Back in the USA

I have been out of Kenya now for a week and a half and back in the USA just short of a week. What I am most noticing is a profound sense of belonging nowhere. The long bicycle trip at the start of my sabbatical rewired some portion of my brain in such a way that sitting still feels wrong. Movement is natural, stillness is not. In Kenya the constant movement of people along the roads and at the Seminary was a reminder of their constant struggle just to survive. They graciously received my as a guest, but not without the constant reminder that because I had access to and control of resources, I would always be set apart there too. Moving in and out of their lives, offering support and prayer, but knowing I would move along in time kept the sense of motion alive.

But now I am back in San Diego and there is a chafeing sense built from being still after moving for so long. I suspect that the challenge for me will be in establishing yet another sense of movement that can tap into the energy of the sabbatical.

Time for a bike ride......

Mercy Care Center

Today I met and began what I hope will be a long friendship with Patrick Lumumba who leads the Mercy Care Center. He met me at the Hilton and we walked and rode buses to the Mathre section of Nairobi where the Center is located. Imagine Tijuana's slums, but poorer and with no Americans spending money. And yet there are lively and huge local markets spread throughout the area.

I got to see the 350+ kids that we feed everyday and see all their classes. Patrick has really squeezed every dime we have sent to maximize the value for the children. When I can get the pictures here you will see.

We talked about how All Souls' might help expand the circle of support for Mercy Care as we have done for Maseno. I am birnging back a proposal to help finish putting water in at the school/farm out in the valley. The lack of water has stalled the development of that sight as a vocational school.

We also talked about his plans for a small "polytechnic." He already has a number of the young women training as tailors and I am hoping we can work with them to import lovely Kenyan skirts and maybe even clergy shirts! But we also talked about helping to get woodworking equipment so that Mercy Care Center could not only train carpenters, but rent the equipment to local woodworkers to bring in more development money.

We had a great lunch and a very creative brainstorming time together. I want us to think about how we can take the solid foundation we provide at MCC and expand it into a development focus. Just providing the money fora daily meal has created new opportunities ofr these kids, including going to academic secondary schools. But there is more that we can do.

On to Nairobi

It is Wednesday and I am in Nairobi.

It was hard to leave Maseno. I found that after about a week and a half and a few trips to Nakumatt I was feeling quite at home in Kenya. Why Nakumatt? The are the Kenyan Wal-Mart and have a fine selection of everything imaginable including enoug western food to offset my tummy's upset with the carb onslaught of the first week.
We have gotten a good bit done. The CBO development project will get underway with 34 families. We are launching a small enterprise that will employ several women entrepreneurs selling snacks and new foods to Maseno University and Hospital folks. I have gotten a raft of great input from the Mother's Union volunteers about what more they need at the orphan centers. Nine more parishes want to join the program!
I met with 40 or so clergy from the Diocese after spending a lovely evening with Bishop Oketch at his home. I gave my standard presentation on Richard Hooker and folks were very responsive. Lots of good discussion about Anglican Identity. They also had lots of questions about how clergy are deployed, how they interact with parishioners and the bishop. We decided that Kenyan Bishops have more power than US bishops, and US Rectors have great protections under our canons. All in all a good day.
All of the clergy, the Bishop and the people in the parishes I have served these last four Sundays send their greetings to All Souls and their appreciation for my visit. I explained that it was their extraordinary committment to these orphans and to lifting themselves from the poverty of the region that was truly inspiring and that we were glad to be partners with them in this work.
I will be arranging to get to the Mercy Care Center and I might even get a day at the Nairobi Musuem.

The last week

This past Sunday I was the preacher at St. Stepehens, Luanda. There are five congregations in this parish and they all gathered to hear me preach. Since it was July 3 I preached about freedom, especially about Jesus's freedom from the expectations of all the religious leaders of his day. As I had also preached about sin and freedom from it as part of God's gift in Jesus about 70 people came up for me to pray over as they offered their sins up to God. It was a very moving part of the service.

We fixed hamburgers and hotdogs for the seminary students and the gahtered Amercians, about a dozen. Most food here is boiled, very little is roasted or fried, so the students enjoyed the American food, as did we.

I taught a four day class on Richard Hooker in the mornings and in the afternoons worked on tying down details on the development projects and on starting a little enterprise selling snacks to the UNiversity students right next door. We will likely have to go to Nairobi to find gas run ranges and ovens and deep fryers, but since I will be there next week, it is on my list.

Tomorrow is a funeral for one of the Rural Deans who has been most supportive of the Mother's Union projects. It will be an all day affair. Sunday I preach again and Monday will go up to spend the evening with Bishop Oketch before addressing all the clergy on Tuesday. So they are keeping me busy up until the last moment here.

The village across the road from us has had five deaths in the three and a half weeks I have been here. Every Saturday has been a funeral day, as it it all over the region. It becomes part of life. In the US Saturdays are chores and sports. here it is for funerals.

The Mother's Union ladies send their greetings. They have cut out material for 200 mice. I don't know if I am to reveal what sort of mice they will be, but they will be COOL. I told them to make more.

Sooooooo till I get on from Nairobi next week, keep all of us in your prayers.