He is Risen!

Pole sana, hatujaandika kwa wiki wawili! Sorry that we haven’t updated our blog in two weeks! But here we are, getting back into the routine of things after several trips (both business and pleasure), and enjoying Kenya now more than ever.

First on a more serious note, I went back to the States a few weeks ago as my Grandad passed away after a long battle with cancer. I didn’t know if I would be able to go home or not, and I am so glad that it worked out so that I was able to be together with my family to mourn and remember him together. Thank you to so many of you who have been praying for my family through all of this.

Now I have been back in Kenya for two weeks, and we have been staying so busy. The day after I flew in we hopped on a train with our friends Tyler and Lydia for an overnight ride to the coastal town of Mombasa. We met up with some other missionary friends of ours, and the 17 of us stayed together in a beach cottage for a few days as our Easter break. We spent a lot of time swimming, snorkeling, sailing, fishing, eating and relaxing. Oh, and we went for a camel ride on the beach! The trip was a lot of fun and it provided a beautiful and relaxing break to our regular work schedule.

When we returned from Mombasa we jumped right back into work, meetings, and trainings. Now that the have started, the farmers have all planted and now have more time to meet for the business trainings that we are doing. So Michael and I have started teaching the Plan a Better Business (PBB) course and we love it so far.

It has been so much fun to team teach this course, to “ongea pamoja” (discuss together) with the farmers, and to learn together about business and marketing. One of our favorite parts about the training so far is that everyone really gets into the skits that they all perform. We split the group up and assign them different scenarios to perform, and it really has been amazing to see the issues that they raise and the talent they use to express different things, like punctuality at meetings, consistent saving, or the necessity of good book keeping. There are six lessons in the PBB course, and five new groups that are taking the course, so we will be staying very busy in the coming months traveling to and meeting with each group for each lesson.

A huge plug for Kenya for both Michael and me is the ease with which we can make weekend trips to interesting places. This past weekend we went with Karis and Abby, Tyler and Lydia, and two other friends, Stephen and Loui, to Lake Naivasha (the second time for us) to camp on the lake and to hike the "senile volcano,” Mt. Longonot. I’m pretty sure we all under-estimated the difficulty of the hike, but despite the aches, pains and blisters we’re experiencing now, it really was so much fun. 

It took us about 5 hours to climb up, to hike the entire rim, and to hike back down, but quite literally at every step I was overwhelmed by the captivating views and astounding scenery.We were exhausted and covered in dust and dirt when we finished, but after some tasty snacks and many “coke baridi sana” (cold cokes), we were able to make the two hour drive back to Nairobi.

One of our favorite events so far that we’ve had in Kenya happened last week. Michael and I were honored to host our first annual Easter Feast in our home. We took out the bits of furniture we usually have in the main room, set up mattresses and big pillows for seats, and placed a blanket on the floor as our table. Michael organized and led the program, and everyone contributed food to the feast. It was such a rich and worshipful evening with friends from Kenya, India, England and the States sitting in a room together rejoicing in and celebrating the resurrection of our Lord, King Jesus. All aspects about the feast—the music, the Scripture and literature readings, the food, and the prayers—helped all of us to remember and celebrate Jesus’ victory over sin and death in a very powerful way. At one point during the service we proclaimed together, “Jesus is Lord,” and then from that truth we spoke about the things that are not Lord. Caesar is not Lord, Jesus is Lord. My success is not Lord, Jesus is Lord. My country is not Lord, Jesus is Lord. I am not Lord, Jesus is Lord.

May we remember and celebrate Jesus’ Lordship not just one day out of the year, but every day of our lives. God has been teaching us that we can and should celebrate the victory of the resurrection by living every day in the freedom and peace that comes through Jesus. He calls himself our Brother, and He lets us participate in His work of bringing His kingdom.

“The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” (Revelation 22:17&20)

Much love,

Rebecca

There Is No Peace That Way

*Author’s Note: Living cross-culturally is a radical experience that colors every aspect of one’s life, influencing how one reads, how one relates to fellow humans, how one worships. We want to make this blog a place where we discuss the full range of our experiences, and the impact that those experiences have on our worldviews, our theologies, our faith commitments. This necessitates posts, however, that don’t fit strictly into the “Missionary Update” category. We hope this is ok with everyone, and would ask that if you're not interested in these more meditative posts, please feel free to skip them!

Recently, Rebecca and I went to downtown Nairobi to get some train tickets for our trip to the coast. On our way back, we began to turn down a road that was completely empty. This was strange, considering it was the middle of the day on a street known for its jams. Just as we began to turn, several Kenyans ran off the sidewalk and blocked our way, chattering in Kiswahili. Finally, one of them said, “My friend, there is no peace that way.” Not till later on, did we realize that the street had been shut down by a major protest by university students that ended in the overturning of several cars and some mild looting (nobody was hurt).

That phrase has been echoing in my head ever since. So much was said in that one phrase. There is no peace that way. The students protested because a cop shot one of their classmates. Tribalism, classism, oppression . . . they all live just under the surface here, and the students feel that deeply. While strongly disagreeing with the students destruction of property, I support their protest: Kenyans need to stand up and call for justice and transparency in what Transparency International calls one of the most corrupt countries in the world.

On the other hand, violent protests don’t bring peace. There is no peace that way, because violence almost never leads to peace. This is proved by the positive practical examples of Ghandi, Dr. King, and the peace processes in S. Africa, and negatively by Israel’s utter failure to establish peace by violently crushing Palestinian military movements, our struggle to create peace through violence in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East, and by the sorry history of vigilante and mob justice efforts.

What’s amazing is how little a role “peace” has played in my faith-walk so far. I know about Dr. King, I know Jesus is the “prince of peace,” and I know that if you want to be a pastor, you’ll probably go through Peace Makers at some point. But growing up, we just didn’t talk practically about peace very much. I used to think this was because peace wasn’t that big of a problem for us. Then I worked in inner city Memphis, and I saw the violence, the injustice, the failing schools, the crumbling public housing, met the kids forced to sell crack because there wasn’t opportunity, then those kids turned adult felons still trying to get out of it, and heard the stories of the dirty cops, lazy defendants, mismanaged cases, and the rest.

The problem seems not that we’re unacquainted with violence, but that we spend all our time trying to ignore it when it’s against others, or rationalizing it when “our team” decides to use it. But God’s Word doesn’t ignore peace. The pages of the Bible are oozing with peace talk. Just yesterday I saw where Hosea declares that God will destroy man’s weapons so that none will live in fear. And Jesus died a violent death instead of resorting to violence, a violence that would have been truly just and righteous. Thd history of the early church clearly shows that Christ’s early followers believed that He had called them to do the same (the history of the Reformers isn’t quite so clear unfortunately!)

I don’t know what to do about all of the Palestinian civilians killed in a brutish war by a US supported Israel. I don’t know what to do about the terrified Israelis living in fear because of Hamas radicals. I don’t know what to say exactly about this enormous war we’ve waged that’s cost tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians their lives, and four thousand some odd of our own troops. I don’t know what to say about how to live in a world of violence and injustice while following a man who said turn the other cheek and died on a cross.

But I do know that Jesus called His followers to seek the peace, to be peace makers, and not just when an elder and a parishioner get into it over who botched the Wednesday night potluck. I know that when Christians call Jesus the Prince of Peace, and don’t even discuss or investigate the Guantanamo Bays, Blackwaters, Palestinian refugee camps, and urban ghettos of the world we make Christ a liar to all who are listening. And I know that we’re never going to become the radical church that refuses to cave into the world’s sinful camps and categories unless we begin to talk about what it might look like to live for peace, to radically question the world's premises on every side, and follow the Spirit wherever He leads us (and I don’t know where He’ll lead us!!). If this leads us places that others call “irrational,” “unrealistic,” or even “un American,” so be it. “Whether it is better to please men or God,” others must judge for themselves; there is no peace any other way.

Praying for Peace,
Michael