The cup of tea....

After we had spent the day learning about "bean farming" our dear friends Mike and Nico decided to take us to Nico's extended Family for an introduction. His extended family is part of the Masai tribe. They live in the Masai lands near Tanga. As we approached their homestead, it became very apparent to me that if I had to find there home I probably would have been somewhere between Egypt and South Africa!!! There are NO road signs anywhere and how in the world, Mike and Nico knew what dirt paths would lead us to their farm and home is beyond my imagination!! Seriously, not even a GPS could have gotten us to this place.

Once we arrived of course the children came running to our vehicle. I am quite convinced that they had never seen a white person by the looks on their faces. They were curious but shy and the little children were just plain frightened!! It was cute but I could understand how they felt. If all you have ever seen and experienced is your own race, I am sure seeing me would be a bit frightening!! Anyway, the older children would try to explain to the younger ones that we were their "rafiki's" and then they would hold our hands and make sure that their own hands had not turned white!!!

We were invited to look around their home/farm so we did just that. We walked to see all the crops they were growing, and the animals they had in their possession. It was so Peaceful. It was quite, I could hear the wind blowing, the grasses rustling the corn tilting over...it was such peace and solitude!! The sky was incredibly blue, the mountains that surrounded their land were breathtaking!!!

As we were finishing our walk, Mama Masai (Esther) and her husband (Francis) invited us to have tea. It was the traditional Masai tea with medicine in it. The medicine was found by the mountains and it tasted like chamomile. Esther who spoke some English said that it would calm our tummies. I enjoyed this cup of tea because it was shared with such love and friendship. I don't know if I can even put into words what it felt like to be an honored guest in their home. While we were sharing our tea with our friends, a goat was giving birth right behind my chair that I was sitting on. As I watched the birth of this goat, I noticed all the children helping the mama goat with her labor and birth. It was fascinating to me. These children knew just what to do. As the baby was born they quickly had the mother clean up the baby so that she would know to love the one that was just born. They kept putting the mama's nose on the baby. They cut the umbilical cord with their fingers and gave that to the Mama goat to eat...this built that connection to that baby. Within 15 minutes the baby stood up and began feeding on the mama. Their union had taken place.

We resumed our tea together and began to talk about our efforts with farming. At one point, Esther said she was so pleased that we came from so far away and cared so much for the people of Tanzania. She and Francis shared some conversation in their tribal tongue and when they were completed, she told me they had plenty of farm land and would like to give me 100 acres to farm. She said I could use this to help the many villages I was trying to help. She said you have come so far to help our people, this is the least we can do to help you. I will tell you I was speechless. What can you say to someone who is so gracious? I replied with Asante sana, Asante sana (thank you very much) and was choked up...I do believe I could have just cried right then and there!!!

Esther took me through their humble mud hut. She showed me their living room and bedroom. It was simple and peaceful. There was no electricity, just one door and one little window. I could feel the love all over their property. The farm fields, their home, their children all exuded love.

Our cup of tea was one of friendship and bonding. It was my chance to understand their life and to tell them a little about me. I feel incredibly blessed to know that I was able to connect closer to my Masai friends. They explained that now we are true friends and we are now able to share farm land when we develop our project.

I am so blessed with these great friends, Esther, Francis their children, Mike and Nico!! We will always have the bond of friendship and farming together.

Until next time~

Cheers!