Miller Family Kisumu, Kenya: A Homeless Boy, An A Loaf Of Bread!!

(Saturday May 7th)

Center Piece

Today we got to sleep in! Then when we all finally did get up, we rushed into our various tasks, an ended up eating a very late brunch...the twins ended up concreting a culvert in Deans lane, as well as cutting some concrete for their sidewalks, hot dusty work!

Dad an I went to town, an tried to find the post office, I wanted to mail a card to one of my best friends, an he had some different things he wanted to go do.

School Picnic

We thought it was funny, because we had the hardest time finding the post office, an so we made lap after lap around town, enjoying the sites, an laughing at our ignorance of not knowing where the post office was! so we finally ask a piki driver if he would know where we could find the post office, he said no. he did not. so we made more laps....finally we found it! an parked our vehicle, then we found out that the post office was right where the piki driver was sitting! I guess it must have been his first day as a piki driver, or else his first day in town! =) but we should have seen the huge post office sign behind him too, we just somehow didn't see it!

Going to the sewing

We then did some Mother's Day shopping, I got some roses, an a card for my dear Mom. She is such a big important part of my life!

Taking this Mattress to this poor widow. she was sleeping on the floor.

Ladies at the sewing

while we were in town, I wanted to develop some pictures that my brothers an I had taken with the Muslim guards next door, (They had wanted to take pictures with us, an then wanted us to develop some for them too, so I did. an they were just thrilled!) but there was a long wait on till the pictures were ready so Dad an I walked around town, an here come some "street children" that we had seen the Saturday before, an they were begging us for food, they said they were so hungry, an we told them that we will pray for them, but after we left we felt so bad for them, an bought some food alongside the road an brought it back, however, the boy that was saying how hungry he was was no longer around, an so we saw these other homeless boys in the center of one of the round-abouts they were curled up on there shirts, sleeping with only their pants on, so we parked the van an walked over to them with our food items, we walked right up to them an they were all sleeping, an we stood there for a while thinking they would wake up, their little bodies just skin an bones, I honestly thought the one boy might have been dead! but then I saw his ribs pulsing up an down, an knew he was just sleeping, we finally tapped them till they woke up, an gave them the food. they could not believe it! the smiles that came over their faces was amazing to watch, an it moved me so much as I watched them scarf down that food like hungry dogs, I walked away feeling very fulfilled... I might not be able to help them all...but I had helped those...an I kept wiping away tears on the way home, wondering why I EVER complain about anything in my life! seems like God has given me so much m

ore of a chance at life... with the parents, an family, an culture, I grew up in. here they had nothing. we saw the hole in the ground that they lived in, we looked down, an there where rods in the concrete along the wall that they stepped on, to make their way down into the sewer where they lived, I looked down an saw water running through, an it was so terribly smelly an damp, an as I was peering down into the pitch darkness, trying to let my eyes adjust to the dark surroundings, I see some movement, an two white eye balls staring up at me! I then realized that I was infact looking into someone's "home" an felt like I was intruding...we gave them our food, wishing that the boy that was begging earlier would have been there. So this all happened last Saturday, an I didn't include it to my blog post last week, so then this Saturday, we went back an when we were waiting on those pictures to develop, we walked around, an low an behold! here comes the beggar boy who disappeared last Saturday, an we could not find him to give him the food we had bought. he came right up to Dad an I an said, "you said you would pray to God last Saturday when you came...but I am still so very hungry!" he said, "I don't want any money, just please buy me some milk an bread...please!?" we were sitting there, an I could see Dad was debating what we should do, then I asked Dad if I could go buy him something to eat with my allowance money? an he said yeah, its up to you. so I asked the boy what he was hungry for? an he got a big grin, an said, "Supa maket is ova ther!!" (super market is over the

re.) an so I told him I didn't know where he meant, an asked if he could show me! he grinned again an said, "sure!" so I followed him across the street, an went into this little grocery store. he even grabbed a small cart for me, I thought it was funny since we were only getting two items, Bread an Milk. he was grinning the whole time we were in the store, an he made sure I got the cheapest milk an the cheapest bread, an then as we started toward the counter he would randomly point at things along the way an say, "you could even buy that one?" an I would say, "no not this time" an he would grin an keep going till he saw something else, an we would have the same conversation all over again! he had no idea how much I wanted to buy everything in the store he wanted. anyway, he gave a big smile, a thank-you, an God bless you! An was off with his bread an milk! it was such a fulfilling feeling, an I just hope he could have seen more then just white people with money, to buy food for him, but that he could have seen Christ through us!

(Sunday May 8th)

Dad & Mom left earlier for instruction class, as Dad was teaching that, and since Linford & Kay were at another church to preach. And Joseph & Becky came to our church, so the three bros an I along with Charity, an Joseph & Becky came at the usual time for the services, Joseph will be the bishop at our church for the time being, he then had the message on, "What type of soil does your heart have?" we also then had a members meeting after the service, an that took a while, so we finally got home around 2:30pm. we ate a quick lunch an retired to our napping.

Linford & Kay came in the evening had a great time eating an talking with them, Linford entertaining us with his many tricks...

(Monday May 9th)
Had Language till 12. then did some odd jobs around home here. we were all just around home here in the evening.

Language seems to be a little more of a trial, as we are learning now that you can say the exact same word, but if you say it in a different tone, it changes the complete meaning of the word! yikes! yeah no kidding! so we continue to learn, learn, an learn some more!

(Tuesday May 10th)

Had Language till 12.

Mom & Dad were not in class, they were at a sewing that they had planned for the church ladies, mom an Kay helped get some sewing machines around an mend, an patch, some of the ladies dresses, some had such big holes in their dresses, that they had to wear tee shirts underneath their dresses, because they had no sewing machine to mend, or no money to pay someone to mend it. Linford an Dad went to visit some people that had to talk to.

So after class, I came home an made lunch for the three bros, then we started on our afternoon jobs.

I did some cleaning... an then made chicken an potatoes for supper, then the electric went off, an Dad & mom were not home yet for supper, so Wayne an I went on a walk along ring road, walking, an chatting with some of our friends along the way.

We got back from our walk, an had supper together, we had a huge tropical thunderstorm over supper time, but the electric stayed on this time! was such a chilly rainy evening, so we were just around home.

(Wednesday May 11th)

Our Trusty Security system! :)

Had Language till 12. in the afternoon at 1pm. our whole family left for the weekly bible study, usually only my parents, Charity, an Linford's go, but me an the bros wanted to go along an experience what the bible studies are like, since we had never done that yet.

We all had a great time packed into our van, singing an laughing the hours drive away as we bounced to one of the church members hut to have bible study, his name is George, he is a church member but his wife is not, she was however, around there making the corn an beans for everyone to eat afterwards, an was very nice an friendly.

We had to park on the main road, an jump over a ditch filled with water to walk back into where his house was, since with rainy season in full swing the ground is so, so, wet!

Making lunch at the sewing!

they had chairs set up outside, an so we all gathered under the tree an sang several songs, an then Joshua had devotions, an Linford had a short message. there is so much I could say about our time there...we were just getting ready to have the usual prayer requests an prayer, when it started sprinkling an then raining a lot! so us ladies all flocked into the one smaller hut, an the men all went for the bigger house, so we prayed an ate our corn an beans separately. the ladies (mostly widows) requested prayer for various aches an pains, after prayer we were all served heaping plates of corn an beans, after getting enough courage to ask for salt for my mountain food, it went down fairly easily. they also served some kind of tea, I didn't care for it at all, but drank it anyway, smiling in approval. (you soon learn the meaning of "grinning an bearing things" here in Kenya.) we then sang several songs, an talked, an kept shooing the stray dog away from the doorway, till the men were finished an ready to go home again.

Some of the ladies from church. (Most are widows)

We all started walking back to the van, an with the recent rain my feet an sandals were covered in mud till I got back to the van. so we tried washing off our muddy feet in the rushing stream, beside the road, so the van wouldn't get quite as dirty on the inside. We then started for home, but soon got stuck in muddy ruts along the way, mud an standing water were everywhere, so the three bros, along with some random cattle herders that happened along, pushed an shoved, an got splattered with mud, from head to toe, but got us out an going again!

Roads to church, an church peoples houses!

when we were stuck in the big mud puddle, I quickly took my sandals off thinking I would wade through the mud to the far side an video them spinning their way out, since it was quite a riot with mud an water flying everywhere, an the van fish tailing first one way, then the other! but as I finally reached the other side of the huge mud slough, all muddy an wet, I turn my camera on, just to watch it take it's last breath an die!! I was majorly bummed out about that one...but I am sure I will have many an opportunity to get a video of us stuck in the mud again sometime, but just shpited me that my feet were nicely caked in mud, an my dress splattered too. an no footage to show.

We all piled back in the van an started for home, we stopped at a town close to Kisumu, an all bailed out an got random things to eat at the stands were they were frying fries, an hot dogs an different "street food" like that. I was enjoying talking to the people, but they kept staring at my muddy bare feet! asking, "where are your shoes!?" looking at me in disbelief, I tried to explain, but they just shook their heads, since they would never go to town like that, they always wear their best clothes an shoes when they go to town...an here a "white person" that is supposed to be rich, was barefoot an mud splattered!

Walking the rest of the way to Bible study

We got home around 7:00pm an after a shower, an foot spa, I went to bed.

everyone else retired too sooner or later.

(Thursday May 12th)

Had Classes till 12. had a quick lunch, an then the twins were off to help Jadon an Lavon. Dad, Wayne, an I went to town, the post office, an the feed mill to get some more chicken feed, which all took an unbelievably long time! seems in Kenya everything you go to do takes SO long, an people want to talk an visit, but I guess that is why we are here so...we keep learning from the Kenyans.

(Friday May 13th)

At Bible study

Had Language till 12. at 11:30 an alarm started going off, the alarms that each house has when there is a robbery, but it was in the middle of the day!? then another alarm goes off...we soon discovered that that is the traditional way of celebrating the final closing day of school! =) We got home from classes, and hardly had time to eat lunch, as we all dashed around home here, trying to get the place cleaned up, outside, as well as inside, washing off the pavement, an sidewalks, setting up chairs, mowing, etc. etc. since everyone on the compound was coming to our house for the last day of school picnic supper, first there would be some singing by the students, an awards given to the students at 4:00 then we all migrated to Jake & Janice's spacious back yard, where they had various group games that didn't necessarily have a point, but instilled teamwork none the less! as well as providing some entertainment to those watching. They wrapped up with a game of foot ball, till it rained everyone out, some continued the foot ball game in the rain, an came back all wet an mud splattered. Everyone came to our house for supper around 6:30 pm. an after eating amazing homemade pizza, we youth played v-ball till 10:30 pm. we got home an tumbled into bed our exhausted!!