Back to Nairobi

We plan to leave by 8:30 this morning. I have promised Christopher that I will stop at Sabamba to take a picture of his literacy class. When we arrive at about 8:30 they are all ready with their note books; I take a couple of pictures and we are off to the school. I stop for a minute to take a quick picture of the new handle on the borehole pump that Elder Craig Robinson has financed.

As we approach the school we see a plane landing at Korr. Has MAF arrived early? We’d better get out there as fast as we can! At the school we learn that it is another plane that has landed to bring in some South Africans to Korr for the dedication of the African Inland Church building there. So we are relieved. The headmaster and Joseph and Mindaye and David climb on to the Land Rover. They are accompanying Peter to Marsabit to take care of some plans for the school. I will fly to Nairobi by myself. We arrive in Korr town and have some tea and pancakes. At about 11:30 we go to the airstrip. We find there the large 30-passenger plane from Samaritan’s purse which arrived earlier. The large plane is quite a sight for the townsfolk of Korr. The plane is late, but there is no radio contact or any other way to see if it is coming or not. The wait does not seem to concern the Rendille people as much as it does me. The men discuss some of the problems at the school in preparation for their work in Marsabit. Finally the plane arrives at about 1:30 pm. There is one scheduled stop at Wamba, so it will be about two hours to Nairobi. The plane carries only 6, including pilot. I get to sit in the co-pilot’s seat; there are two other passengers: a femail passenger who I did not get to know, and Pastor Daniel Roba, a Kenyan who has a ministry in the Nakuru area. This is now the smallest plane I have ever flown in. We have a female Kenyan pilot named Jane. Judith has warned me about flying in these small planes, but I have not taken any dramamine for upset stomach. As we are approaching Wamba, I begin to get a bit queasy. There is water on the runway, so she flies over first to see if it will be suitable for landing. It turns out to be alright, so we circle and have a very smooth landing, picking up one passenger. We take off and are about an hour from Nairobi. Just as we are approaching the city, my stomach begins to feel weak again. It seems as if I can only take about one hour of this plane at a time! But there is another problem. There is a very intense thunderstorm in Nairobi. Even the jetliners are having to wait before they can land. We are re-routed to Masinga airstrip. There we await further instructions. Between the pilot and the MAF office, they determine that they will not be able to get to Nairobi before nightfall; we will have to spend the night in Masinga. MAF will put us up in a hotel. Pastor Daniel Roba and one of the other passengers are anxious to get to the city. He points out that it will be mid-day before we really get back to Nairobi and to our home destinations. Through the police we find that there is a man who will take us for 1,000 Ksh (about $16) each. We will get to Nairobi by 7:00, just as it is getting dark.

We agree to go with him, and I get to see some of the countryside of Kenya, from Masinga, through Thika, to Nairobi. The driver is very fast – whenever he can be. Periodically there are speed bumps along the highway as well as police checks along the way. In the Lord’s providence, we waved through all the police stops. But the speed bumps slow us down quite a bit. Enterprising merchants set up shops at these speed bumps and come running to the car to offer us their wares. We arrive at the Safari Park Hotel at 7:00, right on schedule. From there I call Rev. Mark Kim at BCEA and he comes to pick me up. Safari Park Hotel is a five-star hotel only about 2 km. from the college. I arrive in a very expansive and upscale hotel lobby after five days away from civilization. I am greeted very well by all the staff. They get me in touch with Rev. Kim, who is well known there; he has a Bible Study there every Thursday afternoon. Soon I am back in my room. Good to be “home” again (home, even though I have only spent one previous night here). Rev. Kim invites me for breakfast the next morning. I have a nice, relaxing bath and go to bed.

My Last Full Day in Balaah

After breakfast we head to Sabamba village to preach the gospel. Safo and myself are dropped off while Peter and the others head off to the school for another meeting. Sabamba is Mindaye’s village. We go to the literacy school where a goodly number of people gather for a gospel message. The women sit in the literacy school, which is really only a frame with half a roof, so they can readily see me. The men sit in a semi circle before me. I read the story of the Prodigal Son while Safo translates. Just as I am concluding the reading, a messenger comes from the school saying that I am urgently required to come to the Primary School. We apologize to the villagers and they respond graciously and thank me for what I was able to read to them.

We head over to the school where there is a meeting taking place to elect some people to a committee to help to organize and run the school. I bring them greetings from the Bible Presbyterian Churches in the United States and Canada and encourage them from Psalm 127 in the work of instructing their children to read and write so that they can study and learn the Word of God.

We have another “shower” before we leave. This time I get a deeper pail which comes with a bit more water – all quite unusual, but it does have a very refreshing effect.

We return to Kimogol briefly and then return to Sabamba to finish the preaching there. Peter drops us off at 3:30 and assures us that his meeting at the school will be over by 5:30 when he will return for us. Joseph is my translator. We go into one hut and I sit just inside the door to the right. About 4-5 young mamas enter with their children. One poor young boy enters unwittingly, looks up to see my white face and screams wildly, running to hid in his mother’s arms. At least I hope it was only because it was white. He is brave enough to take an occasional peak at me from his safe refuge. When we leave we meet two young men; the others are away. We talk to them for a while and we decide that the rain will not bother us; we will have another meeting at the literacy school. The women and children gather to hear again the story of the Prodigal Son and the gospel joy of repentance and returning to our heavenly Father after we have squandered all that He has given us. They listen attentively. After closing prayer I am thanked by Bicheya (ch as in church, emphasis on the second last syllable) who gives an extensive response and joy in hearing the gospel. We are invited for tea by her and a friend of hers. There we have good fellowship and they dictate a note to Joseph that I am to take to their dear friend Judith Collins. Judith later tells me that Bicheya has, on her own initiative, taken winders to the other villagers and played gospel tapes for the mamas there. Winders are cassette tape players that do not require batteries; they run on energy produced from turning a winder.

Peter comes for us – he is on time! As the sun sets we return to Kimogol and sit outside talking again. As the sun begins to set, Peter tells me that there are some women who would like to meet with me. He takes me over to another part of the village where a number of women have gathered. He informs me that these are the widows of the village. They keep something of a fund to help one another and others in need as they are able. They present me with a necklace which I put around my neck. I thank them for their kindness and run back to the hut for my camera to take their picture. Peter takes the picture so that I can be in it also. Although there are widows here of every age, there is sadness in my heart as I look at some of the beautiful young girls with small children who have been widowed at a very young age. I am further saddened when I learn later that they are forbidden to ever marry again, even though it is possible for a widower to remarry. I think about how this custom needs to be changed in order for them to understand the truth taught in Romans 7 – that once death severs a marriage the remaining spouse is free to marry another, teaching that we are free from the law of sin and death as we are married to Christ. Isn’t it interesting that the Lord in his infinite wisdom framed this instruction from the point of view of the wife, rather than the husband? I also find out later that the beadwork necklace is that of a Rendille warrior. Now I understand the grins and chuckles from the other men when they see me wearing it.

This is my last night in Baalah. It is warm enough tonight to sleep in our “all-star hotel” again.

The Lord's Day in Balaah

We wake up to rain again. Peter wonders whether this will affect attendance at church, but it turns out to be mostly a drizzle that ends before we leave.

The church is a corrugated tin roof supported by poles. No walls. As we arrive about 100 women and children have begun to sing. These are beautiful melodies made the more lovely as the are sung with all earnestness. The men are not so much into the singing. But they listen attentively and some of them at least try to sing along. The singing continues for about half an hour, and then the children are dismissed for Sunday School. Peter translates while I preach on The Four “Musts” of John 3-4: (1) Ye must be born again, (2) As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, (3) I must decrease, but he must increase, and (4) they that worship God must worship him in spirit and in truth. It is well received, especially by the one elder who was the champion marble player. He greets me afterward and gives me a sincere thank you with his eyes. Peter informs me that he was in great pain during the sermon, almost fainting at one point due to the problems with his stomach cancer.

We move back to the Primary School where I have a doctrine class with Joseph, Mindaye, Sammi, David, and Philip. I review chapters 1-19 of the Confession again for the sake of the others. Joseph does not mind and listens attentively the second time. We continue on through the end of the Confession, and then it is time for a late lunch, which I think these men have been waiting for for some time.

Back to Kimogol again and another quiet evening. It is quite a bit cooler tonight, so we decide to sleep inside.

Showers of Blessing in Balaah

Just before dawn we awaken to drops of rain! Praise the Lord! Balaah has had drought conditions for a few years, and no rain for a few months. We scurry into the hut and the bedding is brought in. Peter tells me to prepare to be rained upon! But it does not come quite that heavily. Nevertheless, there is a refreshing feel in the air, and we sleep for a few more hours.

We get up and have a light breakfast of power bars that I have brought along. I have brought $500 from the church in Edmonton for famine relief, and have given it to Peter to distribute where there is the most need. He has already been very busy helping many of the families. This results in a mixed blessing. A Parents’ Day had been scheduled at the Primary School. Now it is cancelled because everyone wants to go to town to buy much needed food. That is a bit discouraging, but understandable. I can see how easy it is for a ministry to degenerate into a social gospel when the physical need is so great. May the Lord keep the ministry on course.

Joseph Haile is assigned my translator and we head to the nearby village of Sono. Many children come running when they hear the sound of the Land Rover. We go into a hut and give a brief gospel message and pray with the two mamas there. When we go to the next hut, the men try to gather a few more and we meet outside the hut and speak to about 20-25 women and children. I am given a small stool to sit on while I give a gospel message. We circle the village and do this at about 4-5 places altogether. Then we head to the elders’ circle in the middle of the village. I am introduced and I give a message of our fall in Adam and salvation in Christ. There are some hardened faces, others appear more receptive.

We leave Sono and head back to Kimogol for lunch. We drive out to Korr; on our way back we stop again at the Primary School. Safo has bought me a bar of soap in town and he tells me I am to have a “shower” here. The headmaster brings me a tub of water which is not much bigger than my feet and comes barely up to my ankles. He puts it into a shed and closes the door. This is where I will have my “shower”. At least the water is very warm – everything is very warm. But how refreshing it is to get cleaned up. We head back to the shade tree in mid-afternoon.

Peter tells me to give doctrinal instruction to Joseph Haile, who he hopes will be an elder in the church, once it is established. I give him a summary of chapters 1-19 of the Westminster Confession of Faith. He responds well, with good questions, and some very good understanding of how the doctrine in the Confession is contrary to that of the Roman Catholic Church, which he grew up in.

Peter is regularly called away to give advice, solve problems, settle disputes. It is very wearing on him, but he seems to be the only one they trust; the only one who has a concern to help them. They can see the difference that Christ makes in a man’s heart.

Off to Balaah

Peter arrives at about 6:20 and we pack the taxi for the trip to Wilson airport. The flight is still somewhat delayed and we leave about 9:45 instead of the scheduled 8:00 am. It is quite an uneventful flight. This is the smallest plane I have ever flown in. It is actually quite comfortable.

We arrive in Korr at about 10:20 am, and are greeted by a delegation from Balaah riding in a hired Land Rover driven by Safo, who is from another Rendille tribe closer to Marsabit. I find out later that the Land Rover is 25 years old. No one knows how many miles it has travelled, as the odometer is no longer working. The roads are very rugged with large rocks every where. The Land Rover seems to be the signal that someone special has arrived. We drive slowly through Korr town and Peter stops to buy water and soda for our time there. Most of the homes appear to be huts made of bent branches covered in burlap and cardboard. The shops are made of a cement or plaster and appear more western in style. Everyone comes to greet Peter; he leaves the truck for a while to do some shopping and to meet with friends. Many of the people come to the truck to greet me, shaking my hand. Some attempt to communicate, but I have absolutely no idea what they are saying. Some attempt a rusty English: “How are you?” to which they expect the answer “I am fine.”

When Peter comes back to the truck he introduces me to his sister. We go on to other stores, but there seems to be a shortage of water and no sodas available. Peter gets what he can and we head out on the rocky road to Balaah. After about 15 minutes we come to the Balaah Primary Schoolhouse. We enter each of the four classrooms and greet the children. Peter tests their English reading by asking some of the students to read sentences on the board. We go on to the pre-school building a short distance away. Each of the buildings has a number of large black round containers on the ends. They have been placed there by CEDA, the Canadian relief agency, to collect water from the roof when it rains.

We continue on to one of the boreholes where women are filling containers with water. There is a stench of death as we pass one of the cattle carcasses that has recently died in the famine. As we travel we often stop to give a ride to one or two more who are walking.

On we go to Kimogol, a village of huts, passing a number of them roughly situated in a circle. We stop at one good sized hut In the center, and Peter informs me, “Welcome to Judith’s hut.” Everyone scurries to unpack the truck and to get all of our belongings into the hut. I meet Speaker, the man who takes care of Judith’s hut and _______, the woman who prepares meals for us. We sit inside on lawn chairs and many of the elders come to talk to Peter. Everyone who comes in shakes my hand and greets me warmly. I am instructed to greet them with the words “ne bay”.

After a while the hut becomes very warm; Peter advises me to put on my sunscreen and we move to a large shade tree about 250 meters away. This is the men’s tree; the women are gathered under their own tree. Two men come with a log board that has cups carved into it and someone empties marbles from an old, dusty bottle. They begin to play a game in which marbles are transferred from one cup to another. Soon an elder comes and takes over the game, playing with any comers for the rest of the afternoon. Here everyone rests and talks, many sleep. It is very hot and dry. We notice rain clouds to the east and I am informed that it is raining in Marsabit. They are not expecting the clouds to reach Balaah, although they do come fairly close.

Peter asks me to be ready to preach. He has to leave to go to the school to sort out some problems there. He tells Mindaye to translate for me. I give a short message on God’s grace based on the story of the woman taken in adultery from John 8. They thank me for coming to bring the gospel.

We rest some more. I am quite tired, not only because of the heat but also because I am still recovering from the jet lag.

Peter returns and as the sun begins to set, we make our way back to Judith’s hut. There we sit in the shade on the east side of the hut. Peter encourages me to take pictures, so I get some of the men who come by to greet him, as well as some of the little boys playing nearby. A camel died earlier in the day and collapsed just about 50 meters from where we are; and the men make use of the Land Rover to drag it out of the village so that they are not plagued by the awful smell of its decaying body.

After the sun has gone down we move to the west of the hut where the door is. There discussion continues while supper is being cooked. We eat a staple called Ugali, made of maize. Its texture is a cross between bread and mashed potatoes, quite dry. This is placed on a mixture of beans, tomatoes, and onions. It is quite tasty. After I shine a flashlight on my plate, I discover that the reason we eat in complete darkness may be because we are unable to see the insects in our food that way.

The mats are hauled out of the tent; we will sleep out of doors in what Judith and Peter call their “all-star hotel”. It is beautiful to see the multitude of stars stretch to every horizon and the Milky Way really does look quite “milky”. It is a wonderful way to fall asleep.

My First Full Day in Nairobi

I sleep quite well and wake up at about 6:00. I explore the campus a bit and take some pictures. I attend the morning chapel service, where one of the instructors preaches a very good message on the prayer of Jabez.

I go to the home of Rev. Mark Kim for breakfast at 8:30 am and Judith Collins comes to pick me up at about 10:00 am. She takes me to the Muthaiga Forex Bureau to get some Kenyan Shillings for the trip to Balaah. Peter Lkayo greets us when we arrive there. After our banking is done, the three of us go to Judith’s house where I meet Lucy, Peter’s wife. We have an Ethiopian lentil stew for lunch and prepare for the trip to Balaah - there are clothes to send up as well as pencils and lesson books, many more details than my small mind can take in.

We go to Missionary Aviation Fellowship (MAF) at Wilson airport; they will fly Peter and myself to Balaah. Here we learn that we will be treated to fly in one of the larger planes, an 11-seater! We also find out that the MAF flight to Balaah is scheduled to leave quite a bit earlier than originally scheduled, so Peter will come to the college with the taxi at about 6:30 am to get us there in time.

Judith takes me back to the college and I have dinner with the Yoon family. Mrs. Yoon makes western style hamburgers especially for me. Eben Yoon encourages me to start my classes at the college on Tues, March 7 through Fri, March 17. I agree; this will give me some time to work on my notes and also to recover from my trip to Balaah.

From Heathrow

I am posting this from Heathrow airport in London, England. This is the furthest I have ever been from home. I left Montreal last night at about 8:00 pm EST, and we arrived at 7:15 am in London, local time. It was a six hour flight altogether. I am impressed with the way that British Airways runs their airline. It was a fairly pleasant experience. I was seated with a group of students from a private high school in Montreal on their way to a tour of Europe.

Now I'm waiting to see which gate my flight to Nairobi boards from. It is scheduled to leave in about an hour and a half, so I thought I'd spring for an hour of online time while I'm waiting.

The flight is due to arrive at 9:20 this evening. So I will try not to sleep, or at least limit my rest to short naps, which isn't normally a problem for me. I've been awake now for about 22 hours, so I hope I can last another 10 or so. I picked up a Sudoku book in Montreal, but so far it has had the effect of making me more drowsy, rather than perking me up!

Then I hope that I will be alert enough by Friday so that I can do all the work that Peter Llkayo has prepared for me to do as well as to preach in Baalah on Saturday.

I don't think I'll have access to wireless network in Nairobi, so my reporting may be quite sporadic from now on. Howard Carlson said he has quite a good connection which I can use, and I understand that he lives fairly close to the College. Now, if we will just be able to get our schedules co-ordinated...

Arrival in Nairobi

I arrive on time (9:20 pm), flying into Kenyatta Airport from London. Unfortunately, the line to get a visa to enter the country is quite long and there are only two attendants. But things go fairly smoothly; the process appears to be mostly a rubber stamp of everyone coming through. I don’t see anyone questioned or detained because of their application. Perhaps the $50 USD fee is the main concern.

No problems clearing customs. I have one extra bag, so they want to know what I am bringing in. I mention the books and DVDs that Alan Collins has sent for the school, and they immediately want to see the DVDs. When they see they are more of an educational nature, they let us go on.

I am greeted by Judith Collins as well as and Eben Yoon (Academic Dean of BCEA) and Richard Tiu, a visitng lecturer from the Philippines. Judith returns to her home and these two men drive me to the college. My apartment is in a house that is shared by the Yoon family, who live downstairs and Richard, who is my neighbour upstairs. There is a nice little kitchen as I enter. The living room has a table with bottled water and there are nine orange roses in a vase on the coffee table. There is a little study in the hallway leading to the bedroom in the back. There are two single beds with mosquito nets over each of them. I have a very nice view of the campus from my window.

I am told that I should be at the Kim’s at 8:30 the next morning for breakfast.

Ready to Go

I've not been as diligent in keeping up this blog as I would have liked to have been. I'm not sure what makes me think that I will do any better when I'm actually in Nairobi, but hope springs eternal...

We had an excellent service on Sunday. Pastor Bill van de Leur, who will be preaching for me while I'm gone, preached a great sending sermon on Matthew 11, and then Elder Lloyd Vaartstra read a word of blessing and sending on behalf of the Session and they prayed for me. We ended the service singing God Be with You Till We Meet Again.

I preached in the evening on the need for prayer in the Lord's work from 2 Thessalonians 3:1 -- Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course, and be glorified, even as it is with you.

I'll be leaving in a few hours on an Air Canada flight out of Edmonton to Montreal. It leaves Tues, Feb. 21 at 8:30 am. Then to London via British Airways and ending up in Nairobi, Lord willing, on Wednesday evening at 9:20 pm, which is about 11:20 am at home.

I have been glad for the assurance of the prayers of the saints, in our own congregation as well as those of friends and family further away. I trust the Lord will bless.

BCEA

This is the campus of the Bible College of East Africa in Nairobi, where, Lord willing, I will be teaching a course on Covenant Theology to about 70 students.

Bible College of East Africa

I plan to spend about 2-3 weeks at the Bible College of East Africa, teaching the students there about Covenant Theology and encouraging them in their studies. I am looking forward to meeting and spending time with many of these young men who travel back to their churches to minister there on weekends. I'm sure they will have many interesting stories to tell of their work. I'm sure I will learn at least as much as they will.