I don't know about Dylan but by now, I was feeling a certain sadness in my heart knowing that my 3 weeks in Weru were almost up. It was Monday, so Dylan and I woke up early to go to Motiguru school for the last time. Pastor wanted to take me and Dylan to nearby Mt. Kenya on Tuesday and so this was the last time Dylan and I would see our school kids. In the morning we said goodbye to our GP friends, but it wasn't that hard because we knew we would see them in a couple of days. So Dylan and I taught/helped at Motiguru one final time before saying our goodbyes to the kids and taking the mandatory pictures with them. I don't know what to say about those kids; they will never experience material richness. Most will only ever know Weru and the surrounding countryside. Most will probably end up tending to their families' lands and growing coffee beans, chai leaves, bananas, etc. Yet those kids are so pure in heart; they're not spoiled American children who grow up with a sense of entitlement. These are kids who stick leaves onto sticks and then run around watching the leaf spin on the stick as the air rushes past the makeshift toy.
Later on that day, Dylan and I helped Pastor Mwiti plant a garden by the church. We planted a bunch of seedlings into the dirt that will hopefully become fullgrown plants soon. Dylan and I felt really happy doing this task, because we felt we were leaving something permanent behind in Weru. We felt this was our mark on Weru; physical evidence that we had lived there for a few weeks and that we had come to love the place. We suggested the name "Garden of Uz" to Pastor, because we read Job together during our time in Weru.
Finally, at night, Edith invited us over to eat dinner with her and her spunky daughter Makena. Dylan and I had really come to respect Edith and how she poured out her heart into the church and into the community. We were really blessed to have known her and we were excited that she and Betty would be joining us the next day for our expedition into Mt. Kenya.
Our time in Weru was up quite yet, but all the same, my heart was heavy because even though I had never lived without electricity and running water for so long, there is something very "human" and "spiritual" about living in these conditions. Life just seems more "real." I don't know how to explain it. Don't get me wrong, I would take clean bathrooms, spiderless rooms, and a nice soft bed any day over Weru; however, it's just so different living life in Weru where not everything is handed to people on silver platters. Here, people have to survive but they find so much joy doing it.
We taught the kids how to play "sharks and minnows" and they loved it. Of course, they didn't know what the heck sharks or minnows were so they called it "1-2-3!", because that's the count for when they had to start running to avoid me and Dylan.
The garden we worked on with Pastor
Pastor Mwiti and Dylan hard at work
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