We returned to the village in the hills today. It is a shame. I can never remember the name of the village by the time I write. Oh well. The beginning of our time here was somewhat odd. It began again with the hospitable welcome but very few people were around so we just sat in the old church-a grass roof building held up by wood. The elder pastor who we travel with from time to time fell asleep next to me in the chair. Many of the people from yesterday joined us on this journey. After the excitement, we were all very tired. But eventually Steve and I sucked it up and walked to play with kids. Nearly none were afraid of us since they had met us before and by the time we left Sara was surrounded by girls asking her to stay. It is obvious that the children feel most comfortable around women whenever we go. Steve and Peter and I have ot seek the kids out while Sara is flocked to. But the kids always end up warming up to us. We just have to show them a few tricks. Well, Steve shows tricks, I just show off my double jointed thumb and the nasty inside part of my lip ring. That's a winner. Every single Masai child makes the same noise when they see it. Something like "eeeEEEEEEEEE." It's like they had a conference. We did meet this young kindergarten teacher today-Francis. He was a lot of fun to talk to. I just pretend that I know something about soccer and then wait for the conversation to steer toward Obama. He was also really interested in colloquial English. Things like "gonna" and "hafta" and "come'ere." Apparently he is quite the teacher. I guess many of the children from this village go on to primary school with no problem. Many already know how to read and write when they get there thanks to him. Some even skip the first grade. People in these villages are often so bright.
After worship we had an auction to raise money to finish this church. Older men came from five surrounding villages because they consider this their church. They raised nearly 2,000,000 tsh. Incredible. Hopefully this will inspire people to go back to their own villages and start campaigns to get more local churches. There is such pride in the place of worship. People are so dedicated to the community and are so willing to work hard for the growth of the people around them in the Church. This is demonstrated in the incredible giving but can be felt in interpersonal relatinships, hospitality and worship itself.
The choir at this church is amazing. They compete and do quite well. It is the one that I wrote about which is led by a young girl and they write their own music. So good.
When we enter villages we are strangers. When we leave, close friends.
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