Short Rains

In October and November, most of Kenya experiences what they call the Short Rains. Though “short” is in the name, this phenomenon is in no way diminutive. Most days for the past couple of weeks, it rains either right around lunchtime or at night. This is usually a heavy downpour that comes from a dark sky that was clear not twenty minutes earlier. I do my best to avoid going out at these times, obviously, and have been fairly successful staying dry. If I have to journey out, I arm myself with umbrella, rain jacket, and rubber boots that come up to my knees. I look really cute but stay dry enough.

This past Sunday I failed. I knew Shelvis was preaching at the second service, so I decided to let the morning showers calm before venturing outdoors. I felt so smart as the clouds parted and seemed to dry just as it was time for me to leave. It was still a bit muddy out, but I decided to leave the boots, partially because I did not know what I would do with them once I reached church. I was lucky that just as I was leaving my landlady was driving out and offered to drive me as far as we were going to same direction. My boots decision felt justified.

However, the heavens decided they were bored with sticking to the semi-predictable schedule mentioned above. About three seconds after my landlady drove away, the downpour resumed. I made my way amidst the swirling water soaking me to the main highway where, after ten or fifteen minutes of getting soaked by passing cars, I caught a matatu. I switched vehicles at the stop to head into the neighborhood of my church. The driver did not agree with me on where I wanted to get out, so I got to walk all the way up the road. It was an exciting morning, but I finally made it soaking wet and half an hour late. The sermon was wonderful, and a cup of tea warmed me up. Plus, I spotted a place to keep my boots during the service next week.

My life at the moment

I have discovered that it is incredibly difficult for me to blog these days. With departure for the general assembly looming in less than a month, the entire office is incredibly busy. I am extremely excited to be able to attend a gathering of such scale, but I find myself wishing for more time between now and then to gain a better grasp on what will happen there. I have begun dreaming about spreadsheets, timetables, and workshops. In addition to the stewards programme, I am now also working on the Theological Institute and the youth sub-theme workshop. Answering emails, composing letters, asking questions, and organizing data take up more time than is in a normal work day.

I am really attempting to leave work at work. Extended hours are bound to happen, so I am placing a physical boundary on the AACC. Blair and I talk about other things while not at work. Our little house is serving as some form of a sanctuary, and for that I am extremely grateful. Needless to say, I have a hard time coming up with things to blog about that would be comprehensible to those of you not engulfed in details about the upcoming assembly.

If you have suggestions or questions, maybe that would be an easier way to approach this form of communication. Feel free to email me or send letters. External communication is suffering at this point, but I am willing to try. All of your support continues to mean so much to me.

Finally to work

I started my job!!!!!! It is really kind of pathetic how excited I was to be able to go back to a regular routine with some amount of responsibility for my own life. I am now officially part of the 9th General Assembly team. Plus, I am fairly confident that I will get to attend the assembly in Maputo this December! Christians from all over the continent will meet to discuss the main issues facing the ecumenical movement in Africa. It should be a very exciting time. I am helping to coordinate the Stewards Programme (I spell like the British now, by the way), which is an opportunity for youth to come and serve as volunteers at the assembly while forming a diverse community and sharing together. It should be really interesting. Hopefully, they will be able to understand my accent! Our target number is 120.

Saturday I moved into my house with lovely roommate. My power is cutting in and out at the office, so I should probably quit while I am ahead and turn off the computer. Love and miss you all! Hopefully I will remember to write again soon.

Arrival

I arrived in Kenya a week and a half ago along with seven other volunteers.  We will be serving in different organizations all over Kenya.  For the next month, we will be living near one another and our site-coordinator for a bit of in-country orientation.  At the end of the month, I will begin my work with the All-Africa Conference of Churches.  Those are all the details I know.  Now, this lack of a concrete plan has been interesting.  Each day we all band together to try to figure out what exactly we are supposed to be doing and where exactly we are supposed be at any given time.  Take today for example. Our first task of the day was to go to a church where we had a lecture on the spirituality of Kenya.  From there we had very specific instructions to go to one particular fish restaurant we had visited before.  However, we had no directions, just a driver and a small bus with no real time schedule. Any time we receive such instructions, I tend to think of it as a mini-test to see if we can be patient enough to figure out what is going on and if we can muster the grace to be calm in the process.  We did not know where the lecture was to take place, so we notified the office we were there and proceeded to the sanctuary to hold our morning devotion together.  Eventually, our speaker found us.  We listened eagerly and then shared a cup of tea.  Slowly, we narrowed in on the location of the restaurant after asking many people for help.  We all enjoyed lunch and made it back home safely.  Becoming dependant on others is also part of our training, and we are getting pretty good at it.  It will be another time of transition when we all split up and go to our own sites, as we will have to find new people to support us and for us to support.

Welcome

Hello, everyone and thank you for finding my blog.  For the next year, I will be living and working in Nairobi, Kenya as a Young Adult Volunteer through the Presbyterian Church (USA).  The hope is to post here semi-regularly throughout my service.  Please leave comments!  (It will help motivate me to continue updating you all.)  Thank you all for you interest and support.  I look forward to sharing some of my experiences from Kenya with you!