Kenya {Day 6} - Around the House

We arrived at Mattaw on Saturday morning (we usually headed over there right after breakfast) with no set plan as to what work we would do there that day. Even though this prefer-to-have-a-plan-to-maximize-time kind of girl can occasionally enjoy spontaneity, when my time involves doing work or being productive, I like to be orderly and efficient and have a plan to guide me. Thankfully, God knows better and interrupts our ideas of what our plan should be (according to us). There were no specific tasks set before us and no outline of what our day would look like yet it was one of the best days.

 

Our team dispersed upon arrival to go help or engage with the families in any way we could. I was uncertain at first of what would be helpful to them (my perspective and theirs could be very different) and I was unsure of what might be more of getting in their way. I headed to House 3 where I had gravitated to most days for lunch and milled around in the backyard where the morning chores were being done. These chores were done by the Mom, "Auntie" (who did not stay on the property but came in most days to help), and also the older girls of each house.

 

E, L, and I started by helping with laundry. I believe this is done a couple days a week. With 12-16 kids in each house and lots of dirt to play in, you can imagine how big the piles were. The ladies line up a bunch of buckets filled with water and individually wash each article of clothing in the first bucket, then the second, then the third, and so on down the line with each wash removing even more of the dirt. I was amazed how the filthy, red dirt stained clothes and shoes looked completely clean after their hand washing. We formed an assembly line and were each responsible for a couple of buckets.  

As you can see, I would often start the day off in a light jacket because it was a little cool and then I would peel off my top layer by midday. It really was the perfect temperature for working outdoors.

After washed and wrung out, on to the clothesline they went...

 

This was an impressive skill that I did not attempt



Some dishwashing from breakfast

Kim & L scrubbing together. I used to babysit L when she was 3 or 4. Who would have thought we would travel to Kenya together years later?!

After the morning "clean up" chores were done, we moved on to preparing for lunch. E and I helped cut up the "spices"...the peppers, tomatoes, carrots, etc. that they used to flavor foods. If only the spices in our foods here were only fresh veggies and herbs!

 

I am not the most skilled knife user as it is so when they handed me a huge blade to cut up everything, I was a little nervous. I gave it a shot...briefly.

I attempted - for a second - to cut as they did (with the blade going towards my finger) but a quick small cut on my hand made me realize that I do not have their skills! Even the young girls in the houses who help the Moms and Aunties were pros.

Pictured below is Grace (Mom of House 3) teaching Spencer how to make rice for lunch. Saturday's lunch is a special treat because the children get rice and chicken. Meat is only served a couple of times a week so this meal is one of the favorites.

There were often 2 pots cooking for meals. The rice was up near the house over an open flame and then the chicken was over a fire farther out back. 

Mattaw weekly menu

While some of us were working behind the houses and helping the house Moms and Aunties, the rest of the team was working on the wall. Most of the blocks had been moved at this point so not as many of us were needed for this project at the time. A ton of progress had been made on the wall and they were nearing the end at this point... 

Enjoying a break from work over a delicious lunch.

The chairs and couch were saved for us while the children all lined up on the bench by the table or on the floor to eat.

Decorations in our eating area at House 3

Some playtime/hang time with the kids out back after lunch.

Sweet Faith loved playing with my watch 

If Spencer realized that I had "his" Faith, he would often sweep her away from me. Again, she was the little girl who looked so sad when we arrived.

 Faith was actually the cousin of the two twins I mentioned before. Here she is with Emmanuel.

The change in her just days after we had been there was amazing. Watch below...

What joy filled my heart when I saw this precious little girl smile and laugh at Spencer

Grace making chapati for their next meal. She was always so sweet to let us watch or have children under her feet or by her side.

Bud & Kimberly's oldest enjoyed giving Grace a hand with the dinner preparations

In the late afternoon after the chores were done, we sometimes just relaxed together. Bud and Kimberly (who run Mattaw) were quite busy while we were there so they were not always around. Here was one of the few days that they were. (Kim is the one standing against the door holding one of the twins, Bud is sitting down in front of her in the cowboy hat...go figure.)

 

  

This was one of the few days that dark clouds moved in and blocked the sun. The kids continued to play soccer until the rains came. 

Friendly faces on the dirt road that led out of Mattaw

A beautiful rainbow that appeared once we arrived back to Karibuni at the end of the day. Again, this view was from the back porch where we ate dinner every evening.

What a beautiful reminder of God's promises to us...

 

Kenya - Houses of Mattaw

I want to interrupt my normal Kenya posting about our daily adventures to share more about some of the special aspects of Mattaw that will help clarify information in my other updates.

Even though we had been in touch with the couple (from Texas, younger than me!) who started Mattaw and I had spent evenings last summer looking at the faces on the Mattaw website trying to get a sense for what I was going to experience while in Kenya, I really did not know what to imagine.  The pictures in my head that I usually create before going somewhere new or meeting a new face were very fuzzy as I set my heart and mind on spending almost two weeks in Africa.

Before we arrived, I had no idea the wonderful picture of family life that I would encounter and find for children who had once been surrounded by darkness, abused, and forsaken. Bud & Kimberly, who started Mattaw, had a vision to create homes for the children they rescued. They refer to it as a Children's Village, not an orphanage, but it's even more than that.

The houses you see below each represent a "family" at Mattaw. Each house is numbered and has a name (Love, Joy, Peace, Patience). African married couples live in each of the houses and are the parents of the children who have been brought into their individual houses. While all of the children at Mattaw (all 60+ of them!) view each other as brothers and sisters and respect all of the parents as their own Mom and Dad (including Bud and Kim), the "family" that they belong to is the one they actually live with in their house. More here about the family structure and vision of Mattaw.

In the picture above, you see House 3, 4, 5, and 6 (right to left).  Houses 1 & 2 are cut off on the right side of the photo.  While we were there (and when this picture was taken), Houses 5 & 6 were in the process of being completed. The very first house was opened in August of 2008, and here almost 5 years later, they are ready to welcome home another family to House 5. In addition to the houses, a church, school house, and guest house are some of the other buildings that have been built in the last few years or are in the process of being completed.

 

The buildings at Mattaw are made with the blocks pictured below. The structure of a house can actually be completed in only 7 days. Amazing. These interlocking blocks make the buildings sturdy and the process fast.



Now here's where God's plan and His hand on our lives is mind blowing.

 

Never would I have ever imagined how God would piece together His plan for a couple who left their home in Williamsburg, Virginia back in the early 90s to live in Ghana to help build rain catchment systems for clean drinking water and interweave their lives with mine 20 years later as God opened the doors for us to travel together to Kenya. 

 

This couple later realized a need as they worked in the villages of Ghana that led to the development of the block machine. The interlocking blocks above are created using a block machine that was created by our team leaders, Arnold & Gerri Polk. 

 

It was a blessing for me to travel with Arnold & Gerri to Kenya, not only because of the comfort they provided having lived in Africa for many years, but also because I was able to see the fruit of this ministry that God gave them years ago. I was overwhelmed by the wonderful families that have been created at Mattaw for the children and the homes that that were built with love using the blocks. I was humbled and honored to be a small part of this ministry and to see God's hand at work.

 

The Polks have taken the block machine to multiple countries besides Kenya and Ghana including Sierra Leone, Mali, and Haiti where they have trained the locals to make the blocks and build with them. More information here on their ministry.

 

Kim's Wedding Day

Because I am on a roll with this whole catching up idea, here are a few pictures from Kim's actual wedding day, ceremony, and reception back on December 8th!

(That really wasn't THAT long ago, was it?!)

 

A few of the bridesmaids went to a local salon to get our hair and makeup done and then we headed over to Lansdowne Resort to finish getting ready in Kim's suite where she was having hers done. Her stylist did a great job! (I wasn't as thrilled with mine but it was not my day and I had been sick all week with the flu so it didn't really matter!) It felt weird to be less than a mile from where I used to live and to be in the hotel that I used to pass when I took afternoon walks.

  We took a limo from Lansdowne to Raspberry Plain, the site of the reception, before the ceremony to take pictures while it was still light outside. Believe it or not, this was my first limo ride.

We were all ready except for Kim when we arrived at Raspberry Plain so we helped (or just watched and took pictures) as she put on her dress and finishing touches.

 

 On our way to the church and all ready to go!
This was time for Kim to finally relax and enjoy the day now that everything was done. You could tell that she was breathing a sigh of relief and excited to get the show on the road!

 
The ceremony was held at a very old church in downtown Leesburg. The pictures below were taken in a side room at the church as we waited for the festivities to begin.

And then on to the reception back at Raspberry Plain...



The bridesmaids

 

So glad to catch up a bit with Alison at the reception. It's too bad we had to drive 3 hours to see each other when we live in the same town!

Alison and her cute family

 Due to my lack of energy and slow recovery from the flu, Ted decided at the last minute to rearrange his weekend plans so that he could drive me up to Leesburg for the wedding. Kim and her parents graciously insisted that he join us for the event. I was so thankful to be able to ride and rest that weekend!

*So many of the pictures are sepia or black & white because I just didn't like the coloring.  I am not sure if it was the fact that I looked ill (which was justified) or that it was December and we were all a winter white. Either way, I ended up liking most NOT in color.