While I was in Kenya, I really missed having friends that I could connect with deeply. Since I came back, I visited AGO (my fraternity) once, and hung out with my old roommate once. It was really nice seeing some of my friends and talking with them...
More and more I'm realizing that I need to do more of that.
These days most of my time is spent in front of my computer either just wasting away or trying to motivate myself to work on some more essays for med school secondary apps. I've been working at a hak-won (tutor place) in Cerritos, which is actually quite fun, but tutoring kids and studying with college classmates just aren't the same (yes, I think group study is fun, yes, I think studying is fun, and yes, I am a nerd).
It's so strange because I never felt so lonely in my life... Ok, I'm not like desperately lonely, but I definitely feel like I'm missing something. And I guess it's people that I love (other than my family, of course). I never realized how much I loved hanging out with friends, although I didn't take them for granted.
I miss my friends...
I don't think I can wait like this until I start making new friends in med school.
Well, it's winter break, and I'm sure someone wouldn't mind hanging out with me. Anyone?
In other news, last week I found out that I won't be going back to Kenya next spring. God seems to have closed the door there. I'm pretty sad especially because I won't be able to see the kids in Lenkijape anymore... I promised them I would bring back photos, too. Well, God is always faithful. When He closes a door, He opens another. Looks like He wants me to go to Haiti this time. It's basically Africa except it's in the Caribbean. So I've started relearning French using a computer program.
I've always wondered why in the world I took French in high school and not Spanish. I was in Japan then, and I didn't know I could be moving to California where Spanish is useful and French is not. Now I'm beginning to think that God lead me to take French because He has a plan for me in Africa. If that's the case, I should seriously start studying French. The trip to Haiti will be in late March, and I may be staying there till end of July. My life would be quite miserable if I'm not prepared... I'm sure it will be a lot more challenging then my trip to Kenya.
Showing posts with label kenya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kenya. Show all posts
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Thursday, November 09, 2006
African Courier #4: Catching Up with Reality
Hujambo!?
That’s one way of saying "How are you?" in Kiswahili. Then you reply "Sijambo!" The other way, which is more common here, is "Habari?" and "Mzuri!"
I can’t believe my first trip to East Africa is almost over! (and that it's already been 4 months since I came!) I’ll be flying out here in two weeks (on Nov. 21), arriving in the cool autumn of Los Angeles (if you can say there is an autumn in SoCal). In my mind, LA is still as hot as I left it in July. And everything else is just frozen the way it was then - school still on vacation, friends still excited about finishing college, and everyone looking forward to a summer filled adventure... It’s a scary thought to see how all my junk (which I left in the living room) got taken care of, and how everything, including family, friends, and church, has changed. I will also be preparing full-on for medical schools (secondary applications and interviews). Soon enough, I will face reality. Not that life in Kenya isn’t a reality. It definitely is! And painfully so!
I say “painfully” because yesterday I was hit with a minor case of flu. I was in bed all day, suffering from severe headache, stomachache, and some fever. Thank God it wasn’t malaria, and that I’m quite better now. As I was cooking my rice porridge for lunch, I couldn’t help but to think how much I need a wife on a foreign mission. Indeed, “It is not good that the man should be alone...” (especially when he’s sick on a mission trip). Anyhow, I’m not advertising for a wife here (and no, I’m not accepting applications or looking for a blind date)... It’s just to describe how bad it was. Seriously though, thank God I’m alive! Mom, please don’t worry. I’m all ok now! But please continue to pray for me.
Speaking of wife, Pastor Eben’s wife delivered their second child today (Nov. 9)! It’s a boy! Pastor Eben is here in Nairobi, but his wife and children (now plural) are in Korea. He seemed very happy and relieved today, especially since the baby was more than a week late and he was getting concerned. He can’t wait to share the news with the whole world (and I guess I’m helping him by writing this).
There’s another thing I want to share with the whole world about Eben...
I was prank-ed big-time on my birthday by Eben and Richard. Well, maybe not that big, but Eben and Richard got me pretty good. It’s a long story (not that long, but too long to spam... err... to put in a newsletter), so if you’re interested, you can read the entry on my blog here: http://doxadeo.blogspot.com/2006/11/doxa-in-kenya-birthday-prank.html
In other news, I’m halfway through with the library. Maybe not so interesting, but so far I’ve recorded about 4200 books on the computer (about 2900 of them were done in the past week). It’s actually quite interesting to go through all the titles (and sub-titles) of the books, but it’s not always fun to work with shelves after shelves of dusty old books. Some of them were eaten up at least 30% by termites, and my hands get pretty gross after handling a few hundred books a day. I just have to look forward to the day it’s done and keep working diligently. Besides, I do have the pressure to finish before I leave.
During my breaks from my work in the dusty dungeon that is the library, I go out to get some fresh air and to observe the new construction on our campus.
Four weeks ago, we started the construction of a new house. It’s been quite interesting to see how they build here. Although I’ve missed some of the process, I got to see and learn about (and take pictures of) many important steps of the construction. Surely I can use some skills in this area as I prepare to become a missionary doctor in a developing country. It’s quite impressive how much Rev. Kim has built during his 17 years of ministry here. God-willing, I hope to build some clinics and hospitals to benefit many people in Africa.
Perhaps as you can see, there aren’t very many exciting/interesting news this month. Mission work isn’t always exciting, but God is surely working. What I mention in my newsletters are only highlights, and the reality is that these are only a glimpse of what we experience here. In other words, things can be quite dull besides what’s mentioned in newsletters. I don’t mean to say that my time here has been boring. Not at all! I’ve enjoyed everyday that I’ve been here (maybe except yesterday when I was sick), whether I’m in Masai or working at BCEA. I just say this because I realize that some people may get newsletters (whether it is from me or some other missionaries) and read about some crazy/amazing stuff going on in the field, and misunderstand that all they read is all that’s happening out there.
The thing is, it’s so easy for the missionaries to over emphasize or exaggerate some seemingly “cool” stuff to make it look like their work is more important or bigger than what it really is. For example, about my mentioning about my flu yesterday, although I’m not exaggerating, you may think that I’m going through such a hard time in Kenya just because I mentioned it. The truth is, I was only sick one day (and I could be just as sick anywhere else in the world), and most of the time I’m actually quite healthy and comfortable. On the other hand, even though I only mentioned a few things in this newsletter (and very few things that I’m actually doing besides observing), I’ve been extremely busy, even as busy as I was in college. I can confidently say that because, while in college I would spend a lot more time on the internet, here I would spend much less time online yet be busy enough to sleep barely 6 hours a day. Both teaching English classes and conducting church choir take a lot of time and energy.
Anyhow, I just wanted you to understand that what I mention in my newsletters are just the things that I think you might be interested in, and there’s a lot more going on out here that can be either boring or exciting to you. Also, I try to present them without exaggerating or over emphasizing. My intention is not to make my life here seem more miserable or interesting than it really is so that you may have sympathy or be moved to give financial support. What God is providing for me right now is sufficient, and I believe that He will always provide. Of course, that doesn’t mean “don’t give any financial support” because I am currently living on the support of some churches in California. If God moves you to give, please give! I just don’t want to be the one convincing/begging you through newsletters, and I shouldn’t be.
God provides, and He is always faithful to provide when I need. In fact, recently I realized that I’ve been quite low on cash ever since the theft two months ago. So I prayed to God to provide, and amazingly enough, someone (I don’t even know who) donated extra money towards my mission fund! I don’t even know how s/he knew about me or why s/he decided to give, but I just know that God works in amazing ways. Praise God!
Now, here’s what you’ve been waiting for. Prayer requests! Please pray for:
· my health. As you already know, I’ve been sick a few times already while living in Africa. And somehow they always involved the stomach. I think I’ll have to get my stomach checked up when I come back to the US. Meanwhile, please continue to pray for my health.
· the travel back home. Not just for me, but several of the faculty at BCEA will be going back home this month. Eben is flying back to Korea on Nov. 20, I’m flying back to the States on Nov. 21, and Richard is flying back to Philippines on Nov. 24. I think Rev. Kim is also flying back to Korea sometime in December. Please pray for safe travel.
· the safety of the community. Last night while in bed, I heard a horrifying yell of a man from the neighbors, dogs barking and rushing towards the noise, and then two gun shots. After a few minutes I heard the police car passing by, and then four more gun shots. No, this is not America, and guns are not legal here. Where do they get guns then, you ask? Why, from the police officers, of course! Hand a few thousand shillings to a cop and you’re ready for an armed robbery for the night. Welcome to Kenya (that’s what Eben would say). Enough said. Please pray for God’s protection from physical harm.
· my medical school applications (plural this time). I’ve started working on some secondary applications for medical schools. They’re not as intense as AMCAS (the first application for all med schools), but a lot of work nonetheless. If anyone wants to proofread/comment on my essays, let me know! Most of them are very short, and won’t take much of your time.
· the library catalogue project. I really need to finish this work before I leave, so that they can start using the new system next term (in January). I won’t be back probably by February or maybe March because of med school interviews, so I need to leave it in good shape. Once I finish this, students will be able to checkout/in books by scanning barcodes (yay for “new” technology!), which is much faster and more efficient than keeping track on notebooks.
· finals. Students at BCEA will be taking finals starting next week through the week after. My English final will be a week from this Friday since I’ll be leaving the next Tuesday. I know most of you reading this are students or teachers, so you know what it means to take a final, so no need to explain the significance of this. Cheating is quite common in schools in Kenya, even here at BCEA. In fact, during the past midterms, one student was caught and was expelled. It seems like it is part of their culture not to take cheating seriously. This cannot be, especially in a Bible College where we want to train honest and sincere ministers.
· the faculty at BCEA (Nairobi & Tanzania), my English classes, the ministries in Masai Land, and whatever I forgot or didn’t mention that needs prayer. I don’t think I need to repeat what I said in my last newsletter. Please continue to pray for them! For those of you who know Pastor Lazarus, his wife is expected to deliver their first baby soon. So please pray for them. Christine is getting married on Nov. 25 at Mombassa, and her fiancé is flying in from Singapore sometime this week or next. Pray for safe travel and the preparation for the wedding.
Thank you again for taking the time to read the newsletter! Sorry there’s no picture this time. But when I come back, I’m sure you’ll see so many that you’ll get sick of them (or just from seeing pictures/videos of dead/dying animals).
God Bless,
SunMin
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com
To subscribe to African Courier Newsletter, visit
http://groups.google.com/group/african-courier/
Doxa in Kenya: The Birthday Prank
This one is almost a month old already, but it’s worth writing about.
So my 23rd birthday passed last month (Oct. 14). It was quite different from any of my previous ones, besides the fact that my older brother, who shares the same birthday, wasn’t there. I think I’ve celebrated my birthday without my older brother only once before this one.
I usually don’t start out my birthday thinking, “Yes! It’s my birthday today!” Especially this time, since my mind was preoccupied with something else. That morning I was looking for my jeans which had been missing since it was last washed. It had been a while since I saw it hanging for it to be dried, and that morning I saw that it was gone. So I asked Joy the housekeeper, and she told me she thought I took it down. When I asked Richard, my next-door neighbor, he told me that sometimes things go missing around here, but that they usually come back. So I’m like, Great...
Later that morning, Mrs. Kim invited the three “bachelors” (Richard, Eben, and I) for lunch. I didn’t realize that it was my birthday until Eben exclaimed, “Oh, I see! you prepared lunch for us because it’s SunMin’s birthday!” So apparently Eben had forgotten that it was my birthday, which was no big deal since I don’t expect anyone other than my family to remember that. Mrs. Kim seemed surprised, saying, “How could you forget?”
When we finished eating lunch (which was amazing, kalbi-tang and all), Eben told me that he’ll make a “Queen’s cake” for my birthday (which is just a muffin). He pulled out a muffin (seemingly out of nowhere), and started putting match sticks on it... 23 of them! Of course, we couldn’t light them all because as soon as one was lit it would burst out some flame and die in a few seconds, or get too hot to get near it. Anyhow, they sang happy birthday to me over a small muffin with a flame on top.
Now, I thought that was funny enough. After the song, Mrs. Kim gave me some presents, which turned out to be a Tupperware full of kimchi (yes!) and another Tupperware with dried squid in Korean spice (double yes!). Then Eben brought out a big box wrapped in newspaper. So he didn’t forget that it was my birthday after all! Hmm, something is fishy here, I thought (besides the actual food). When I opened it, I saw a nice yellow shirt, a pair of socks, an underwear (what?), and a pair of jeans... And they were all mine!!! No wonder where my jeans went! They were all tagged as if to seem like they were brand new. Also in the box was my phone from the States (which I can’t use here because it uses embedded SIM card), and on it Eben and Richard had recorded some videos of them singing happy birthday and putting tags on my cloths (for some reason Richard had kept a bunch of clothe tags from the Philippines in his room).
Then after that, they brought out a real cake, a chocolate flavored one with “HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUNMIN” in icing. I guess that was the nice part.
Man, we laughed so hard! I hadn’t laughed like that for so long. It was all Eben’s idea (yes, I know he got them from his friends when they tricked him the same way). Anyway, I had a real good birthday. Thanks guys! I need to do it to one of my friends one day.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
African Courier #3: On the Other Side of Academia
Jambo!
I know I said the third newsletter was coming soon. And that was already two weeks ago. But you see, in Africa (and perhaps in your country, too) "soon" can mean anything between a few minutes to a few years, especially in restaurants, as I found out the hard way.
Anyhow, here are some of the things that have happened since my last update:
· At the end of August, we had a pastor's conference at BCEA Kenya. About 200 African pastors attended the conference. I attended some of the sessions and learned some good lessons on the Bible, many of which I never knew. I also got to learn some of the Fundamentalist perspective of Christianity. Lots of good stuff. The main speaker was Dr. Jeffery Khoo from Far Eastern Bible College (Singapore).
· Beginning of September, we opened the new Bible college in Arusha, Tanzania. Day after the opening ceremony, I went with Dr. Gary Johnson to a local church surrounded by a thick forest of banana trees. I got to share of my testimony, and Dr. Johnson preached. At the end of service three ladies came to Christ! The amazing thing was that these ladies had been going to church for at least 10 years, and had never before prayed to receive Christ! Praise God for giving us such an amazing opportunity to serve Him.
· A lot of my money was stolen at a hotel in Tanzania. It was a big mistake to leave my pouch in my hotel room. Probably while I was eating dinner, a hotel worker unlocked the door and took the money from the pouch, leaving the room as if no one had entered. I didn’t realize until I was back in Nairobi that my money was gone. So I actually don’t know for certain when or where the money was stolen.
· I got infected by some round worms. Soon after I came back from Masai Land, I was having some periodic gastric (and gas) problems. I got a chance to go to Dr. Johnson’s clinic in Kitui one day and got myself checked for parasites. When we looked at my stool sample stained with iodine under the microscope, lo and behold, there were some fertilized ascaris eggs! (I think I got infected when I drank water from a boma in Lenkijape. They get water by digging the sand in a dried-up river) At Dr. Johnson’s clinic, I bought some mebendazole and ketrax (sp?) along with some medicine for my shoulder (I landed on my right shoulder in a bicycle accident in Lenkijape). All of it cost only Ksh50 (~$0.70). What a steal! Dr. Johnson invited me to spend some time at his clinic so that I can learn some tropical medicine. I’ll probably go sometime next year. I’m really looking forward to that.
· I've been teaching two English classes at BCEA. One is for foreigners (Sudanese, Congolese, etc.) who don't speak English very well, and the other is for mostly Kenyans who've finished up to secondary school (equivalent of high school). It's been a challenge especially teaching the "beginner" class, since English is a foreign language to them. Sometimes I use a bit of French that I learned in high school to teach them English (Congolese speak French). It’s been encouraging to see many of the students improve.
· I’ve been conducting the church English choir. The church at BCEA has two choirs: Kiswahili Choir and English Choir. Since Rev. Kim’s daughter (who plays piano for English choir) left for seminary in California, Eben (who conducts the choir) now plays the piano, and I’m conducting. It’s been really fun trying to teach them vocal techniques that I’ve been learning since 10 years ago. It’s so cool to see them improve. They’re starting to read the notes and are making a lot less mistakes than when they started. It’s a huge challenge though, because they are used to singing African music (and hymns in Kiswahili often have different tune than the original). Although we may never sound like UCLA Chorale, it’s a fruitful work.
· I became a vegetarian. Ok, I’m just kidding. But I caught your attention, didn’t I? I’ve been cooking a lot since I have to prepare every meal myself. I just decided to cook only vegetables so I can eat a lot and not worry about getting fat (and being accused of causing starvation in Africa when I come back to the States). I’ve learned to cook a variety of dishes (thanks to the Internet). Mom, you’ll be proud when you sees all the pictures of the food that I cooked! Sometimes Mrs. Kim invites me over to her place for food, and once in a while the three “bachelors” (Richard, Eben, and I) do a potluck (other two are married, but their wives are out of the country). I eat a lot of meat then, so I can handle not eating meat often.
· I’m almost done with my medical school application. I finally finished writing the first draft of my personal statement, which was the last thing I had left to do. If you have some spare time and want to proof read/revise/butcher it, let me know and I’ll send you my latest draft. The deadline is October 15, so I need to finalize it very soon.
Ok, as a reward for those that read this far, I’ve finally posted some pictures online and you can see them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/doxadeo
Well, maybe not a reward since it was actually up three weeks ago, but if you don’t check my blog often, you probably haven’t seen it yet. Warning!: there are some pictures of dead animals (chicken and goat)! Just don’t click on the thumbnail if you see it. Feel free to leave some comments on the pictures! I might upload some more pics depending on your feedback.
Finally, some prayer requests. Please pray for:
· my medicals school application. I’m applying quite late (close to deadline), and it’s a disadvantage with schools that have rolling admission (which is most of the non-top-tier schools). Even after submitting this application, there’s still a lot more to do (secondary apps for each school, interviews, getting letters of recommendation, etc.). I really need God’s guidance on this matter.
· my health. I think all the parasites are gone now (except for mosquitoes... but they don’t have malaria in Nairobi). I haven’t had much stomach problem since I took the medicine other than when I used some really old kimchi water for cooking. I haven’t slept much the last couple days trying to finish my med school apps. So please pray that I can manage my health more carefully.
· my English classes. I don’t take the responsibility of teaching English lightly, especially when I’m teaching the future pastors and evangelists. Please pray that God will give me patience and wisdom to teach effectively.
· the library catalogue project. This is my biggest project that I need to finish before I go back to the US. I’ve figured out how to use the program, but I haven’t had much chance to enter the information of books on the computer. Please pray that I can work efficiently and that I’ll be able to finish the task I’m given.
· midterms. No, I’m not taking any midterms (thank God). Remember I’m on the other side of academia now. In fact I’m making midterms (ugh!). The students are taking the midterms next week. Some students have been doing very poorly that they were asked to leave (also because they couldn’t pay school fees). So please pray for the students.
· the faculty of BCEA. Recently we’ve had some trouble with one of the faculties in BCEA Tanzania. He had been AWOL for three weeks, causing burden on other faculties there. The students in Tanzania are doing wonderfully, but it seems that we don’t have enough teachers. Also pray for the faculty in BCEA Kenya. Rev. Kim is always working very hard even though his health conditions has not been at its best for a while.
· the ministries in Masai Land. Please continue to pray for both Kiluani and Lenkijape. We’ve finally resolved some land issues in Kiluani, but a lot of work needs to be done to mend the relation between the secondary school and the clinic/church. Last Sunday, 9 of our church members visited the church in Lenkijape for some one-day mission. I don’t know the details yet, but keep them in your prayers (especially if you’ve been there. Hey there, London Team!)
· whatever I forgot or didn’t mention that needs prayer. There’s always a lot to pray for here in Africa. Please remember us!
Thanks for taking the time to read the news letter! I would love to hear what’s been going on in your life if you care to share them. Best wishes to those who have stared going to school!
God Bless,
SunMin
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com
To subscribe to African Courier Newsletter, visit http://groups.google.com/group/african-courier/
I know I said the third newsletter was coming soon. And that was already two weeks ago. But you see, in Africa (and perhaps in your country, too) "soon" can mean anything between a few minutes to a few years, especially in restaurants, as I found out the hard way.
Anyhow, here are some of the things that have happened since my last update:
· At the end of August, we had a pastor's conference at BCEA Kenya. About 200 African pastors attended the conference. I attended some of the sessions and learned some good lessons on the Bible, many of which I never knew. I also got to learn some of the Fundamentalist perspective of Christianity. Lots of good stuff. The main speaker was Dr. Jeffery Khoo from Far Eastern Bible College (Singapore).
· Beginning of September, we opened the new Bible college in Arusha, Tanzania. Day after the opening ceremony, I went with Dr. Gary Johnson to a local church surrounded by a thick forest of banana trees. I got to share of my testimony, and Dr. Johnson preached. At the end of service three ladies came to Christ! The amazing thing was that these ladies had been going to church for at least 10 years, and had never before prayed to receive Christ! Praise God for giving us such an amazing opportunity to serve Him.
· A lot of my money was stolen at a hotel in Tanzania. It was a big mistake to leave my pouch in my hotel room. Probably while I was eating dinner, a hotel worker unlocked the door and took the money from the pouch, leaving the room as if no one had entered. I didn’t realize until I was back in Nairobi that my money was gone. So I actually don’t know for certain when or where the money was stolen.
· I got infected by some round worms. Soon after I came back from Masai Land, I was having some periodic gastric (and gas) problems. I got a chance to go to Dr. Johnson’s clinic in Kitui one day and got myself checked for parasites. When we looked at my stool sample stained with iodine under the microscope, lo and behold, there were some fertilized ascaris eggs! (I think I got infected when I drank water from a boma in Lenkijape. They get water by digging the sand in a dried-up river) At Dr. Johnson’s clinic, I bought some mebendazole and ketrax (sp?) along with some medicine for my shoulder (I landed on my right shoulder in a bicycle accident in Lenkijape). All of it cost only Ksh50 (~$0.70). What a steal! Dr. Johnson invited me to spend some time at his clinic so that I can learn some tropical medicine. I’ll probably go sometime next year. I’m really looking forward to that.
· I've been teaching two English classes at BCEA. One is for foreigners (Sudanese, Congolese, etc.) who don't speak English very well, and the other is for mostly Kenyans who've finished up to secondary school (equivalent of high school). It's been a challenge especially teaching the "beginner" class, since English is a foreign language to them. Sometimes I use a bit of French that I learned in high school to teach them English (Congolese speak French). It’s been encouraging to see many of the students improve.
· I’ve been conducting the church English choir. The church at BCEA has two choirs: Kiswahili Choir and English Choir. Since Rev. Kim’s daughter (who plays piano for English choir) left for seminary in California, Eben (who conducts the choir) now plays the piano, and I’m conducting. It’s been really fun trying to teach them vocal techniques that I’ve been learning since 10 years ago. It’s so cool to see them improve. They’re starting to read the notes and are making a lot less mistakes than when they started. It’s a huge challenge though, because they are used to singing African music (and hymns in Kiswahili often have different tune than the original). Although we may never sound like UCLA Chorale, it’s a fruitful work.
· I became a vegetarian. Ok, I’m just kidding. But I caught your attention, didn’t I? I’ve been cooking a lot since I have to prepare every meal myself. I just decided to cook only vegetables so I can eat a lot and not worry about getting fat (and being accused of causing starvation in Africa when I come back to the States). I’ve learned to cook a variety of dishes (thanks to the Internet). Mom, you’ll be proud when you sees all the pictures of the food that I cooked! Sometimes Mrs. Kim invites me over to her place for food, and once in a while the three “bachelors” (Richard, Eben, and I) do a potluck (other two are married, but their wives are out of the country). I eat a lot of meat then, so I can handle not eating meat often.
· I’m almost done with my medical school application. I finally finished writing the first draft of my personal statement, which was the last thing I had left to do. If you have some spare time and want to proof read/revise/butcher it, let me know and I’ll send you my latest draft. The deadline is October 15, so I need to finalize it very soon.
Ok, as a reward for those that read this far, I’ve finally posted some pictures online and you can see them here: http://picasaweb.google.com/doxadeo
Well, maybe not a reward since it was actually up three weeks ago, but if you don’t check my blog often, you probably haven’t seen it yet. Warning!: there are some pictures of dead animals (chicken and goat)! Just don’t click on the thumbnail if you see it. Feel free to leave some comments on the pictures! I might upload some more pics depending on your feedback.
Finally, some prayer requests. Please pray for:
· my medicals school application. I’m applying quite late (close to deadline), and it’s a disadvantage with schools that have rolling admission (which is most of the non-top-tier schools). Even after submitting this application, there’s still a lot more to do (secondary apps for each school, interviews, getting letters of recommendation, etc.). I really need God’s guidance on this matter.
· my health. I think all the parasites are gone now (except for mosquitoes... but they don’t have malaria in Nairobi). I haven’t had much stomach problem since I took the medicine other than when I used some really old kimchi water for cooking. I haven’t slept much the last couple days trying to finish my med school apps. So please pray that I can manage my health more carefully.
· my English classes. I don’t take the responsibility of teaching English lightly, especially when I’m teaching the future pastors and evangelists. Please pray that God will give me patience and wisdom to teach effectively.
· the library catalogue project. This is my biggest project that I need to finish before I go back to the US. I’ve figured out how to use the program, but I haven’t had much chance to enter the information of books on the computer. Please pray that I can work efficiently and that I’ll be able to finish the task I’m given.
· midterms. No, I’m not taking any midterms (thank God). Remember I’m on the other side of academia now. In fact I’m making midterms (ugh!). The students are taking the midterms next week. Some students have been doing very poorly that they were asked to leave (also because they couldn’t pay school fees). So please pray for the students.
· the faculty of BCEA. Recently we’ve had some trouble with one of the faculties in BCEA Tanzania. He had been AWOL for three weeks, causing burden on other faculties there. The students in Tanzania are doing wonderfully, but it seems that we don’t have enough teachers. Also pray for the faculty in BCEA Kenya. Rev. Kim is always working very hard even though his health conditions has not been at its best for a while.
· the ministries in Masai Land. Please continue to pray for both Kiluani and Lenkijape. We’ve finally resolved some land issues in Kiluani, but a lot of work needs to be done to mend the relation between the secondary school and the clinic/church. Last Sunday, 9 of our church members visited the church in Lenkijape for some one-day mission. I don’t know the details yet, but keep them in your prayers (especially if you’ve been there. Hey there, London Team!)
· whatever I forgot or didn’t mention that needs prayer. There’s always a lot to pray for here in Africa. Please remember us!
Thanks for taking the time to read the news letter! I would love to hear what’s been going on in your life if you care to share them. Best wishes to those who have stared going to school!
God Bless,
SunMin
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com
To subscribe to African Courier Newsletter, visit http://groups.google.com/group/african-courier/
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Lenkijape Diaries: August 1 to 3
Here are some of the long awaited journal entries that I wrote while living in Lenkijape. I actually wrote them in a notebook with a pen. (Continuing from July 31)
Under the Candle Light
Tuesday, August 1. Lenkijape.
I finally got in touch with Eben. I called him when he was I Kenya coming from Tanzania. He was on his way to Kiluani, so they came soon after I called. As PuiMeng and I suspected, they thought I was already in Lenkijape, so they went there instead of Kiluani. It was my bad because I didn't communicate with them beforehand. Anyhow, they came to Kiluani with some missionary team from Korea. They didn't have time to take me to Kenkijape, so they took me and Pastor Stephen to Mile-Tisa, a little village on the main road that is closest to Lenkijape. From there we had to find a "taxi."
We had to go quite far from the main road. The barabara ("road" in Kiswahili) was very bumpy. Good thing we were on a big 4WD pickup truck. After we arrived, we had some chai with the pastor here (David Aluvisia), the chairman of the church and primary school (Jonathan Larmoi), the headmaster of the school (John Solonik), and one of the teachers (Shadrak Kaliti). Then I visited the school, talked with the headmaster, and helped pastor Aluvisia with recording grades. They had just finished the exams for the trimester, so they were adding up the scores and ranking the students. We took about an hour to do something I could have done in 8 minutes on Excel... 6 minutes entering data, 1 minute calculating and sorting, 1 minute formatting and printing. Instead, we used paper, pencil, calculator, and carbon paper. After that, I joined the students playing volleyball from a few minutes before they were dismissed for the day. They are closing the school on Thursday.
I got to talk with the pastor for a while. It seems like that's what I do most of the time nowadays, talk with pastors. Pastor David is a bit quiet and not so playful as pastor Stephen, even though he's only 2 years older than Pastor Stephen who is 33.
Pastor David's wife is gone home till Thursday, so there were a few girls from school cooking for us. We had some rice, chapati, cabbage and potato, and some goat meat (they just call it "meat" here). They were so much better than Isaiah's cooking... If Isaiah opened a restaurant in the US, he'll probably get a health inspection grade of "F," while the girls here (who are still in class 6 or 7 in primary school, but mostly at age of about 17) would get at least a "C."
After dinner, I talked with some of the boys who live at the compound. They asked me a lot of science questions to see if I knew them. One of them, Benson, is 21, and he is in class 7. He has 2 wives, 2 children, and 200 cattle. He used to be a moran (Masai soldier) like all the boy were traditionally. After getting married, he decided to get educated so that he could be a soldier. He also seemed quite interested in studying at BCEA. It's intriguing to see people like Benson who is already an adult going through primary school.
So here in Lenkijape, there is no electricity, so I'm writing this on paper under a candle light. I bought only 6 candles but too many matches. Judging by how fast the candles are melting (I'm using 3 right now since 1 is not bright enough), they not going to last more than a week. I must get more soon. I'm planning to go to Nairobi on Friday. PuiMeng is supposed to pick me up at Mile-Tisa at 7:30AM.
Next week, all the teachers are going to Masai mara for a safari tour for 3-4 days. The pastor had talked with them beforehand so that I could join them (he is also one of the teachers). So I'm really looking forward to that.
Tomorrow, we have "Morning Glory" (morning prayer) at 5am. Then I'll be going to a fellowship in the afternoon.
I guess I'll sleep now (11:20pm). I'm staying at one of the rooms in the church building next to the pastor's bedroom. Apparently some of the guys from the London team stayed here a few weeks ago.
Taking a “Shower” for the First Time
Wednesday, August 2.
The first three candles have already gone out. They were too short that I could not see the notebook, so I put the last three candles.
The day started out with morning prayer at 5am. Since there is no electricity, people just came in to the sanctuary and prayed out loud. Some people sang a few choruses in (I think it was) Kimasai. After an hour of prayer (although I was dozing off for the most part), we had a cup of tea and some chapati (leftovers from last night) for breakfast.
Three of the headmaster's children (Alex, Grace, and Samuel) stay with the pastor during the week because their home is in Mile-Tisa, which is too far for the children to travel everyday. I went to the school with the pastor well after the kids went. The school is right across the street from the church. Students were basically cleaning the school (or just playing) all day. I got to talk with one of the youngest teachers, Johnstone Keton (23), for a while, and learned a bit more about Maasai culture and Kenya.
At 3pm, Jacob Kila, Mark (brother to Rachel, one of the girls who cooked last night) and I walked over to a church member’s house for a fellowship. Kila and Mark are 17 and 16, respectively (I think), but are still in classes 8 and 7 because they started school late. In traditional Maasai homes, looking after cattle takes precedence over education, so they make their firstborns learn to take care of livestock while they send the younger ones to school. So both of the boys who were with me today have younger brothers who are already in secondary school. We walked for about 40 minutes and finally arrived at a boma. Usually the pastor leads the fellowship, but today he was busy, so Kila shared some words and Mark translated for me.
On the way back, we dropped by the place where people get water. It’s basically where the river ends and the water drains. The river is all dried up right now, but they say it was filled in April. People were digging the mud and scooping sandy water into reused plastic bottles. The bottles weren’t even those clear plastic bottles used for water. They were those opaque bottles used for cooking oil or engine oil. These people really know how to recycle. I can’t even imagine drinking that water, but apparently they wait for the sand/debris to settle and drink the top layer. I suppose it’s the same water we have in the tank outside of church right now. There’s no running water in Lenkijape, so people have to carry it.
During our journey to fellowship, I got to meet a moran for the first time. He’s actually a brother of Kila, so I got to take a picture with him. He was only a little kid. But boys can because a moran as soon as they are circumcised (usually around 13).
After the long trip, I decided to take a shower for the first time (I don’t know if you would call it shower though). I heard that the London Team, while they were staying here, didn’t shower even once because they had people carry water for them, and didn’t want to waste it. Since I’m staying here for a while, I figured I’d get used to their way of taking a bath. Now that I’ve taken it, I’m thinking there might have been more reasons than just the shortage of water that the London Team didn’t take a shower for a whole week.
Imagine you’re in a booth made of iron sheets and wood. It’s dimensions are about 4ft x 4ft x 7ft, about the size of a telephone booth, except a bit smaller. The floor is made of cement, and has one small hole for a drain. You carry in a big basin with some water, some soap, shampoo, and a shower scrub. There is a metal wire going across at your eye level, so you hang your towel and clothes. Just after you’ve taken off all your clothes, you realize you didn’t bring a clean pair of underwear. But you decide to proceed with the bath. You crouch down to the basin and start wetting your hair. Then you notice the smell from the toilet which is right behind the iron sheet. You figure that you could cover up the smell when you use the shampoo. Note that toilets here are just a hole in the ground surrounded by walls made of iron sheets. The waste goes down the hole and just sits in a deep pit down below, so the smell is quite interesting. You don’t have any scooper, so you use your soapy hands to scoop up some water to rinse your hair. The water in the basin is already whitish, but you figure it’s just some shampoo. There’s hardly any light in the booth. There are a few small holes that let light in from the outside, but the sun is already behind a hill, and it’s starting to get dark very quickly. You wash your face and soap up the body, but all you can see is a silhouette of yourself, and you can’t tell how much soap is still on you. You feel some grainy things on your arms, but since you can’t see them, you have no idea what they are. You just try to rinse them off with your hands. Then you start to rinse the rest of the body by scooping water with your hands, but without much success. So you dump the rest of the water in the basin on the top of your head as the last-ditch effort. Perhaps it was a success, but you don’t know because it’s too dark. Besides, by now you don’t really care. You just try to dry off as much as you can with the towel. Since you don’t have a clean pair of underwear, you just wrap the towel around your waist, put on a shirt, and walk back to your room hoping no one will see you.
So that was my experience taking a bath here for the first time.
Now I must sleep. I’m so tired...
Closing Ceremony and Wild Chicken
Thursday, August 3.
I really should be sleeping now but I’ll just briefly summarize what happened today.
The primary school closed today. The closing ceremony was super long. Everyone was ranked among their classes, and teachers and parents spoke about I-have-no-idea-what. They all spoke in Kimasai, so I couldn’t understand anything. Alex and Grace were both the top of their classes (5th and 3rd grades, respectively).
Afterwards, two of the girls who were cooking for us (Leah and Ruth), Kancholi, and Joshua taught me some Kimasai. Now I can count up to 10,000 in Kimasai. Well, I still need my notes though. Maasai people use a sign language for numbers (as well as words), which I though was quite interesting. It’s not just the deaf of the mute that learn the sign language, but basically everyone knows how to say a number in sign language.
Pastor bought a guinea fowl for dinner. I got to see it being slaughtered. It was the weirdest thing ever. When Pastor cut its neck, it didn’t seem to resist at all, but right after the head fell off, the body started to go berserk, and the head was still moving! The eyes were blinking and the beak was moving. The body kept twitching for at least another 2 minutes. Guinea fowls make me think of dinosaurs. They have a horn-like head, and their skin is blue. The meat was the toughest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.
Nothing much happens around here. So slaughtering a bird is an event. Tomorrow, Pastor and I are going to Nairobi. We have to get picked up by PuiMeng at 7:30am at Mile-Tisa. So I must get up early and get ready.
Under the Candle Light
Tuesday, August 1. Lenkijape.
I finally got in touch with Eben. I called him when he was I Kenya coming from Tanzania. He was on his way to Kiluani, so they came soon after I called. As PuiMeng and I suspected, they thought I was already in Lenkijape, so they went there instead of Kiluani. It was my bad because I didn't communicate with them beforehand. Anyhow, they came to Kiluani with some missionary team from Korea. They didn't have time to take me to Kenkijape, so they took me and Pastor Stephen to Mile-Tisa, a little village on the main road that is closest to Lenkijape. From there we had to find a "taxi."
We had to go quite far from the main road. The barabara ("road" in Kiswahili) was very bumpy. Good thing we were on a big 4WD pickup truck. After we arrived, we had some chai with the pastor here (David Aluvisia), the chairman of the church and primary school (Jonathan Larmoi), the headmaster of the school (John Solonik), and one of the teachers (Shadrak Kaliti). Then I visited the school, talked with the headmaster, and helped pastor Aluvisia with recording grades. They had just finished the exams for the trimester, so they were adding up the scores and ranking the students. We took about an hour to do something I could have done in 8 minutes on Excel... 6 minutes entering data, 1 minute calculating and sorting, 1 minute formatting and printing. Instead, we used paper, pencil, calculator, and carbon paper. After that, I joined the students playing volleyball from a few minutes before they were dismissed for the day. They are closing the school on Thursday.
I got to talk with the pastor for a while. It seems like that's what I do most of the time nowadays, talk with pastors. Pastor David is a bit quiet and not so playful as pastor Stephen, even though he's only 2 years older than Pastor Stephen who is 33.
Pastor David's wife is gone home till Thursday, so there were a few girls from school cooking for us. We had some rice, chapati, cabbage and potato, and some goat meat (they just call it "meat" here). They were so much better than Isaiah's cooking... If Isaiah opened a restaurant in the US, he'll probably get a health inspection grade of "F," while the girls here (who are still in class 6 or 7 in primary school, but mostly at age of about 17) would get at least a "C."
After dinner, I talked with some of the boys who live at the compound. They asked me a lot of science questions to see if I knew them. One of them, Benson, is 21, and he is in class 7. He has 2 wives, 2 children, and 200 cattle. He used to be a moran (Masai soldier) like all the boy were traditionally. After getting married, he decided to get educated so that he could be a soldier. He also seemed quite interested in studying at BCEA. It's intriguing to see people like Benson who is already an adult going through primary school.
So here in Lenkijape, there is no electricity, so I'm writing this on paper under a candle light. I bought only 6 candles but too many matches. Judging by how fast the candles are melting (I'm using 3 right now since 1 is not bright enough), they not going to last more than a week. I must get more soon. I'm planning to go to Nairobi on Friday. PuiMeng is supposed to pick me up at Mile-Tisa at 7:30AM.
Next week, all the teachers are going to Masai mara for a safari tour for 3-4 days. The pastor had talked with them beforehand so that I could join them (he is also one of the teachers). So I'm really looking forward to that.
Tomorrow, we have "Morning Glory" (morning prayer) at 5am. Then I'll be going to a fellowship in the afternoon.
I guess I'll sleep now (11:20pm). I'm staying at one of the rooms in the church building next to the pastor's bedroom. Apparently some of the guys from the London team stayed here a few weeks ago.
Taking a “Shower” for the First Time
Wednesday, August 2.
The first three candles have already gone out. They were too short that I could not see the notebook, so I put the last three candles.
The day started out with morning prayer at 5am. Since there is no electricity, people just came in to the sanctuary and prayed out loud. Some people sang a few choruses in (I think it was) Kimasai. After an hour of prayer (although I was dozing off for the most part), we had a cup of tea and some chapati (leftovers from last night) for breakfast.
Three of the headmaster's children (Alex, Grace, and Samuel) stay with the pastor during the week because their home is in Mile-Tisa, which is too far for the children to travel everyday. I went to the school with the pastor well after the kids went. The school is right across the street from the church. Students were basically cleaning the school (or just playing) all day. I got to talk with one of the youngest teachers, Johnstone Keton (23), for a while, and learned a bit more about Maasai culture and Kenya.
At 3pm, Jacob Kila, Mark (brother to Rachel, one of the girls who cooked last night) and I walked over to a church member’s house for a fellowship. Kila and Mark are 17 and 16, respectively (I think), but are still in classes 8 and 7 because they started school late. In traditional Maasai homes, looking after cattle takes precedence over education, so they make their firstborns learn to take care of livestock while they send the younger ones to school. So both of the boys who were with me today have younger brothers who are already in secondary school. We walked for about 40 minutes and finally arrived at a boma. Usually the pastor leads the fellowship, but today he was busy, so Kila shared some words and Mark translated for me.
On the way back, we dropped by the place where people get water. It’s basically where the river ends and the water drains. The river is all dried up right now, but they say it was filled in April. People were digging the mud and scooping sandy water into reused plastic bottles. The bottles weren’t even those clear plastic bottles used for water. They were those opaque bottles used for cooking oil or engine oil. These people really know how to recycle. I can’t even imagine drinking that water, but apparently they wait for the sand/debris to settle and drink the top layer. I suppose it’s the same water we have in the tank outside of church right now. There’s no running water in Lenkijape, so people have to carry it.
During our journey to fellowship, I got to meet a moran for the first time. He’s actually a brother of Kila, so I got to take a picture with him. He was only a little kid. But boys can because a moran as soon as they are circumcised (usually around 13).
After the long trip, I decided to take a shower for the first time (I don’t know if you would call it shower though). I heard that the London Team, while they were staying here, didn’t shower even once because they had people carry water for them, and didn’t want to waste it. Since I’m staying here for a while, I figured I’d get used to their way of taking a bath. Now that I’ve taken it, I’m thinking there might have been more reasons than just the shortage of water that the London Team didn’t take a shower for a whole week.
Imagine you’re in a booth made of iron sheets and wood. It’s dimensions are about 4ft x 4ft x 7ft, about the size of a telephone booth, except a bit smaller. The floor is made of cement, and has one small hole for a drain. You carry in a big basin with some water, some soap, shampoo, and a shower scrub. There is a metal wire going across at your eye level, so you hang your towel and clothes. Just after you’ve taken off all your clothes, you realize you didn’t bring a clean pair of underwear. But you decide to proceed with the bath. You crouch down to the basin and start wetting your hair. Then you notice the smell from the toilet which is right behind the iron sheet. You figure that you could cover up the smell when you use the shampoo. Note that toilets here are just a hole in the ground surrounded by walls made of iron sheets. The waste goes down the hole and just sits in a deep pit down below, so the smell is quite interesting. You don’t have any scooper, so you use your soapy hands to scoop up some water to rinse your hair. The water in the basin is already whitish, but you figure it’s just some shampoo. There’s hardly any light in the booth. There are a few small holes that let light in from the outside, but the sun is already behind a hill, and it’s starting to get dark very quickly. You wash your face and soap up the body, but all you can see is a silhouette of yourself, and you can’t tell how much soap is still on you. You feel some grainy things on your arms, but since you can’t see them, you have no idea what they are. You just try to rinse them off with your hands. Then you start to rinse the rest of the body by scooping water with your hands, but without much success. So you dump the rest of the water in the basin on the top of your head as the last-ditch effort. Perhaps it was a success, but you don’t know because it’s too dark. Besides, by now you don’t really care. You just try to dry off as much as you can with the towel. Since you don’t have a clean pair of underwear, you just wrap the towel around your waist, put on a shirt, and walk back to your room hoping no one will see you.
So that was my experience taking a bath here for the first time.
Now I must sleep. I’m so tired...
Closing Ceremony and Wild Chicken
Thursday, August 3.
I really should be sleeping now but I’ll just briefly summarize what happened today.
The primary school closed today. The closing ceremony was super long. Everyone was ranked among their classes, and teachers and parents spoke about I-have-no-idea-what. They all spoke in Kimasai, so I couldn’t understand anything. Alex and Grace were both the top of their classes (5th and 3rd grades, respectively).
Afterwards, two of the girls who were cooking for us (Leah and Ruth), Kancholi, and Joshua taught me some Kimasai. Now I can count up to 10,000 in Kimasai. Well, I still need my notes though. Maasai people use a sign language for numbers (as well as words), which I though was quite interesting. It’s not just the deaf of the mute that learn the sign language, but basically everyone knows how to say a number in sign language.
Pastor bought a guinea fowl for dinner. I got to see it being slaughtered. It was the weirdest thing ever. When Pastor cut its neck, it didn’t seem to resist at all, but right after the head fell off, the body started to go berserk, and the head was still moving! The eyes were blinking and the beak was moving. The body kept twitching for at least another 2 minutes. Guinea fowls make me think of dinosaurs. They have a horn-like head, and their skin is blue. The meat was the toughest thing I’ve ever eaten in my life.
Nothing much happens around here. So slaughtering a bird is an event. Tomorrow, Pastor and I are going to Nairobi. We have to get picked up by PuiMeng at 7:30am at Mile-Tisa. So I must get up early and get ready.
Doxa in Kenya: Work of the Holy Spirit in Tanzania
Wednesday, September 6. Nairobi.
I feel like it's been quite a while since I wrote an entry, but my last
entry was only 5 days ago. I guess compared to the past 6 weeks, when I
wrote an entry almost every day (with pencil and paper), 5 days without
journaling seems like a long time.
Anyhow, let me talk a little more about Tanzania. Originally, I was going
back to Nairobi on Saturday, but I stayed in Tanzania for another day due to
last minute changes.
The opening ceremony was quite nice, even though none of the buildings were
complete. We have a church building, the main school building, dormitory,
cafeteria, and a guest house. Apparently the workers kept saying there's no
problem, but they were very slow. According to the contract, they were
supposed to have finished 3 weeks ago, so we could start working on interior
design. But I guess that's what happens with all construction. UCLA
construction hardly ever finish on schedule either. But then I think the
scale is quite different in Tanzania. The workers don't seem to feel any
pressure even when they are told that they need to hurry up. Not only they
are very slow, they don't really listen to directions. Pastor Lazarus drew a
model of the main gate for the college just like the one we have in Nairobi.
He showed it to the main fundi (general term for worker, repairer, etc.),
but the fundi didn't follow the order at all. Instead he made a really
crappy-looking gate that was even crooked. I think he was so ashamed of
himself that he didn't even come to the opening ceremony. He should have
been recognized for the work that he'd dome so far, at least. I guess he
knows what he has done (or what he didn't do and should have done).
We had a contract with another fundi earlier, but one day he decided to run
away with all the money. So we had to make a new contract with the current
fundi to build the school. Then a while ago the first fundi came back and
told us that he will sue us because we've hired a new fundi while we had a
contract with him. Quite ridiculous, isn't it? He was the one who broke the
contract and took all the money in the first place! But this is only
something that I heard from someone. So I don't know much about it. The best
thing to do is just let him sue us. In reality, he's not going to. He said
he'll sue us only because he hoped we'd feel threatened and just give him
some money. So I'm sure he's disappointed that we're not doing anything to
respond to his threat.
On Sunday, those who were remaining in Tanzania split up and went to several
churches to preach. I went to a church with Dr. Gary Johnson and Rev. Peter
Elibariki. The church was located on a hill, and literally, if the land was
not occupied by a building or a road, it was packed with banana trees and
coffee plants. The church building was not even complete but they've been
building it for at least 6 years. It's because they build it using money
from the offering, but people here really don't have much money. So they
save little by little and build bit by bit. I was actually quite impressed
by how they did it, because they've done so much with the little they have,
even though it took so long.
Before Dr. Johnson gave the sermon, I got to share a little bit of my
testimony. I told the congregation about how God brought me to Kenya and
helped me to cope with the life in Masai Land for 5 weeks. I encouraged them
to do everything for God's Glory (1 Cor. 10:31). Then Dr. Johnson preached
from Philemon. He talked about how Paul wrote a letter to Philemon telling
him to forgive Onesimus, and how Jesus intercedes for us. He asked the
congregation if anyone has not yet received Jesus as Lord and Savior. Nobody
raised their hands or anything, but something really cool happened. The
choir started singing after the sermon, and during the song, an old lady
came up to the front and told the pastor that she wanted to pray to receive
Christ. So Dr. Johnson went up to her and started talking to her. While he
was talking to her, two more ladies came up and did the same! From what I
understand, Dr. Johnson made sure they understood what they were doing, and
that they did not pray to receive Christ before. What's really amazing is
that these women have been going to church for at least 15 years, and have
never prayed the sinner's prayer! It was truly the working of the Holy
Spirit. I thank God that He lead me to stay one more day in Tanzania. I
should remember to preach the Gospel whenever I'm given the opportunity.
One of the reasons I haven't been writing as much is because I've been busy
with school. I've working in the office again. Today I started making an
inventory of the book with have for selling. It's not too bad, since I just
have to count how many of which books with have, but there's quite a number
of books. Although, I'm sure this is nothing compared to what I have to do
for the library (5000+ books).
I've also been teaching English to the first years. We have two English
classes: standard and advanced. The standard class is mainly for foreign
students (i.e. Out side Kenya). Some are from Congo where people speak
French, and some just don't know English at all. This one student pretends
to understand what I'm saying, but I'm pretty sure that he doesn't
understand a single word. I'm teaching them pronouns right now. I haven't
had a class with the advanced class yet (their first class in on Friday),
but at least they'll really understand what I'm saying. It's a bit hard to
teach when there's limited resource. I wish I had more (and faster) access
to the Internet...
I need to be diligent with the med school application. It's been on hold for
over a month because I was out in the wilderness. But I really need to focus
this time. It feels like time goes by so fast here. I'm here doing one
thing, then right after that I'm doing another thing somewhere else. I get
up really early (5:30am) for the morning prayer, and (try to) go to sleep
around 11:30pm. Ok, maybe I should write less journal and work on the app
more.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Doxa in Kenya: Should Christians Preach Against Evolution?
Thursday, August 31.
I attended some more of the "Discerning the Spirit" sessions today. I learned about Modernism, Neo-Evangelicalism, and Neo-Fundamentalism. I was already familiar with Modernism, so I didn't learn anything new about that. I had never heard of Neo-Evangelicalism or Neo-Fundamentalism, but from how Dr. Khoo described, they sounded pretty familiar. Basically, Neo-Evangelicals are people who say Bible is inspired by God, but it can have some errors. Dr. Khoo gave an example with the 6-day creation story in Genesis. Since evolution says it took many years for all the different species to form, Neo-Evangelicals would say that Bible might have some mistake. Fundamentalists believe in the strict and literal interpretation of the Bible, so Dr. Khoo said that if science doesn't seem to agree with the Bible, the Science must be wrong. Well, I'm definitely not a Neo-Evangelical (I believe that the Bible in its original languages is inerrant), but I’m not fundamentalist either. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and all of it is God-Breathed (or inspired by God, 2 Tim. 3:16) so the Bible is always true. But if science doesn't seem to agree with the Bible, it's not just "science must be wrong." It's either science is wrong or our interpretation of the Bible is wrong.
However, whether they were literal 6 days or whether the entire Bible should be interpreted literally should not be the issue. We should think about what’s really important. I mean, is every word of the Bible have the same weight and importance? Can we say that all the little details of the law in Deuteronomy, every psalm, the four Gospels, and the epistles are all equally important? I believe they all have a purpose of being in the Bible, but I think some of the words are more important than others. I’m talking about the Gospel, which you need to know and believe in order to have salvation. The saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is the most important message in the Bible, isn’t it? Tell me if you think I’m wrong.
So why am I saying we should focus on what’s the most important thing in the Bible? I’m trying to say that when it comes to someone’s salvation, whether the person thinks the earth was made in 6 days or thousands of years is not important at all! Let’s say that some one was at his death bed. He was a terrible criminal, and did many evil. But just before he died, he heard the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he sincerely repented and believed. Would he not enter that Kingdom of God? It doesn’t matter how bad or evil your life was before. When you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved, no matter who you are. Then let’s say that the man in his death bed was a hardcore modernist/atheist. He believed in the theory of evolution and all the other scientific theories that might seem to contradict the Bible. Then he heard the Gospel, repented, and believed. Soon after that he died. Before he died, he didn’t hear about Genesis 1. Not only did he not know that Bible says God made the earth in 6 days, he didn’t get a chance to hear that God made human in His own image. Then would he not go to heaven? Would he go to hell because he believed in the theory of evolution, even though he repented and believed in Jesus Christ? I believe even fundamentalists would say no to that. Well, perhaps they would say no because they are fundamentalists. The Bible literally says if you confess and believe these things about Jesus Christ, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
Of course I’m not saying that people should believe whatever they want as long as they believe in Jesus. If someone is still alive and has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then s/he should live like Jesus is the Lord over his/her life. Then he would study the Word of God and make effort to find the truth. More importantly he would obey the commands and also share the Gospel with others. Take note that I’m talking in the context of someone’s salvation. At the point of one’s salvation, the person doesn’t need to know everything in the Bible. But once he is saved, he should make the effort to know other important teachings in the Bible.
Now then, why is it important to talk in the context of salvation? Well, granted it’s important for someone to get saved, it’s very important that someone does not reject the Gospel because of our interpretation of some other parts of the Bible. Let’s say that you meet someone who is agnostic, but he is a scientist and has extensively studied biology as well the theory of evolution. Upon finding out that he believes in the theory of evolution, you tell him that he is wrong and that the Bible says the earth was made in 6 days. Some people may think of it as an interesting idea, but most probably would be offended. Then you try to share with him the Gospel, just after telling him that all that he had been studying for the past 10 years were simply wrong information. Would he even want to listen to the Gospel? Think about it. Most likely he wouldn’t. Even if he did, he would just flat out reject it because it’s from the same book that says he is wrong without any apparent proof or support. To us, the Bible is the Word of God, so we might feel strongly convicted about Genesis 1 one way or another. But to someone who’s never read the Bible, it’s just literature. So basically what you did was hardened someone’s heart to hear the Gospel. I’m not talking about the correct approach to presenting the Gospel. God can work in all sorts of ways, and even a simple, straight forward presentation of the Gospel can change someone’s heart. It’s up to the Holy Spirit, not you, to convict one’s heart and reveal the truth.
Then what should you say about science and the Bible? Which is correct? Well, if you believe that the Bible is God’s Word, then Bible is of course true. Sure, science can be inaccurate sometimes, and no theory is ever accurate. Theories are theories. They are always being revised to fit new information. But remember we or what we think are not always correct either. More importantly, it’s dangerous to say, “science is wrong,” because we’re not just saying that the theories are wrong. There are people behind every scientific theory. Real people study and come up with ideas that become theories, and real people rely on these theory for their research and even career. To say, “science is wrong” to someone, especially scientists, who has much more knowledge about science than you might, is basically saying “you’re wrong” in their face. How loving is that? And if that causes people to shut their ears to the Gospel for the rest of their lives, how terrible is that? In fact, isn’t that what’s happening in the world today? Isn’t it because all these “Christians” are saying evolution is flat out wrong, that many scientists are also atheists? Perhaps it’s not the only reason, but I imagine it is one of the major reasons. You see, I’m a scientist, but I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. If someone really knows science, they would know that it’s not scientific to conclude that God does not exist just because His existence cannot be proven scientifically. It’s a Modernist idea that all things can be explained scientifically. Obviously not all scientists are Modernists, but may of them become one.
Let’s say that you are a scientist, and you have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But you know that these people called Christians believe in God. One day you find out that these Christians are strongly against the theory of evolution, which you think is a fairly well studied theory. You also find out that the basis of their claim is just some book written long time ago, and that Christians say theory of evolution is wrong because God said so. You don’t know much about the Bible or what the Christians believe, but since Christians strongly believe that you’re wrong, your natural response is to think that Christians are wrong. Since the basis of their claim is this thing called “God,” and you think they are wrong, you may conclude that this idea of “God” must also be wrong. Although it’s not scientific, through reasoning you decide that God doesn’t exist. The main reason for this conclusion was some group of people called Christians that said you are wrong. Now you are an atheist, and you don’t even want to hear about what Christians believe. Is this scenario too farfetched?
So as Christians, should we strongly advocate Creationism and young-earth theory? Are they worth jeopardizing the opportunities for some people to hear the Gospel? Definitely not! If you advocate these ideas, do so within the church. Encourage other believers to investigate the truth of God’s Word. Warn each other about dangers of misusing the theory of evolution. It is our responsibility to study the Word of God (2 Tim. 2:15). As Christians, that’s definitely something we should do. But as for the unbelievers, it is not their responsibility to know what the Bible says about Creation. It’s the same with sin. We as believers have the responsibility to keep each other accountable so as not to sin. But we do not just go around telling unbelievers that they should not do this and that. How can they stop sinning when they don’t have Christ!? We need to first show them the love of Christ and share with them the Gospel. Once they become a believer, you have the responsibility to keep them accountable. Once they become a believer, you should teach them what the Bible says about other things in the world, such as Creation.
So there’s really no problem for Dr. Khoo to talk about science and how he thinks it’s wrong in front of a group of pastors. In fact, it was good that he clarified a lot of things about the Bible. Dr. Khoo’s lectures were really good. They were strongly based on the scripture, and makes a lot of sense if you believe that the entire Bible should be interpreted strictly literally. So he was very consistent. This isn’t about Dr. Khoo at all, and I already said that fact that I disagree with his fundamentalist view is not important. I think problems arise when these pastors start preaching that science is wrong when they are trying to evangelize. The creation story is not the Gospel. The Bible doesn’t say “believe that God created earth in 6 days and you’ll be saved”! Dr. Khoo’s lecture just reminded me of some people in the past that strongly advocated creationism and young-earth theory. These people I met in the past would mock scientists and their professors because they think their science teachers are idiots for believing in evolution. This is not the type of attitude Christians should have towards unbelievers. That’s why I’m talking about all this.
People are saved regardless of whether they are Fundamentalist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, or whatever denomination. Conversely, people can sill have the wrong Gospel and not be saved even when they associate themselves with Fundamentalist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, or whatever denomination. There is no such thing as a perfect denomination. Denominations are works of people. Difference in denominations exist because people are different. Once again, the most important thing is salvation through the Gospel. So if your church gives the true Gospel, not the health-and-wealth gospel nor the 6-day-creation gospel, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and your church is working to spread it, then give all glory to God.
So should we as Christians preach against the theory of evolution? My answer is no. I would definitely support studying about evolution from Biblical perspective. I suppose we could “preach” against evolution within Bible studies and small groups for believers. But I don’t think it should be preached in churches were unbelievers can come to find out what Christianity is all about. Of course, I’m not saying we should hide from unbelievers what we think about science and what not. As Christians, we are not called to push any one denomination’s doctrine to unbelievers. We are called to spread the Gospel. Preaching Creationism to a group of unbeliever can be very counterproductive. Understanding science is not a sin, but being ignorant of the Gospel is deadly. Do first things first. Spread the Gospel.
I haven’t even talked about Neo-Fundamentalism, but it’s getting really late. I must sleep. We’re going to Tanzania tomorrow, and we’re opening to new Bible college there on Saturday.
I attended some more of the "Discerning the Spirit" sessions today. I learned about Modernism, Neo-Evangelicalism, and Neo-Fundamentalism. I was already familiar with Modernism, so I didn't learn anything new about that. I had never heard of Neo-Evangelicalism or Neo-Fundamentalism, but from how Dr. Khoo described, they sounded pretty familiar. Basically, Neo-Evangelicals are people who say Bible is inspired by God, but it can have some errors. Dr. Khoo gave an example with the 6-day creation story in Genesis. Since evolution says it took many years for all the different species to form, Neo-Evangelicals would say that Bible might have some mistake. Fundamentalists believe in the strict and literal interpretation of the Bible, so Dr. Khoo said that if science doesn't seem to agree with the Bible, the Science must be wrong. Well, I'm definitely not a Neo-Evangelical (I believe that the Bible in its original languages is inerrant), but I’m not fundamentalist either. I believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and all of it is God-Breathed (or inspired by God, 2 Tim. 3:16) so the Bible is always true. But if science doesn't seem to agree with the Bible, it's not just "science must be wrong." It's either science is wrong or our interpretation of the Bible is wrong.
However, whether they were literal 6 days or whether the entire Bible should be interpreted literally should not be the issue. We should think about what’s really important. I mean, is every word of the Bible have the same weight and importance? Can we say that all the little details of the law in Deuteronomy, every psalm, the four Gospels, and the epistles are all equally important? I believe they all have a purpose of being in the Bible, but I think some of the words are more important than others. I’m talking about the Gospel, which you need to know and believe in order to have salvation. The saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is the most important message in the Bible, isn’t it? Tell me if you think I’m wrong.
So why am I saying we should focus on what’s the most important thing in the Bible? I’m trying to say that when it comes to someone’s salvation, whether the person thinks the earth was made in 6 days or thousands of years is not important at all! Let’s say that some one was at his death bed. He was a terrible criminal, and did many evil. But just before he died, he heard the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he sincerely repented and believed. Would he not enter that Kingdom of God? It doesn’t matter how bad or evil your life was before. When you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be saved, no matter who you are. Then let’s say that the man in his death bed was a hardcore modernist/atheist. He believed in the theory of evolution and all the other scientific theories that might seem to contradict the Bible. Then he heard the Gospel, repented, and believed. Soon after that he died. Before he died, he didn’t hear about Genesis 1. Not only did he not know that Bible says God made the earth in 6 days, he didn’t get a chance to hear that God made human in His own image. Then would he not go to heaven? Would he go to hell because he believed in the theory of evolution, even though he repented and believed in Jesus Christ? I believe even fundamentalists would say no to that. Well, perhaps they would say no because they are fundamentalists. The Bible literally says if you confess and believe these things about Jesus Christ, you will be saved (Romans 10:9).
Of course I’m not saying that people should believe whatever they want as long as they believe in Jesus. If someone is still alive and has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, then s/he should live like Jesus is the Lord over his/her life. Then he would study the Word of God and make effort to find the truth. More importantly he would obey the commands and also share the Gospel with others. Take note that I’m talking in the context of someone’s salvation. At the point of one’s salvation, the person doesn’t need to know everything in the Bible. But once he is saved, he should make the effort to know other important teachings in the Bible.
Now then, why is it important to talk in the context of salvation? Well, granted it’s important for someone to get saved, it’s very important that someone does not reject the Gospel because of our interpretation of some other parts of the Bible. Let’s say that you meet someone who is agnostic, but he is a scientist and has extensively studied biology as well the theory of evolution. Upon finding out that he believes in the theory of evolution, you tell him that he is wrong and that the Bible says the earth was made in 6 days. Some people may think of it as an interesting idea, but most probably would be offended. Then you try to share with him the Gospel, just after telling him that all that he had been studying for the past 10 years were simply wrong information. Would he even want to listen to the Gospel? Think about it. Most likely he wouldn’t. Even if he did, he would just flat out reject it because it’s from the same book that says he is wrong without any apparent proof or support. To us, the Bible is the Word of God, so we might feel strongly convicted about Genesis 1 one way or another. But to someone who’s never read the Bible, it’s just literature. So basically what you did was hardened someone’s heart to hear the Gospel. I’m not talking about the correct approach to presenting the Gospel. God can work in all sorts of ways, and even a simple, straight forward presentation of the Gospel can change someone’s heart. It’s up to the Holy Spirit, not you, to convict one’s heart and reveal the truth.
Then what should you say about science and the Bible? Which is correct? Well, if you believe that the Bible is God’s Word, then Bible is of course true. Sure, science can be inaccurate sometimes, and no theory is ever accurate. Theories are theories. They are always being revised to fit new information. But remember we or what we think are not always correct either. More importantly, it’s dangerous to say, “science is wrong,” because we’re not just saying that the theories are wrong. There are people behind every scientific theory. Real people study and come up with ideas that become theories, and real people rely on these theory for their research and even career. To say, “science is wrong” to someone, especially scientists, who has much more knowledge about science than you might, is basically saying “you’re wrong” in their face. How loving is that? And if that causes people to shut their ears to the Gospel for the rest of their lives, how terrible is that? In fact, isn’t that what’s happening in the world today? Isn’t it because all these “Christians” are saying evolution is flat out wrong, that many scientists are also atheists? Perhaps it’s not the only reason, but I imagine it is one of the major reasons. You see, I’m a scientist, but I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. If someone really knows science, they would know that it’s not scientific to conclude that God does not exist just because His existence cannot be proven scientifically. It’s a Modernist idea that all things can be explained scientifically. Obviously not all scientists are Modernists, but may of them become one.
Let’s say that you are a scientist, and you have never heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But you know that these people called Christians believe in God. One day you find out that these Christians are strongly against the theory of evolution, which you think is a fairly well studied theory. You also find out that the basis of their claim is just some book written long time ago, and that Christians say theory of evolution is wrong because God said so. You don’t know much about the Bible or what the Christians believe, but since Christians strongly believe that you’re wrong, your natural response is to think that Christians are wrong. Since the basis of their claim is this thing called “God,” and you think they are wrong, you may conclude that this idea of “God” must also be wrong. Although it’s not scientific, through reasoning you decide that God doesn’t exist. The main reason for this conclusion was some group of people called Christians that said you are wrong. Now you are an atheist, and you don’t even want to hear about what Christians believe. Is this scenario too farfetched?
So as Christians, should we strongly advocate Creationism and young-earth theory? Are they worth jeopardizing the opportunities for some people to hear the Gospel? Definitely not! If you advocate these ideas, do so within the church. Encourage other believers to investigate the truth of God’s Word. Warn each other about dangers of misusing the theory of evolution. It is our responsibility to study the Word of God (2 Tim. 2:15). As Christians, that’s definitely something we should do. But as for the unbelievers, it is not their responsibility to know what the Bible says about Creation. It’s the same with sin. We as believers have the responsibility to keep each other accountable so as not to sin. But we do not just go around telling unbelievers that they should not do this and that. How can they stop sinning when they don’t have Christ!? We need to first show them the love of Christ and share with them the Gospel. Once they become a believer, you have the responsibility to keep them accountable. Once they become a believer, you should teach them what the Bible says about other things in the world, such as Creation.
So there’s really no problem for Dr. Khoo to talk about science and how he thinks it’s wrong in front of a group of pastors. In fact, it was good that he clarified a lot of things about the Bible. Dr. Khoo’s lectures were really good. They were strongly based on the scripture, and makes a lot of sense if you believe that the entire Bible should be interpreted strictly literally. So he was very consistent. This isn’t about Dr. Khoo at all, and I already said that fact that I disagree with his fundamentalist view is not important. I think problems arise when these pastors start preaching that science is wrong when they are trying to evangelize. The creation story is not the Gospel. The Bible doesn’t say “believe that God created earth in 6 days and you’ll be saved”! Dr. Khoo’s lecture just reminded me of some people in the past that strongly advocated creationism and young-earth theory. These people I met in the past would mock scientists and their professors because they think their science teachers are idiots for believing in evolution. This is not the type of attitude Christians should have towards unbelievers. That’s why I’m talking about all this.
People are saved regardless of whether they are Fundamentalist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, or whatever denomination. Conversely, people can sill have the wrong Gospel and not be saved even when they associate themselves with Fundamentalist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, Evangelical, or whatever denomination. There is no such thing as a perfect denomination. Denominations are works of people. Difference in denominations exist because people are different. Once again, the most important thing is salvation through the Gospel. So if your church gives the true Gospel, not the health-and-wealth gospel nor the 6-day-creation gospel, but the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and your church is working to spread it, then give all glory to God.
So should we as Christians preach against the theory of evolution? My answer is no. I would definitely support studying about evolution from Biblical perspective. I suppose we could “preach” against evolution within Bible studies and small groups for believers. But I don’t think it should be preached in churches were unbelievers can come to find out what Christianity is all about. Of course, I’m not saying we should hide from unbelievers what we think about science and what not. As Christians, we are not called to push any one denomination’s doctrine to unbelievers. We are called to spread the Gospel. Preaching Creationism to a group of unbeliever can be very counterproductive. Understanding science is not a sin, but being ignorant of the Gospel is deadly. Do first things first. Spread the Gospel.
I haven’t even talked about Neo-Fundamentalism, but it’s getting really late. I must sleep. We’re going to Tanzania tomorrow, and we’re opening to new Bible college there on Saturday.
Doxa in Kenya: Back to Life in Nairobi
Tuesday, August 29. Nairobi
I must say it is quite nice being back. At the same time I miss living in
Lenkijape. I really hope I get to go back there again sometime.
I arrived at BCEA yesterday afternoon, and one of the first things I did was
taking a shower. For the past 5 weeks I had been washing myself with cold
water in buckets or basins, and most of the time I ended up rinsing myself
in the same water I used to wash which is soapy and slightly brown. So I
couldn't get all that clean, but it still worked and I got quite used to it.
What was nice about taking a shower yesterday was that I was the dirtiest
thing in the bathroom (except for maybe the toilet bowl). That meant if I
cleaned myself, I would stay clean for awhile. On the other hand, in places
like Lenkijape, it's hard to stay clean because everything around you is
dirty. Anyhow, I got to wash myself really well.
Also, I finally shaved. The last time I shaved was 44 days ago. When I got
back, Mrs. Kim told me that they don't allow facial hair at school (or maybe
she meant uncontrolled facial hair). So I shaved them all off. I looked at
myself in the mirror and felt like I was 5 years younger than before. I also
noticed I look more attractive when I have my glasses off, but I figured
that's because I look blurry in the mirror without my glasses (so all the
little blemishes seem to disappear).
Last night, since I had just come back from a long trip, Mrs. Kim invited me
over for dinner. She heard that I was coming back, so she got some pork and
cooked Korean food for me. I knew she's quite busy, so I didn't want her to
trouble herself so much, but I was really grateful.
It was so nice to eat some Korean food. Even if it wasn't Korean food, I
would have been so happy to eat more variety of food, especially vegetables.
In Masai Land, you would eat potatoes, tomatoes and cabbages most of the
time. Some times you would have beans, sukumawiki (kales), and maize. The
staple food here is ugali, which is like rice cake made of maize flour.
Today I got to do some cooking for myself, which was quite nice. I made some
spaghetti for the first time. I used garlic, onion, ginger, and eggplant.
The tomato sauce was a bit dark and sour, but overall it turned out really
nice. I accidentally cut my finger a little bit while cooking, but I guess
you can't learn how to cook without cutting yourself at least once.
Now that I have electricity, I should really be working on my med school
application. But at the same time, I'm so distracted because now I can do
things that I couldn't before, such as looking at and organizing pictures,
responding to e-mails, reading RSS feeds, etc.
I also found out today that I'm going to be teaching English this upcoming
term, which starts next week. I need to be making a syllabus for it. The
students don't even have textbooks, so I don't even know what to do. But I
suppose I'll find out. It seems like such a big task for me to teach a
3-month long course with a few hours every week. I'm also going to be
working on building the library catalogue, so that's going to take up a lot
of my time. So this week I should really focus on finishing up my
application.
I got a haircut today. I didn't get it all shaved though. I went to Safari
Park Hotel where there's an Ethiopian lady who knows how to cut Asian hair.
She was really slow though. I think it took about 30 minutes. A Korean
barber back home would have taken less than 15 minutes to do the same job,
probably even a bit better. The haircut itself wasn't too bad though. I
guess I'm glad I didn't have to shave my head.
There are so many things I want to write about on top of all the things I
have handwritten in my journal. And yet it seems like there's not enough
time for everything. Am I starting to get stressed out? I hope not. I had
enough for stressing out while I was in college. Oh wait, I'm still in
college, except now I'll be teaching instead of studying, and doing other
stuff at the same time. What's even worse, I'm teaching English, which is
not my forte. I suppose I know better English than most of the teachers
here, but I'm still not very confident if I can teach well. I wish the Bible
College had courses in math. I would be so glad to teach math. Couldn't math
be useful in church ministry? Even one of the books in the Bible is called
Numbers... Therefore math must be important for evangelism... Jk.
Anyhow I should get some sleep now. Speaking of sleep, it felt so good to
sleep in a cushioned bed last night. And it's big enough so that I can
stretch my arms and legs out. Although, sleeping in a sleeping bag on a very
thin mattress bed isn't too bad when you get used to it.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
African Courier #2: Out of the Wilderness
Jambo!
I am simply overwhelmed as I think back to my experiences in Masai Land during the past 5 weeks. Now I am back in my apartment at Bible College of East Africa (BCEA). I just got back yesterday.
Thanks to those who sent me e-mails while I was away. I will get back to you personally as soon as I get a chance.
As I said in my first newsletter, I stayed at two locations in Masai Land. I spent the first 10 days in Kiluani (there is a church, a clinic, and a secondary school built by missionaries), then 4 weeks in Lenkijape (officially called Eluanata, there is a church and a primary school built by the same mission). Here’s a list of things that I did during the past 5 weeks to give you some ideas about life in Masai Land.
Some of the things I did while staying at Kiluani:
· observed as PuiMeng (the nurse) counseled and treated patients at the clinic.
· gave a talk on worms to mothers who came for their children's immunization.
· visited many boma (a unit of Masai houses) with Pastor Stephen Omweri.
· gave guitar lessons to some boys in secondary school.
· helped a prematurely born goat to drink from its mother.
· bought a goat for the mission, saw it being slaughtered, roasted it, and ate it.
· bicycled to Tanzania (~1 hour each way).
You can read more about them in detail on my blog.
Some of the things I did while staying at Lenkijape:
· taught several English worship songs to Sunday School and Youth Group.
· taught math and English to pupils (5-8th grade) who came to school for tuition for two weeks (they are on break from regular classes).
· visited a boma with Pastor David Aluvisia, where pastor shared the Gospel with Nchokei, and I encouraged him to receive Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. Nchokei is a moran (Masai warrior), and he prayed to receive Christ that day.
· harvested and ate lots of wild honey.
· went to many fellowships. For most of them I had to walk for at least 40 minutes to get there. At one of them, I gave a sermon on Haggai 1. After that, several people prayed to receive Christ.
· went to two circumcision ceremonies. At one of them, one boy and two girls were circumcised.
· shared about the Power of the Holy Spirit with the Youth Group.
· gave a testimony and words of encouragement to the congregation at church.
· took a 4-day trip to Masai Mara, one of the biggest game reserves in Kenya, with the primary school teachers. I got to see many animals (lions, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, eland, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, rhinos, warthogs, buffaloes, hyenas, etc.).
· bought a bicycle for the Lenkijape church to keep when I leave.
· bought food for the youth to eat after one Sunday.
· fed all the church members with some tea and bread, and Sunday school children with some juice and biscuits.
· visited other Korean missionaries at nearby mission compounds (church and primary school in Lumbwa, chapel and agricultural school in Olmaa).
· bicycled to Mile-Tisa (a small village on the main road) many times to run errands. A trip to Mile-Tisa takes about 40 minutes by bicycle through the woods. Now I can go back and forth between Mile-Tisa and Lekijape on my own.
· bicycled to Kiluani for a seminar.
· spent a night in a cow-dung house. The beds are made of cow-skin laid on top of branches, and are rock hard, and they are very short (my knees would dangle from the bed if I tried to sleep straight). During the night a small insect fell into my right ear, and I had to shake it out.
· saw a guinea fowl being slaughtered, and ate it. The meat was super tough.
· lost a bit of weight.
· got sunburned and some suntan.
I’ve kept a journal about my experience in Lenkijape on a notebook, and I’ll type them out and post them on my blog as soon as I get a chance. Then you’ll be able to find out what life in deeper part of Masai Land is like!
The Lord has been merciful to me, and I have been healthy the entire time. And by His Grace I have come back safely. Thank you all for your prayers!
This week, there is a pastor’s conference at BCEA. Then on Saturday, we’ll be going to the new Bible college in Tanzania for its opening ceremony. After that, I’ll be working on building the catalogue for the library at BCEA for a while. I’ll also be teaching English at BCEA this term, which starts next week.
I’m praying that I would be able to go back to Lenkijape again and stay there for a longer time. If it is God’s will, I want to serve Him there more. Now that I’m back where there is electricity (there’s no electricity in Lenkijape), it’s time for me to finish my medical school application. It might be a bit difficult to focus since many things will be happening, so please pray for me. I’m also praying that, if it is God’s will, I would come back here as a doctor to serve Him.
Please continue to pray for the many ministries here. Pray for those who heard the Gospel and received Jesus as Lord and Savior in the past few weeks. Pray that people in Lenkijape would get water soon (this is one of their biggest needs).
In Him,
SunMin Kim
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com
PS. In case you were wondering, you can send SMS to me in Kenya. Just send to: +254727867619. (To type “+” on the phone, press and hold zero.)
I am simply overwhelmed as I think back to my experiences in Masai Land during the past 5 weeks. Now I am back in my apartment at Bible College of East Africa (BCEA). I just got back yesterday.
Thanks to those who sent me e-mails while I was away. I will get back to you personally as soon as I get a chance.
As I said in my first newsletter, I stayed at two locations in Masai Land. I spent the first 10 days in Kiluani (there is a church, a clinic, and a secondary school built by missionaries), then 4 weeks in Lenkijape (officially called Eluanata, there is a church and a primary school built by the same mission). Here’s a list of things that I did during the past 5 weeks to give you some ideas about life in Masai Land.
Some of the things I did while staying at Kiluani:
· observed as PuiMeng (the nurse) counseled and treated patients at the clinic.
· gave a talk on worms to mothers who came for their children's immunization.
· visited many boma (a unit of Masai houses) with Pastor Stephen Omweri.
· gave guitar lessons to some boys in secondary school.
· helped a prematurely born goat to drink from its mother.
· bought a goat for the mission, saw it being slaughtered, roasted it, and ate it.
· bicycled to Tanzania (~1 hour each way).
You can read more about them in detail on my blog.
Some of the things I did while staying at Lenkijape:
· taught several English worship songs to Sunday School and Youth Group.
· taught math and English to pupils (5-8th grade) who came to school for tuition for two weeks (they are on break from regular classes).
· visited a boma with Pastor David Aluvisia, where pastor shared the Gospel with Nchokei, and I encouraged him to receive Jesus Christ as his personal Savior and Lord. Nchokei is a moran (Masai warrior), and he prayed to receive Christ that day.
· harvested and ate lots of wild honey.
· went to many fellowships. For most of them I had to walk for at least 40 minutes to get there. At one of them, I gave a sermon on Haggai 1. After that, several people prayed to receive Christ.
· went to two circumcision ceremonies. At one of them, one boy and two girls were circumcised.
· shared about the Power of the Holy Spirit with the Youth Group.
· gave a testimony and words of encouragement to the congregation at church.
· took a 4-day trip to Masai Mara, one of the biggest game reserves in Kenya, with the primary school teachers. I got to see many animals (lions, elephants, wildebeests, zebras, gazelles, eland, giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, rhinos, warthogs, buffaloes, hyenas, etc.).
· bought a bicycle for the Lenkijape church to keep when I leave.
· bought food for the youth to eat after one Sunday.
· fed all the church members with some tea and bread, and Sunday school children with some juice and biscuits.
· visited other Korean missionaries at nearby mission compounds (church and primary school in Lumbwa, chapel and agricultural school in Olmaa).
· bicycled to Mile-Tisa (a small village on the main road) many times to run errands. A trip to Mile-Tisa takes about 40 minutes by bicycle through the woods. Now I can go back and forth between Mile-Tisa and Lekijape on my own.
· bicycled to Kiluani for a seminar.
· spent a night in a cow-dung house. The beds are made of cow-skin laid on top of branches, and are rock hard, and they are very short (my knees would dangle from the bed if I tried to sleep straight). During the night a small insect fell into my right ear, and I had to shake it out.
· saw a guinea fowl being slaughtered, and ate it. The meat was super tough.
· lost a bit of weight.
· got sunburned and some suntan.
I’ve kept a journal about my experience in Lenkijape on a notebook, and I’ll type them out and post them on my blog as soon as I get a chance. Then you’ll be able to find out what life in deeper part of Masai Land is like!
The Lord has been merciful to me, and I have been healthy the entire time. And by His Grace I have come back safely. Thank you all for your prayers!
This week, there is a pastor’s conference at BCEA. Then on Saturday, we’ll be going to the new Bible college in Tanzania for its opening ceremony. After that, I’ll be working on building the catalogue for the library at BCEA for a while. I’ll also be teaching English at BCEA this term, which starts next week.
I’m praying that I would be able to go back to Lenkijape again and stay there for a longer time. If it is God’s will, I want to serve Him there more. Now that I’m back where there is electricity (there’s no electricity in Lenkijape), it’s time for me to finish my medical school application. It might be a bit difficult to focus since many things will be happening, so please pray for me. I’m also praying that, if it is God’s will, I would come back here as a doctor to serve Him.
Please continue to pray for the many ministries here. Pray for those who heard the Gospel and received Jesus as Lord and Savior in the past few weeks. Pray that people in Lenkijape would get water soon (this is one of their biggest needs).
In Him,
SunMin Kim
http://doxadeo.blogspot.com
PS. In case you were wondering, you can send SMS to me in Kenya. Just send to: +254727867619. (To type “+” on the phone, press and hold zero.)
Friday, August 04, 2006
Doxa in Kenya: Sunday School, Hiking, and Goat Feast
Sunday, July 30.
Wow. What a day. Today was definitely the highlight of my stay here in Kiluani. We just finished eating the goat we slaughtered, and I'm quite full.
Sunday school started at 9am. There were about 180 kids. I went up to the front and introduced myself, and all the kids sang a song for me. I didn't understand a word the sang, and I don't know if it was kiswahili or kimasai (Masai language), but I still enjoyed it. For the second half of Sunday school, we divided into small groups. I went to Pastor Stephen's group. There were about 6 girls at ages of around 12. I got to share with them about 1 Corinthians 10:31, and encouraged them to live for God's glory. Afterwards we had main service, but most of the kids left after Sunday school. There were only about 50 to 60 church members. They used to have all the students from the secondary school come to the church, but ever since the new principle took over, many of the students go to their own church they made at school. Apparently they don't even have a legitimate pastor, but basically they play loud music and dance around for service. During service, I fell asleep a few times briefly, but I was surprised to see some people deliberately sleeping (with their heads buried in their arms). During sermon, the pastor actually said please don't sleep during sermons, but some people still slept. After he said that I didn't fall asleep at all.
In the afternoon, I went up the mountain for some hiking with some of the guys. Originally we were going to bring ht goat up the mountain, slaughter it, and eat it there. But we started out too late, so we just walked up. I got to see the entire Kiluani (although it's mostly bushes). At one point I heard some bird noises down a hill. Nyingei told me they are guinea fowls. They are basically wild chicken. You can setup traps for it, catch it, and eat it. Unfortunately I didn't have time for that this time. I've been to tougher hikes (trekking across some mountains in Japan, Half Dome in Yosemite, and Mt. Fuji), but hiking in Kenya isn't just about the hike. It involves dodging thorns everywhere you go. There are small bushes with thorns, trees with thorns, tiny plants with thorns, and seeds with thorns scattered all over the ground. If you're not careful, you'll get little thorns all over your pants and socks and inside your shoes. I guess it should remind people of Genesis 3 when the ground was cursed and thorns came up of the ground. More importantly, it should remind us of what Jesus went through for us while wearing a crown made of thorns.
We came back down after a couple hours. I bought a goat for Ksh2000 ($27.97) from the secondary school, and we slaughtered it. Some how people manage to find out that we're slaughtering a goat tonight. So although we started with 7 or 8 people and were wondering if we could finish all the meat tonight, by the end we fed about 17 people. At least a third of them I've never seen, but I didn't care. I had enough to eat, and we only ate the meat. We still have the internal organs. Apparently Masai people eat the organs raw, and the kidney is the best part. As soon as they cut off the kidneys they were gone. I wonder what they taste like. It's basically filled with goat urine... Maybe it's salty because of that, and so they like it so much. We're saving the organs for tomorrow. They have to wash it and then make a soup or something. I ate so much goat meat today... My fart even smells like goat. Or maybe goats just smell like a fart.
Tomorrow, Rev. Kim is supposedly dropping by here on his way to Tanzania. If he's going back to Nairobi on Tuesday, I could probably get picked up then and be dropped off at Lenkijape. Otherwise I'll have to go to Lenkijape tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go to Tanzania with him. I don't know. I guess I'll find out.
I've had such a wonderful time in Kiluani. People are so friendly here. I've been really fun hanging out with the three guys who work in the clinic: Lemomo, Henry Nyingei, and Gideon Leshushu. They are the only ones close to my age here (23, 23, and 20, respectively). The secondary school kids seem a bit shy. They like to just gather and stand around me, but most of them don't say much if not nothing at all. Some of them are talkative and friendly though. The kids in the primary schools are more friendly and talkative, although they can't speak all that well.
Speaking of English, there's not a single person who can speak English properly here in Kiluani. I'm sure some of the nuances are British English, but most of the time I have to listen very carefully and try to figure out what they actually mean. Even PuiMeng, who is from Singapore, can't speak English all that well (she tends to put "la" at the end of many sentences). It's strange because English and Kisuwahili are the official languages of Kenya, but most Masai people don't even know what the national languages are. People who can speak English tend to say "Fannneee" (or "funny") when they mean "strange" or "weird." I remember Rev. Kim says that too. I think that's kind of fannneee.
Alright, they've turned off all the power, and I'm seeing bugs on the screen every minute. So many bugs are flying into my face too. I think a small one just flew into my right ear... jk. Geez, there are so many spiders in this room too. Why aren't they doing their job eating off the annoying bugs? Maybe they need to make better webs... Ugh.
Since I'm going to Lenkijape, I'll have to write my journals on a paper under a candle light from now on. Goodbye world.
Wow. What a day. Today was definitely the highlight of my stay here in Kiluani. We just finished eating the goat we slaughtered, and I'm quite full.
Sunday school started at 9am. There were about 180 kids. I went up to the front and introduced myself, and all the kids sang a song for me. I didn't understand a word the sang, and I don't know if it was kiswahili or kimasai (Masai language), but I still enjoyed it. For the second half of Sunday school, we divided into small groups. I went to Pastor Stephen's group. There were about 6 girls at ages of around 12. I got to share with them about 1 Corinthians 10:31, and encouraged them to live for God's glory. Afterwards we had main service, but most of the kids left after Sunday school. There were only about 50 to 60 church members. They used to have all the students from the secondary school come to the church, but ever since the new principle took over, many of the students go to their own church they made at school. Apparently they don't even have a legitimate pastor, but basically they play loud music and dance around for service. During service, I fell asleep a few times briefly, but I was surprised to see some people deliberately sleeping (with their heads buried in their arms). During sermon, the pastor actually said please don't sleep during sermons, but some people still slept. After he said that I didn't fall asleep at all.
In the afternoon, I went up the mountain for some hiking with some of the guys. Originally we were going to bring ht goat up the mountain, slaughter it, and eat it there. But we started out too late, so we just walked up. I got to see the entire Kiluani (although it's mostly bushes). At one point I heard some bird noises down a hill. Nyingei told me they are guinea fowls. They are basically wild chicken. You can setup traps for it, catch it, and eat it. Unfortunately I didn't have time for that this time. I've been to tougher hikes (trekking across some mountains in Japan, Half Dome in Yosemite, and Mt. Fuji), but hiking in Kenya isn't just about the hike. It involves dodging thorns everywhere you go. There are small bushes with thorns, trees with thorns, tiny plants with thorns, and seeds with thorns scattered all over the ground. If you're not careful, you'll get little thorns all over your pants and socks and inside your shoes. I guess it should remind people of Genesis 3 when the ground was cursed and thorns came up of the ground. More importantly, it should remind us of what Jesus went through for us while wearing a crown made of thorns.
We came back down after a couple hours. I bought a goat for Ksh2000 ($27.97) from the secondary school, and we slaughtered it. Some how people manage to find out that we're slaughtering a goat tonight. So although we started with 7 or 8 people and were wondering if we could finish all the meat tonight, by the end we fed about 17 people. At least a third of them I've never seen, but I didn't care. I had enough to eat, and we only ate the meat. We still have the internal organs. Apparently Masai people eat the organs raw, and the kidney is the best part. As soon as they cut off the kidneys they were gone. I wonder what they taste like. It's basically filled with goat urine... Maybe it's salty because of that, and so they like it so much. We're saving the organs for tomorrow. They have to wash it and then make a soup or something. I ate so much goat meat today... My fart even smells like goat. Or maybe goats just smell like a fart.
Tomorrow, Rev. Kim is supposedly dropping by here on his way to Tanzania. If he's going back to Nairobi on Tuesday, I could probably get picked up then and be dropped off at Lenkijape. Otherwise I'll have to go to Lenkijape tomorrow. Or maybe I'll go to Tanzania with him. I don't know. I guess I'll find out.
I've had such a wonderful time in Kiluani. People are so friendly here. I've been really fun hanging out with the three guys who work in the clinic: Lemomo, Henry Nyingei, and Gideon Leshushu. They are the only ones close to my age here (23, 23, and 20, respectively). The secondary school kids seem a bit shy. They like to just gather and stand around me, but most of them don't say much if not nothing at all. Some of them are talkative and friendly though. The kids in the primary schools are more friendly and talkative, although they can't speak all that well.
Speaking of English, there's not a single person who can speak English properly here in Kiluani. I'm sure some of the nuances are British English, but most of the time I have to listen very carefully and try to figure out what they actually mean. Even PuiMeng, who is from Singapore, can't speak English all that well (she tends to put "la" at the end of many sentences). It's strange because English and Kisuwahili are the official languages of Kenya, but most Masai people don't even know what the national languages are. People who can speak English tend to say "Fannneee" (or "funny") when they mean "strange" or "weird." I remember Rev. Kim says that too. I think that's kind of fannneee.
Alright, they've turned off all the power, and I'm seeing bugs on the screen every minute. So many bugs are flying into my face too. I think a small one just flew into my right ear... jk. Geez, there are so many spiders in this room too. Why aren't they doing their job eating off the annoying bugs? Maybe they need to make better webs... Ugh.
Since I'm going to Lenkijape, I'll have to write my journals on a paper under a candle light from now on. Goodbye world.
Friday, July 28, 2006
Doxa in Kenya: Success!
Friday, July 28. Kiluani.
I finally figured out how to use my phone to connect to the internet. I had to call customer service to get the setup information and figure out by trial-and-error which modem script I needed to use. Safaricom customer service can't support very many calls at once (and it's a telecom company, how ironic...), so I had to keep dialing until I got connected. The speed is only 9.6kbps (max data rate is about 1.2KB/s), which is 156 times slower than regular DSL (1.5Mbps or 187.5KB/s), and 5.8 times slower than dial-up (56kbps or 7KB/s). So you get the idea. On top of that, it costs Ksh10 per minute, which means it's Ksh600 ($8.40) per hour. That means I can get a maximum of 4.3MB of info in one hour for $8.40. I don't even know the upload rate, but I'm guessing it's the same or less.
So I'm going to restrict the use of internet through cellphone to maybe once or twice a week for checking/sending e-mail, posting on my blog, and downloading RSS feeds. I can post on Blogspot without using a web browser, but I can't with Xanga, so I'll update Xanga when I get better internet connection. Meanwhile, Xanga users, please visit http://doxadeo.blogspot.com to read my most updated blog (This will be the last post on Xanga for a while). You can even subscribe to my RSS feed (http://doxadeo.blogspot.com/atom.xml) using an RSS aggregator such as RSS Owl (for both Mac and PC) or Vienna (Mac only, recommended). Even if it's not for my blog, if you like reading news articles or visit a specific website regularly, RSS will make your life so much easier. So go try it! (Sorry I can't give you direct links. I'm typing this offline).
Well, all this is only possible if I have electricity. And unfortunately, I won't have any electricity when I go to Lenkijape. It's much farther from the main road than Kiluani. Apparently, permanent electricity is coming to Kiluani very soon, but not for a while in Lenkijape. It will be a good practice to live without electricity though. I'm such a city boy... (that reminds me of Sierra Leone, where most of the cars I saw had a big sticker that read "City Boy," but that's irrelevant). It'll be a big test for me.
So, what did I do in Nairobi today? Well, if you're reading this, I'm sure you've noticed that I posted a lot of journal entries. That's because I went to a cyber café in Nairobi. It was a first time I got internet access since Sunday. I think they ripped me off at the café though. It's supposed to be Ksh3 per minute, and I only used for about 50 minutes or no more than 60 minutes, but they charged me Ksh210 (which would be 70 minutes). But I was in a hurry, so I just paid and left. Then I realized I was ripped off, and I should have asked for a receipt. Always remember to ask for a receipt if you pay for anything in Kenya. It's not like Panda Express where you get free meal if they forget to give you a receipt.
Anyway, that was only one of many things we had to do in Nairobi. First we went to a big mall where we did some grocery shopping. I got a bar of soap and a shower scrub while PuiMeng got a lot of food and a haircut. She got a haircut all the way in Nairobi, because at the place she went a lady from Korea used to work there, and they know how to cut Asian hair. Otherwise if you go to a regular barber shop, you'll probably come out bald. Well, since I'm already experimenting with my facial hair, maybe I'll try shaving my head too... one of these days. Don't worry, I'll take pictures for you all to enjoy later.
While I waited for PuiMeng, I got a cup of coffee, and waited in the car. A guy named Jackson drove for us, so I got to talk with him for while. I found out that he's a Masai, and he used to hangout with morans a lot before he became Christian. He was never a moran because he went to school instead. Basically, all boys, around the age of 15 gets circumcised and become moran if they're not going to school. So before there were schools, all Masai boys became moran. So I guess there isn't a crazy ritual to become a moran (except that you get painfully circumcised). Usually there's a big ceremony when kids get circumcised. They slaughter goats (and maybe cows) and the whole village eat together. I'll write about Masai culture more later. Besides, I'll probably learn a lot more when I go to Lenkijape. I've already found out that lot of the things I heard about their culture from outsiders weren't so accurate (e.g. on promiscuity). It's better for me to learn about their culture directly from them.
We stopped by the foreign exchange, the bank, and the cyber café. We also stopped by a warehouse where they distribute free medicine to missionary clinics. The government provides vaccines, mosquito nets, and some food for babies, but we get all the medicine from a missionary organization (I can't remember the name right now). On the way back we stopped by another Nakumatt, so I bought some candles and matches in preparation for Lenkijape. I also got some potato chips. The chips here taste really good, but probably very fattening.
It takes three hours one way, so we had to travel for a long time.
I didn't get to go back to BCEA today, but I got a hold of Richard, and he's going to get the stuff for me and give them to Rev. Kim. So I'm all set as long as Rev. Kim comes down this coming week.
Tomorrow, we'll have a fellowship at someone's house, go to Namanga, and then maybe take a walk up a hill (where David Ahn said I should go). It should be a pretty eventful day.
I think they're about to turn off the small generator now. I should wrap it up for tonight.
I finally figured out how to use my phone to connect to the internet. I had to call customer service to get the setup information and figure out by trial-and-error which modem script I needed to use. Safaricom customer service can't support very many calls at once (and it's a telecom company, how ironic...), so I had to keep dialing until I got connected. The speed is only 9.6kbps (max data rate is about 1.2KB/s), which is 156 times slower than regular DSL (1.5Mbps or 187.5KB/s), and 5.8 times slower than dial-up (56kbps or 7KB/s). So you get the idea. On top of that, it costs Ksh10 per minute, which means it's Ksh600 ($8.40) per hour. That means I can get a maximum of 4.3MB of info in one hour for $8.40. I don't even know the upload rate, but I'm guessing it's the same or less.
So I'm going to restrict the use of internet through cellphone to maybe once or twice a week for checking/sending e-mail, posting on my blog, and downloading RSS feeds. I can post on Blogspot without using a web browser, but I can't with Xanga, so I'll update Xanga when I get better internet connection. Meanwhile, Xanga users, please visit http://doxadeo.blogspot.com to read my most updated blog (This will be the last post on Xanga for a while). You can even subscribe to my RSS feed (http://doxadeo.blogspot.com/atom.xml) using an RSS aggregator such as RSS Owl (for both Mac and PC) or Vienna (Mac only, recommended). Even if it's not for my blog, if you like reading news articles or visit a specific website regularly, RSS will make your life so much easier. So go try it! (Sorry I can't give you direct links. I'm typing this offline).
Well, all this is only possible if I have electricity. And unfortunately, I won't have any electricity when I go to Lenkijape. It's much farther from the main road than Kiluani. Apparently, permanent electricity is coming to Kiluani very soon, but not for a while in Lenkijape. It will be a good practice to live without electricity though. I'm such a city boy... (that reminds me of Sierra Leone, where most of the cars I saw had a big sticker that read "City Boy," but that's irrelevant). It'll be a big test for me.
So, what did I do in Nairobi today? Well, if you're reading this, I'm sure you've noticed that I posted a lot of journal entries. That's because I went to a cyber café in Nairobi. It was a first time I got internet access since Sunday. I think they ripped me off at the café though. It's supposed to be Ksh3 per minute, and I only used for about 50 minutes or no more than 60 minutes, but they charged me Ksh210 (which would be 70 minutes). But I was in a hurry, so I just paid and left. Then I realized I was ripped off, and I should have asked for a receipt. Always remember to ask for a receipt if you pay for anything in Kenya. It's not like Panda Express where you get free meal if they forget to give you a receipt.
Anyway, that was only one of many things we had to do in Nairobi. First we went to a big mall where we did some grocery shopping. I got a bar of soap and a shower scrub while PuiMeng got a lot of food and a haircut. She got a haircut all the way in Nairobi, because at the place she went a lady from Korea used to work there, and they know how to cut Asian hair. Otherwise if you go to a regular barber shop, you'll probably come out bald. Well, since I'm already experimenting with my facial hair, maybe I'll try shaving my head too... one of these days. Don't worry, I'll take pictures for you all to enjoy later.
While I waited for PuiMeng, I got a cup of coffee, and waited in the car. A guy named Jackson drove for us, so I got to talk with him for while. I found out that he's a Masai, and he used to hangout with morans a lot before he became Christian. He was never a moran because he went to school instead. Basically, all boys, around the age of 15 gets circumcised and become moran if they're not going to school. So before there were schools, all Masai boys became moran. So I guess there isn't a crazy ritual to become a moran (except that you get painfully circumcised). Usually there's a big ceremony when kids get circumcised. They slaughter goats (and maybe cows) and the whole village eat together. I'll write about Masai culture more later. Besides, I'll probably learn a lot more when I go to Lenkijape. I've already found out that lot of the things I heard about their culture from outsiders weren't so accurate (e.g. on promiscuity). It's better for me to learn about their culture directly from them.
We stopped by the foreign exchange, the bank, and the cyber café. We also stopped by a warehouse where they distribute free medicine to missionary clinics. The government provides vaccines, mosquito nets, and some food for babies, but we get all the medicine from a missionary organization (I can't remember the name right now). On the way back we stopped by another Nakumatt, so I bought some candles and matches in preparation for Lenkijape. I also got some potato chips. The chips here taste really good, but probably very fattening.
It takes three hours one way, so we had to travel for a long time.
I didn't get to go back to BCEA today, but I got a hold of Richard, and he's going to get the stuff for me and give them to Rev. Kim. So I'm all set as long as Rev. Kim comes down this coming week.
Tomorrow, we'll have a fellowship at someone's house, go to Namanga, and then maybe take a walk up a hill (where David Ahn said I should go). It should be a pretty eventful day.
I think they're about to turn off the small generator now. I should wrap it up for tonight.
Jambo from Nairobi
Just wanted to say hi to everyone who might be reading my blog. I'm back in Nairobi at a cyber café. I'm only here for a little while, and I won't be going back to BCEA. I'm going back to Kiluani right after, and staying there till Sunday or Monday or Tuesday, depending one when my ride comes. After that I'm going deeper into the woods (or semi-desert) to Lenkijape. As you can read from my recent entries, I've been having quite a fun and comfortable time in Kiluani. I guess the REAL African experience starts when I go to Lenkijape. Well, I don't know. We'l see...
I hope everyone is doing well.
I hope everyone is doing well.
Doxa in Kenya: Flies in the Ear, Bike Ride, and Chicken Feast
Thursday, July 27.
Thursdays are antenatal clinic days. So there were many pregnant women coming in for a monthly check-up. For the first timers, PuiMeng gives tetanus vaccines, because Masai people prefer (or just tend) to give birth in their homes on their own. This leads to a high risk of infection during birth. She also checks their blood for syphilis. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, and can cause blindness to children if they are infected during birth. I learned how to locate a fetus' heart. First, you feel for the head, then find the back, and the heart is along the back. I learned that you can estimate the length of gestation (how many months it's been since conception) by feeling for how big the uterus is. You'll have to guess because most Masai people don't have the concept of "months." They only know seven-day weeks. Walking too much during pregnancy can cause the legs to swell up. Pregnant women need to eat well for the fetus and for themselves. If they don't, they may not have enough breast milk. Also, low iron in the diet can lead to anemia, which sometimes causes miscarriage. Pretty interesting stuff. If I become a doctor in a developing country, these kinds of information will be helpful. Also if I get married and my wife gets pregnant, it would be useful as well.
There were a couple interesting cases today. A lady brought in her daughter, who is about 6 or 7, because the girl has some stuff stuck in her right ear. They came a few days ago, but the girl would cry and resist when PuiMeng tried to clean her ear. Even when PuiMeng tries to look into the ear with the hand-microscope (or whatever you call those magnifying glass with light and funnel), the girl starts crying really loudly, and would not stay still. So they came in again today, but again she would resist so hard that PuiMeng could not clean her ear. She was also too big to hold down. The girl's parents tried to convince her to get the ear cleaned, but she wouldn't listen, so they went back home again. Seeing a girl so afraid of something so small makes me wonder if she is being physically abused at home. She was so scared of a little q-tip! She seemed to be afraid of anything foreign to her. Actually, many of the kids were like her. They would start crying uncontrollably even when the assistant tries to put the thermometer under their armpit. Some of them stops crying immediately after they hear the "quack" of a rubber-ducky. It's interesting how some kids are so afraid of things they don't even know if it will harm them. I think they really need to be loved more.
So there was a boy, age of about 4 or 5, who also had a problem with his right ear. PuiMeng showed me the inside of his ear, and I saw two insect legs sticking out of his earwax deep down the ear. Apparently, it's quite common for flies to get stuck in children's ears, because they have so many flies around them, and they're used to having flies landing and walking all over their faces. The boy was small enough that we could hold him down while we cleaned his ear. We wrapped him in a sheet of cloth (almost like a straightjacket), and held him down as PuiMeng injected clean water into his ear to rinse out the wax. Two flies came out of his ear, and after that his ear was all nice and clean. The boy was crying so hard as PuiMeng washed his ear, but he was much better behaved than the girl.
After lunch, the pastor and I rode bicycles around the village and visited some church members. When I say "village" I don't mean a small area with a few rows of houses. Houses (or boma) are spread so far apart, so we had to travel a long distance to get to some houses. It was a really good exercise . At one place, I saw two girls dressed in black. These were the girls who were recently circumcised. Yes, they circumcise girls here. Such a terrible thing, but it's their culture, and so apparently the girls willingly (or are persuaded to) do it.It's socially unacceptable if they are not circumcised, so there's also the social pressure. Even the Kenyan government discourage female circumcision. I'm not sure why they do it in the first place, but according to Pastor (who is not from Masai), it's because they believe the females would not be able to satisfy the men's desires if they are not circumcised. My heart breaks for them when I hear things like this.
For dinner, we had chicken. Here in Kenya, chicken is actually more expensive than beef (per kilogram). It's because it's harder to keep the chicken alive in their environment, especially during rainy season when it gets cold. So I payed for the chicken, and Isaiah cooked for us. Pastor, PuiMeng, Isaiah, and I had a little feast tonight. Since I payed for the chicken (which is about Ksh300 or $4.20), I took some chicken first, but I realized the first thing I took was its head. I almost lost my appetite right then. I put back the head for the natives to eat, and ate the other parts. The meat was really tender. Nothing like a freshly killed chicken... also very naturally raised, unlike in LA.
Tomorrow, I'm going back to Nairobi for a few hours, but apparently I won't have time to go back to BCEA. PuiMeng says she's too busying doing stuff in town, and BCEA is too far off. I have so many things I need to bring (and I want to drop off my laptop because I could only use it for a few hours during the whole three weeks)... Oh well. I need to buy a little note book to keep my journal. I guess I'll have to type out everything once I get back to civilization.
It's been almost two weeks since I shaved. It's definitely the longest I've gone without shaving already, but still the hair is uneven. It's also not dense enough. I can feel my mustache every time I drink chai (which is at least 3 times a day).
Thursdays are antenatal clinic days. So there were many pregnant women coming in for a monthly check-up. For the first timers, PuiMeng gives tetanus vaccines, because Masai people prefer (or just tend) to give birth in their homes on their own. This leads to a high risk of infection during birth. She also checks their blood for syphilis. Syphilis is a sexually transmitted disease, and can cause blindness to children if they are infected during birth. I learned how to locate a fetus' heart. First, you feel for the head, then find the back, and the heart is along the back. I learned that you can estimate the length of gestation (how many months it's been since conception) by feeling for how big the uterus is. You'll have to guess because most Masai people don't have the concept of "months." They only know seven-day weeks. Walking too much during pregnancy can cause the legs to swell up. Pregnant women need to eat well for the fetus and for themselves. If they don't, they may not have enough breast milk. Also, low iron in the diet can lead to anemia, which sometimes causes miscarriage. Pretty interesting stuff. If I become a doctor in a developing country, these kinds of information will be helpful. Also if I get married and my wife gets pregnant, it would be useful as well.
There were a couple interesting cases today. A lady brought in her daughter, who is about 6 or 7, because the girl has some stuff stuck in her right ear. They came a few days ago, but the girl would cry and resist when PuiMeng tried to clean her ear. Even when PuiMeng tries to look into the ear with the hand-microscope (or whatever you call those magnifying glass with light and funnel), the girl starts crying really loudly, and would not stay still. So they came in again today, but again she would resist so hard that PuiMeng could not clean her ear. She was also too big to hold down. The girl's parents tried to convince her to get the ear cleaned, but she wouldn't listen, so they went back home again. Seeing a girl so afraid of something so small makes me wonder if she is being physically abused at home. She was so scared of a little q-tip! She seemed to be afraid of anything foreign to her. Actually, many of the kids were like her. They would start crying uncontrollably even when the assistant tries to put the thermometer under their armpit. Some of them stops crying immediately after they hear the "quack" of a rubber-ducky. It's interesting how some kids are so afraid of things they don't even know if it will harm them. I think they really need to be loved more.
So there was a boy, age of about 4 or 5, who also had a problem with his right ear. PuiMeng showed me the inside of his ear, and I saw two insect legs sticking out of his earwax deep down the ear. Apparently, it's quite common for flies to get stuck in children's ears, because they have so many flies around them, and they're used to having flies landing and walking all over their faces. The boy was small enough that we could hold him down while we cleaned his ear. We wrapped him in a sheet of cloth (almost like a straightjacket), and held him down as PuiMeng injected clean water into his ear to rinse out the wax. Two flies came out of his ear, and after that his ear was all nice and clean. The boy was crying so hard as PuiMeng washed his ear, but he was much better behaved than the girl.
After lunch, the pastor and I rode bicycles around the village and visited some church members. When I say "village" I don't mean a small area with a few rows of houses. Houses (or boma) are spread so far apart, so we had to travel a long distance to get to some houses. It was a really good exercise . At one place, I saw two girls dressed in black. These were the girls who were recently circumcised. Yes, they circumcise girls here. Such a terrible thing, but it's their culture, and so apparently the girls willingly (or are persuaded to) do it.It's socially unacceptable if they are not circumcised, so there's also the social pressure. Even the Kenyan government discourage female circumcision. I'm not sure why they do it in the first place, but according to Pastor (who is not from Masai), it's because they believe the females would not be able to satisfy the men's desires if they are not circumcised. My heart breaks for them when I hear things like this.
For dinner, we had chicken. Here in Kenya, chicken is actually more expensive than beef (per kilogram). It's because it's harder to keep the chicken alive in their environment, especially during rainy season when it gets cold. So I payed for the chicken, and Isaiah cooked for us. Pastor, PuiMeng, Isaiah, and I had a little feast tonight. Since I payed for the chicken (which is about Ksh300 or $4.20), I took some chicken first, but I realized the first thing I took was its head. I almost lost my appetite right then. I put back the head for the natives to eat, and ate the other parts. The meat was really tender. Nothing like a freshly killed chicken... also very naturally raised, unlike in LA.
Tomorrow, I'm going back to Nairobi for a few hours, but apparently I won't have time to go back to BCEA. PuiMeng says she's too busying doing stuff in town, and BCEA is too far off. I have so many things I need to bring (and I want to drop off my laptop because I could only use it for a few hours during the whole three weeks)... Oh well. I need to buy a little note book to keep my journal. I guess I'll have to type out everything once I get back to civilization.
It's been almost two weeks since I shaved. It's definitely the longest I've gone without shaving already, but still the hair is uneven. It's also not dense enough. I can feel my mustache every time I drink chai (which is at least 3 times a day).
Doxa in Kenya: Immunization, Worms, and Ulcer
Wednesday, July 26.
Wednesdays are set apart for immunization shots. Along with general patients, many mothers with babies came to have their scheduled immunization shots. I just watched PuiMeng give drops of vitamin A and shots to babies, but it was a good learning experience. I felt a little bad as the babies start to cry right after their shot. They see the needle, but they don't know what's coming to them. As soon as they feel the pain, they start crying. But most of them stopped crying pretty soon. The pain only lasts for a second, so I guess the longer they cry, the longer they remember the pain (or the shorter they cry, the more forgetful they are).
After PuiMeng gave the shots, I gave a little talk to the mothers about worms. I told them the types of worms, how you can get them, how to prevent them, and the symptoms if you have worms. Worm parasites are very common especially in third-world countries because of low personal hygiene. I used the poster that was already made to explain about worms, but I also studied about them in a book yesterday. Most Masai people are not educated, so I had to explain in simplest words as possible. Henry Nyingei translated into Kimasai (language of Masai).
One patient had duodenal ulcer, and he had to be carried in on a stretcher early this morning. He was at the clinic all day, and he was carried back home later. It was dark by the time we started heading back to the mission compound. There weren't much cloud so I got to see some stars again.
I always end the day so tired. I don't even have time to write about all the stuff that's happened and all the things that I learned. I keep saying I'll talk about this later and that some other time... I still need to write more about Masai culture. Although, it's mostly for personal notes, because I'm sure if anybody's reading this, they could just Google Masai, and find everything about them. I have to make some correction to what I said about their promiscuity. Anyway, good night!
Wednesdays are set apart for immunization shots. Along with general patients, many mothers with babies came to have their scheduled immunization shots. I just watched PuiMeng give drops of vitamin A and shots to babies, but it was a good learning experience. I felt a little bad as the babies start to cry right after their shot. They see the needle, but they don't know what's coming to them. As soon as they feel the pain, they start crying. But most of them stopped crying pretty soon. The pain only lasts for a second, so I guess the longer they cry, the longer they remember the pain (or the shorter they cry, the more forgetful they are).
After PuiMeng gave the shots, I gave a little talk to the mothers about worms. I told them the types of worms, how you can get them, how to prevent them, and the symptoms if you have worms. Worm parasites are very common especially in third-world countries because of low personal hygiene. I used the poster that was already made to explain about worms, but I also studied about them in a book yesterday. Most Masai people are not educated, so I had to explain in simplest words as possible. Henry Nyingei translated into Kimasai (language of Masai).
One patient had duodenal ulcer, and he had to be carried in on a stretcher early this morning. He was at the clinic all day, and he was carried back home later. It was dark by the time we started heading back to the mission compound. There weren't much cloud so I got to see some stars again.
I always end the day so tired. I don't even have time to write about all the stuff that's happened and all the things that I learned. I keep saying I'll talk about this later and that some other time... I still need to write more about Masai culture. Although, it's mostly for personal notes, because I'm sure if anybody's reading this, they could just Google Masai, and find everything about them. I have to make some correction to what I said about their promiscuity. Anyway, good night!
Doxa in Kenya: Clear Sky
Tuesday, July 25.
There were almost no clouds all day, so the weather was really warm and nice. At night I could see so many stars. The Milky Way was so clear as well. I brought my computer outside and showed some of the workers (night security) my planetarium program. They were astonished. They are native Masai, and they probably have never seen a computer. But they got to see the world's current most advanced laptop computer. Anyway, now I'm back in my bedroom typing away on my journal.
Today was another long day. There weren't as many patients as yesterday, so the day was going a bit slow. So PuiMeng showed me around the clinic while she was free. We had another pregnancy test. The test only works if the last menstruation was 6 weeks ago or longer. This girl had come in a month ago and had the test saying the last menstruation was more than 6 weeks ago, and the test was negative. But this time she came in and said her last menstruation was three weeks before the last time she came in. Basically she was confused about how long ago she had her last menstruation. Masai people don't really have the sense of how many days have past or even how old they are. They don't even have birthdays, apparently. Many people have difficulty remembering how old they are. A lot of their life stages seem to be centered around the time of circumcision. I'll talk about that more later. Anyway, the girl was tested positive for pregnancy. When she heard the news, she didn't seem happy or sad. Not even surprised. She already has one baby, so maybe it's not because it's her first time being pregnant that she wasn't especially excited about it. PuiMeng told me that girls are treated really nicely by their families when they become pregnant. It doesn't matter if they are married or not. So I guess that's why the girl yesterday seemed so happy. She probably wasn't married either.
For lunch, I had some rice and potatoes. Isaiah cooks for both Pastor Stephen (his brother) and me, so Pastor Stephen and I ate together. They use a spoon to eat rice here, since it's so hot. After lunch Pastor Stephen showed me around the mission compound. I didn't get to see the secondary school because, according to Pastor Stephen, the principal would think we're doing some kind of business. Ever since the school was handed over to the government from the missionaries, the school has been doing a poor job. The principal is very greedy, and he wants to kick the missionaries out so that he can take over the clinic as well. So what happens usually is that missionaries come and build facilities such as schools and hospitals. When they finish building and have everything up and running, the natives kick out the missionaries and take over the facilities, thinking that they can run them themselves. But they end up running much less efficiently than the missionaries, and the would start asking for money from the missions. It's pretty sad and discouraging especially for the missionaries who spent so many years building and the people who've put so much money into them. After the missionaries leave (or get kicked out), everything goes to waste because of corruption.
The students are taking their final exams this week, so this afternoon at 4pm, I was going to help some students with their math. I waited for a little over an hour, but nobody showed up. So I went out with the pastor and he showed me around the village. We visited several houses, including some of the cow-dung huts (they call them boma). We visited one house where several ladies were making bead accessories that many of the Masai people wear. Many of them were church members, and the pastor talked briefly and we prayed together. They dressed up the pastor and me like they would their chief.
I want to write more, but I'm so tired... Maybe tomorrow, maybe not. Tomorrow is immunization day. I'm going to be talking to people about worms.
There were almost no clouds all day, so the weather was really warm and nice. At night I could see so many stars. The Milky Way was so clear as well. I brought my computer outside and showed some of the workers (night security) my planetarium program. They were astonished. They are native Masai, and they probably have never seen a computer. But they got to see the world's current most advanced laptop computer. Anyway, now I'm back in my bedroom typing away on my journal.
Today was another long day. There weren't as many patients as yesterday, so the day was going a bit slow. So PuiMeng showed me around the clinic while she was free. We had another pregnancy test. The test only works if the last menstruation was 6 weeks ago or longer. This girl had come in a month ago and had the test saying the last menstruation was more than 6 weeks ago, and the test was negative. But this time she came in and said her last menstruation was three weeks before the last time she came in. Basically she was confused about how long ago she had her last menstruation. Masai people don't really have the sense of how many days have past or even how old they are. They don't even have birthdays, apparently. Many people have difficulty remembering how old they are. A lot of their life stages seem to be centered around the time of circumcision. I'll talk about that more later. Anyway, the girl was tested positive for pregnancy. When she heard the news, she didn't seem happy or sad. Not even surprised. She already has one baby, so maybe it's not because it's her first time being pregnant that she wasn't especially excited about it. PuiMeng told me that girls are treated really nicely by their families when they become pregnant. It doesn't matter if they are married or not. So I guess that's why the girl yesterday seemed so happy. She probably wasn't married either.
For lunch, I had some rice and potatoes. Isaiah cooks for both Pastor Stephen (his brother) and me, so Pastor Stephen and I ate together. They use a spoon to eat rice here, since it's so hot. After lunch Pastor Stephen showed me around the mission compound. I didn't get to see the secondary school because, according to Pastor Stephen, the principal would think we're doing some kind of business. Ever since the school was handed over to the government from the missionaries, the school has been doing a poor job. The principal is very greedy, and he wants to kick the missionaries out so that he can take over the clinic as well. So what happens usually is that missionaries come and build facilities such as schools and hospitals. When they finish building and have everything up and running, the natives kick out the missionaries and take over the facilities, thinking that they can run them themselves. But they end up running much less efficiently than the missionaries, and the would start asking for money from the missions. It's pretty sad and discouraging especially for the missionaries who spent so many years building and the people who've put so much money into them. After the missionaries leave (or get kicked out), everything goes to waste because of corruption.
The students are taking their final exams this week, so this afternoon at 4pm, I was going to help some students with their math. I waited for a little over an hour, but nobody showed up. So I went out with the pastor and he showed me around the village. We visited several houses, including some of the cow-dung huts (they call them boma). We visited one house where several ladies were making bead accessories that many of the Masai people wear. Many of them were church members, and the pastor talked briefly and we prayed together. They dressed up the pastor and me like they would their chief.
I want to write more, but I'm so tired... Maybe tomorrow, maybe not. Tomorrow is immunization day. I'm going to be talking to people about worms.
Doxa in Kenya: First Day in the Clinic
Monday, July 24.
Today was a very long and draining day. We started out the day with a devotional at 7:30am. I had a cup of tea and a donut like bread for breakfast. Remember a few entries back when I said it would be so hard for me to start a day with just a cup of tea and a piece of bread? Well, it wasn't so bad actually. I wasn't hungry at all until lunch time came around. Then I was really hungry, but Isaiah, Pastor Stephen's brother, prepared some nice lunch for me. I wish I could just show pictures. I had some ugali with goat meat stew-ish thing. Ugali is the staple food of Kenya, just like rice is for most Asian countries. It's basically like rice cake except it's made of maize. I ate with my hands because that's what they do here... or because I wasn't given any utensils, and I didn't ask for one. It's an experience eating with your hands. I mean, you can eat hamburgers with your hands, but you wouldn't eat a stew with your hands. But I did. Anyhow it was a pretty good meal. Afterwards my hands got pretty oily, so I went back to my place and realized I forgot to bring my soap. So I used some laundry detergent. For dinner, Isaiah prepared for me some cooked cabbage and chapati. Chapati is much like nan, but it's round. Apparently it's also of Indian origin. It seems like people drink tea for almost every meal here. They would just drink tea (they call it chai, also of Indian origin) for breakfast, and also drink tea after dinner. Back at BCEA, we would drink chai and eat slices of bread after a fellowship or Lord's Day service. Anyway, enough about food now.
I spent most of the day at the clinic. The clinic opens at 8am, and closes past 5pm (depending on the number of patients). First thing at the clinic, PuiMeng delivered a baby. I didn't know when the clinic opened, so I just waited around my room for breakfast, and then took my time with breakfast, so I missed the delivery. But I heard the cry of the newborn baby from the outside. Of course I didn't know what was going inside, but somehow when I heard the cry, I thought it was a newborn. I guess they have a distinct sound when they cry. Later I got to see the placenta. PuiMeng showed me how to check the placenta and make sure no parts were missing. I had never seen the placenta before. It must really hurt when it detaches...
Since it was the first day, I was familiarized with the registration process. Then I sat in with the patients while PuiMeng examined them. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the clinic takes in general patients. On Wednesdays, they give immunization shots to the kids, and on Thursdays they have antenatal cares and tests.
One girl, probably about 15 or 16, came in to do a pregnancy test. She seemed very happy when she found out that she's pregnant. I wonder if she's married though. She came by herself, so I'm guessing not. But maybe she is because she seemed so happy. I don't know. Teenage girls in the US wouldn't be very happy if they found out that they are pregnant before marriage, and even after marriage for some cases. But since the culture here is different, maybe it doesn't matter if she's not married.
Today was just observing a lot of things, but I hope I can do some hands-on stuff tomorrow. I'm looking forward to taking a shower in the morning. I have to boil a pot of water and use buckets and dippers. Every exciting.
There are so many bugs here. One just landed on my shoulder, and another was crawling up over my throat. I hear some buzzing near the ceiling. But apparently now is the season we have the least number of bugs. There'll be even more in Lenkijape. At times you won't be able to eat out side because there are so many flies. I could talk more about flies, but I'll do that some other time... I'm so tired. And they've turned off the small generator already, so it's pitch dark. The only source of light is my laptop screen, keyboard backlight, and the mouse. Anyhow, it's time to sleep. The bugs are attracted to my laptop... Must shut it now.
Today was a very long and draining day. We started out the day with a devotional at 7:30am. I had a cup of tea and a donut like bread for breakfast. Remember a few entries back when I said it would be so hard for me to start a day with just a cup of tea and a piece of bread? Well, it wasn't so bad actually. I wasn't hungry at all until lunch time came around. Then I was really hungry, but Isaiah, Pastor Stephen's brother, prepared some nice lunch for me. I wish I could just show pictures. I had some ugali with goat meat stew-ish thing. Ugali is the staple food of Kenya, just like rice is for most Asian countries. It's basically like rice cake except it's made of maize. I ate with my hands because that's what they do here... or because I wasn't given any utensils, and I didn't ask for one. It's an experience eating with your hands. I mean, you can eat hamburgers with your hands, but you wouldn't eat a stew with your hands. But I did. Anyhow it was a pretty good meal. Afterwards my hands got pretty oily, so I went back to my place and realized I forgot to bring my soap. So I used some laundry detergent. For dinner, Isaiah prepared for me some cooked cabbage and chapati. Chapati is much like nan, but it's round. Apparently it's also of Indian origin. It seems like people drink tea for almost every meal here. They would just drink tea (they call it chai, also of Indian origin) for breakfast, and also drink tea after dinner. Back at BCEA, we would drink chai and eat slices of bread after a fellowship or Lord's Day service. Anyway, enough about food now.
I spent most of the day at the clinic. The clinic opens at 8am, and closes past 5pm (depending on the number of patients). First thing at the clinic, PuiMeng delivered a baby. I didn't know when the clinic opened, so I just waited around my room for breakfast, and then took my time with breakfast, so I missed the delivery. But I heard the cry of the newborn baby from the outside. Of course I didn't know what was going inside, but somehow when I heard the cry, I thought it was a newborn. I guess they have a distinct sound when they cry. Later I got to see the placenta. PuiMeng showed me how to check the placenta and make sure no parts were missing. I had never seen the placenta before. It must really hurt when it detaches...
Since it was the first day, I was familiarized with the registration process. Then I sat in with the patients while PuiMeng examined them. On Mondays and Tuesdays, the clinic takes in general patients. On Wednesdays, they give immunization shots to the kids, and on Thursdays they have antenatal cares and tests.
One girl, probably about 15 or 16, came in to do a pregnancy test. She seemed very happy when she found out that she's pregnant. I wonder if she's married though. She came by herself, so I'm guessing not. But maybe she is because she seemed so happy. I don't know. Teenage girls in the US wouldn't be very happy if they found out that they are pregnant before marriage, and even after marriage for some cases. But since the culture here is different, maybe it doesn't matter if she's not married.
Today was just observing a lot of things, but I hope I can do some hands-on stuff tomorrow. I'm looking forward to taking a shower in the morning. I have to boil a pot of water and use buckets and dippers. Every exciting.
There are so many bugs here. One just landed on my shoulder, and another was crawling up over my throat. I hear some buzzing near the ceiling. But apparently now is the season we have the least number of bugs. There'll be even more in Lenkijape. At times you won't be able to eat out side because there are so many flies. I could talk more about flies, but I'll do that some other time... I'm so tired. And they've turned off the small generator already, so it's pitch dark. The only source of light is my laptop screen, keyboard backlight, and the mouse. Anyhow, it's time to sleep. The bugs are attracted to my laptop... Must shut it now.
Doxa in Kenya: Promiscuous
Sunday, July 23. (2nd post)
[Update July 19, 2012: I've retracted this post after re-reading this 6 years later that I may have said some inaccurate things and offended some people. Please contact me if you want to read the original post.]
[Update July 19, 2012: I've retracted this post after re-reading this 6 years later that I may have said some inaccurate things and offended some people. Please contact me if you want to read the original post.]
Doxa in Kenya: Arrival
Sunday, July 23. Kiluani.
I'm an idiot. I packed in such a hurry that I forgot to bring food... I had a whole bunch of instant soup and stuff, and I didn't bring any. All I have are two packages of candies and some gum that I brought for kids... Fortunately, PuiMeng (the nurse) is cooking for me just for tonight. Starting tomorrow, I'll have to pay to have someone cook for me. It's about Ksh200 ($2.80) per meal here, which is not bad at all. But I don't have anything to eat for breakfast. I might have to go to Namanga (the border city) tomorrow to buy some food. We'll see...
Kiluani is quite a nice place. Although, I wasn't surprised, because that's what I was told. We have a big generator that powers the houses in the mission station during the night. I'm staying in a guest house, in a room that David (or SunYik), Pastor Ahn's son from London, was staying a week ago. The house is actually made on two cargo containers (those giant metal rectangular box thingies that you see on freight trains and ships). You'll have to see the pictures later (when I come back to the US).
The trip down here wasn't too bad. Pastor Bernard came with me to ride on the matatu (public transportation), since it was my first time riding one. Before I came to Kenya, I read that matatus are very dangerous, that they pack as many people as possible into a van, and drive recklessly. Accidents involving matatus were (or are) very common, so recently a law was passed that limits the number of passengers depending on the vehicle. Also, all passengers have to wear seat belt. If you don't, and get caught by the police, you'll be fined and/or kicked out of the vehicle. In personal cars, only the people in front seats have to wear seat belts. If they don't, they'll get arrested. Yes, not just fined, but ARRESTED. So wear your seat belt if you're driving or sitting in the front.
Our matatu guy tried to rip me off Ksh100 by charging for my "luggage" (a backpack and a small bag). They're not supposed to charge people for luggage, but probably it's because I'm a musungu. Pastor Bernard helped me out and got the Ksh100 back. It cost Ksh20 per person to go to the bus (or matatu) station, and then Ksh300 per person to go to Namanga. We got off a little before Namanga, and walked to Kiluani.
I sat next to a young business man named Richard Moshi. We had some good conversation. People here are generally very friendly and talkative. He was born and raised in France, his family lives in Nairobi but he works at a seaport in Tanzania, and he speaks 7 languages. It turns out he's Jehovah's Witness, but it's because his mother is also. He told me he didn't know much about other religions, so I explained to him who Christians believe Jesus is. I explained to him the concept of Trinity (which JWs don't believe. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but below God), and admitted that it doesn't make much logical sense. But I also told him that if God made sense, if you can logically explain God, that can't be God. God is beyond our ability to reason. He created logic and reasoning. Just as a man living in two dimensions (say, a stick figure or comic book character) cannot understand three dimensions (world of the creator), we (the creation) cannot fully understand God (the creator).
So I was told that they have electricity at night here (and they do). I just got back from PuiMeng's place for dinner, and she told me that after 9pm, they switch off to a smaller generator, which powers only a few lights. They turned on the big generator around 7pm, so that means I can only recharge my laptop for two hours each day... Oh well. Once I go to Lenkijape there won't be ANY electricity, so I should first get used to having very limited electricity. They turn off the smaller generator whenever PuiMeng goes to sleep, and you never know when she will, so I guess they can turn off all of a sudden.
I got to see the goats, sheep, and donkeys that they keep. I was surprised that I was actually ok with their smell.
Tomorrow, the day starts at 7:30am with chapel hour. I'm going to talk to Pastor Steven's brother about cooking for me then.
I need a candle.
I'm an idiot. I packed in such a hurry that I forgot to bring food... I had a whole bunch of instant soup and stuff, and I didn't bring any. All I have are two packages of candies and some gum that I brought for kids... Fortunately, PuiMeng (the nurse) is cooking for me just for tonight. Starting tomorrow, I'll have to pay to have someone cook for me. It's about Ksh200 ($2.80) per meal here, which is not bad at all. But I don't have anything to eat for breakfast. I might have to go to Namanga (the border city) tomorrow to buy some food. We'll see...
Kiluani is quite a nice place. Although, I wasn't surprised, because that's what I was told. We have a big generator that powers the houses in the mission station during the night. I'm staying in a guest house, in a room that David (or SunYik), Pastor Ahn's son from London, was staying a week ago. The house is actually made on two cargo containers (those giant metal rectangular box thingies that you see on freight trains and ships). You'll have to see the pictures later (when I come back to the US).
The trip down here wasn't too bad. Pastor Bernard came with me to ride on the matatu (public transportation), since it was my first time riding one. Before I came to Kenya, I read that matatus are very dangerous, that they pack as many people as possible into a van, and drive recklessly. Accidents involving matatus were (or are) very common, so recently a law was passed that limits the number of passengers depending on the vehicle. Also, all passengers have to wear seat belt. If you don't, and get caught by the police, you'll be fined and/or kicked out of the vehicle. In personal cars, only the people in front seats have to wear seat belts. If they don't, they'll get arrested. Yes, not just fined, but ARRESTED. So wear your seat belt if you're driving or sitting in the front.
Our matatu guy tried to rip me off Ksh100 by charging for my "luggage" (a backpack and a small bag). They're not supposed to charge people for luggage, but probably it's because I'm a musungu. Pastor Bernard helped me out and got the Ksh100 back. It cost Ksh20 per person to go to the bus (or matatu) station, and then Ksh300 per person to go to Namanga. We got off a little before Namanga, and walked to Kiluani.
I sat next to a young business man named Richard Moshi. We had some good conversation. People here are generally very friendly and talkative. He was born and raised in France, his family lives in Nairobi but he works at a seaport in Tanzania, and he speaks 7 languages. It turns out he's Jehovah's Witness, but it's because his mother is also. He told me he didn't know much about other religions, so I explained to him who Christians believe Jesus is. I explained to him the concept of Trinity (which JWs don't believe. They believe that Jesus is the Son of God, but below God), and admitted that it doesn't make much logical sense. But I also told him that if God made sense, if you can logically explain God, that can't be God. God is beyond our ability to reason. He created logic and reasoning. Just as a man living in two dimensions (say, a stick figure or comic book character) cannot understand three dimensions (world of the creator), we (the creation) cannot fully understand God (the creator).
So I was told that they have electricity at night here (and they do). I just got back from PuiMeng's place for dinner, and she told me that after 9pm, they switch off to a smaller generator, which powers only a few lights. They turned on the big generator around 7pm, so that means I can only recharge my laptop for two hours each day... Oh well. Once I go to Lenkijape there won't be ANY electricity, so I should first get used to having very limited electricity. They turn off the smaller generator whenever PuiMeng goes to sleep, and you never know when she will, so I guess they can turn off all of a sudden.
I got to see the goats, sheep, and donkeys that they keep. I was surprised that I was actually ok with their smell.
Tomorrow, the day starts at 7:30am with chapel hour. I'm going to talk to Pastor Steven's brother about cooking for me then.
I need a candle.
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