A Hindi "Vacation Bible School Program"

This past Saturday evening, while Nan stayed home and graded papers, Mark and ANU Chancellor Jerry Lambert accepted an invitation from a professor at the University of Nairobi to attend his temple's annual Duwali Festival--Christmas and New Year's wrapped up in one for the Hindu community. As it turned out, the evening was very interesting but also very moving. The temple itself looked like a modern secondary school with a gym and a nice park-like lawn in the back.

Mark and Jerry arrived 40 minutes early and could see that a worship  service was going on in a room on the second floor at the back of gym. As 

people saw them, they made motions to join

them in the worship room. As Mark and Jerry took off their shoes and entered the room, they were hit by a wave of heat from perhaps 10 gallon-sized pots with foot-tall flames of incense burning above them. Since most of the program participants were going to be children, it was

 mainly children in a variety of regional Indian traditional clothing

 gathered around each incense pot with adults in chairs around the outer edge of the room. The part of the

 service we witnessed included an explanation of Duwali, a prayer by a child and some singing by 

an eldery priest who accompanied himself on a "harmonium", a portable, hand-pumped organ with room for a hymnal on top.

Jerry and Mark stopped for awhile on a balcony after the service, so most of the seats in the front of the gym were taken, but a very determined, elderly Indian lady met them at the door (does your church have a

 greeter so determined to welcome visitors?) and, in spite of their protests that they could sit anywhere, ushered them down to the FRONT ROW. As it turned out, the determined woman was the wife of the temple chairman, kind of like the "chairman of the board of trustees", who was a distinguished and kindly-looking professor of mathematics at a respected government university. 

As the program began, the fact that he was a teacher became even clearer. He would lean over to Mark and whisper part of what the

speaker was saying or the singer was singing: "When the sun goes down, a little candle gives great light." "The greatest success is the greatest humility." "Nobility of spirit is God's wish for his people." Not everything was serious. There was a Hindi comedian telling corny and familiar jokes: a man who said his newborn twins should be named "Pete" and "Repeat." A man advised to have his daughter eat an apple daily to avoid the advances of an undesirable doctor because "Everyone knows an apple 

a day keeps the doctor away." Mark and Jerry silently cheered for a little girl in full, elaborately embroidered Hindi costume who was clearly terrified but began to smile as she concentrated on the dance she had

 practiced. Same for a 10-year od who had been asked at the last minute to play the "tabla", a set of Indian drums for the adult traditional singers.

Parts of the program felt alot like a Hindu version of a "vacation Bible school" program: : A lady MC who kept forgetting that the microphone stayed on even when she went behind the curtain. A "rap" by some teen boys in sunglasses that the older people pretended to enjoy to affirm their slightly rowdy boys. After the service and program, we stayed for a great vegetarian Indian meal and fireworks! Great, great evening with good folks. 

What's the moving part? The songs reminded us that there are some common yearnings of the human heart, put there by God: love of family, a yearning for something more than money or earthly success, a desire for virtue and, for want of a better word, "wholesomeness."  Jerry and Mark were not tempted to join the temple, but they were reminded that in the strangest setting, with people who seem very different than ourselves, there are pathways to conversation about the living God and His son Jesus. We'd ask you to pray that God would give us the right time and the right words.

Another "tale from the road"

It's beginning to look like we could volunteer to do a whole missionary book on "things that happen on the road." Epaphras, one of the ANU drivers, and Mark were headed toward Kenyatta International Airport about 7PM last Sunday evening in ANU's venerable Mitsubishi Pajero to pick up Dr. Jerry Lambert, our new chancellor; Dr. Tom Parks, dean of the MVNU School of Business and his son Thomas. Traffic was heavy. For those of you who've been here, remember the "rough dip" just after you've left Bomas and before you get to Nairobi National Park? As they started up the hill traffic was fairly light on our side of the road and heavy on the other side. So far, so good. 

Perhaps three city blocks ahead of them in the distance they could see th

e headlights of a car that was pulling out of the oncoming lane and coming toward them in our lane. They assumed he was trying to pass several of the cars in his own lane. It didn't take long for Mark and Epaphras to begin getting nervous, however. The car continued to close the distance between them. Finally, the inevitable happened: The Mercedes bumped into the front of the ANU Pajero with a crunch and a tinkle of glass! Since the Pajero is equipped for rough travel, it has an after-market front grill made of strong pipe which was not damaged.

Mark and Epaphras could clearly see that the other driver was seriously drunk. In a couple of minutes, as they watched in astonishment, the Mercedes driver put the car in reverse, turned the steering wheel slightly, put the car in drive and hit the Pajero again! At this point, the Mercedes driver lumbered out of his car and walked shakily to the collision area. Epaphras also got out to hear the Mercedes driver say in Kiswahili what was true: "My car is damaged but yours is not. Drive on!" 

As Mark and Epaphras pulled around the Mercedes on the busy Langata Highway, the Mercedes driver had left the car running with its lights on and driver's side door opened and was trying to climb up the bank to reach the fence where Kenyan men traditionally answer the call of nature. Unfortunately, because he was drunk, he was climbing and sliding, climbing and sliding as Epaphras and Mark drove on toward the airport.

Unfortunately, the Pajero did not QUITE emerge undamaged: the combination of rain and a frayed headlight wire meant they completed the trip to the airport and back in the rain without headlights! University Chaplain Randy James came out with his own car to light the way for the Pajero to get back to campus (it's a metaphor!). 

Regularly our good readers like you write us or tell us in person--"we're praying for the two of you." We know God expects his children to use their brains and to be careful. Even so, more than anytime in our lives, we're feeling those prayers. 

Passing of Mark's Mom

Tuesday, while we were having lunch with four students in our flat, Mark got a call from his Dad to indicate that his Mom Charlotte had passed away during the night. Those of you who have been reading our blog for awhile and our friends know that she has been in decline for a number of years and has been in a care facility beginning early this year. She suffered from memory loss, but continued to be sweet and cooperative and to be loved by all around her.  The funeral service will be in Brazil, Indiana this Saturday, with burial at the family plot in Morristown, Indiana, east of Indianapolis. Mark and Nan will be flying to Indiana this evening to be part of the service and celebration. Charlotte Pitts was a wonderful wife and mother, an excellent elementary school teacher, a warm and welcoming hostess, and a vibrant lover of Jesus Christ. Nancy says when people are pressed, their essence comes out, and Charlotte's essence was sweetness.We will miss her physical presence, but we rejoice in her home-going. 

An Encounter with Bandits

First, the good news: Nancy and Mark, our son Isaac and our automobile are safe on the ANU campus with no physical damage and after a good night's sleep. We have a better understanding of God's grace and mercy, and are a little less skeptical about warnings regarding bandits in Kenya.

Now, the story--on our way into town on Wednesday, a Kenyan Muslim holiday--we noticed a huge sign from the Ministry of Transportation announcing the completion after a couple of years of the new Langata Bypass. Since Langata is a road that leads toward ANU, we decided to take it as we headed home. About 5km down the road, 6 men in dark clothing came out from behind a mound of dirt with pangas (machetes) and what looked like guns and motioned for us to stop. For the next ten minutes, they took watches, cell phones, rings, the car radio, Nan's "second best" camera, and billfolds. Mark remembered a story Wellington Obote, a Kenyan, but now a mission coordinator in Malawi, had told him about reminding his captors that Jesus loves them, and so he told his captors the same thing as they did their work, and Nancy said a blessing on "her" bandit.

Just as they were finishing with us, a car came roaring toward us from the opposite direction and then seemed to lose his nerve and slow down. The bandits yelled at us to get in our car and get going so they could attend to this new "customer." As we moved to do so, we could see that the new driver's speed had angered the bandits. They pointed their guns at him, but the motions they made convinced us that they were either pellet pistols or toy guns...who knew? As the new driver stopped, they knocked out the driver's side and passenger side window, unlocked his door, pulled him out of the car and threw him on the ground. As we drove off, they were slapping him with the flat side of the pangas, which was actually a good sign that they were not interested in doing real injury with the blades. We remained worried about this second customer, but glad he wasn't being cut and glad to have our car and to be uninjured.

After waving down a couple of cars we encountered to warn them of the danger ahead and taking Nan and Isaac back to campus and picking up the University security head, Mark drove back to the Karen police station to make a report, and then to go with the security head and two policeman back to the scene of the crime. They found the broken glass on the road, but no sign of the bandits or the man in the second car.

Last evening, we had a steady stream of staff and students who came with food and cards and to say "pole sana", "so sorry." As we mentioned earlier, as a result of the lightening-fast Nazarene grapevine, we have gotten expressions of sympathy already from around the world.

As you might imagine, we're still kind of processing this. You may not be able to believe it, but we slept well last evening and are able to laugh and joke without effort today. Mark has written earlier about "living in stereo", and that is what we are doing: this robbery happened, but as followers of Christ we can't allow ourselves to be fully defined by our challenges. We must be defined by the "hope that is within us." We are reminded again of the importance of salvation and education in Kenya.

When you pray, we are so grateful for your prayers for us. We always need them, but more importantly, we would appreciate your prayers for Mark's dad as he begins this new chapter without the love of his life. We also can't get those bandits our of our minds. One of our students who is the son of the pastor of the Nazarene church in the slum from which the bandits come said--"I bet I know one of those guys." The police who accompanied Mark back to the scene said they have killed 10 of the bandits in 2 months. We are safe and secure. The bandits are in immediate and eternal jeopardy. Would you join us in praying that the Lord of Second Chances will use Christians in the lives of these young men to bring them to the Lord while there is still time? 

What have we learned or been reminded of by the death of Mark's mom and the encounter with bandits: A good marriage is a wonderful thing, a faithful life is its own epitath, the Christian life must be lived in stereo, God is faithful, God's people are warm and loving and prayerful, and the calling of God on our lives becomes purified and tempered as it deals with trials. 

Thanks as always for your prayers and for your interest in us. We are privileged to call you are friends. In closing, two Kiswahili exclamations:

Asante sana (thank you very much) and Bwana asifiwe (Praise the Lord)!