Well, we have completed our first week of our adventure, and so far so good.
When we arrived the grounds looked just as we had left them and it almost felt as if we had never been away (except where were the other 14 fellow Mancs that shared our previous experience?) I think it was then that it hit us that we were not going home in a few days time, but, for the next 3 months this place is now our home.
All those we had met on our previous trip remembered us and made us really welcome with their wide smiles and funny handshakes. “Karibu karibu” was the familiar cry, even from the cockerel, the noisy cow and the rowdy dogs who are still going strong. Introducing ourselves to everyone else is proving a bit tedious as the concept of a girl called Jo is confusing enough, let alone explaining that all three are called Jo… “All Jo’s - does that mean you are sisters?’’
Our first day was a Sunday and we lay low... in fact some of us did not get dressed till about 5pm, so I guess we are feeling pretty at home already!
Visiting four schools built by IcFEM was first on our agenda. The children asked us so many questions as we stood at the front of one of the classrooms:
“Are you near the equator?
“Do you know Wayne Rooney?”
“Is Polygamy allowed in Manchester?”
The rest of the week we’ve done a little of everything. Prayed and taken rice parcels, visited the local market, where we met those on the Corel loan scheme, and gone into the community. We didn’t know what ‘going into the community meant’. For us, it meant that two mins before we rolled up at a mud hut Sarah informed us that we should prepare something to preach.. (thanks for the warning!) We all shuffled through our bibles in a bit of a panic. Jo Riley rose to the challenge and was the muzungu preacher for the day speaking on god’s promise of hope. They all listened attentively and we prayed for 20 of them who came forward for prayer. Only later was it explained to us that they were standing to make a commitment!
When we arrived the grounds looked just as we had left them and it almost felt as if we had never been away (except where were the other 14 fellow Mancs that shared our previous experience?) I think it was then that it hit us that we were not going home in a few days time, but, for the next 3 months this place is now our home.
All those we had met on our previous trip remembered us and made us really welcome with their wide smiles and funny handshakes. “Karibu karibu” was the familiar cry, even from the cockerel, the noisy cow and the rowdy dogs who are still going strong. Introducing ourselves to everyone else is proving a bit tedious as the concept of a girl called Jo is confusing enough, let alone explaining that all three are called Jo… “All Jo’s - does that mean you are sisters?’’
Our first day was a Sunday and we lay low... in fact some of us did not get dressed till about 5pm, so I guess we are feeling pretty at home already!
Visiting four schools built by IcFEM was first on our agenda. The children asked us so many questions as we stood at the front of one of the classrooms:
“Are you near the equator?
“Do you know Wayne Rooney?”
“Is Polygamy allowed in Manchester?”
The rest of the week we’ve done a little of everything. Prayed and taken rice parcels, visited the local market, where we met those on the Corel loan scheme, and gone into the community. We didn’t know what ‘going into the community meant’. For us, it meant that two mins before we rolled up at a mud hut Sarah informed us that we should prepare something to preach.. (thanks for the warning!) We all shuffled through our bibles in a bit of a panic. Jo Riley rose to the challenge and was the muzungu preacher for the day speaking on god’s promise of hope. They all listened attentively and we prayed for 20 of them who came forward for prayer. Only later was it explained to us that they were standing to make a commitment!
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