A Life in Mission

“Rongai! Rongai!”  The conductor of the big bus shouts as the bus maneuvers out of the station.

“How much?” I ask.

“Eighty bob”

“Sawa” I reply as I quickly board. The only available seats are all the way in the back… But I don’t have to wait for it to leave, so it’s worth it.

I take my seat, and think back on the day. It had started just like every other day. But instead of going to work as every other day, I had to go to town. After a board meeting with the 2CBN board, we went to visit our account manager at Pan African Networks – the company we decided to broadcast with. We had scheduled an appointment to go and review the agreement and then sign it so we could go on the air. I remembered how we prayed before signing the agreement committing this project to God, as it really is his project anyway. I think that this might be the only time this man had ever had his clients pray before signing the agreement. Whatever the case I believe that this project will definitely be a witness to all involved.

I look over to the baby sitting on his mother’s lap in the seat next to me. He simply stares at me! I make faces at him, but he simply continues to stare as only babies can!

We finally arrive in Rongai, and as the bus starts making it’s stops I wait in the back until the we reach the end of it’s route at Guare. All the buses stop there, or so I think from the other times I’ve taken the route. When a lot of people get up and start getting out of the bus, I look out and realize that it’s Guare. I move up to the front but other people are moving in and by the time I get up to the door the bus is moving again. The bus drivers says they are coming back to Guare, and for me to just take a seat. I realize I know where this bus is stopping, and from there I can catch a matatu for 20 shillings to my home place. As I look outside I realize it’s raining fairly hard, so I pull out my long sleeve wool shirt and put it on as we reach the end of the route.

Standing by the side of the road in the rain and dark, I have no doubt that people think I’m crazy! But that doesn’t matter. After several minutes I flag down the next matatu. The conductor rattles something off in what sounds like his native tongue. “How much?” I ask. He rattles off again and I board the matatu. There’s no spare seat so I’m stuck in the iron chair position sitting on the edges of two seats with my backpack on my lap. The conductor who is sitting next to me looks at me and says something again in what to me is an unrecognizable accent or different language! I just look at him. This is really unusual in Kenya! All the matatu conductors I’ve seen speak English fine, at least all they need to know. When he gestures with his hands, I understand he is ready for me to pay him. I expected this. “How much?” I ask. “30 bob!” I pretend I didn’t understand and give him 20 shillings.

“10 bob!” He replies, obviously unsatisfied!

“But its just a short distance!” I answer.

“Ah, but it’s raining! I’m giving you a deal! Everyone else is paying 50 from Guare!” So he does speak English!

“But 20 is the rate!”

“But it’s raining outside and you have to run to catch transport so we take advantage of that and charge more!”

Exactly. I think to myself. They just take advantage of people because they don’t want to wait in the rain. I turn to the man seated behind me and ask him how much he’s paying. He’s getting off at the same place as I am. He said he paid 40, but he boarded at Guare. Then I know I’m not just getting the mazungu (white man) price!

“But I don’t mind being in the rain!” I still persist. “Did you see me running? I don’t care about being in the rain!”

“But it doesn’t rain in your place!” He guesses. “You just get this ice stuff!”

“How do you know? It rains in my place too!”

“10 Bob! Before I forget!” I realize that there’s no point in continuing.

“Where are you from anyway?” He now asks. “Germany?”

“You have a lot of Germans here, don’t you?” I answer playing along.

“But which place are you from?” He persists! “France?” By this time nearly everyone in the matatu is chuckling at our interchange! No doubt they are surprised at this mazungu giving this funny conductor a bad time!

“I’m going to let you guess.” I stall, I don’t feel like saying where I’m from.

“Asia or America?” He guesses. “No I know you’re not American!”

“How do you know?” I ask surprised at his conclusion!

He said something about me just not being like an American as we stop at my stop.

Cross-culture interactions are sometimes amusing but a lot of times they also give special opportunities. If we learn to take advantage of each opportunity in the right way, we will be used of God in every situation.

Walking in the cool rain toward my flats appartment, I think how I wish I would have had tracts to give to the people in that matatu. I ran out of the 300 glow tracts I brought with me shortly after coming to this place! Well with the TV station going on the air soon, then that will give me an easy witnessing opportunity. All they have to do is ask what I’m doing here. I pray that the station will reach many people and bring them the hope and love and joy that are found in Jesus and His Word.

“I think I see an object lesson here…” I think as I’m editing pictures from a recent event at the end of May when GC President Ted Wilson came for the opening of the Library of the Adventist University of Africa. President Wilson had invited President Kibaki of Kenya for the event and he accepted. Needless to say, it was a busy day! I had been part of the press taking photographs of the event. Having never been taking pictures as part of the press for such an event, it was all new to me! However I got a lot of good pictures in spite of the security personnel that managed the press. I remember how grateful I was when at one point when I found people all in front of me and no way to get a good shot how someone took me and forcefully moved me to a place where I was able to get a shot. I remember the first thing President Kibaki did after he came out of the University administration buildings, the small tree that he planted in front of the large building. I remember him pulling the curtain away from the plaque by the front door, then cutting the ribbon, signing the document, and then seeing the modern technology of the place and how lecturers in the lecture hall could teach and interact with students from other universities in the country through a camera and projector.

Adventist University of Africa, Ongata Rongai, Kenya

A teacher explaining the setup to President Kibaki. Security Minister George Saitoti is on the left.

As many of the high officials from the government had been accompanying the President, I think what a witness opportunity it was. Then I think of how when I returned from Tanzania someone told me about how George Saitoti had been killed when his helicopter crashed and all on board were killed. The Kenyan Internal Security Minister had been a prominent figure in Kenyan politics and also had been the countries longest serving vice president, and was to run for president in the coming elections.

Ted Wilson greeting George Saitoti

Kenya President Kibaki and GC President Ted Wilson

I think of how Ted Wilson had given a short message speaking about education and how true education began with a knowledge of God. He thanked President Kibaki for the level of religious freedom that exists in Kenya and he mentioned other things as well… I think of what an opportunity to witness that had been. That could have been the last time that George Saitoti or others for that matter heard the truth. What if Ted Wilson had not invited the president? Would the eternal salvation of Saitoti be different? What if Ted Wilson decided it wasn’t important to come to open the university? How many opportunities of witnessing would have been lost?

Ted Wilson preaching

I think of how Jesus commanded us to be as a light. He said: “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” Matthew 7:14-15  Being a light on a candlestick means taking every opportunity to be a witness… not hiding under a bushel ever! I have to admit that I hide under a bushel a lot more than I should. I think many of us struggle with actually getting out there and sharing Jesus with people, but it’s not something we should be afraid of! Jesus promised that all power is given to him and that we should “Go and teach all nations…” What if we really took this command seriously? What if we really obeyed it? What if we determined never to miss an opportunity to witness for Jesus?

“I can’t believe i’m still here! This is not what I was planning on” I think as I sit in a car in downtown Nairobi. The driver begins driving to pick up the Elder… I think back to when I first arrived in Kenya. I met Gary and we laid groundwork for the new TV channel here. I had counted on there being someone to manage the station. What a wrong assumption that had turned out to be! The vacuum created by the lack of such a person sucked me into it’s place nearly 5 months ago. For 5 months I work to advance 2CBN and to do production of the local content that we need. I heard there was someone coming to take my place, but then it got postponed. “If only he could come now…”

We arrive at the Elder’s office but we don’t see him. After going around the block we see him coming. He gets into the front seat and we go on our way to look at a piece of land we are considering for a studio. So much has been happening here. I’m overloaded in work since I first started. I’m in a position I have no experience with or training in. I have more to do than I’ve ever had to do before. When people are interested in coming to work with us, they come to me. If people want to record something, they come to ask me. And as if that weren’t enough, the on the ground management of 2CBN rests on my shoulders. Of course I have people to consult when things come up, but when it comes to actually dealing with them there is no one else to handle the matters on the ground level. I’ve been so busy with everything that I’ve not updated my website for I think 4 months or more. All those poor people out there that check my site for news, and find old news instead!

We stop and Elder gets out to take care of something. Ahhh… I can type again! The bumps on the roads make it hard to type sometimes. I think of the way God is opening doors for 2CBN. Things are beginning to happen! It’s so exciting to see that I wish I could share it openly. But the time will come when I can share God’s workings with the world. He’s not just working here, but other places around the world as well. If only I could go and do what I really came to Africa for! Before I left to come I got a camera along with a little other equipment to use for making videos of our projects in West Africa and of the need of laborers in this continent… But there’s been hardly any time to use it! “If only I could just do documentary work like I had planned when I came! I felt like I really had been getting a creative eye in video and design when I first came to Kenya. But since I haven’t been using it much I feel like I’m losing it. I hope I can regain it when I have a chance to do more video work with my camera.”

I look out the window as an ambulance drives by. I doubt that he has anyone as he’s not in a hurry. But then no one here in Kenya ever seems to be in a hurry! At least not the way that we are in the West. In some ways I realize that’s good, as it seems that Kenyans don’t get stressed about things as easily. But then too, sometimes it gets hard to get things done. I think of my situation and I think… “God doesn’t seem to be helping me leave here. If only He would hurry up!” But at the same time I ealize that God is in control and He doesn’t hurry because He’s always planning ahead. I hope that His plans will send me to do the video work that He gave me a burden for… And in the meantime that He will give me strength in the enormous work that He’s laid on me for now. “Lord, please send more laborers into the field… You know the need there is in these foreign fields. There is so much work for the workers that are working.”

“I think when I get to Cameroon I’m might get sick because all the stress will be gone!” I had said earlier in the day. Now I wondered how accurate that would turn out to be…

The morning had gone smoothly. It was a first time for me to travel by matatu alone. The night before Gary had called me to see if I could come to town for the meeting planned with Pan Africa Network. It was a new TV network that the government licensing organization had referred us to. It was one of two broadcasting companies in the country available to broadcast the new digital TV signal. It was a company based in China with outlets and broadcasting in Asia, Africa, and developing in Europe. They offered a new type of delivery to not only the standard tv sets, but also customized delivery to mobile phones and TVs in buses as well. The system had worked well in other countries and was already in process of development in Kenya.

I had agreed to come to the meeting, as he was planning to leave the next day and it would give me more time to discuss things with him. He said to just meet him at 9am at the Shell station outside the Wilson airport. We met up with another board member of 2CBN, then went into the airport premises so Gary could take care of something with the plane. Then we were off to the meeting at Upper Hill. The meeting went well, and we left thinking more about the possibility of going on satellite and covering all of Africa. We started laying plans and discussing what would need to happen so we could go on satellite at a moments notice. The previous week we had streamed the morning and evening meetings of the Week of Prayer with Kepha Matena online so the whole would could watch. This had made quite an impression at the Division, even the President had introduced 2CBN on Sabbath morning and talked some about what we were doing. I knew that God was preparing 2CBN for something big. But there was one thing…

We had a couple of people that had come and were volunteering with us. True, there had been other people interested in working with us, but for various reasons they weren’t on board with us. We needed more people… people willing to work as volunteers, people with a real vision for fulfilling the Gospel Commission, people with an eye single for the glory of God. But most of all we needed a programming director, someone with the vision who could take the lead, and keep the project growing and on course.

“I wish there was someone that could come that is more qualified than me.” We were eating lunch at the place where Gary was staying. I knew there were many people who were more qualified than me… “This is the way it works in most of our projects…” Gary began. “There are people more qualified than me at getting TV licenses, they know the prices, and how all the stuff works, but they weren’t here, and I was the only one here to do it. There are people more qualified than you for training and managing production here, but you’re the only one here.” Even if I was only here for 2 months, I still felt like the task was too big. Why couldn’t someone else come? Someone who had experience in leading? Someone who had the talents in all the fields that we needed? It seemed that no one wanted to come to Africa… Why? Lots of people would go for some time to South America, even other places, but it seemed that only a few would come to Africa. And only a small fraction of those few had anything to do with media. Gary answered my question: “I think it’s partly because South America is close to North America. They speak Spanish which is already familiar to many people in the US. But Africa is so far away, and people in the West generally don’t know much about it… A lot of people think of the people in the bush wearing almost nothing when they think of people in Africa. I think it’s fear of the unknown that keeps more people from coming to Africa.” Fear is a powerful thing… But what if God called you to a place that you were afraid of?

“What denomination are you from?” The matatu driver was looking at the piece of glow I handed him about prophecy. The radio was playing a local radio station with a heavy rhythm which earlier had had quite blatant words about immorality. Every so often the bus stopped to let out passengers and for more passengers to board. I realized that God had put me in the front seat right next to the driver for a reason. When he told me that he was Adventist also, I was a little surprised… Then I got to thinking, what if there was a radio station in Nairobi that played sacred celestial music? Then it would be something that the bus drivers could choose to play if they chose, and it would bring peace into people’s lives whether they listened to it when they were at home or in the matatu, or even at work, it could be a little breath of fresh air in the midst of the Nairobi busyness.

I was on my way out to the Division with a co worker. We were getting busy with things regarding launching 2CBN. God had started to open doors, and we were moving ahead. He had given us the opportunity to assist the Division by streaming the upcoming week of prayer live on the internet. It would be in english, although with an African accent! We had scrambled the night before getting a website ready and to get things in place to stream around the world. Now I was going to the Division office to work with the media director there and help getting things ready for the event. I needed to test the streams and make sure we had enough bandwidth through the internet to reliably support an internet stream. After testing it, it all seemed to work properly. However I knew that the devil was going to try to do something to mess things up. I had learned that this is just to be expected when working for God. I prayed that God would keep everything working and rebuke the devil, and also that if there was problems that we could fix them without too much issue or delay.