The one thing that I didn't count on this month was that it would be a little tricky to get a chance to know a few Kenyans. Except for the friends Bill made from a previous trip to Kenya, it's been a bit difficult to get to know the folks here. Why? Kijabe has a large amount of westerners here. Between the missionary kids boarding school and the hospital, there are just a lot of white folks around!
Now don't get me wrong - it's been nice to have familiar faces here and people I can ask questions of. But it's good to try and get a feel for the local culture too. And thanks to a certain 3 year old in our family, we had that chance this week.
Part of the agreement with where we are staying is we get house help (laundry, cleaning) 2-3 times per week. The kids have grown quite fond of the lady who comes to help us out - so comfortable that in fact I heard Jack exclaiming "When can we come to your house?" I guess when you are 3 it's ok to skip formalities and invite yourself over :)
So last night we were invited to visit for part of the evening. We tried to prepare the children that the house would be very small, but apparently they weren't listening. Pretty much the first words out of their mouths was "it's so small" followed by whining about wanting to go home. I was mortified, but our hosts were very gracious and smiled and laugh.
Eventually the kids got interested in playing with other children outside and we ended up visiting for more than 2 hours! Kenyans tend to eat dinner much later than us, so I was suprised the kids were doing alright with a banana and a bag of potato chips - I guess it means they were too busy playing outside to notice that it was way past their dinner time!
We had a lovely evening learning about Kenyan culture, language and sharing a bit about our home in America.
I am still struct though, by the amount of space that 6 people were living in - and their home is a very typical Kenyan home. In fact, they do ok by standards here - they both have steady work, they have a house girl, they are able to afford school fees, etc. But it is literally half the size of the 3 bedroom apartment that we are staying in, and maybe even then I am being a bit generous by saying that.
At first, it's hard not to feel a bit guilty about all that I have - house, cars, yard, etc - but I don't really think that's the right response. It's not wrong that we've been the recipients of so many blessings; what would be wrong is not sharing my blessings with others. So I've been challenged to think about that - how we use what God has given us...am I seeking only to bless myself with my things or am I seeking to share and bless others?
I think the thing I enjoyed most about the evening was just how nice it was to be there in our new friends' home. Appearances didn't matter - the warmth of their hospitality did. That's invaluable.
Excellent thoughts Jill. I just read this to Quin and he was delighted to hear that Jack is having such fun. (I think he now wants a banana and potato chips for breakfast!)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great reminder Jill. Thanks for the thoughts and for the great updates! We're so excited to be able to "join in" your experiences!
ReplyDeleteyes, I think you are right to not feel guilty about your blessings.
ReplyDeletemy trouble is that I don't know how to go about blessing others. my time is an easy one for me, and most people don't want to impose, or don't have time themselves, and so assume I don't really have the time.
a big downside of not living in the city any more is that I am surrounded by people who have more money than we do and so consequently think they don't need anything from anyone.
i think it was Eric Liddell who said, "when I run, I feel God's pleasure", or at least something close to that. And I expect that Eric could then take double pleasure - that he enjoyed running on its own, but then doubly so, because he felt God liked it too. I think I feel the same way, but about serving others. And when that isn't possible, or at least not anywhere near as much as I would like, I don't know what to do...yes, I think you are right to not feel guilty about your blessings.
my trouble is that I don't know how to go about blessing others. my time is an easy one for me, and most people don't want to impose, or don't have time themselves, and so assume I don't really have the time.
a big downside of not living in the city any more is that I am surrounded by people who have more money than we do and so consequently think they don't need anything from anyone.
i think it was Eric Liddell who said, "when I run, I feel God's pleasure", or at least something close to that. And I expect that Eric could then take double pleasure - that he enjoyed running on its own, but then doubly so, because he felt God liked it too. I think I feel the same way, but about serving others. And when that isn't possible, or at least not anywhere near as much as I would like, I don't know what to do...