Blog 1 from Kenya

So, there I was in a manyatta in the middle of the Northern Frontier District of Kenya. A manyatta is a small village made up of huts of stick covered with whatever is available.  

I had preached at a small concrete block building that morning and we were invited to the manyatta later that evening for roast goat. The church was filled to overflowing, by the way.  The picture below is of the ladies group after the church service!

Well, we showed up later, after an exciting ride from the compound where we were staying to the manyatta. There we watched the goat get chosen and killed for the meal. The Samburu people who were our hosts do not slit the throats to kill the goats. They grasp the jugular vein firmly and hold it until the goat is dead. Then they touch an eyeball to check morbidity. Then they slit the throat and drink the blood before butchering. Here’s a picture (below) of the man who was cooking our goat. Dressing in traditional garb is not a tourist thing (tourists are few and far between in this region), it is everyday wear.

So, as I was writing, there we were, the goat’s getting cooked, we’re looking around trying to absorb everything that’s going on around us. Then, wait for it.....

The cook’s cellphone rings!

That’s right. Hanging from the fabric belt of his kikoi (a sarong-like garment worn by men), was a cellphone. Two things to notice here. First, the seeming anachronism. It just seemed out of place. Second, he had coverage! Out, almost literally, in the middle of nowhere, the guy was making and receiving calls every few minutes while he cooked the goat.

So this is just one of many amazing and wonderful happenings during our recent three-week trip to Kenya. I’m sure I will be writing about more of them. 

And, oh yes, the goat was most tasty.