Bread for the Journey

'Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25:40 NIV

When Mennonite Girls Can Cook came into being several years ago, it was all about preserving our family heritage recipes.  We discussed that as individuals we never wished to profit from the blog, but if the opportunity would ever arise we would love to use our blog to help feed hungry children.  Little did we know what the future had in store for us.  One year after we began the blog we partnered together with a few businesses that agreed to support the project of our choice in exchange for having their business profiled on our sidebar. The project we chose was that of providing goats to families in Kenya under the direction of MCC (Mennonite Central Committee).  It seemed like a good way of feeding hungry children in a faraway place...and at the same time giving their families a way to become self-sufficient.    I never gave the project a great deal of thought at that time...and definitely never considered the possibility of traveling to Kenya to see first hand how our donations were being used.

Last summer we began to make plans to visit friends of ours in Kenya...who happen to be the directors for MCC in that country.  Suddenly I thought about our goat project...and realized that Ron and Martha were the ones who were overseeing the very project we had been supporting.  What a great opportunity to see where our funds were going...and to see what a difference a small herd of goats can make to a family. 

We returned recently from our time in Kenya...where we were hosted by Ron and Martha Ratzlaff.  We spent time with them as they went about their regular duties.  We joined them as they distributed blankets and school kits to students in a school in the slums of Nairobi.  I had to think of the ladies from our church back home who meet faithfully every week to quilt blankets such as these for MCC...and wished they could have seen the joy with which these blankets were received! 

We spent one day touring the sand dams...a project with which MCC is involved that provides water to many who previously had no access to water during the dry seasons.  We also saw another project that they support, which uses solar energy to purify drinking water for the children in the slums. We visited several schools in which MCC is involved...providing a chance at education for children who who previously never have had that opportunity. 

For many, learning to read and write is secondary...the meals that are served are the reason they are there. 
 
And we made a trip out to the Masai Mari...where we saw first hand the importance of goats to the livelihood of these nomadic peoples. 

Goats survive drought much better than cattle, and provide milk for the families.  It is mostly the women and children who tend the herd of goats.  We had the opportunity to meet these particular 'goat-herders' and were invited into their village, where we even toured one of their homes...a tiny hut made of sticks and plastered with mud and cow dung.  It was here that we met the little fellow pictured above...the one who could not open his eyes because of the flies.  Our hearts went out to him...to all of them.

Though we at Mennonite Girls Can Cook are now partnering with MCC in providing food and shelter for street children in the Ukraine...I  am ever so thankful that I had the opportunity to see first-hand the work that MCC is doing in Kenya and the difference they are making the lives of so many children.  The goat project in Kenya has now been fully funded, and the Kenyan directors send a word of thanks to all who helped support it. If you are interested in knowing more about the Goat Stocking program and seeing pictures of the first goat distribution you can read about it right here. 

To all of you who have helped us in our quest to feed hungry children...thank-you! Thank-you for joining us in being the hands and feet of Jesus to 'the least of these' around the world.