Food for the Soul

By Dale

Nurse Ann and Uncle Nathan (men older than you are respectfully called “uncle”) are, to my knowledge,  the oldest members of the Naomi’s Village staff.  By divine orchestration Ann came to NV as the nurse just eight months after they opened in 2011.  Nathan volunteered at the home for two years until he made a very natural transition to the supplies manager position when it was created at NV.  He had had several years of experience in receiving and accounting during his tenure at Kijabe Hospital where he first met Ann.  There is no official title for them as a couple but I tend to see them as the grandparents of the village.  They are a lovely couple and NV is fortunate to have them.

We made an immediate connection with each of them as we first arrived at NV because Nurse Ann helped get our girls antibiotics and Nathan received the five over-stuffed bags of goodies we transported from the States to donate to the home.  Nathan and I have had some wonderfully uplifiting conversations over the past several weeks.  The both of them have been a great encouragement to Rachel and I.  Because of this connection we’ve been trying to get a chance to spend some extended quality time together. 

We finally achieved this goal Saturday when we took lunch together at the Ebenezer Restaurant in Kijabe with our dear friends.  It was likely our last chance so we were very grateful for this opportunity.  However, we had to make some significant strides to make it happen.  Rachel is currently being the care giver to her niece and nephews at Rift Valley Academy where her brother teaches, while the rest of us continue serving at NV so we needed to meet in Kijabe so Rachel could remain close by while our Annie “cousin sat”.  As you may have already heard, the back roads here are indescribably rough and so Nathan’s car likely would not be able to make the trip. Fortunately, Dan put me on his insurance before he and Courtney left for their trip with a group of 16 seniors from RVA.  So, I drove up to Kijabe from NV with Ann and Nathan to meet Rachel for lunch.

We had a great visit while enjoying cold sodas, samosas (meat and onion filled-pastries) and chips (Kenyan term for French fries).  It was nourishing to our bodies but more importantly to our souls.