Now we are in Mitini-- a little village in the Kilungu hills about two hours from Nairobi.  The people are very blessed if they have cattle, sheep or goats.  There's not much food for this cow to graze on, eh?

Do you see the bananas on this tree?  This is one of the crops the people raise on their terraced land.  These people grow food for their own use and sometimes they sell it in the shambas -- small roadside markets.  The missionaries are trying to teach them to dry their fruit for future use as part of self reliance.                                                                             

The Kilungu hills are beautiful.  The people live and farm on terraces.  The houses are made of mud, clay bricks that they make themselves or tin because if you make them out of wood, the termites will eat them up.  I don't know what the           elevation was, but it was pretty high up there and the last several miles is on a rough dirt road.                                             

This is a picture of a young girl carrying her little sister in a wrap.  It is so tender to see how the siblings take care of each other.  The children love to get their picture taken and they love to see themselves in the camera afterwards.     

Here are some of the children in the Mitini Branch.  Notice the child caring for his  little sister.

The children are so happy and they love their families so much.

Some of the children from primary.

Isn't this little mother beautiful.  We love the colorful clothing they wear and the way they carry their chldren on their backs.  The babies never smile when you fuss over them but you can imagine what goes on in their minds when they see an old white woman with gray hair making unrealistic sounds and touching them!                                                                     
                                                                                       OOOOOH!                                                                                                          
 

Sweet big sister taking care of her sleeping baby sister. 

These are some of the members of the Mitini Branch after church was over.  There is a big water container behind the church that has runoff water from the rains that they drink from and wash their hands.  There was a nice cool breeze.  

You can see the front of the building next to the chapel.  This is where the primary, young women, young men and priesthood have their meetings.  The windows and doors are all open and you can hear the chldren singing.          

Here you can see the front of the chapel.  You see that the people wear the best they have to church on Sundays.  Some come barefoot, some with flip flops and most have some kind of shoes.  They walk long distrances to get there.  One woman named Jennifer walks two hours each way.  She is, needless to say, in very good shape -- and she is very smart!

This is the front of the chapel.  The windows and doors are kept open so you have a cool breeze and can hear the children singing next door in the primary.  It is dusty inside and the chairs are very close together.  The chapel was filled to capcity and there were people sitting outside.  You have to get there on time to sit inside.                                                  

This is a view out over the hillside in Mitini.  You can see the terraces where the people live and farm.  It is beautiful.

Here is a good view of a farm.  The soil is very rich and things grow easily if they can just get the water to it.  Water is such a precious thing to these humble people.                                                                                                                                  

You can see that even in the hills far from Nairobi there is air pollution.