Nairobi II

I spent most of this week in Tanzania, first in Dar es Salaam and then in Arusha. In both places, I met with the Mennonite bishop and some of the pastors to hear their concerns about training pastors and what will be most helpful to them. I experienced a lot of interest in leadership training and some things already being done. But there is need for better basic training and upgrading the Bible "college" to have better prepared leaders for today's world. Both of these areas have better educated people, many of whom have jobs in government or business and have degrees or other advanced training. Most of them also have internet access. I returned to Nairobi Thursday afternoon and spent today, Friday, catching up with myself. I went to have lunch with a couple we knew from before, Bishop Joash Osiro and his wife, Rebecca Osiro. Joash is bishop in an area in western Kenya, and Rebecca is pastor of Nairobi Mennonite Church, the only female ordained pastor in the Mennonite churches here. It was such a good experience to sit and talk with them.

The traffic in Nairobi is really heavy, and gets very congested as rush hour. I am intrigued at the way they drive, although some might find it scary. It gets especially interesting at the traffic circles. It reminds me of an ice hockey game in slow motion, except they keep from hitting each other (most of the time). It consists of a constant weaving in and out of cars, trucks, motorcycles, buses, and pedestrians crossing the street. I want to call it a "dance" the way they all interact, somehow always aware of each other, and showing respect and waiting for whoever "got there first." Of course, they all try to get there first. Eventually, we get where we are going. If we could learn to give each other space in our interactions with each other day by day, maybe a lot of things would go more smoothly.

Tomorrow I am taking a a bus to Kisumu, a city in western Kenya on Lake Victoria - a 6 hour ride. I will be there for a couple days, first to worship with them on Sunday, and then we have a meeting planned with some of the bishops and pastors of western Kenya on Tuesday. I expect a different experience there than in the cities I have been in so far, because most of these churches are in rural areas, and even the pastors usually have only a primary school education (grade 8 or less). Almost none of them have internet access, although I am sure most of them have cell phones. It is a strange thing, the way the technology has entered the society and is helpful for communication. Following the visit to Kisumu, I will take a few days to visit Shirati, Musoma, and a couple other church centers in the Lake Victoria region. I am not sure how much internet access I will have there.

As I am writing this, it is 8 pm and I hear the Muslim call to prayer. Not a bad reminder. Too often we do not take the time for prayer that we should.

Joe