Sunday Chuck and I decided to take a walk and see if Bosco and his family were home.  They live fairly close and would make for a nice walk.  We arrived at his home to find it empty but as we came back to the road Annastacia, Bosco’s wife, came around the corner collecting her kids who were playing in a nearby field.  She spotted us, not hard with our white faces blaring, and in her very broken English said “Bosco, mom, home”.  We got the idea and followed her to grandma and grandpa’s house.  Actually the kids ran ahead knowing full well where grandma’s is!  Once we arrived we said our hellos and were invited into the home for a seat.  We were able to have a conversation as Bosco’s dad can speak some English…his English is much better than my Swahili so I give him all the credit for carrying the conversation!  Great grandma (Bosco’s dad’s mom) arrived and her voice is so high pitched it almost hurts my ears!  But what a happy lady and whenever I see her she seems to be the happiest person around.  Then Bosco came, he was at a neighbors visiting, and he took us for a little tour of the area…which basically means meeting the extended family.

We first went to the backyard to see where Bosco lived when he first got married and had their first 2 kids.  The house is no longer there but he showed us where it had been and which plants he had planted.  He was pretty excited as some of those flowers were coming to the children’s shelter.  Then we went next door to meet a cousin, his wife and kids.  A few yards away another cousin and family.  Lastly we ended up at great-grandma’s house (Bosco’s mom’s mom).  She knows no English and spoke mostly in her mother tongue (Kamba) but was sharp as ever and told us of her belief in God and that He created us all the same…hands to work, eyes to see and mouth to speak to each other.  Then she quietly pulled out a small vile of something and put just a bit in her mouth.  My curiosity got the best of me and I had to ask…shyly Bosco said it was tobacco!  She chews!  Hey, give her a break though, at over 110 years old (no one was quite sure and some said around 120!) she deserves a little indulgence!

It was time to head back to grandma and grandpa’s for tea and mandazi (donuts).  After a bit more conversation and viewing of photos we were on our way home, or so we thought!   Next door (opposite from where we started) was another cousin who was home now.  Of course you stop and greet each other, we had met Raphael a couple of months ago at Coletta’s birthday party but we sat for a bit and had a nice conversation before finally heading home.

We left our house around 11 and arrived home at 5:30pm.  That’s a lot of family to meet!  But what hit me was how much this family loved being together, so much so that they live within a mile of each other…by choice!  The elderly are honored and taken care of with such love and concern and the entire family takes an active role in their care.  It was bittersweet for me though as it made me miss my own family, but what a blessing to spend a Sunday afternoon with a great family.

Thursday Tarrin spent time with her Kenyan “younger brother” Tati (and just like her American younger brothers, Tati has surpassed her in height!)

Tati came to Nice View while we were there on Thursday and spent the afternoon with us, then when it was time to go Tarrin asked if Tati could come home with us so she could hang out a bit more.  She warmed up a couple of chapatti with butter and sugar, soda and taught Tati how to play Blitz (card game).  They talked about school, what he wanted to do in life, corruption at his school, favorite foods and simply hung out.

Tati’s background didn’t matter to Tarrin, he was simply a neat kid.  However his background bears telling, he’s been through a lot.  We met Tati back in 2008 when he was 13 years old, living on his own while his mom worked in a different village and could only visit him once or twice a week.  When she did visit she tried to give him enough money for the week for food.  When we met him he had no money and mom wasn’t coming for a couple of days.  He lived in a latrine converted to a room with no security, no electricity, no water.  Tati had to prepare his own meals, wash his own clothes, motivate himself to do his homework and one time while he was cooking he caught his only clothes on fire.  That’s when we were introduced to Tati and we talked with Gideon at Nice View to see if he could board at the school.  He became an excellent student there and a mentor to the other kids (he still mentors younger students at his current high school).

He is competed in a math competition this past weekend and Tarrin is hoping when he returns he’ll be able to spend Monday with her again before heading back to school on Tuesday…I’m sure Tati will not decline that invitation!  You could see the happiness on his face when we dropped him off in the evening and what a blessing it was to see them interact together.