So the weekend got off to a bad start with the pedal of my bike falling off. Just around the corner from town as I put pressure on my left pedal, it decided to slide itself off, leaving my foot propped on a both oily and greasy piece of metal in place of where the pedal used to be. Luckily we were on our way to town to the Post Office to post some items such as letters and postcards for Simon, and on the way was the Fundi we often use. On the way past we dropped in the bike. We left the bike with him and headed to the Post Office, posting the items and Matayo purchased some stamps. Matthew had gone to the Weekend Challenge for the day so it was just me and Matayo chilling for the weekend.
After the Post Office we went back to the Fundi where we had to wait about half an hour for him to return with the bike. Apparently he had just “nipped out” for a test ride on the bike but personally I reckon that he had the urge to pull some wheelies and decided to take the bike for a spin after it had been fixed. So once we got the bike back we came home with some paint and I sat and watched Matthew as he painted the bike rack he previously bought with red undercoat preparing it for a soon to be professional finish.
We hung around painting and discussing life back at home waiting for lunch time. It soon came round and we went to the guesthouse to see what we were having. At this time there was a meeting taking place across in the conference room where Solomon, Simon, Ruth, Jane, Anne and some other people I didn’t really recognise, were discussing medical issues for most of the day. So lunch was slightly later but because of the meeting we had upgraded our meal and had Kuku, Chapatti, mashed Banana and cabbage. I had never seen the guesthouse dining room so full. I was used to eating with usually the 3 or 5 of us but with a much bigger party today, the room was differently set out in a T shape with extra special napkins and a much livelier atmosphere.
In the afternoon around 4.30pm, we jumped on our bikes and head on to the junction by Dreamland to meet Jonah where he was going to show us where Matayo could purchase some trees in the future for the Gap Programme. We went to three nurseries in which families grew a variety of fruit trees with some examples being Avocado and Eucalyptus. The houses in which occupied these nurseries were very far out in the rural interior, where we had to travel quite far on snicket type roads to get to there. The third nursery we visited the man showed us around his Shamba. He then introduced us to some of his children, his first born and third born, and also showed us his hutches where he bread both rabbits and ducks. This was how he made his living and he was really proud that two Mazungu’s had visited his house and were interested in what he had to offer, infact he was so proud that he offered us five small avocado trees as a thank you gesture. Its amazing really, these people have hardly anything but are so generous and willing to show their appreciation and give things to you when they really need everything they have for themselves.
After the cycle ride through the out backs of Kimilili we came home to dinner. In the evening, Jane showed us a DVD she had brought from home, it’s called “A Born Again Christian” and had some interesting ways in expressing what exactly a Christian is.
Sunday came and we took Matthew to St James Church to see what it was all about as this was his only Sunday here in Kimilili. Matayo and I cycled along side Matthew as he rode on a Buda-Buda on the less messy route to the church.
After church we came home and I did my washing which I had postponed until today whilst Matayo laid a second coat on the bike rack. Half way through my washing session, Matayo joined in and began washing his extremely large collection of boxer shorts and other items of clothing.
In the afternoon Matayo went to the office so I stayed back at the compound and sat and read a book that Anne had lent the guesthouse. I read a chapter until Dennis showed up with the intention to go check on his tomatoes at his plot. The sun was beginning to go down for the day and we took a nice walk over to his tomatoes which at this time hadn’t yet started coming through.
After the Post Office we went back to the Fundi where we had to wait about half an hour for him to return with the bike. Apparently he had just “nipped out” for a test ride on the bike but personally I reckon that he had the urge to pull some wheelies and decided to take the bike for a spin after it had been fixed. So once we got the bike back we came home with some paint and I sat and watched Matthew as he painted the bike rack he previously bought with red undercoat preparing it for a soon to be professional finish.
We hung around painting and discussing life back at home waiting for lunch time. It soon came round and we went to the guesthouse to see what we were having. At this time there was a meeting taking place across in the conference room where Solomon, Simon, Ruth, Jane, Anne and some other people I didn’t really recognise, were discussing medical issues for most of the day. So lunch was slightly later but because of the meeting we had upgraded our meal and had Kuku, Chapatti, mashed Banana and cabbage. I had never seen the guesthouse dining room so full. I was used to eating with usually the 3 or 5 of us but with a much bigger party today, the room was differently set out in a T shape with extra special napkins and a much livelier atmosphere.
In the afternoon around 4.30pm, we jumped on our bikes and head on to the junction by Dreamland to meet Jonah where he was going to show us where Matayo could purchase some trees in the future for the Gap Programme. We went to three nurseries in which families grew a variety of fruit trees with some examples being Avocado and Eucalyptus. The houses in which occupied these nurseries were very far out in the rural interior, where we had to travel quite far on snicket type roads to get to there. The third nursery we visited the man showed us around his Shamba. He then introduced us to some of his children, his first born and third born, and also showed us his hutches where he bread both rabbits and ducks. This was how he made his living and he was really proud that two Mazungu’s had visited his house and were interested in what he had to offer, infact he was so proud that he offered us five small avocado trees as a thank you gesture. Its amazing really, these people have hardly anything but are so generous and willing to show their appreciation and give things to you when they really need everything they have for themselves.
After the cycle ride through the out backs of Kimilili we came home to dinner. In the evening, Jane showed us a DVD she had brought from home, it’s called “A Born Again Christian” and had some interesting ways in expressing what exactly a Christian is.
Sunday came and we took Matthew to St James Church to see what it was all about as this was his only Sunday here in Kimilili. Matayo and I cycled along side Matthew as he rode on a Buda-Buda on the less messy route to the church.
After church we came home and I did my washing which I had postponed until today whilst Matayo laid a second coat on the bike rack. Half way through my washing session, Matayo joined in and began washing his extremely large collection of boxer shorts and other items of clothing.
In the afternoon Matayo went to the office so I stayed back at the compound and sat and read a book that Anne had lent the guesthouse. I read a chapter until Dennis showed up with the intention to go check on his tomatoes at his plot. The sun was beginning to go down for the day and we took a nice walk over to his tomatoes which at this time hadn’t yet started coming through.
In the evening we all sat around and discussed the weekends we had and what lay ahead for us this week. With the construction of a mud house coming up, this week was going to be busy and exciting so we made our way to bed with this in mind and got some rest.
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