Happy Easter!

Happy Easter!  We have just finished a long but beautiful Holy Week in the Church, a week which recalls the last days of Jesus before his death and resurrection.  

Palm Sunday procession.

Last Sunday was Palm Sunday.  On this day, Jesus entered the city of Jerusalem to cheers and praise from the people, who waved palm branches to welcome him.  In Mutomo, this story was reenacted during Mass.  In the morning, the congregation met outside, about half a mile from the church at the airstrip.  Carrying and waving palm branches, they processed through the streets of town singing “Hosanna in the highest!” (but in Kiswahili) before ending at the church.

  

 

Getting our feet washed.

On Holy Thursday of this week, we commemorated the Last Supper and Jesus’ act of washing his disciples’ feet.  During the service, a small group of people sat before the church while the priest washed their feet, an act of service and humility in remembrance of what Jesus did.   I was one of the people to have my feet washed… the only pair of white feet there!  We then celebrated the Last Supper with Communion.  Finally, the Blessed Sacrament was removed from the church, not to be returned until Easter… Jesus had departed.

All the services were in Kiswahili this week; luckily I found this book with all the readings in English!

Carrying the cross on Good Friday.

Good Friday is the most solemn day of the week, in which the torture and death of Christ are recalled.  It was a long day, totaling almost 6 hours in church!  We marked this event with yet another procession.  We met about two miles from the church, and carrying a large, handmade, wooden cross, made their way singing solemnly back to town.  Along the way, we made stops at different locations to hear readings describing the crucifixion.  We concluded with a service in the church, again telling the story of Christ’s death.

Our altar servers: Kennedy, Kevin, and John.

Good Friday procession.

Easter Vigil Mass.

On Holy Saturday, the climax to the week, the Church kept vigil, awaiting the return of the Lord Jesus.  The Vigil Mass began after sundown, and the church was kept in total darkness with all the lights turned out.  The people gathered outside the church holding candles, and a fire was lit: the light of Christ.  The large Easter candle was lit from this fire, followed by the lighting of the candles of the people before processing into the still-dark church.  A long line of passages was read from the Old Testament, recounting salvation history and God’s relationship with his people.  When the last reading was finished, the lights were turned on, the candles blown out, and the people all sang excitedly “Glory to God in the highest” before the Gospel story of Jesus’ resurrection was read.  With Christ’s return, the congregation then renewed its baptismal vows before continuing with Communion.  This morning, Easter Sunday, was the final celebration of Holy Week, in which we again read the story of Christ’s resurrection.  What a beautiful and fulfilling week it’s been.

Mass by candlelight.

The church all decorated on Easter Sunday.

 We finished off Easter Sunday with a celebration at the sisters' convent next door to the hospital, enjoying a meal of lamb, chicken, pork ribs, and more ice cream!

Dr. Christina, Sr. Clare, Anita, & Sr. Celestine at our Easter dinner.

Visiting with Boniface, the seminarian at our church.

Me with Joseph (theatre tech) and James (nurse anesthetist).

At the hospital we’ve said goodbye to yet another group of Rotary doctors.  Before leaving, my two Swedish neighbors threw a small party to say goodbye to some of the hospital staff.  It was a nice chance to see spend time with my coworkers without the stress of work.  We now have a new set of volunteers with us, a husband and wife: an anesthesiologist and a radiologist. 

Saying goodbye to our volunteers.

Saying goodbye to our Dutch dentist Hendrick.

Today after church I had an interesting visit with Sr. Jennifer to the home of a local resident named Samuel.  He and his wife are parents to ten children!  Jennifer, who is a teacher at the nearby primary school, is very committed to serving the poor in the community.  She noticed a while back that some of Samuel’s children were leaving school frequently during the day to go home for money.  Students here have to pay small fees whenever they take exams.  However, Samuel’s kids often didn’t have enough money even for these small fees.  Sr. Jennifer did some investigating and discovered how poor the family was.  Using her own funds, she helped Samuel buy some hens which can be used to produce eggs and more chicks.  After a rough start (all but one of the hens died of illness), the hen house has finally taken off and the farm is filled with tiny chicks, which can eventually be sold to pay for food and school fees, etc.  

Samuel with three of his younger children.

And of course not blog entry would be complete without me making some reference to food.  Lately I’ve been trying to learn to make more local Kenyan dishes.  At a recent gathering I was able to observe our priest, Fr. Francis, make ugali, the local staple.  I attempted it this past week with mediocre results... it was a bit lumpy.  It was edible, but I need some practice.  

Fr. Francis preparing ugali.

Jane at work in the kitchen.

Also a couple weeks ago I was invited to dinner at the home of James (our nurse anesthetist) and his wife Jane (a clinical officer).  Jane prepared a fantastic meal of goat stew, ugali, sukuma wiki, and a new dish I’d never tasted called matoke.  This basically consists of potatoes, cooking bananas (not sweet), and tomatoes boiled and cooked with oil and salt.  It’s something I’ll have to attempt before I leave.

Jane & James

I had yet another cooking lesson yesterday from Anastasia, my housekeeper, in making chapatti bread.  This is something like a cross between a tortilla and a pita.  With her help I was able to prepare a batch of bread, a little burnt but still tasty.  I’ll make an independent attempt at it next week.

Anastasia preparing chapatti.

Clearly thrilled with the final product.

And today, in celebration of Easter, I had a real treat: ice cream imported from Nairobi, topped with chocolate Easter eggs sent from the U.S.  Ice cream is pretty rare out here in the bush, so I was very happy.  In addition to all the food, I’ve become hooked on tea, prepared in the Kenyan/British style.  It’s basically black tea in one part milk (whole milk) boiled together with one part water, and loaded with sugar.  I usually only add about a teaspoon of sugar to my tea, but most locals add at least three!  I now find myself drawn to the cafeteria during my breaks for a kikombe cha chai (cup of tea).
 

ICE CREAM!  ICE CREAM!

Relaxing with a cup of tea.

Out on a date with the nuns.  Enjoyed a feast of nyama choma at Stress Free.

Dr. Amolo (left) performing a caesarian section in major theatre.

James managing the anesthesia.

Finally I got a Kenyan to smile for a photo!