Trips Highlight: Kuha-na Atia!

Hello again!

Yesterday the team visited the village for the first time at their primary school where we had the chance to meet a tonnnnn of kids. From the moment we stepped off the bus, the children were grabbing our hands and hugging us; they were just so glad to see us! They would ask us what are names were and then tell us their own names. We have a hard time remembering all of the children’s names! There’s just so many! The kids would take each one of us to a different part of their school, showing us where their classes were. When the little girls guided me to one of their school rooms, they tried teaching me some of Kikuyu, which is the language they speak in Kiria. Kuha-na atia, which is the post’s title, means “Good afternoon!” They wrote down some words on a small piece of paper so I could remember them. Below are some more words they taught me! (Hopefully I’m reading their handwriting correctly, haha!)mother – mami
father – fafa
friend – murata
what is your name? – wetagiatia
my name is .. – jitanguo..
how are you? – wemuenga
I am fine. – ndimuenga
finger – nduara
mouth – kanua

I have been trying very hard to pick up on some Kikuyu words as well as Swahili words; it would be great to learn! Many of the adults in the community are not able to speak English very well, so I would love to be able to learn some of their language so I could converse with them a bit better. The people here are all so welcoming; they definitely want us to think of Kiria as our second home!Today we started by dividing into three different groups so that each group could attend a different church once we arrived in the village. My group consisted of my father, myself, Dusti, and Dana. The service was GREAT! They really bring the word like Pastor Benji! At each of the services, the team members were given the opportunity to introduces themselves and recite a Scripture verse that was meaningful to them. After the services, two out of the three groups were served lunch by the church members. My group was given chipati (delicious!) with boiled potatoes and lamb soup. It was all absolutely delicious! We ate so much that no one in my group was hungry for the lunch we had packed to eat on the bus.

After church, the three groups met together again for a crusade, where members of the community sang praise songs and a pastor preached again to everyone. When they were finished, our team presented a play we had prepared for the kids. The kids were really intrigued with the story and our bad acting! haha.

I hope you enjoy some of the pictures of our day!

Kwahari! (Goodbye in Swahili)

Faith