Day 3 in Kenya....Living Room, A Fire and Forgiveness

If you look carefully in the distance you can see the smoke from the fire; little did I know what was going on when I took this picture on our way to Living Room

Day 3: Living Room, Mama Michael and the Fire

March 14, 2016

What a beautiful day!  On our way to Living Room this morning, we walked down the red dirt roads and stopped by an old friend’s, Cathy Lessig, home.  And then we passed Wilson Chumo.  And George.  And saw Martha.  And Roman.  And a lady that had been a young girl in some of our programs so many years ago with her own children now. 

I’ve loved watching our kids playing with the children, greeting everyone with handshakes and “Habari?”, trying Swahili at every turn, and soaking in every moment.  We spent a good portion of the day at Living Room, sitting with the guests, blowing bubbles, holding babies, talking with the patients, and learning a tiny bit of their stories.  Kaylee made brightly-colored heart bead necklaces with ten-year-old Chep Chumba (she arrived recently severely malnourished).  These two little girls couldn’t speak the same language, but their smiles told everything.  Cameron held Chep Chirchir, a 18-month-old who also was severely malnourished and arrived two months ago.  “You know, this might be the most important thing you do all day,” I told him.  

He looked me straight in the eyes and said, “I know.  I know.”  I could write pages on this beautiful, incredible place and all they are doing for the community.  Simply amazing.

Afterwards, we headed up the hill in the heat to Mama Linus’ home and Linus’ house.  As we walked onto the family’s compound, I felt like it was 12 years ago.  Here comes Mama Linus in that smile I could identify a hundred miles away, “Anika! Matayo!  Karibu sana!”   We talked and laughed.  Ah, it was so good!! 

We then headed to Linus’ house where they told us he would be there shortly. 

Little did we know what was really happening. 

We waited for a short Kenyan time, and he appeared.  He sat down with us outside his beautiful, humble home and told us with a deep concern that he’d been putting out a fire he accidentally started. 

“What?” we replied.

“There was a fire.  I went to the shamba (garden) earlier today and was tending to the crops.  Some of the crops weren’t good and needed to be cleaned up, so I was burning them in a contained way.  I put out the fire, headed to Kipkaren, and while I was there they told me there was a fire on my land and Pastor Tarus’ land.   One of the embers from the fire must have blown away with the wind and started his sugar cane on fire.”

“Oh my, we saw the smoke when we were walking to Living Room and again when we came to your home, but we thought it was someone burning their field.”

“Yes, that was the fire.  I started yelling for help and everyone came with pangas (machetes) to help put out the fire.  They cut the land around it and waved banana leaves, and it only burned two acres instead of all of it.”

This is no small miracle or feat since it’s the dry season where the land is parched, and there isn’t any water around or fire department to come help. 

He told us he called Pastor Tarus right away and told him about it, and he said because it was an accident he was hoping Pastor Tarus would understand.  Later Linus walked a mile with us back to where we were staying so he could talk with him.  On the way back, he said, “I’d rather have nothing in my life and good relationships than have money.  I saw that today when I called for help one time and when I called Pastor.”

When Pastor Tarus arrived from being in town, they headed together to the shamba. 

About an hour later, Pastor Tarus walked through the door and behind him was Linus.  He invited Linus over for dinner.  The very one who had just accidentally burned his land was his dinner guest.  Did you get that?  Read it again!!!  The very one who had burned his land was his dinner guest.

I observed.  I soaked it in.  This was beauty in a really hard day. 

Linus filled his plate and partook in the meal.  A few hours before he was heavy-hearted as he looked at the burnt plot of land that once held income for his neighbor, and now he is eating a meal with that same man.  It’s a real life parable for my heart.  This is the Gospel that Jesus shared and is for us today. 

This speaks of character.  This speaks of forgiveness.  This speaks of community.  This speaks of a lesson to my heart.  I put myself in Pastor Tarus’s shoes for a moment and thought, “What would my response have been?”  I’m still thinking about it and hope I would respond as he did. 

Kaylee giving the headmaster some pencils from her school

We went to Brook of Faith afterwards where the headmaster called the children together for an assembly.  Kaylee’s school collected pencils, so we presented them to the children and handed every child a new pencil.  It’s amazing to see how a simple pencil brought excitement and light to their faces, and it’s encouraging to see the joy on our childrens’ faces as they shake each hand and pass out each pencil.  Cameron spent the afternoon playing soccer with the boys and Kaylee giggled as her hair was braided by girls swarming like bees.  Kaylee joined me on home visits to old friends, Peter and Ruth, Mama Jesang and Maru and others.  It was a joy for her to experience Kenyan hospitality in its best form.