Thursday, July 5, 2007
Nothing new to report so far as activity is concerned. The teams are working hard and are falling into their routines quicker and more efficiently. The Christian Education team returned to Webuye and will return tomorrow for a fourth and final session.
During one of the sessions by Janne and Barbara, I stepped outside to stretch my legs, walking around the little area which contains St. John’s Church where the classes are conducted and the rectory. I noticed the women sitting outside peeling vegetables and went over to watch. I then stole a glance at the back of the house to discover two small campfires for the preparation of a chicken stew and a beef broth. As we arrived that morning, we noticed the chicken being escorted from this world to the next, from the yard to the pot.
It was interesting to watch. The beef had been purchased earlier that morning at a nearby market, 1 kilo of beef for 140 shillings, approximately $2 (Cdn.). When the meal was served that afternoon, it included the chicken, the corn staple, beef, vegetables, and potatoes.
Friday, July 6, 2007
*Today was our fourth and final teaching day at St. John’s, Webuye. The pattern for Barbara Sykes, Janne Chung and me has been to teach an hour at a time to the whole group on the three subjects we have prepared. The three of us get along very well, are having a great time and we’ve been extremely fortunate to have The Rev’d John Kimboie. Until recently he was the principal of the Wycliffe Centre, and had trained at Wycliffe College in Toronto. I didn’t have him as a student and had never met him before, but he has been an enormous help and a great encouragement to the three instructors because while proficiency in English is fairly high, whenever we get into more complex or technical discussions, John has been there to help us through.
*One funny little story. We had been given permission from Principal George Sumner and Wycliffe College, Toronto, to award ‘certificates of participation’ to those who attended. And for those who’ve been with us throughout, they’ve had a fairly good introduction to our three subjects. At one point yesterday, however, I was asked who would be eligible to receive the certificates. Because several had missed earlier classes due to the fact that they were at the mission eye clinic nearby, I quoted the parable of the servants who were paid equally whether they began at nine, noon or five, and said that we were prepared to award them to anyone who had been able to participate, regardless of how many sessions. John jumped to his feet and, as a good principal, explained that it had been stressed beforehand that only those who participated in all the classes were eligible. We immediately deferred to John and to the arrangement that had been made.
Today, however, we awarded nearly 50 certificates. At no time over the four days, with the exception of this afternoon’s graduation ceremony, do I remember seeing more than 25 attending. I was led to understand that since yesterday John had faced some pretty powerful lobby groups, including the kitchen staff. After the ceremony, and the final certificates were signed, John looked at me, smiled and said - “Everyone is happy now.”
We had some very good students, we’re encouraged that the sessions were helpful, and we were delighted to be with all who attended, including some beautiful children. But in the graduating class picture, my favourite graduate - a member of the powerful kitchen lobby - is holding her certificate upside down.
*The graduation ceremony was a treat. We wrapped up our sessions around 2 pm, and then prepared the room so that students would receive their certificates from John, who called them by name, and then come to a table where the three of us signed them and shook hands. There were three parishes represented and participating, and a representative from each gave a short speech. There were the two clergy who serve the parish, and each of them gave a speech. John himself gave a speech, singling out two students from the Wycliffe Centre who were serving summer practicums in the parish. Then there was the awarding of certificates, followed by more speeches, beautiful gifts that were presented to us, and finally a response by Barbara Sykes and final prayer. And then, after taking a picture of the graduating class, with everyone proudly holding up their certificate, we were escorted back for a final meal.
*Three things in passing that I discovered today:
First, books are very expensive. I knew teaching conditions would be fairly simple and I didn’t find the adjustment all that difficult. But what I did find difficult, if not discouraging, is that even the experienced clergy have very few books, including Bibles and prayerbooks, let alone Bible commentaries and teaching resources. Most of them seemed only vaguely familiar with their own modern prayerbook which has been heralded as something of a landmark in the Anglican Communion for its adaptation to the local culture.
Secondly, average income comes to about 1000 shillings a month, around $20 Canadian. The hotel hostess here at Happy Memories earns about $1.60 a day (Cdn.), and works seven days a week from 7 am to midnight. I remember Kim Beard explaining that, over the years, one of the reasons he started putting up his mission team members in local hotels rather than billeting people out is that families were bankrupting themselves in order to do everything possible for their guests. We’ve done our best to make the load as light as possible. Everything we want the students to be using, we’ve provided. But this fact has still been on our minds.
Thirdly, the mission is causing quite a stir in Kenya, particularly in Nairobi and the region here around Bungoma. I’m trying to get a fuller sense of it, but apparently it is getting a fair bit of coverage in the media. Unfortunately for some local villains, a few of them were rounded up last week and have been simply left in jail for two weeks in order to avoid any awkward or embarrassing situations.
Day four of the mission is over. The St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux people are all working hard and are happy and in good shape. We’ve been away one week.