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

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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.

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/