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.
I have often said that traveling to East Africa is an adventure. That’s because Cathy and I have delayed, bumped, canceled, and some other things I can’t remember from airline flights. The usual suspect has been in-country flights. But this time, it started at JFK when I checked in for the flight to Dubai. Just before the ticketing agent was going to print and hand me my boarding pass, I got a phone call from an airline representative. He explained that there was a problem with the connecting flight from Dubai to Nairobi and that I should not check-in for my flight to Dubai. Apparently, there was an unexpected labor strike at the Nairobi Airport that morning, which caused a cancelation of the connecting flight.
So here I was, stuck at JFK with no ride available to go home. I thought quickly and asked if I could just get to Dubai and book a later flight to Nairobi, hopeful that the strike would be a temporary problem. It took a little negotiating, but it was agreed that I would go to Dubai on my original flight, take a hotel room there, and see what happens with the Nairobi issue.
The flight was excellent, as usual, with this particular airline. During the flight, I communicated with Cathy about the issue and used the inflight Internet to research hotels near Dubai airport and keep tabs on the labor strike in Nairobi. Happily, the labor union and Kenyan government worked things out quickly and ended the strike while I was flying over the Atlantic. I am now rebooked for an afternoon flight tomorrow (9/13). And there is a silver lining, too! I’ll meet with David Shepley this evening (Fr. Joe’s son). He lives in Dubai, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to visit with him.
I will post again when I get to Kisumu, my final destination in Kenya, for the first three weeks of my trip.