kenya 4b: 19 may

after that episode, we went on to st andrew's theological college, out in the bush. it has a very different feel to our hotel! its very basic, constructed predominantly from breeze-block and tin. we had tea with the principal and the dean of studies, before joining the whole college at the thursday evening communin service.
it was a very lively service with much singing, several 'presentations' by students, more singing that included clapping, dancing, whistling. it was fabulous to be surrounded by such happy people. and then, after church, was dinner. on the way to dinner the singing and dancing continued until grace was said. we had a table set for us, while the students did not. this is culturally appropriate, though it feels wrong and awkward to be on the receiving end.
following dinner, we gave our gifts of vlerical shirts and text books to the principal for him to distribute as he saw fit. he was dumbstruck - please bless all who receive those gifts, lord.
while there, the stars were out and for the first time since leaving oz, i saw the southern cross in the sky. it was a grand sight, so bright and clear in the dark night sky.
today we drove to meru diocese, a few hours up the road. on the way, we crossed the equator - the first time i've done that, apart from from flying. we arrived at our hotel, the three steers hotel, only to discover that they knew nothing of our booking! that got sorted out after a while, and we went to visit bishop charles, the bishop of meru.
he's a large man, with a large heart for his diocese, but his diocese only has very limited means. he provides lunch for about 40 streetkids, and he introduced us to them at their lunchtime. they get about half a loaf of bread and a large mug of maize porridge - very filling. they were all ages, from about 7-20 years old, some still stoned on glue, all with very poor clothing and personal hygiene, most with big smiles. after being with him for a couple of hours, we came back to the hotel to unpack and rest befoer bishop charles came to us for dinner with a couple of his senior clergy to discuss the programme for the weekend.
tomorrow is a very early start for a tiki-tour of some of the diocese. on sunday we will be split up into 3 groups of 2 to go to various churches. paul and i will go with bishop charles to a rural parish - very poor, uneducated farmers, and not many of them. looking forward to that.
and now its time to sleep. paul's already asleep and snoring. the lights just went out for about the fourth time this evening, and nobody takes any notice, so it seems to be quite normal.
my guts were a bit wrong on the drive up this morning, and i suspect its a reaction to the malarone as i was feeling fine until after breakfast (when i take the pill). i don't really think it was the food.
i've noticed that i'm just letting the whole experience wash over me. i don't have an agenda, just trying to be open to what god may want to teach me. i spoke to justus this morning about yesterday's streetkids episode. he said i had done the right thing. if i gave money, they would most likely spend it on glue. they don't understand the nature of tourism, and so they think that if i gave them something today then another tourist will turn up to give them something tomorrow, and so on. it keeps them dependent and they never learn to think about doing something for themselves. he thinks it better to encourage them, as he did, to go to st stepehen's house where they will be fed and given an opportunity to be trained in something.
and my guts are so full of food....

Tags: kenya, meru