Nancy Hits 60!
Nancy's April trip to Kenya,
Tanzania and DRC (Congo) topped 60 countries for teaching families how to
really love each other.
She was invited to Kenya
initially for a Writer's Seminar conducted at the East Central Division
Headquarters in Nairobi to train 160 Wannabe Writers who came in from all
over, some even from the Philippines.
Nancy with Lumbu, Russ Holt and Owolabi
Her services were also needed
in DRC (Democratic Republic of Congo). There she spoke to colporteurs
who sell her book in French - L'enfant 'epanoui (Train Up A Child).
Colporteurs Hold Up Her Book
She also laid a cornerstone for
a new publishing house they are building in Kinsasha, the capital of the
Democratic Republic of Congo.
Nancy Lays the Cornerstone for the New Publishing House
The highlight of the trip
however, was visiting the famous Masai people in Tanzania, about three hours
drive out of Arusha. The Masai are a semi-nomadic tribe who even yet
live isolated from society defending their culture, codes and values.
Nancy visited a Masai village, walked through a dung hill from which the
women build their huts, visited with the chief, bought beaded ornamentation
from one of his four wives, and literally crawled into the inky darkness of
the dung and mud hut to see how they eat and sleep.
The Masai Chief and His Wife
Masai men like their wives
young. Girls ages 7 to 10 are prepared for marriage through FGM
(female genital mutilation). This procedure involves the partial or
total removal of the female genitalia. Even though it is now against
the laws of the nation, they continue to do it because of tradition.
It marks passage into adulthood and they believe it insures her virginity.
Most Masai tribesmen would not think of marrying a girl who hadn't had it
done as she would be considered immoral. In Kisii 97% of the women
have been circumcised. Any girl who refused will be shunned.
Some of these little girls are married off to older men of 50 and 60 years
old - all for 5 cows and about $300 USD.
Sexual mores are very loose.
A woman marries not one husband, but all men who were circumcised with him -
his age mates. Her husband is expected to give up his wife and his bed
to a guest age-mate. The guest plants his spear outside her hut as a signal
that he requests a visit for the night. On the surface there appears
to be no rivalry.
Masai Men Bouncing to Display Strength
The health of the Masai has
been tested and retested and they are amazingly fit. When put on a
treadmill, they perform up to Olympic standards. They have a diet
extremely high in fat, which consists mainly of meat, milk, and corn meal.
And they also drink blood for a beverage. Yet their cholesterol
remains only half of that of the average American. Why? Because
of their activity levels. They walk, and walk, and walk, and walk some
more. And their amazing dances include "boucing" or "jumping", often
in competition, to display strength and endurance.
Nancy Visits With the Masai Chief
Nancy and The Chief Inside His House
Nancy danced (or jumped) with
the women with a large beaded Masai necklace around her neck under a full
moon - the experience of a lifetime!
Our Group In The Land Rover
The next day we embarked on a safari at the
Manyara National Reserve. Dozens of animals were spotted but the most
memorable were the baboons - hundreds of them, herds of elephants, giraffe,
leopards and many more.
Nancy With Jacinta In Front Of The School
While in Kenya, Nancy visited
Kajiado Adventist Primary School, a shelter for Masai girls where they can
escape FGM and early marriage. The school was founded in 2000 by a
local Adventist Church and presently houses 91 girls. Many mothers are
opposed to early marriage and have probably endured this themselves.
So to protect their daughters, they secretly bring them to the school.
The father will be extremely angry because he is losing 5 cows and $300 and
she will have no home to go back to. One girl had been raped and had
given birth to a baby. She was forced into marrying the man but the
day before the wedding she walked over 50 klm to the school carrying her
baby to request asylum.
Nancy With Two Masai Sisters
The father of the two girls
pictured here was marrying off the 12 year old but the school intervened and
rescued the girl just before the marriage. The father was so angry he
took his 9 year old daughter and married her off to another man before the
school could rescue her. The rescue took three weeks and involved the
government. The father came to the school with the chief and caused a
lot of trouble. Tight security is needed to protect the girls.
One girl, age 9, was to be
married off to a man of 90. "The girls are so innocent," Jacinta
commented, "that they cannot even comprehend what has happened to them and
they suffer a lot."
The school functions with a
staff of 12 under primitive conditions. They operate on free-will
offerings and often the staff goes for months without salary due to a lack
of funds. Yet they carry on because they believe in their cause.
Nancy's heart has never been more moved about the worthiness of a cause.
She always carries Ladies' Night Out mission funds with her - just
in case she finds a worthy cause. (Ladies' Night Out is a
women's ministry group she coordinates in Fresno, California). On this
occasion the money was burning in her pocket! She gladly handed over
$300 - wishing like everything that it could have been $3,000 instead.
So the serious young girl who,
when she graduated from Auburn Academy, wrote as her ambition - "Mission
Teacher", has achieved her life-time ambition - to travel to over 60
fascinating countries to learn about their culture as well as using her
God-given talents of teaching! What a life-time trip this has been!
Nancy's Senior Picture
And its not over yet.
Nancy has three new countries scheduled for visits this year - Panama,
Zambia and St. Maarten. Stay tuned! Nancy is excited about the
opportunities she has for ministry for hurting families around the world.
Her warm reception, even in previously closed nations, confirms what she has
often said, "The needs of family members are the same around the world."
Nancy praises ASI and others for granting her a wealth of ministry
opportunities.
Your on-the-scene reporter,
Nancy Van Pelt
