The Spear

Last Friday John ate 6 hard boiled egg.  All in one day.  I was so thankful he did as it took some pressure off of me to eat more.  Here's how it happened.


We went for a hike with our friend Benerick.  For Southwood people, you'll know him as the student Southwood Sunday School has sponsored over the years.  We hiked down to this small spring that starts a river and then to a huge and hidden waterfall down the way, glorious!  

From there we hiked all the way across the village down past the secondary school and beyond to a piece of land that Benerick has purchased for his future home.  When we saw him on Thursday he told us that there is a "new development" on this land that he wanted to show us.


It was a long hike.  By the time we reached the land we had been hiking for three and a half hours.  We were tired and a bit hungry and after we saw "the new development" we were ready to head for home.  But Benerick asked us if we would wait for a moment in his "back yard." 

If you're wondering, "a moment" is about an hour.  


After that "moment," a small table and three chairs appeared, followed by Benerick's mother and another woman and two trays of tea and lunch.   As they were walking over Benerick leaned over to us and said "you must eat all the food that they bring, because they have prepared it especially for you, it would be disrespectful not to eat it."


And so we ate.  Peanuts, avocado, and hard-boiled eggs.  It was simple, but it was this beautiful feast in the woods.  

After this outdoor tea time the egg count was me 2, Benerick 2, and John 4. 


As we passed back by the secondary school on our way home.  Benerick asked if we would be willing to stop by the house of a "certain teacher."  We were willing.  We knew right away when we sat down in her sitting room and she disappeared that she was preparing another tea for us, and tea always comes with food.  While we were sitting and she was preparing, she and Benerick were having a discussion in Swahili.  Finally Benerick translated, "she says that you must eat the food that she offers because it is disrespectful to turn it down."


Finally we gather at her table and once again hard boiled eggs are on the table before us.  We each take one.  Then there are 4 left.  Benerick has another,  John is convinced to have another, and then another.  Here's how they try to convince a very full John to eat the final egg.  They tell a story about how it takes a certain amount of spears to kill a man.  So John needs just one more egg to "kill" his hunger.  John tries to assure them that his hunger is sufficiently dead.


We offer the final egg to the teacher. We say to her, "we are offering this egg to you and it would be disrespectful for you to refuse it."  


To which she says laughing "why?"  

The final egg is divided by her and Benerick and we all have a good deep belly laugh!