Make Chipati and Rejoice!!

Hello All!

   The team had a MARVELOUS time today!! We started the day off by arriving at the school to say hello to the children for a few minutes before we ha to leave to begin our home visits. The preschoolers my group and I had yesterday were the only ones out playing when we arrived because the older children were still in class. So we had a couple of minutes to give the little ones some attention before the bigger kids came out. It was so cute to watch their little faces light up when they recognized us from yesterday. Precious!

  After playing with the older children for a few minutes and taking many more pictures, we all loaded into the bus to head out to our respective homes that we were going to visit. We stayed in the same three groups we had split into for church and each headed to a different home. My group went to the home of a woman we believe was in her 80's. She lived by herself because he husband died in 2000 and her sons were unable to live with her. A few other women in the community came to assist during our visit however. At the homes, we prepared chai tea and chipati to share with the families we visited. It was hilarious to see myself try to roll the dough into a flat circle and cook it on the cast iron skillet on an open flame. I think they only laughed at me a few times, haha. The time we had to spend with the families at their homes went by extremely fast; we all agreed that we could have stayed a few hours longer had time permitted. The experience to just be in their home cooking with them and to witness some of their daily activities was incredible.

  After our home visits, we headed back to the school for the Rejoice Project. This project basically consisted of game time, crafts, and story time. Everybody split up to the different sections to help out. The kids had a great time listening to the story of the woman who touched Jesus' robe to be healed that I told. It was a great example of Initiative; the main message we were trying to teach the kids through the Rejoice Project.

  It's really hard to believe that tomorrow is our last day in the village already. I know I will probably cry when I have to leave. It's just really hard to leave the people once you get to know their names, personalities, and really connect with them. I definitely see why Ros has come every year since New Hope began going to Kiria. Pray that we all handle tomorrow well; I believe this trip has really impacted each one of us tremendously and I think it will be hard for all of us to leave the people we have met here. Keep us in your prayers!


Faith