Sunday 19 September 2010

2010:365:262 Kenya.

We were thinking about our mission partners in Kajiado Diocese, Kenya, this morning.
A family from Saint Nicholas' spent a wee while working with our partners in July.  After the church service this morning we had an  opportunity to hear about it and to see just a few of the pictures that they took.
Both parents are doctors so their involvement was largely around the clinic and the mobile clinic.  Regular blog readers will remember the "Health for All" fund-raising that we did earlier in the year for this lifeline to remote Maasai areas.  Having been there the family now know first-hand what would be the most useful contribution that we could make to advancing the work of the medical staff there.  
Their three teenage sons also had plenty to do and we saw many shots of them painting the accommodation block at Kajiado.  There was also a beautiful shot of the lads weighing babies at the clinic while anxious mothers watched in case these big white fellows might drop the precious bundle!
Memories of Kenya, the need for water conservation, hot sweet chai, the feel of rough wood that we used for building, the smell of wood smoke, the friendliness and hospitality we experienced, the amazing setting of the house at Oltiasika ... and much, much more ... have all come flooding back.  Again we heard of the disastrous effect that the intensive flower farming has had on the land and on the people and how the drought has so often brought famine and great need.
We saw also the beauty of the land, the huge variety of wild life and the smiles and laughter of people who, by western standards, have very little of this world's goods.  Yet the churches are full of folk who rejoice in God and depend upon God's provision for every need.  We have much to learn about gratitude and having a thankful heart. 

How generous is your goodness, O God,
how great is your salvation,
how faithful is your love!
Help us to trust in you in trial,
to praise you in deliverance
and to rejoice before you with overflowing hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen. 

Celebrating Common Prayer
Sunday prayers. 



1 comment:

Loey said...

How very true.
Nice to hear about Kenya.
We tend to forget how good we have it in our own homeland.