This post has two parts, the first is about the class I have been teaching. The second is about what I have been up to for the last few days. Choose your own adventure!
First: the church where I have been teaching is here: (S 1 18.235 E 36 44.776). There are more coordinates throughout.
Today is the last day of the apologetics class. It’s been very interesting. Everyday I go some issue comes up that I had no idea was going to be a controversy, or cause so many problems, or be difficult to understand. You really have to think on your toes. Here are a few of the apologetic issues that I have found need to be covered here, which were not covered in any of the materials I brought. Some of them still come up in America, but they seem to be areas someone coming here to do apologetics should be especially prepared for:
1. Fideism - Does something become true because I believe it? Or do I believe something because it is true? Many students in the class (particularly pastors) strongly believed that the first case was the most noble or spiritual.
2. Miracles - What are miracles for, and where should we expect to see them? Of course, the SES stance is that "apostolic gifts", like miracles, no longer happen, so any material we have produced is hopelessly unprepared to handle all the questions in this area. (Not to mention a pretty indefensible position. Sorry guys! It’s true...) In Africa, everyone has a story of some miracle or another happening, and not all of them through the hands of God's people. We spent about 2 hours going over and over just this one area.
3. KJV vs. other translations - Is the KJV historically accurate, or are other English translations better? I know that this still comes up in the States but it seems to be a fringe issue now.
4. Tradition vs. Scripture - Legalism is pretty rampant here, with many churches still observing a mix of Old Testament and New Testament morality. Along with that, elders are incredibly respected (which is good) even when what they are saying is not true (which is not good). The result is a lot of questions, and even protests, about what is right, wrong, true, false, good, evil, etc. etc. Yesterday I spent over and hour and a half talking about just the issue of drinking alcohol. The thing that touched it off? A mention that Jesus drank wine for communion. Incredible.
Today we are going to have a question and answer time, most of which is going to be consumed by two major issues that have come up over and over and over again. 1. Why shouldn’t we observe the Old Covenant? 2. How do predestination and free will go together?
Whew. But it will be fun. We are also going to have a short “graduation” ceremony. All the people who came every day will get a certificate. I think we have about 40 of those. Pretty cool.
Ok. Part II
Besides teaching for four hours a day, I have had to spend a lot of time studying. I am going to be teaching the gospel of John at my next stop, and getting all my notes ready has taken a significant amount of time. That hasn’t given me much freedom to do too much exploring.
I did get a chance to get out on my own on Saturday. I went and visited Nairobi National Park (S 1 20.190 E 36 46.785). That was fun. I was trying to hitch a ride into the park itself, but that was far too expensive. They have a small animal sanctuary nearby. This was pretty cool because one of the groundskeepers hooked me up and gave me a behind the scenes tour. I got to see a Rhino from about a foot away and pet a cheetah. Unfortunately, my camera got smashed on the way here (more on that later) and none of the pictures actually took. But I got to see it anyway. The other cool thing they had there was a raised boardwalk that goes out into the park itself a short way. It overlooks some big watering holes. I got to see a whole ton of baboons, some warthog, and two or three kinds of gazelles. I sat and watched the baboons for a while.
After the park, I caught a bus into town. I was trying to find the National Museum (S 1 16.449 E 36 48.871). It took some doing, but I got to see a lot of downtown in the process. Nairobi is a big city. I finally found it, and spent a good 3 hours walking around. They have some pretty good displays on African animals, and some really interesting information of Kenyan culture. They had a special exhibit on African rock art. They also have an entire wing devoted to human evolution. Many major discoveries of “missing links” have turned up in Kenya, and they had many of them on display in the museum. I could include a major editorial here, but I will only say that I found the displays disappointingly unconvincing and the depictions of early human beings strange.
After a good day out, I came home.
Monday I went out with a group of guys from the church to go street witnessing. I let my buddy Meshach do all the talking, of course. Afterwards, we had lunch at his house. It was really, really good. His house is here: (S 1 18.119 E 36 44.471).
Yesterday I went to Kabira slums, the biggest slum in Africa. It is roughly 8 sq. km, and is home to over 1.2 million people. The church has some projects in the slums, supporting schools and helping children. It is a pretty amazing sight to visit. Most of the major violence during the election were in Kabira, because it was their MP that was (allegedly) robbed of the presidency. They burned a lot of surrounding buildings, and a lot of the damage was still being fixed. There was a lot of really cool street art in the area.
I finally broke down and bought a new camera. I got a good price, but still, it was frustrating to have to spend the money. I figure the pictures are invaluable, and my church in Charlotte insisted I take a lot of pictures, so it’s justifiable from that side. Pray that God protects this one!
So I got pictures in Kabira, and I will be taking a lot today of the church, the class, and the people I have been working with.
The plan from here: Tomorrow I leave to Narok to visit a bible college there that my friend Ester told me about (Hi, Ester!). I will be there about a day and then I take a little “vacation” into Masaai Mara National Park. My friend David here in Nairobi got me a killer deal on a 3 day camping trip into the park. I will be tagging along with a group of folks. After 2 weeks of hard work here it will be a nice breather before 2 hard weeks in Sudan. I get to Kampala Uganda on the 4th, and my plane leaves the 5th for South Sudan.
I don’t know how much access to the internet I will have for the next three weeks, but I will try to keep thing updated as often as possible.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Half way
Hopefully everyone found the pictures. Check out the link on the Nairobi post
Things are basically the same here. Some information about where I am staying, and what its like:
I am staying in an apartment that was being used by a missionary family that has since gone back to the states. Its pretty big, and pretty nice, so it feels kind of weird to be the only person in it. Plus, there really isn't any furniture besides the bed i am in and a table in the dining room. Its on the 3rd floor, so its really easy to forget where I am. Also, we are pretty cut off from the city. I haven't been able to get out as much as I did in Addis which is really too bad. My teaching schedule also makes it hard to get out. My class is from 1-5 so the day is pretty much cut in half, and I have to do a lot of studying in the mornings.
Its pretty cold here. Very chilly and night, and sweatshirt whether during the day. Its been rainy just about every morning since I got here. Its not the thunderstorm downpour we got in Ethiopia, but its still gets everything pretty wet.
The students I have are really awesome. They have an amazing amount of questions, many of them not directly related to the subject matter, but important none-the-less. They have some major doctrinal problems here with legalism, qualifications for church leaders, and prosperity/word-faith stuff. So those sorts of questions come up often. You have to really think on your toes.
I am really wishing that I could have gotten a team together for this portion. My mouth is physically sore by the end of the day. Maybe next summer?
Things are basically the same here. Some information about where I am staying, and what its like:
I am staying in an apartment that was being used by a missionary family that has since gone back to the states. Its pretty big, and pretty nice, so it feels kind of weird to be the only person in it. Plus, there really isn't any furniture besides the bed i am in and a table in the dining room. Its on the 3rd floor, so its really easy to forget where I am. Also, we are pretty cut off from the city. I haven't been able to get out as much as I did in Addis which is really too bad. My teaching schedule also makes it hard to get out. My class is from 1-5 so the day is pretty much cut in half, and I have to do a lot of studying in the mornings.
Its pretty cold here. Very chilly and night, and sweatshirt whether during the day. Its been rainy just about every morning since I got here. Its not the thunderstorm downpour we got in Ethiopia, but its still gets everything pretty wet.
The students I have are really awesome. They have an amazing amount of questions, many of them not directly related to the subject matter, but important none-the-less. They have some major doctrinal problems here with legalism, qualifications for church leaders, and prosperity/word-faith stuff. So those sorts of questions come up often. You have to really think on your toes.
I am really wishing that I could have gotten a team together for this portion. My mouth is physically sore by the end of the day. Maybe next summer?
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Nairobi
First: one of my awesome comrades from Ethiopia has put up some pictures from the trip here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/pcdenio/EthiopiaTripPictures2
I just finished by 3 teaching day in Nairobi. It is a lot more work than the last stop; I am doing about 2-4 hours a day. It is pretty tiring work. Lots of questions about all sorts of things. That is nice, because it makes it a lot of fun. But, it is also pretty rough because I am doing a lot of mental work to keep up with all the topics flying around.
We are doing a basic overview of Christian apologetics (Dr. Geisler's 12 points, if you are familar). They are really interested. Many of the people in the sessions have never had any philosophy at all, and so they are incredibley interested in just learning the basics. I am having a really good time teaching this class.
We have about 30-40 students a day. A lot of people trickle in as the class progresses. Africa Time is in full effect here; this means that if we say we start at 1, people start showing up around 1:30, and by 2 we are up to full numbers. That can be a bit frustrating, but what can you do?
Calvary Chapel Nairobi is a pretty sweet church. They have been in their current location for about 2 years, and and the Bible college has been going for about 1.5 years. Their first students will graduate next spring. The church is made up of about 100 adults (or so) and about 200 children. Sometimes they have even more kids show up. It is really a neat thing to see. They do services in English and Swahili. This works out well because those are the two national languages of Kenya. Everyone here speaks exellent English. Most of the people my age are completely fluent. The fun part is, their accents are African but much of their pronunciation is British.
More to say, but I have to go get dinner, and this is long enough already!
http://picasaweb.google.com/pcdenio/EthiopiaTripPictures2
I just finished by 3 teaching day in Nairobi. It is a lot more work than the last stop; I am doing about 2-4 hours a day. It is pretty tiring work. Lots of questions about all sorts of things. That is nice, because it makes it a lot of fun. But, it is also pretty rough because I am doing a lot of mental work to keep up with all the topics flying around.
We are doing a basic overview of Christian apologetics (Dr. Geisler's 12 points, if you are familar). They are really interested. Many of the people in the sessions have never had any philosophy at all, and so they are incredibley interested in just learning the basics. I am having a really good time teaching this class.
We have about 30-40 students a day. A lot of people trickle in as the class progresses. Africa Time is in full effect here; this means that if we say we start at 1, people start showing up around 1:30, and by 2 we are up to full numbers. That can be a bit frustrating, but what can you do?
Calvary Chapel Nairobi is a pretty sweet church. They have been in their current location for about 2 years, and and the Bible college has been going for about 1.5 years. Their first students will graduate next spring. The church is made up of about 100 adults (or so) and about 200 children. Sometimes they have even more kids show up. It is really a neat thing to see. They do services in English and Swahili. This works out well because those are the two national languages of Kenya. Everyone here speaks exellent English. Most of the people my age are completely fluent. The fun part is, their accents are African but much of their pronunciation is British.
More to say, but I have to go get dinner, and this is long enough already!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
I have not perished.
I have arrived safely in Nairobi. I got in at around 7 PM last night. The following entry is all the details of the incredible adventure it was getting here. It is long, and I didn't really proofread it (sorry!) you will get the idea anyway.
July 12th
I got the bus station at around 5 AM. The scene there was pretty chaotic, but I brought an Ethiopian friend with me who helped navigate some of the difficulty. After we found the right bus and paid the fare, I settled down for a while to wait for us to leave. At this point I experienced a bit of a panic. It was a pretty daunting task ahead of me, and I realized that I had no language to get myself out of trouble. I had 800 miles of Africa in front of me, most of it days away from any civilization. I overcame that with a bit of prayer and some pride as well: what would I say to everyone who knew I was going to Nairobi by bus? That I wussed out? Heck no. I talked with a passenger named Zilalem for a while. He was an English major at Addis Ababa University. Nice guy.
We left around 6:15ish, and were out of Addis Ababa by 7:00 or so. Traffic was light the entire way.
I was sitting in the front, behind the driver, so I had a pretty good view of the road. I ended up falling asleep for a while which was a good thing because I was started to get car sick from being so tired. I didn’t get much sleep the night before.
We stopped for breakfast around 9 at a little roadside place. I didn’t eat anything because I still was feeling a bit sick from the last week. I sat with Zilalem while he had some breakfast. He was on his way home for the summer break.
The rest of the days ride was pretty uneventful. I read some and enjoyed the scenery. We were basically going downhill all the way, so there was a big change in the vegetation. It was very lush through the highlands, and didn’t get more arid until we got near the border with Kenya. There were a lot of mud and thatch huts with small farms along the way. This was true pretty much throughout Ethiopia.
We arrived in a town called Dilla around 2 PM. This was going to be our overnight stay. It was bit bewildering because it wasn’t at all like I expected. There was no clear direction to move in, and I knew I had limited time to look like I knew what I was doing. We pulled into a clear area inside a fence and everyone got off the bus and moved on. Luckily the conductor directed me towards some folk, and this random kid showed me where a hotel was. All the other passengers from the bus were there as well, and this turned out to be a very good thing.
It was there that I met Emmanuel and Paulos. They were part of the Ethiopian version of the Boy Scouts, and were on their way to Moyale to pitch the whole idea to the government there. Paulos spoke excellent English. They invited me out to get some drinks and food, so we spent the afternoon walking around town. No one had any power so we had to walk around a bit to find a restaurant that had food available. After a few hours we went back to the hotel, which was not a bad place. For 20 birr (about 2 dollars) you got a room with a bed and a chair. There was a communal bath area. The toilet was completely shot, just a hole in the ground with some bricks to stand on while you squatted. I didn’t bother using the shower. While we were there I also met Ali, a Somali from Addis. I got to share Christ with him; he is a Muslim.
July 13th
The next day was another early start. We had to be at the bus at 5 AM once again. I had a great night’s rest though, so I didn’t feel poorly at all. I met up with the others, and ended up sitting next to Ali on the bus.
On this part of the trip we experienced the greatest changes in elevation. The result was fantastic views as we came down off the tops of various hills and ridges. Ethiopia is a pretty beautiful country. The weather was beautiful. Outside of Dilla were more of the lush forests and farms. A lot of people were growing bananas. As we dropped lower the landscape and flora changed dramatically. We ended up in arid plains, still being farmed. On the way I saw much of the same domestic animals: horses, goats, cows, and sheep, but lower down there were also groups of camels. I also saw some good sized monkeys; baboons maybe?
Giant termite nests became a common sight as well. These stand over 10 feet tall sometimes. They look like pillars of dirt. At some point the soil must have changed dramatically, because instead of being brown they turned to bright white. Some of them were very elegant, almost like statues. You could imagine marble forms in some of them that were quite convincing.
We broke down in the middle of nowhere for about an hour. This was an interesting experience. Luckily these people are amazing for getting things up and running. The bus must have been in terrible condition from the sound but we got underway again. It took about an hour to fix the problem.
We arrived in Moyale around 1 PM.
What a mess.
Moyale is a frontier town, and as close to the Wild West as I can imagine still existing. There is one main drag that consists almost entirely of hotels and whorehouses. It seemed, anyway. We pulled into the same kind of lot that I saw in Dilla, but with even less direction as to where to go and what to do.
Ali ended up being a big help (he had family in Moyale), but even he didn’t really know what to do. The goal was to find a hotel, and then work out a ride on a truck into Kenya. This turned out to be a bad idea. The whole town seemed to full of “brokers” and “tourist agents” who wanted to get you into the hotels they had deals with and get some money out of you on the way. I had to get rid of these guys. A truck driver in Addis told me the best bet was to go to the customs office and try to find some other westerners to travel with. I stuck to that plan instead of trying to get a hotel. This turned out to be a VERY good thing.
Ali helped me find the customs office and then went on his way. While I was there I met Sahar and Nir, an Israeli couple honeymooning their way through Africa, hitchhiking and so forth. They were on their way to Mt. Kenya, which is right near Nairobi. We decided to all travel together. This would turn out to be amazing.
They spoke very good English, had been in Ethiopia about a month, and were really happy to have another friendly to join them on the road. They had been in Moyale for about a day and had figured out the truck situation. It turns out you have to walk about half a mile across the border to find their starting point. I also needed to get my passport stamped before I left the country. It was a good thing I got that worked out that day.
We got some supper together and got to know each other decently well. They had just gotten married. Both have served in the IDF. I found out later that Nir had seen a lot of action. He was really relieved to meet someone who didn’t hate Israel. We got a chance to hang out a lot over the next two days. Sahar was really cool as well. She had a vibrant interest in people, and was constantly talking to everyone, even those that couldn’t understand English very well. It was a lot of fun.
I got a hotel, and went off to meet Emmanuel and Paulos before I left. I got to buy them some Cokes, and we sat and talked for a good hour. They were really good people. They walked me back to my hotel. In Ethiopia it is very common for friends of the same sex to hold hands while they are walking. As we started off, Emmanuel grabbed mind. Totally weird! But, what can you do?
The hotel I was staying in was a complete mess. The first thing I did was destroy two cockroaches and throw the deadbolts. Moyale seemed to be a very dangerous place. Most of the hotels were also whorehouses and bars, and I don’t think mine was an exception. I had guys sitting right outside my room most the night drinking and listening to loud music. The rooms were just off a courtyard used by the restaurant. Also, they ran a generator most the night. After the generator was shut down, I got to listen to the cats fight World War 3 on the tin roof about my head. Plus, the whole time I was waiting for someone to break in and slit my throat. Not much sleep in Moyale.
July 14
Morning was wonderful.
The weather was amazing. I met up with Nir and Sahar around 7 AM and we walked across the border to Kenya. It pretty neat to walk across the border of two significant countries in Africa. I was 2 days by road from any significant town.
We had to spend some time talking to Kenyan border agents, but they were very nice and helpful. Nir and Sahar had to buy visas. Once we got that worked out we head to the center of Moyale town on the Kenya side. The town has the same name on both sides. All the trucks met in a big open area in front of a bank and some shops. There was the usual assortment of brokers trying to get you to arrange, through them, for a price, a trip on one of the trucks. These were medium sized trucks with the bed attached; they did not have trailers. They were open to the sun on the top, with a lattice work cover that could be used to support a tarp. If the truck wasn’t too full you could sit down inside, but most the trip was spent sitting, 15 feet above the road, on the pipe lattice. The best places were near, or on top of, the cab because the bumps would be lessened. The tail end is horrible. You would most likely be thrown to your death.
After a great amount of haggling, arguing, some yelling, and so one we got on a great truck for a very good price. Also, it was hauling jugs of gasoline, so a good amount of the bed was free. They fill the bottom with dirt so that they can hide things they don’t want customs to find. This makes a pretty comfortable spot to sit down. It also was a good break from sitting on top of the cover. We got under way around 10 PM.
The Kenyan army had check points all along the road, so we were constantly stopping to show passports and ask questions. The soldiers were a lot of fun, and all had excellent English. We had some illegal immigrants on board, so every stop was a long drawn out argument with between the driver and the soldiers and the Ethiopians, and everyone had to work out how much it would cost to carry them through. I think a lot of money changed hands. This was also very annoying, because it ended up adding a lot of time to the trip.
I got to spend a lot of time talking with Nir on the truck, even sharing some about Christianity with him.
The views were incredible. For a while the land around us was pretty well populated, even though the terrain was brutal. It was pretty much desert, but even so some places were covered with small brush. It would have been impossible to walk across. In the midst of that we were able to see a lot of wildlife, mostly small birds and gazelle. Later that day we say some ostrich. Eventually the land gave way to a massive plain that was covered almost entirely with basketball sized volcanic stones. There must have been some massive explosion that annihilated the land. I wondered what it was until we pasted, at the very end of the day, a huge crater. It didn’t look like a volcano, but probably a meteorite. I want to do some research on that.
It was VERY dusty. Most of the time I wore a bandana over my face, which Nir thought was pretty funny. A genuine American cowboy!
The ride was a lot of fun. We moved along at about 30 or 40 miles an hour and the roads were horrible. Lots of bumps and sand and grooves. For the next 2 days I didn’t see one foot of pavement. There were a few times I thought the whole thing was going to go over. It was a bit scary, because you knew that if we rolled that son of a gun half of us would be dead immediately and the other would be in a very bad way. We were about as far from help as imaginable, and no one would care about a beat up truck and a bunch of peasants in the middle of the desert. I loved it. There were a few big bumps which, if we hadn't been holding on for dear life, would have knocked us off the truck.
We arrived in Marsabit very late; about 8:30 PM. 10 or 11 hours on the road.
I was in a pretty bad mood when we got there, because just outside of town we got stopped again, and this time it took about an hour to get the right bribes into the right hands.
We found a great hotel, the best so far, and settled in for the night. It was funny looking around the table and seeing faces covered with dust and grime. We enjoyed a good dinner and got to bed. We had no idea when the trucks left this particular town, so we agreed to be up at 6 AM to look around.
July 15
Up early and miserable. I got great sleep, but not any where near enough. It was pretty cold in Marsabit as well, probably in the 60’s that morning. We had to walk around a bit and ask around. Finally we settled at a gas station in town, and figured that the trucks would have to go by. This turned out to be true. Nir and I walked around a bit for something to do, and almost missed a great ride. Sahar was pretty upset with us at first. We ended up having two choices: one was a truck like the one we had the day before, the other was a smaller police truck carrying tanks of fuel. Nir decided to go for the police, and for good reason. We figured they wouldn’t get stopped as much, were more trustworthy, and if we got into mechanical trouble at least someone would rescue us.
This was a very good decision.
The early morning drive was really sweet. We were flying along. They drove a lot faster than the other guys. Sahar was feeling really poorly which sucked, but there was nothing to do about it. The sun came up behind us as we drove.
Really beautiful.
We stopped at some point and the guys in the cab invited Sahar to join them there. That was a great thing for her. Nir and I were really enjoying the view in the back. The wind in your face, and an amazing African landscape around you.
The plains were dotted with little ridges of hills and rocks. We passed some amazing cliffs and massive stones. We say a lot more of the gazelle and birds. There were some beautiful blue birds that looked a lot like pheasants or turkeys. They would come flying off the bushes as we drove.
That morning I sat up on the cover behind the cab; it was one of the happiest moments of my life. I haven’t felt good about anything, just pure joy, for quite a while. It struck me that all the crap I have been through in the last couple years ended me up in that place, seeing those sights, having that EXPIRIENCE, something completely unique, dangerous, special, exhilarating, and totally and completely and overwhelmingly adventurous. I remembered reading adventures as a younger man, Lord of the Rings, Conan, Dune, books where the world is big and strange, and men conquer obstacles for glorious ideals. I always wished that such worlds really existed, that there were Lonely Mountains, and Mines of Moria, strange Stygia to navigate, battles and goblins and sorcerers and sand worms. Being there, in that place made me really experience that this world God has given us is huge, and menacing, and there are such adventures to find and have. I was traveling through a strange world, out of necessity (no money) and with a great goal: to teach the Bible. I felt close to God, and the most profoundly active sense of being NOT LONELY.
That morning was beautiful in the deepest, most profound sense of the word. I cannot descibe with words what I felt that day. I will remember it for the rest of my life.
We saw 3 giraffe that day, which was really sweet.
The 3 police officers were really great. When we stopped at various places for a rest we enjoyed tea and chapattis with them. One man, Wilberforce Kofia, ended up being a great friend. The other two were Ali and Peter, the driver. At around 2 PM we got to a town called Isiolo, which was where I finally had to say goodbye to Sahar and Nir. They were splitting off to find Mt. Kenya and climb it. I was envious. We got a meal with Kofia, Ali, and Peter. It was a great time to relax from the road. By the time we got there the truck had been filled with about 20 people, and about 20 goats. My euphoria from the morning had worn off through cramped quarters and bruised ribs. The bars on the truck take their toll after 2 days.
I continued on with the police officers. I got to ride in the cab for the next bit which was nice. We were going on to their station, which was pretty close to Nairobi. This was a good turn of events. We weren’t able to get all the way, though, because it was getting dark. We stayed the night in a little town called Nauru. Kofia treated me to a great dinner, which we enjoyed with about 3 other officers from the station. Afterwards about 5 of us went out for some drinks. I was completely exhausted from a long day. I got to bed around 11 PM. It was really great to be a part of the daily life of these people, though. To see the places they spend their free time, to live in hotel rooms they stay in, to pay the same prices, and be on the inside of their lives.
More than anything on this trip I have seen that the human experience is so universal. We are not as separated by culture and language as we high-minded intellectuals would like to think. The world is filled with men and women, and these are the same the world over.
The hotel was good. I slept soundly.
July 16th
I got to sleep in a bit. This was great. I met up with Kofia and we went to get breakfast and find and internet café. We took care of this business and went on to Embo, their station. This took about 2 hours. On the way I crossed the Equator! I am now in the Southern Hemisphere. It was great seeing the numbers tick down on my GPS. Once we got there I hung out in the housing unit for a few hours waiting for who-knows-what. Africa time is strange. Eventually Kofia showed up; he was going to take me up to Nairobi. It was not far, a couple of hours in a minibus, called a mutatu here. We got up to the city around 5 PM and met the folks from Calvary Nairobi. It was a really good thing that I Kofia went with me. I would have been lost for sure. He was a really great guy, and there is a lot to say about him. I will leave that for another time. Anyway, we got back to the apartment where I will be staying here in Nairobi. The people here are great. Kofia spent the night with me, and it was really special to be able to show him the hospitality that he extended to me on the road. We stayed up pretty late last night talking about our lives, and Jesus, and life in Kenya.
Once again: the human experience is overwhelmingly universal.
Hopefully I will be able to keep in touch with him. We went to bed around 10 PM after a good long day of travel.
I arrived at the apartment around 7 PM, 4 days 14 hours after leaving Addis Ababa. Incredible. Altogether I covered about 800 miles of country. It was worth every second, every hardship. The sense of accomplishment is impossible to describe. This is a great victory. I saw that God’s hand was on the trip from start to finish. I met so many good friends on the road, and so many seemingly random meetings ensured that I made it safely “home” to Nairobi.
Here are the GPS coordinates for the trip:
Left HQ, Addis: N 09 01.274 E 038 44.879
Saw a big lake: N 08 05.110 E 38 454.698
Stopped for breakfast: N 07 55.366 E 38 424.889
Big bell tower in Dilla: N 06.25.313 E 38 17.768
Bus station in Dilla: N 06 24.247 E 38 18.757
Hotel in Dilla: N 06 24.167 E 38 18.778
Middle of nowhere: N 5 44.536 E 38 16.739
Breakfast: N 5 38.475 E 38 14.286
Nearing Moyale: N 03 40.878 E 38 54.445
Hotel Hell in Moyale: 03 32.239 E 39 03.051
On the way to Marsabit: N 03 28.510 E 39 05.653
On the way to Marsabit: N 03 28.375 E 38 52.716
On the way to Marsabit: N 02 42.542 E 38 5.230
Giant crater: N 02 24.080 E 38 2.973
Hotel in Marsabit: N 02 19.935 E 37 59.407
On the way to Isiolo: N 01 53.480 E 37 53.365
Pavement finally begins again: N 00 22.556 E 37 35.364
Isiolo for lunch: N 00 21.094 E 37 34.984
The EQUATOR: N 00 00.001 E 37 39.638
Police Station in Nburu: S 00 3.761 E 37 39.754
Hotel in Nburu (or close): S 00 3.831 E 37 39.800
HOME IN NAIROBI: S 01 16.489 E 36 47.376
Someone can let me know that all these are working. Enjoy the trip!
July 12th
I got the bus station at around 5 AM. The scene there was pretty chaotic, but I brought an Ethiopian friend with me who helped navigate some of the difficulty. After we found the right bus and paid the fare, I settled down for a while to wait for us to leave. At this point I experienced a bit of a panic. It was a pretty daunting task ahead of me, and I realized that I had no language to get myself out of trouble. I had 800 miles of Africa in front of me, most of it days away from any civilization. I overcame that with a bit of prayer and some pride as well: what would I say to everyone who knew I was going to Nairobi by bus? That I wussed out? Heck no. I talked with a passenger named Zilalem for a while. He was an English major at Addis Ababa University. Nice guy.
We left around 6:15ish, and were out of Addis Ababa by 7:00 or so. Traffic was light the entire way.
I was sitting in the front, behind the driver, so I had a pretty good view of the road. I ended up falling asleep for a while which was a good thing because I was started to get car sick from being so tired. I didn’t get much sleep the night before.
We stopped for breakfast around 9 at a little roadside place. I didn’t eat anything because I still was feeling a bit sick from the last week. I sat with Zilalem while he had some breakfast. He was on his way home for the summer break.
The rest of the days ride was pretty uneventful. I read some and enjoyed the scenery. We were basically going downhill all the way, so there was a big change in the vegetation. It was very lush through the highlands, and didn’t get more arid until we got near the border with Kenya. There were a lot of mud and thatch huts with small farms along the way. This was true pretty much throughout Ethiopia.
We arrived in a town called Dilla around 2 PM. This was going to be our overnight stay. It was bit bewildering because it wasn’t at all like I expected. There was no clear direction to move in, and I knew I had limited time to look like I knew what I was doing. We pulled into a clear area inside a fence and everyone got off the bus and moved on. Luckily the conductor directed me towards some folk, and this random kid showed me where a hotel was. All the other passengers from the bus were there as well, and this turned out to be a very good thing.
It was there that I met Emmanuel and Paulos. They were part of the Ethiopian version of the Boy Scouts, and were on their way to Moyale to pitch the whole idea to the government there. Paulos spoke excellent English. They invited me out to get some drinks and food, so we spent the afternoon walking around town. No one had any power so we had to walk around a bit to find a restaurant that had food available. After a few hours we went back to the hotel, which was not a bad place. For 20 birr (about 2 dollars) you got a room with a bed and a chair. There was a communal bath area. The toilet was completely shot, just a hole in the ground with some bricks to stand on while you squatted. I didn’t bother using the shower. While we were there I also met Ali, a Somali from Addis. I got to share Christ with him; he is a Muslim.
July 13th
The next day was another early start. We had to be at the bus at 5 AM once again. I had a great night’s rest though, so I didn’t feel poorly at all. I met up with the others, and ended up sitting next to Ali on the bus.
On this part of the trip we experienced the greatest changes in elevation. The result was fantastic views as we came down off the tops of various hills and ridges. Ethiopia is a pretty beautiful country. The weather was beautiful. Outside of Dilla were more of the lush forests and farms. A lot of people were growing bananas. As we dropped lower the landscape and flora changed dramatically. We ended up in arid plains, still being farmed. On the way I saw much of the same domestic animals: horses, goats, cows, and sheep, but lower down there were also groups of camels. I also saw some good sized monkeys; baboons maybe?
Giant termite nests became a common sight as well. These stand over 10 feet tall sometimes. They look like pillars of dirt. At some point the soil must have changed dramatically, because instead of being brown they turned to bright white. Some of them were very elegant, almost like statues. You could imagine marble forms in some of them that were quite convincing.
We broke down in the middle of nowhere for about an hour. This was an interesting experience. Luckily these people are amazing for getting things up and running. The bus must have been in terrible condition from the sound but we got underway again. It took about an hour to fix the problem.
We arrived in Moyale around 1 PM.
What a mess.
Moyale is a frontier town, and as close to the Wild West as I can imagine still existing. There is one main drag that consists almost entirely of hotels and whorehouses. It seemed, anyway. We pulled into the same kind of lot that I saw in Dilla, but with even less direction as to where to go and what to do.
Ali ended up being a big help (he had family in Moyale), but even he didn’t really know what to do. The goal was to find a hotel, and then work out a ride on a truck into Kenya. This turned out to be a bad idea. The whole town seemed to full of “brokers” and “tourist agents” who wanted to get you into the hotels they had deals with and get some money out of you on the way. I had to get rid of these guys. A truck driver in Addis told me the best bet was to go to the customs office and try to find some other westerners to travel with. I stuck to that plan instead of trying to get a hotel. This turned out to be a VERY good thing.
Ali helped me find the customs office and then went on his way. While I was there I met Sahar and Nir, an Israeli couple honeymooning their way through Africa, hitchhiking and so forth. They were on their way to Mt. Kenya, which is right near Nairobi. We decided to all travel together. This would turn out to be amazing.
They spoke very good English, had been in Ethiopia about a month, and were really happy to have another friendly to join them on the road. They had been in Moyale for about a day and had figured out the truck situation. It turns out you have to walk about half a mile across the border to find their starting point. I also needed to get my passport stamped before I left the country. It was a good thing I got that worked out that day.
We got some supper together and got to know each other decently well. They had just gotten married. Both have served in the IDF. I found out later that Nir had seen a lot of action. He was really relieved to meet someone who didn’t hate Israel. We got a chance to hang out a lot over the next two days. Sahar was really cool as well. She had a vibrant interest in people, and was constantly talking to everyone, even those that couldn’t understand English very well. It was a lot of fun.
I got a hotel, and went off to meet Emmanuel and Paulos before I left. I got to buy them some Cokes, and we sat and talked for a good hour. They were really good people. They walked me back to my hotel. In Ethiopia it is very common for friends of the same sex to hold hands while they are walking. As we started off, Emmanuel grabbed mind. Totally weird! But, what can you do?
The hotel I was staying in was a complete mess. The first thing I did was destroy two cockroaches and throw the deadbolts. Moyale seemed to be a very dangerous place. Most of the hotels were also whorehouses and bars, and I don’t think mine was an exception. I had guys sitting right outside my room most the night drinking and listening to loud music. The rooms were just off a courtyard used by the restaurant. Also, they ran a generator most the night. After the generator was shut down, I got to listen to the cats fight World War 3 on the tin roof about my head. Plus, the whole time I was waiting for someone to break in and slit my throat. Not much sleep in Moyale.
July 14
Morning was wonderful.
The weather was amazing. I met up with Nir and Sahar around 7 AM and we walked across the border to Kenya. It pretty neat to walk across the border of two significant countries in Africa. I was 2 days by road from any significant town.
We had to spend some time talking to Kenyan border agents, but they were very nice and helpful. Nir and Sahar had to buy visas. Once we got that worked out we head to the center of Moyale town on the Kenya side. The town has the same name on both sides. All the trucks met in a big open area in front of a bank and some shops. There was the usual assortment of brokers trying to get you to arrange, through them, for a price, a trip on one of the trucks. These were medium sized trucks with the bed attached; they did not have trailers. They were open to the sun on the top, with a lattice work cover that could be used to support a tarp. If the truck wasn’t too full you could sit down inside, but most the trip was spent sitting, 15 feet above the road, on the pipe lattice. The best places were near, or on top of, the cab because the bumps would be lessened. The tail end is horrible. You would most likely be thrown to your death.
After a great amount of haggling, arguing, some yelling, and so one we got on a great truck for a very good price. Also, it was hauling jugs of gasoline, so a good amount of the bed was free. They fill the bottom with dirt so that they can hide things they don’t want customs to find. This makes a pretty comfortable spot to sit down. It also was a good break from sitting on top of the cover. We got under way around 10 PM.
The Kenyan army had check points all along the road, so we were constantly stopping to show passports and ask questions. The soldiers were a lot of fun, and all had excellent English. We had some illegal immigrants on board, so every stop was a long drawn out argument with between the driver and the soldiers and the Ethiopians, and everyone had to work out how much it would cost to carry them through. I think a lot of money changed hands. This was also very annoying, because it ended up adding a lot of time to the trip.
I got to spend a lot of time talking with Nir on the truck, even sharing some about Christianity with him.
The views were incredible. For a while the land around us was pretty well populated, even though the terrain was brutal. It was pretty much desert, but even so some places were covered with small brush. It would have been impossible to walk across. In the midst of that we were able to see a lot of wildlife, mostly small birds and gazelle. Later that day we say some ostrich. Eventually the land gave way to a massive plain that was covered almost entirely with basketball sized volcanic stones. There must have been some massive explosion that annihilated the land. I wondered what it was until we pasted, at the very end of the day, a huge crater. It didn’t look like a volcano, but probably a meteorite. I want to do some research on that.
It was VERY dusty. Most of the time I wore a bandana over my face, which Nir thought was pretty funny. A genuine American cowboy!
The ride was a lot of fun. We moved along at about 30 or 40 miles an hour and the roads were horrible. Lots of bumps and sand and grooves. For the next 2 days I didn’t see one foot of pavement. There were a few times I thought the whole thing was going to go over. It was a bit scary, because you knew that if we rolled that son of a gun half of us would be dead immediately and the other would be in a very bad way. We were about as far from help as imaginable, and no one would care about a beat up truck and a bunch of peasants in the middle of the desert. I loved it. There were a few big bumps which, if we hadn't been holding on for dear life, would have knocked us off the truck.
We arrived in Marsabit very late; about 8:30 PM. 10 or 11 hours on the road.
I was in a pretty bad mood when we got there, because just outside of town we got stopped again, and this time it took about an hour to get the right bribes into the right hands.
We found a great hotel, the best so far, and settled in for the night. It was funny looking around the table and seeing faces covered with dust and grime. We enjoyed a good dinner and got to bed. We had no idea when the trucks left this particular town, so we agreed to be up at 6 AM to look around.
July 15
Up early and miserable. I got great sleep, but not any where near enough. It was pretty cold in Marsabit as well, probably in the 60’s that morning. We had to walk around a bit and ask around. Finally we settled at a gas station in town, and figured that the trucks would have to go by. This turned out to be true. Nir and I walked around a bit for something to do, and almost missed a great ride. Sahar was pretty upset with us at first. We ended up having two choices: one was a truck like the one we had the day before, the other was a smaller police truck carrying tanks of fuel. Nir decided to go for the police, and for good reason. We figured they wouldn’t get stopped as much, were more trustworthy, and if we got into mechanical trouble at least someone would rescue us.
This was a very good decision.
The early morning drive was really sweet. We were flying along. They drove a lot faster than the other guys. Sahar was feeling really poorly which sucked, but there was nothing to do about it. The sun came up behind us as we drove.
Really beautiful.
We stopped at some point and the guys in the cab invited Sahar to join them there. That was a great thing for her. Nir and I were really enjoying the view in the back. The wind in your face, and an amazing African landscape around you.
The plains were dotted with little ridges of hills and rocks. We passed some amazing cliffs and massive stones. We say a lot more of the gazelle and birds. There were some beautiful blue birds that looked a lot like pheasants or turkeys. They would come flying off the bushes as we drove.
That morning I sat up on the cover behind the cab; it was one of the happiest moments of my life. I haven’t felt good about anything, just pure joy, for quite a while. It struck me that all the crap I have been through in the last couple years ended me up in that place, seeing those sights, having that EXPIRIENCE, something completely unique, dangerous, special, exhilarating, and totally and completely and overwhelmingly adventurous. I remembered reading adventures as a younger man, Lord of the Rings, Conan, Dune, books where the world is big and strange, and men conquer obstacles for glorious ideals. I always wished that such worlds really existed, that there were Lonely Mountains, and Mines of Moria, strange Stygia to navigate, battles and goblins and sorcerers and sand worms. Being there, in that place made me really experience that this world God has given us is huge, and menacing, and there are such adventures to find and have. I was traveling through a strange world, out of necessity (no money) and with a great goal: to teach the Bible. I felt close to God, and the most profoundly active sense of being NOT LONELY.
That morning was beautiful in the deepest, most profound sense of the word. I cannot descibe with words what I felt that day. I will remember it for the rest of my life.
We saw 3 giraffe that day, which was really sweet.
The 3 police officers were really great. When we stopped at various places for a rest we enjoyed tea and chapattis with them. One man, Wilberforce Kofia, ended up being a great friend. The other two were Ali and Peter, the driver. At around 2 PM we got to a town called Isiolo, which was where I finally had to say goodbye to Sahar and Nir. They were splitting off to find Mt. Kenya and climb it. I was envious. We got a meal with Kofia, Ali, and Peter. It was a great time to relax from the road. By the time we got there the truck had been filled with about 20 people, and about 20 goats. My euphoria from the morning had worn off through cramped quarters and bruised ribs. The bars on the truck take their toll after 2 days.
I continued on with the police officers. I got to ride in the cab for the next bit which was nice. We were going on to their station, which was pretty close to Nairobi. This was a good turn of events. We weren’t able to get all the way, though, because it was getting dark. We stayed the night in a little town called Nauru. Kofia treated me to a great dinner, which we enjoyed with about 3 other officers from the station. Afterwards about 5 of us went out for some drinks. I was completely exhausted from a long day. I got to bed around 11 PM. It was really great to be a part of the daily life of these people, though. To see the places they spend their free time, to live in hotel rooms they stay in, to pay the same prices, and be on the inside of their lives.
More than anything on this trip I have seen that the human experience is so universal. We are not as separated by culture and language as we high-minded intellectuals would like to think. The world is filled with men and women, and these are the same the world over.
The hotel was good. I slept soundly.
July 16th
I got to sleep in a bit. This was great. I met up with Kofia and we went to get breakfast and find and internet café. We took care of this business and went on to Embo, their station. This took about 2 hours. On the way I crossed the Equator! I am now in the Southern Hemisphere. It was great seeing the numbers tick down on my GPS. Once we got there I hung out in the housing unit for a few hours waiting for who-knows-what. Africa time is strange. Eventually Kofia showed up; he was going to take me up to Nairobi. It was not far, a couple of hours in a minibus, called a mutatu here. We got up to the city around 5 PM and met the folks from Calvary Nairobi. It was a really good thing that I Kofia went with me. I would have been lost for sure. He was a really great guy, and there is a lot to say about him. I will leave that for another time. Anyway, we got back to the apartment where I will be staying here in Nairobi. The people here are great. Kofia spent the night with me, and it was really special to be able to show him the hospitality that he extended to me on the road. We stayed up pretty late last night talking about our lives, and Jesus, and life in Kenya.
Once again: the human experience is overwhelmingly universal.
Hopefully I will be able to keep in touch with him. We went to bed around 10 PM after a good long day of travel.
I arrived at the apartment around 7 PM, 4 days 14 hours after leaving Addis Ababa. Incredible. Altogether I covered about 800 miles of country. It was worth every second, every hardship. The sense of accomplishment is impossible to describe. This is a great victory. I saw that God’s hand was on the trip from start to finish. I met so many good friends on the road, and so many seemingly random meetings ensured that I made it safely “home” to Nairobi.
Here are the GPS coordinates for the trip:
Left HQ, Addis: N 09 01.274 E 038 44.879
Saw a big lake: N 08 05.110 E 38 454.698
Stopped for breakfast: N 07 55.366 E 38 424.889
Big bell tower in Dilla: N 06.25.313 E 38 17.768
Bus station in Dilla: N 06 24.247 E 38 18.757
Hotel in Dilla: N 06 24.167 E 38 18.778
Middle of nowhere: N 5 44.536 E 38 16.739
Breakfast: N 5 38.475 E 38 14.286
Nearing Moyale: N 03 40.878 E 38 54.445
Hotel Hell in Moyale: 03 32.239 E 39 03.051
On the way to Marsabit: N 03 28.510 E 39 05.653
On the way to Marsabit: N 03 28.375 E 38 52.716
On the way to Marsabit: N 02 42.542 E 38 5.230
Giant crater: N 02 24.080 E 38 2.973
Hotel in Marsabit: N 02 19.935 E 37 59.407
On the way to Isiolo: N 01 53.480 E 37 53.365
Pavement finally begins again: N 00 22.556 E 37 35.364
Isiolo for lunch: N 00 21.094 E 37 34.984
The EQUATOR: N 00 00.001 E 37 39.638
Police Station in Nburu: S 00 3.761 E 37 39.754
Hotel in Nburu (or close): S 00 3.831 E 37 39.800
HOME IN NAIROBI: S 01 16.489 E 36 47.376
Someone can let me know that all these are working. Enjoy the trip!
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
Moving Forward
Today I finished teaching my first fully accredited, college level teaching expirience. Whew.
Besides that I ran up to the bus station to try to buy my tickets (I couldn't: you have to get them in the morning). From there I ran some other errands before meeting up with one of my students for lunch. His name is Solomon. He has a pretty incredible testimony, which I will hopefully remember in full. Briefly, he was raised in the Ethiopian Orthodox church and got saved as a teenager. When his father found out he kicked Solomon out of the house, along with several of his siblings who had been found by the Lord. They worked their way through the rest of high school together before he got into university. He has been a pastor for about 11 years now. There are a lot more details, but... its a better story to tell.
We wrapped up class this afternoon with a quick lecture on Angels and Demons (lots of questions about exorcisms and so forth). It went really well. After that my students had a prepared a small "program," which consisted of an Ethiopian hymn, a short blessing from one of my students who is a pastor, and some snacks. I also got a sweet t-shirt and a traditional Ethiopian shirt as well.
So now I move on.
I get up tomorrow morning around 4:30 to catch my bus to the border of Kenya. From there I hitch a ride on a truck the rest of the way. All together the trip is supposed to take about 5 days. Exciting.
Please pray for my saftey, and continued health on the road.
Friday, July 4, 2008
Fourth of July
And no fireworks...
Well, not a whole lot of changes here. I just finished my third week of teaching. It is very rewarding, but also very nice to have an upcoming weekend. We spent the whole week going over Doctine of Salvation and Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Some of them had never had a solid biblical explaination of either so there was a bit of shaking up to do. The main questions surrounded loss of salvation and the gift of tongues. There is so much bad theology out there... I have one very encouraging story to share from a week of good times.
One the students in my class, Joshua, was under the basic impression that if a Christian dies before confessing his current sin to God he will go to hell immediately. Apparently that is a very common belief. After serveral days of class he shared with me that he thought he understood salvation but I "had destroyed everything, and it was such good news!" Hahaha... thats so awesome! The idea that God has forgiven the sins of the past, present, and future was brand new for many students.
The other great step forward was concerning the Holy Spirit. The idea that he is present in all of those who believe can cannot leave us was brand new. From the questions I gathered that their understanding was that only certain gifts, like tongues, proved that the Holy Spirit was present. Worse still, His presence comes and goes with those gifts, so one has to be diligent throughout the day to "stay filled." It is those gifts, not the Holy Spirit, who is the "seal" of our salvation.
I am so glad that I am able to be here to simply share the clear, beautiful truth of the Word of God! There is so much more to share, but I have no idea how to write about it.
Tomorrow we are getting out of the city again (hooray!). We are going hiking in some forest somewhere that is supposed to be full of monkeys. Sounds good.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Happenings
Things have been going well. Over the last few days we have been going over the biblical data on salvation. Many of my students seem to have been unware that the Bible actually says anything about predestination and election... just another indication that the whole council of God's word needs to be emphasized.
We have also been doing some visiting. A few days ago we went out to a huge orphanage, Salam Children's Village. They take care of about 400 kids, and are completely self supported. They do this by raising flowers, vegtables, and cotton. They sell these, and get premium prices because of their quality. They also have a complete school system up to highschool and on into vocational schooling for those who don't test high enough to get into university. They make sure that every one getting out has the ability to succeed on their own. They don't allow any adoptions because they want strong, healthy (spiritual, mental, physical), Christian men and women to go back out into Ethiopia to make a change in the culture itself. It was a really encouraging project. You can find it here: 9 1.619 N 38 50.036 E
We were also able to get out of the city on Saturday. We went to a crater lake about 2 hours away. SIM has a retreat center on the lake, so we were able to relax, go swimming, canoe, and hang out in relative peace. It was very refreshing. During the Marxist regime it was used as a confrence center for the underground church. Pretty cool. You can find it here: 8 47.587 N 38 59.559 E
Today we are going to put together the biblical truths about the predestination of God and the free will of man. Fun! I have some great charts that I have been drawing up, which if not helpful to them, have been very fun to create for me. We'll see.
I am finding that now that I am over the initial loneliness (which still comes and goes) I am starting to miss the regular comforts of life. I really really really really wish I had brought my favorite jeans, some more T-shirts, and my MP3 player... oh well. I am completely sick of where slacks and polo shirts, even thought that is the "culturally acceptable" garb. Trials and tribulations...
Things have been going well.
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