I told you at the beginning – this was a day to remember.
Already we’re on blog post three, and it’s still before lunch! I hope you’re
still with me, the day just gets better and better. Sorry about the delay between postings…internet issues.
When we finally left the school we couldn’t believe how much
God had moved that day – and it was still only 10am!
We pile into the jeep to head out to visit a village. It’s a
tight fit – two people are actually in the trunk while two more are standing on
the back bumper and hanging on. We set out into the savannah, and these roads
make last night look like a newly paved highway. Several times the people on
the back almost fall as our jeep plunges into deep potholes, followed shortly
by flying over a small ski jump. Once in a while we realize that we’re not
actually on a road anymore, so we reverse until we find it, and try another
direction. But the group of racers that went are an extremely adventurous group
so we just laughed our way through the bumps and scrapes.
We arrive in a very small village about an hour later.
Pastor Helen has been given 8 acres here to build a church and a school and we
are here to pray over the land. As we walk though the village I notice that
there is a different atmosphere here than most towns we’ve passed through.
We’re not being mobbed by hundreds of
children.
In fact, many of the children are hiding behind their
parents, or running away. There is a group following us, but keeping a cautious
distance. I ask Pastor Helen, and she tells us that we are the first white
people to come to this village….ever. So for the children who have never left
this village – they’ve never seen a muzungu before.
We decide to show them that there is nothing afraid of so we
start trying to play with them. Some are receptive and are soon running around
with us, but some are still cautious. Katie, Joy and I notice a small child
still hanging back, so we approach him with big smiles inviting him to join us.
And then he bursts into tears and runs to his dad.
Oops.
We eventually reach the land that Helen is preparing for
construction and pray over it. It’s a huge piece of land, with lots of
beautiful trees. It’s so peaceful – I know it’s a perfect spot for a church. After
praying over the land we head back to the jeep (or in my case on the jeep – it’s my turn to ride the
bumper) and head out to the next town.
After another hour and a half of driving even further away
from any town, Joel and I on the back of the car spot some small African
children out in the bush watching over some goats. The see us and run to the
road and flag us down. We tell the driver to stop, and as we wait on the road,
a group of six traditionally-dressed children approach us. Soon we realize that
they are armed with sticks, machetes, and bows and arrows.
Ummm, should we be stopped right now, or should we get out
of here?
Our contacts seem to think that they’re okay, though,
because we wait for them to approach us, and then one jumps into the jeep, and
two join us on the back of the car while the rest go back to the goats.
Apparently we’re visiting their tribe next and they’re going to show us the
way.
We arrive at the village – and it is a traditional Massai
tribe. There is a group of children waiting at the church for us, singing for
us as we get out and greet the elders. As we are enjoying the music, I notice
some boys standing in the woods nearby. They’re wearing black, and have white
designs painted on their faces. As soon as I point them out to my teammates
they melt back into the woods.
When the tribal elders see our interest in them he calls
them out of the woods and we go and meet them. They are the protectors of the
tribe. They’re young boys and this is their transition stage as they become men
of the tribe. The guard the tribe and the livestock. We’re curious about their
blunt arrows, though, so Brent and Joel take off down the path as the boys
shoot them with their arrows. Although blunt, apparently the beeswax tips make
them hit quite hard!
After that we are served lunch. It feels more like a
commercial than anything as we are served Cokes, which an elder pops the
bottlecap off using one of his traditional bracelets. The meal, though, is more
traditional, with everyone eating with their hands from one pot of meat – which
was cow’s liver, kidneys, heart, and a little meat. Surprisingly, it was quite
well prepared and it wasn’t too bad. Not that I would choose to order organs,
but to eat it for one meal wasn’t too bad. It was better than the liver we ate
last month, for sure!
The meal was followed by a gathering of the entire tribe,
where we preached a little, and they presented to us their dreams for their
tribe. The conversation was interesting because everything was doubly
translated. We spoke English, which was translated to Swahili, which the tribal
elder then translated to the Massai language for his people. The meeting closed
with some worship, but done in the traditional Massai style of music and
dancing. It was beautiful to see God worshipped in a way I’ve never before
witnessed. It was so unlike any other worship I’ve seen, yet just as passionate
and sincere, if not more so. It was amazing.
We were only there for a couple of hours, but we felt like
we had already established relationships with the tribe. They were so
welcoming, genuine, and wonderful that it was sincerely difficult to leave. But, as we drove away, our contacts informed us that we still had one more event planned for the evening…
