Getting Muddy

Today I went "mudding". I know you are picturing me in a souped-up truck with monster wheels, but I actually mudded a house with my bare hands. It was awesome. There were four missionary women including myself that went to a nearby village to help finish a home for a Kenyan family.

This Kenyan family of five (a husband and wife with their three young daughters) were living with his parents. Their family and local church helped them build the foundation and roof the house with tin. We were involved in finishing the inner wall of the house. The "house" really was one 10 x 12 ft. room with 4 mud walls, a tin roof, a mud floor, and 2 windows. Some local women from their church and some of the female family members pitched in to help us.

We got to work. The mud literally came from the ground. A 6 ft. hole was dug near the house to get down to the better dirt, then water was poured in to make mud (fortunately for us, the hole was already dug prior to us coming). Buckets of the mud were then filled and lifted out of the ground. We then used our hands to smear the mud onto the walls.



There was actually a technique to applying the mud. Luckily, we worked alongside the Kenyan women who showed us how to do it properly...slap the mud on then smear and smooth with the heel of our hands. You don't want any cracks or holes because then bugs can come in. It was quite therapeutic to get my hands and feet all muddy. I also enjoyed the time of fellowship with the Kenyan and missionary women.





The local kids gathered to watch us (probably getting a good laugh)

Afterwards we sat down to have chai. The family served us bread with butter and corn from their garden. We also shared a time of prayer. Although they have little compared to us, this family was so grateful to God for all they did have.


The Kenyan family with their extended family members