UNDER THE STARS

6 of us (3 Africans and 3 Americans) drove 200 miles on Friday in a small car with four of us in the back seat. One of the white American guys is about 6 foot four inches tall, so we let him sit up front most of the way. Bob and sat in the middle of the back seat, and we had the good seats in back, because we got to sit with our back against the seat back. One African pastor sat to my right and one African pastor sat to Bob's left. They leaned forward in the seat the whole way. Now, what I didn't tell you is that the roads we traveled were filled with ruts four to 10 inches deep most of the way, so we could only travel about thirty miles an hour most of the time (sometimes at 5 miles an hour and sometimes at 50). And when there weren't ruts in the road there was two inches of dust that was kicked up by the front tires and came in our through our back windows (kept down because there was no air conditioning). Now, to be honest it wasn't as bad as it sounds. We had great fellowship all of the way, with lots of good joking around and some beautiful vistas when we reached the tops of various small hills. The area of Kenya we were traveling in has a lot of bush country interspersed with red clay soil. Some places which receive more rain water are fairly lush. Places which receive little rain are fairly barren.

After two stops in other villages we arrived at the home of Pastor Eric around sunset. He and his family live back in the bush in four small huts set in a semi-circle. Eric works as a social studies and math teacher in a local secondary school. This is his job during the week. He lives at the school and then travels home during the weekends. On weekends and during school breaks he pastors a small church and he farms about 7 acres, a fairly substantial plot when you, your wife, and your family are farming by hand. We had Chai (Kenyan Tea) with Eric and his family. By this time darkness had fallen, and the show had begun..... God's show. Since there weren't any street lights and we are in the southern hemisphere there were thousands upon thousands of stars in the sky that showed forth God's glory. It's been a long time since I've seen the milky way, but you couldn't miss it streaking across the sky. Then, off on the horizon we saw the biggest moon I've ever seen come up over the Indian Ocean. One of the neighbors had some fresh honey still on the honeycone that he had gathered. He was willing to share, and one of the African pastors enjoyed this treat immensely. We passed. A long time ago, one time or another, I ate some honey on the honey comb, but this is one food I think is better eaten in sterilized jars. Who wants to pluck wax out of their teeth all night? The Africans did tell us that the bees that were still on the combs were just “babies” and wouldn't sting you. Yes, I believe what they said, but I didn't believe enough.

So, we arrived back at our lodging late, late, late after many hours in a hot, packed car bumping up and down. I would do it again to build the relationships with the pastors , to encourage them, to help them and their churches, and to see opportunities for the gospel grow.