Karibu

Our "sabbath" ended up being more like an off-the-clock orientation. We woke up at 8 and I helped make breakfast with Florence. She is so kind to have made an effort to buy "American foods." So for dinner last night we had a chicken and pepper dish (like fajitas), white rice, boiled potatoes, and boiled cabbage. All of it was pretty yummy even though I'm not a huge fan of peppers. For breakfast we prepared sausage, bread, and yogurt. We also had fresh eggs from the chicken coup which is conveniently located five feet from my bedroom window. After breakfast, Pastor George gave me a walking tour of the neighborhood. The church is conveniently located less than a block's walk from the manse. I had the opportunity to see the sanctuary. I have a designated chair next to Pastor George on the platform so I'm really going to have to watch my face during the service since everyone will be able to see me. He also showed me the offices and classrooms. We accidentally crashed a facilities meeting in which I met lots of new folks. They each introduced themselves and I repeated their names back to them. I, of course, butchered their names even though I tried really hard not to. Most of the time they giggled, so I don't think they took it personally. Names here are interesting. Most of the time people have two names - a tribal name and a common name. Their common names are typically names I'm used to hearing (Albert, Miriam, John, Abraham, Elizabeth, etc.) and their other names are more culturally specific (Wakaba, Mugendi, Karanja, Muthoni, etc). I'm determined to learn their names, I'm just going to require a lot of grace to get to that point. After visiting the church, we walked across the street to the school that was founded by the church. There we met 50 more people (not an exaggeration). Everyone was so welcoming. A common phrase people have said when introduced to me is “karibu” which means "you are very much welcome here." The smiling faces that share those words with me definitely make me feel this way. Lots of the children in the school stared at me as I passed by. I would smile or wave, but they seemed to be stunned by me. Later, I was informed it was because most of them had never seen someone with my skin tone before. I had suspected that was why I had their attention, it was just weird for someone else to stay out loud. It's safe to say I stick out around here. We went home and I took a much needed nap until the Evangelist, Steven, came by for afternoon tea so we could get to know one another. Tomorrow, I will be accompanying him to the funeral of a family member of one of the parishioners. His role as the Parish Evangelist seems comparable to the role of an Associate Pastor without sacrament privileges. He does a lot of visiting with members of the congregation and teaches lessons to the many fellowship groups associated with the church. This evening, some of the Elders came over for dinner at the manse so they could get to know me. Elders pay a very active role in the church here. They are frequently called on to run worship and get things done when the pastor is at meetings elsewhere. As church leaders they are very interested to get to know me so they can introduce me to the congregation when they see me around. There are twenty elders on the session at PCEA Sukari. Each one represents a district (basically neighborhood small group). These districts meet weekly and have worship in their homes. I think it's really cool that they still have "house church" as they call it. So, yeah. It's been quite a day. Tomorrow I'm traveling to the funeral and then I should have some down time. I'm still in the process of unpacking my suitcases so hopefully I'll finish that soon and be able to see the floor again. Also, I apologize for the lack of photos. I was too busy taking it all in today and I didn't think to snap photos. I promise to do better. ~ Much love from Nell in Nairobi