6 May 2011
I realize my last blog had a tone of futility to it and I am pleased to announce I am no longer there. I appreciate that there are different seasons in life and it feels like the seasons may be more extreme on the race. It has struck me recently that this way of living for these 11 months is not normal so I need to give myself a break at times and trust in the Lord.
So now I will share what this month is all about. We arrived in Nairobi on April 25 and stayed in a hostel until the 28th with our whole squad. On the 28th we traveled by bus out to Kitale with two other teams. It was about an 8 hour bus ride on a nice bus and the roads weren’t too bad until we got closer to Kitale. I have heard horror stories about long bus rides and terrible potholes in Africa but have yet to experience that, but I don’t want to speak too soon.
We are staying with an awesome man of God, Pastor Moses, and his family. Four of us are staying in the house and Cara, Bringham, and I are staying in the guest house. Pastor Moses is a very relaxed man and told us that his philosophy for ministry does not necessarily involve us being exhausted at the end of the day from so much work. I am not sure, but this might be an African philosophy confined to Pastor Moses. He wants us to have a variety of ministry experiences while we are here.
Thus far we have gone to a traditional Kenyan wedding that Pastor Moses presided over. We were treated like celebrities because of our white skin and when I was leaving all the children wanted to touch my white skin and my hair. The next day we went to a hospital to pray for the sick. It was a private hospital so there were only 4 patients. We returned the next day for follow-up which I really appreciate since building relationships is what it’s all about. This past Wednesday and Thursday we went to a Christian school that had opened on Tuesday and did dramas, sang songs, and played futbol. They invited us back for next Monday and Tuesday to share more about the Lord so we will have to prepare this weekend.
We have been going for runs in the morning and we get a ton of stares. White people are called muzungus (spelling?) and we hear that yelled out as we run by. They also yell “How are you fine!” because that is one English phrase everyone seems to know. Here and in Cambodia the response to “how are you” is always “fine.” Another similarity between Cambodia and Kenya is that the taxis are called tuk tuks.
For the rest of the month we will likely be going to the slums, a women’s prison, and a public hospital. Then on the 31st we will all be heading back to Nairobi for a week for our month 8 debrief.
Please pray for my squad mates who have already gotten sick with malaria and typhoid. Praise the Lord our whole team is healthy and Pastor Moses said that no one on any of the teams that have stayed at his house have gotten sick.
Now for fun here’s a quote from one of my squad mates, Allen, and a quote:
“Humility is contagious, it will either be caught or it will piss someone off if they are prideful.” -Allen
“Only what’s done for Christ will last.” -Uknown
