Maasai Christmas Part 2

We'd made a great plan for Christmas.  We were going to housesit in Nairobi and have a home away from home in which to create a celebration of Christmas, with some of the traditions we like from our lives back in the U.S. In Nairobi, we'd have some ex-pat guests, go to English services and sing carols.

But then war broke out in South Sudan. Over a thousand people lost their lives and tens of thousands fled their homes out of fear.

Our housesitting gig was cancelled because the family was no longer going to visit their family members in South Sudan. Our Christmas plans changed. We weren't going anywhere. We'd be at home in Maasai land and our guest was unable to make the trip out to the bush for Christmas. No Christmas cookie bake with other ex-pats friends, no Christmas eve service in English with carols, no easy access to grocery stores, just the two of us to celebrate.

At first, I had a pity party even though I knew my inconvenience was nothing compared to my fellow humans suffering sudden war and unspeakable losses.

Then, the light of Christmas shone on us.  We made a list of fun things to do in case we found ourselves bored or bummed.  We started to enjoy ourselves even though it was still just the two of us in the same lonely savannah bush.

We exchanged some wrapped gifts on Christmas morning.

We dug into advent scriptures, sang through the "advent" and "birth" hymns in the Mennonite Hymnal, lit candles.  We enjoyed the quiet since so many neighbors were busy visiting family or going to parties instead of walking past our house.  It seemed like even the cows stayed at home instead of jingling their bells past our gate.

We noted and celebrated the lack of work worries.  We read.  We had great phone connection with our families on Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  We played Dutch Blitz (thanks D and A for the cards last Jan). We watched "Its a Wonderful Life". We cooked special dishes.

Pollo saltado, a family tradition from Peru.

On Christmas Eve, we started cooking early.  We made Doug's favorite rice crispie treats.  We made a family tradition of fruit pie turnovers called Holly Woolie pies (named by my older sister at age 3) with mango and passion fruit fillings.  We made french bread and soft pretzels for distribution to the neighbors.  When all the cooking was complete, we walked around to the neighbors' homes to visit and share the bread and pretzels.  

I divided the dough into 36 pieces in hopes that I would make enough little pretzels for each adult and child in the two neighboring homesteads to get one- big families.

On Christmas day, 500 or more Maasai descended upon the area around our house. It was like a huge family gathering- a backdrop of hundreds of people chattering and laughing under the trees all day long.  A long church service made up of choir contests filled the air with electronic chords and beats and voices at the top of their lungs.

A choir, decked in new matching lessos for Christmas, practices under the trees before heading into the church.

The day after Christmas, we cleaned the house from top to bottom in anticipation of some guests for the weekend.  Our MCC supervisors were bringing their family and parents out to see Maasailand and stay at our house. The hosting included hiking safari tours, lots of food, establishing a campsite in our yard, and a trip to Ewuaso town by us and a spectacular meal by our friends and nieghbors Ann and Daniel and family.

The feast prepared by Ann and her daughters

An evening at Ann and Daniel's is always accompanied by Maasai tales told by Daniel, translated by Ann.  This time there were also gifts of beads. I'm always in awe of my neighbors' delight in "above and beyond" generosity to guests.

Brian shares a gift with Sam

My friend Micah gave me some beads. 

Kepher, Ann's son that Doug mentors 

The family we hosted on their visit to Maasailand.