Kenya Missions Update

22 March, 2004

Greetings in the Precious name of our Lord, Jesus the Christ!

WE need your prayer for our last week of preparation and travel plans. Below are those plans:

Travel to Nairobi (5-hour trip) on 29 March to visit family and do various things

KL 4340 Friday 2 April 9:50 – 17:55 Nairobi to Amsterdam and visit the Zwarts family

NW 67 Tue 6 April 10:55 – 13:10 Amsterdam to Detroit

We will have the same E mail address in America. Our phone number in Michigan from 7 April to 15 May will be 517-423-7791. This is my father’s house, if we are not home, please leave a message on the machine.

AA 321 Sun 16 May 8:25 – 10:21 Detroit to Dallas

Attend Mission Seminar at Abilene Christian University for three weeks and then travel to do reporting in Texas and Tennessee. Coming back to Abilene to settle in our own house and be part of the South 11th and Willis Church of Christ fellowship community.

Tue 21 Dec fly from Abilene to Dallas to Houston to Amsterdam to Nairobi

What we will miss in Kenya.

Number one would be the wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ who have been such a part of our lives. Take for example Mzee Jacob. (Mzee means, an old man) a member of the Navillus Church. Mzee Jacob stood to do the Lord’s Supper as we met in the one acre field that has been purchased to start a Sunday School and eventually a congregation in the Sergoit swamp. There are a few other churches in the swamp, but we are the only church which is not of one tribal group. In this culture, a Mzee is one who is respected. Mzee Jacob came to us from another denominational group some time back. He didn’t like the other church, because they did not preach the Bible. He has been with us, so I guess that is a good sign for our teaching!

Mzee Jacob is a Turkana by tribe. Turkana are nomadic herders of camels, goats and cattle. They are known for their courage. As we approach Easter and the death of Christ on the cross, we learned that it is easy for a Turkana to accept the courage and bravery of Jesus. He told us stories about the Turkana and blood. They consider anyone without a few major scars of battle to be like girls. He said that if you are good at defending yourself in battle, you should at least let one person slice you and wound you so that you can feel the agony of the wounding and cry in real pain. THEN YOU ARE A MAN! Jesus took on the wounds in his hands and his feet, saying nothing for the wounds that he had for us in his heart for those who refuse to believe. It was better in person; you had to be there!

Number two would be the things that make life exciting and interesting, like, what do you think when you travel down the road and see a sign "Pumps ahead"? We saw one the other day. If you contemplate too long and not pay attention you will know it means bumps! One tribe here has a problem with he "P"and "B" sounds and another with the "R" and "L" sound. You have to listen and think about words. Think about some words with these letters in them and make your own new words!

What we will NOT miss in Kenya

One thing that Keith especially looks forward to in America is the driving at night. From the Daily Nation newspaper, an article entitled, ‘Why driving at night is always risky’.

No more than one in every 10 vehicles will have fully functional lights, properly adjusted and properly used. The other nine will have one or more of all their lights OUT, or one or more or all their lights beamed brainlessly awry. No matter how good your eyesight and no matter how good your anti-dazzle technique, you WILL be blinded again and again and again.
It is equally certain, again and again and again that there will be unlit bicycles being ridden on the road (instead of on the hard shoulder or footpath), pedestrians wearing dark clothes strolling in the same suicidal places, and vehicles without any form of lighting or other reflective warning parked ON the road. There is absolutely no possibility whatsoever of doing a journey without getting behind a truck travelling at less than ¼ of the ambient speed, belching opaque black smoke.
And Keith adds in the rural area that there are tractors and trailers without any lights and going a very slow pace on the main roads. Along with the bicycles and people who have had too much to drink using the road after dark. We look very forward to visiting with you all in America. Unfortunately we will not get to visit with all of you on this furlough. For our supporters and any others who might request, we have made a 12-minute video of the ministry we have been involved in over the last 14 years. If you would like a copy of that video, please let me know and we will mail you one when we get to America.

The Ann Arbor Church of Christ web site now has posted all of our newsletters.
http://www.annarborchurchofchrist.com/gafner/

In Service for the King,