You can learn things from small children. I was an ear witness to the following:

Them1: I promise you it works.
Them2: I don’t think it can, but it would be SO cool if it did.
Them1: I promise you I tried it and it works.
Me: What works?
Them1: If you drink a Coke really fast and hold your burp until it hurts, it will be three times louder than normal.
Me: How do you know?
Them1: I have been experimenting.

Have you ever gotten something weird in your head and can’t get it out? I was in a business meeting later and had a Coke, and suddenly it flew into my head that yes indeed, it would be so cool if it did.

So I tried, and can verify two things: (1) It does indeed work. (2) It was probably not appropriate for an adult missionary.

Fred, our friend who used to work for us on our yard and who is now working full time in the computer lab, is getting married in April. He has enlightened me on the dowry in Kenya.

When a male proposes to a woman in Kenya, he goes to the parents and asks permission. They in turn form a committee, which tries to protect the interest of the family, and informs him of what the cost of marrying her will be. Fred in turns forms his own committee to negotiate the amount of the dowry. This way, the husband and the wife are not directly involved when the argument grows sticky.

For perspective’s sake, when Nan and I got married, it was cheaper for us to get married than it will for Fred. They are asking for over one thousand dollars, which is a tremendous sum for someone who does not make that in a year. It is such an odd system to someone from the West, but it is the means of a family achieving some financial security.

Fred has many needs before he gets married, and one of them was for a latrine. Our wedding gift to him was to pay for a latrine to be dug on his property, with the promise that he will think of me whenever he uses it.

I have been able to return to the hospital for crippled children on Sunday mornings, and it has been so wonderful to see those children again. The mission has a hospital to deal with handicapped and deformed children, and it has just been amazing to witness the miracle of good doctors.

Because of some friends in the states, we were able to come over with some toys, and matchbox cars are especially popular with the little boys. I spent 45 minutes with one little boy just pushing a car back and forth, and he never tired of it, but he had never had a toy before, and he had never sat on a flat smooth surface before. One of the administrators came up to me this week and said, “What is this zoom?”

There are many words hard to translate into Swahili, but Zoom may be the hardest I’ve ever tried.

Your pal,
Steve