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.

Sri Lanka 2

A lot has happened since I last wrote. I've had two trips to other parts of Sri Lanka, both were hot and long (4 and 10 hrs), but rewarding. In Kandy, I got a chance to stay two nights on a campus in a tropical setting, where they have students from both Tamil and Sinhalise langauges, so their chapel services are a series of prayers alternating languages and then singing in English, with a sermon traslated into one or the other. I also got to eat Sri Lankan style, scooping rice mixed with curry in your hands after you've mashed it up a bit... One of the most interesting dishes was a stack of crepe like things that were formed into a bread bowl with an egg fried in the base. Then curry and fish soup is poured in and the whole thing is eaten. They also have noodle patties that go well with the different types of curry dishes (pretty spicey).

Also in Kandy, I went to the Temple of the Tooth, where the Buddha's left tooth relic is kept. It was interesting, but was under heavy security as the country has a lot of ethnic tensions these days...

Next I took an overnight train to Trincomalee on the East coast of the island. There I saw some of the devestating effects of the Tsunami and civil strife. Things are more safe in this area now, but there is a lot of work to be done still. There are many Tsunami vicitim village developments around, but some are left empty because they never got power and water, and are too far from the coast. The seminary that I visited was quite passionate and committed to training pastors to serve this needy part of the country and I was welcomed very warmly and given lots of useful insight into contextualization of theological education. A big theme from this seminary was to send the pastors out to their villages with sound theological training, but also other skills to be a multi-resource for the community.

The overnight train ride back to Colombo turned out to be all the adventure I could hope for. There was a problem with the tracks because of heavy rain, so I had to get off the train in the middle of the night, get on a packed train with standing room only for several hours, get back off the train and take a 3 hour ride in a covered mo-ped cab in the pouring rain, but I got back to a Colombo after 12 hours of travel... Things that suprised me on the trip were so many monkeys, rice fields, and some peacocks...

Sri Lanka 1

Well, here in Sri Lanka things are all warm and sunny. I've been staying at a seminary in the capital of Colombo. The people have been very nice and welcoming. The campus is fairly new and well kept, but they only have commuter students, so there haven't been a lot of people around to talk to. I have seen monkeys jumping through the trees though and am getting used to cars coming at me on the left side of the road.

On Sunday I met a guy who is working with immigrants from Maldives, another nation of small islands to the West of the Indian subcontinent. Unfortunately, the country is in self-denial about a huge heroine problem the young people are having. It's estimated that 80% of the young adult males are heroine addicts. So this guy is working with young men in a rehab program for Maldivian immigrants. But he is discouraged right now as there aren't many making progress.

Yesterday I had lunch with a lecturer who was quite interested in my project, and he introduced me to another US student who is doing a similar project about seeing how the traditional Sri Lankan drum can be re-integrated into worship services. It is played quite lively, but is associated with budhist rituals and so hasn't been embraced by the church previously. Very interesting...

This is a picture of a man named Dyonis, who is the care taker of the school and basically looks after me. He is quite sweet although only speaks in single word sentences in English. We've had some fun though still.

This afternoon (tuesday) I leave the heat of the coast and go up to the higher inland section of Sri Lanka, to Kandy. There are some famous temples up there and a Bible School I will stay at over night.

Summer Travel

Hey everybody,
I have some exciting news to share, so am finally getting around to posting a note. I received my seminary's Valentour Travel Fellowship for this summer, so I am going to be traveling to Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Singapore, Malaysia, and another country in South East Asia.

I'll be doing research on how seminaries in those countries have adapted what they do to be more relevant to their cultures. It should mostly involve interviewing students and professors and getting to know their campuses, and hopefully it will turn up some things that US seminaries can learn from. I will also be exploring the possibilities of teaching overseas in the future.

Fortunately, Rachel will be joining me after the second week of the 8 week trip. I will be gone from May 23-July 20, and Rachel will join me on June 11, once her school gets out. I'll try to attach a handy map from "Where I've Been" for those who want to sharpen their geography skills.

Christmas Letter 2007

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Elated Epiphany from the Ludwigs!
It comes the time to sum our year into a Christmas letter. Well, this year is one that has brought very few changes in comparison to the other four lively years of marriage that Michael and Rachel have shared. We will celebrate five years of marriage this coming March!
Budgeting time has become slightly more difficult for Michael as he has an internship, as well as being a research assistant and his regular studies. Michael’s internship includes working with the youth, contributing to contemporary worship, visiting shut-ins, as well as helping lead worship. It has been good to get some practical experience in the ministry to help give a purpose to his studies. He had a chance to preach his first sermon right after Thanksgiving, and it went well.
Rachel has had an incredible start to her second year teaching 7th grade math at Shaler Area Middle School. There are many changes that will happen in her job in the coming year, but currently her job is delightful. Rachel is also completing her masters at Slippery Rock University, by taking three classes this spring. It is good to stay in touch with the changes in teaching, but she is ready to be done with evening classes.
Now to some joys of our family. On about a monthly basis we are able to have a dinner with Andrew, Jill, Rachel’s grandparents (Frazier) and parents. Rachel has some great time to spend with her mom and grandma, baking and shopping or meeting for meals.
Both Rachel and Michael are enjoying running with Rachel’s dad, and all three are currently planning on racing the Cleveland Marathon in May, pending there are no serious injuries throughout the training.
This fall we also got to spend some restful and caring times with Michael’s family at his cousin’s wedding and in Holland, MI. We have had some wonderful times with Michael’s parents and grandma and look forward to visiting them and his brother for Christmas.
On a final note, we did have some adventures this summer while leading a mission trip to Guatemala for 6 weeks. We led a great group of 8 young adults from NWMC around Guatemala to build relationships and do a few development projects with the Guatemalan churches (build a chicken coop and plant trees). Rachel’s highlight was getting to see the family she lived with in 2001, and catch up with some of her Guatemalan friends. Michael’s highlight was spending the night in an old Guatemalan farmhouse and experiencing a little bit of the life of a peasant. Our low-light was being held-up by bandits on the road. Fortunately no one was hurt and God worked good out of the situation. Of course there were other challenges with cultural differences, but overall we all learned a lot and it was a good experience.

If you are in Pittsburgh, please stop by and see us.

Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Michael & Rachel Ludwig