TABITHA MINISTRY
On Sunday, our family had the opportunity to attend a Cow
Dedication Ceremony. Prior to our trip to Kenya, our kids colored and painted
pictures of cows and sold each one for a dollar. They were able to raise $300
in 6 months! We purchased a cow for a family in need through Tabitha Ministry.
Tabitha Ministry began as a small Bible study led by a Tenwek missionary, Linda
Spriegel. This small group quickly grew and has continued to grow over the past
ten years. They now have 250 studies with over 2,000 women involved! There are
several levels of leadership and accountability within the ministry. Tabitha Ministry provides participants with Bibles once they memorize a designated set
of scriptures. The ministry also coordinates with churches to provide houses
and cows for families in need. For more information about Tabitha Ministry
click here:
http://tabithakenya.blogspot.co.ke/
OUR DAY WITH
TABITHA MINISTRY / COW DEDICATION
Our day with Tabitha Ministry was a day spent fully immersed
in Kenyan culture. As Linda was not able to go with us, we were on our own to
navigate our way through the day. We left Tenwek at 9:15am and didn’t get back
until 5pm. After picking up some Tabitha Ministry leaders, our driver carefully
made his way over bumpy Kenyan roads for the next hour and a half to the
village of Sogoet. We were greeted while we were still in the car and then
greeted again by several individuals as we got out. These were the first of
about 15 formal greetings and welcomings that we would receive throughout the
service.
The service started at 10am and we arrived 45 minutes late.
Originally Matt and I thought: Oh good,
we’ll only have to make it through the last portion of the service with the kids.
Little did we know; the service was just beginning. They moved chairs up onto
the stage and directed our family to those chairs while the congregation
continued to sing. I had a minor panic attack thinking about trying to manage
my two youngsters on the stage as over one hundred Kenyans stare at the first
white family to ever attend their church.
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| Sanctuary at the beginning of the service. |
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| Sanctuary by the end of the service...gotta love Kenyan time! |
Our kids managed pretty well (for American kids) and made it
through over an hour of the service. They were entertained as numerous groups
of individuals (the women, the elders, the youth, members from another church
who came to visit, etc.) would come to the front of the church and sing a hymn,
welcome our family, and show us how honored they were to have us worship with
them. Most of the songs would begin with a caller singing a particular line
and the congregation responding along with a drum beat. They did have hymnals
and Matt and I even recognized one of the hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing. Although the service seemed to
be haphazard to me, I am sure there was some organization to it. When one group
would finish singing, one of the women would stand up and begin leading another
song while the next group prepared to take the stage. It continued on in this
format for over an hour!
During offering a bowl was placed on a table at
the front of the church. Individuals would bring up money to put in the bowl.
Others, who did not have money to give, brought bags of avocados or passion
fruit to the table. Then, a woman would hold up the fruit and others would
purchase the food, giving their money as an offering to the church. People literally
brought whatever they had back to the
Lord as an offering.
One funny moment during the service: A donkey tied outside the
window loudly brayed. Both of our kids jumped up and craned their necks to see
what was making all the noise outside the window. Everyone started to laugh at
their bewilderment. :)
I eventually had to take our antsy kids outside. We were
then joined by more and more Kenyan children as they came to inspect the
wazungu (white people). I got out some bubbles and after overcoming their initial fear of
them, the 50+ Kenyan kids were soooo excited. Once their enthusiasm about the
bubbles decreased, they began probing our blonde-haired, blue-eyed,
white-skinned kids. They would touch Elana’s hair and squeeze MJ’s skin out of
curiosity. Elana and MJ were very patient as they were followed around the
church yard being poked, but we ended up taking a potty break just to get a
little relief from all of the attention. Just to show you how desperate we were
for a little space, this is where we chose to take our time going potty.
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| Kenyan outhouse. |
We spent the next 2 hours surrounded by kids while Matt sat
on the stage front and center. At one-point Matt came out and brought us back
into the service so we could formally greet and introduce our family. As I
attempted to persuade our kids to sit in the service for another minute or two,
a woman brought them warm milk to drink. While it offered a temporary
distraction, it didn’t last long and we ended up outside in the middle of the
mob again. : ) Thankfully, I packed PB&J and some other snacks for the kids
because the service wasn’t over until 2:30! Every time I reached into my bag to
get the kids food or a wipe to clean them up, the crowd of Kenyan kids would
push in to see what I was bringing out of my bag. I felt like my bag was the
magical Barney bag.
While I was outside, Matt enjoyed the message given by Paris
(a Tabitha Ministry leader). Matt was also given the opportunity to speak to
the congregation and he explained how our kids raised the money to purchase the
cow. Near the end of the service, we were once again asked to come inside so
that the congregation could give us a “token of appreciation.” We stood on the
stage as the congregation began to sing and dance around the church.
Individuals would dance their way up to us and give us a gift. All of this
dancing and singing was a struggle as we attempted to balance our kids and the
gifts we were handed. We were given two bags of tea, a basket, and a
container for milk made out of a gourd.
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| Our "token of appreciation" |
Toward the end of the service, our driver offered to let the
kids take a break in the car. They gladly accepted. Although it was a rest from all of the touching, the car was still surrounded by kids as they reached
in the windows. As I was standing in the car door with my arms across to hold
the Kenyan kiddos back, I thought…this
must be what it is like to be a celebrity and have everyone watching you constantly…or maybe just how it feels to be a goat at
the petting zoo. :)
After over a four-hour service, it was finally time for the
Cow Dedication. The congregation came outside and surrounded the cow who was
grazing outside of the church during the service. Paris prayed over the family
and the cow. The cow was given to a single mother and her daughter. The church
also gave them a pressure washer which is required to spray the cow with a
chemical solution weekly to clean the cow and keep the surrounding area
sanitary. We then took pictures with the family and the cow. Somehow I was
given the place of honor right behind the cow’s back end. When I saw the tail
lift, I jumped backwards as the cow started to urinate. Everyone thought this
was hilarious (myself included). MJ has been repeating this phrase all day:
“Cow pee Mommy.”
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| Family that received the cow: Mother (Rachel) in the middle, daughter on the right |
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| Paris & Beatrice (Tabitha leaders), our family, the new cow owners |
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| The Kenyan we lent our camera to got a little artsy. :) |
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| Matt filming the ceremony, surrounded by the congregation. |
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| Tabitha Ministry & church leaders with the family |
We finished up at the church by eating lunch (on stage…in
front of everyone…again). We ate rice, beans, goat meat, and of course, chai.
Following lunch, we packed into our car and went to a house that was recently
mudded for a House Dedication. Another group of volunteers mudded the house
earlier in the week for a widow and her three children. We prayed over the home
and the family and returned to our car to head back to our own home. By this
point it was 3:30pm and our kids were exhausted. MJ was asleep a few minutes into
the bumpy drive.
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| Mother & kids who received a new home |
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| House that was mudded by Tabitha Ministry |
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| Check out the view from this house! |
THANK YOU!!!!!
We want to offer a big thank you to those of you who
purchased artwork from Elana and MJ. Your donations went to an awesome cause
and will definitely have a lasting impact on this family.
ADDITIONAL
PICTURES FROM OUR WEEK:
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| Elana visited the Pediatric Ward to hand out her "Melty Bead" (Perler bead) crafts that she made. |
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| We went on a walk down to the Mara River on Saturday. |
PRAYER REQUESTS
Pray for the Tenwek missionaries who continue to dedicate
their lives to reaching the people in Bomet and the surrounding areas.
Pray for our family as we leave Tenwek on Thursday. Pray for
protection as we go on a safari and throughout our travels. We will be leaving
Nairobi on Saturday, have a 22-hour layover in London on July 3rd,
and head home on July 4th.
Pray for the Tabitha Ministry; that it may continue to
empower women and spread the love of Christ.
