Pilgrimage on the Backroads ... continued 1

Matatu Sardine Can - A taxi deposited us at a bus loading area in downtown Nairobi where we squeezed into a 14-passenger van designed for 10, along with most of our hand luggage under our feet or between our seats. Our one suitcase was strapped on the top of the van as we waited 20 minutes for recruiters to flag down more potential passengers to fill the van. In Kenya, a matatu is never quite full it seems; ‘there is always room for one more.’

Soon our over-filled matatu was climbing to edge of the Great Rift Valley, then down to the valley floor and across the plains to Narok along the north side of the Maasai Mara. By shortly after noon we arrived at Kaplong, one kilometer from the Siriat Bible School. David Tonui met us at the gas station and took us to the home of Joseph and Christine Bett. Actually, it in the process of becoming their home the afternoon we arrived. David had lived there for 13 years as the director of the school and was loading a pickup of personal things to move to his little farm in the area.

You Should have Brought This Training Sooner - The next morning leaders and evangelists from the churches among the Kalenjin sub-tribes and the Kisii people began filtering in from as far as over 100 miles away. The group seems very formal and quiet, a persona we were not used to. Joseph was under a lot of pressure with the transition of his family to Siriat, so the first day of the workshop was a little disorganized, but it soon came up to speed.

Joseph was excited about the content and processes Mustapha and I were introducing. He said, ‘we needed this training 25 years ago. You should have brought it before the other evangelism methods.’ But I encouraged them, ‘we are also learning; we did not know all this before. But also, you were not ready to hear these things long ago. God has worked in you and prepared you for this time. Remember, we are not here to condemn or destroy the past; rather we are building on what you already know. Now you are hungry for more because your churches need revival and a new challenge for this time.’ To be continued ...