Every Day's a Kenya Day

It’s been a while since my last blog post.  Every time I think about sitting down to write something I’m never quite sure where to begin, and I end up finding something else to do.  So, I've decided to come to terms with the fact that all I experience over here in Kenya (physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc.) will be impossible for others to fully understand; and that’s okay.  What I can give are a few stories that provide a few glimpses into my life over here.  In fact, it’s impossible for any of us to fully understand the life experiences of one another—mine is just a little more exaggerated because of cultural differences—but I’m grateful that God allows us to share at least a part of these experiences with one another.

Monday, October 20^th was a national holiday, so people were out of work and school.  Some people from church decided to organize a soccer game.  I was told to meet at 9:00am and informed by a friend that that actually meant 11:00am.  Naturally, another friend and I left home at around 12:00pm, and we were basically the first people to arrive at the field.  Now in case any of you Westerners are doubting whether or not the game was still on, fear not.  We finally had enough people by mid-afternoon (I’m not sure where all the people came from; I’m pretty sure some just joined us as they passed by).  It was a great experience to play soccer in the middle of Nairobi with a bunch of Kenyans, and I held my own too!  The altitude (a little higher than Denver, CO) caused me to get out of breath pretty quickly, and a month of little physical exercise made itself known by my aching body afterwards, but it was a really nice time.

The next day, Tuesday, was young adult Bible study here at Pastor Mutangili’s house.  This is one of my favorite times of the week, and I usually say goodbye to those who have come feeling very uplifted and thankful for the many new friends I am making here in Kenya.  The Bible study is currently going through 2 Samuel, and we’re almost to chapter 20.  Some weeks we get though an entire chapter; other weeks we get through a few verses, and often times we end up talking about thing I hardly anticipated or expected.  It’s cool to get into God’s word with other Christians, especially those who have different ways of looking at and relating to the Word of God.  One thing that Kenyan’s understand much better than us Westerners is the idea of tribes.  It’s hard to describe what being from a certain tribe means to individuals here.  While they are all Kenyans, there are deep-seeded loyalties and cultural characteristics within each tribe.  Reading about the tribe of Judah abandoning David to follow Absalom has a much deeper meaning with an understanding of tribal ties and heritage.

The following Friday Stanley and I went to a funeral home to conduct a short service for a church member’s daughter who had died.  Generally, there is a small service as the body is removed from the funeral home.  The family and friends of the deceased then travel to the individual’s home (not referring to their house in the city, but to the tribal village that they come from) to continue the funeral and burial process.  I was asked to speak for a portion of the short service, and as we were about to leave another group of people approached Pastor Mutangili and asked if we could stay for their service.  I guess they didn't have anyone lined up to give a message, so I soon found myself speaking again in front of another group of people.  It was cool to see how God opens up doors to use us and minister to others when we don’t expect it.

I have been asked to be in my friend, Aaron’s, wedding line during his marriage on November 22^nd, and so I am excited to be a part of this!  I had to go to our friend, Dennis’, tailoring shop to be measured for the custom suits each of the groomsmen will be wearing, and I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what happens on the 22^nd.

Last Sunday a group of us went to St. George’s girl’s school and led some music and spoke; it was an enjoyable time and cool to see how the girls worshiped together with a lot of energy.  After returning to church I left with Pastor Adera (the other pastor of AIC Plainsview) to spend a few nights at his home which is just a little bit outside of the city, near the airport.  It was very enjoyable.  Pastor Adera lost his wife just over a year ago, and his oldest daughter is off living at what we would call high school, so it was just him, his son, nephew and myself at the house (aka bachelor pad).  Pastor Adera is actually getting remarried in the beginning of December, so there is a lot of preparation going on for this event.  I really enjoy sitting down and talking with Pastor Adera; he is really laid back, deep and insightful.  While his home is not entirely finished (no running water most specifically) it was a blessing to spend time with him and his son (apart from the giant spider on the wall as I went to bed…I made sure my mosquito net was very tightly tucked in around my bed!).

God is continuing to reveal things to me about Himself and myself.  Often times this can be overwhelming, but I am finding that there is also a lot of joy in this process.  I know I am being changed as a person, and I know that this is ultimately a result of seeking God and learning more about who He is and always will be.  The other week I was feeling really exhausted and overwhelmed.  I asked God to just speak to me (plainly and clearly).  That night in a dream a friend came up to me and opened my bible to Psalm 34.  My friend said something along the lines of, “it’s about God, not you; lean on Him.”  The next morning I woke up and knew I needed to turn to Psalm 34…wow…that’s all I can say.  I will let you read it for yourself, but a few things that clearly stood out were God’s promises to care for us, remove our fears, guilt and shame, and to withhold no good thing from those who seek Him.  I’m learning daily to lean upon these promises and to lean even more heavily upon God’s grace.  Grace: it seems like such a simple word, especially if you've grown up hearing about it, but if you stop and really think about God’s actual grace, the power of this grace, the beauty of this grace, the abundance of this grace—well it’s amazing.  It knocks you off of your feet.  Most days I find myself struggling between either accepting and living in this grace or focusing on my own efforts and inadequacies.  It takes grace to even experience God’s grace!

Pray that I would continue to get out of God’s way and let Him work (in me and through me)

Pray for a deepening understanding of God’s grace and that I would experience the joys of living in this grace daily

Pray for the people of Kenya.  I see them every day walking along the streets.  They have hopes, dreams, hurts and fears, and they, along with all of us, need Jesus Christ