I’m sitting in Komo Jenyatta Airport in Nairobi, with a long layover and an even longer journey ahead. As good a time as any to start catching up on some storytelling. (Admittedly, my brain’s a bit fuzzy, so I’ll ask you to please overlook any and all bad writing and typos.) Here’s a look a typical Saturday at the Ancient Path compound, when the US team is here.
It’s Saturday morning and everyone’s preparing for a long, fun day with the kids. On the way to Kaliyeka , we stop at a local shop to buy plastic buckets for drums. We beat the various types and sizes of plastic buckets to test the sound, aware that we look completely insane to the neighbors. But for the woman and her daughter who are selling to us, it’s Christmas come early. It takes three of us with calculators to come up with the same number, but we finally succeed. The women happily help us carry the buckets/tubs/drums to the van where we strap them to the top alongside large suitcases filled with supplies. We look a sight as we bounce furiously up the bumpy road to the AP compound.
We arrive to find we’re locked out of the house. The women need to start preparing the kids’ hot meal early in the day to have it ready by 4:00pm. Cooking nsima, vegetables and beef over firewood for 200 kids is no joke. It takes serious work, time, and not a little muscle. It also takes water, which we don’t have because we’re locked out of the house. Palibe vuto (no problem) – we have drums that can be water containers. Led by Lucy Mtambo, the US team heads out the gate to fetch water. They draw plenty of stares at the pump and on their return journey. They walk slowly, but with heads heads held high. Lucy is gracefully carrying a tub-full of water, not a half-full bucket, but the US team isn’t sloshing water on themselves and that is no small accomplishment. Then again, look at this picture of the Chifundo women carrying supply suitcases and bins into the compound….on their heads. It never ceases to amaze!
As our remaining drums fill up with beef and shredded cabbage, I remind everyone that these are actually musical instruments that I’ll need back as soon as we get into the still-locked house. My Malawian sisters look at me like I’m nuts and even I realize how crazy that sounds. But soon Moses appears with keys and we begin to transfer the food to other tubs and buckets and rinse out the drums.
The kids start streaming in the gate shortly after 1 pm, each one vibrant in their bright red shirts. We begin to divide them into groups: the dance group heads to the back to work with Mikaela and Mackenzie, the young photographers gather under a tree with Bethany to start exploring their new cameras, the learning play groups split up into three rooms with Kiersten, Dixie and Cindy to play with puzzles and bristle blocks and magna-tiles, and Paul and I take the drummers. (Fred has headed out by himself today to teach a day-long pastor’s seminar.) Towera, Essay, Moses and our friend, Mike help us with translation in the various activities while Angela, Agnes and Lucy cook up a storm at the back of the house.
Except for the dance group, it’s controlled chaos, mostly – but the kids are loving every minute of it – as are we. After a couple of hours, we bring all the kids together to make bracelets, as Cindy tells them the story of God’s unfailing love. Anything with 200 kids takes time, but the looks on their faces as they show off their bracelets makes it more than worthwhile.
The food is ready and it’s time to eat. The children line up, one by one, to wash their hands – a process overseen by Moses. We offer to help but he insists this is his job and he enjoys it. Each child is handed a full plate of hot nutritious food and soon everything goes quiet as the kids work their way through their meal.
As the young kids spill into the backyard for one last, dust-raising Happy dance before heading to their homes, the older kids scrub the pots and wash the dishes without complaint. They sing songs for us as they work, and eventually, we end the day with their own mini-dance party. The sun is setting as our van winds through the township. Our red-shirted kids are everywhere, waving and laughing and yelling bye-bye as they chase after the van. It’s hard to look at the homes they are returning to – tiny apartments with crowded, unlit, unfurnished rooms. But their stomachs and hearts are full, and their faces reflect both joy and hope. That is why we do what we do.
If you would like to help feed these beautiful kids, you can donate to the Chifundo Kids program by clicking here . 100% of all funds donated to the Chifundo program go directly to the children. Ancient Path is a 501(c) non-profit organization and all donations are tax-deductible.
