For the most part, people don’t typically get reminded of
their grandparents home while staying in Kenya. However, walking into our home
of Wentagd, Kenya gave me flashbacks of my visits to grandpa and grandma
Miller’s house. The smell of the burning karosine lamp was the first notion. Looking
around the room entailed a full-size bed in a corner and a nightstand at the
end of the bed where the lamp and a box of matches rested. An old quilt lay on
the bed. Decorations of the room were no existent. There was not a picture in sight. The simple yet complex access to immediate light was nonexistent.
There was no electricity in sight. Some could say that grandparents living in
these conditions are ones who never stepped out of their time and into the
present time.
From the time my mother was born in 1941 till their death my
grandparents lived with the Amish, faith. This does not mean that I am or have
I ever been Amish in my lifetime. It does mean, however, that my mother at one
time was until the age of sixteen. My mother is one of 14 children. Of the 14
children five of her siblings still choose to live this faith. Much of my time
growing up was spent at their homes as well as my grandparent’s home. It was
time of helping and watching as part of my family lived a life without
electricity and the technology of today.
Instead of cars a horse and buggy was driven. Instead of a washer and
dryer, clothes were hand washed and then hung to dry. Karosine lamps were used
to light up a room and clothes were sewn not bought. Gardening and canning is a
huge part of their life as well as farming in one-way or another.
My grandpa died in 2000 and my grandma passed a few months
before leaving for the race. Family gatherings were never quit the same. My
grandparents always had a way of getting people together. Before my grandmother
passed away I had the opportunity to pray with her.
Memories of those days are such a blessing from God and who
would of thought God would of used Kenya to bring me such joy. Oh how a sweet
aroma can come from a lamp.
