The one-hour trek through the bush was so much fun! We were kind of following the river, although most of the time we couldn't see it because the grass was so high--often above our heads! It was very beautiful--there were massive mango and baobab trees and many palm and acacia trees towering above our heads. I felt like I was properly in the jungle and I got some great pictures which I can't wait to share with you when I next go to Nairobi! It was really breathtaking--so lush. It's not very often that you take such a scenic route to church! I felt more like I was out on a hiking adventure on safari or something!
Finally, there was a clearing in the palm trees ahead and we emerged from the woods to find the cute little village of N. and were welcomed by everyone we saw. The whole area under and around the big tree where we had church had been carefully swept before we arrived and men, women, and many children began to come and bring logs or little traditional stools to sit on. They always bring out a traditional bed for guests to sit on and each person comes over to greet and shake your hand. Some of the children had clearly not seen a khawajah (white person) before and approached us with some fear and trepidation! One little boy about 3 years old mustered up the courage to come by and shake our hands and when he got to Grace, he shook her hand and then looked doubtfully at her and doubtfully down at his hand as if to say, "I wonder if that white stuff is going to come off on my hand?" It was very cute and we had a good laugh over that one!
It sure was exciting to be there to worship with them under the tree! Nehemiah got up and led the singing in the M. language, just off the top of his head as they do here. (Some other time I'll describe a Doro church service for you!) This week I was finally able to start to understand some of the songs and sing along with words or phrases I could pick out. Then Abebe preached in English with Nehemiah translating, about the story of Jesus visiting the home of Mary and Martha and the importance of seeking first the Kingdom and listening to the words of Jesus, giving worship the highest priority in our lives. It was really good and such a blessing to share this morning with the people of N.
We left the village to head back home just after 11 am and it was hard work! The sun was beating down on us intensely and it was about 40 degrees C. I kept my water bottle out of my backpack and sipped as I plodded along, forcing each foot to keep taking its next step and praying for the strength to keep going. I soon had a bad headache and just kept sipping that water. I'm sure glad I enjoyed the scenery on the way there because I barely noticed it on the way back! I had to concentrate so hard on just walking and drinking enough water. When we got home, I basically spent the afternoon sleeping and drinking lots of water to recuperate and now I feel fine. Guess my body just needs to adjust! The last couple days have been 40 C or so but most days are quite a bit cooler because it's rainy season and we get nice breezes coming through before the rain to cool things down.
But the pain was worth it to be able to enjoy that amazing walk to N. and worship with the people there as they started a new church!
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