Africa Update

We have been in Kenya about 2 weeks now, and will be here for about another week. We had one trip to western Kenya on the first weekend to talk with the Mennonite bishops in that particular area about the needs as they see them for training leaders in their churches. The one that probably impressed me the most is the bishop who said that he oversees 8 pastors, and only 1 of them has any training in church leadership or biblical studies. He also said that he oversees 11 churches, but 2 of them are "dying out" because they have no leader. I asked him if he has plans to start any churches in the next year, he said there are 4 towns he would like to start churches, but he has no one with leadership experience or training to put there. All the leaders I talk to tell me the same thing. So we are looking at ways we can respond to help them provide training.

The Mennonite church was started in Tanzania almost 80 years ago, and now there are about 400 churches and around 60,000 members. By comparison, Lancaster Mennonite Conference dates back over 200 years, and has grown how large? It seems it does make a difference when the church makes it a clear priority to reach out.

It has been a good experience getting acquainted again with the African setting. We enjoy warm days, not too hot, and cool nights. Nairobi is about 1 mile above sea level, so that keeps it from getting too hot. Nairobi is busy city with too many cars and buses, and lots of people. Language has not been a problem, out Swahili came right back. The same with driving on the left side of the road, which is where we drive in East Africa, unless it is to go around a pothole, which there are plenty of! Our days have been fairly relaxed, with occasional meetings with people about some part of church leadership. Tomorrow we leave for another round of visits with church leaders in another part of western Kenya, and we will be gone almost a week. Then we come back to Nairobi, collect our luggage, and leave for Tanzania. We expect to use most of the rest of the year to travel to churches and talk with the leaders about their training needs, and then begin with a program early 2013.

We have been able to stay in touch with our family. A cell phone call from Kenya is only about 3 cents a minute to call the US, so we take advantage of the cheap rates. We have not yet been able to Skype, but we plan to do that once we get a little more settled. The technology available today really makes a big difference from when we first went to East Africa 34 years ago, when we had letters only that took at least 3 weeks to get there, by airmail. Now it is much easier to keep in contact.

We are staying at the Mennonite Guest House when in Nairobi, and it is a sort of oasis in a crowded city, with a large grassy yard,good meals, and facilities mostly up to western standards. But we will also enjoy getting out and enjoy the down-to-earth life of rural Africa. So that is a little glimpse into our world. Thank you for your generous, sincere support of us, and continue to pray - for our safety in traveling, for our physical health, and for clear thinking about how to do our part in strengthening the churches in this part of the world.

Joe and Gloria Bontrager