First Week in Africa
After a day and a half of travel, we arrived at Kisumu airport to a warm African welcome and
sweltering heat to match! (32 C). A
crowd of Salvation Army officers from THQ, DHQ and corps and one of the corps
bands (playing for all to hear) were there to greet us. It was a humbling
experience. Treated like royalty. We gathered in a circle, shared our greetings
with them, and one of the officers prayed over us. We were then driven to
Kakamega (one hour). On the road we saw
crowds of people managing their small businesses in small ‘huts’ that I find
difficult to describe. Basic perhaps, some might even say primitive. Poor, at best. For some
reason, I noticed children playing with tires and they appeared to be having
great fun rolling them along the side of the street. I have to admit that my
heart is stirred by the site of what I see all around. I was not really
expecting to see all of this so soon. I feel like I have been swung from one
end of a pendulum to another.
When we got into Kakamega, we discovered part of the
main road is under major construction. This magnifies the congestion, such that
I had never experienced. There appears to be very minimal ‘rules of the road’
which accentuates the challenge. Hundreds of motor cycles weave in and out
between, behind, and before the other vehicles - many of them carrying three
people or cargo of many sorts such as chairs, mattresses, or 8 ft pipes. They are
quite skilled at balancing! People seem quite comfortable walking across the
streets in between the cars and the motor cycles. This will take a little
getting used to.
We were warmly welcomed at our new quarters by the
Territorial leaders and shared a meal with them around our dining room table.
Our first taste of African food - it was lovely. I especially like the way they cook their
cabbage and I also like the chapatti (similar to a pancake). The leaders sat
with us for a couple of hours and prayed over us. We know there is a deep faith
in God in this place. We spent the rest of the day unpacking suitcases and
getting familiar with the house. It is quite comfortable and spacious. Our
quarters is located in a compound. There are guards posted at the front and
back gates for security reasons. The gardens are beautiful - lots of green
trees accenting the peaceful grounds – seems like a place of quiet rest. This is our new home.
At the end of the day, just as we were preparing to retire
to bed, we received a call from home that suddenly disturbed us greatly. Morris’s
nephew, Brock, had just died. Vaden and Judy are devastated and the family is
shaken, sharing their heart ache. We quickly feel so far away. There is no
recourse to consider returning home as we just arrived and the two day journey
back would not be reasonable. But oh how our hearts long to be there. We knew
this journey would be a walk of faith for us and on the first day our faith reaches
back across the miles to ask God to bring divine comfort and strength in this
tragedy. We lay our heads to rest with heavy hearts, pleading with God to care
for our family when we cannot.
The rest of this week is filled with many logistics of
settling into a new home and work in a new country. Cell phone and internet
service is different here so we’ve needed some training sessions on that -
still working out some glitches for service at home. A visit to the supermarket introduces us to
the variation of groceries that will now fill our cupboards – but there is
Heinz ketchup! We’ve walked the grounds of the compound and met the gardeners –
some who have come to work for The Salvation Army through one of the social
programs here. One of them, Nesbo, we discover
later in the week also leads the THQ choir. We have also now met two of the
guards – Henry and Bonifice. There is
one guard posted at the front gate 24 hours a day (two of them rotate shifts)
and another guard posted at the back gate during the night. They are very
friendly.
Our first weekend here was quite eventful with the installation
of the new Territorial Leaders – Commissioners Stephen and Grace Chepkuri. On
Saturday, members of the Cabinet travel to Kisumu to greet the International
Secretary and Zonal Secretary for Women’s Ministries for Africa who are the
guests for the weekend. I wondered why so many had to be a part of this. One of
my first learnings here is that welcoming people is extremely important. It is a symbol that they are accepted in the
land. They believe first impressions are
long lasting so every visitor’s welcome is an extra effort.
On Sunday morning, we met at THQ for breakfast with Cabinet
and Divisional / District leaders. Following breakfast, the local police led
our convoy of vehicles to the local University, the venue for the Installation
Service. (By the way, we smiled during breakfast when several of the police
officers came in to join the morning meal, dressed in their street uniforms and
carrying their rifles, yet greeting the officers with friendly smiles and
casual conversation – it is apparent that there is a good relationship with
them here.) Arriving at the University, we see a huge field set up with large
tents to provide shade for the people and a large platform for leaders and
guests. The Territorial Leaders, International Leaders, and ourselves make our
way to the reviewing stand and suddenly we see the March of Witness forming up,
led off by the Kenya West Territorial Band. For over an hour we stood to greet
the officers and soldiers from every division and district as they marched in
impeccable formation, in sparkling white uniforms, as everyone saluted their
new Territorial leaders. There were hundreds and hundreds of them. We were just
amazed by this visible witness of The Salvation Army. Over 3000 people had come
for this event and 90% of them were on this march! During the next three hours, we would
experience the joyful singing and dancing of the people who freely offered
their worship to God as well as their respect for the new leaders. Many of them
sat on the ground for the entire service, enduring the direct sunlight (30+C) yet
engaging in every moment of what was shared.
Several divisions presented musical items and various
speeches of welcome were offered.
Following the installation ceremony, Commissioner Stephen brought the
Word of God, basing his challenge on Exodus 17 where Moses needed the help of
Aaron and Hur in order to defeat the enemy and move forward to build God’s
Kingdom. We listened and engaged in the meeting through the help of a
translator as it was all spoken in Swahili. We were warmly welcomed by the TC
and given opportunity to speak to the crowd.
On Monday we met at THQ for a private meeting with the Territorial Headquarters staff and Divisional / District leaders as
well as the Training College Principal. It was another hearty welcome for us
and we had opportunity to speak to the leaders during another time of
worship. Oh, yes, the singing we have
experienced is amazing! What perfect
harmony - with no musical instruments, a sweet melody to our ears. We have learned a few Swahili words this week. Habari
(hello); Habari ya saboi (good morning); asante sana (thank you very much). And
Morris learned a few other words that escape me right now. He was able to greet
the leaders with a few phrases this morning.
We will not soon forget our first weekend in Kenya West. And
at the same time, we keep remembering our family at home. We are torn between
two opposing life experiences. We have been able to video call our family and
assure them of our love and prayers from the other side of the world. We pray
God will comfort them as they cling to one another.
“I lift up my eyes
unto the hills, where does my help come from. My help comes from the Lord, the
Maker of Heaven and earth.” Psalm 121
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