Mission to Kenya - Saturday, July 28 - Conclusion

On July 18, around 80 traveled to Cairo for the side-tour portion of the trip. It included some of the great sites in Cairo, Alexandria, and a boat cruise on the Nile. With gratefulness to God for safe travel, late on Saturday, July 28, the 10 participants from St. Paul's L'Amoreaux all arrived home in Toronto.


At some point, I hope to provide an overall summary of the mission and possibly a list of the places and sites that were visited in Egypt, but otherwise this travel-log comes to an end. The travel-log will be kept in circulation until the end of September.

Credit for the pictures you see goes to a number of the team members. A photo library of the mission is available here: http://www.kenya2007.com/Projects.htm.

An even fuller photo journal by Dr. David Hillock can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dhkenya2007

A very fine log of the mission has been kept by Henrieta Paukov of the Toronto Anglican newspaper, and can be found here: http://kenyamission.blogspot.com/

Mission to Kenya: Tuesday, July 17

We are in Nairobi for the day and after a group photo this morning, members were off to visit a nearby orphaned giraffe centre, a jewelry shop supported by a single women’s association, lunch at the renowned Carnivore Restaurant - famous for its ‘all you can eat’ meat feature - and then to one of the famed and crowded Nairobi open markets.



After an early supper, we’ll try for a few hours sleep before a 12.15 am wakeup call in order to get to the airport for our trip to Cairo. We arrive around 10 am on Wednesday.

Mission to Kenya: Monday, July 16

*This morning, people are inquiring of each other, ‘Who felt the earthquake?’ Apparently, a little before midnight, a fairly substantial quake rocked the continent, with its epicenter south of us in Tanzania. It was accompanied by several aftershocks, and it was significant enough to have had the attention of the local staff.

*Today’s safari has been a great success. The ‘king’ was finally spotted, with his pride enjoying last night’s kill of a ‘wildabeast’.

Michael Legg provided a brief overview of the patterns of a male lion’s ‘pride’ (the word for a male and his group of female lions and cubs). Most never become very large because there is only ever one male who is constantly fighting off competition. If the competitor wins, the losing male walks away alone, a very sad and pathetic sight, I’m told. The new head of the pride will then kill his predecessors cubs and begin again.

The lion is also, we’re told, a particularly lazy animal, lounging under the bushes and trees only until it is necessary to come out and hunt. They hunt in packs and often very strategically. One lioness will go upwind, sending the prey downwind into an ambush by the rest of the pride.

We asked our driver who the Masai fear, who we regularly see walking across the park. ‘They fear the elephants and the buffalo, but the cats they fend off with their own special repellent recipe of cow dung and other secret ingredients.

*The rest of the day has been spent on the road from the lodge to the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi. Accommodations here are lovely, but the roads have been brutal. Another long day on them, and we’re all glad to be off – now, I believe, for the last time.

All the St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux folk are in one piece, reunited and in good spirits.

Mission to Kenya: Sunday, July 15

The Safaris began in earnest as early as 6 am. It is the best hour to go out as most of the animals hunt at this time before bedding down for the midday. The great migration of animals through this region is delayed this year due to heavy spring rains which kept the grass green later than usual. Most of the animals can be spotted, but not in the great herds associated with the annual migration.

*There were two other safaris at 11 am and 4 pm, and all photographers returned triumphant. The afternoon trip was preceded by a visit to a nearby Masai village. The Masai are, as I understand, a native tribe whose way of life carries on, though they benefit from the tourist trade and this has undoubtedly affected their life. The recent issue of Vanity Fair (see here), brought along by one person because the July 2007 edition is all about Africa, shows a Masai tribesman carrying a cellphone in his pierced ear.

*At suppertime, a troup of about 20 Masai men danced through the dining area, carrying spears and clubs. At intervals they stopped and each would jump straight up into the air. The highest jumper is the one to win the affection of the local ladies and the number of silver necklaces indicates the various degrees of success the jumper has had.

*Ominously, we can be escorted to our lodges by bodyguards. I’ve yet to discover from whom or what we are being protected, but I think it is the possibility of hungry animals in search of tender tourists. I’ve traveled back and forth unmolested by either man or beast.

*The day ended with brief Sunday evening prayers and a chance for all of the mission teams to debrief. These first two weeks have presented considerable physical, professional and emotional challenges, and there’s a lot to be considered. But all appear to have survived more or less in tact.

*I asked Canon Beard for his estimate of the goods and services that the mission has been able to contribute. At present, he calculates the contribution at over $1 million (Cdn.). A single tooth extraction is worth 3000 Kenyan shillings. One morning, a woman had four removed, and was then seen at the nearby eye clinic that afternoon.

*In terms of climate, I’d much rather be here than Toronto in July. There is a hot stretch from about 10 am until 2 pm, but the breeze is always – always – cool, and shade of any kind will quickly put a person back in good sorts. The evenings are cool and can be quite cold.

Mission to Kenya: Saturday, July 14

An early start in anticipation of a 6 am departure. A fleet of ten vans from the Mara Simba Lodge in the Serengeti picked us up at the two hotels and we were all on the road and in procession before 7 am. Another long ride, about 10 ½ hours, and the worst at the end as we navigated another narrow trail of rocky roads into the park. To our surprise, and enormous relief, it was the road into paradise. The Lodge is a first-class resort and walking into it we were immediately refreshed by the spotless, riverside surroundings, a magnificent and refreshing breeze and small glasses of lemonaide to revive our spirits.

A magnificent buffet was served around 7.30, preceded by the chance to see the local crocodiles fed.

Mission to Kenya: Friday, July 13

Today was our last in Bungoma, and the last for the teachers at Butonga. Three teaching sessions in the morning were followed by a graduation ceremony at around noon, with 60+ certificates of participation being awarded. We were back to Bungoma by about 2 pm to start packing, a bit of a rest, and then to the Sharrif Centre for farewell speeches and dinner at night. Rain started falling – then pouring down – around 5 pm, spoiling a planned outdoor reception. But things were transferred inside. Various contributors were recognized, such as the diocesan, Sharrif Centre and hotel staff. Bishop Wabakala then presented certificates of participation to all the mission team members and a special award to Canon Kim Beard. Following dinner, most were back to the hotel by around 9.30.

Mission to Kenya: Thursday, July 12

The teachers are back at Butonga for the second day of classes. We’ll return tomorrow morning for one last session each and graduation. We’ve been accompanied today by the medical team. A lineup of about 100 or 150 had already gathered for the treatment, and we’ve already been swarmed once by about 50 children from the other side of the fence, curious about the goings on. There are now at least three supervisors with switches.

One of the doctors said this was the longest lineup of people they had so far at the beginning of the day, and by days end they thought they had seen 1000. There were a lot of people, but it was not a satisfying day from the perspective of the team. The lineups were unruly, there were various layers of privilege being discovered as, for various reasons, some were being promoted to the front of the line. Under these conditions, the sickest in the group are often overlooked. The site, as mentioned, is next to a school and a couple hundred school kids were added to the list. And facilities were cramped with two teams on one site. One of the volunteers suffered heat stroke having sat out in the sun for too long.

The eyecare team didn’t fare much better. There’s was an outdoor location, a great and boisterious crowd gathered and, for whatever reason, the assigned local interpreters went missing around noon. The situation was getting out of hand, and the clinic packed it in. Still, they saw and fitted nearly 300 people. They arrived home around the usual time.

The other side of it is that even the modest treatment that the clinics offer is out of reach for most. What the medical team offers is the equivalent of 4000 Kenyan shillings for those who would otherwise have no choice but the hospital – about a third of a year's income. And I heard that when a local hospital was visited a year ago to get some idea of what the medical teams could expect, it was noticed that the local pharmacy had next to nothing in it. A few bottles of Tylenol and medication for malaria. The mission clinic, by contrast, is bountifully supplied, and will leave the remainder behind.

At suppertime tonight, Kim Beard estimated that all the teams combined have dealt with about 20,000 people so far who’ve attended the medical and eye clinics, who’ve attended classes, who’ve been part of the construction projects.

*We’re near the end of our stay in Bungoma. Early Saturday morning we leave for the Masai Mara game reserve. There’s a flurry of activity sorting out farewells, the distribution of leftover supplies and what and how to pack. We each brought two suitcases and though one was filled with supplies that have been used – or will be left behind - in principle, we’re permitted to take two home. That said, the second must be packed and ready to go tomorrow evening on a separate truck which will make the delivery to our accommodations in Nairobi. The simplest solution, and the one most are following, is simply to return with one suitcase, plus carry-on.

*Farewell gifts and tips are being sorted out, but we learned today that caution must be taken in presenting them. At the end of a previous visit by an English delegation, a gift was publicly presented to Bishop Wabakala. Two days later, his home was broken into and robbed.

*Our formal graduation ceremony will take place tomorrow morning, but the film crew was on site so we staged portions of our classes and a mock graduation. It was great fun, and the crew certainly had landed upon the biggest and liveliest of our three groups.

Mission to Kenya: Wednesday, July 11

*The teachers have been sent to Butonga. It is our longest trip from Bungoma, about 40 km, and 1/3 of it is on dirt roads. It is also, by far, our largest class with 55 attending and the prospect of more for tomorrow. That said, it is very pleasant out here and while the roads were rough, there was no rush and it was more of a wandering ride than a bumpy one as our driver simply navigated around the worst of the potholes.

We don’t see as many vehicles on the road here, mostly bicycles and pedestrians, and the occasional motorcycle.

*During one of the other sessions, I went for a stroll. The church is situated next to an Anglican primary and high school, and the complex includes several buildings, including a medical clinic (though I’m not sure if it is operational yet). It is a very busy and noisy centre of activity. Out walking I ended up as a bit of a novelty. We’re far enough from the city that people here rarely see foreigners.

*The three of us teachers were trying to guess what subjects were being taught in the public school on the other side of the fence. Our guess was ‘recess’, because all day long we heard the constant din of happy children playing outside. The other subject, I’m guessing, was ‘skipping class’ because also, throughout the day, the church in which our classes are being held was surrounded by little heads and bright eyes sneaking a peek at the goings on inside. Every once in a while, the class ‘usher’ would take a switch he had made of branches and charge into the centre of the crowd of children chasing them away from the building. The effect was negligible and short-lived.

*All around are small, circular mud huts with thatch roofs. There are also about an equal number of square and rectangular brick buildings with tin roofs, but the huts are more common here than they were near Bungoma.

*The teachers are starting to feel a bit weary. We’re not quite sure why. On the one hand, we are all averaging 8-9 hours of sleep a night, 2-3 hours a night more than we get back in Toronto. On the other hand, we wonder if there isn’t a form of stimulation overload. Or the medication we’re taking to prevent malaria. Also, traveling is tiring, partly because of the length of time, partly because of the condition of the roads, and partly because it is six lane traffic where the laws of physics only permits two. The six lanes are two lanes of pedestrians on the outside, two lanes of bicycles and ‘boda bodas’ (bicycle taxis), and two lanes in the middle of vehicles – cars, trucks, tractors, and large freightliners, some with trailers behind. The ‘wild card’, similar to crazy couriers on the streets in Toronto, are the donkeys, goats, sheep and cows. They have their own, unpredictable traffic protocol.

Mission to Kenya: Tuesday, July 10

*A fairly straightforward day for the teachers, but a marathon for the eyecare team. With an early 7.30 am start, they were sent to two nearby locations, and processed 500 people. Even though they returned to the hotel at a reasonable time, many of them were fast asleep once supper was over.

*The teachers and painters were back at the Wycliffe Centre. The painters are now down to the final trim. The day was hot and one person went down with nausea, a headache and fatigue. All along there have been one or two each day staying behind with these symptoms, but so far, nothing more serious, and all the patients have been back at it within a day.

*The teachers participated in their second graduation ceremony, with about 40 people receiving certificates of participation from Wycliffe College, Toronto. Many would have had some introduction to preaching and leading the liturgy, but the class on accounting, from Janne Chung, has been a real hit.

*A couple of birthdays were celebrated this evening, including the 80^th birthday of Beryl Beard, the mother of Canon Kim Beard, who has served as the unofficial ‘chief financial officer’ of the mission, and has been serving on the medical team here. Mrs. Beard also has her granddaughter Sarah with her, the daughter of Kim, and a member of the film crew.

Mission to Kenya: Monday, July 9

For most, a half day today. For those interested, a trip was organized to a nearby tropical rain forest to see a rare bat habitat, exotic butterflies, several spectacular views, and a warning to keep an eye out for several kinds of snakes - the ‘bat, bug and snake tour’ for those of us who decided to stay back. At least one team was out in full force, a couple put in a half day, and others enjoyed most of the day on the tour. This evening was dinner as usual at the Shariff Centre, then back to the hotel for card playing, reading, writing, or simply an early night.

*Two of us had a bit of a revelation as we tried explaining the difference between Kenya and Canada regarding income and expenses. As noted earlier, we’re led to believe that the average Kenyan salary is about 12,000 shillings a year, about $200 Canadian.

The average Canadian salary of about $40,000 a year works out to about 2.4 million Kenyan shillings. But our friend was also taken aback at the cost of renting an average house (1.26 million shillings - $1750 Cdn per month), or a two bedroom apartment (72,000 shillings - $1000 Cdn per month), or even a basement hovel (432,000 shillings - $600 per month). But after we threw in taxes of 40-50% (1.2 million shillings), his question was, “How do you pay for the children?”

He has eight, 4 each by two wives. The Canadian national average of 1.3 children per household was our answer.

*There was a second revelation in class when trying to describe a concept that has had a strong influence on the development of many of the modern liturgies in North America - that is, that the Christian churches now exist in a post-establishment era. In other words, none of the churches are national or established churches and a certain separation exists between state and church affairs.

This simply isn’t the case in a country like Kenya where the Christian churches have a strong influence in church sponsored schools, with public funds assisting. Where someone like Bishop Wabakala serves as the chairperson of the national anti-corruption committee - a high profile, government committee on a matter of keen national interest and concern.

We were told about a particularly rugged region where a revolutionary group have been responsible for much havoc. Last week, 15 police officers were gunned down and killed. We were told about the region because we were introduced to a young priest who serves in the area.

“If they shoot the police, how well are you going to do?” we asked.

“Oh, I should be alright,” he answered. “Usually there’s a fair bit of respect afforded to us,” we were told.

On the roads, for instance, police are stationed all along the way. From what we were told, public safety is not always the number one concern. Often there are an assortment of violations that require on-the-spot cash fines to satisfy. That, or prolonged searches. But if a priest is sitting in the front seat, usually the shakedown is bypassed. A salute and on you go.

*There’s another side to it. Someone noticed that when yesterday’s congregation were asked who had benefited from a recent grain distribution program, 80% of those who put their hands up were clergy. This may have had something to do with the high percentage of clergy at yesterday’s service, but we’ve also met those who are preparing for the ministry and who’ve told us that part of the motivation is the hope of an improved quality of life. Motives are mixed, but that’s almost always been the case. Across the generations, and particularly in places where the church is first establishing itself, the advantages are obvious: education, a position of some public influence, and a safety net, if you will, are all very attractive when conditions are otherwise poor.

Mission to Kenya: Saturday & Sunday, July 7-8

Saturday, July 7
*The Christian Education Team moved to the Wycliffe Centre where we’ll be for today, Monday, and Tuesday. We arrived around 9.30 a.m., but began around 10.30 as some of the pastors and students were still arriving, and many of the students were also assisting the painters.

The Wycliffe Centre presently consists of a large auditorium with two smaller rooms on either at the entrance, and fairly large rooms on either side at the very front. The auditorium can likely hold 300-400 people. The rooms at the front are being used as offices and one is the temporary library.

To the south is the new hostel, a long narrow building with rooms on either side. The walls are up, the roof is on and the shell is now complete. Some of the rooms inside are more or less finished, but about 2/3's of the rooms inside still remain to be finished. The walls are rough and the floor is still dirt. It is not clear if it will all be used for hostel rooms or if there will be a mixture of dorm rooms, meeting rooms and offices (I’m guessing the latter is the likely outcome.) It is also not clear when it will be finished, because the key ingredient is always the needed funds.

Outside the painters have made tremendous strides. A white base has been applied, but only after the painstaking work of scraping the concrete smooth with wire hand brushes. A red, yellow and blue colour scheme - the colours of the Diocese of Toronto - was starting to be applied on Saturday, and the result was striking, though still a day or two away from being finished.

Inside, about 25 were attending the classes, again a mixture of clergy, Wycliffe Centre students, and lay people, though with a much higher percentage and number of students now that we’re at the centre.

The day ended around 4 pm. We were taken back to the hotel for a breather, then to the Sharrif Centre for supper. Tonight, about 23 others are joining us from Nairobi, most of whom will be staying at the Countryside Motel and a third hotel.

Many of us were in bed early, told to be up and ready for Sunday service and an afternoon ‘extravaganza’.


Sunday, July 8, 2007
What a day!



From the Happy Moments Motel we were picked up around 9.15 am and taken to the Wycliffe Centre for the Sunday morning eucharist and an afternoon ‘extravaganza’. It was everything that was promised.

As we arrived, we could see three large tents being erected on the Centre grounds, what would later serve as the border for the afternoon entertainment.


The film crew were already set up, recording some of the choirs and instrumentalists. Adults, children and schoolchildren from several of the Anglican schools were being bussed in. The most interesting transport was something that looked like a prison truck with barred windows and benches inside, but like Paul and Silas in prison, this truck bounced along to the songs of the choir it carried. The doors were pulled open, but it still left a drop of about 3 ½ feet. A rope hung from the door frame and the people inside, most of whom were ladies, swung out and down to the ground like spiderman swinging down from a skyscraper.


*The morning service itself, a eucharist with the bishop presiding and all the clergy of the diocese in attendance, followed, in general terms, the outline we're familiar with at St. Paul's. The songs are familiar gospel hymns ('What a Friend We have in Jesus'), some of the modern praise songs, some songs in Swahili with which we weren't familiar, and at least one song that had been written the day before. The most enjoyable of all, however, are familiar songs in Swahili that have a leader and a response. The people all know the response, and usually there's a familiar refrain to which everyone joins in.

*In Toronto I had been advised by John Bowen of Wycliffe College to look out for a short, quiet and unassuming priest by the name of John Njuguna. He won’t draw much attention to himself, I was told, but over the course of his ministry he has planted nearly 25 churches. Fortunately, he was one of the first people I met when we arrived in Bungoma, and we have visited every time we’ve been together.

Today on the grounds of the Wycliffe Centre, Fr. John was very happy. “What a great day this is,” he told me.

“Seven years ago,” he said while pointing to a northern corner of the Centre property, “I started this church. It was a very bad area, run by thieves. People who came into it, herding cattle, or carrying chickens, or riding on bikes, might enter with something, but left with nothing.”

“What did you do?” I asked.

“Well,” he said, “the first thing I did was go into their homes. I told them that God loved them. I told them that I was their friend, and now, they were my friends. And I told them that they were welcome to come to my church.”

And then, very deliberately he said, with a wave of his hand back and forth - “I didn’t talk about any bad things” - meaning, he didn’t raise the subject of their thievery. “I didn’t talk about any bad things.”

“I kept visiting,” he said, “and gradually they started coming to the church. After a while, they began to step forward in order to be baptized. I welcomed them, but I told them, ‘God loves you, but God needs you to serve him. Therefore, when I baptize you, there are some things you can no longer do.’”

“This region has been transformed,” he told me with a smile, pointing out in today’s crowd at least three of the former thieves, one of whom has become a local evangelist.

“This is a very happy day for me,” said Fr. John.


*The afternoon 'extravaganza' included 17 different choirs, dancers and groups who sang, performed skits and danced. It was great fun watching the MC trying to keep them to 'one song each'. He failed.

All around the grounds were several displays from the Mothers' Union and other such groups.


*After concluding speeches, led by the Bishop, there was the presentation of about a dozen sheep, purchased by Canadian donors, and given to youth representatives of each parish in the diocese.

Then colorful stoles, purchased in Guatemala, were then presented to all of the clergy. We left for the hotel around 4.30 p.m..

*This evening a wonderful buffet was presented for us at the hotel as a gift for our contribution to the area and, not to put too fine a point on it, our business at the hotel. We sat outside on a long veranda - which had been constructed from the funds for our two week stay - and enjoyed great food, a local band, and dancing.

A great day and a real refresher after a long week.

Day six of the mission is over. We've been away 8 days.

Mission to Kenya: Thursday & Friday, July 5-6

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.

Mission to Kenya: June 30 to July 4

Saturday, June 30, 2007
From inside JFK airport in New York, there is not much to report other than the fact that all ten from St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux who were expected to appear have done just that. What began as a fairly modest mission one year ago has grown incredibly, so that there is not just one flight for those travelling to Kenya. People have been flying throughout the week and by about Tuesday, the 103 members will have arrived in Nairobi and Bengoma.

While there are 17 different mission teams hard at it for the next two weeks, there are two centres of activity, Nairobi and Bungoma, separated by about 250 miles. All except one of the St. Paul’s L’Amoreax people are centred at Bungoma.

The mission team work will begin on Tuesday and carry on each day until Saturday, July 15, with the exception of Sunday when we enjoy a day of rest.


Sunday, July 1, 2007
The day began over the Atlantic, arriving in Cairo around 1pm Cairo time. Arrangements had been made for a short layover at a local and lovely hotel, with a chance to clean up, get a short rest, and have dinner. Impressions are slight so far. It’s all been airports, buses and passports. Joe and Jennifer said they saw the pyramids as we came in. Cairo was hot, but it didn’t seem overwhelming. However, Canon Beard had already been there a day and said the temperatures were in the mid-40's (celsius).

That evening back at the airport, most of the team finally met up, though I believe there were still a few who are still to come, or had gone ahead. It was quite a sight. The waiting lounge was taken up almost completely by the M2K team. We were in the air a little before midnight.

Monday, July 2, 2007
A long and gruelling day.

The flight to Nairobi was uneventful. Retrieving our luggage and supplies was not.

Nearly 22 of us (and at least half of us from SPL) have had both our personal luggage and the supplies we brought along misdirected or lost. We’re hopeful that, given the large number, and the fact that we all travelled on the same flight out of Toronto, the luggage is together somewhere and will all arrive in the next day or two. But for the moment, it’s only hope. No word yet.

As frustrating as the loss of luggage was the three hour wait in line reporting it. Each of us had to produce a host of documents, and wait through the completion of two or three handwritten forms. As we stood in line, someone was showing off an advertisement written on the envelope containing their airline ticket: "Get world travelling experience." Well, we got it. Kim Beard watched on but was unforgivably nonplussed.

In Nairobi the mission members have been divided into their respective teams and to their two respective centres: Nairobi and Bungoma, separated by about 250 miles. All but one of the St. Paul’s L’Amoreaux group have been sent to Bungoma, working on the eyecare team, a dental team, a painting team and a Christian education team. Originally, after flying in from Cairo, we had hoped to leave sometime between 5 & 6 am. As it turned out, the last passenger without luggage didn’t leave the airport until after 10 am, and stopping for tea and a washroom break at the Methodist guest house in Nairobi, we didn’t get into the buses and vans for Bungoma until 11 am.

The trip to Bungoma was 10 and a half hours. And the only way I know to describe the road is to remember the worst pothole you have ever hit in your life, and then repeat that continuously for 250 miles. We arrived around 9.30 pm - all shook up, but all in one piece from what I could see.

Along the way we whistled along narrow, rough roads through crowds of bikes, uniformed school children, men and women on foot, plenty of goats and sheep, and one little clutch of baboons. The most exotic animals we could see in the fields were zebra and a lake with a large, pale pink patch in the middle of it, what we were told were pink flamingos. In our van explaining all this, and serving as a tremendous tour guide and translator and professional geologist is Michael Legg of St. Clements, Toronto, who only joined the team recently after reading about it in the Anglican in April, and offering his first-rate abilities in Swahili. Michael was born and raised in Kenya and has offered a wealth of historical, geographical and practical advice.

The two great sights along the way were the Great Rift Valley of Kenya, what Michael described as the beginning of the formation of a new continent. I missed the press release, and asked when this was likely to be completed. "A couple million years from now," he said, "but the process has begun."

From the lookout, we gazed across a great valley up from which a series of volcanoes could be seen, most of which are dormant.
The second great sight was the equator. We crossed it, at about 9000 feet above sea level, what Michael informed us would likely be the highest point on land that we would ever experience.
There were two stops, one about 4 pm where arrangements had originally been made for breakfast, but which turned into a late afternoon lunch. Then, after an excruciating three hours through the potholes (the main road is being repaired), we took another short break around 7, mostly to check that all body parts were still attached.

Since the morning we had been greeted and accompanied by Bishop Eliud Wabakala. It was a wonderful thing to see him. I had known him in passing when we were both in residence at Wycliffe College. However, I was attending Trinity, and we were both immersed in studies and so I didn’t know if he would remember. But he did and he was pleased to hear about many friends who remembered him from Toronto and sent their greetings. He is a tall, striking, paper thin man with a beautiful smile, and a gentle and friendly a manner as I’ve ever encountered. Just as the van turned off the main road for the way of the potholes, he looked back at us and with a big smile explained, ‘we are going to have a bumpy ride’. I don’t know why, but the smile kept coming back as we rode along. So much as to say, I guess, there are bumps on this road, we have to go over them or go nowhere, and it won’t do any harm to smile.

It also seems that this bishop represents his people. We have been greeted with great kindness and hospitality at every stop. And though bone tired, some of us not having properly rested for over 60 hours, there was a reception for us in Bungoma when we pulled in around 9.30 pm. The other side of it was that these were clergy and students of the diocese who had come from several locations in the diocese, some on foot, others on bikes, and had been waiting patiently since 3 pm, our originally scheduled arrival. We were greeted with a song, introductions by the bishop, and then a meal of chicken, beef, mafatha (a corn based staple whose texture is such that clumps can be pulled off and then dipped in stew or gravy), vegetables, and soda.

Sometime around 10.30, there was one last push as we were taken to our accomodations in the Happy Moments hotel. One last time, luggage was pulled off the vans and a freight truck filled with supplies and personal belongings, and then escorted to our rooms.

The rooms are simple, but each has its own washroom, shower and TV. The rooms face a centre passage-way that is only partially covered. And so, with the windows open, we hear each other, those passing, and the activity of the hotel kitchen and a lounge. Each room has a mosquito net and even though we’ve not seen much of the little enemies, we’ve still been advised to pull the net down over us. After 60 hours travelling over land, sea and the equator, I slept well.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007
The sights and sounds today have been overwhelming.

From what I could see, there are several hard decisions that have to be made for a mission like this to be successful. And one of them was today - namely, breakfast was ready by 7.30 and we were expected to be ready to go by 9. We were, and I don’t think it’s too much to say that we enjoyed Kenya time. The buses scheduled for 9 arrived at 11. We were taken to the Wycliffe Training Centre, where there was a second and more formal welcome and commissioning of the mission. Again, the clergy and students were there to greet as with song, with the work of the mission and a welcome to those of us from Toronto being interjected. The song began outside and we followed in procession into the Centre. The bishop formally welcomed us and introduced the clergy, lay leaders, students and lay assistants present. Kim Beard was then introduced and he introduced the members of the Mission team - teachers, doctors, nurses, painters, dentists, accountants. A prayer of commissioning followed and then we were on our way.

Well, from the Centre we were taken to pick up boxed lunches back to the Sharif Centre where all our main meals have been prepared. The eyecare and Christian Education teams were then taken back to Happy Moments to eat our lunch and pick up supplies. Then, we were taken to Webuye, where the mission proper began. And though it could only be introductory, the three of us teachers each had an opportunity to introduce our topics, which we’ll be able to discuss in greater detail for the next three days at Webuye, and the optician and her team of about 20 attended to the hundreds of people who had heard the word and had gathered at the Cathedral of St. Matthew since the morning. 130 were examined today, and nearly 300 tickets were given out to those who’ll be seen tomorrow.

The teachers were taken nearby to the parish of St. John's. There a group of about 25 clergy, evangelists, lay leaders and lay people had gathered and we introduced our topics of preaching (The Rev’d Dr. Barbara Sykes), accounting (Dr. Janne Chung of the Schulich School of Business, York University) and liturgy (me). We finished the afternoon around 5.15 pm. The reason is simple. At the equator, sundown is a little after 6pm and there’s no lingering sunset. Many of the people had come from considerable distances and time needed to be alloted for them to get home. But the thing has begun, and tomorrow both teams are planning to be there and underway by 9 am.

Then another lesson in Kenyan hospitality. Our host, The Rev’d John Kiboye, had tried to escort us from the church to our van and back to pick up extras from the eyecare clinic so that we could get back to Bungoma for supper at six. "You won’t get away as easily as that," one member got up and said with a smile. Meaning, they had dinner prepared for us. So, off we went to the nearby vicarage where a meal of (roti), beef and chicken was waiting. It was delicious, and as our host explained, not optional. It is the cause of great offense not to accept the hospitality of one’s host. We then travelled over to the Cathedral to join up with the eyecare team, only to be invited into for a similar meal that had been prepared for them.

And then to Bungoma for supper number 3!

I like the joke they tell. ‘Westerners have the watches, but Africans have the time.’

Oh, and the luggage was found and has made it to the Methodist Guest House in Nairobi. We may see our belongings by tomorrow night.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Another full day, and a bit of rhythm beginning to develop as the different teams become acquainted with each other, their surroundings and their responsibilities.

The painting team spent the day painting the exterior of the Wycliffe Training Centre. The Centre had been painted two years ago, but the paint had been scrubbed off almost entirely due to the heavy rains, as I understand.

The eyecare and Christian education teams returned to Webuye. There was quite a scene on the street outside the Shariff Centre where we picked up our lunches. A man had been caught stealing corn. By whatever circumstances he was caught, we saw him surrounded by a crowd of about 50 bike taxi drivers who were escorting him with shouts and malice, to the police station. At one point it appeared that they stopped to beat him. The manager of the centre was nearby and said he was lucky to have made it as far as he did. I learned later that another thief had only made it to the front of the centre where he was impaled and killed on the metal stake fence surrounding the centre.

The crime was striking - theft of corn - as was the mob justice. Guilty until proven innocent, it seemed.

Meanwhile, our intentions were a little closer to reality today. A 9 am start was delayed only by two. As the Christian education team arrived at 11, we were prepared for an anxious class, ready to begin. We met anxious cooks, ready to serve us breakfast. We ate our second breakfast.

When we began, the class began smaller, though it would be back up to about 25 by the afternoon. The reason was simple. Most were also taking advantage of the eye clinic about a mile away. They didn’t want to miss that chance, before walking the mile or so for classes.

There were a couple of harsh realities discovered by the eyecare team. They encountered a surprisingly high number of children who complained of itchy and red eyes, but whose sight was otherwise fine. The theory was twofold. The itchiness likely was the result of pollution from a nearby paper mill. When the wind blows the wrong way, the smell of chlorine used to bleach the paper is horrible. Who knows what’s in the air. The children all live in a small housing complex for plant workers.

The second harsh reality is that the problem is also largely preventable with good hygiene. What appears to be happening is that children are having dirty eyes cleaned with dirty water, rubbed by dirty hands in the meantime. But somewhere along the line, someone’s going need to start kicking the backside of the mill owner, and get them to install better scrubbers at the top of the stacks.

The day ended a little closer to 6 pm tonight, with a touching farewell ceremony for the eyecare team who will move along to a new destination tomorrow. It included speeches from the Proctor of the Cathedral (what we would call the Cathedral Dean), the local doctor who joined the clinic (what I’m sure would have been a very valuable partnership as he is someone who could followup with patients and on trends that were being discovered), from the Proctor’s wife, and from one of the van drivers, followed by a response from the team leader, and then gifts to all the team members. The team leader reported that between 450 and 500 people were examined, with some dramatic results for some who were fitted with proper glasses.

We were back for supper by about 7 pm and then to the hotel where the missing luggage - with one exception - had been delivered. People were tired today. One medical team reported in to say that they were already out of supplies, the numbers were so great. An order for more has been placed.

But by 10 pm, most were either in bed sleeping, or out on the hotel veranda enjoying soft drinks.

Day two of the mission is over, day five of the trip.