PICTURES!! Our week in Kitui--Melanie Hardacker

We spent a week in Kitui where we experienced so much and our lives were changed forever. While you have read of some of our experiences here it is again in pictures:

The first thing we did when we arrived in Kitui was attend a funeral. Well the last part of an all day service. After finishing the service they simply walked behind the house where a spot in the backyard was waiting to bury him. It was facinating to watch the me cover the hole, mix the concrete and create a nice squred off cover to the grave all while wearing suits and dress shoes.

The kids loved having their pictures taken and seeing themselves.

Isabelle always drew a crowd, this one was fairly tame but the girls she met here were the ones she was most comfortable with the whole time we were there.

Christian asking a few last minute questions Sunday morning in Kitui before the service started.

Cutting up the sugar cane we bought at the church when they auctioned off the items people brought in for an offering after the service.

Enjoying a little sugar cane.

Practicing the puppet show we did for the kids the next day.

The big rock which I cannot recall the name of at the moment. The area myth is if you walk around it 7 times you will change gender. Note the staircase on the side which we had to climb to get to the top.

The origin of the myth is also interesting. An anglican missionary was going to be killed by some tribal people and decided that if he was going to die he wanted to be killed in his robe (there is some anglican name for this but I forget what it is). When he emerged wearing a "dress" they thought he had become a woman and they're rules forbid them to kill a woman. They ran off and he was saved.

At the bottom of the staircase. I don't even know what possessed me to begin climbing them. After about 2 or 3 of the 10 stories I was turning around but someone was behind me also pausing. Frankly going down looked terrifying as well. I had some sort of out of body spiritual moment where I just told my legs they needed to keep walking while I distracted my mind from stoping them. I told John to just keep moving and not slow down and somehow we made it to the top.

The view was worth the effort.

I was not alone in my fear but we all made it to the top. After catching our breath we all realized we were going to have to go back down, no less terrifying than going up but God gave us the courage to make it to the bottom.


Afterward we were resting from the climb and we saw a parade of ants going from one location to another. Everyone went over and watched for quite some time while the Africans all looked at us like we were crazy. At the end of the week Isabelle announced that the ants were her favorite part of the trip so far.

Unloading the computers to bring to the school.

All of us at the school with the computers.

Presenting the to the school.

Our friend Joshua who drove us all over and answered our many questions. Each morning he would come over and say, "hello toto" to Isabelle. "toto" is swahili for child or baby or something that would define Isabelle. A couple days after we left he headed off to start Seminary. He is an amazing man.

At the Kenya Forestry Research place where we stayed in Kitui.

Our room in Kitui.

Making playdough one night to use with the kids the next day. They loved it.

Some of the kids that came to see us at the Chapel.

The pastor and the Arch Bishop working side by side laying bricks on the building we helped build. We provided the funds to build the building which will be completed after we have left.

A wider view of the building.

The water barrel on the downspout is nothing new to the people of Kitui. They find ways to save as much rain water as they can.

They were showing us how bricks were made and suddenly John was putting Isabelle down and getting into the pit. They were excited to show him how to make a brick.

If dad can do it so can the son.

The proud brick makers with their bricks.

We visited a group that with the help of Village to Village has started a basket making business. Of course we bought a few things...

Isabelle often fell asleep, John was super dad carrying her around for hours on his back.

Here they are stacking the bricks up to prepare to bake them.

At the Nzimbi home where we ate all our meals in Kitui. John is standing in front of a pitcher of Avacado juice. Really an avacado smoothie. After drinking it Christian announced that it was making him "angry". He was angry that he had gone so long in his life without every having such a delicious drink. The Avacados that grew there were huge and delicious both fresh and as a drink.

Isabelle was constantly surrounded by children wanting to see her or touch her. This picture was taken at the end of the week when she was becoming more comfortable with the attention and they were used to seeing her. The first Sunday we were there we got surrounded by about 20 children when the Sunday school got out and it was a little scary for both of us. After a few minutes the teachers shooed all the children away and then Isabelle wanted to follow them. Too much attention is frightening but no attention isn't any fun either.

St. Paul's Chapel. This was the night we did a crusade.Inside the home of an elderly couple. He is over 100 years old. There were little chicks running around on the ground.

Jake and Leumas, Mwende and Sammy's son.

The market in Kitui.

Ok this is a crazy moment. Some kids had this rabbit and Isabelle wanted to see it and went over to pet it. They had picked it up by the ears like this and apparently Isabelle thought that looked easy enough because the next thing I know she has calmly done the same thing. Where is the video camera when you need it?

These are bricks getting ready to be fired. The stack them in this pyrmid shape and then light those bundles of wood. I believe it burns for 2 days and voila, bricks for building.

This elderly woman was doing a little dance to greet us as we are told is tradition for the oldest woman to do so our own "mama" Carol, our eldest member, joined her for the dance.

A farm we visited that is being helped by the Village to Village group we worked with. This farm has a well and the plants were notably greener and bigger.

Walking up the hill with members of the Dr. Kraft Memorial Church to consecrate the cross that was re-installed after being removed by witch doctors who think it is weakening their powers.

At the top with the cross.

John and Maxwell. Our last day in Kitui.

Grace and Margaret.

Benzi and Alica, Mwende's niece and nephew.

Isabelle and Alica. They are the same age and became friends while we were there. They were trying out some new pronouciations of english words after listening to Isabelle's american english as opposed to Queens english that they learn.

Melanie and Grace. She was the first friend I made there and it was always nice to see a friendly smiling face each morning. Isabelle became comfortable with her and would occasionally allow her take her around without me.