Safari Nzuri – East Africa

Hello all. I made it to Kisumu. I continued my trip on 9/13 on a flight from Dubai to Nairobi. I got to the hotel at 8:30 PM.  After a light dinner, I hit the sack. The next morning, I got to the Airport early and flew from Nairobi to Kisumu to meet up with Bishop David and one of his four daughters, Paula.    A short time later, we were in downtown Kisumu, where they live.  That’s when the real fun started.

I was greeted with a beautifully constructed cake that Lynnette made.   As you can see, her confectionary skills are impressive (most impressive!).    Shortly after, we were off to Bondo, a little over an hour away.   David’s family arranged for a surprise birthday party for him with members of his staff and other leaders in the diocese.    One of the challenges of going out that far from their home was that I needed to be back to host a Zoom meeting 

with the Companions in Mission Ministry Network group at 4 PM.   I was trying to be polite and not be a clock watcher.   

Of course, it all worked out perfectly.   When the celebration was over, we drove back and got to their home at 3:50 PM.   I hosted the meeting right on time.    The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and hanging out together.

This morning, David and I left to go to his original home parish (where he grew up) to conduct a Confirmation service.  Kandaria Parish is near Bondo, so we had to leave around 7:30 AM.   One thing I know about Confirmation services in this part of the world is that they are special parish celebrations.   They take time.   

In Kenya, or at least with Bishop David, I’ve noticed that he likes to meet with the confirmands before the service. He asks them many questions about faith and biblical persons and events and really engages with them in a light, friendly manner. 

The worship in Kenya is quite different from that I’ve experienced in western Tanzania.  The framework of the service is similar, but the singing and sound are different.   In Kenya, they rely more on acapella singing with occasionally pre-recorded accompaniment.   As you’ll see with future posts from my stay in Tanzania, there is a much higher sound volume in the Tanzania church.   I enjoy both, but I do like the sound of the acapella voices more.

After worship, we had lunch with the parish leaders and then returned to Kisumu. That’s where I am now, waiting for the 10:30 AM service to start at St.ld. Paul’s Brookfie We will all be watching the live stream at that time (5:30 PM Kisumu time).

That’s it for now.   I’ll post an update mid-week.