Tea Farm

What a lovely drive out of Nairobi into the countryside and to visit a Tea Farm/Estate! MAF friends of ours, a German family who is normally based in Juba, Sudan took us out to see the place and have lunch there. The farm is owned by a lady whose grandfather came in 1906. in 1910 he bought many many acres of land and began to grow tea. We were given an informative talk on how the plants are grown, cultivated (all by hand) and the leaves sent to the factory nearby. Mambasa, on the coast of Kenya, is one of the 2 biggest places where tea is sold and shipped out to the rest of the world.

As soon as we arrived at the tea farm Judah ran to pet a small dog because he loves dogs so much... and the dog bit him... HARD! I am so afraid of dog bites here due to the rabies risk! ACK!! but the owners assured us that the dog had been vaccinated properly.

The house grounds/garden were stunning! And Josh was especially absorbed with all the new birds he saw there. Were served tea, of course, and cool drinks on the veranda and then, after a tour, we enjoyed a lovely hot meal on the grass under a big avocado tree. It was a great way to spend a Easter weekend afternoon. The photos, by the way, are crappy because our camera is broken. I did use Judah's camera for a few of the photos (imagine me using that huge kids camera taking photos around the fancy gardens).

I was reminded again, as we spoke of the differences between our MAF programmes with these friends, of how much i appreciate that we are stationed in Madagascar and not in Kenya. To be sure, the lifestyle is more pleasant here in many ways, but i am SO thankful for how small our MAF family is in Tana and how the programme is run. Of course, each programme has it's own challenges and benifits. I am simply grateful that we find ourselves assigned to such a great programme straight off and the "perks" that come with living off the beaten track. Of course, living in Madagascar means less visitors and fewer options for neat vacations, no big animal safaris. However, as i'm sure i've mentioned before, i am glad for the opportunity to challenge myself and my children to learn another language. I am VERY thankful for the slow pace of life in Madagascar, even in the capital city - for the limited options we have for entertainment and consumerism, for the small missionary community which forces us to work hard at relationships and look past insignificant cultural and theological differences. This Easter weekend i find myself very thankful for what we have and where we come from, and for the opportunity to visit such a beautiful country for a few months.