eating out of Martina's plate and is very fascinated with the spoon. It's always a great social time.

The Luo people are very friendly in spite of the langauge barrier. These ladies can speak English quite well though. We were looking at a picture of Monica and Sara, a daughter of Jennifer next to Sam. How intrigued they are of pictures......a luxury they cannot afford.

The next post was going to be about a house mudding but it was cancelled because of Silas Opiyo's funeral.

By the way, our lost tub was found in a Nairobi guest house, a whole month later. God led Abby Fisher to a helpful airport offical. Thanks for your prayers.

Mattie Kauffman

BIBLE STUDY ON WEDNESDAYS

Every Wednesday afternoon the Kajulu church has a Bible Study of about an hour or longer depends how sleepy the listener may be. This is held either at church or in someone's home. It's always special to be invited to a home because you will get a meal there. Many of these people don't have enough to eat and a host would never consider having guests without feeding them before they leave. Also if you are invited, the host needs to release you before you may depart. This is abit trying sometimes and can get to be somewhat of a control issue. Nevertheless these mid-week meetings often draw the same, small crowd of kindred souls and we enjoy learning to know them in a more informal atmosphere.

Daniel (14), at Bible study, trying to stay focused.

Kajulu ladies (Wilburforce's wife, Rose, in lavender)
Wilburforce is our language teacher.

Monica holding Caroline's little "boy" in a pink dress


Last week, Sam and I, Glen and Rosanna Helmuth and a few others were involved in legalizing a marriage. Irene, an attractive young mother with her small son named "Barack Obama", is in the instruction class and one of the requirements is to be 'married properly and not just 'shack up' before baptism. Since it is the custom for the girl's parents to sign the documents, we had to travel to her home area. It was quite awhile since Irene had been home so she and no one else knew exactly where we were going. Her 'husband' Michael never was there so he didn't know either. We just headed out in the general direction under the impression it was about a 1-2 hour drive. We finally arrived 3 hours later in the boonies very close to the Uganda border. The last 20, bumpy,dirt miles ended in a cow/foot path.

We were warmly welcomed and treated royally by the whole clan of 30+ people. We soon saw these folks were of a more aristocratic nature, poised, self-confident, 'rich' and well-dressed. We were fed the usual chapaties and chai along with white bread and soda pop for the Americans. (note title 'soda' for our Eastern friends and 'pop' for our western friends). We finally got to our legal procedures and Michael agreed to pay his dowry of a cow for his wife, and no , the cow may not be hauled in. She needs to be bought locally and has to walk through the gate on her four legs. Custom is custom. Dad had died and mom appeared to not be too willing to let Michael go without leaving at least something. She, and the deceased eldest brother did sign off and were very grateful, however, that Irene is attending the CBF (Christian Believers Fellowship) church and not living the life of an alcoholic. Most all who had some say of authority spoke his/her word. It seemed ironic that in such a primitive mud hut setting under a thatched roof that we hold a court-style meeting. The whole clan was very gracious and all want to attend the small church wedding some time in the future.

It was getting dark and we had to leave. We don't practice driving at night because of so many dangers involved. Black people walking the black, unmarked roads. Poor lights everywhere. Thugging tendancies. But, no, we had to eat first! We HAD just eaten......but here comes the pile of rice, the mound of ugali, the millet, the beef and chicken parts. Only this time it was the whole chicken, the feet and the head including the comb. (I had a fleeting curosity of what a rooster's comb would taste like, but thought then was not a good time to find out). We did managed to taste the food alittle and had to leave because of the pending thunder storm. It was a stressful, ride home we don't want to do often. The first miles it rained hard and washed gullies into the road.

Some of you know we are still missing a piece of luggage since our arrival to Kenya 3 weeks ago. There are a varity of items that are immaterial and can be replaced; tools, cookbooks, some school books, including 3 of Daniel's Abeka DVDs, clothing items and etc. But, there are 2 items that tug at my heart. I had done a cross-stitch sampler for our four oldest children and during my 3 month stay in Ukraine I also did one each for Mryna and David. They weren't quite finished and I brought them along. Now they are in this missing tub. It may seem trivial, but we keep praying about it. We know that it did arrive a day after we did and that it was shipped to one of the many guest houses in Nairobi. But, no one seems to know anything about it!!!

I also had my first hospital experience today. After a weakening week of food turning to water we were advised to go for tests. The results: water-laden parasites (probably chai) that need docking or they will keep producing more of their kind. UGH! Typical aclimating to Africa they say.


Martina leaving church

Watch for next week's post on MUDDING A HOUSE
"Oriti" (goodbye)

Mattie Kauffman

our monday.... nothing too exciting happened but i thought i'd post about some more 'common' or 'everyday' things here. :)


here's our washline filled with our lesos (a very multi-purpose blanket used by the native women)
aren't the palm trees lovely? :)


There was a pastor's meeting in the morning so we didn't have language classes until the afternoon. We children decided to walk to Nakumatt (the Kenyan walmart) :) The compound is to the right behind the bushes....

This is right inside Nakumatt... you'd almost forget that you're even in Kenya except for the odor, no AC, prices in shillings, and almost half an aisle of hairpieces :)

ok that's all for now- Martina

Lake Victoria on Sunday evening...

We youth decided to take supper/snack to the lake at 5:45 to watch the sunset.
here we are enjoying our snack of popcorn, bread with peanut butter and nutella (a luxury) :), fanta, and coke.
Left to Right: Daniel, Galen Helmuth, Melody Helmuth, Miriam, Monica, and me behind the camera :)


Monica and I

the sunset that evening... it was windy and almost chilly.

and a group picture :) i set the camera on a brick ledge and put it on self timer. We had a great time there... we think we saw some hippos but we're not sure... hopefully sometime we'll see one when it's out of water. But we've been told that they can be very dangerous if you get in between them and water.

- Martina

Part 2

Listening to the native man's testimony. The house frame behind us we will help in the mudding in about 2 weeks. It's seems every people group has it's own skill in some way or form. This frame was done with branches, twigs and bamboo strips and well grounded into the clay soil. It wasn't much but it was well done.


David and Myrna looking for the primative 'toilet'. They all just have a hole in the ground and sometimes no door. You also have to provide your own paperwork.


As poor as these people were, they still had to practice their hospitality. This is Pamela, Terry, Jennifer and Judith, all sisters at Kajulu, enjoying the usual 'nyoyo (a bean and field corn mix) and chai'.



A rock formation in Sammi Valley.

We have adjusted quite well to the 7 hour time change and are currently steeped in language classes. It's a challenge to say the least. For Sam, a BIG one, for myself, mediocre, and for the children a small hurdle. It's seem the older a person gets the slower the brain churns or maybe churns slower because of the greater content, who knows?! The locals love if we try to speak in our limited way. They don't seem to mind the blubbering and are most willing to help. It makes for laughter which helps build relationships.

We also enjoy compound life and staff interaction, especially with the Glen Helmuth family, whom we are replacing. We look forward to the return of Merle Beachys and Ivan Peacheys, who are on furlough. We also know Glens will be leaving soon after that and that makes us sad. Even though it seems ourprops are gone, we know the Lord will help us.

By the way, we alway enjoy feed back from our readers. The picures are credited to Martina, our daughter photographer and I enjoy the blogging. You will likely see as many pictures as words. Thanks to those who take time to comment. It's a great encouragement.

Mattie Kauffman

Spiritual Hunger in Bondo

Last Thursday, a small group of Christians from the Bondo area asked the Kajulu church to conduct a Bible Study for them. We packed various church members into two vans, piled some chairs on top of the one van and headed out on a beautiful afternoon. It was about an 1 1/2 hours drive half way around Lake Victoria into the country. We drove through the Sami Valley where many HUGE rocks were stacked and arranged in such a way that only God could have done it. When was it done? At creation or the flood? The trip ended with the road narrowing down to a rugged one lane, then a brush- scraggled foot path where you thought no vans could go. Relief filled our hearts when we suddenly met some expectant faces waiting in a small clearing. It was a typical mountian setting.



The group consisted of about 40 people. We were half of them, but that was alright.

We did some singing for awhile. This is the Luo songbook with many familair hymns in it.

The crowd listened intently. The hunger showed on their faces. Afterwards when asked for testimony the man in charge (below) stated his disappointment in not many showing up. He pleaded with us not to give up on them but to continue coming. It ws touching. If more Americans could feel their hearts there would be more on the misson field. Let those already there not grow weary because the fields are white with harvest.

Glen Helmuth with Joshua interpreting.

to be continued.......

Pictures of Bible Study at a native's home

I'm going to try something a little differently.... i'm putting a link on here of a bunch of pictures that we took on the way to and at Bible Study yesterday afternoon. I'd like to have some feedback. Do you enjoy this way with more pictures our would you prefer more writing on the blog with 3-4 pictures? or maybe some of both? Enjoy the pictures and let me know what you're thinking :)
- Martina
http://picasaweb.google.com/martinakauffman/BibleStudyAtJoshuaMillicentSHouse7109?authkey=Gv1sRgCN_E6cfYm5OwKQ#