Kenya experiences 2

I really enjoyed the visits I made the past two days to schools, despite the fact that they involved several hours in cramped mini-buses and directions that left me wandering around a while before finding everything. Moffat Bible College was way out in a little village at the top of one side of the rift valley, so not only did I get a great view, but I also got to talk to profs. and students who were doing theological training at more of a grass-roots level. St. Paul's was a much more formal level University, but it seemed like the school doing the most structured contextualizing of theological education that I have visited. They had two specific practicum classes that look at the issues of HIV/AIDS and Poverty by having the classes meet in a slum or AIDS counseling center. The school also has several classes where the students have to immediately apply what they are learning to their ministry setting, by organizing a 'base group' of people from the community they work with, to share what they are learning with this group and mobilize to put things in to practice. Finally, the normal Bible and Theology classes at this seminary were obviously taught with the concept of translating everything into a way that it can be understood from the perspective of people a more traditional African worldview.

Discovering this last point was one of my most interesting conversations of the trip thus far. I was interviewing one of the Old Testament professors, and he was mentioning a lot of ways that he reflects on a traditional African worldview in his teaching. One is by teaching a course on African Traditional Religions (which is common at all the schools I visited), and others are by relating many of the Old Testament stories/concepts to traditional stories/rituals from different African tribes. This all makes sense to communicate truth by drawing on similarities and differences of concepts that are already familiar. But later in the conversation I was sketched out a little bit when I asked the prof. what denomination he was affiliated with (most of the students are Anglicans or Presbyterians), and he told me he was a practitioner of African Traditional Religion. Then he proceeded to give me a big grin and wave a "brush/wand" thing at me. I'm not exactly sure what he meant by that, because everything else in the conversation pointed to him being a Christian, but it raises some interesting questions. The crux of the matter being where you draw the line between an African Traditional Religion that uses Christianity as one thing among others to add to its spirituality, and Christianity that is practiced by people who have the sensibilities of an African Traditional Religion world-view and redeems the parts of traditional culture that have miss the mark.

I could say much more, but will end by saying that I have enjoyed bonding with the staff at the guest house as we have been able to watch some of the Euro 2008 football matches, not something they usually do with U.S. guests.

Comment on Kenya's unrest

I want to share just one story about the violent social unrest ealier this year in Kenya. Before coming to Kenya, I had read some disappointing articles about how the churches in Kenya had not spoken out or acted out against the atrocities of the political parties or been catalysts to stop the conflicts surrounding the elections. Apparently this is quite unlike what the church's role had been in the early 2000s, when it was a very vocal leader for justice and peace amid troubling times. So it seemed that the church was loosing it's credibility on social issues. Thus, it was interesting to hear some follow up on that point from one missionary here.

She shared some about what the western media will probably never pick up on, because it is in the spiritual realm to which Africans are often more attuned than most westerns. A few months ago it came out that some of the political parties had called in witch doctors from other countries to cast spells on specific places in the country to claim them for their party in the coming election. So, it was no wonder to some that these specific areas were where the major violence broke out after the elections. When this became well-known, a coalition of churches spanning all denominations, ethnicities, and regions of the country decided to have marches to each of these places and re-claim them for Christ, casting out the powers of darkness that had been invited into their midst. They also committed to only using each other's first names and only speaking in Kiswahili or English so that their tribal identities wouldn't be an issue for this coalition. This was quite a symbol of unity for a divided country, and hopefully it is a sign of renewed focus for the church on maintaining a strong witness to God's peace and justice.

"Jambo" from Kenya

Now I am in Kenya, another land with very friendly people, and not nearly as hot as I expected. It's almost boarder-line cold in the morning! While I have been wary of the reportedly high crime rate in Nairobi, I have been struck by the friendliness of the people at the seminaries I've visited. I spent some time in a waiting room, and every person that came in, even if they were working there and in the middle of some errand, went around to each person in the room and shook their hand and greeted them. I've also been suprised at how many students there are in Kenya from other African countries. I guess I knew that the higher education in Kenya is better than most of the rest of Africa, but I'm impressed by the diversity at these seminaries.

The guesthouse that I'm staying at is very appropriately nice. It has been interesting to meet other missionary families and hear what they are up to. Many are from the Sudan, and talk of the heat and difficulty of working among some tribes or muslim areas. I've also met an old scotish presbyterian from Australia, who has all the advice anyone could ever take about any subject...

Today I rode the bus an hour out of town to a seminary with a nice rural campus. I felt much safer traveling than I expected, and I even got the chance to ride for a while with one of the students from the sem. named Rotich, who gave me some good advice about who to talk to. One of the professors I spoke to highlighted that some of the biggest theological issues he sees in Africa right now involve the treatment of women. Wife beating is very rampant and some say it is related to the common practice of paying an elaborate 'bride price' for a wife. This professor then spoke a lot about how the church needs to confront the culture more on these issues. The dean at the school, Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology, was also trying to convince me to come and do a PhD here, because it is one of the few theological PhD programs in Africa and would prepare me to teach here... I'm not sure I'm ready for all that, but it seemed like an institution that has a lot going for it. You can see a picture of the library above.