Ten posts have I watched Steve put into
the ground. Steve is the Kenyan man who Patrick, our contact, is
employing for our sake to do handiwork around the compound. He is a
hard worker. I once watched him dig 3.5 foot holes for posts, chop
several posts shorter with his machete, saw through dozens of feet of
2 x 8, and do a significant amount of hammering for 8 or so hours one
day without breaks. The next day Patrick and I ran over the front
wheel of his bike with the car we are borrowing. Steve smiled,
shrugged, and fixed it himself. I like Steve.
the ground. Steve is the Kenyan man who Patrick, our contact, is
employing for our sake to do handiwork around the compound. He is a
hard worker. I once watched him dig 3.5 foot holes for posts, chop
several posts shorter with his machete, saw through dozens of feet of
2 x 8, and do a significant amount of hammering for 8 or so hours one
day without breaks. The next day Patrick and I ran over the front
wheel of his bike with the car we are borrowing. Steve smiled,
shrugged, and fixed it himself. I like Steve.
Right now he is digging 2 postholes
about 15 feet apart for a slackline, which is a sort of tightrope
made of a nylon strap, for David. It is David’s birthday today.
Patrick is building it for him as a present. Steve bends his back
and throws the digging bar into the dark Kenyan dirt. He gets down
on his knees and reaches down his black Kenyan hand to shovel out the
soil from the 8 inch diameter hole he’s dug. He stands up and does
it again.
about 15 feet apart for a slackline, which is a sort of tightrope
made of a nylon strap, for David. It is David’s birthday today.
Patrick is building it for him as a present. Steve bends his back
and throws the digging bar into the dark Kenyan dirt. He gets down
on his knees and reaches down his black Kenyan hand to shovel out the
soil from the 8 inch diameter hole he’s dug. He stands up and does
it again.
It takes about ten to fifteen minutes for each hole. We
probably pay Steve about 500 shillings a day. That means we pay him
12-18 shillings per hole. That’s less than a quarter per hole.
Welcome to the third world.
probably pay Steve about 500 shillings a day. That means we pay him
12-18 shillings per hole. That’s less than a quarter per hole.
Welcome to the third world.
The hardest part was at the beginning,
looking at this good man in the face, who held Jeremy, Patrick’s
one-and-a-half year old son, so tenderly and played and talked with
him when he cried, who worked so hard and so well for so little. It
was hard saying, “Hello. How are you?” to him, and him saying
his, “Fine,” back, and knowing that he made less than a dollar an
hour to serve me while I made eighteen back in the States to answer
the telephone and make copies. It was hard drinking tea and smiling
at him while he worked when it was us, me, who was supposed to be
serving him, sent to serve him, flying around the world to serve him,
and yet here I was, watching him serve me. It was something like
guilt, something like shame.
looking at this good man in the face, who held Jeremy, Patrick’s
one-and-a-half year old son, so tenderly and played and talked with
him when he cried, who worked so hard and so well for so little. It
was hard saying, “Hello. How are you?” to him, and him saying
his, “Fine,” back, and knowing that he made less than a dollar an
hour to serve me while I made eighteen back in the States to answer
the telephone and make copies. It was hard drinking tea and smiling
at him while he worked when it was us, me, who was supposed to be
serving him, sent to serve him, flying around the world to serve him,
and yet here I was, watching him serve me. It was something like
guilt, something like shame.
When we’re not doing ministry-we’ve
been leading crusades on the streets this month, music and a short
message for up to 75 patient and curious Kenyans-I’ve been working
on a novel. This and the lack of internet in Kenya has kept me from
writing many blog posts. Still I’ve written over 15,000 words and
deleted more than that since stepping foot on this continent.
been leading crusades on the streets this month, music and a short
message for up to 75 patient and curious Kenyans-I’ve been working
on a novel. This and the lack of internet in Kenya has kept me from
writing many blog posts. Still I’ve written over 15,000 words and
deleted more than that since stepping foot on this continent.
I try
to work hard. It helps assuage the guilt for watching a man like
Steve labor to serve me. I read a lot too. I’ve read over 5 books
here. God tells me I’m doing well. That I am doing what I’m
supposed to be doing. Still I feel troubled. I help around the
house, get up at 6 am to cook mazira, an African cousin to the
donut, chapati, an African
cousin to the tortilla, fried eggs for breakfast, and even have
learned to make African milk tea. Still, watching Steve work makes
me uncomfortable. Sometimes, when I’m writing outside, I go into the
heat of the mud house just so that he can’t see me sitting, resting,
working on my (to him) expensive computer.
to work hard. It helps assuage the guilt for watching a man like
Steve labor to serve me. I read a lot too. I’ve read over 5 books
here. God tells me I’m doing well. That I am doing what I’m
supposed to be doing. Still I feel troubled. I help around the
house, get up at 6 am to cook mazira, an African cousin to the
donut, chapati, an African
cousin to the tortilla, fried eggs for breakfast, and even have
learned to make African milk tea. Still, watching Steve work makes
me uncomfortable. Sometimes, when I’m writing outside, I go into the
heat of the mud house just so that he can’t see me sitting, resting,
working on my (to him) expensive computer.
I am learning to be
dependent here. This shame prompts me to God, to his feet where I
ask him, like a child, what should I do, Daddy? Should I take the
digging pole from him, get down on my knees and lift dirt out of the
hole with my white hand? Should I stop him, tell him, No! Don’t
serve me! I serve you! Stop it
dependent here. This shame prompts me to God, to his feet where I
ask him, like a child, what should I do, Daddy? Should I take the
digging pole from him, get down on my knees and lift dirt out of the
hole with my white hand? Should I stop him, tell him, No! Don’t
serve me! I serve you! Stop it
He says, Read, Joe.
Write. Fry some eggs with Patrick. Make donuts. Drink tea. Play
with Jeremy. Shake Steve’s hand and ask him how he is. It is good
for you to eat, drink, and enjoy your work. The rest is chasing
after wind
Write. Fry some eggs with Patrick. Make donuts. Drink tea. Play
with Jeremy. Shake Steve’s hand and ask him how he is. It is good
for you to eat, drink, and enjoy your work. The rest is chasing
after wind
Yes, in this place,
I need my poor, uneducated African friends in many ways more than
they need me. It is humbling. I am learning to be dependent on God
for their sakes.
I need my poor, uneducated African friends in many ways more than
they need me. It is humbling. I am learning to be dependent on God
for their sakes.
My prayer though in
the midst of this, is that I, that we, will be a blessing and not a
burden here. God, let us be a blessing. Please God. For Steve’s
sake.
the midst of this, is that I, that we, will be a blessing and not a
burden here. God, let us be a blessing. Please God. For Steve’s
sake.
