Final Stop,Nairobi (continued)

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I am trying to keep up-to-date with this blog and couldn't find a way to continue the same blog entry, so here goes with a new entry. I was surprised and humbled in the process of exploring the website that I have up to forty readers.

The hotel I had chosen turned out to suit us well. Booking was a complicated process as we had originally planned to take a half-day sarari on the 10th and Ben put me in touch with his friend Pastor Shadrack who does that sort of thing. I wanted to see lions with Shadrack (Remember the story of Daniel in the lions den?) but we had to cancel that because money was running low. Shadrack offered to renegotiate the hotel because Kenyans get special rates. That helped a bit but then I discovered that Ben didn't think that their 13-year-old daughter should share their room, so back to Shadrack again. They put us in a little enclave by ourselves and there seemed to be hardly anyone else staying. We had a good dinner on Saturday and had negotiated a B&B rate which actually was more expensive for Sunday breakfast than going a la carte.

Sunday morning we went across the city to the VOSH church where Ben and Lillian had first met. Actually the church had moved to a new location in Obama District but the senior pastor is the same. I am not sure why it got that name but it is a district where no-one takes responsibility for the roads,and people just build wherever, and presumably whatever, they want. One house is going to block a road. The church has built a single story steel-sheeted sanctuary and wants to build a similar structure for Sunday School to replace the tents they rent every week. The service started at 10:30 and ended at 2:30. There was a lot of singing, mostly in Swahili, led by a group of about eight young women in long purple dresses. They have a powerful P.A. system!! Sometimes a man would come forward and take the lead. Those leading the service were all well dressed; Ben had packed a good suit, but I was in what was left over after being at Bumala, and definitely no tie!! There was a number of offerings taken with emphasis on tithes and offerings in the first, and then one for each of the cell groups for welfare, and finally one handled to the pastor whose purpose was not clear to me and I didn't like to ask. Ben went to the podium and introduced me. I gave greetings from St Paul's and spoke a little about being one in Christ. Then Ben began to preach but I don't know if this had been arranged or was spontaneous. His style of preaching is probably common in VOSH and involves much jumping about, shouting and gesticulating. He preached in English and every phrase was translated into Swahili by one of the ladies from the praise group. She also copied his gestures and his steps, but when he ran down the aisle she was restricted by having a lead on her microphone. Though I have to say this was foreign to my experience I don't want to criticise it because a large number of people came forward to the altar to be prayed for. Ben, I love you, but I am not used to services like that.

I was hoping that we could return immediately to the hotel and have a swim but we were to go to the church secretary,s house for what turned out to be a full meal with many favourite Kenyan dishes and we didn't get back until 5:30. We all went to our rooms and I heard Ben was asleep by 7 o'clock.

Monday morning started a little more slowly and I don't think any of us knew how to spend the time until my taxi was to come at 2 p.m. I had consistently said that I would not be returning to Kenya, so this was goodbye. We had a leisurely breakfast and then sat beside the swimming pool, where there was no one else. It was too cold for them to swim in an unheated pool but finally Janny changed and then I did. I think it was a new experience for her to be in a pool and she took a bit of persuading. Then Lillian came in and after I had gone up to close my case Ben followed her. I didn't see him but they photographed him for me.

We prayed together in their room and then the taxi came and we said our goodbyes. They were to stay another night and then return home by bus.

I am actually writing this at the Arrivals Level at Pearson Airport in Toronto. So I have almost completed my return home;I have only to wait for the noon Megabus to Kingston where my dear wife Robin will be waiting for me.

I,m not sure about my internal clock but we shall see. I slept quite a bit of the way since I had a row of three seats to myself. There was a shrouded Moslem lady with a two-year old boy in the other two seats and I thought my luck had finally run out but they moved, presumably to an empty row. I was flying with Ethiopian Airways and I was struck again by how few white people were on the plane. As an immigrant myself I have to be careful about what I say but this plane-load showed the diversity of the Canadian mosaic which we hardly see evidence of in Brockville.

So what conclusions can I draw from my trip? I am really glad that I went and I accomplished what I set out to do, which was to see the Bumala project and to bring it together with You Feed Them, the mission group from Osgoode. I have been reading the blog from the YFT team which has been in Yogo while I was in Bumala and they seem to have formed a very positive impression of the possibilities in Bumala, but there is so much to be done and I must leave it to others under God's guidance to carry it forward.

Now that I am home I hope to add some photos which I couldn't do with my tablet.

Thank you for your interest, and God bless us all.

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Comments

[Derek & Annie Wills]

Thank you Alan for sharing your journey with us all
Thank you SO much, Alan, for sharing your journey with us. We have been praying much for you every step and your BLOG has been followed by many with great interest. We will be looking at the YFT BLOG with much interest. We trust you are now reunited with your dear wife and being kind to yourself as you allow your body to rest and recover from your most amazing life experience in Bumala. May God continue to richly bless you and all involved in Bumala Visions Every blessing Derek & Annie