Holiday Highlights

For one on break, I have spent precious few days in my own house. Not that am complaining seeing as I have been house bound as a direct result of school. I set out to revive what's left of my pre-seminary friendship network and actually participate in some kind of ministry these last six weeks.

I have always enjoyed playing host to American short term teams. Its not just because its fun (its actually very exhausting) but because I see that as ministry. With three separate teams having left now, I can say I have had plenty of opportunities for service. I met some “old friends” and made new relationships.

For good reason, the repeat offenders were my favourites. I had interesting conversations around my experiences at school and the changes in their lives as they have transitioned from college to workforce. One girl was already trying to arrange how to come back here and participate in a longer programme. Another one was celebrating the complete repayment of those crippling college loans and the opportunity this was giving her to plan for long term missionary work in Africa. In the meantime, she took every opportunity to eat as much Kenyan food as she could get. After having it likened to English food, this was like healing balm. I also spent a bit of time encouraging a brother to start figuring out what to do with his college loans, the viability of a seminary education etc and quit sitting around wringing his hands. I tried to be gentle.

Best of all, was the return of a retired missionary for a couple of days. For one who has lived in East and West Africa 26 years, this was a return home. Finally, I could whine about NEGST to the one person who recommended I attend. As usual there was no sympathy. Some things never change. It was great to watch him interact with his college ministry students now working and looking responsible. His joy of seeing us “all grown up” was obvious. In a conversation I had with him, he said that seeing the people he had invested his life in also discipling others was a testimony of God's work in 'his many children'. One of the crew, now a missionary with the navigators, said that this is what he wants his life to be about. Amen.

The new faces took turns being eager to learn, annoying, clueless, loud, scared and bewildered. One team had their first fight delayed and consequently missed all the connecting flights after that. It took them 72 hours to get to Nairobi having had to fly to Jo'burg to get a Nairobi connection. And of course, they had not seen their luggage since check-in at the first airport. Those that finally got their luggage back waited 24hours after their arrival. It must have been the exhaustion levels that led to someone mistaking the miniature Imperial Lather on his bed for a bar of chocolate. Happy travels! This one took ages to move from point A to B. It felt like one had to drag them to just get them to get into a van. Another team impressed me with their eagerness to learn. Many picked up Swahili words fast, took time to seek out our opinions and listened. As usual tailgating, which could be classified as a Nairobi sport, and aggressive driving transformed them into wide eyed, white knuckled passengers for our collective entertainment.

For the last few weeks, I have traversed town to get people to different places on foot and in cabs just for them to decide the previous place had a better deal. One person asked me if I was ok taking them to the other side of town (Westlands) to get a trinket. When I replied in the affirmative he asked if I was sure. Honestly, we had been around town for hours and he wanted to leave at rush hour? I was exhausted and still had to get home quite a distance away. “If you are not ok with this, just tell us.” I know he meant it. It wasn't ok, but I couldn't say so. Why? I took the advice of my western teachers and friends on how to deal with an ethnocentric American missionary. The resulting agony and soul searching, on my part, has taken weeks to sort out. Why?

Several experiences have led me to ask good questions about me, my culture and mission. I will unpack them in a series of entries for the sake of conversation but mostly as a thinking process.

Attention: Field to Missionary

I once had an enlightening discussion with one of my mentors about the problem of modern communication and its effect on missionaries' performance on the field. The issue according to this western career missionary was that the present crop of missionaries never leave home courtesy of the internet and mobile phone. Today, I want to discuss another problem on modern communication, the missionary and the "field"; potential sabotage.

A ministry I worked with is going through a transition and a couple from the west is coming here to head the ministry. The husband whom I will refer to as Mr. MK is an mk (missionary kid). After decades living in his “country of origin”, he came back to Kenya on several mission trips while exploring the possibility of a long term missionary career. In the last visit, the following posts were put up;

"FINALLY! Internet Connection of a normal speed. Hello world! Sat in Nairobi traffic for 2 hours today....to go 2 miles. Almost hit a Zebra on the way here. Family was forced out of the car yesterday because a monkey got in it. KENYA...What an adventure."

"Coming Home tommorow... can't wait for traffic laws that actually are obeyed!"

I don't know why but I expected better from one who lived/ studied here early on in life and after a few short term trips.

His lovely bride put this statement up for our collective consideration:

"Great Trip. I am well, but looking so forward to normal food. Will write more, my trip was such a blessing. Short internet opportunity. More later."

I was in for more. An article (since removed thank God!) was put up last night by his wife. It was an update on their last visit to all their friends as well as an invitation to support their ministry in “Africa”. Can I just say that I hate it when people say that. There are like 52 countries in africa and they like have NAMES!?

Now that thats off my chest, allow me to enlighten you with some of the contents of the post. While this is not entirely a direct quotation, it reproduces the ideas put forward.

vision: there is this orphanage started by these europeans who just built and abandoned it. I would like to get more teams and money from home in order to help. Every time we have gone for short term trips,their store was empty and we stocked it. I dont know what they eat rest of time.

Pray for the kids;
that God will help them to process the level of poverty they will witness and especially because they will not have the things they are used to having

Pray for me;
I am going to have to leave the kids at school and am afraid for their safety
I am afraid that i will be stopped by police with machine guns threatening jail if i dont bribe them
I will have to get used to dogs barking at night at people obviously bent on mischief

Allow me to mention that the children in question are all of five and three and the school could be ranked with the likes of braeburn and ISK. By the way, the location of their home would be the equivalent of Karen. Um, i am pretty sure our police carry a kalashnikov. Just thought I'd throw that in there.

Pray for finances: we will be going around speaking in an effort to raise support and will have to return twice a year to do the same.

oh yes:

I have to buy and pack everything I need for 10 years in a crate. Its 10 by 20ft and will cost $6,000 to transport. We'll be packing furniture, washer/dryer, mattress, etc.

Wow, i know its the third world and everything but the last time i checked, we like have shopping malls and actually they stock mattresses. Vocabulary to consider; Nakumatt. Oh dear but there is a problem with that:

pray for us because i dont know if i can trust the milk we buy in those pouches. I dont know if it was delivered by donkey.

Pray for us because we will have to live out of suitcases for a few weeks with lounge chairs for furniture.

Why, dont you know we still swing around in the trees? You should see where your plane will land....its in the forest complete with lions and everything!..

Now i have played host for western short termers for a while. I have been mentored by and continue to maintain friendships with both short term and long term imperfect missionaries that i love and respect. However, i have say that this is the first time someone has rubbed me the wrong way quite effectively their ignorance and insensitivity.

The fact is that on the friends lists of this couple are the people they will minister with/to. The chances that these people did not read these posts, fast or slow internet, is slim to none courtesy of a little gadget called the mobile phone which (drumrolls please) is used to access facebook. Gasp. Imagine that. Now, I don't know what is worse; that they read the posts and were not offended or that they did and took offence.

In any case, one thing am betting on is that no one will mention it. No one would want to confront them even though they are offended because we would rather not shame them. Instead, people will just put them in the mzungu category. Believe me, that is not a compliment. Worse, if you are a missionary who wants to fit into the culture (not that their expressions signal such intentions), it is the sound of a door slamming shut.

I am praying i never have to work with them because i would be hard pressed to be patient let alone gracious. I know the reason they say they are coming and I believe them but I have a question. Why are they coming?