Yep. We have household appliances. We even have electricity to run those appliances. Admittedly that electricity is not very reliable, you never know when it’s going to go off, but it’s there most of the time.
There are 18 people living in our household. (5 biological children, 9 African girls, Kate and I, and 2 other adults who are here during the day.) Most of those 18 folks are children. Even though all of the kids except for 1 are girls, they are messy. They seem to attract dirt and odors at an astronomical rate. Seriously. Who would have thought girls were so stinky?
Our current washing machine has come to the end of its life cycle. Those machines can only spin so much. We bought it used from another missionary family that was leaving the country more than 3 years ago. It’s really small, meant to serve a family of 4. Four small people. Really small people.
Now that it’s not working, I had an excuse to look for a bigger one, a commercial sized machine. I found one in Nairobi. Unfortunately it is obscenely priced. (One of these days I need to write about Kenya The Land of Contradictions. Super rich living next to super poor.) Even if someone were to offer to buy it for us, I would instead buy two smaller machines and have enough money left over to feed several families for a month.
I have been able to locate a machine that has a load capacity of 7kg (about 15 pounds or so for our American readers) at our favorite local supermarket. This is actually nearly double the capacity of our now defunct machine.
The price is 53,000 KES, which is approximately $616 U.S. dollars. The supermarket will deliver it for us, and we already are set up with all the plumbing and electricity.
We cannot buy this machine right now, and I’m not sure when we will be able to. Our ministry to these children, the sick, and the impoverished is overwhelming. It consumes everything that comes in, and even more.
Yet we could use this machine, other appliances, and even a couple of computers.
I’ve tried to write this in a way that doesn’t appear to be pleading for funding for a washing machine, which of course that is exactly what I am doing. So here it is:
If you would like to make a gift you can:
Write a check to Kenya Fund and mail to:
713 West First Street
Beaver Dam, KY 42320
or via paypal by clicking on this button:
Ha. I could write a plea for money every 5 minutes. That’s how much need there is, how much need we have at the moment. In fact it’s kind of funny that I’m writing about a washing machine when I have so many huge seemingly insurmountable needs at the moment. I wish the only thing I needed was a washing machine. Too bad money can’t fix everything. People will still be left to die alone, kids will still go hungry because their families believe them to be cursed, religious obligation will still trap millions in a lifestyle that keeps them from the very God they are trying to worship.
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