She was born in 1910!

We were able to visit with Moses' grandmother today. She is 105 years old! 

 It was great watching her interact with Moses.  He would get distracted while she was talking and she would reach up and hit him!

I cannot imagine the stories she could tell!  

She is mostly deaf, "gets confused" when she talks and has a broken hip that will never heal.  She told us, "I did a good job educating my sons.  Now my grandson has brought mzungus to visit me!" 

 Later, she said, "I don't know why God has allowed me to stay alive so long.  I don't know why I am still living."  

She has certainly done a great job raising her sons, daughters and grandchildren!

Bush school photos

We went and visited a few bush schools today.  The children are so precious!

Humbled, Nervous, Amazed (yeah, all that and more)

So, I received this letter today:

I must say, this is a first for me!  My duties include "passing out graduates" (I think that means giving out the certificates, not actually passing out on stage).   "Presiding over the giving of gifts" (I was told that these will be gifts the school has purchased, not something I need to purchase).  Also,  "addressing the present audience" (I think that means a speech of some kind in which I encourage the parents to bring their kids back next year).

I have one week to get ready for this.  Should be interesting. 

I have to say that I am pretty nervous about reading the children's names out-loud.  I always seem to mess up the pronunciation - reading certificates out-loud, to the proud parents is not a good scene for me.

A moment of life

I am sitting in the car, guarding it if you will, as Beatrace buys a few things at the market. 

The strong stench of dried fish fills my nose as Dolly Parton sings "I will always love you" in the background. The music is coming from one of the bars on the road.   The music seems oddly out of place here. 

A man comes up and stands just behind my window. He talks to me in a sing song voice, the only words I recognize being "mzungu" and " motoca". I agree with him wholeheartedly as I discreetly lock the door. 

He wanders away, nodding his head in agreement. Whether I have just said yes to a marriage proposal; the car being the dowery, or admitted to have stolen the car or have agreed with his views on politics, I will never know. 

Beatrace comes, first with a bundle of green plantains or matoke as they are called here. Then she returns with three heads of cabbage. Finally, with four small bananas that she has bought for me. 

We laugh that she has gotten more matoke for the same price as what Brenda paid last week. She explains it simply with, "Brenda, she is mzungu. "

Such strange conversations

Beatrace:  Today is the day we eat chicken and matoke.

Jessica:  Did the chicken man come?

Beatrace:  He has come but he cannot find a chicken.  Maybe we can eat beef.

Jessica:  Yes, or HH can buy three of your chickens.

Beatrace:  (laughing)  My chickens are too big.

Jessica:  Too big?  You mean they would cost more than 15,000?

Beatrace:  Yes, and I don’t want to sell.  Madam Edith wants to buy one of my cocks for Gift of Hope.

Jessica:  Ok.  So, the chicken man cannot find chickens?

Beatrace:  He came, but with one chicken that was sick and another that was small.  I told him we don’t buy sick chickens.  He say he will come back later.  I will ask the guard if he has returned.

Jessica:  Ok.  If the chicken man doesn’t come back, we will go to Muwayo to buy meat.

I feel like I have some of the strangest conversations sometimes! (And, I really should learn the "chicken man's" real name.)

Again!

I have been in bed with malaria now for three days. But, I am beginning to get better now 

Pastor Moses said it makes you stronger every time. I am getting pretty strong!  

The Impact

Today I went with Brenda and Beatrace to a house across the road from the Village of Eden. We went there because a man had died the day before.  We know some of the people in the family and we wanted to show our respects.

I drove the car, through the bush to their house.  There was no road, just a foot path, indicating that cars rarely come to their house.

 We got out and the family immediately took us to what I call the "death hut".  It is customary here for the family to sit with the dead for a day or so before the burial.  The family is usually waiting for family to come from other villages.

The body is laid out in the floor of the mud hut - on a straw mat or mattress if the family can afford it.
The body is wrapped in a blanket and in today's case, only the head was visible.

All around the inside of hut the women sit on straw mats, talking, crying, just being together.  The children and men mingle outside in small groups.

They took us inside the dark hut and being guests of honor, quickly found wooden stools for us to sit on.  We sat with the other women inside the hut with the body as the center focus.

We talked quietly with the widow, Gertrude.  Brenda mentioned something about her children.  Gertrude became excited and began talking to someone outside the door.

Soon, people began coming into the hut, standing around the body, some sitting on the body's mattress.  Finally, Gertrude was content and took the hand of one of the women closest to her.

"This is my first born."

We shook her hand.

"This is my second born."

We shook her hand.

"This is my third born."

Again, shaking hands.  We continued this 15 times!  Gertrude has given birth to 15 children, the youngest being about 18.

 She was so proud to be able to introduce them to us.  You could also feel the pride in the children.  It was an odd kind of family reunion, all the children around the mother, with the father's body lying in the floor between all of us, many of the handshakes done over the body.
____________________________________

Then, God began blessing me.

One daughter asked if Brenda remembered the first time they had met - Helping Hands helped her get treatment for a broken arm.

Another son mentioned when he did some work for us on our fence, helping to provide for his family.

Brenda bragged on Gertrude who is one of our ladies that cleans at the Village of Eden - seeing all the family made me realize that she is one of the sole providers for this huge family.

By this time, many children had peeked or sneaked into the hut's doorway.  I recognized them as faithful Saturday Esangalo students (receiving the Word and food each Saturday).

Many of the girls were wearing dresses we had given out.

A couple of the kids are students at our Village of Eden school, receiving a free, quality, Christian education.

I say that God began blessing me because He opened my eyes to see all of this and realize the impact that God, through Helping Hands has made in just this one family - as large as it may be.

I realized that even though we are having troubles and the work here is NEVER easy, there is an impact for His Kingdom!  His love, His Word - HE is being shared.  It was a wonderful and humbling time for me - being able to see the work of the Lord through Helping Hands in this village.