WHAT IS HAPPENING IN OUR LIVES LATELY

FUND-RAISING EVENTS

John Warming Up Before the Race

ABOUT THE FARM

Emmanuel Christian Centre, in Lichfield, England, held a Lenten luncheon to raise funds for the farm.  The meal was soup and bread, but the people paid for it as if it were a full-course meal.

Venetian Bay United Methodist Church in New Smyrna, Florida, held a 5K race/walk and a portion of the proceeds went to the work in Kadawa.  John won a second-place ribbon for his age group and Marty won a first-place trophy for her age group.  We both walked the entire course (except Marty made a mad running dash the last 10 yards).  There are only 2 photos of marty (TERRIBLE ONES).  The one coming through the finish was the second go-around - she really made it 55 mins. + a few seconds (after having stopped to chat with friends at one of the water stations).  It was such a surprise to get the prizes that a quick photo was nearly impossible, so John's head got cut off.

                                                                                     We've sent you a lot of information via snail-mail recently, but it's time to put something on the blog.    


JOHN IN KADAWA IN JANUARY

John went to Kadawa in January with Jeremy on a management trip, to see how progress was coming along on the farm and to encourage the continuing development of the various projects.  

He met with the Widows Farm Committee and the work continues - with a few hiccups here and there -  and a rhythm is setting in. 

     THE WELL

We told you about the shallow well digging process in our last blog, and of the delays in the process (that's Kenya).  But here is some updated background about the development process and completion of the well.

Much of becoming a mzungu (white person) farmer in Kenya is learned by the need to know and the need to have. We have several sponsors for banana bushes (they are not actually trees) for the farm. Bananas are a year-round crop and will feed many widows and are also a cash crop. When we planted the first two roots we learned that bananas require copious amounts of water.  The closest source would require someone to walk about 1/2 mile round-trip carrying a 20-litre bucket of water for each plant.  NOT  PRACTICAL! (or humane).  So, there was something new we learned (the need to know).  We realized that a well was a critical necessity (the need to have) - a shallow well, which is hand dug.  We interviewed and got estimates from 3 contractors and selected the man for the project.  Here is the neat part! We had not shared this need with anyone, and had no money.  Yet we believed that we were to go ahead and begin to dig the well.  Within a few days after we began to dig there were two deposits made into our African account that covered the cost of the well.  The well is completed!  Here are photos of the well from day one to completion.

  

The contractor has recovered from his illness, (which was mentioned in the previous blog) the concrete rings are in place, and the cap has been put on.  The water is very close to the top and right now is being hoisted by a bucket.  Our goal is to get a portable generator and pump, and build a tower with a tank to store the water.  We will also purchase drip lines (thin hoses with small holes in them) and run them down the furrows of the crops for irrigation (insuring crop growth).  The following photos show the water level - before the rings went in - and the finished product.

THE CARETAKER'S HOUSE    

With the ongoing development of the farm it is necessary for us to have someone on the land 24/7.  We also need storage for seed, fertilizer, the generator and other equipment, and the crops.  So we have begun construction of a caretaker's house/barn.  Once again, we learned the need; we hired an architect to draw plans, and felt that we were to go ahead a begin construction - with no money and without telling anyone of the need.  Within days there was money in the account to pay for the foundation, which was poured the end of 2010.  Laying the foundation was an engineering feat because of the type of soil; concrete pillars had to be poured deep within the ground before the slab was poured.  Then we sensed that we should authorize construction of the walls and we received enough money to cover those expenses.  The walls are now complete to roof level; however we must put in the metal windows and doors before we can do the roof.  See the photos below of the house/barn so far.

In the background you can see the church.  Below you can also see the completed well in proximity to the house.

 

THE SECOND CROP

The second crop was harvested in January.  The second maize crop yielded twice the amount of the first one due to improved planting methods and fertilizer, along with the fact that the land had been improved by preparing the soil for the first crop.  There was also a bean harvest with the second crop; the beans had been planted in the furrows next to the maize.   Joel, the overseer of the distribution of the harvest, has seen to it that the destitute widows have all received an equal portion of maize and beans; also, assuring distribution of water to them.

A third crop was planted in March and we will see it harvested while in Kenya this year; we will also be there for the next plowing and planting.

The younger widows, who have formed a committee that sees to it that the work is done to plant and harvest, want a small piece of land to plant a cash crop (food that can be sold at market) to raise money for a medical and transportation fund.  The purpose is to have money to get the destitute widows to the doctor or hospital for medical treatment.  When they shared their vision with us we immediately told them they could have a quarter acre of the farm.  That project will be further developed when we return to Kenya in July.

PRAYER REQUESTS

Please Pray for:

•      Our Stamina
•      Perfect Health
•      Funds for a roof, doors and windows for the house/barn
•      Safety as we travel to Latvia for a prayer mission
•      Safety as we travel to Kenya in late July
•      Requests from The Destitute Widows:
• How to sustain self and grandchildren
• How to educate their grandchildren
• How to cope with loss of children
• New roof, or new house
• Health
• Food/water

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS, YOUR LOVE, AND YOUR SUPPORT

BLESSINGS,

John and Marty

PLAYING CATCH UP

WE WISH YOU ALL A WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS AND A PROSPEROUS, HEALTHY NEW YEAR!


THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED LOVE, PRAYER AND SUPPORT!




THE WELL

When we left Kenya the well was very deep and the plan was for the culverts (concrete rings) to be put in place - to line the well.  Shortly after we got home the rainy season set in - the latter rains - and all work had to stop on the well.  We were able to contact the contractor on Monday, Dec. 7, and he has told us the digging in complete, but the well is not finished.  The rainy season is over and work can resume; however, he has been ill - was hospitalized for a month -  and unable to supervise the completion of the work.  Additionally he reported that the culverts that were sent are the wrong ones (not a big surprise - that's Kenya) and he is waiting for the new ones.  They require a month to cure before they can be transported.  He reported that the water is 3 feet from the top of the well.  This is amazing!!!  Here are photos of the digging process.  A man sat on the ground and began digging with a hand tool, like a pick.  He merely dug around himself in a PERFECT CIRCLE, and absolutely straight down.   Mind you - he was not using any kind of measuring device, yet this hole was the right size for the culverts to eventually be inserted - approximately 39.2 inches.  As he got deeper and deeper his partner would lower an old make-shift bucket down by a winch and bring up the dirt and eventually the mud and water. Every couple of days we would go look at the progress.  The hole was so deep and dark that we couldn't see the man down there - we would call out to him and ask if he was there, and he would reply.  The only time we could see him was at high noon when the sun shone down the hole.  After water was hit, before he would enter the well he would have to check for snakes and other small reptiles - they are attracted to the water.  We had enough trouble thinking about those potential snakes without asking just what those small reptiles might be in there.  As the well got deeper it would take them a few hours to winch up all the water so that the man could to down to dig some more.  Additionally, sometimes when digging wells the oxygen level gets very low, so the digger can only be down for a short time.  In some cases there is special equipment to get oxygen down to him - it wasn't necessary with our well.

HE'S HIT WATER

THE "BUCKET"

RETURNING TO KENYA

John will be returning to Kenya on January 11 with Jeremy Bell from Emmanuel Christian Centre in Lichfield, and I will be going to the States.  By the time he gets there the well should be complete - lined and covered with a concrete slab that has a manhole for maintenance purposes.  

FOOTBALLS, BASKETBALLS AND VOLLEYBALLS

Jeremy came with us he brought some unexpected gifts.  Before he left the UK his 18-year-old son, Josh, told his dad that he really should take some footballs (soccer balls) for the kids.  So he bought several, deflated them and packed them, along with a pump.  Boys all over the world love to play football - even in the village the boys know about Manchester United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. (All well-known and highly successful soccer teams for our American friends.)  Needless to say, there are no footballs for the kids in Kadawa.  While there Jeremy and Marty also went shopping in Kisumu for Volleyballs and Basketballs. 

The Sunday school class totals about 180 kids and the secondary school across the road has given permission for the children to meet on the field out in front of it.  So, one Sunday, Jeremy went over while church was being held to give the kids these balls.  You should have heard the squeals, laughter and hollering!!!   It took the boys a split second to form football teams,  and boys and girls to start batting the volleyballs around and tossing the basketballs. What a delightful sight and sound it was.  John and I quickly left the service to go watch and take photos.  The youth leaders quickly appointed one or two youngster with ongoing responsibility to collect the balls after use, and store them in the church.

THE LAND

The bean crop was recently harvested on the Widows Farm and the maize crop will be harvested the end of December.  Some maize from the previous harvest, which was being stored until the cost of maize went up and was less affordable to the widows, is now being distributed amongst the destitute widows.  They are receiving 3 tins each (a tin is about 1 kilo, or roughly 2 pounds).

       CARETAKER'S HOUSE & STORAGE BARN
       We will soon be starting to lay the foundation for the farm caretaker's home and the
       attached storage barn. We hired an architect and have plans for the home and store.
       The structure will cost approximately $13,500 (£9000); there will likely be a rise in
       the cost of building materials due to inflation. If you want to help us with this next 
       phase of the project you may send contributions to our regular channels.




                                        BLESSINGS & MUCH LOVE!!!!

YOU DON'T PAY - YOU DON'T LEAVE

SURGERY - HOSPITAL EXPERIENCES

You would think that we would realize this by now, but it is nearly impossible to anticipate things that we have never dealt with before.  Even Violet has been taken off guard by the little extras here and there at the hospital (not much - $11.00 for something obscure, or some medicine that we didn't know about).  Transportation is a real issue.  Here are examples of incidentals: Some of the people must ride a matatu, which costs both ways and then they need a lady to go with them to help them through the hospital system and even get them to the bathroom, then she ends up needing to eat (reasonable need) while she's there getting them admitted.  (Just getting them admitted is an all-day affair.) Then we find that they need eye drops for three weeks, then they need to come back to the hospital for a follow-up check (more transportation money) and then need more eye drops for three  more weeks.  Of course there is the need to buy them a dish and cup and spoon so they can eat (not much money).  Anyhow, we have figured an overall average of $100 per patient.   I went with Violet one Thursday to help her get Mary and two widows out of the hospital, and it took hours; a lot of the time was due to being sent to wrong places within the hospital, getting to the right place but it being closed so everyone could go to lunch, then clerks that took forever to fill out a simple form.  No one is discharged until the hospital is paid, so just waiting at the billings office takes forever. When we get to the gate we have to present all of our paper work to prove the bills are paid before they will open for us to leave with the patients.  If the bill isn't paid, you don't leave, and you get charged for each day you are there until you do pay.

You can read the prices for the services in the hospital.  These prices are posted everywhere.  In this case, on the wall in the eye surgery ward.  The prices are in Kenya Shillings which equal approximately 80 KES per 1 US Dollar or 125 KES per 1 Pound Sterling.  For example: the daily bed charge is $2.50 or £1.60

We have done approximately 8 surgeries.  They are all paid for.  There were 19 people, but 26 surgeries altogether (some are in both eyes).  However, we have found that two of them that were admitted couldn't have surgery.  The one has nerve damage in both eyes that can't be corrected - she has been prescribed medicine that is supposed to improve her retinas.  The other is little Mary - this is really a sad and 

frustrating case.  She is the one with a corneal adhesion.  The doctor was really anticipating a simple corrective surgery.  However, after she was admitted and they did further tests they found that it wasn't a congenital problem as they first thought.  Instead she had injured her eye and never received treatment for the injury.  The doctor said that had she received medical treatment her eye could have been healed.  Now it is too late - the damage is permanent.  Her other eye is normal.  You see - a lot of these folks don't even think in terms of doctors and treatment.                                          Chances are good that nothing was done, or maybe there was some folk medicine, or she was taken to a witch doctor.  Yes, this is common practice - even some of the Christians still rely on both systems; i.e. if God doesn't work, we'll try the witch doctor.   

If we were in Kenya for 6 months Marty could see herself spending most of her time doing administrative work/follow-up,  and also grunt work just to make sure that these people were being carefully monitored.  Some of them have never even been in a hospital in their lives, and Lorna had never seen a flush toilet; sit-down type or squatty potty (yes some of those are porcelain and do flush).  So they have a hard time once they are outside of the village.  I don't know, perhaps it is like taking a young Amish person from the farm in very rural Lancaster County and plunking them in New York and expecting them to get themselves around some of the systems.  Then there are issues such as we found out by chance one Sunday. Because of her bad eye sight, then her surgery and being told not to do any hard work - Lorna hasn't been unable to "dig" (plant any maize or vegetables) nor has she been able to get to market to sell rope (which she still managed to make somehow even though she couldn't see, and we suspect some people may have put coins in her money box or whatever she used to keep her money).  So, she had little or no food.  We think a nephew has been helping her a bit.  Well, the Lord kept Marty dreaming about feeding Lorna all Sunday night.  We had some food items in the apartment, but we knew she should have some beans and maize.  So we asked George,  who  lives near the market to get those things for us.  He is one of the leaders in the church. The 3 of us went to her hut, way back in the bush, to give her the food; 8 kg. of maize, 2 kg of beans, 1 kg of sugar, 200 gr of tea and 500 gr of salt.   She was a very happy old lady and was praising God.  Marty didn't tell Lorna that the Lord had been interrupting her sleep all night on her behalf.

The Eye Clinic at the Provincial Hospital

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO LORNA?  

There are some amazing things happening because of Lorna.  This lady is well known in the village and at the market.  Some people have known her for years. They knew her husband, they knew how badly he would beat her and how he would get her up at 3 in the morning and force her out of the house to work.  Just before we left, an old woman who is related to Hesbone asked him "What has happened to Lorna"?  Her transformation is so very apparent that people are talking about it in the village and want to know what took place that changed her so?  

FUNDING FOR THE EYE CLINIC EXPENSES

Violet continues to see that the cataract patients get to the hospital every other Wednesday.  Funds are coming in to pay for the operations, and all of the attending expenses, as well as for glasses for those that the doctor prescribed them.  It looks like we may even have a good financial start for another eye clinic next year. Several people in the village have asked if we are going to have another one. Thank you so very much to all of you who have contributed.  We believe that this has been the most important and rewarding project that we have been involved in.  It is hard to express our feelings in seeing people regain their sight and hear their testimonies.  We wish it could be shared with you.  Perhaps we can figure out a way to do that.  With all the modern technology we just need to be given some thoughts and direction.  Perhaps we can video something and put it on YouTube.  Any suggestions???

BACK FROM KENYA

We have returned to the UK and we are taking care of some medical appointments prior to returning to the US for the next "download" of the little computer (defibrillator) that the doctors have put in John's chest as a back up in case his heart should ever give him problems.  By next year he should have a hand-held device that will communicate/download the data that the doctors need via satellite - from anywhere in the world that we may be.  Amazing!!

We have pretty much developed our routine for going through security at airports.  John has a card that explains the defibrillator in his body and the security personnel take him around the security scanner and then do a body search, being very careful not to hurt him.  Except, of course, at the International Airport in Nairobi - Kenya's largest airport.  There they just unplug the scanning machine for him to walk through and then plug it back in once he has passed - then they search him.  Meanwhile in each airport Marty has to see that his carry-on luggage, coat, belt, shoes, laptop, loose change and camcorder get through - along with all of her things.  Then she has to get them all put together (more or less) and get the things off the conveyer belt so as not to hold up all the other passengers.  Grace, grace!!

  

John celebrated his 70th Birthday just after we got home; we had a lovely meal with his three children and daughter-in-law.  A good time was had by all!

Blessings, Grace and Peace,

John and Marty

PREPARING THE GROUND AND PLANTING THE MAIZE

On Monday, the 6th of September and Wednesday the 8th the 1 1/4 acres of ploughed ground was prepared and planted.  What a party!!  When we arrived on Monday, about noon - couldn't get there any sooner due to transportation issues - we found about 41 widows (one or two actually married folks) sitting in Marty's Prayer Chapel finishing their chai and bread!  These women had come from all over the village and from several miles away in other areas to voluntarily work on the Widows Farm for their destitute sisters.  Actually there were a few of the very old destitute widows amongst them (they were there for encouragement and to take care of babies).  There was a man there - Joel - who was helping to oversee the project.  The women had spent the morning, from about 8 AM, tilling the soil to prepare it for planting of the maize on Wednesday.  What a wonderful way to use that clump of Bondo Trees for the very first time.  Charles, is the man who has been working so hard to clear the land of brush and weeds and ant hills, and digging ditches to control rainfall (to keep the ground from eroding and use the rain in the ditches to irrigate the crops by osmosis).  He has cleared out the saplings and bushes that Marty wanted removed from the Bondo grove in order to make the area into a place where she can go to have quiet times and to have small groups of women over to pray and also have meetings.  It is developing quite nicely, and when we arrived and saw how the women automatically went into it for shade and rest; we were delighted  to see how it drew people to itself, and served an additional purpose from the original intention.

No sooner did we get there than it began to rain.  So they all got up an filed back to the church for shelter.  When we got there we both told them, through a lovely lady who was interpreting for us, how wonderful they were to have spent the morning working so hard to see to it that the destitute widows - their sisters - would have food.  John told them all that he thought they were so wonderful that if he wasn't married he would marry all of them!  (Many giggles!)  Of course Marty informed them all that he is "the husband of one wife" (more laughter).  Now John has a long established history that has taught him not to try to make jokes in another culture.  Yet, he still sometimes doesn't heed the little red flag that warns him.  So, since his little jest went down so well, he went for another joke.  He told them that he was going to buy a leso for Joel for the next time he worked with them. Note: A leso is a colourful piece of fabric, about 1X1.5 meters, that every village woman owns and uses for many different things.  It is used to wrap around oneself to keep your skirt clean, to sit on, to wrap thing in to put on your head, to carry a baby, as a fan, to wipe perspiration off yourself, to protect yourself from the sun and sometimes rain, etc.  They always have a proverb printed on them in Kiswahili - usually mentioning God.  Well, there was much cheering, ululating and laughter!!  Marty told John that his joke really went over big!  He was quite pleased with himself!!!  We did a whole lot of singing and dancing with them. (It takes very little to get villagers from the church to sing and dance.)  A little bit later when we were making the plans for Wednesday - the day for planting the maize - Irene, our interpreter, asked when we would be bringing the lesos.  Marty asked her to say it again to be certain she heard her correctly .... she had!  What with his accent and the communication gap, instead of hearing him say "I will buy Joel a leso", she heard "I will buy you all a leso!)  THAT'S why there was so much joyous reaction!!  Then the leaders made a list of all the ladies that worked that day and added a few who had worked originally on the first crop but weren't there that day.All in all there were 47!  When Marty told them that there was no way to have them by Wednesday because they would all need to be hemmed (on the ends), they said that they would be willing to wait to get them after church on Sunday.  So, the next day Marty went to market in the village, and with the help of , an interpreter and also a seamstress, went to every vendor who sold lesos and bought up all that were in the market.  Then on Sunday, after church, we used the list, called names and handed out the leso that was on top to the name that was called.
The day they planted the corn we both wanted to help.  John kept up quite well for a couple of rows.  Marty wasn't as adept - they kept saying hurry up, faster, faster.  Then one of the younger women gave me a  leso and told me to go sit under the bushes with the old widows and hold babies.  Marty protested that she wanted to work and the woman very gently explained that holding babies was her work.  Do you want to know something?  Those women are STRONG - they just kept going and going - determined to finish that day.  By the following Wednesday the maize was beginning to germinate and on the 20th. the women gathered  again to plant beans along side of the maize.  The maize stalks will act as bean poles, and the beans plants will restore nitrogen to the soil.  A good time was had by all.  We gave Joel a leso for his wife, since he couldn't wear one himself!

Marty Was Relegated to Hold Babies with These Grandmothers
It was a pleasant and much cooler job!

This is How it is Always Done

Be Blessed - Every one of you!

       John and Marty

                                                                              

o

THREE SUCCESSFUL OPERATIONS

Lorna with head covered 

Wednesday morning, Sept. 1, three of the old widows - Lorna, Peres and Catherine - went into hospital for cataract surgery.  We had 4, but one got sick and couldn't make it.  They are in the Provincial Hospital and once again we have come upon something that we just wouldn't even think about - in our wildest imagination - in terms of culture.  We had some extra expenses that morning.  Violet, the pastor's wife, had to stop and get Lorna some slippers (flip-flops).  Lorna was barefoot - she doesn't own any shoes.  Violet didn't want her to have to walk to the bathroom in bare feet. (Hesbone said he has never seen Lorna with shoes.) Also, Violet had to buy 3 cups, 3 plates and 3 spoons so that the ladies could eat. One "younger" widow went along to help Violet and the ladies.  She had to take them to the toilet several times.  Most likely these women were very nervous and probably had never been to a hospital before.  They couldn't see to get to the toilet by themselves.  Lorna had to cover her head and just look out of a hole because the light hurt her eyes so badly.  Here is her photo with the patch just after surgery and then the one the day she went home.

We did incur some extra expenses - as happens. There were some added medicines and also other hospital fees that hadn't been factored in.

Two extra bonuses are:1. that the doctor assigned to the clinic is actually from Kadawa; 2. There is a one-year waiting list for cataract and other eye surgery- these surgeries are being done immediately.  Praise the Lord!

                                                   

On Friday, Sept. 3, we went to get the widows from the hospital after having their cataract surgery.  What happy ladies they are.  Marty cried a whole lot (again).  When we came in and the one old dear saw us she just hugged Marty and kept saying over and over "Erokamano, erokamano, erokamano....." (Thank you, thank you, thank you....)  As we said,  all had to be helped to the bathroom when they got there on Wed.  But while we were there today, Old Lorna got up, took her stick, and walked herself to the bathroom.  She thanked God and thanked us.  Although she has two cataracts the doctor won't operate on the other eye.  She was greatly abused by her husband, and it seems that he must have blinded her in the other eye.  So the restoration of her sight is ever so precious to her.  John stood next to Hesbone and had him ask Lorna if she could see which one was the "mzungu" (white man). (Lorna only speaks Luo.)  She said, of course she could.  She pointed to Hesbone and said you're the black man and then to John and said you're the white man!  Then we all had a good laugh, including Lorna!  We took her photo and it is the very first time we've ever seen her smile.  Other than when she came to get a new dress last year, we have only seen Lorna in church once – and then she introduced herself to the congregation as a visitor (as they do).  Well, today she said she can hardly wait for Sunday so she can go to church.  We are pretty certain that she will tell the whole church what the Lord has done for her.   Lorna is in her 80s.  She may die soon.  But she will die with much more dignity and she will die seeing once again. When I asked Peres if she was afraid before the surgery she said - no, not at all.  She said that she knew that only God could have put it on our hearts and minds to think about the widows and to have an eye clinic.  She said that since she knew He did that she also knew He was making this operation possible and was there with her - therefore, she wasn't the least bit afraid. It was a wonderful event!  We never did see them leave.  It isn't easy getting someone out of a hospital here.  They don't move anyplace until every shilling is paid.  They kept having Violet running all over the grounds.  She had to go get prescriptions, then had to have them filled, then had to get medical summaries from the doctor.  While waiting for all of this, the ladies got all ready to leave and were perched on their beds.  After a bit a nurse or orderly came in and told us that the old ladies said they didn't want to go home until they had had their meal.  (You see, they have so little to eat at home, and also it is a wonderful treat for them to have food prepared and served to them.)  So we all had a laugh over that and John and I left with Hesbone - leaving Violet to deal with it all.  We got another call later that there were some other expenses that hadn't be communicated to us and we had to work that out.  We will make arrangements for next week to have little Mary's eye repaired - she has a corneal adhesion.  Some of the people will only required prescription eye glasses.  We have realized that some of the children will be able to improve their school work because they couldn't see well to learn and do their work.  One little boy came to town with his dad - one of the pastors at RCC - to have further examination and get a prescription for glasses.  It may have been the first time, or surely was one of the few times he has ever been to town and you could tell that he was a bit afraid (although he wasn't about to show it).

Next week little Mary will receive surgery for a congenital corneal adhesion; the doctor said that we got her just in time - if she went past this year she would be blind for life in her one eye.  We will also do Dancan who has never been to school because of his eye condition - he's 11 years old.  In addition we plan two or three more cataract surgeries for widows.

Catherine

The news is spreading fast about the ladies and people are approaching Hesbone asking for another eye clinic.  We won't be holding one for awhile - not until we have raised enough funds to pay for the rest of the operations.  

NO WAY!  I'M NOT DIGGING THAT HOLE!!

Here is another cultural gem!  Hesbone was telling us of the great difficulties one of the ladies had in building a new house in the village.  She is a widow!  She is a retired nurse and has lived in town for many years, but she wanted a house on her land in the village.  She had all of the materials, but couldn't get anyone to do it.  Here is why:  since she is a widow, and hasn't been inherited, whoever digs the first hole to put in an upright pole to build her house becomes her husband!!!  So not one man would be the first to start building her house.  She was desperate and went to Hesbone, as her pastor, and told him of her plight.  He made the arrangements for the "fundis" (skilled workers) to go to the site. Then he told them she needed her house and he was going to confront and deal with this cultural issue himself - he then dug the first hole!  He let them know that she isn't his wife and he hasn't inherited her.  Once the  hole was dug, the men got on with it and built her house.  That was the end of the whole thing!
We will be building another widow's house this week - it appears there will be no issue about digging the first hole (hopefully)!


Be Blessed,


John & Marty