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.

Doxa in Tanzania: No-Hurry Africa

Friday, September 1. Arusha, Tanzania.

Ever since I came back to Nairobi, I've been having some gas problem. Not
that I passed gas so frequently, but when I did, it gave out some
exceptionally deadly odor. I've known myself for 22 years, and I know what
my fart should smell like. But for the past few days it was different. Then
this morning, after I had breakfast, I had a semi-loose stool, and felt
really weak. I felt really dizzy as I sat on the john, but a little better
when I finished relieving myself. I took some vitamins, Immodium, and some
herbal medicine that I got from an acupuncturist back home, then I rested
for half an hour. I felt a lot better after that, and now I think I'm all
better. I have no idea what caused it though... Well, maybe it's because of
the over-a-month old garlic that I've been using in almost every meal. I
left some garlic in my apartment before I left for Masai Land. By now they
should be at least 6 weeks old. I should stop using those from now on and
see what happens. Now my gas smells quite normal.

A group of us from BCEA left for Tanzania today. I rode in Dr. Gary
Johnson's car. He is a lab technician at Clinic of Care in some rural area
east of Nairobi. Dr. Johnson was invited to attend the pastors conference we
had this week at BCEA. He's been working in Kenya for 27 years already, and
he is such a jovial old man. Dr. Howard Carlson and his wife were also in
our car. Dr. Carlson is also very old and playful like Dr. Johnson. Dr.
Carlson teaches at BCEA sometimes, but his main work is at Faith College in
Nairobi. I'm not sure exactly what his role is at the college, but his wife
was working on making the schedule for Faith College, so I assume he is also
in some kind of administrative position. It was quite interesting to see the
two men with white hair teasing each other and making jokes with one
another. I hope I can be as cheerful and energetic as these men when I'm at
their age. Dr. Johnson told me I'm welcome to visit his clinic sometime
during my stay in Kenya. I hope I'll get the opportunity to do that. I
really look up to them because I want to be like them, serving the Lord far
away from home at their age.

Some of us including myself are staying at the same hotel I stayed last time
I was here. It's called Hotel 77 (or Hotel Saba-saba, saba = seven in
Kiswahili). For dinner, we went to the hotel cafeteria, which probably was a
big mistake. We sat at our tables around 6:50pm, and soon after that ordered
our drinks and food. The sodas came after about 10 minutes, but by the time
the server brought the chai that Christine and I ordered, it was already
7:50pm. The food didn't come till half an hour after that. The food wasn't
quite enough, so we ordered a few more chapati, which came well after we
finished all our food on the table. So you can imagine how slow things work
here. While we waited we joked about how only after we order they start
cutting firewood, make charcoal, catch a chicken, slaughter it, harvest
vegetables and tea leaves from the farm, etc. So this is Africa.

A couple days ago, Tanzania started a nation-wide power rationing. One of
their power plants are undergoing rehabilitation or something like that, so
the whole country gets power from the lines only from 7pm to 7am everyday.
When we arrived, they were powering the lights with solar panels, but the
water heater was not working. Now it's already 12:30am, but water heater is
still not working... I guess they just turned it off or something. Oh well,
I'm used to cold showers anyway (I've been taking cold bucket showers for 5
weeks in Masai Land).

Hotel 77 is one of the biggest hotels in Arusha, and still the service is
quite terrible. We asked for an extra towel from the front desk when we
finished dinner (about 9:30pm, 2.5 hours after we sat at the table), and the
towel came past 11pm. So I guess this is what we call No-Hurry Africa.

African Courier #1: Into the Woods

Jambo!

It's been two weeks since I came to East Africa, and it feels like a lot has happened already. To mention a few, a missionary team from London came and I got to join them in their ministry for their last few days, Pastor Kiarie got married last week, and I went down to Tanzania couple days ago to see the new Bible college under construction. You can read about them on my blog (http://doxadeo.blogspot.com).

However, the real African experience starts tomorrow. I'll be going to Masai Land to spend a month there. That's where people live in huts made out of cow dung, and most places don't have electricity or running water. So I'll be disconnected from the rest of the world except through my cell phone.

Speaking of phones, I just got one today. If you need to contact me, or just want to chat, my number is: 0727-867-619. Incoming calls and SMS are free for me (outgoing SMS is very cheap), so don't hesitate to call or text! The country code for Kenya is 254. (e.g. If you're calling from the US, dial 011-254-727-867-619. If that doesn't work, add 0 before 727.)

For the first week, I'll be volunteering at a clinic, then for three weeks after that I'll be helping with a ministry while most likely living in one of the cow-dung huts. I have no idea how I will recharge my phone battery without electricity, but even the Masai warriors have cell phones (or maybe it's because they are warriors that they have cell phones), so I'm sure there's a way.

Please pray for me as I will be entering an entirely different culture. Pray that I will be able to share God's love by my actions, that I will glorify God in whatever I do. I will be in a relatively less safe environment, so please pray for safety and health. Although, without God no place is safe, and with God everywhere is safe. The Lord is my refuge. To be honest, I am a bit scared and worried. Please pray that I will have more faith in God.

You'll hear from me again next month, if I'm still alive by then.

In Him,
SunMin

Doxa in Kenya: Back to School

Friday, July 21. Nairobi.

I'm back! ... Well, not in the US, but in Kenya.

Tanzania was actually quite nice, but I'm sure I've only seen the nicer parts. The school is coming together, but I wonder if it will really be done by end of next month.

The deaconess that I met yesterday arranged to have her two daughters join us for breakfast. Mrs. Kim, Pastor Lazarus, and Rajabu had to go back to the construction site early, so I had breakfast with the two girls, Hannah and YaeJin. Hannah is going to be a Junior in college planning to go to med school, so I was supposed to give hers some advice, especially on scholarships and stuff, but since she's an international student, I couldn't really help her much. I got a ton of financial aid and some research grant because I'm a California resident, but it's a completely different ballgame for international students. Anyhow we had a good time just chatting.

Apparently broadband internet is quite common in Tanzania, or at least among the Koreans in Tanzania. On the other hand, broadband is really expensive and not as common in Kenya, even in Nairobi. I heard that it's somehow related to the fact that the current president owns the majority of the shares in the major broadband provider. From the grassroots level all the way up to the president, corruption is prominent in Kenya. I'll write more about that some other time. Or maybe I shouldn't write about it, at least about the leaders, because there isn't much freedom of press here either... I'm afraid I'll get slapped in the face (literally) by the president's wife or have my computer destroyed by the armed forces. That's what they do to people who say things that are unfavorable about the leaders, or so I hear. [Dear President Kibaki, if you're reading this, please don't hurt me. I'm just an innocent musungu, and whatever I say are only the things I hear, so it could be completely false anyway. Just stop the freaking corruption, darn it!]

I really can't get used to the pollution here. Just riding a car with window open gives me a headache. Coming back to Nairobi was terrible because of that. I miss Tanzania already. I could smell the mountains there... Or not.

I cooked some of my sticky rice for the first time tonight. It was so good that I wanted to cry. Seriously. I can pick them up using my chopstick! I was so touched that I gave the rest of my non-sticky rice to Richard right after dinner. I can never go back. The whole world should just eat sticky rice (and nothing else). I want to feed sticky rice to the starving children all over Africa. Ok, now I'm just playing.

Would anybody dare me to go without shaving for a whole month (or perhaps longer)? Well, if nobody dares, I'll just take on my own dare. In fact, tomorrow will be a week since I shaved last time. I figured I don't really have anyone to impress, and maybe I could look a little older with some beard and mustache. It's been my childhood dream to have a big beard... Ok, just kidding. But I've always thought of trying some facial hair, but it grows unevenly, so I couldn't stand the look of the short stubs scattered around my mouth. Maybe it'll look better if I grow it a little longer. Or maybe not. I guess I'll find out when I come back from Lenkijape.

Doxa in Tanzania: A Day Trip Down South

Thursday, July 20. Arusha, Tanzania

Wow. Who would have thought that I would be in Tanzania today? It was literally a last minute decision, but now I am in Arusha, a city in northern Tanzania. I'm staying at a hotel in my own room. So, how did I get here?

This morning, right after morning chapel (around 9AM), HaYoung called me over and asked me if I wanted go to Tanzania with her mom, and that she's leaving in 30 minutes. It was a double surprise because her mom (Mrs. Kim) wasn't going to go because she's been sick, and I had no idea I had the option to go. So apparently she decided to go, and she had asked me if I wanted to tag along. Since I didn't have much time to decide, I thought, "why not?" and decided to go.

Mrs. Kim has been planting a lot of flowers and trees at BCEA, and she's also in charge of plants at the new Bible College in Arusha. Also, she had to send some money there to pay for construction or something like that.

On the way to the border, I got to see a little bit of Masai Land, where I will be for the next month. People seemed to live literally among the bushes. There's really nothing but trees and grass. I also saw two giraffes eating from a tree right next to the road. I'd never seen a wild giraffe, so I doubted my eyes when I saw them. There was also a dead hyena on the road. We stopped at River Hotel in Namanga, a city bordering Kenya and Tanzania, for bathroom break and lunch. Then at the border I had to buy a 3-month visa to Tanzania for $50 (it was the same for Kenya).

We arrived at the new Bible College at around 3PM (about 5.5hr ride), and we planted some trees and bushes around campus. I got to see the painting job that London Team did when they were here last week. It was actually fun planting stuff and getting my hands dirty. I think there's something therapeutic about planting trees. I'm looking forward to seeing the plants (that I personally planted) again in a month, and see how they've grown. They are so small right now, but it's mind-boggling to think that they will be at least a waist high in a few weeks.

People here seem really friendly, or the kids at least. As we drove by villages, most of the kids that see me would smile and wave at me. It's probably because I'm a "musungu" (foreigner), but it's still interesting when the kids wave at me or give me a thumb-up.

After working at the college, we met up with a deaconess and went out to dinner. We ate at an Italian restaurant called Pepe. I didn't know they had such a nice restaurant in Tanzania. They had a real Italian chef, the food was excellent, and the portions were humongous. I'm telling you, I'm being so spoiled in Africa. But no worries, I'll have my share of "Africa" starting next week.

Mrs. Kim insists that I should climb Mt. Kilimanjaro since I'm here. Most likely I'll be going there after a month of "training" in Masai Land. I'll be walking around a lot while I'm there, so it'll be a god training. Apparently it takes 5 to 6 days to climb all the way to the top and come back down. So that's quite a challenge... And that's an understatement. I've climbed Mt. Fuji without difficulty, but that was when I was in high school, and I was more fit back then. Besides I wasn't carrying anything on my back, and it only took a few hours. I also climbed Half Dome in Yosemite two years ago, and that was pretty tough mainly because I was carrying a lot of water on the way up (8 hours climbing, 2 hours descending). It would be quite an accomplishment if I make it to the top of Kilimanjaro... It's also quite expensive. I'm not sure if I could afford it, but I'm willing to take up the challenge if I'm given the opportunity.

Mt. Kilimanjaro is usually hidden in the clouds, so I didn't get to see it today, but maybe tomorrow on the way back to Nairobi I'll get to see it.