Unfortunately that’s not actually a phrase that’s as commonly used around here as I had envisioned/hoped. However, it does reflect the overall way of life that I have experienced since being in Africa. Upon arrival we were encouraged to embrace the idea of keeping a general sense of time in our heads rather than telling time with a watch.
It’s incredible how time flies by faster each month and hard to believe we already leave for Rwanda this Friday. Life in Kenya has been awesome, and I will now briefly share what I’ve been up to the past few weeks:
*Week 1 of ministry consisted of visiting 2 local hospitals. Going to the public hospital was especially challenging for me. I visited patients who had been there for a week without being seen by a doctor, I heard the agonizing screams of kids in pain and of a mother crying over the body of her lifeless child, and I did not see a doctor visiting a patient at any point. So much of the way that hospital functions is just wrong. It was difficult to go there with a smile, say a few encouraging words and pray, move on to the next patient and do it again, then go home. It was not easy to see God’s hand watching over His kids; however, it was very evident to see how fragile life is. We left the hospital each day feeling totally spent, and I was able to more fully understand the need to ask God for renewed strength everyday. I also had to be constantly mindful of my attitude and trust that God was still sovereign, even amidst all the pain and suffering. And I realized that prayer really is powerful and effective, even if we can’t see instantaneous physical results. In those hospital wards the atmosphere was changed by our prayers, light was brought into the hospitals and remained there with each footstep we took, and joy was brought to people’s lives for at least a few moments more than it would have if we weren’t there.
*Week 2 of ministry consisted of house visits. Our purpose was to share the gospel with people. Yep, we were those door-to-door people. The ones you may hide behind your curtains to avoid so they think no one is home, or else you may blatantly say you’re too busy to give them the time of day and close the door as quickly as possible. Or maybe you’re one of the select few among the American population who take the same approach as they do in Africa & hospitably invite such people to come in and hear what they have to say. Anyways, we were able to encourage many believers, share the story of God’s grace with others, and engage in some good discussions with people who were still skeptical. I enjoyed those days a lot and was blown away by the general attitude of the people we met who would willingly drop what they were doing to talk to us.
*We were told week 3 of ministry would consist of doing revival services in the surrounding area. So naturally last Monday night we were told we would be going with the youth from the church to a regional youth convention the following morning until Saturday. One thing I’ve learned here so far is not to count on “the plan” too much until it actually happens.So we spent the week in Kisumu with the youth groups of the region at what seemed to be the African equivalent to Bible camp. Except it’s like 200 times more intense than any Bible camp I’ve been to before! The morning officially began with “Morning Glory” prayer at 5am, followed by a breakfast of mandazis and chai, followed by morning service, followed by a lunch of rice and beans, followed by an abundance of services until a supper of ugali and greens at 10pm. Then everyone would go back to their rooms with very non-sound-proof tin walls and chat long into the night, and the light would turn on again the next morning around 4am accompanied by the sound and smell of shoes being polished for the day ahead. Apparently people in Africa are good to go on 3-5 hours of sleep…they had energy and were fired up pretty much all the time. I’m willing to admit that I on the other hand found pretty much non-stop services all day to be a bit draining…by the end of day 1. So by day 2 I started to spend more time with the folks in the kitchen instead and got to know some really awesome people. I also learned how to make massive quantities of ugali over a fire & cut cabbage upon cabbage like a pro.
Well, that’s a brief rundown of what ministry has looked like this month…it’s been hard, challenging, exciting, fun, and comical over the past few weeks, and I’ve gotten to know some incredible people along the way. Life in Africa is so great, and I hope to expand on this “hakuna matata” lifestyle next time…which will hopefully happen before heading to Rwanda (in 3 days) so I can keep up with my average of 2 blogs per month.
