Visit to Masai land

Only 15 kl outside Nairobi, but it might have well been another world. No water, no electricity, very few schools, and a constant battle to survive: this is the world of Masai. Cattle and goats are their wealth and means of existence. The women work morning to night to build homes, prepare food, take care of the children, milk the cows, and most importantly, carry the precious commodity of water. This may entail walking several miles to hours to get a gallon or two of water, strap it on their heads, and return home. Life is hard and challenging. But these women, who must do so much work each day, walked away from their tasks to walk miles to meet with us. Humbling indeed! We were greeted with enthusiastic songs and dance, all of praise to God for His goodness. Their faces, lined by the harshness of life, also revealed huge smiles. Their joy was infectious! The first meeting was with the Christian women who are learning to read; one dear lady read from the Psalms for us. This may not seem like much of an accomplishment, but she is probably a grandmother, and like most women, has never had the chance to go to school. She beamed as she read the scriptures, and we were reminded not only of the importance and privilege of education, but the power of the Living Word.

A few children drifted into the meeting, precious little faces, deep brown eyes. As Diane was sharing with the women, there was a commotion on one side of the room; a little boy about six years old fainted into his mother’s lap. Immediately, a number of women took him out and began to pray and tend to him. We learned that it was probably from dehydration and lack of food, a common condition here. We gave him our water and some peanut butter crackers. Kneeling to pray with him (his name is Shadrach) and his mother (Helen), tears were rolling down his mother’s face, a mother’s heart breaking because she cannot provide what her son needs. Most of us have never experienced that helplessness to that extreme degree, but we can share her passion for her child. We then had the privilege of visiting in one of the ladies’ home, the mother of the teacher who is working with the women. Sticks held together with mud, dung, leather straps and rocks, this is home to at least 10 people. The door is so low, even the shortest of us had to duck to enter. Stick partitions separated the “living” area from three stick beds, apparently a luxury. Usually only the man has a bed; the women and children sleep on the mud floor. The kitchen consisted of an open fire, gushing thick smoke, giving the only faint light in the home. It took a while for our eyes to adjust to the darkness and be able to see anything inside. One section was deemed “the study,” consisting of a stick cot and a low ledge/table. You’d have to use the small oil lamp to be able to even see the ledge, much less try to read there. Outside the prized goats were gathered; this is their life and wealth. We were welcomed so warmly and honored to be in their home.

We visited another area nearby where our partners have been ministering to the Masai women. Again, they walked a great distance to meet us, sang, worshiped, and shared. They have just completed a classroom to begin reading classes. However, they have no teacher or chairs to sit in. You would not have thought it was a hardship, though, as they praised God and thanked Him for His faithfulness! With thanksgiving, they prayed for a teacher to come; they are so anxious to learn to read, especially to be able to read the Bible for themselves. Mothers, grandmothers, and even great-grandmothers….how eager they are to learn! We prayed with them for God to provide chairs and a teacher…and they asked that they be provided in time to start classes the first of July! They pray with such confidence and expectation….with faith! While we were spending time with the ladies, John and Phil wandered up the hill to discover a public school housing 480 students, first through eighth grade….and ONLY 8 classrooms! Teachers…picture that! They started a spontaneous game of volleyball, and Phil was able to share with them that Jesus truly loves them.

The ride back was a sobering time; we were all struck by the enormity of their needs, their steadfastness in hard work, tremendous desire to learn, and how quickly and naturally praise and thanks to God streams from their lips. As the team prayed together tonight, we acknowledged how weak our faith can be, how we often neglect prayer, or don’t pray with great expectancy, and how much we take for granted. We prayed specifically for their needs, for Shadrach and his mother, for the individual ladies who as believers are greatly impacting their families, community and culture.

With lots of hugs and handshakes, we all noticed that we came away with a new aroma, a very distinctive perfume that even after cleaning up had not disappeared…and we thank God it hasn’t. We don’t want to forget the people, how they show us what it means to truly be dependent on the Lord, to rejoice in the midst of trials, and to trust and depend on the truth that our God is truly good, and that He would reveal to each of us what He would have us do in response.