Day 6 in Meru

Our weekend was full of opportunities to experience Meru life.

Friday night we ate dinner at Rev. Elijah Mwirigi's home. His wife, Pricilla, is an amazing gardener, and gracious hostess. She keeps a "shamba" (garden) full of all sorts of tropical fruits and vegetables, 2 goats, 1 cow, and 100 chickens. Getting to know them a bit that night was a joy. Our only challenge was the discovery of a flat tire on our van as we exited the house. Good thing our driver, Joshua, is quick at changing tires!

We were invited by Rev. Elijah to attend a wedding on Saturday. Cultural note here: when someone gets married in Kenya, the bride and groom invite their friends and family, and then friends and family invite their own friends and family as well - invite 100, expect 1000 to come! The son of the presiding bishop of the East African Methodist Church (Rev. Stephen Kanyaru, whose home we visited during our 2005 trip) was getting married at Kenya Methodist University (KEMU for short) right here in Meru. We were a bit of a spectacle to the children sitting around us at the reception - lots of giggles and staring - but we enjoyed the experience. Seeing the women singing and dancing, and the formalities of gift-giving, cake-cutting, and speeches from friends and family gave us a window into Kenyan celebrations. Because the groom was from such a well-known and well-off family, this particular wedding was attended by well over 1000 people. Amazing.

Saturday night we met once more with the Hope Board, and accomplished quite a bit. Unfortunately, Peter and Josephine were unable to join us, as they had visited Peter's mom in the village while we were at the wedding, and the car they were driving died on them just as they left his mom's home. They ended up having to wait until late in the evening for Peter's brother, Harun, to find them and fix the car.

For Sunday worship, we split into 2 groups: Karen, the Mburugus, and I joined Esther and her husband Joshua at their church, while Bob and Greg joined Rev. Elijah and Pricilla at their church. Esther and Joshua's church is a very small, young, somewhat charismatic congregation, while Elijah's is older and more traditional. The fun part for Greg and Bob was that this was Youth Sunday at that church, so the youth were in charge of the morning.

We all met up at Esther and Joshua's for lunch, and were joined by several friends of theirs. A great afternoon of fellowship and food.

Sunday night, the Board met one last time - this time without us Americans, so that they could sort out details on their own. Peter had to leave for Nairobi this morning, so we hope they got enough accomplished to feel peaceful about leaving.

This morning (Monday), we visited the HIV/AIDS clinic at Meru General Hospital. Our new friend, Lawrence, visits there every morning to provide counseling for the families affected by the disease. Mondays are especially for children - some with parents, some orphaned. We took the blankets from UPPC's VBS, and the notes the VBS children wrote and gave these out to the children we met at the clinic. The blankets will be such a blessing to those kids.

The rest of today is our chance to catch up with the few sponsored kids who did not attend the seminar, including Dorothy, to whom we will deliver a wheelchair! Almost done with our time in Meru - hard to believe.

Please continue to pray for health for all of us (so far, so good), for safe travels as we drive around the village today, and for a safe journey back to Nairobi tomorrow.