Mission Safari: The Next Chapter(s)

When Tomorrow is Today

Tomorrow finally arrived. We now have a phone line! Although it seems a bit silly, it was such a relief and encouragement today to FINALLY have Telkom come and fix our phoneline. So, Maybe Tomorrow was Today.

Now, if tomorrow will just bring the work permit...

Apologies

Dear Readers, It seems that a few of my posts have been "messed up" lately. Given that I have limited on-line capabilities, I usually post by email. It seems that some of them left the blog looking jumbled. Apologies.

But, I have corrected these glitches.at least for now.

Thanks, Tim

The Mission Safari E-Newsletter, November 2004

Dear Praying Friends,
The Screaming Eagle. Space Mountain. The Tower of Terror. These are some of my favorite rides at Six Flags and Walt Disney World. They were fun, fast, furious, and exhilirating. Think back to the times that you have taken a ride on a roller coaster. As you stood in the long line at the amusement park, you could hear the screams and laughter of the folks riding the ride. You may have had a sense of anticipation or anxiety depending on your sense of adventure (or lack thereof). And once you finally had your turn, it seemed that the ride was even more than you expected. And even the second or third or hundreth time you rode that roller coaster you were still surprised at its speed, its fast turns, its sudden drops, and its sudden stops. Well, a roller coaster accurately describes our first month in our new home and country, Kenya. And even though we had already taken a ride on this roller coaster, we were still surprised at its ups and downs, its exhiliration and its anxiety. And to be honest, we feel that we are still on this roller coaster ride, our knuckles turning white from holding on, with the wind rushing through our hair, with dips and turns just waiting to come. But as we continue this ride, we know that our safety belts are securely in place. We know that the protective, guiding, loving hand of our Father is holding us in our seat and that no matter how fast, furious, and wild the ride gets, we are not going to be thrown from our seat, or that the car will somehow derail bringing disaster (although, sometimes, it really, really, really feels like it might just do that!) So, we continue to thank you for your faithfulness in praying for us. Your letters of encouragement have meant so much. We praise God for such an awesome support team. With this let's review how God has and will be working in our lives.
Praises
1. We are in our rental house. It is wonderful and has an awesome yard that is already landscaped. It is truly a refuge for us. 2. We have a vehicle that is affordable, reliable, and safe.
3. The children are getting into a decent routine for homeschool.
4. We have begun to make friends here.
Petitions
1. Continue to pray that my work permit is granted very soon.
2. Continue to pray that our shipment will arrive after my work permit is granted.
3. Pray that we will find a church home.
4. Pray that we will have a good month of language learning.
5. Pray that we will be patient in settling into our new country.
6. Continue to pray for God's grace to be real as we continue to transition here.
7. Pray for protection for the spiritual warfare that is very real here.

Pray most of all that we will really believe and walk in the truth of 1 Peter 5:10-11:
"But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." In His Grip,
Tim

The Kitchen Table

The kitchen table. Such a small, insignificant piece of furniture. I almost talked Marti out of buying it. I am glad I didn't.

Little did I realize when I plunked down $200 two weeks ago for the table and four chairs that I was buying our "meeting place" with Sarah and Ben (and sometimes Sam). But even in that short two week period we have had more incredible talks than I can remember. We usually try to eat breakfast there rather than the dining room table (why I am not sure, but that is the routine). After I finish my breakfast, I either read to them from our "catechism" book, or from our study book on Islam. Since we now live in a country where 20-30% of the culture is Muslim, we decided to do a short study on the basics of Islam, especially since this is the "holy month" of Ramandan.

This study has directed our conversation into some very critical and key discussions not only on the Islamic faith but on the Christian faith. We have had "deep theological" discussions on such topics as Heaven, Hell, Predestination, Grace, the condition of man, Sin, and Satan. It has been awesome. Then over the past 48 hours we have also delved into "Civics" and "political science". We have discussed conservatism, liberalism, Blue States, Red States, rural vs. urban life, foreign and domestic policy. And of course we have talked about cultural adjustments, language learning, ministry opportunities, life as a Third Culture Kid, and so on.

Please pray that it will continue to be a meeting place. Pray that we will not allow ourselves to become too busy to spend important "ministry" there with our children. We are not only called to make disciples here in Kenya, but more importantly we are called to make disciples in our home.

Livingstone, Page 80

As Lechulatebe (the chief) had just come into power, he imagined that the proper way of showing his abilities was to act directly contrary to every thing his uncle advised. When we came, the uncle recommended him to treat us handsomely, therefore the hopeful youth presented us with a goat only. It ought to have been an ox. So I proposed to my companions to loose the animal and let him go, as a hint to his master. They, however, did not wish to insult him. I, being more native, and familiar with their customs, knew that this shabby present was an insult to us.

Election Celebration

Tonight we had a party in celebration of President Bush being re-elected. Now mind you, we don't want to offend any of you that might have voted for the Blue Candidate, but as it has been a somewhat trying month, just about anything would have passed muster for a celebration. And, since we really did not have an opportunity to celebrate a St. Louis Cardinal World Series Championship (maybe next year), we decided that this would be a good enough reason to celebrate. Besides, President Bush is a Baseball Man, and actually threw out the first pitch for the Cardinal 2004 season opener. I still have the picture of him wearing a Cardinals jacket. But I am belaboring the point.

I had some errands to run before dinner and when I returned the dining room had been turned into a party room. There were red and blue streamers, red and blue confetti, and red and blue candles on the table. To make it a more "American" celebration, we made mini-pizzas. We made homemade pizza sauce, topped it with Kenyan cheese, and added pepperoni, olives, and pineapple. We cooked them in our toaster oven. We served them with cold sodas. Before we ate we sang "Happy Victory George Bush" to the tune of "Happy Birthday" followed by three cheers for George Bush.

We had fun eating our homemade pizzas by candle light. Like I said, just about any event would have passed for a party tonight, but I must admit that it would have been a little bit harder to sing "Happy Victory Ker-ry"..

Election Results

It has been very interesting to be an American abroad this fall. Where ever we have been, whether it be Belgium, Holland, England, or Kenya people have been curious to know who we would vote for. Knowing that either answer could be equally volatile, we usually answered the question with a question, "who would You vote for?" It was usually all that it took to diffuse the situation. Most of the time, people just wanted to tell us their opinion.

As we were waking up to our new day, we realized that many Americans will still up waiting for the polls and projections. It was interesting to be without a phone line (hence no internet connection), a TV set, or a radio. I should say, a radio inside the house. I realized that the station wagon had a nice stereo and so, in the early morning, Marti and I sat in the front seat of the car, in our pajamas, listening to BBC World Radio on 93.7 FM to hear the latest.

My hunt for updates continued throughout the day. I legitimately had to run to the cybercafe as well as to a coffee house for a meeting. While there, I would surf the net looking at the different major network websites to try to piece together the results. As I passed by shops, if they had a TV set, it was on Kenya Broadcast System which was actually running a feed from CNN. It seemed I was not the only one interested in the results. Even at the coffee house, I overheard Kenyans talking about the results. It was amazing.

Finally tonight, after dinner, I received a phone call from the Nun doing my paperwork for the work permit. She wanted to congratulate me. Why she assumed I would be pleased that President Bush won, I am not certain. But, I could not pass up an opportunity to joke with her. I asked her if it was better in her opinion to have a Good Protestant in the White House or a Bad Catholic? She just laughed.

So, to finish our hunt for confirmation of the results, Marti, the Kids, and I all piled back in the station wagon to catch the top of the hour reports that indeed Senator Kerry had conceded defeat. And just think, I didn't lose any sleep over the results, I just had to be a bit more creative to obtain the information than my friends in the US.

Recent Headlines

Things are different here. The following are some real headlines from the newspapers in Kenya.

1. Church gets green light to bury couple - Daily Nation, 29 October 2004

2. Furious villagers kill and feast on stray elephant - Daily Nation, 29 October 2004

3. Firm counts losses as hippos destroy crops - Daily Nation, 29 October 2004

4. Student sits exams in jail - The Sunday Standard, 31 October 2004

Guest Writer, Dr. Michael Johnson

To give you an idea of what lies ahead of me AFTER I get settled into the culture and language in Kenya, I have copied this email I received from my friend and colleague here in Kenya. Dr. Johnson has been here for over 12 years. I worked along side of him 10 years ago as a medical student. Without further ado, Dr. Michael Johnson.

The Easy Way Out

I am lucky! Of all of the doctors at St. Mary's Mission Hospital here in Nairobi, the clinic room that I have has two doors and two rather large windows. I can sneak out one and avoid the crowd of patients and their families when I feel overwhelmed. I can take the easy way out. I often feel the urge to do so. After telling the third or fourth patient in a row that they have an illness that will end in death within a few weeks or months, I have the option of either the undignified route of escape through one of the windows or more sophisticated maneuver of the back door. I picture my lab coat being caught on the hooks of the window and the door creaks when I open it, so people will know I left anyway. There is no easy way out. Jesus dealt with some of these issues in an even more practical way. In Mark 2:9 Jesus asked; "Which is easier to say your sins are forgiven or take up your bed and walk?" Which is the easy way out when dealing with an illness which has bound someone to a bed of affliction and dependency for their lives? Was this a rhetorical question? Did Jesus ask it with the idea of getting a real answer or just to goad doctors like me into trying to sneak out of the escape hatch? As I read this gospel passage, I am impressed that I have been given a mandate to not only deal with the physical dimension of the cancer that is painfully invading organs within the body, or even bursting through the skin. I have been called, mandated to let people know there is comfort and peace even in the midst of their pain and suffering.
There is the loneliness felt by a 16 year old girl, who has been diagnosed with a terminal cancer, or the unfairness felt by a young mother knowing that the AIDS she got from an unfaithful spouse, has now been transmitted to her new born child, through no fault of her own and the frustration and embarrassment seen in the face of an old man who has to eliminate his body waste in unnatural ways through artificial means., all of which makes it easier for me to take the easy way out., the escape hatch. In Kenya as in most of the developing world, most cancers are incurable when finally diagnosed and even when curable, the drugs and other therapies are unaffordable.
My brother puts it this way, "If I had some bread, I would make a sandwich, if I had some meat."
In medical terms, "that is, we could offer you a cure, if we had some way to diagnose your illness and the medicines to treat it." "Which is easier?" Jesus asks me this question at each of these encounters. Then He gives me the answer.
"Give them the peace of knowing that the healing is not just physical, but spiritual. Let them know that their healing is the removal of not just the pain of their illness, but the pain of their disease (dis-ease). Let them know of the comfort of dealing with their illness by surrendering their cares and woes to their Father in heaven."
The Savior tells me to; "help them seek peace with those family members with whom they have not spoken with in years, or those neighbors whom they have had harsh words, or even their enemies who have deceived and abused them. Help them seek peace in their lives and the lives of their loved ones. It is this peace which will help them deal with their illnesses and will cure their dis-eases. As they seek peace, the Father will give them peace."
Which is easier? "Mr. Noletona, your daughter will have to lose her leg from the hip downward and will probably have the cancer spread through her lungs even if we do the surgery. Now if you will get out of my room, I can deal with the next patient because I need to go home soon." Or, " John Chologo, your stomach cancer has invaded your colon and caused the hemmorhage. I don't think there is anything I can do for you surgically, but I can talk with you and your family about how to make the most out of the time you have left, however long God gives you." I am not called to put a positive spin on bad news, but to make the bad news serve a purpose of turning people to their Creator. It is really the easy way out and I won't tear my lab-coat on the window hook that way.

Nice Things

Tonight, as I was sitting at the table drinking chai and eating NICE biscuits (NICE biscuits are rectangular sugar cookies with a hint of coconut), I realized that although transition has brought difficulty, this past weekend has been rather "nice". It made me start reflecting on some of the nice things here, some of the perks so to speak. So, in no particular order of "niceness" here are some of the "nice" things about being in Kenya.

1. The Coffee here is EXCELLENT! (Well, maybe that is number one!)

2. The Tea here is also excellent, particularly the drink called "chai". It is a mixture of tea, sugar, and milk. Best served with a NICE biscuit.

3. Fresh flowers are abundant and inexpensive. Every week I have bought a bundle of fresh flowers for Marti. The first week it was 18 long stem yellow roses. They cost $4. Last week, it was wild flowers for $3. So, for $12 a month we can enjoy fresh flowers on the table.

4. Fresh fruit and vegetables are also abundant, inexpensive, and extremely tasty. The variety and freshness is incredible.

5. The Karen Garden Resturant. I took Marti there Saturday afternoon for lunch. The seating is outside in the garden (flower and plant, not vegetable garden!). They had a jazz band playing. It was awesome (and inexpensive).