BRANCH CHRISTMAS SOCIAL

December 22, 2012

On Saturday there was to be a branch 

fireside and social. On Friday evening

there came to the church the food for the 

dinner!!

The meat came tied at he legs and was left

on the kitchen floor.

We were told the beef would arrive tomorrow!

Saturday morning very early we awakened

by the rooster crowing and the hems

cackling!!

The vegetables were sorted and piled on the cupboards.

Late in the morning a group of young ladies centered by 

Elder Tsegaye chopped the vegetables.

These two gals were eating some carrots.

They said they were very good.

Out in the back yard in the shade of the mango trees

the dinner was being prepared.

Mary Juma the RS President and Joyce were

doing the chipati!! YUM YUM!!

The dough is being rolled then rolled into balls to be

rolled out more and fried later.

Finally time to cook the chipati. The dough is rolled and 

with a lot of oil is cooked on the jiko - a charcoal cooker.

Mary used her hand to move the dough around to be 

sure not to burn. When cooked they are rolled

or cut to serve.

They are like a tortilla and a scone together.

Christine and Celestin in their kangas grating and 

preparing the carrots for the rice. They grated them on 

the very, very fine part of the grater!

Kangas are pieces of cloth tied around to protect their 

clothes from being soiled. These are worn

in the kitchen or while shopping or in the work place.

and Hellen are cutting the slaughtered chickens for the stew.

The stew ready for the chicken.

Lydia Okila and someone's baby.

Children are the same everywhere!!

Enjoying time together and loving their pictures to be taken!!

The green basket and the two orange plates contain

chopped cabbage waiting for the time to be fried in oil.

This has become a favorite Kenyan dish.

Look at that big pan of rice and the stew. All the food was being

cooked over a small fire in the center three stones.

Hellen and Joyce cutting the tomatoes into small pieces.

The tomatoes were put in the pan with the sauteing onions.

While the food was being prepared there was a 

"fireside" in the church. President Okila spoke and then

each Quorum or Auxiliary gave a talk or special

number or both. The missionaries sang

"Picture a Stable" from the Primary Song Book.

Justin really enjoys his dinner.

President Okila, Japheth, Elias, and Justin gather 

around one of the small tables from the church
to enjoy the delicious food and the company.

The small tables were brought out from the church -

they are 24 inches square - and put together to serve the

food. They were using a plastic plate as a spoon so the

servings of rice were very large.

Serving the rice and Beatrice serving the meat stew.



About the time most were getting through eating it 

began to rain. The small cooker for the chipati was

taken into the kitchen where they finished cooking

them. The sisters then ate as they relaxed in the kitchen.

The dirty dishes were put into one of the huge cooking pans,

scraped of the scraps and prepared to be washed.

Notice the water tap on the wall and the area with the 

edging around it so the water won't run all over.

Behind the mop there is a hole in the edging and a

small trench carried the water to the outside yard

through a hole in the wall.

The younger women were in charge of the dish washing.

There is a table to the right and the large black garbage

bag on it was for the scraps.

It was a long process to wash all the dishes. They didn't 

have much silverware to wash because most here eat 

with their hands. Aren't we thankful for a sink 

in a cupboard with hot running water.

PRESIDENT OKILA FAMILY

December 19, 2012

We had taken Presidentand Sister Okila

with us to visit Sister Ericah and when we

left her home we saw this huge truck loaded with

tea leaves to takr to the tea factory.

President and his family live in the general area of

Sister Ericah we took them to their home.

As we went through Mojenga Sister Okila wanted to 

stop at some little dukas there for few items.

While we were waiting for her we saw these children.

 This girl was just a toddler and left to walk along the

porch of this building. It was a very dirty area

and I was almost fearful she would fall off the edge

into the mud.

 Another toddler walking along in the muddy area.

I have no idea how she was still clean.

 We had had a large meal to Ericah's home and were 

still very full. We thought we could just stop and leave

Okila's at their home but we were invited in to visit for 

a few minutes. (It was a little late and we were fearful we

would be driving after dark to get home.)

Sister Okila and the daughters prepared a refreshment for us.

Bread and butter sandwiches, a roll and hot chocolate.

A VERY popular refreshment here.

 Sister Moon, Sister and President Okila, Barry (5), Larry (11),

and Maureen, Lydiah, and Vivian.

We had a great day with good people and we love

the Okila family..

ERICAH'S HOME

December 19, 2012

Sister Ericah had invited us to come to her home

and she also wanted President Okila to come so

we took President and Sister Okila to visit Ericah.

We met President and Sister Okila at the petrol

station in Majengo and headed to Ericah's.

President knew a short cut so off we went.

He had us stop for directions two or three times

but we made it ok. Sister Ericah met us out

on the road by her home and showed us in.

 She lives about 43 km from the church but it takes her

about 4 hours to come. We drove there in one and a half hours.

Out in the front yard is the toilet and bath house.

Baths are on the left and the toilet is on the right.

I faces away from the house.

 The fence separates her homestead (compound from the 

neighbors and it makes a great clothes line for laundry!

 Sister Ericah has been very innovative. Here is her

power source for bio fuel or methane fuel with which to cook.

The tank on the left has a trough running into it from the 

cow shed. The cow dung is washed down the trough with 

water. The pit is very deep and there when mixed water

produces gas that is tapped and piped to the kitchen where

it is used to power a two burner hot plate for cooking. There is enough 

gas produced to supply several homes in her compound.

With two cows!!

The pit on the right is for the waste after the gas is gone.

This is then taken by bucket to the grass and other plants for fertilizer.

Here are the cows doing their thing in their shed.

The window on the left is to the original kitchen where the

cooking is done over an open wood fire. 

 

The pipe carrying the gas goes into this kitchen which

is part of Ericah's house.

Her helper is cooking "crepes" that Ericah learned to make

when she spent a year in America with her son and his family.

 She is using the gas operated hot plates.

 Her living area is two buildings side by side and then the 

third building in the rear of the other two with a covered walkway

between them. This water tank is between the two main buildings.

Near the top right f the picture is a rain gutter that directs the

rain into the water holding tank.

She has a deep well under the square wood under the edge of the

table but she wants a pump to make the water more accessible.

.

This is the outer kitchen and probably the original

kitchen because most cooking is done in a

different building than is lived in or in the outdoors.

This woman is cooking the main part of the meal over a

wood fire.

Note the window in the center. That is the window leading into 

the cow rooms (and there us no glass pane in it!)

The pile of hay there is for the cows.

 This is the fire cooking the food. President was amazed

that she could use two pans to cook over one fire 

because of the way it was organized. 

A third pan could also set there to keep its

contents warm.

 This is the covered walkway between the front 

building and the back building.
The cows are in the first part on the right
and the cooking kitchen is the next room on the
right where Elder Moon is standing.
Between President Okila and Sister Ericah 
is a small "coop" for baby chicks that will grow to
chickens to eat. The door by Elder Moon goes into
Ericah's house with the kitchen with gas.
You casn see the pipe taking thegas to the kitchen
near the bottom of the wall on the right.
The pipe comes out of the wall then down, under the
floor and into the kitchen.

These buildings make up her home. The doorway leads

into the hall between the front and back buildings where the

chicken coop is.

In an adjoining yard are calves staked out.

Well behind Ericah's home is her sister-in-law's home and

also her mother-in-law's home. 

This is their toilet and bath house.

Sister Ericah was anxious to show up her grounds and 

plants. She has a very large amount with

of land most of it under cultivation.

Sister Okila, Elder Moon, President Okila and Sister Ericah.

This is a pretty area.

Tea fields. They pick all the leaves by hand.

They are bagged and taken to the nearby

tea plant where they are made into tea to be sold in stores.

Below is a closer look at the tea plants.

After harvest the plants are cut back and ready

to grow again and produce more tea.

This trimming and the digging are done by men.

Sweet potato plants. They are planted by taking a

leaf stalk from one plant and sticking it in the ground.

A mud house in the compound.

Below these children were off to get water from the river

that is nearby---- sort of.

Out standing in the fields.

The sister-in-law's home. She was a delightful woman.

Not yet a member of the church but listening more and more,

After walking over her huge shamba, visiting with family neighbors

we returned to her home where lunch was ready.

The front item is ugali 

(a little different in appearance to what I made but it tastes the same)

Below we have mangoes, ugali, stew, potatoes in stew,

a plate covering the crepes, rice, chicken and something?

It was all delicious!!

She has a large sitting room that is 

the entire width of the front of the house.

This is one end of the room.

On the other end is where we sat to visit and to eat.

The food was served on the coffee table.

Sister Ericah, an orphan age 28 who works for her, 

and her sister-in-law who was anxious to teach us 

some kiswahili.

Ericah, her son and the orphan that works for her.

Some of her grandies and neighbors were playing soccer so

Elder Moon had to get in on the action.