Thoughts from Christian

As we soak in all the sights of the Safari I think all of us are needing to resist a bit the sense of guilt that comes with suddenly being tourists. It is really nice here--and it was the Nzimbi family who insisted that we do a safari--but I think all of us felt more comfortable in Kitui meeting and worshipping with people than being here surrounded by white people. I will leave here with a greater love for all of Kenya, but my heart is in Kitui. An unforgettable moment in Kitui for me came during one of our "crusades" (we did two--one in front of the church we were serving in and another in a marketplace near another church we were visiting). During the worship time a line of people formed and began to dance--one leading the moves and the others following him--sort of like a big worship conga line. And as I watched I really wished I was in the line--and it hit me that there was absolutely no reason I couldn't be in the line (I'm not sure if that's normal for pastors here, but being a visitor has freed me up from caring too much about what's normal, we're already abnormal). So I jumped in and followed along as best as I could--it was very energetic dancing, genuinely hard work. As I started to worry that maybe I was embarassing our team, I noticed that most of the rest of them were also in the line. I tried to follow Dan, who is a much better dancer than me, but when that failed I just called up memories of David Byrne from the video Once in a Lifetime (some of you know what I'm talking about). So dancing like David Byrne to songs in Kamba praising Jesus with Kenyans and members of Church of the Cross was a powerful and actually soul healing moment for me--there was a freedom and joy in worship I felt at that moment that I have rarely experienced. Honestly the only thing that would have made it better was to have my wife and children right there next to me (May it be so Lord, some day).

I should add that here on the safari we are still so blessed by the people of Kenya. The folks working here are delightful, and we are especially enjoying the drivers of our vans who are very knowledgable about animals and very patient with us (our team asks a lot of questions--our poor drivers in Kitui and Nairobi were exhausted after a day with us). I look foward to seeing everyone soon.