Learning While Serving
We were blessed beyond words by the simple kindness of a group of bare-footed, poorly-clothed, incredibly-generous widows.
Learning By Serving
My wife, Pam, and I had the opportunity recently to learn how to use a jembe – a short, heavy-handled hoe used for digging in the garden – which we have seen Kenyans carrying along the paths since our arrival at the hospital in Kijabe. We were invited to help prepare and plant a field of beans and maize in the valley just below our home. The most interesting and blessed part of this experience is with whom we toiled.
The valley below us has experienced severe drought and famine for almost three years, until the rains returned in December. The Kijabe community has been distributing maize to the people of the village below us called Mai Mahui. By last December, the numbers swelled to over 600 people receiving food each Saturday. Fortunately, since the rains have returned and one crop has been harvested, the numbers are down to about 100, mostly widows and orphans. Since we have helped with maize distribution in Mai Mahui on several occasions, we were invited to help plant.
A local elder of the church in Mai Mahui, named Kirago, decided it was time for the community members to help one another. He asked the people who had benefited from the feeding program to bring jembes, maize and beans to plant a field for a young widow who had four children, but no food. We joined about 45 others, mostly older widows, in tilling, clearing and planting an acre of land, which had been donated by a local farmer. It was humbling to work alongside others, most who had no shoes. It was inspiring to see the raw land turned by jembes and strong backs into a fertile field. It was entertaining to watch Pam stab the ground with a machete and plant her beans alongside the experienced Kenyans. It was tiring to dig the land, nurse our blisters and try to keep pace with those tough Kenyan women. And it was amazing to see the transformation from despair to hope in the young mother who now had her own shamba (farm). But the best was yet to come.
After we completed the planting, the people who had donated their beans, maize and back-breaking effort, were also asked to bring a contribution of food to sustain this family until the next harvest. One by one they donated corn, beans, potatoes, etc. until a 200 pound sack was literally over-flowing onto the ground. While watching this procession of poor widows giving so that another might survive, Pam and I realized what a gift we had been given by being able to participate in this special day. We were blessed beyond words by the simple kindness of a group of bare-footed, poorly-clothed, incredibly-generous widows who were the embodiment of Christ’s second great commandment: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mt. 22:39).
Afterwards, as we dined on irio (mashed potatoes, corn, and pumpkin leaves) and chai (Kenyan tea) at Kirago’s home with this unlikely group of workers, we realized how much we had to learn from the people of this beautiful land. We have begun to understand that we give out of our abundance, while others, out of their poverty, give all they have (Mk. 12:44). How wonderful of the Lord to teach us so much in such a blessed way!
“Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.” (Hosea 10:12 NIV)
By Dave Worthy