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Kenya 2016-Journal VMike Curry’s Safari of the soul in East Africa

Monday, August 15, 2016--Kisii, Kenya3:15 amOften in Kenya you have to make trades. Here in Kisii, I have traded personal security, good food and hot showers for a lack of sleep. It seemed reasonable when I checked into this hotel. Right now...not so much!

This town never sleeps. My room is one of the nicer ones in the hotel, which means it fronts the main street. The main street is filled all night with transport trucks carrying goods to and from this region, matatus (mini vans that serve as the primary public transportation here) and a new addition---motorcycle taxis. The motorcycles weave in and out of the traffic and evidently think their horns protect them from being squeezed between the vehicles. The matatus each have distinct horns installed which alert their regular passengers they have arrived for their routes. Evidently, the more you blow the horn, the better your business. Add the late night revelers who walk the streets laughing and talking at intoxicated levels and you get....no sleep.

Tomorrow is a full day of ministry. A pastors conference until 3 P.M. and then three “bush church” visits. My dependency level today will be high indeed. I certainly won’t be speaking from a rested body or a clear mind.

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6:45a.m.

The aroma of coffee convinces me a shower and breakfast is better than trying to fight the noise for a few more winks of sleep. Here I go.....

9:00 a.m.It is market day in Kisii which means the streets have been choked to 1/2 their normal size. There are no true shoulders on the roads here, but today the ladies hawking fresh vegetables and used clothing push as far onto the road as possible. Any advantage in showing their wares over the competition might mean more sales. If these women have a good day they will make between $1.50 and $2. The problem is, if they have a family of 4 (which would be rather small here) and they eat two meals today, it will cost them around $2.50. So everyday you work....to go farther into the hole. You can see the strain in the creases of their faces and their sleep deprived red eyes. The motorbike taxis seem to have multiplied overnight. They weave in and out of the erratic two lane traffic like waterbugs on top of a farm pond. The matatus are filling 13 passenger minivans with 20-25 people. Huge stalks of green bananas and large sacks filled with heads of cabbage are artfully piled on top. The vans are now twice their normal height and so top heavy, it takes a master driver to keep them upright.

I am thinking future U.S. teams who have never experienced this level of mass chaos and confusion on a city street. As an American used to order and sanity this spasm of disorder can be overwhelming. For anyone accustomed to traveling and arriving on schedule, the stress meter is pegging out!

But, as I arrive at the church there is no stress. It is Daniel and I who are here at 9 a.m. for this 9 a.m. meeting. If we begin at 10, I will be surprised.

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Monday, August 15, Rehoboth Christian Cneter, Kisii, Kenya 10:30 a.m.For the last 45 minutes folks have trickled into this store front church. The room is packed and spilling out onto the front porch. A few minutes ago two young “interns” walked in carrying the keyboard and necessary cords for the sound system.

As Pastor Daniel stands to begin the first teaching session, the young men are “tweaking” the keyboard and sound system. Few things get me “in the flesh” quicker than treading God’s work as though it does not matter. Fortunately (for me) God led Daniel to teach long enough that I realized my reaction was way out of proportion to the issue. I’m soooo glad God over ruled my emotions and tiredness today. This session with leaders may have been one of the most intimate, powerful and effective training time I have ever been a part of. The best this is, God reminded me that it was all him today because I was certainly in no frame of mind to be very usable. Humbling.....

2:00 Mossases Kenya (deep interior)Daniel, his wife Beatrice and a young church planting pastor and his wife have joined me on our trip to visit some of the “bush” ministries in this region. For those of you who raise an eyebrow at the “mystical side of ministry, Daniel would be a real enigma for you. Often Daniel will leave an intense prayer time and just begin to drive into the bush. He says God leads him to places that need the Gospel and ministry work. I have learned not to second guess Daniel on such matters.

After a 40 minute drive down dirt roads that finally become little more than foot paths, we arrive at the pastor’s home. I am there to see and pray over the newest Tentmaker project. Tentmaker is the small business enterprise that is overseen by our partner Jeff Moser. On his recent trip to Kenya, Jeff brought “investment capital” to purchase a posho mill. Grinding corn is a great cottage industry.

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The small building was brand spanking new and as well built as anything I have seen constructed in our ministry here. One side of the building houses the posho mill and the other side is a small “convenience store” where the wife sells bananas and fresh fruits. I can testify that the bananas are worth the trip!! This enterprise will give support to a pastor that receives no financial support from us at this point. Our resources are depleted. We have as many pastors on support as God has supplied money. I could see the pride and sense of accomplishment in this young couple as we stood there and asked God to prosper and protect this new busy to His glory. Once again, I get to do a" the fun stuff and you guys get to pay the bi"!!

PUSHING FARTHER BACK As we leave a trail of banana peels on the mud road, the young church planter and his wife were receiving some of their first customers.

The storm clouds are building to the east and thunder is rumbling. It’s not close, but it’s a concern. This is all clay land. If it rains, we will be here for a while. We drive for another 45 minutes into the bush. By now I’m pretty sure we will be sleeping out here in the bush. When this rain comes, we’ll never get out of these roads (see how great my faith is?!!). As we make our last turn we enter a gravel road leading us past a quarry. I have never seen a gravel road in the Kenyan bush before! Daniel told me the company that “took” the stones traded the gravel road for payment. I told Daniel God put in the gravel road because he knew I did not want to sleep on the floor of a mud hut in a rain storm!

Just when I think I have a pretty good grasp on just how big God is and how much he is committed to His people, I come to a place like this one.

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Somewhere between Kisii Town an the Tanzania border 4:15 p.m.As we make our way to the top of one of the most beautiful vistas I have seen in Kenya, a poorly constructed iron-sheet building appears. As we pull into the plot there is a group of students under the trees studying. It has turned hot today which means the classrooms are like ovens.

There are 162 area children who attend school here. The school was built by a young couple on their family land. The husband is a teacher for the Kenya government, but his wife oversees this little school and her volunteer staff of 9 teachers. No one here gets paid for teaching. No funds were provided to build these classrooms or purchase the curriculum. I’m sorry......I just have no explanation as to how this place came to be.

As the husband shares his vision for this community he tells me there is no Gospel preaching church int he area. Now we have driven past no less than 5 little church buildings on our way here. He tells me the Bible is not even used in those churches. It is only superstitions and traditions that are taught here. One church teaches that a prophet was born on this mountain and he would send them a letter telling them how to get to heaven. I checked....the mail hasn’t run yet!

Daniel tells me that one of his disciples is ready to pastor and wants to come plant a church here. We believe, it will be the first time the Gospel will be heard on these mountains. I asked if I could come back in February or March and preach a series of evangelistic messages to help launch the church. I don’t know how to do the hooting and clucking of the tongue that these Kenyan women do.....but, I think it means ...YES!!

The thunder is closer now. The sky is darkening and the smell of rain is on the breeze. It’s time to get off this mountain while we still can. But, our host insists we come pray over his home.

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WE NEED TO GO!!!

We have to stay.

As we walk down the path, the smell of spices and fresh cooked meat greet us. I know what is coming. As we walk under the fruit laden avocado tree and enter the family compound we are greeted by a small table with a bowl of rice, stewed chicken and ugali. There is no running water here. No electricity. That means no refrigeration and no purified water. We pray...and...we eat. A meal like this is the equivalent of Thanksgiving dinner for us. I have done nothing to deserve this type of treatment. True hospitality is a wonderfully disarming thing.

After eating a few bites, we insist that we must get down the mountain before the rains come. Our host releases us, but not before he goes into the yard and returns with a bucket heaping with the beautiful avocados.

God is going to do something in this place. It’s going to be a hard work, but He is going to do something. I want to be a part of it.

REFOCUSThe rain catches us about 1/4 mile before the paved road. We slide our way safely down the clay road and crawl along at about 25 M.P.H. I think God knew I needed a little extra time to process today. I almost missed one of the best days of my ministry life because of some lost sleep and a bad attitude. You’d think at my age and with my experience, i would be past such childish behavior. We"....I’m not. But God is a good, good Father. He knows just what spoiled, sulking children need.

A final meal tonight with Daniel and Christiano and their wives is the icing on a simply delicious ministry cake. What a beginning to this Kenyan adventure.