My Top 3 Cultural Blunders

The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one.
Elbert Hubbard

My wife could verify that 1) I'm not at all afraid to make cultural blunders and 2) I am quite proficient in doing so. My top 3 cultural blunders:

3) The Interlock-I find a seat at hospital morning chapel and settle into singing the Kenyan praise song, "We will praise you in the morning, We will praise you in the noontime, we will praise in the evening, we will praise you all the time." We finish singing and the pastor requests that we hold hands with our neighbors. So I reluctantly (like every man feels) go in for the clasp handshake with the man to my right and the man to my left. I'm thinking the only decision here is: Do I go palm forward or palm backward? Oh no. It's much different here in Kenya. My neighbor goes for the interlock...every finger no less and even the thumbs. And it was a good prayer the pastor prayed, but also such a long, long prayer. I still believe it was the longest prayer I've ever head in my life.

2) The Air Shake - The first thing I tell any Western visitor is that greeting Kenyans by shaking hands is very important. A simple hello, or nod...just does not work here in Kenya. Even if you enter a room with 20 strangers...you still take the time to shake every one of their hands even the children. I'm pretty much a hand-shaking madman now. I shake when we meet, some time in the middle of the conversation, and at least once or twice as we leave just to cover all my bases. It was my second day in the dental clinic and the following lady was my patient I went in right-handed for a hearty handshake and came up empty...a complete air shake. Strange...I thought. Next to her was her mother so I tried again with a right palm coming up high with my hand near my ear and swooping down right in front of her waist. But nothing...the patient's mother didn't even raise her hand. Another air shake. Before I could manage strike 3 in hands shakes with her sister...a kind Kenyan pulled me aside to say, "Somali woman do not shake hands with men."

1) The Kiondo -I really had some heavy dental supplies that were donated that I wanted to bring up to the dental clinic. I had seen many Kenyans using a Kiondo to carry fruit and vegetable with the strap around their forehead. I was told that using the head and the muscles of the neck with the weight of the material on your back is the best way to carry a heavy load. So I loaded up my Kiondo with dental anesthetic and instruments and walked up to the hospital. Well, have you ever had a moment where everyone is looking your direction and pointing and laughing and so you turn 180 degrees to look behind to see what is so funny...and then you realize there is nothing behind you but wide open space. And then you know they are laughing at you and you have to turn back around and acknowledge their laughter. So thanks...only later did I find out that men do not carry anything in Kenya (even their child)...and especially not a Kiondo strapped around their head.

Does anyone have a cross-cultural blunder they would like to share?

It's A Hard Life

As I walk to the hospital I see this man in a stocking hat. His name is Jeremy.

Jeremy, I see you out here each morning with a hammer and chisel. You work hard.
Yes, I am a craftsmen. I am a stone mason.

Jeremy, you are always barefoot Do you not have shoes?
No I have, you see the how the splinters spray (he drives the hammer against the chisel into the rock and chards of stone disperse) into the air. They would infest my shoes. It is better to wear nothing at all.

Do you live here in Kijabe?
No, I live in Nairobi. But I am here from Monday to Saturday. That is my temporary home (he points to a 10 x 20 shipping container in the field) for myself and the others. We work until evening.

Do you have family?
Yes. I have two children and my job as a craftsmen provides for them.

How are you paid?
It is paid by the foot. You see this one here is one foot (gesturing to the rock he just split). I am paid 15 Ksh per foot (about 20 cents). On a good day I can I do 100 foot of stone. But that is just a good day (he points to the quarry of rocks he has completed) when I am feeling strong. But you see these rocks are softer....the other rocks (pointing to a new delivery of rocks) are harder. For those maybe only 50 foot in a day.

How long have you been a stone craftsmen?
15 years. I am 37 years old. Can you help me with something?

Do you want me to hammer a stone? I am a dentist..we do use elevators, chisels, and things like that. I might be good at this. Can I give it a try? (Jeremy nodded in approval. I cradled the stone with my shoes, picked up the hammer, and place the blade of the chisel at a 45 degree angle to the rock. I pounded. Nothing happened. Adjusted the chisel and pounded again. Nothing happened...more force Jeremy said. I kept at it for about 5 minutes banging my knuckles with the hammer as frequently as the chisel. I picked up a new chisel and tried again (maybe the blade was dull?). 5 minutes later the rock looked no different. Jeremy's boss arrived so I handed the chisel and hammer back to him.)

No doctor, I could really use your help with some pain medicine. It is paining here (he points to his shoulders).
Yes, of course. I could imagine your muscles may hurt.

This is what you are building (we looked behind to the new Cure intern housing sixplex)?
Yes..to that I have added.

Jeremy, that is many bricks you have made. And you are an excellent craftsmen.

Then a new king, to whom Joseph meant nothing, came to power in Egypt. “Look,” he said to his people, “the Israelites have become far too numerous for us. Come, we must deal shrewdly with them or they will become even more numerous and, if war breaks out, will join our enemies, fight against us and leave the country.” So they put slave masters over them to oppress them with forced labor, and they built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh. But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and spread; so the Egyptians came to dread the Israelites and worked them ruthlessly. They made their lives bitter with harsh labor in brick and mortar and with all kinds of work in the fields; in all their harsh labor the Egyptians worked them ruthlessly. (Exodus 1)

Jeremy told me he is a Christian. I imagine he can relate to the struggle of the Israelites differently than I can. With brick and mortar he is building a sitaplex (not a Pyramid). But, Jeremy works voluntarily, earns a reasonable salary, and is proud of his craftsmanship as a stone mason (as he should be). But, could you imagine hammering rocks all day long for 15 years? If this was your life would the Israelites plight look a little different? Would it just be an old story with a few good moral lessons to learn? Or might the book of Exodus really be a living document...that you would identify and claim as your own with every swing of the hammer.

Mr. G's Salon

Walk down the dirt road past the hospital, vegetable ladies, supa-duka, the old gas station (with no working tanks) and you will find Mr. G's Salon.


Mr. G's Salon has a plenty of mirrors, vigorous vines, electricity from a car battery, Kenyan tunes on the radio, and a barber chair with a heavy hub-cap as its base.


Mr. G. makes it easy to select your desired hairstyle (1-50) by displaying all your options on the wall. I picked 48 without the goatee. I'm not sure if your cutting instruments affect a barber's options; but I found it interesting that Mr. G has 3 electric clippers in his Salon but not even one pair of scissors. Interesting??


I find the overall haircut experience at Mr. G's Salon pleasant from the initial seating with a cape to the final hot towel dressing of the neck at the departure. Mr. G. cut my hair and told me I looked, "smart and young!" And all for under 70 KSH. Amelia, Meredith, & Sara haven't yet followed my lead.

How we come to church?

I admire the way Kenyans honor God on Sunday. Despite that a typical Kenyan family exists as subsistence farmers, walks 3-5 miles to church down a muddy dirt road, resides in a house with a dirt floor, cooks over smoky charcoal, and washes their clothes in a bucket; that very family will come to church wearing their Sunday best. It is remarkable. I don't know how they do it. Meredith manages to dirty up her dress and color her arms with pink marker just between our hospital and our walk to church.

The Kenyan men and boys wear suits, ties, vests, and dark shoes nicely polished. The Kenyan women and girls adorn themselves with their most beautiful dresses (well ironed), high-heeled shoes, jewelry, and hair neatly kept. I wonder if this is a way they are giving God their "first fruits" as discussed in Nehemiah 10. It may not be much but I wonder if coming in your "Sunday Best" is an offering to God? Is this their first crop, their new wine, their finest oils, their best grain, their purest ground meal.

When we were back in the States we came to church on "show your knees Sunday" where you were encouraged to wear shorts. Casual is in. Formal is not. "Come as you are" is the norm. Overdressing to church is almost more awkward than underdressing.

Have times changed? This is a picture of me and my siblings circa 1981. Yes, I am confidently wearing a bow tie and a Big-bird vest. Maybe this is Easter Sunday...I can't remember. But I know at that moment we came dressed to church...as if this was really important...as if something special was going to happen...and someone amazing would be in our presence.

What do you think? Is it church dress regional? Is church dress denominational? Have we become more casual? Does it still matter "how" we come to church?

Imagine... A Day Without Chai

Chai (Kenyan tea) which is a mixture of milk, sugar, tea leaves, and boiling hot water is served daily at 10:30 AM.  I don't know of a Kenyan (baby, teen, or grandmother) who doesn't take Chai (you don't have chai, you don't drink chai, you take chai.)        

First rule of Chai: If you come, you must take.  Try sitting without a mug of chai in your hand and it quickly becomes awkward...Doctoriae no Chai today?... Doctoriae will you take chai?...Doctoriae why don't you take chai?...Doctoriae how can you not take chai?    

Second Rule of Chai:  You must retain the mug in your hand at all times like the ladies above.  Like a Nascar fan and his beer, a fisherman and his rod, or a prom king and his queen, a chai-drinker and his mug are inseparable.  

Third Rule of Chai:  If you think something is more important than chai time...take a look around.  At Chai Time (10:30 AM) everything in the hospital stops.   Doctors in ER retreat to the chai room.  Clerks disappear to the Jiccho.  Scrub Techs descrub.  Nurses are suddenly done rounding.  For a brief moment the earth stops rotating.   

Fourth Role of Chai: Chai is the high-octane petrol that keeps one going.  It's served piping hot to warm the tummy.  It's loaded with sugar for instant energy.  It's loaded with whole milk (straight from the cow) for high fat long term energy.  Lastly, the chai leaves are loaded with caffeine to keep you alert.  

I did ask a friend; Would you go a day without Chai?  "That, I would even remain a single day without Chai....it would be unimaginable."

We Three Kings...

           Maybe these 3 Kenyans wearing Masai blankets and riding camels were getting an early July start on their way to Bethlehem from Kenya?  It isn't so strange to see camels in Kenya, but usually in Mombassa for tourists to take a ride along the beach.  But these camels came in behind Amelia, Meredith, Sara, and I in front of the hospital on our walk to Amelia's school.   One more good reason to come visit at Kijabe- when and where else would you get a chance to ride a two-hump camel?

Locusts

And the LORD said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over Egypt so that locusts will swarm over the land and devour everything growing in the fields, everything left by the hail."  So Moses stretched out his staff over Egypt, and the LORD made an east wind blow across the land all that day and all that night. By morning the wind had brought the locusts; they invaded all Egypt and settled down in every area of the country in great numbers. Never before had there been such a plague of locusts, nor will there ever be again.  They covered all the ground until it was black. They devoured all that was left after the hail—everything growing in the fields and the fruit on the trees. Nothing green remained on tree or plant in all the land of Egypt. (Exodus 10)

I don't even know if these bugs are Locusts.  Maybe a biologist out there can identify this green thing.    But whatever these palm-sized grasshopper look-a-likes are called they have infested our house and Kijabe in general.  OK is not quite a Biblical Plague, but these beady eyed green long-legged critters have found their way into our bathtub, bed, Mocha's doggie bowl, towels, the dental clinic, the back of our car, and on Meredith's baby doll (which she found very scary).

Take Your Kids to Work Day.

I don't think take your kids to work day exists here in Kenya (work is often too far for the kids to walk), but we decided it was time to bring this tradition to our home. Plus our kids and their (Nancy & Sarah's) kids were all on holiday. After Matatu service was arranged Sarah and Nancy (our helpers) took their kids to work (our house)! It is interesting to me that they have house-helpers in their homes as well. Nancy has 3 daughters (Martha, Ana, & Joy). Sarah has a son (John) and dauther (faith).



John and Faith decided they wanted pepperoni pizza for lunch. It turns out they were not to keen on the mozarella cheese, but loved the pepperoni.



Meredith, Amelia, Ana, Joy, & Martha making necklaces with the always popular POP-beads.

TCK (Part II)

In 1990 the census determined that the total number of Americans living abroad is estimated at 3 million. The book ‘Third Culture Kids’ takes a needed look at understanding who they are, determining their profile, and estimating the best ways they can maximize their life.

Let me share a few interesting sections of this book that ring true with my experience with Missionary Kids (and Third Culture Adults) in Kenya the past 18 months.

1) They experience high mobility. In the past two years we have lived in 2 different countries, 3 different locations, and 5 different homes/apartments. We have all seen good friends come and go, some to return again some we will not see again. It can make people flexible and quick to initiate friendship on the flip side overly-protected.

2) There is a Painful/Realistic view of life. Poverty, sickness, neediness is ever-present. We hope this instills compassion and identity that we are “One in the Body” and not prejudice, blame, or simply fatigue.

3) There is a sense of Restlessness. Where is home? It can lead to a feeling of physical rootlessness but at the same time preserve the notion that home is not a physical place but an emotional place where you are loved by family.

4)TCK’s often develop many friendships because so many people come and go, but it is simply hard to maintain them all.
Five levels of friendship are specified:
a) Superficial- Small talk. How are you? Where are you from? How is the weather?
b) Still Safe- Exchanging no Risk Facts. Where did you go on Vacation?
c) Judgmental Level- We being to risk a few questions sharing opinions on religion, politics, child-rearing. d) Emotional Level- Sharing how they feel about life. I’m happy, depressed, anxious, homesick, encouraged. e) Disclosure Level- Revealing private ideas and difficult failures. Involves and honesty and vulnerability that leads to intimacy.

Most only have a few if not just one person who fits in the 'Disclosure' level of friendship. Some have no-one like this in which to share. TCK’s and TCA’s move quickly through levels a and b to reach c. Why? It may be a sense of urgency due to high mobility of friendships. It also may be cultural. Europeans are quick to launch into talks of politics which may be divisive. Americans look for common ground in sports, TV, movies.

5) TCK’s are quite comfortable talking to adults because they spend a lot of time with them. They can seem overly-mature for their age.

6) There is frequently unresolved grief due to the stresses of normal life in a developing world (death, isolation, anxiety). In these situations comfort is often confused with encouragement. Comfort says I can’t change things. Comfort puts and arm around a shoulder and just says I’m sorry. Comfort validates grief. Comfort gives grief permission. It recognizes that this grief is normal, understood, and that the griever is not alone. Encouragement presumes this situation will turn around. Encouragement tends to bypass grief, often unintentionally delegitimizing the grieving process.

7) Both spouses must favor the move to a third culture for it to work.

8) Kids need to be feel that the work there parents are doing is important. First they just need to know what Mom and Dad are doing at the hospital. Second, they need to know that at this time God has called not just Mom and Dad but our whole family to serve in Kenya. If there is no sense of calling, need, or justification for being here for the children, they may feel they have been absconded to a foreign country with no real reason.

9) Establishing a physical home in your home country is recommended.

10) Build strong ties with relatives and friends.

Lastly, you may find a few graphs taken from the book interesting.



Safety of missionaries (thankfully) has vastly improved.



A tendency towards TCK's who are in boarding school towards higher frequency visits at home with parents.



The trend is tending away from early boarding school.

The authors in my opinion decidedly refrained from offering a tight summary or study of how TCK’s function as adults. Making an assertion would oversimplify the complexity of growing up as a TCK and its affect on the rest of their life. It seems that each TCK has a distinct experience and would speak for themselves regarding how growing up in a Third Culture has affected their development.

Your Generosity Has Done This...Part III

Rose works as a unit clerk for ENT and became a good friend in the past 4 months.



In October a gas burner caught fire in her home. In less than 5 minutes this was all that was left of her timber house and the homes of eight others. Rose and her husband got out safely but lost everything they had.



The hospital set up a fund to rebuild Rose a temporary house which you can see above that she moved into last week. I told Rose that we had many generous people back in America who were supporting God's work in Kenya. These people wanted to help someone who is in need and trying to rebuild, I asked her if there was anything she needed. Rose told me that they needed a simple bed and mattress.



Because of your generosity funds were used such that Rose and her husband have a place to sleep at night. Asante Sana!

Doing Green in Kenya (with a touch of humor)

I’m (Malin writing) really the last one to ask about going “green”, environmentalism, or global warming. To be honest I always really really wanted to be “green” (kind of like I always wanted to be a morning person), but it never clicked (or maybe I never committed to what it required).

I never mastered recycling; can I recycle magazines, do I need to clean out the milk jug first, what color container for disposables? I prefer Costco and Wendy’s to Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods. I like making a camp fire and burning wood even when there is no point. I take long hot showers in the morning. I love red meat and would eat it 3 meals a day if I could. Don’t ask me what my carbon footprint is, all I know is I wear a size 8, (40 UK).

But I tell you I have really tried to “go green.” I even saw Al Gore’s “Inconvenient Truth,” and although it was nifty to watch our former Vice-President raised into the sky by a construction lift next to his life-size global warming graph, but I’m skeptical when provocative claims (New York will be under water in a decade) are used to motivate change. The last time I was at a trendy coffee shop in Oregon, I went green and ordered a fois grass latte and couldn’t down the first swallow. I saw the McDonald’s documentary “Super-size It” and even though my mind was greatly convinced, my stomach can’t resist a large order of french fries. I even tried Namaste Yoga at a spiffy spa- but in the midst of ohming..I realized I couldn’t touch my toes. For goodness sakes, I have lived in both uber-green cities Portland and Seattle and have never set foot inside a vegetarian restaurant.

Regardless, it is clear that God asks us to be Stewards of the world he has given to us: “The Earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it” (Ps. 24:1).

So here in Africa (even though for the vast majority of Kenyans the task of simply living does not afford the luxury of environmental concerns) we as a family I think are making many good “green” decisions. I guess I call them decisions, even if most are decisions out of necessity (Hey, I’m doing my best).

We walk to work, school, church, friend’s houses, and the local dukas.
We are partial locavores (we buy and eat year-round available fresh produce from the “vegetable ladies.”)
Our milk we drink for lunch was probably in the udder of Daniel’s Cow just a few hours ago.
We have a Shamba and grow our own lettuce, potatoes, thyme, carrots, and onions.
We are a 1 car family. I think we drive perhaps one of the most fuel efficient Missionary cars in Kenya. Our Toyota Corolla often gets strange looks from police when they see our family in tow...as these vehicles here are frequently used as taxis.
We have solar panels on our roof that reliably (as long as we have a couple hours of sun) provide the majority of our hot water needs.
Lastly, perhaps to your surprise my hair-care needs do not require aersol hairsprays. Don’t worry I stay far away from BPP’s, DVT’s, HDL’s and all those other nasty acronyms.

And please help me out. If there are any green trends that have caught-on back in the States in the last 14 months, keep me in the loop. I’m behind as it is and need all the help I can get.

Money Matters

One of the challenges as Westerners living in Africa is how we use and manage money in relation to the ever present poverty that surrounds us here in Kenya. Daily financial situations arise that make us feel uncomfortable and uncertain with how to respond. Our helper asks for a loan on her next month's salary (Is this a loan of gift)? We buy vegetables at the local market and feel sad as we are unable to buy from each person. We are asked for money to pay school fees and do not know if the request is legitimate. A co-worker needs help for medical fees for her son and asks for a pay advance? We sell a friend a simple piece of furniture 6 months ago but have yet to be paid. These are just a few situations that we struggle with.
A century previous the average westerner had an annual income 3 times that of the average African. Today, if I am average I will make 60 times that of an average African in my lifetime. What does that advantage mean and what does God expect from us in relating to our Kenyan friends in financial matters? Should I be negotiating for prices at the market (is that cultural or being overly thrifty)? Should I be holding people accountable for "loans" or should I let it go as a gift unspoken? Ultimately how do we as a family share our resources (which are not really ours but God's) with those in need but not feel like we are getting taken, scammed, or burned? How do we find a balance between Christian generosity and using our resources wisely?
Thankfully I happened upon the book, 'African Friends and Money Matters' by David Maranz. It is a book that was developed to address the frustrations many Westerners (tourists, missionaries, diplomats, NGO's, businessmen) face when living in Africa with money matters. Each culture sees and manages money differently and these differences cause misunderstandings. With anecdotes, studies, and his own experiences he lists 90 observations of just "How Finances Work in Africa." Let me share with you several of his observations.
1) Resources are to be used, not hoarded.
2) Money is to be spent before friends or relatives ask to "borrow" it.
3) If something is not being actively used, it is considered to be available.
4) Africans assist their friends in financial need as a form of investment for those future times when they themselves might have need.
5) Africans readily share space and things but are possessive of knowledge (Westerners tend to be opposite).
6) Precision is to be avoided in accounting as it shows a lack of a generous spirit.
7) Fund raising is done on a village basis to help with personal needs. The person in need can decide best how to spend this money.
8) Many products (phone cards, dental anesthetic, food) are purchased in very small amounts even though the unit cost is quite high.
9) Africans are more hospitable than charitable (Westerners tend to be the opposite).
10) Compliments are given indirectly in the form of a request for a gift. (That is a nice bike)
11) Africans are very discreet about asking for assistance, only hinting at their needs. (we are hoping to repair a roof, we are raising funds for a funeral, our daughter is going to school.)
12) Africans find security in ambiguous arrangements, plans, and speech (Westerners tend to the opposite). Examples are; a) when borrowing it is left open when, how or if funds to be repayed b) absence of fixed prices c)commitments to attend meetings c) absence of starting times or ending times for events
13) Showing solidarity at events like funerals and weddings is extremely important. Financial contributions are expected as well as extended leave with pay.
14) Corrupt money is not expected to be paid back, accountability is not enforced, restitution is not practiced.
15) A major function of government is to provide money to those members of society that are in power. Nepotism is expected.
16) A great number of economic needs in Africa are met by friends and family.
17) An unjust settlement of a dispute is better than an offended complaint.
18) A loan is eligible to be repaid when the creditor's need becomes greater than the debtor's need.
19) The collection of debt is primarily the responsibility of the creditor.
20) Loan is often a euphemism for gift.
21) Loans of goods come with rules. a) the borrower does not return the article unless asked b) articles may be reloaned to third parties c) long term borrowing of the article becomes a gift d) normal wear and tear is the responsibility of the lender not the borrower
22) Westerners find it frustrating that Africans appear unclear and indirect.
23) Having the correct amount of money in a business transaction is the responsibility of the buyer not the seller.
24) Negotiating for prices is expected. It is part of the greeting process.
How do we make sense of this? Are some of these observations just plain wrong? But what about Biblical commands to live in community and to provide for the widow and orphan? We seek to engage, befriend, and witness to the culture in Kenya but the economic differences between us and them are staggering, unavoidable, and expanding. How do we balance grace towards the culture and also emphasize accountability? Do we strive to help (with charity) or maybe better yet help those to help themselves (with matching donations to encourage savings)? Do we micromanage supplies, accounts, donations or empower others to use them as God may choose.
As still a new family in Kenya we have much to learn and are often humbled by our own lack of understanding of the culture here. This book has shed light on our stark differences and has made us wonder, how we ever get things done? Only by God's grace perhaps. Lastly a veteran here in Kijabe advised, "Malin, I have learned to err on the side of generosity. If you are not occasionally getting burned on a loan, scammed on a donation, or pay higher for a purchase..you are probably not where you need to be. We are called to give, God will be responsible for how it is used."

Images of Kenya...

Rose (pictured in the chair with Meredith preparing Chai over the fire) invited us to her Shamba.  

     Her house was only 45 minute walk away.  It was a nice walk with the family, and even after 6 months in Kenya some of the images still surprise me.

     We pass a rock quarry where men and women labor under the sun all day long using hammers to chip away at large rocks to make gravel to sell.  

      We see the boys such as this carrying backload full of sticks. We see the children so young (maybe just 4 or 5 years old) seemingly already herding a few goats.  I see the 60 year old man carrying a 30 foot log up a steep hill, and grab and end to help.  Arriving at the top of the hill I find a pile of 15 logs depicting how many times he has already made this journey.

We arrive at Roses house.  The acre of land she has is very steep and they try to feed all four of their kids from the rows of corn they grow. The kids play in the dirt, herd the cow, and chase the chickens..not a toy to be seen.

      Her eating room is simple; 4 benches around the periphery,6 chai cups, a water filter, and an old radio.  Family all sleeps in one room behind the curtain separating the eating room.  The cooking room (as you can see pictured) is so smoky we can barely stand long enough to take a picture.  Rose's husband is a carpenter but there is not any work currently available.  

     Perhaps the most humbling aspect of it all was Rose's wallpaper.  Kenyan's often use magazines or newspapers to cover the walls of their sitting room.  To see our trash (dental publications, OB/GYN journals, the Akron/Beacon Newspaper) as Rose's wallpaper was unexpected.  

We enjoyed the Chair & Mendazis she served us with her family. Amelia and Meredith wanted desperately to take home one of her two puppies. 

An Atheist sees that Africa needs a Loving God

I wanted to share an e-mail from my sister regarding the need for God in Africa.  It is written from an Atheist perspective.  

   Matthew Parris of the NYT writes,         "I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa; sharply distinct from the work of secular NGO's, government project and international aid-efforts.  These alone while good, will not do...In Africa Chistianity changes peoples hearts.  It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real."

     "I used to avoid this truth by applauding  - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa.  It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it.   I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then fine; but what counted was the help, not the faith."

     "But I noticed, The Christian Nationals were always different. Far from having cowed or confied its converts, their faith appeared to have liberated and relaxed them.  There was a liveliness a curiosity, an engagement with the world- a directness in their dealings with others- that seemed to be missing in traditional African life. They stood tall."

Stuck in the Mud

Wednesdays the dental team and eye team drive the Tenwek bus out to rural health dispensaries for outreach.  The dental team provides extractions of diseased teeth and the eye team screens for cataract and glaucoma.

   Last week after a successful trip (we saw over 25 grateful patients) our driver choose a different route back to Tenwek. As you can see the bus got stuck. We pushed,  Leonard (our dental technologist) pulled, we dug out tires, we placed rocks under the wheels--all without luck. 

   We prayed and down the road came a tractor with a chain.  We were back on the road.

      The next day I gave a lecture on Dental Triage--and suggested before we can do outreach to patients, it may be the dental team that needs to be reached out to in the first place.