Feeding the 5,000.....well, not quite!

One of the highlights of all of the previous mission teams has been "The Feast".  This is a huge meal that has traditionally been bought and prepared by the team members for the poor and hungry of Karatu.   But teams in the past have had more people on them and the work and preparation usually took all day. This year, because we were a smaller team of 10, and the fact that the people of the large Karatu church offered to do all the preparation, we were only responsible for the bill.  It was still quite a job!

We met with the mayor and a number of pastors who told us they would be responsible for the inviting...and set the date for Thursday.  From past feasts, we knew there could be up to 1,000 people!

We also did some inviting ourselves.  One afternoon,  while some were working on the church and cistern, six of us visited a number of families living nearby.  Our purpose was to bring them a Swahili Bible,  ask if they would like us to pray for them, and to invite them to the feast.

We were always welcomed into their homes and, with Esther and Peter interpreting, were anxious to hear our prayers and receive a Bible.  The homes were simple,  either clay and dung huts or sometimes brick, with thatched or metal roofs.  Inside were a few dark rooms, even shared with a goat or two.  There was no electricity or running water.  Yet, the people were gracious and friendly, probably curious at these "Americans" coming to their homes.

I wondered, though, how these families could walk the probably 2-plus hour walk into town for the feast.  But I guess they do it to get food and supplies, sometimes carrying very heavy loads, even on their heads!

The next day was the feast!  After spending the morning at a clinic and delivering sweaters to the school, the team came back to the Karatu church to check on how the meal preparation was coming along.  Fires had been started outdoors, a goat was roasting, and a number of women were preparing the vegetable and rice for the stew.

But there was still a lot to get done in a few hours so they, of course, put us to work!  Tools to work with were not in plentiful supply!  Potatoes were peeled and meat was cut with not-very-sharp knives....

....and after peeling a pound or two of garlic with my fingers, I dug out a nail file to help!  I was glad when that job was taken over by Kim, Megan, and Sandy!

But I had to ask Karashi what he was cutting.  Maybe I shouldn't have.....it turned out to be the stomach(s) of the cow!  It all went into the stew....

Somehow, it all got done by around 4:00 pm, when streams of children started coming to the front of the church.  The different uniforms indicated a lot of different schools.

We scrambled to get all the food on the serving tables....rice, meat, vegetables, stew, fruit, and a bottle of pop!

Where did they all come from and where were the parents?  We discovered later that the word had gone out to the schools....and the kids came right after school for a free meal.  How many?  Well, we ran out of plates and pop.....it could have been anywhere between 600 and a thousand.  It didn't matter....we had just enough food and we were glad to fill some hungry tummies!

The pots were empty, the kids were fed.  It was time for our dinner.  Guess what......it was the GOAT!

This is their tradition, as a thank-offering to us for what we had done for their community.  The first bites were given to our eldest, Shirley and Dennis....

We were all given slices of the delicacy....and it was actually quite tasty! The pastor's son liked it too!