Malindi

Well, we've been in Malindi for just about a week now. We arrived Saturday morning (June 16) at Scorpio Villas. This place is very comfortable and we're in such good hands here. The staff is so welcoming and the food is delicious! Time here in Malindi feels like it does back in the US - there is not much of it. We're always on the go. It feels so different from MITS because we have such a set schedule here. We wake up in time for breakfast at 8:00 and finish in time to be picked up by our matatu (mini-bus) at 8:30. Our driver is the one and only "Chula" (which means frog in Swahili). He's the man. I don't know why people call him that. Anyways, he takes us 30 minutes down the road into a village called "Ninepoles" which translates to Mihongohi Chenda in Swahili. There are thousands of coconut trees and it's lush with colorful tropical plants. It's so peaceful and it feels so safe. We arrive and Thethe (pronounced teh-teh), an older and highly respected man of the village, gives us work instructions for the day. We're in the process of laying the foundation for the upcoming staff building. It will include the headmaster's office, a teacher's lounge, the assistant's office, and storage space. As of now, there are three brick buildings standing. Two are classrooms and one is for the nursery/church (Kanisa la Kristo). There are two other buildings but they are made of mud and sticks. Originally there were three mud/stick buildings, but we tore one of them down on Day 1. In it's place will be the anticipated staff building. The remaining mud/stick structures are used for cooking and teaching. Thethe's son, Karisa, gives us further instruction and helps us with our work. So far, the guys have dug trenches, mixed concrete, and distributed bricks. The girls have inventoried the medical dispensary, carried jugs of water (on their heads like true Africans), and have helped dig some trenches. We usually break for lunch around 1:00. The food they serve is really good - ugali, rice, beans, tuna, chicken, mangos, tangerines! After we're bloated, we get back to work until 3:10. This is the time the kiddos have recess. There are 150 kids enrolled in the Mahendzo Christian School. Behind the school, there is a huge, open field that the kids love to play in when they have recess. We join them and they swarm us. They love the attention! They jump, pull, and tug on you and laugh so loud! One time, I was tackled by 25 Kenyan kids. They dog-piled me and I was forced to crawl on the ground with them hanging onto me like leeches. It's fun but it's tiring. So tiring. We play with the kids until Chula comes to pick us up at 4:30 (which is really 4:00 Kenyan time). He brings us back to Scorpio Villas and we pile out of the matatu all dirty and sweaty. The pool closes at 5:30 so we usually have enough time to take a dip. Afterwards, we clean up and have devo at 7:00 in a beanbag lounge area. 7:30 is snack time - the hotel puts out finger foods until 8:00 when we eat dinner. And after dinner we go to our rooms for some much needed sleep. It's been a great experience so far. Malindi is rural. Nairobi is urban. They have completely different feels to them as far as landscape goes but the story is the same. MITS kids and Mahendzo kids all desire to be loved, just as Jesus desires to be loved by us.

Mark 10:13-16 
People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.