Reflections after 18 days back in Kenya

(First thing: we sent out a newsletter recently. If you'd like one, and didn't get it, please let us know).

Well, we got back to Kenya on the evening of Aug 31^st, ready for work the next morning. Fortunately the kids weren’t due in school till the Tuesday and Wednesday. That first week was orientation for new students, and I spent it busy trying to catch up with stuff.

We’d only been away for two months, but a few things had changed – electricity has gone up 100%, and we were paying 60 quid a month before, mainly on hot water, I think. So now we’re not using the electric kettle any more (gas bottles have not gone up), and the children are getting slightly fewer baths.

Another thing is that Dagoretti Road, which we have to drive down 2 miles to get more or less anywhere, was finally fixed. For the first time in two years it’s not a pot-hole avoiding adventure. That road was the main reason we got a 4 by 4, but now all our trips feel miraculously quick and smooth, and our think our suspension and tyres will last a lot longer too.

And we also found the name of our mobile operator had changed, with some other details I won’t bore you with, apart from a free voicemail service that just does not work properly. While we were away several high school students decided to burn their schools down because of mock exams; I guess the post-election violence legitimised more violence in many people’s eyes.

Coming back after a time away helps one to look at priorities, though not always with greater clarity. Our diaries are pretty full these days, and making time to welcome new people (e.g. new students) is not always easy, but we need to do it. If you want to pray for us, pray for wisdom, thanks.

And yesterday I preached at chapel here, for the first time. I was probably invited because of being the new(ish) head of department. It seemed to go well. The theme for the year is ‘My brother’s keeper’, taken particularly from Galatians 6:2 “Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ”, and as it is so central, I had it read, along with the preceding verse, in 8 languages (Arabic, French, Amharic, Swahili and 4 other Kenyan ones), so that most of the student body would hear it in at least one other language they understood. It was nice that Kikuyu and Luo (the two main communities vying for power in Kenya) were read one after the other.

Today holds convocation, where I have to wear a silly gown and hat, a faculty lunch, and a department meeting which I’m chairing. All part, sometimes indirectly, of the task of helping Bible Translation go well in Africa.