Thank you for the very quick and MASSIVE response to the request below... Im very pleased to say we managed to get the full funding for this little trip. So thanks to everyone for making it happen!! It would have been so sad for the kids to have had to have the day off for the show but not been able to go! So big Thank YOU!!!
For regular blog news just scroll down a bit and you will find it!
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
URGENT REQUEST
On Friday 2nd October all the primary schools in Nairobi have the day off, the reason for this is that there is a national trade and agricultural show at the showground in Nairobi and all the primary kids in Naiorbi go if they can afford it. The show ground is literally just around the corner, 10 mins walk of the childrens home and in the past they sometimes have been able to go if someone donates the money. The cost per child is about £1, which is not very much. To take all the children who are resident in the home and some staff to look after them it would cost £80 to take them to the show. I am putting up this post to see if anyone would like to donate the cost of the show to make it possible for the kids on Friday to go. If you would be willing to cover the cost please email me ASAP: kjbkenya@hotmail.co.uk and we can arrange payment etc.
thanks for reading this.
Kieren
thanks for reading this.
Kieren
Saturday, 26 September 2009
WEEK ONE
IN YOUR OWN TIME – After the dramas of arriving here on Sunday and the extraordinary cremation of David’s dad, this week has mainly been a time of adjusting and preparing myself for the work ahead at Cheryls. I popped in on Monday to say hi to Samuel and see what the plan was, hoping that I would infact be given chance to rest after the long journey and also busy time leading up to the move. David and Juliet had encouraged me not to start work until the following week. I wasn’t sure about this, but I did know in my heart some time off would be good. The temptation is to rush in and get cracking, but actually I’m going to be here for a long time, and as the great leader Bill Hybels has said, ‘Pace yourself for the long haul’. Good advice! So a brief catch up with Samuel and we agreed I would start on Monday. This also has given me chance to focus on housing, car, etc etc etc. I managed to have a quick look around Cheryls though, see the progress on the current building work, and also this gave Juliet a chance to see the project. Need some office furniture for my office (hmmmmm that will be wierd my own little room, with no other colleagues around to have some banter with).
HOME SWEET HOME – The plan originally was for me to look at some houses on the Monday, but throughout the busy weekend David had to start thinking about what to do with his father’s house, now he had passed away. In many ways this decision seems to have happened all so fast, and I wasn;t sure if he would really want to go ahead with it, but as the week as progressed I think we have all come to realise how amazing God’s timing is and right this decision is. So the plan is I will move into David’s dad’s house which is near the Ya Ya centre for those who know Nairobi. Not too far from Cheryls, bit more in the city, but shouldn’t be too bad. For those who have eaten at the Italian restaurant OSTERIA, its literally just round the corner. David will eventually sell the house in the next 6 – 12 months, but at least this get me started. There is another guest cottage on the plot, so I will have neighbours and there is all the security staff etc needed. The house needs some work done to it, so the painters etc are in over the next 7 – 10 days working on it and hopefully I can move in then. The house has 3 bedrooms, so housing volunteers will not be a problem, there is a garden and i can use a lot of the furniture already there, just need to pick up a few new items such as cooker, double bed and fridge. David and Juliet have been stars by moving so fast on this, but they are happy, they will have a friend staying there which means they can come round any time, this house has been in David’s family for I think well over 40 years. It is fantastic how this has worked out.
DODGEMS – Wow, driving in Nairobi is CRAZZZZZY! This has been the thing I have been most nervous about. But the other night Juliet asked me to drive, which was great, she was forcing me to get on the saddle and just have a go. It is difficult and there are some seriously tricky places to drive, joining the main highway is a pure adrenaline rush in itself, who needs drugs or extreme sports, just drive in Nairobi!! The other great bit I have to drive through is ‘Death Junction’, you can figure out for yourself why its called that. It is just a small cross roads, but basically its everyman for himself. The good news is I should hopefully collect a car soon, at the start of the week which I purchased from a Canadian couple who have left Kenya. The car is a Nissan terrano, it has low mileage for its age, which is why David has suggested it. I have never bought a car before that I haven;t even seen. I’ll use it for a bit and see how it goes, it maybe that after a while I trade it in and pick up something else, but at least it gets me started. Really hope its reliable!!!
HOW MANY COUNTRIES? – The great thing about David and Juliet is that they know lots of people, and this week has been particularly busy for them seeing friends etc, especially talking about David’s dad etc. I have met so many people, almost every night and it has been both great and strange. I have realised living in Nairobi I will be mixing almost across the full range of society, from the poorest in the slums, to hard working Kenyans, to middle class Kenyans, to NGO workers and volunteers, to middle class muzungu’s (Whites) to the embassy workers and rich muzungu’s. Its strange, we went to an Ethopian restaurant the other night, a whole new experience in itself (raw mince beef?) and there I was sat next to a guy called Mario who is the security advisor for Save the Children, he goes into the hell holes and checks out if it safe to send people, places like Somalia, Darfur etc... “I work in about 22 countries at the moment” and then across the table the Australian girl pipes up “well I work currently in 32 countries, but currently I’m covering all of Africa until we fill the other staff position”. Hmmmmmmmm. This girl works at the Australian embassy, but as there are only 2 in Africa, she covers a big area. So the comparisons start between the two and eventually the question is asked that I am now expecting and dreading: “Kieren, what do you do?”. Small fries.....
CONNECTIONS – Coming to work at Cheryls I always expected I would be targeting help from overseas, what didn’t occur to me was that I would end up being connected with significant and rich muzungus in Nairobi. Almost every person I have met this week is very interested in Cheryls and wants to get involved in some way, whether its bringing a group of teenagers from the ISK school to do some voluntary work, or people having friends from overseas pop over and help, or a, Ethopian Womens Charity group doing a fundraiser for us to help out as well as getting help from the local German school (that was David’s hairdress, yes thats right and Ethopian lady married to a German). It has been fantastic. So as my ‘week off’ progessed I actually managed to do some significant work and make connections. Trust is a big factor when it comes to charity work, there are many scams, many dodgy projects, and I now realise that simply the colour of my skin brings some credibility to Cheryls, which in many ways is totally wrong, but lets use it and make the most of it!
PEACE – It has been a hectic and stressful week, particularly for David and Juliet. It has been great to be able to support David through this difficult time, but I know I have found it draining at times and I know he has. Having to tell everyone, repeat the same story over and over again, recounting the cremation and reminiscing. We cleared out David’s house on Thursday and that was hard. So this weekend we have all come up to Naivasha for a rest. Its about 2 hours from Nairobi and we are staying in David and Juliets friends house. It is like a mansion!!!! Beautiful. As we arrived last night we sat on the verandah and watched the giraffes, dick dicks, hippos, impalas all in the garden area and drinking out of the water hole just a few feet away. It was perfect after a vusy week. This morning we walked down to the lake at 6:30am, the colours were amazing and we saw plenty of flamingos and Zebras. I think we all needed this time and it is so precious. You really appreciate how fortunate we are to be in such an amazing place. BUT the work starts on Monday and as I try to relax today I am aware of what lies ahead. I do feel anxious at times, nervous, full of questions. How will I fit in with the staff, what will my working week look like, where do I start there is so much to do, will I manage to battle my way across from David and Juliets house on the other side of town without coming a cropper at Death junction.....hmmmmm, relax.... relax.....
HOME SWEET HOME – The plan originally was for me to look at some houses on the Monday, but throughout the busy weekend David had to start thinking about what to do with his father’s house, now he had passed away. In many ways this decision seems to have happened all so fast, and I wasn;t sure if he would really want to go ahead with it, but as the week as progressed I think we have all come to realise how amazing God’s timing is and right this decision is. So the plan is I will move into David’s dad’s house which is near the Ya Ya centre for those who know Nairobi. Not too far from Cheryls, bit more in the city, but shouldn’t be too bad. For those who have eaten at the Italian restaurant OSTERIA, its literally just round the corner. David will eventually sell the house in the next 6 – 12 months, but at least this get me started. There is another guest cottage on the plot, so I will have neighbours and there is all the security staff etc needed. The house needs some work done to it, so the painters etc are in over the next 7 – 10 days working on it and hopefully I can move in then. The house has 3 bedrooms, so housing volunteers will not be a problem, there is a garden and i can use a lot of the furniture already there, just need to pick up a few new items such as cooker, double bed and fridge. David and Juliet have been stars by moving so fast on this, but they are happy, they will have a friend staying there which means they can come round any time, this house has been in David’s family for I think well over 40 years. It is fantastic how this has worked out.
DODGEMS – Wow, driving in Nairobi is CRAZZZZZY! This has been the thing I have been most nervous about. But the other night Juliet asked me to drive, which was great, she was forcing me to get on the saddle and just have a go. It is difficult and there are some seriously tricky places to drive, joining the main highway is a pure adrenaline rush in itself, who needs drugs or extreme sports, just drive in Nairobi!! The other great bit I have to drive through is ‘Death Junction’, you can figure out for yourself why its called that. It is just a small cross roads, but basically its everyman for himself. The good news is I should hopefully collect a car soon, at the start of the week which I purchased from a Canadian couple who have left Kenya. The car is a Nissan terrano, it has low mileage for its age, which is why David has suggested it. I have never bought a car before that I haven;t even seen. I’ll use it for a bit and see how it goes, it maybe that after a while I trade it in and pick up something else, but at least it gets me started. Really hope its reliable!!!
HOW MANY COUNTRIES? – The great thing about David and Juliet is that they know lots of people, and this week has been particularly busy for them seeing friends etc, especially talking about David’s dad etc. I have met so many people, almost every night and it has been both great and strange. I have realised living in Nairobi I will be mixing almost across the full range of society, from the poorest in the slums, to hard working Kenyans, to middle class Kenyans, to NGO workers and volunteers, to middle class muzungu’s (Whites) to the embassy workers and rich muzungu’s. Its strange, we went to an Ethopian restaurant the other night, a whole new experience in itself (raw mince beef?) and there I was sat next to a guy called Mario who is the security advisor for Save the Children, he goes into the hell holes and checks out if it safe to send people, places like Somalia, Darfur etc... “I work in about 22 countries at the moment” and then across the table the Australian girl pipes up “well I work currently in 32 countries, but currently I’m covering all of Africa until we fill the other staff position”. Hmmmmmmmm. This girl works at the Australian embassy, but as there are only 2 in Africa, she covers a big area. So the comparisons start between the two and eventually the question is asked that I am now expecting and dreading: “Kieren, what do you do?”. Small fries.....
CONNECTIONS – Coming to work at Cheryls I always expected I would be targeting help from overseas, what didn’t occur to me was that I would end up being connected with significant and rich muzungus in Nairobi. Almost every person I have met this week is very interested in Cheryls and wants to get involved in some way, whether its bringing a group of teenagers from the ISK school to do some voluntary work, or people having friends from overseas pop over and help, or a, Ethopian Womens Charity group doing a fundraiser for us to help out as well as getting help from the local German school (that was David’s hairdress, yes thats right and Ethopian lady married to a German). It has been fantastic. So as my ‘week off’ progessed I actually managed to do some significant work and make connections. Trust is a big factor when it comes to charity work, there are many scams, many dodgy projects, and I now realise that simply the colour of my skin brings some credibility to Cheryls, which in many ways is totally wrong, but lets use it and make the most of it!
PEACE – It has been a hectic and stressful week, particularly for David and Juliet. It has been great to be able to support David through this difficult time, but I know I have found it draining at times and I know he has. Having to tell everyone, repeat the same story over and over again, recounting the cremation and reminiscing. We cleared out David’s house on Thursday and that was hard. So this weekend we have all come up to Naivasha for a rest. Its about 2 hours from Nairobi and we are staying in David and Juliets friends house. It is like a mansion!!!! Beautiful. As we arrived last night we sat on the verandah and watched the giraffes, dick dicks, hippos, impalas all in the garden area and drinking out of the water hole just a few feet away. It was perfect after a vusy week. This morning we walked down to the lake at 6:30am, the colours were amazing and we saw plenty of flamingos and Zebras. I think we all needed this time and it is so precious. You really appreciate how fortunate we are to be in such an amazing place. BUT the work starts on Monday and as I try to relax today I am aware of what lies ahead. I do feel anxious at times, nervous, full of questions. How will I fit in with the staff, what will my working week look like, where do I start there is so much to do, will I manage to battle my way across from David and Juliets house on the other side of town without coming a cropper at Death junction.....hmmmmm, relax.... relax.....
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Interrupting Life and Death
There is a phrase that I have often heard and used myself in fact on a number of occasions. Its goes like this “My eyes were too big for my stomach”. This is the usual thing said after you have ordered too much food at a restaurant, or in my case cooked a big curry and put far too much on my plate I have struggled to finish it. Well on Friday night I came up with a new phrase which is quite similar: “My eyes were too big for my suitcases”. On Friday I spent the day sorting through my stuff trying to work out what to take with me to Kenya, placing each item in my parents bedroom, helping me to separate things out a bit, and well lets just say that pile got bigger and bigger and bigger. Finally at about 10pm when I got chance to actually start filling my luggage with all these things I soon began to realise a new pile was going to form just outside my parents bedroom. This pile being the ‘Just not enough space for’ pile.
Over the last few weeks I have been travelling around the UK, saying hi and goodbye to friends and family, trying to pick up various bits and pieces I will need for my work in Kenya and still finishing off work from church in Edinburgh. It has been a busy time, and the stress just caught up to me too much on Friday, with a pounding headache and sick feeling as I struggled to fit everything in my bag and as I began to anticipate what lay ahead.
So Saturday a long drive to London…still no residency permit, no house, no car, but hey I had a plane ticket and lots of people praying for me! The last time I sat in Heathrow I had a large group of teenagers with me I was taking to Kenya on a trip, that was only 2 months ago. This time I sat alone realising this time I was leaving and it was going to be a long time before I would be coming back. It is strange how the mind works. I have been waiting for about 12 months to take up this role in Kenya and it has really been a long goodbye to everyone over the last 6 months. However it has only really hit me ion the brief few seconds of hugging someone goodbye, that recognition that yes, this truly is it. Each time everything always felt normal visiting folks, until that embrace and it was like a sudden wave of emotion would hit me and I would struggle to force out any words in fear of balling my eyes out. In these moments I finally understood why this was going to be hard. It has been exciting and awesome preparing for this and I really felt ready. People would comment how brave they thought I was and how hard it must be. I would laugh it off and just thing it was normal, this was the plan, this has always been the plan in some way, this is right, doesn’t feel that hard. Well I have discovered, no its not hard, not until you actually have to say goodbye.
So long flight, usual gig, plane food, a movie, lights out and the pointless attempt at trying to get a few hours sleep. Hmmmmmm, no chance of sleep! So earphones in and some music to help me relax, Wagner at about 40,000 feet, AWESOME!
Landing in Nairobi, my heart started to pound more and more, actually that’s not quite true I think the pounding actually begun about an hour before we landed! With no residency permit yet I was relying on getting into Kenya on a 3 month short term visa. This is what you can get at the airport, but there is always the chance they could say no, especially if it conflicted with the residency application. I had filled in my forms already, got off the plane and stood in the queue. It was busy. The girl behind my desk looked in a bad mood, as other passport control officials would greet the visitors with a ‘good morning’ or a ‘how are you’ my girl just looked tired, grumpy and said nothing to no-one. This wasn’t looking good as often these things come down to the mood of the person on the day. All I could hope for was that her mind was on something else or that she was just too busy to care. I think in the end it was the latter. She barely looked at my forms, stamped everything and there I was, finally after all that stress, officially in Kenya (for at least 3 months anyway).
How can I keep this brief? The first day was incredible, and well if you getting bored already at this point all I can suggest is hang in there because this first day has to be the strangest day in my entire life, and there is no exaggeration there!
The plan was to stay with my friends David and Juliet. I have known them for many years and David was to pick me up at the airport. However on the previous day I had found out his father was seriously ill in hospital and it wasn’t looking good. So David arrange for a driver to pick me up. Francis was not at the airport, so texted David and he let me know Francis was going to be late. We met up and I asked how David and his father were, Francis did not know. We drove through Nairobi right to the other side, got to the house and there was no-one there. David’s father had died literally at the same time the wheels of my plane were touching down in Nairobi. It was so sad and David and Juliet spent a few hours at the hospital dealing with paperwork etc.
While waiting for them, I unpacked a couple of things, had some breakfast and then they returned home. It was strange, I had such excitement for being in Kenya but sorrow overtook these feelings and it was hard for all of us really to know how to react and feel. I was worried about being in the way or another burden on David and Juliet, but they are such generous people and even in a time of real tragedy they welcomed me with open arms and helped me feel at home.
The day went on, David was making arrangements on the phone for the cremation etc. A Hindu friend of his was going to help organise it and David had been thinking for quite a while that a Hindu style cremation would be just the right thing for his dad. As it turned out his friend wanted it to be done straight away, literally that day!!! So we had lunch, I showered and smartened up and we headed to the hospital to pick up his dad.
I have been to funerals before but I have never seen a dead body and I have always wondered how I would react if I ever did. Things were very rough and ready and I had to help David in the morgue collect his father onto this tray, he was wrapped up in a sheet, but this was pulled away so that David could be reassured we were taking the right person. I was amazed at how strong David was and how natural it all seemed. We wheeled the body out to a specially designed van and slide the tray in the back. We then climbed in and sat around David’s dad as we journeyed through the Nairobi streets, bumping around laughing, chatting and feeling sorrow all at the same time.
We arrived at the Hindu temple and I soon began to realise that the cremation was going to be open, not behind a curtain hidden away, but so that we could all watch. It was a quite place, nothing special in many ways, just a few tin sheds that were very tall and supported by the old railway tracks that many of the Asians would have been using to lay the railroad through Africa earlier in the last century. This sheds were very old. There were 3 iron platforms in one shed and one of these had firewood and shavings underneath and on top. The body was placed on it and David’s dad then had large pieces of wood placed around his body very carefully and over the top. You could still see is body in the shroud through the wood but he was really covered all round. At this point the tradition is to pour Ghee over the body, which is an ingredient or kind of butter fat that is used in Indian style cooking. Each of us in turn took the large ladle and poured some over the body and wood. David chose some music to play on a CD player, some choral music. He bravely said a few words and then friends followed, with Gladys reading from the bible and then some of the carers who had been looking after David’s dad in the last few months sang a song in Swahili. It was all so beautiful and special.
At this point David and one of the helpers was shown how to light the fire and they did so. It quickly took off and we moved further back as the flames grew higher. We stood in silence watching as the body was cremated right before out eyes. We moved round the corner a bit as the heat became too intense and then eventually came back to David’s house for some food. It had been a long day. I needed some sleep, having been awake for about 36 hours. After a nap I got up and found that it was just Juliet, David and myself left in the house. We reflected on the day and how it all went. For the Kenyan staff they had been more surprised by the cremation than me, for in Kenya everyone is buried, no one is cremated, at least I was used to the concept.
We talked for a while, about the funeral, how it had all happened so fast, what a crazy day it had been but also talked about my future and living here in Kenya. Although I had felt I could have just been in the way during this difficult day, Juliet has said on a number of times it had been good I was around, to help distract a bit from what was going on. On reflection myself I think she was right.
There is so much more to say, and really I must talk about the last couple of days and news about whats happening here in Kenya, the job, house car etc, but really after such an eventful first day, the only important thing is that I was very blessed to have been part of a remarkable occasion, with such a generous and loving couple and witnessing a son work so hard to do the right thing for his father in his last few days. I am sure there will be many more new experiences in the future, maybe not like this one, but I was truly blessed to witness such a beautiful ceremony.
I’ll update more in a couple of days, but I think for now that’s it. In the future the messages won’t be this long, but in some ways I feel I needed to write this down and share what happened.
Over the last few weeks I have been travelling around the UK, saying hi and goodbye to friends and family, trying to pick up various bits and pieces I will need for my work in Kenya and still finishing off work from church in Edinburgh. It has been a busy time, and the stress just caught up to me too much on Friday, with a pounding headache and sick feeling as I struggled to fit everything in my bag and as I began to anticipate what lay ahead.
So Saturday a long drive to London…still no residency permit, no house, no car, but hey I had a plane ticket and lots of people praying for me! The last time I sat in Heathrow I had a large group of teenagers with me I was taking to Kenya on a trip, that was only 2 months ago. This time I sat alone realising this time I was leaving and it was going to be a long time before I would be coming back. It is strange how the mind works. I have been waiting for about 12 months to take up this role in Kenya and it has really been a long goodbye to everyone over the last 6 months. However it has only really hit me ion the brief few seconds of hugging someone goodbye, that recognition that yes, this truly is it. Each time everything always felt normal visiting folks, until that embrace and it was like a sudden wave of emotion would hit me and I would struggle to force out any words in fear of balling my eyes out. In these moments I finally understood why this was going to be hard. It has been exciting and awesome preparing for this and I really felt ready. People would comment how brave they thought I was and how hard it must be. I would laugh it off and just thing it was normal, this was the plan, this has always been the plan in some way, this is right, doesn’t feel that hard. Well I have discovered, no its not hard, not until you actually have to say goodbye.
So long flight, usual gig, plane food, a movie, lights out and the pointless attempt at trying to get a few hours sleep. Hmmmmmm, no chance of sleep! So earphones in and some music to help me relax, Wagner at about 40,000 feet, AWESOME!
Landing in Nairobi, my heart started to pound more and more, actually that’s not quite true I think the pounding actually begun about an hour before we landed! With no residency permit yet I was relying on getting into Kenya on a 3 month short term visa. This is what you can get at the airport, but there is always the chance they could say no, especially if it conflicted with the residency application. I had filled in my forms already, got off the plane and stood in the queue. It was busy. The girl behind my desk looked in a bad mood, as other passport control officials would greet the visitors with a ‘good morning’ or a ‘how are you’ my girl just looked tired, grumpy and said nothing to no-one. This wasn’t looking good as often these things come down to the mood of the person on the day. All I could hope for was that her mind was on something else or that she was just too busy to care. I think in the end it was the latter. She barely looked at my forms, stamped everything and there I was, finally after all that stress, officially in Kenya (for at least 3 months anyway).
How can I keep this brief? The first day was incredible, and well if you getting bored already at this point all I can suggest is hang in there because this first day has to be the strangest day in my entire life, and there is no exaggeration there!
The plan was to stay with my friends David and Juliet. I have known them for many years and David was to pick me up at the airport. However on the previous day I had found out his father was seriously ill in hospital and it wasn’t looking good. So David arrange for a driver to pick me up. Francis was not at the airport, so texted David and he let me know Francis was going to be late. We met up and I asked how David and his father were, Francis did not know. We drove through Nairobi right to the other side, got to the house and there was no-one there. David’s father had died literally at the same time the wheels of my plane were touching down in Nairobi. It was so sad and David and Juliet spent a few hours at the hospital dealing with paperwork etc.
While waiting for them, I unpacked a couple of things, had some breakfast and then they returned home. It was strange, I had such excitement for being in Kenya but sorrow overtook these feelings and it was hard for all of us really to know how to react and feel. I was worried about being in the way or another burden on David and Juliet, but they are such generous people and even in a time of real tragedy they welcomed me with open arms and helped me feel at home.
The day went on, David was making arrangements on the phone for the cremation etc. A Hindu friend of his was going to help organise it and David had been thinking for quite a while that a Hindu style cremation would be just the right thing for his dad. As it turned out his friend wanted it to be done straight away, literally that day!!! So we had lunch, I showered and smartened up and we headed to the hospital to pick up his dad.
I have been to funerals before but I have never seen a dead body and I have always wondered how I would react if I ever did. Things were very rough and ready and I had to help David in the morgue collect his father onto this tray, he was wrapped up in a sheet, but this was pulled away so that David could be reassured we were taking the right person. I was amazed at how strong David was and how natural it all seemed. We wheeled the body out to a specially designed van and slide the tray in the back. We then climbed in and sat around David’s dad as we journeyed through the Nairobi streets, bumping around laughing, chatting and feeling sorrow all at the same time.
We arrived at the Hindu temple and I soon began to realise that the cremation was going to be open, not behind a curtain hidden away, but so that we could all watch. It was a quite place, nothing special in many ways, just a few tin sheds that were very tall and supported by the old railway tracks that many of the Asians would have been using to lay the railroad through Africa earlier in the last century. This sheds were very old. There were 3 iron platforms in one shed and one of these had firewood and shavings underneath and on top. The body was placed on it and David’s dad then had large pieces of wood placed around his body very carefully and over the top. You could still see is body in the shroud through the wood but he was really covered all round. At this point the tradition is to pour Ghee over the body, which is an ingredient or kind of butter fat that is used in Indian style cooking. Each of us in turn took the large ladle and poured some over the body and wood. David chose some music to play on a CD player, some choral music. He bravely said a few words and then friends followed, with Gladys reading from the bible and then some of the carers who had been looking after David’s dad in the last few months sang a song in Swahili. It was all so beautiful and special.
At this point David and one of the helpers was shown how to light the fire and they did so. It quickly took off and we moved further back as the flames grew higher. We stood in silence watching as the body was cremated right before out eyes. We moved round the corner a bit as the heat became too intense and then eventually came back to David’s house for some food. It had been a long day. I needed some sleep, having been awake for about 36 hours. After a nap I got up and found that it was just Juliet, David and myself left in the house. We reflected on the day and how it all went. For the Kenyan staff they had been more surprised by the cremation than me, for in Kenya everyone is buried, no one is cremated, at least I was used to the concept.
We talked for a while, about the funeral, how it had all happened so fast, what a crazy day it had been but also talked about my future and living here in Kenya. Although I had felt I could have just been in the way during this difficult day, Juliet has said on a number of times it had been good I was around, to help distract a bit from what was going on. On reflection myself I think she was right.
There is so much more to say, and really I must talk about the last couple of days and news about whats happening here in Kenya, the job, house car etc, but really after such an eventful first day, the only important thing is that I was very blessed to have been part of a remarkable occasion, with such a generous and loving couple and witnessing a son work so hard to do the right thing for his father in his last few days. I am sure there will be many more new experiences in the future, maybe not like this one, but I was truly blessed to witness such a beautiful ceremony.
I’ll update more in a couple of days, but I think for now that’s it. In the future the messages won’t be this long, but in some ways I feel I needed to write this down and share what happened.
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