This past summer I got an email from a pastor in Vancouver, B.C. wanting to connect about Africa, while he was in the KC area. He would be heading to Kenya this fall and wanted to touch base on my experiences in Africa. The crazy thing was I had met him around 15 years ago when he and the evangelism professor at my now seminary came up to Omaha, NE where my parents were pastoring for a weekend. It was great to meet him and dialogue about Africa, theology, etc. A few months ago he asked if I’d like to join them on their trip to the towns of Narok and Naroosura. I definitely wanted to do this. It would be a great opportunity to see how God is working outside of the Nairobi area here in Kenya and to see some parts of Kenya I’ve never seen before.
This past Thursday, it was time to depart with the team for the two towns. Off we (Pastor Grant, his son, a man from their church who has been working with their project, the NCM coordinator for the field, and the driver/project lead when the team isn’t there) went. The drive to Narok was beautiful! The first part of it was all too familiar. The journey takes one up one of the main highways North of Nairobi, then splits off to the northwest. That drive is one that I have taken before and is incredibly awe-inspiring. You begin by climbing up around 2,000 feet in elevation out of Nairobi. Then when you exit to the northwest, you descend into the Rift Valley. Along the route are numerous mahindi choma (roasted maize) sellers. I am mahindi choma’s biggest fan, and so I had to suggest we stop and get some. All of us in the van were now fully loaded with this lovely snack (all for a mere 20 cents each). Then it was back to the views. I saw those views for around 33 months during my stay at Rift Valley Academy, just a stones throw from where we were.
This view includes the valley floor below, two volcanos rising from that floor, as well as the sides of the valley towering above you. The road to Narok slowly rises back out of the beautiful valley to the city. There was one time on our journey when I remember thinking, “this is sure a long hill.” Right after I thought that, the thermostat on the minibus we were traveling in, blew. Hot water began gushing from the bottom of the bus. We stopped almost at the crest of the hill. People came running down from the top of the hill to help out. Our driver talked to them in Swahili and asked them to bring a mechanic down. After about 25 minutes we were back to a new normal. The solution? Just take the thermostat out and keep going. It basically worked! We just had to make sure the minibus had enough water for the rest of the trip.
We made it into Narok safely and arrived at our hotel. On the way there, Bessie, the NCM coordinator, had called a man to tell him to meet us there. She referred to him as the chief. We would meet him there and then head out to the area where his home is to check out the new church which had been built on land he had donated. It took me a while to register who this man was. We picked him up as well as one of the Africa East Field Media crew and headed out to the location. It was about 30 minutes from town. I suddenly began to register that this was the actual chief of the area. You wouldn’t have guessed it by his appearance or demeanor. He was’t concerned with his status and didn’t want us to be either. The church property he took us to was huge! It was out in the midst of pastoral lands. Cows were being herded on either side of the church. It was in a beautiful spot, and had so much space.
After checking out the church we came back to the hotel for the night. I rested for a while before heading down to dinner with my roommate Charles, who was the driver, to meet the rest of the team. Dinner was tasty. After playing farkle with Grant, it was time for bed. Charles and I talked long into the night about culture. It was such an intriguing conversation, I didn’t want it to end, but was starting to fall asleep. As I rolled over to close my eyes, Charles told me, “I hope you don’t mind that I sleep with the TV on.” “Oh no, not at all!” I replied. Wondering exactly what sleeping with the TV on meant. It literally was blaring for the duration of the night. I woke up during the night to hear many intriguing things coming from its’ interior. In the morning I woke up to Christian taebo, things like, “okay now, left foot up, back straight, now kick, and kick, and kick,” greeted my ears for about an hour.
It was time for a big breakfast before heading out to Naroosura. All of the day before Bessie and Charles kept on telling us to wait for the wildlife tomorrow whenever we saw a measly impala on the side of the road. I didn’t really know whether to believe them or not, but I would soon believe their words from the previous day when the sights around me helped out my lack of faith. We went back to the same turn off for the chief’s plot of land he had given for the church. But then, we slowly realized that Bessie and Charles weren’t lying about another thing they said the day before: the road for today. The road is a worn down dusty road through thousands of acres of Maasai land. In many places it had been washed out, so you’d simply follow a new path to get back to the good section of road. It was a bumpy and harrowing experience. A couple of times I seriously thought we would tip over and remember once saying vocally, “Oh Lord help us!”
As we passed through a series of thickets, we were soon out in an open area. When I think of the Lion King, I think of this area. It’s a vast, wide open savannah filled with wildlife. Wildebeest, impala, zebra, ostrich, dik dik, eland, kori bustards, and other animals are scattered about for miles on end. This area is semi-close to the Maasai Mara game reserve. Yet here, the animals are not restricted by park boundaries. Truly an eden! Slowly we began to see more and more Maasai homes and their inhabitants scattered about. Maasai houses are made of mud on all sides, including the roof. This is different to your typical mud hut which has a thatched roof on top. The Maasai have great respect for cattle, and so juxtaposed to the wildlife were these domesticated animals grazing as well. It took about 3 and a half hours to go around 80 kms. Then we began to see more modern houses rising from the countryside. A town had to be close. Bessie had called the local chief to tell him we were near. We went straight to his office and picked him up. He looked much more official and had a nice army looking hat on with a baton carried in one hand. He climbed aboard the minibus and off we went.
Our destination was further than I had realized it would be. We drove through the countryside to a series of hills. We began to ascend those hills and saw various Maasai folks farming or working around their homes. As we climbed, the road got worse and worse. Finally we reached the settlement. School buildings partially funded by this team and also by the Church of the Nazarene as a whole began to rise from the Kenyan countryside. Hundreds of students fluttered about as we arrived. I spoke with some of them in my very broken Swahili, telling them my name, where I was from, that I liked their school, and asking them who they were and where they were from.
After a short time of checking things out and the initial greetings, we went on a short hike down into a ravine to check out a water project which had been started with help from the church in Vancouver and NCM (Nazarene Compassionate Ministries). It was nice to have a chance to walk around in this beautiful area. The water which feeds the stream comes from a natural spring up in the hills, making the water very clean. The goal of the water project is to divert the water into a water catchment area and then pump it back to the school. This would provide irrigation to the land and allow them to start growing their own food in the area. This would help to cement a true partnership as the local people take ownership of the land and farm it for their own good and purposes. On the hike back from the ravine, I chatted with the headmaster of the school. He was from the area, and a local Maasai as well. In desiring to know more about their culture I asked him, “what are your staple foods?” He replied, “it used to be milk and blood.” “That’s all? Really?” I asked. “Yes, that’s all. But now we have begun to eat other vegetables and the like because of the influence of others.” I was amazed by that conversation, and again just so thankful to be interacting with this group of God’s creation which still lives quite similarly to how they have for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Back at the school we chatted with the locals and saw where a new Nazarene church would be built. You could tell that God was working amongst this people group and helping to bring about education and agriculture to their lives. It’s not like that will be their savior, but such things would provide help in the case of things like severe drought. There would be something that could help them outside of their sustainable lifestyle. I’m wrestling with what it means to help others and if they need it, and that seems a logical helping point for this group of people.
Towards the end of our stay in this settlement, the team had a time of gift giving to the school. They had packed many school supplies back in Vancouver to bring to them; things like pencils, markers, erasers, crayons, soccer balls, etc. It was a joyous occasion to see the people accepting the supplies. Many of the students, parents, and tribe elders gathered together into one of the classrooms. The Maasai women sang a song of thanks and gratitude to God for the gifts.
As is typical in many African cultures, the people had prepared some food for us. This is not just a meal, but it’s an act of gracious hospitality. People use their resources to give of what they have in order to express their hospitality to others. I honestly don’t know if there are many things that compare to such an act. It’s a time where everyone says, we are humanity, together, sharing with one another. It is essential to accept such acts of hospitality. I’m thankful for parents who emphasized that to me during my growing up years. Rejection of food is rejection of the people and who they are.
After the food we said our goodbyes. In the Maasai tribe, people, especially the ladies, will take off some of their jewelry and give it to you. Pastor Grant and his son were given a necklace and a bracelet respectively. I had never seen this done before, and it really made an impact on me. Once again reaffirming my love of African hospitality.
We were soon off to a pastors house to drop off some items and then on to another pastors house for more food. Not gonna lie, I love Kenyan food. I think I ate far too much in those days of our journey. It was neat to be able to fellowship inside of this pastor’s home. It was my first time in a Maasai house. The food and fellowship was great and after a short time we were off. We needed to get back to Narok before dark as the road to there is so horrible. As we left, a Maasai woman gave me a necklace. A moving experience, as I stated before. We then braced for the ride back. We saw beautiful sights as the sun set over the African plains. Wildebeest and their fellow animals dashed around. I’ll never forget those sights.
Back in Narok we were bushed. We ate dinner and hit the hay. Saturday we made the journey back to Nairobi. Mt. Longonot, one of the dormant volcanos previously mentioned, looked a lot more formidable from this side of the valley. We chatted, laughed, ate more Mahindi Choma, and finished off our trip.
I’m so thankful to Domenic, Pastor Grant, Graiden, Bessie, and Charles for allowing me to tag along on this journey. I’ve been given a deeper respect for the Maasai people, and most of all for the God who is working amongst them and who created them.
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