Tigoni

THE TABLE OF GREEN TEA

Prior to my first visit to Kenya in 2016, I was never one that loved drinking tea, either black, green or whatever color variant it comes in. My closest go to would be chocolate and coffee. I could do these easily but with much milk, but tea was not my thing prior to visiting Kenya, and wouldn’t shy away from turning down tea offers.

You can imagine my surprise upon realizing that tea for Kenyans is like butter on bread. And I mean for real, these guys drink tea and a whole lot of it. Initially, because my first visit was during the very cold season, I had thought that the culture of drinking tea was because of the cold weather. I later realized that tea drinking and tea planting is a major thing in Kenya. In fact, tea is one of Kenya’s most important export commodities and Kenya’s tea is quite popular, globally.

Touring Tigoni Tea Farm
I have had a few road trips around the various regions of Kenya, especially to places that happen to have lots of tea farms. The vast and endless sea of greenness always get my heart excited. I mean hundreds and hundreds of acres of tea farm, which creates this beautiful landscape or if you want to say “teascape” of greenness. I was fascinated during my first visit to a place called Kericho, known for its large numbers of tea farms. But never did I know that right in Tigoni in Limuru area of Kiambu which is very close to Nairobi where I live, are various tea plantations.

My wife and I visitied a family in Tigoni and I couldn’t help but ask myself if what I was seeing was real. I mean, the vast plantations of tea, the fresh unpolluted air, the silence, free from the man-made noise of the city life, the tweeting sounds of happy birds, the buzzing insects and the general atmosphere of peace and serenity. Tigoni is beautiful and I love the cold air too.

Sometimes, the path to where we are going is only the sound we hear from the other side

I walked around taking pictures of sunsets on our very first evening, savoring the beauty of nature and the bliss it offers. You really cant get enough of the love of God in nature. The very next morning, I went out very early for my usual early morning walk, in the farm lands around, with my camera hanging on my shoulder. It was very cold that early morning, but I loved it anyway. I walked into the dew laden tea farm with barely enough light to see ahead of me, heading towards where the sun would rise in a few minutes. The sky was bluish-grey prior to sunrise and the air rich with the smell of dark earth and as usual, the always singing voices of happy birds was all arround. But while I waited for the sun to break through the early morning skies, I decided to go further down the slopy side of the farm to see if I could get more camera angles. I took a short walk down the slopes and in that early morning silence and right in the midst of so much green, I started hearing the sound of running water just a little distance ahead of me. I was very curious to know where the sound of water was coming from, so I followed the sound down the slope on a path that seems to lead to a valley of forests of trees and bushes. I realized that the sound was actually coming from within the forest itself. Apparently, there was a stream of clean water running in the valley (I was later told). I was really excited to go down to the stream, but then I realized that I was actually standing at the end of the footpath that I had followed.

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Meaning, from where I was standing, there was no path that led to where the stream was. I couldn’t see any paths in the sea of green bushes. The entire path ended just where I was standing. So I stood listening to the sound of the unseen rushing water and checking the horizon for the signs of sunrise. Then I heard in my spirit “Sometimes, the path to where we are going is only the sound we hear from the other side”. That statement got me thinking, for I knew in that moment that the Holy Spirit was teaching me something. For even though I couldn’t go down to the water in the valley of bushes, obviously because of no path, the lesson was so clear to me. (Well i later located the stream from another side of the farm two days later). I waited a few more minutes to watch the sun rise. And rise it did, with golden rays from the horizon hitting the face of the green tea farm. It was a glorious mix of gold and green and very beautiful. I took a few shots and was ready to go and continue my walk in another direction.

But just as I packed up to leave, I saw two women with huge baskets and farming tools walk towards me. We exchanged greetings, even though I could not understand the bulk of the swahili they spoke. I asked them if I could take a few of their pictures while they worked (they had come for the tea harvest), but they declined. Shortly after, a man who later told me his name was Karinge walked up too, he happens to be their foreman. He now told me that the reason they had declined was because they thought I was an American tourist coming to take their pictures and would then sell them as photo portaits in the States. That got me thinking, but its a story for another day. Karinge spoke to the women and I was allowed to take a few pictures of them picking tea, but I decided not to show their faces directly.
I took a few shots and took my leave. But while I went further in another direction, I thought about the words I had heard and how much it blessed my heart: “Sometimes, the path to where we are going is only the sound we hear from the other side”.

My point is this
Often times in our lives, the things we are looking for do not have any visible pathway that leads to them, even though there is a pathway, though unseen but heard. It is the pathway of faith and the walk of faith that takes us to them. For faith comes by hearing the word of God like the sound of that stream, for it is the evidence of things not seen but heard. So when you are faced with such circumstances in life where the things you seek seemingly don’t have pathways that lead to them, know that sometimes the path to where you are going is only the sound you hear from the other side. And all you have to do is follow the sound, and unlike me, do not stop until the sound leads you to what you seek.

Did I tell you that now, I enjoy drinking tea a bit more than before? But not at the level that Kenyans do, but I am appreciating it much more. Just maybe the tea culture finally caught up with me or I just blended in. So while you tour Africa and enjoy the beauty in her, take a little time to visit Limuru in Kiambu county and you will see the beauty of Tigoni, the table of green tea.
Stay blessed and green.