Bonjoge Dispatch #3
Feb. 5
Bonjoge Dispatch #4
Feb. 13
Bonjoge Dispatch #5
Feb. 14
Bonjoge Dispatch #6
Feb. 29
Bonjoge Dispatch #7
March 20
Bonjoge Dispatch #8
April 26
Bonjoge Dispatch #9
April 29
Bonjoge Dispatch #10
May 18
Bonjoge Dispatch #11
June 8
Bonjoge Dispatch
#3 -- Jumamosi (Saturday), February 5th.
Jambo! Habari?
Usimwamshe aliyelala.
(Hello! How are
you? Let sleeping dogs lie (a Kenyan proverb I've
picked up))
As you can see, after
2 fulls day in Kenya, I am sending an update
email back to you all
pretending to be fluent in Kiswahili alreay. I
am currently in Nairobi
at the AIM Mayfield Guesthouse, but I will be
leaving for Bonjoge
tomorrow. Rick, Carrie, and Megan came down
Thursday afternoon,
and the 4 of us will make the 6-7 hr. drive
tomorrow back to the
school. Because they brought their laptop, email
is cheap here in Nairobi,
and I don't know when I can write again, I
decided to write the
first Dispatch from Kenya today.
It is hard to figure
out where to start with sharing what has happened
in the last 4 days.
Upon arriving in Amerstam, I found out my 14 hr.
layover/excursion into
Amsterdam was nixed because my flight that
night to Nairobi was
cancelled and I had to catch a flight that
morning. Got to
see some Italian mountains, a coastal city and the
Sahara desert while
flying to Nairobi. God saw me through while
travelling: met some
medical missionaries on my flight who offered to
take me to Mayfield
if my AIM people weren't there to pick me up
(which they were though).
Got 7 hrs. of sleep last night, so I'm also
accustomed to the 8
hr. time change.
Its pretty overwhelming
to try to think of all the new and different
things I've observed/learned
over the last two days, so I'll just share
some of the most interesting
stuff. There are about 25 missionaries
from all over Africa
at Mayfield at any given time, so meals are great
times to hear some good
"bush" stories. Last night, I heard about 2 70
year old ladies who
were evacuated from the Congo when the civil war
caught up to their village
(they were rescued by a small Cessna after
spending a night in
the bush evading guerilla soldiers) Rick also told
me about how he "zapped"
a local Nandi herder who was bit by a black
mamba snake. A
snake zapper is a mini cattle-prod, and you shock the
part of the body where
the venom is, which changes the molecular
structure of the venom.
I'm hoping not to have to ever have this used
on me....
Yesterday, I caught a
"matatu" into downtown Nairboi with a local
Kenyan named Bernard
that I have become friends with. A matatu is
basically a ridiculously
decorated mini-van (they are all over the
city) that looks beat
up enough that you could believe it went through
a war. You pack
the thing with more people than you thought possible,
and pay 20 shillings
for the mile ride to downtown. Two days ago I
saw a U. of Michigan
Woverines decorated matatu, and we listened to an
extremely crackly version
of one of 2 Pac's songs in the matatu I was
in.
In Nairobi, I saw where
the old U.S. embassy used to be before the 8/98
bombing. A 30
story concrete tower still stands next to it, but is
completely gutted.
I've been told that when the bomb went off, the
curtains at Mayfield
blew back, and Mayfield is a mile away. Because
I'm a muzungu (white
person), the city's homeless children and hawkers
were pretty persistent
with me. It was tough to see so many homeless,
parentless and emaciated
children in the city, many of which are
addicted to sniffing
glue. I will have to trust God to shape and mould
my soul's reaction and
development to the poverty and corruption in
this country, as it
is too overwhelming to deal with on my own. Other
excursions have been
to a supermarket this morning with the Maple's to
stock up for the next
month, and a tour of AIM's hangar at the airport.
Aside from these trips,
the last 3 days have been the most restful I
have had in a long time.
January was a ridiculously busy month
between finals, orientation,
packing, etc. I have many good times of
worship and times in
the Word (when I woke up the first morning at
5:30, I turned on the
radio to find a Christian station playing Jars
of Clay!) I praise
the Lord for the rest amidst the new
circumstances.
I'll probably start teaching
Wed. of next week, giving me 2 days to
settle in. Looking
forward to seeing a lot of Kenya tomorrow, and
having some time to
talk with Rick and Carrie. I'm sure that I will
get a long with them
very well...they are both very adventurous people
and are good at rolling
with the punches over here. Megan (7) is a
very "jumpy" little
girl, and I'm looking forward to learning a little
about what it might
have been like to have a little sister.
Praise God that I'm here,
healthy, and ready to leave tom. for Bonjoge
with a wonderful family
that will help me out a long the way. Please
pray that I would "throw"
myself into the Nandi culture, and be
dilligent with learning
Swahili and the local Nandi language (they are
very different)
Pray that each day I could be renewed and take each
day a new adventure
with Jesus leading the way. Its fun, exciting,
growing, and tough all
wrapped into one.
I love you all, and thank
you for standing by me. Your encouragement
and prayers have sustained
me.
Under His Mercy,
Matt
13 Feb 2000
Bonjoge
Dispatch #4
WARNING:
This email is likely to be very long, so if you want to read
all of
it, pull up a chair.
It is now
Wednesday night, and I have been at Bonjoge for 3 full days.
Figuring out where to start with this email is by far the most
daunting
task I've had in the last 3 days. Here goes nothing.
Here is what I did today, as an example of a typical day:
6:30-7:15:
Wake up and run. Here at Bonjoge, it is about 65 degrees
in the
morning, at 6,000 ft. elevation, and I have countless miles of
dirt roads
and trails to run on. (running heaven for those
non-runners
out there....my shins love this place) While running this
morning,
several boys with school bags joined me for a bit. I was
also the
laughter of an elemenatary school full of girls. Muzungus
(white
people) running around in shorts (a sign of being an
un-iniated,
immature schoolboy) are quite the oddity. When running
with Geoffrey
yesterday, (my fellow teacher and roomate) a middle aged
Kenyan
housewife carrying a bag hung with us for about a quarter of a
mile,
to the cheering of the villagers. For some reason this has
never
happened in Manoa or Boston...ummmm.
7:15-7:45:
shower by filling a mutungi (bucket) and letting it drain
on me
through a small hole. I will also drink chai with Geoffrey, and
boil some
of the collected rain or river water to drink later.
8:00-4:00:
teach a total of five diff. classes that each meet about 3
times
a week (History and Government, Geography, and Christian
Religion)
After putting
on shirt and tie (must do this everyday, as the sudents
also have
ties and sweaters), I led devotions for the morning. Because
we admitted
27 new freshmen yesterday (we were expecting about 3 or 4
people
to show up) we don't have a class room so I teach the 50
students
the game of ultimate frisbee for an hour and a half)
Allright:
I've just realized that this idea of telling you a typical
day is
totally useless because everyday is completely different.
So...here
is the blow by blow of the interesting things that have
happened:
1. Last
night I, with 20 other Kenyan men, watched Nigeria beat S.
Africa
in the Africa Cup soccer tournament on a black and white tv
powered
by a car battery.
2.
Monday I will officially begin my duties as head coach of the
Bonjoge
XC team, and Geoffrey will coach soccer (he played at the U.
of Nakuru)
3. I have
promised John, the school cook, to show him how to cook
kalua
goat.
4. I have
got into my mind the goal of completing the most perfectly
executed
jump in the world. The school has a well that is 50 ft.
deep,
has 10 ft. of water in the bottom, and the well has a diamter of
3 feet.
(is this what my mom meant about not doing something stupid
in Kenya?)
But really, Ambrose has promised me that before I leave,
he will
let me lowered by rope to clean the mud out of the bottom of
the well.
5.
I have met a 21 year old man named Meschach, who lives one
kilometer
down the road from me. He is a 3:58 miler and 13:40 5k
runner
who often trains under Kip Keino in Eldoret and spends the
summer
on the European track circuit. He is here for 3 more mo, and I
will be
doing about 10k each morning at sunrise with him, and begin
some speed
stuff in March. He is a great guy, and has offered to help
with Bonjoge's
new XC team.
6.
I have risked my life several times in matatus (minivans that hold
20 people
that drive 80 mph an hour on pot-hole ridden single laned
roads...none
of this exaggeration either) But...they are pretty cheap,
so i keep
just saying a prayer as I board. Oh yeah, in a 30 min. ride
down the
road, it is normal to be stopped twice by police demanding a
bribe
to avoid an imaginary violation. In Kenya, the people have
truckloads
of aloha on a personal level, and truckloads of corruption
at the
gov't level.
7. I have
had an interesting time trying to explain to Kenyans what
surfing
is (all of my students have never seen an ocean) It is also a
challenge
to explain what exactly Tim will be doing in fighter jets.
My pics
of cliff jumping in the islands really cook their noodles
(most
of them cannot swim)
8.
So far, I have eaten ugali, sukuma wiki, githeri and chapati, and
enjoy
them all. I will explain each one later.
I could
go on, but feel pretty tired and don't know where to go with
this letter
for now. (oh yeah, i sat through a 3 hr. coaches meeting
today,
that was delayed 2 hours, and nothing really got done (: )
Anyway,
I will write more next week and will try to put some more
coherent
thoughts together. It is very hard, however, to describe a
diff.
world in one email. Anyway, I can say for certain that Jesus
has surpassed
all my expectations, and I love it here. The people
have all
welcomed me warmly, and I relish in working with students who
are hard
working in the classroom and with athletics.. Pray that
strong
friendships would be forged with them that would yield
spiritual
fruit. It is truly wonderful to wake with the sun, read by
candlelight
at night and serve Jesus. Thannks for making it a reality
for me.
i rise at 5:45 tom. to put in some miles with Meschach, and
some of
the students may come as well. Then head to Eldoret for
prayer
day with other AIM'ers.
Talk to
you later, under His Mercy,
Matt
PS: my
correct mailing address is
Matt Stevens
Bonjoge Boys Secondary School
PO Box 13
Kaimosi, KENYA
Greetings Friends,
You just can’t get away from me, even when I’m ½ way around the world in Kenya. I don’t actually plan to write this often, but I was particularly dissappointed in how muddled and un-informative my last email was, so I’m giving it another shot. I am grateful for all of the support each of you has given me in different forms, and want to share the many answered prayers and blessings God has lavished on me in my first week at Bonjoge. Here they go, roughly in order of importance:
1. Godly, Adventurous, and Loving Mentors in Rick and Carrie.
I feel truly blessed to have the
privilege of “doing life” with this couple and their daughter Megan over
the next 3 months. Rick and I have found community in adventure,
and it is invaluable in living in the rural 3rd world. Also, he and
I plan to tackle Mt. Kenya in April when the school is on break.
He is extremely pragmatic, and approaches the logistical and spiritual
development of the school with life and creativity. Carrie also rolls
with the punches of bush living with grace, and has been very encouraging
to me as I get my feet on the ground here. Both Rick and Carrie have
been a source of wisdom as God guides me in understanding how the love
of Christ engages Kenyan culture in unique ways. Megan has already
made me a paper chain, helped me learn some Kalenjin and also introduced
me to her best friends, Sharon and Brenda.
2. Hard-working students to work
with, both academically and athletically.
These students, in many ways, work harder and shoulder heavier responsibilities than most American students. Each one seem content with a staple diet of ugali (like grits), beans, sakuma wiki (like spinach) and occassional goat meat. Each one is a boarding student, washes his own clothes, and studies for 2.5 hrs. each night in prep. for the 8 hr. school day. Though some are still a little rusty in English, which makes learning difficult, they each seem grateful for the opportunity to be in school (not a right, by any means, in Kenya).
3. Constant opportunities to practice teaching, both in the classroom and in churches.
Between my 3 subjects, I teach about
18 40 min. lessons each week. In addition, I led the devotions each
morning last week, will preach in the school service approx. one Sunday
every 2 months. Geoffrey, my roomate, fellow teacher and friend,
has invited me to preach at his Anglican home church, and he will do the
translating. As I feel convicted that God is leading me towards education
in the future, each of these opportunities and challenges are a blessing.
I have also learned a ton from Rick about school administration, as we
have admitted 32 new boarding students over the last week. In addition,
Rick teaches Math, Christian Religious Ed., and oversees the building of
the new dormitory. It is great fun to work on lesson plans in the
little school office while Jon (village leader) haggles with various workers
over wages and cost of materials (no price is ever fixed....everything
is always negotiable)
4. A close Kenyan friend—Geoffrey.
Also an athlete and teacher (soon
to be headmaster when the Maples head out for furlough in May), Geoffrey
and I are good friends already. He and I share a passion to train
these boys up in the Word, and pray regularly together for them.
He will also be the head coach of the soccer team while I lead XC.
I am certain I will visit his home many times while here.
5. Running/Coaching Opportunities
that I did not dream possible.
God has chosen to place me in the
mecca of distance running, and it humbling to realize that my years of
training and racing has prepared me for ministry and personal renewal at
this time. Today was the first practice for XC, and I had 4 freshmen
awake and eager to train at 6:00 AM sharp. With the exception of
one student who had breathing trouble, the other 3 handled the 45 min.
run with ease. Hopefully some sophomores (who were on a weekend break)
will join us tomorrow, and we will be able to field a full team.
The first race is Saturday, and it will be a good adventure for all of
us to catch a matatu to Andai for the race. I am thrilled to be working
with young runners who are eager to “beat their bodies” (Apostle Paul)
and who know that invalubable rewards lie ahead.
God has also provided Meshack,
who I already mentioned. This national caliber athlete who lives
in a mud hut a km. away will be my assistant coach, but will also be coaching
me. During my first run with him, “puke-dadddy Stevens” came through
strong at the 35 min. mark with a knee-clutching, vomit spewing performance
like many of you have had the “privilege” to see in person.
Meshach promised me that if I am willing to throw up twice when I work
out with him, I will have a personal breakthrough while here. Bring
it on, baby. Waking up to run in the pre-dawn to run with a sub-4
miler and fellow Christian, as well as ambitious young students, has given
new life to my understanding of my running as worship. Please pray
that I would be obedient and responsive to God’s leading in this area,
and that I may also impart this to the students.
6. Living Simply—medicine for my
soul.
Taking ugali with the students,
boiling my drinking water, brushing my teeth under the stars, sleeping
in a bunk with a mosquito net and becoming a sharp-shooting marksmen in
the “outside longdrop” have all been good things to teach me what truly
are necessities in life, and which are not. (By the way, the longdrop
is a small structure with a 3”x 6” hole that leads to a 50 ft. deep pit.
By measuring the exact air time of my projectiles, I can calculate the
exact depth using simple physics. I’ll save that for the next
dispatch (: )
Extra Stuff:
It has been very challenging and
fun to explain pictures of cliff jumping and surfing to people who have
never seen an ocean. It has also proved hard to describe what it
means for Tim to be training to be a fighter pilot.
I praise God for the warmth of
these people. They have extra measures of the aloha spirit, and could
teach us Americans much about Christian hospitality.
Prayer Requests:
? that esp. through sports and
extra-curricular times, I would finish learning the 50+ students names
and begin forming discipling relationships. Times of laughter have
been good to bring this muzungu closer to the students. These have
involved me foolishly brining a bucket with a hole in it to the river for
water, and trying to imitate a student who used a small stick to scratch
a word onto his forearm to show me a Swahili word. (black skin is
better for this than white skin, fyi (: )
? that I would be disciplined and
learning what the Holy Spirit wants to teach me through my own reading
while I’m here.
? that I would be more dilligent
in praying earnestly for the students here and the fellowships that I have
left behind in the U.S.
? that I could be helpful and encouraging
to the Maples in practical and spiritual ways
That is it for now....I look forward
to sharing God’s work in me and with these students soon with you.
God is truly a loving and providential God, evidenced by my first week
here.
Under His Mercy,
Matt
PS: I gave you my wrong mailing address. It is actually
PO Box 13
Kaimosi, Kenya.
(hint hint (: ) Aloha
Bonjoge Dispatch #6 February 29, 2000
Greetings
from Bonjoge! Since I've written last, much has happened
that I
would like to share with you all. All the praise goes to God
for walking
each day with me into the steps of obedience He has
planned
out for me. His faithfulness to this school is evident each
day.
I would
say by now I'm "in my groove" with all my academic
responsibilities
here. I'll be giving my first test tomorrow in
geography,
and played a Jeopardy review game today with two of my
classes.
I'm enjoying teaching history and government the most, as
well as
Christian Religious Education (which I've renamed "Christian
Impact"--thought
the former was a little too sterile and I also wanted
my fellowship
at Harvard to feel a part of things over here (: )
I'll spend
most of my 2 terms of Christian Impact going through the
major
markers of the Old Testament, so I am enjoying the enriching as
well.
There have
been a few days a long the way where I have wondered about
the real
value of some of the things I've been teaching my students
(example:
extrusive igneous rocks and the Pre-Cambrian era on the
geologic
time-scale.) Many of them still only have elementary skills
in English,
and it is sometimes a struggle to communicate the
information,
let alone have them truly understand it and use it. Only
a very
small percentage of Kenyan high school students go to
University,
and realistically only a few of my 60 students will go on
with their
education. However, my vision was re-set in talking with
Rick one
night, when he told me his 3 goals for each students,
regardless
of their future after Bonjoge: Love God, Love there
country,
and Love to learn. I realized that even if the majority of
these
students will work their little chamba (small plot of land) for
the rest
of their lives to grow a staple amount of maize, each of
these
three goals has incredible value.
The past
two weeks have been extremely busy with cross country and
football
here at Bonjoge, and also very rewarding. I have 9 of the
fellas
on my team, and hammering discipline and hard work into them
through
workouts and races has been good. Two Saturdays ago, the team
and I
made an epic journey to Aldai Secondary school that encompassed
12 hours
and the use of 6 matatus/speed taxis/pickup trucks to get
there.
Unfortunately, the 8 AM race start time was delayed till 1,
and my
boys had to run a tough 8k on empty stomachs. Following this
race,
I attended a zonal athletic meeting (equivalent = ILH) where
Bonjoge
was selected to host the zonal championships, which took place
last Saturday.
(side note: to get to the meeting, Geoffrey and I had
to walk
for an hour and a half through a forest in which I saw one
small
green snake and 7 monkeys. on the way home we rode in a small
pickup
that was started by touching 2 wires together, along with 22
other
people and the frame of a queen sized bed over us...life's a
journey!)
So, in
preparation last week, I drew up a fantastic 2k circuit that is
better
than any course I have ever run on (real XC! pictures to follow on
One Fat/Phat
Website), drew a map for the coaches, trained my team on
the course,
posted advertisements around the village, and got 10 of the
sophomores
to be course officials for me. On race day, I used an ax
and machete
to make posts for the finish chute, checked in all the
teams
(6 girls, 8 boys), started both races, and scored both races.
Bonjoge
did all right for being so young and only 2 weeks of training.
Our top finisher was 14th. The real excitement was at the end of
the
boys race,
where a few fellas who were being lapped decided 6k was
easier
than 8k and went for the finish. While frantically writing
down finish
results, a fistfight nearly broke out among a group of 8
coaches
right next to me over the discrepancy. Geoffrey and I
diffused
the situation, though. The day was a great crash course in
leadership
for me! It is clear to me that God has been preparing me
for longer
than I could have ever known to serve Him here in Kenya.
Right after
the races, I hopped on a matatu for El Dama Ravine (via
Kapsabet
and Eldoret) for the Volunteer Retreat. The journey took 5
hours
in total, and I was a little worried because I got to El Dama
just as
it was getting dark and didn't know where I was going, but God
got me
there safely. The retreat was great, and I made friends with
some good
brothers and sisters, German, British and American. In
April
I may go river rafting in Uganda with some of them, but details
to follow....)
From the British Volunteers, I learned that 10 man, two
deck UNO
can qualify as a contact sport. Traveled back on Monday,
and unfortunately
woke up at 1 last night and vomited up my last 6
meals
(: (the legend of puke-daddy Stevens lives on!) Aside from
my
little
rite of passage into Kenyan distance running, I'm thankful that
this is
the only time I've been sick in the whole month I've been
here.
The rains have finally come, so the farmers are happy and so am
I because
I've got to see some fantastic thunderstorms.
This coming
Saturday, I'll be catching a bus to Nairobi (5 hrs) to
meet up
with Lesley who will be catching an overnight train from
Mombassa.
By the time you read this, the weekend will have been
completed.
But just so you know the plans, it involves going to a
restaurant
called the "Carnivore" for dinner Sat. where its all you
can eat
zebra, crocodile, giraffe, wildebeest, etc. (all killed
legally,
I'm told) They say the bring the whole carcass to the table
and slice
it up right there!!!! The next day, we are going to try to
go to
Nairobi Game Park to see these same animals (: and according to
Fester,
go "rhino-tipping." Bring it on. I'm sure that the
fellowship
will be good amidst all the adventure. It will be nice to
process
some of the soul shaping of the last month with a sister from
home.
That's
about it from here. As you can see, God is blessing me with
adventures
and opportunities for ministry each day. I continue to
love living
simply here. With so few distractions, it is much easier
to listen
to the subtle yet powerful voice of the Holy Spirit and the
lessons
He has for me. However, it is also easier to understand just
how sinful
my heart is, but God isn't through with me yet! Please
continue
to pray that I would find my life in Christ as I lose it in
daily
service here. Pray also that each day I truly would see myself
as a servant
to the students here. It is easy to slip into being
arrogant
by subtly thinking to myself how American culture is better
than the
problems of daily life I encounter here (ex: police
corruption,
govt. corruption, inefficiency, misuse of technology, etc.)
However,
Christ continually brings me back to the salvation He has
earned
for Kenyans through the cross, and how it is a privilege to
pour out
my life as a messenger of this redemption. Pray that each
day I
would be on my knees, hungering for God to show me what this
means
in the simplest and seemingly small tasks of the day. I love
and miss
you all, but rejoice in God's work here as well as back at
home and
school.
Under His Mercy,
Matt
PS: I'll
be putting a zip disk with photos in the mail on Saturday in
Nairobi,
and I imagine that the photos will be on my web site by the
end of
March, so don't forget to check it every once in awhile.
Here is the latest dispatch
from Matt. Within the next couple weeks, we
hope to have lots and lots of pictures
on
www.fas.harvard.edu/~mcsteven
---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Mon, 20 Mar 2000 08:54:10
GMT
From: Matt Stevens <mcsteven01@hotmail.com>
Subject: Bonjoge Dispatch #7
Star-date March 17, 2000.
Me: Jambo sana! Habari aka?
You: Nzuri sana bwana!
Ok, now that we got the traditional
Kenyan greeting down, we can launch into lucky number seven of the dispatches
you have all come to know and love....This one is ridiculously long, so
only the strong will wade through all of it....
I realized yesterday that I have
not written in about three weeks, and a lot has happened that I wanted
to tell you all about. No day here is the same, so its hard to figure out
how to tell you about things, but here it goes.
The school continues to develop
by the grace of God and the grace He extends His servants and laborers
here. In early March the students were able to move into the new dormitory,
and we have moved our classes back to our building instead of meeting in
the primary school. Rick, Geoffrey and I are also three weeks into our
Bible Study with the students, and it is going really well. Since it started,
I have taught twice, imported several Faithcrew games (all a big hit) and
led worship from the twenty copies of songsheets that I brought out--yes,
the same ones put together by Warren and carried to Harvard by Jon. With
no instruments or accompianment, the poor students have had to suffer through
my best attempts at singing..."polay sana" for them...Rick and I have also
written home to our churches youth groups in hopes of establishing "brother
to brother penpals" where the
fellas here and the fellas back
home can encourage one another and share how God's Kingdom is at work in
two parts of the world. Please pray that students at our churches at home
would be excited about this opprotunity, because our boys here are anxious
to get started. You will also be pleased to know that not every cent of
your support money goes towards filling Fatty's stomach, although that
is a crucial part of your ministry (: A few days ago, I drew up plans for
a good sized bookcase, and took the "blue-print" to our village fundi.
(carpenter) With a 3000 shilling downpayment, I have been promised that
the school library will be ready for business early next week. We have
about 200 books that Nancy, the Kapkaben headmistress, has donated to us.
As head librarian and architect of the new library facility, my first act
of power was to deep six a Jane Austen novel called "Persusation" that
I found lurking in the stack. The last thing these boys need is the torture
I endured at HBA while in high school....(: In addition, Geoffrey and I
will soon be traveling to Eldoret to buy boots for our footballers (American
translation: cleats for our soccer team) While in Eldoret, I attempt to
buys some used spikes for my own endeavors. We will travel to Kemeloi next
weekend for the sub-zonal tournament, and Geoffrey has been training the
fellas pretty hard. To follow up our short but sucessful XC season, I will
begin assembling the track team next week and begin preparing for the meets
that are next term.I continue to hone my teaching skills in the classroom.
My dad would be proud because I just finished the chapter on weather for
my freshmen geography class and the climate chapter for the sophomores.
I really enjoy getting "fired up" (Charlie would be proud...) while teaching
modern history and Christian Religious Education, and do my best to fake
enthusiasm when, for instance, I give a 70 min. lecture on agricultural
advances of ancient Mesopotamia (after that one last week, I felt like
I could do anything!)
On a final note about the school, we had our big Harambee yesterday, which was an interesting experience for me. It really got going when our area’s Minister of Parliament showed up (equivalent to a Congressmen in the U.S. House of Rep’s) About 20 of us shared lunch together in Rick’s house, and I made small talk with him about how my grandfather engineered combines for International Harvester (he visited the U.S. in the 70’s on some agricultural committee from Kenya) After that, he gave a really crude speech to students and villagers, and then the fundraising began. Each person would walk up, give money to the guy, have the amount annouced, and then recieve 3 claps from the "crowd." Example: "Mr. Steves (thats me)....200 shillings...clap, clap, clap." This went on for 2 hours, and I thought we were through, but then the "deep-pocket" rolled up in his brand new Mercedees. This is the guest of honor that’s supposed to throw down a big hunk of change. After a 2 hr. speech in Swahilli in which he told everyone how great he was, he donated 20k shillings, and told us that that morning, he had passed President Moi’s motorcade (yes, the president of the country) They were buddies, so they stopped, chatted, and Moi (who has met with Rick before) gave us 30k shillings. Mr. Deep-pocket also gave 3000 shillings (about fifty bucks) to our school to host a party for the students. I’ve told Rick that I might be able to pull of a kalua pig, so we are thinking about having a luau the night before they leave for the U.S. All in all, God raised about 2000 U.S. dollars, so this will give us a start on our next classroom and dormitory for the new incoming class next year. To celebrate the day, we packed all 55 students into Rick’s living room and watched "The Ten Commandments" until the car battery died that the TV is powered by (Moses was just about to go back to Egypt with Aaron, in case your wondering how long a car battery lasts running a TV....)
Two weeks ago, I took an 8 hr. bus ride to Nairobi to meet up with Fester, and we had a great weekend together. The "Carnivore" was everything I dreamed of and more...the zebra is by far the tastiest, with crocodile way down on the list. After staying at AIM’s Mayfield guesthouse, Leslie, myself and Phil (another AIM volunteer working in the Nairobi slums) hired a taxi to go on safari. That ‘87 Toyota Camry was a beast on the rocky roads of the game park....uh...yeah. While there, we saw many giraffes, zebras, vulchers, buffaloes, gazelles, and baboons. Leslie and I both mangaged to be chased by an 8 inch monkey (very sharp teeth...) through a parking lot, and Phil and I tossed small pebbles at a sleeping crocodile in an unsucessful effort to get him to move. Maybe that was for the better....Later that afternoon, Leslie got the real Kenyan matatu experience on an hour journey to Rukuma, the location of a school that two of the other volunteers teach at (Jill and Nikki) We stayed there that night and had a great 3 hr. discussion about Christianity, culture, and some other issues with missions. The next day, I got on my way back to Bonjoge, and Leslie headed back to Nairobi to catch an overnight train to Mombasa. It was refreshing to trade stories and prayers with a fellow Faith Baptist Church friend all the way out here in Kenya. Currently, Doug and Nancy Soderhahl are in Kapsowar, but unfortunately I don’t have the time to take the four hour busride to go meet with them.
Lastly, I’ve officially begun to attempt to run and train with the ‘big dawgs’ of the Nandi Hills. This past week included 1 hr. runs on Sunday and Monday, 10 150 m. hill repeats on Tuesday, and 11 easy miles on Wed. Thursday, I caught a ride to Kapsabet with Rick to jump in my first real track workout with Meschach and his buddies (Thursday is my day where I only teach one class). Among Meschach’s "family" of 10 training partners, 8 of them compete professionally on the European circuit in the summer monthes. To give you an idea of the caliber of these guys, let me tell you about Paul, the unoffical leader. He is 27 years old, and two years ago at a Grand Prix meet in Athens, he ran a 3:36 1500 m (that’s about a 3:52 mile equivalent) Hopefully I will be able to join them for their Thurs. workouts on a regular basis.
On my long run last week I went to the post office and found a letter from Senelly. In it, he mused that maybe I’m not "done yet," competitively speaking. With 100 percent dirt and grass to train on, I haven’t even felt my shins yet, and I’m beginning to believe. Many of my runs begin before the sun rises, and I spend half of these sessions thanking God for the unimaginable opprotunities I’ve been given, both for coaching and my own running. I try to spend the other half thinking and praying for God’s work in many of you, whether it be at Kailua, Harvard, or beyond. Add to this the unbridled laughter of 15 young children chasing me and yelping with glee "muzungu! muzuuuunggguuuu!!!" and I feel like God has graced me with the truest joy of running in this place. As a sidenote, I’m certain that all of these children could keep up with me for at least 100 m., but some of them just double over after a few seconds because they are laughing so hard...no matter how weary my legs are or how "serious" I’m trying to train, when I pass this certain row of dukas, I can’t help but crack a big grin as I struggle to answer each kid’s "habari aka muzungu?!"
Allright, that’s it for now. The next weeks will be busy writing and grading end of term exams, starting up the track team and planning for April break adventures. If all goes as planned, this will include a four day river rafting brewhaha in Uganda with the other volunteers and a five day backpacking trip up Mt. Kenya with Rick (16,500 ft....almost as big as Kiliminjaro, and much cheaper and convenient to climb) The extra time will be spent around Bonjoge cleaning up the school, doing odd repair jobs, preparing for next terms academics and training like an animal. As you can see, God has been incredibly faithful to me, and thank you for your prayers. The verse in Ephesians about God preparing good works in advance for us to do is ever evident to me here, so please keep praying that I would rely on Him; both for the strength and the love for the people to obey His command to touch people’s lives, both with physical needs and the Gospel. Please continue to pray for our school’s three main goals for the students: that they would love God, love their country, and love to learn. Please continue to pray that in all the activities, thes boys souls would be touched and challenged to become upright men of God, because Kenya (as every country, I suppose) desperately needs men to walk with integrity. It is a challenge each day to truly crucify my own selfishness and really enter into these boys lives, but God blessed each time that I have been able to allow the Holy Spirit to guide my words, actions, and laughter with the students. Looking forward to seeing you all in August/Sept...the time here is truly passing too quickly, and some of the students have begun asking if I’m planning to come back after I leave. Who knows what God has in the cards...I’ll just keep taking a day at a time.
Under His Transforming Grace,
Kipkemei
(James, one of the village leaders,
gave me this Kalenjin name a week
ago...it means the man who came
when there was no rains)
Miscallaneous:
-Rick and I
spent an hour fixing two small electrical problems over at
Kapkaben Girls School two weeks
ago. I only regret forgetting to wear my
Powerhouse t-shirt and getting
a photo.
-Today, one
of the men working on our Harambee tent had a faded "Hawaii"
baseball cap on. Photo of he and
I giving a shakkah to follow on the web
site.
-I relish in
the extra time I have here for my own reading. So far I've
read Yancey's "What's so Amazing
About Grace?" (fantastic), Augustine's
"Confessions" and am partially
through a Tom Clancy book.
Dateline April 26, 2000
Editor's Note: 9 new pictures
on website www.fas.harvard.edu/~mcsteven
Click on flashing
"NEW Pictures from Africa"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bonjoge Dispatch #8
Jambo sana from a currently student-less Bonjoge. I have much to
cover
about
the last month, so if you want to hear how our boys overcame great
odds at
the sub-zonal football tournament or how I put the Nile River,
Uganda
and Africa's second highest mountain in my back pocket, read on!
Even if
you don't read this, make sure you check out One Phat/Fat Website,
as there
should be about 15 new photos in the next few days with any luck
with my
Eldoret internet connection.
www.fas.harvard.edu/~mcsteven
LAST WEEKS OF SCHOOL
The last two weeks of school were pretty crazy, and its hard to know
where
to begin. On two separate occasions, we were misinformed about the
correct
date of the sub-zonal football and volleyball tournaments, which
meant
loading up a matatu (small pick up truck) with 29 of our students for
two pointless
2 hour roundtrip journeys to Kemeloi Secondary School on
dilapidated
dirt roads. For me, it meant 8 crossings of the jungle in two
weeks
with students who wanted to cheer on our teams, half of which were
walked
all for naught. It was pretty clear to Geoffrey and I that the
bigger
schools were purposely bullying us, which was pretty frustrating
after
we went out of our way to work hard at hosting a very successful cross
country
zonal championships at our school six weeks ago. The good thing
with all
this was that one of my jungle crossings was with Meshack to
deliver
a tactful but stern letter to the Kemeloi official responsible. It
turned
into a 14 mile "breakthrough" hard fartlek run, and afterwards
Meschack
told me that I'm ready for the European circuit. I don't know
about
that, but I'm trying hard to let God grow in me the desire and
discipline
to dream again regarding my own running, something that has not
happened
in awhile. The dream, in process of becoming reality, is to
re-enter
NCAA XC in the fall with a vengeance! (: God has showed me that
the metaphorical
towel is not meant to be thrown into the ring just yet...
Continuing on,
Rick Geoffrey and I decided to completely bend over
backwards
in re-arranging our end of term exam schedule in order to compete
in the
tournament and show these big teams we are not going to messed with.
The night
before the two day event started, I went to the guys at the
nightly
homework time and told them that "for weeks these big schools have
pushed
us around and pushed us around....(dramatic pause)....tomorrow we
push back!!!"
And push back we did. Although we lost to Kemeloi, we
defeated
Maraba and Kimaren in order to advance to the zonal championships
next month
in both volleyball and football. Both of these schools had two
streams
of all four grade levels, so it was a big day for our small
missionary
school of 55 freshmen and sophomores. In that same week, the
students
and teachers all worked hard to take and grade a total of about 20
exams
so that we could close on Friday morning with report cards in hand as
the students
went home. We also managed a field trip to the local Kaimosi
Tea factory,
and a hike up all three Bonjoge rocks.
UGANDA--FIVE DAYS OF INSANITY
The next day, I met Jon, Jill, and Nikki in Eldoret to begin the AIM
Volunteer
madness in Uganda. Jon is from Wales and is teaching and doing
youth
ministry up in the deserts of Northern Kenya where the temperature in
the day
averages from 105-110F. Jill and Nikki (American and British,
respectively)
are partners at Kirenga Girls Secondary School, about an
hour north
of Nairobi. After spending a weekend full of laughter with
Rick,
Carrie, and Meghan at Bonjoge, we spent 8 hours
walking/bus-riding/boda-bodaing
to get to the Timton Hotel in Jinja,
Uganda.
Jinja is a small town on the northern part of lake Victoria, aka:
the source
of the Nile (I'm getting an adrenaline rush just thinking about
writing
about the rafting in the next paragraph...) On our first day
there,
we caught a matatu to Mbira forest where we spent about four hours
on 80
pound, barely functioning mountain bikes. Although the lady
explained
the system of trails to us, we mostly just wondered around
blindly
between small villages, forests and banana shambas while being
cheered
on by the local children. At night, we caught boda boda's
(bicycles
with padded seats on the back baskets) to the local Chinese
restaurant.
Nothing like carbo-loading on pseudo-Chinese food in Uganda
in preparation
for TAMING THE NILE the next day!!!!!!
So, on Wednesday, we were picked up at our hotel at 9:30 and in the
river
at 10:45, awaiting certain death. Covering four class 5 rapids,
this is
the biggest water any commercial company does in the world, aside
from the
Zambizi River. The four of us were in one boat with 4 other young
folk like
us working at a Catholic orphanage in Kisumu. Our guide was an
African
guy from Zimbabwe. After a 20 minute lecture on safety, where he
guaranteed
us we would flip multiple times and be held under class 5
rapids
for 4 to 6 seconds, we set off. If I wasn't scared enough at this
point,
the 8 of us failed to paddle correctly into the first rapid (only a
class
2) and went in backwards. We were rebuked by the guide, and I could
only wonder
what the day would hold for us missionary chumps!
Our first class 5 was named "Total Ganga" (meaning total insanity in the
local
language) and sure enough we flipped the thing. It happens so fast
that you
don't even know how you ended up in the water (hopefully not
under
the raft, but your not always that lucky). The two rescue kayaks
and extra
raft then spend the next 10 minutes pulling everyone out of the
water,
and putting you back in the boat to do it all again. The second
class
5, "Big Brother" was probably the highlight of the day. After
taking
a sloping 30 foot drop into a huge hole, our raft shot straight up
into the
air and actually landed upright. I was in the second row, and
when I
glanced back after the hit, all five girls and the guide had been
thrown
out. We still had a bunch of roller coaster rapids ahead, and I
raised
my paddle in the air and began yelling triumphantly to Jon and the
other
dude "I'M THE GUIDE! I'M THE GUIDE!" When we re-
collected
everyone, the guide accused me of purposefully knocking everyone
out of
the boat (this was after I asked for a partial
refund off the rafting
trip since
technically I had guided one of the four big rapids of the day....)
The weirdest part of the trip was that the more the day went on, and the
more rapids
you did, the more afraid you got. On the last class 5, the
guide
spent 20 minutes prior to the rapid explaining in incomprehensible
detail
how its nearly impossible to paddle perfectly into the rapids, and
if you
do, statistics of their company only give you a 5 percent chance of
not flipping.
It's no wonder that Jon kept laughingly saying in his good
British
accent, "I'm about to whee in the boat..."--during this whole
lecture
your slowly floating in calm water towards a cliff where you can
only hear
the thunder of millions of gallons of water below. But, I made
it alive,
laughed a lot after with Jill, Jon, and Nikki and had an all
around
great day. It may very well be the most frightened I've ever been
in my
life, though (except, of course, the beatings I took from Tim when I
was a
little fatty in 5th grade, but why bring up old wounds, right Tim?)
The next day (after replenishing our muscles with more Ugandan
pseudo-Chinese
food, of course), we caught boda bodas downtown to "New
Town Talkies"
to catch the second half of "Thunderbolt," a Chinese-made
Jackie
Chan flick. For only 13 cents, we sat in the back of a smoke
filled
theatre, squinting to see the 3'x 5' projector while everyone
around
us (including us) cheered on the (indecipherable) action. Hence,
the Volunteer
Ugandan week was brought to a close. We rode a bus all day
the next
day back to Kenya, and I branched off in Kisumu to head home and
prepare
putting Mt. Kenya into my back pocket--next to the Nile of
course.
MOUNT KENYA
If the rafting was the most frightening thing I've ever done, the five
day expedition
up and over Mount Kenya (approx. 16,000 ft) is the most
athletically
demanding thing I've ever done. We spent 5 days and 4 nights
to get
up and over it, and God blessed every step of the way. None of us
got altitude
sickness, it didn't rain once despite it technically being the
rainy
season, and we got Johnny (aka: Rasta man) to guide us up at a
reasonable
price, thanks to Geoffrey's bargaining savvy. We stayed at
Shipton's
camp (approx. 14,000 ft.) for two nights. On Wednesday, we awoke
at 3 AM,
summitted as the sun rose, and then circumnavigated the main peaks
to return
to camp by 2 PM. Every time we went over a ridge, I felt as if I
was breathing
like I would be in the home stretch of a mile race. It was
incredibly
beautiful, and can't wait to get the photos up on the web site
for you
all. It was especially a great trip for Geoffrey, as he had never
before
climbed a mountain, seen snow, slept in a tent or sleeping bag, or
eaten
muzungu food for such a prolonged period--many good "firsts."
On the last night, we stayed at Bandas camp. Though they had a big
sign
posted
that said: "Warning: Dangerous Animals at Night," we wouldn't break
down and
sleep in the cabin but opted to pitch the tent. From 1 to 2 AM,
it was
a little hairy for me, as I really had to pee, but was afraid of
the African
buffaloes grazing 2 ft. away from the tent and the hyenas
howling
from the forests. The next day, we saw many piles of
awe-inspiring
elephant dung, but no elephants. Also, Johnny almost rolled
the Land
Rover we went through some of the forest in when the rear wheel
slid into
a rut about 3 ft. deep.
On Good Friday, we descended the whole mountain down the Chogoria route.
However,
before the descent we had one last ridge to make it over. Its
hard to
describe how the cold morning air can sting your lungs like a hot
iron at
15,000 ft., and how you can be doubled over under the weight of
your pack
and beaten down by the mountain so severely. Yet, when I got
enough
oxygen in my brain to think and pray later that day, I realized that
the hill
called Golgotha that Christ climbed 2000 years ago that day for
your sins
and mine was infinitely bigger and more severe. All praise to
the Savior
who had the courage to climb it.
Easter Day was fairly non-traditional for me, as I spent 13 hours of it
on
busses
and Matatuis on the way home from Nanyuki. At 8 PM, Rick and I had
to carry
our junk 4km (in the dark) from the road to the school. However,
we were
"patrolled" (his word) by a local Luya man stone drunk on the local
brew.
He chattered away for most of the 4km, but never was willing to help
us with
the packs.....life is never dull here. We decided to celebrate
Easter
today instead.
THE NEXT MONTH
The next month will have many important transitions that you can be
praying
for. When the students return in a week, we will resume the I
Timothy
Bible Study, I will get the track team going, and Geoffrey will
continue
to sharpen the footballers for the upcoming zonals later in May.
Rick and
Carrie will need God's strength to get everything set so they can
leave
for Nairobi on May 15, and then to Cali soon after. They going away
luau plans
took a turn for the worst last week when the pig that we had
just bought
died. Ambrose didn't know that a pig was not meant to walk
4km up
hill, and when he made it to the village center, his little pig
heart
just gave out. Robert, one of our teachers, explained the scene to
Rick in
the following way, using a completely dead-pan voice that only
Robert
can pull off: "When the pig collapsed, we dashed for water. When
we returned,
the pig was no more." So, we go to plan B: kill a goat.
Fortunately,
the surfing video made it here from Hawai'i, so the students
should
be "stoked" shortly. On May 26, I'll head to Nairobi to pick up
Reese
and bring him back to Bonjoge. He will be taking over physics,
chemistry
and biology for Geoffrey while he assumes the responsibilities
of headmaster.
I'll continue to teach, coach, encourage Geoffrey and
also introduce
Reese to the villagers and students.
I hope that you can see that God is doing wonderful things here,
and I
rejoice in the fruit in the students, the Maples and myself. I
also hope
that this letter gives you many new things to pray about,
because
we need God's strength to help accomplish His purposes here.
Over all,
pray that in all the activities, the students would be
confronted
unmistakably with the power and love of Jesus, and how He
can transform
every part of their lives. Pray that I too would come
face to
face with the presence of Christ each day as I serve here. I
look forward
to seeing you all later this year, but rejoice in the
place
I'm in now. I pray often for those of you in Kailua, Harvard,
and beyond--His
Kingdom is great! Till next time, this is fatty
signing
out....sorry for the grammar mistakes and stuff, but didn't
have enough
solar juice to do proofreading (too bad I can't use that
excuse
at college....)
Under His Mercy,
Matt
Miscellaneous:
-today
a snake was killed in Rick and Carries yard. Just a baby one,
but who
knows where mama is...
-I spent
last Saturday at Geoffrey's house carrying timbers from the
forest
to build a fence at their house. (Basil, Geoffrey's little
brother,
had cut down the tree and split 15 6 ft. lengths before we
arrived)
Geoffrey also showed me the place in the Yala River where I
can teach
him how to swim. His other friend Matthew told me that
there
are snakes in the water, but that (again with an emotion-less
tone)
"they are pretty easy to fight." Yeah.....
-On Saturday
morning, Meschack went to Eldoret to get his friend at
the airport
who had just one the Boston Marathon. Later that day, Kip
Keino
(who Geoffrey and I met a few weeks ago at his shop) gave the
guy a
cow to congratulate him. I'm going to do a track workout at
nearby
Kapsabet on Thurs., and Meschack told me he will introduce me
to the
guy at his office there after. Meschack leaves in about a week
and a
half for Sweeden, so then my training continues solo.
-In Nanyuki,
I paid 20 shillings to get a photo with Susan, a small
monkey.
[NOTE: Check out new
pictures from Kenya and Uganda.]
[Excerpted from a letter to home:]
Jambo sana mom and pop,
Sooo...here is my saga of the past 2 days:
On Thurs. morning [April 27], I went to Kip Choge stadium in Kapsabet to do a bunch of 200’s with Meshack. When I finished the workout, I noticed that my bag (which was on the infield with the other runners bags), containing my digital camera, wallet (about 7 bucks in it), pants, and luau decorations, Bible, etc. was gone! Pole sana for fatty. So, Meshack and I ran all over Kapsabet for an hour looking for the little thief, but came up blank. When we came back to the stadium, we found that our little friend had left his hat and jacket in his haste to get the loot. So, now we were a couple of bloodhounds with a scent. We found some boys who knew who the clothes belonged to and told us they knew the boy. After unsuccessfully trying to find the mother’s fruit stand in town, we found the mom in the slum projects by the prison. A very sad sight....several other small children, stench, living in a 10’x10’ room. With a completely emotionless face she said the clothes were her boy’s (Peter, age 11) and that 3 days ago (day after Easter) Peter had stolen about $600 from a local church. So, we took the mom to Police Station and filed a report, and she also said that when Peter usually steals stuff, he flees to Nandi Hills (town) to his sister.
When we finished the report, a huge thunderstorm had moved in and didn’t look like it was going to let up. I had no money and only shorts and a t-shirt, and didn’t know exactly how I was going to get home. I decided to make a run for the Bible College a mile away to find some other missionaries to bail me out. 2 min. into my run to the school, it began to hail and got increasingly harder with bigger stones, all falling on fatty’s bald head. Couldn’t help but sing “I’ve seen better days” as I went (: At the college, a Kenyan guy got me chai and bread (hadn’t eaten all day cuz no $...) and Margot, a German missionary gave me 100 shillings and a pink and gray sweatshirt (very cute) to get me home to Bonjoge. Didn’t think I would ever see any of the stuff again, knowing theft and the efficiency/integrity of the Kenyan police.
On the way home, God was hard at work teaching me a lesson, as He always does if we let Him. He allowed me the perspective to take a little stock of what I had. Minus the camera and being temporarily cold and hungry, I had His precious forgiveness, parents that love me and raised me right, food, a house, close friends, education, and most importantly, real HOPE in Christ and the direction He has on my life. Peter had the camera, but doubt if He had any of the others. Its for people like Peter that Christ came to the world, but we were or are all Peters to some degree when you get down to it. Felt like God showed me more in that moment about Truth than perhaps many hours in Lamont Library. We at Harvard play a lot of games discussing God as an academic subject while sitting around an expensive marble table in a climate-controlled room, but in this moment I knew for sure why God had to come to earth and die for our sins...the blank look on Peter’s mom as she made the journey to the police station (for the Nth time, certainly) revealed much to me.
Well, God in His mercy chose to allow the things to be recovered, I learned a day later when Meshack returned to Bonjoge. I got the camera today in Kapsabet, and have to return on Tues. to appear in court and get the other stuff (minus 500 shillings, the VISA and driver’s license). They told me they want to finally charge Peter and send him to a boys home ( I wonder how much this will help). God has blessed me with love for this boy (who I haven’t met yet) and his mom. I think I’ll give him my Bible at the trial after, with a note and prayer that someday Jesus’ love will find this lost sheep...what we all are when you really think about it.
Lastly, you should go out and get
a book called “The Poisonwood Bible” by Barbara Kingsolver, a novel.
I’m half way through it and can’t put it down.
Its a story about a Southern Baptist
family in the 60’s who goes to the Congo to share the Gospel. It
portrays mission work in a pretty negative light, but the descriptions
of daily African life in the bush are amazingly accurate and well written...I
find myself nodding my head a lot as I read. It’s a gripping plot,
and it might give you a little better idea what life is like here, albeit
it not as “remote” as the story.
Love matt
May 18, 2000
Mrembe from Kisumu! (mrembe is the greeting among the Luya tribe; many of which live about 1km down the road from me)
Well, lets see where to begin this time. I think I'll begin by giving you the "facts" of how things are going, and then launch into the stories of the last weeks.
The students returned two weeks ago, and I'm in the swing of teaching again. I'm teaching the same load as last term, as well as the I Timothy Bible study and a new study on the gospels with the sophomores. They seem excited about it, and it will allow me to avoid 80 min. geography lectures that have evolved into my weeks true low point. Rick and Carrie left four days ago, and Geoffrey is now trying to manage teaching 6 science classes, coaching the soccer team, and being headmaster until Reese comes next week to relieve most of his teaching duties. (pray for him; he needs physical and spiritual strength for these weeks)
Two weeks ago, I also preached the
first double-header of my life. I spoke first at the school service, and
then made a 45 min. walk through the hills to get to the AIC church at
Karari to preach again (I used the same sermon, but don't tell anyone,
ok? (: ) Next Tuesday we will be travelling to Maraba with 25 of our students
to compete in the zonal track and field championships. Then I'll catch
a bus all day to Nairobi on Thursday to meet Reese, and bring him back
on Sunday. It will be good to finally meet him after exchanging several
emails.
OK, so here's the stuff that I
really enjoy writing about:
THE WELL
The first week I was at Bonjoge,
I took one look at the well and told Rick that I wanted to go down it before
I leave. Two weeks ago, a wiry little Kenyan guy showed up at school to
clean the well out and dig it a bit deeper, so this was my big chance.
The only problem was that when I actually put my shorts on and peered down
the 60 ft. abyss, I got a little nervous about slithering down the worn
rope with my back pressed against one wall and my feet on the other side.
After seeing my fear, Rick decided to go, and that really amazed me. It
was a combination of things that finally made me do it. Rick reminded me
that Tim would ridicule me for the rest of my life, Rick had done it, (and
he's 35) and lastly, about 8 Kenyan guys were standing around peer pressuring
me. Needless to say, I had no choice so I went. The well-cleaner's inspiring
words to me before I went down were "One day your born, one day you die."
This is a Swahilli proverb that basically means it doesn't matter if you
die today or in 70 years. I don't really agree with its logic, but I did
go down the well in the end. After Rick and I had triumphed, the same guy
assured us that we were the first muzungus ever down a well in Kenya. This
might be hard to prove, but I'm going to believe it anyway.
THE LUAU
Even if we were not truly the first muzungus down a Kenyan well, I do think we might be the first whities to hold a full fledged luau. I believe I mentioned our troubles with the pig a month ago, but we persevered by deciding to slaughter Andy, the Maple's goat. So, the festivities began on Tuesday as the whole school pitched in to make it a smashing success. Rick and I led the charge, carefully trying to follow the directions Eric Lim had sent us in a half page email. These directions included such gems of wisdom such as when digging the hole, "insert shovel into dirt," and when lighting the wood, "avoid pouring a gallon of gas into hole and lighting with head in the hole at the same time like your brother did one time." So, we dug a 4'x6' pit 4 ft. deep, and the students spent the whole afternoon carrying rocks, splitting and carrying wood for the 3 hr. inferno, chopping and carrying banana trees and constructing a large tin roofed shelter to protect the fire from the heavy afternoon Bonjoge rains. It was great to see the kids rally around the work.
Then it was time to actually kill the goat. I had wanted to do the deed myself at first, but then chickened out, which I'm glad of after the fact. It was a pretty funny cultural thing happening: Rick and I, being city-slickers thought it was pretty neat to see some blood and guts, but this was old hat to our students. However, when we brought out the tin foil for the carcass, now there was something-the students had never seen anything like it! So, we all marched down to our kalua, where we carefully placed it on heated rocks, and then covered the whole thing with banana tree stalks and 2 ft. of dirt. By this time we had drawn the attention of quite a number of the villagers, and no one really believed that the rocks would really cook the entire goat. I was doubting a bit myself, and kept assuring them that it was not a crazy muzungu idea, it was a crazy Hawaiian idea. Either way, they were still pretty skeptical.
But, exactly 23 hours later, the goat came out with much fanfare and the meat was done perfectly-tasted great and practically fell off the bones it was so soft. Ambrose, our animal keeper, told me he wants to do his own kalua chicken soon. (: We feasted while listening to Hawaiian music, wearing plastic leis-a truly great event. Mama made all this possible by sending so many decorations; photos will be great. After dinner, and presenting a gift to Rick and Carrie from the school, I shared a hour and a half surfing video with the students, and they couldn't believe their eyes. I don't think any of them have ever even seen an ocean. So, its hard to say what surprised them the most: the kalua goat, this crazy thing called surfing, or the tinfoil.
THE TRACK MEET
Going into the term, I had looked forward to having 2 or 3 months to prepare the track team for the big zonal competition. Then we got a hand delivered letter a week ago informing us the big meet was NEXT Tuesday. But hey, I've always thought training was overrated anyway; true running is about racing, so lets not fool around with practice and GET IT ON!!!
So yesterday we cancelled the morning classes in order to hold an inter-school competition in all the events in order to pick a team of 25 to represent Bonjoge at Maraba next week. About a week ago, the primary school kids had spent hours and hours with jembes (hoes) making a track on our grass field. Now we have a full 8-laned 400 m track, even if one of the straights is slightly up hill, the grass has many dips and rolls, and a cow occasionally leaves a present in lane 2 for overly-focused sprinter rounding the back turn.
I decided it was time to put myself through some paces, since I haven't raced since last June in England, so I decided to jump in the 3000 and put myself against Bonjoge's best. For those of you who have competed with me and coached me in the past, I think you'll understand how priceless this race was for me-I'll never forget it.
Like all the other students, I didn't wear any shoes; just my Air Force shorts and my Harvard racing jersey (shhhhhhhhh: don't tell anyone I still have it (: ) I knew Cornelius would be my toughest match. He's my freshmen that I trained in February, and who narrowly missed advancing to districts at the cross country meet at our school. The two of us broke away from the pack early, and we dueled it out to the shouts of the rest of the school for the next five laps. With 200 to go, he threw on the Kalenjin afterburners-the ones I haven't acquired yet-and beat me by 10 meters. Afterwards, I made sure that he knew that I had done an 11 mile moderate run to the post office the day before, and that I would have had him if I was fresh. I am so thankful for how God has allowed running to earn the respect and trust of these students; its truly knocked down many cultural barriers and allowed me to develop good friendships with many of the students. But for pete's sake, if I had wanted to spend another year leading races only to be out kicked in the last 200m, I would not of flown all the way to Kenya but just repeated my sophomore year of indoor track at Harvard!!! I took many photos of the day, and hope to have them on the site soon. You won't believe your eyes to see my students pole vaulting with no mat to fall into.
I'll let you know how the meet goes
Tuesday.
Lastly, I realize that some of my
letters make it seem like all fun and adventure here. I want to share this
last news with you though, however, so you'll know the challenges we face
here as we strive to build Godly men to advance His kingdom. On Geoffrey's
second day as headmaster, our night watchmen caught our cook stealing a
small amount of meat that was meant to be for the students' dinner. After
first denying it, he finally confessed, but more cases of theft came out
and the board of governors decided to suspend him for six months. This
incident was particularly painful because in March our church held a harambee
to raise money so Sammy (that's the cook) could be sent to Bible College
during the April break to learn about church leadership. Sammy often preaches
in our church, and he went to the 3 week course. Now, I've heard that many
people around our school are talking and referring to Sammy as "Reverend
Meat."
The incident brings into sharp
focus why I am here, and why Kenya needs schools like Bonjoge. If through
all the classes, Bible studies and sports, we can somehow teach these boys
to become men of God-men that know the power of Jesus forgiveness to allow
them to live with integrity and character-then we really will have accomplished
something. We as the staff here need perseverance and faith to continue
pursuing this vision with all our might. All of this is the Lord's work
though, so we constantly pray that our work would be guided by Him. I ask
you to pray the same.
And last of all, I wanted to let
you all know that I'll be using my hotmail account for the rest of the
summer, and checking it roughly once a week. The address is mcsteven01@hotmail.com.
I've come to learn in my time here that by far the toughest part about
being a missionary is knowing that those close to you back home are growing
and making important life decisions, and you don't get to be a part of
it for a time. So, if you have the time, drop me a line and let me know
what's going on. I look forward to coming home in August, but know that
there are acts of obedience here for me to still walk into.
Under His Transforming Mercy,
Kipkemei
Fun Side notes:
A. With my new hairstyle (or lack
thereof), I'm referred to on the streets by the following three names,
in order of frequency:
1. Jordan -
a famous bald American basketball player
2. Renaldo-
a world famous Brazilian soccer player who is also bald
3. "Stone Cold"
Steve Austin- a famous American WWF wrestler, who also lacks any hair
B. In my quest to become a true Kalenjin runner, I have inadvertently dropped from 133 pounds to 118. (When my mother heard this, she used all caps in an email to tell me to eat more: that was some tongue-lashing, let me tell you! (: ) Senelly simply and innocently asked if I was now afraid of the wind while I run. Don't worry mom, its all part of the process. Cornelius, my new rival, probably weighs in at about 102 on a good day. I also finally understand why everyone has been calling me "fatty" for the last 6 years. It wasn't because of childhood chubbiness. I really was carrying around 15 pounds of useless pudge! Not anymore fellas; time to find a new nickname.
C. One hour ago, I ordered an egg
roll at a small restaurant. 20 minutes later I was brought a 6 inch roll,
sliced in half, with a fried egg sandwiched between the two pieces. I decided
not to make it an issue, though.
June 8, 2000
Bonjoge Dispatch # 11
June 8, 2000
Chambge mizzine! I hope that this latest dispatch find you well back in the homeland. I look forward to returning in August myself.
Well, in the last three weeks, my life has changed quite a bit as Rick and Carrie have gone back to California, and I now have another Volunteer to work with. Shortly after Rick and Carrie took off, Geoffrey and I took 25 of our students on a 2 hour matatu adventure to the zonal track championships at Maraba Secondary School. It was a great (and long) day, and several of our kids placed in the top two slots in their events to advance to the district levels the following weekend. Over the course of the day, I got roped into being the head official of javelin, long jump, and pole vault. At the end of the day, our young fellas ran one heck of a 4x400. In the second leg, our little 5’6" featherweight David Kemboi slayed some of the other schools giants on the back straight to momentarily give us the lead. At the end of the race, the hundreds of frenzied on lookers collapsed on the final straight, making a 2 lane wide tunnel where the two leaders threw elbows all the way to the tape. It was electric.
The ride home was also interesting. At 10:00 PM, our matatu ran out of gas. After some drunk guys unsuccessfully tried to wake up the owner of the Cheptulu gas station, we made the 70 min. walk back up the hill in the dark, arriving back at school at 1 AM. But never fear, John was waiting with a big ol’ pile of ugali for our famished students. (we had all only had half a loaf of bread and a soda each the whole day) Nothing like a little bonding and character building for all the fellas, right?!
Two days later I made the 6 hr. bus journey to Nairobi to pick up Reese, my new partner. (on the way down, I got the pleasure of spending 3 of those hours on the bus with a lady screaming at the top of her lungs, preaching and faith-healing all the way to Nakuru, but that is another story for another time!) He and I have got along fine so far, and he has done a great job of getting plugged into the routine and ministry of the school. He’s planning on starting a small group study with some of the kids, and Geoffrey is relieved to have three of his science classes taken off his hands. Since our solar battery has kind of died, we can’t show movies on Saturday nights anymore. However, Reese and I have become the entertainment directors of Bonjoge. We had a great skit night last Saturday, and we are planning on teaching them Capture the Flag this week. Incidentally, when I was trying to teach them elbow tag a few weeks ago, not a single one of them had ever heard of the game "Ótag" before: I found that kind of funny.
You can be praying for me, as I have probably struggled with discouragement the most over the last few weeks than I ever have here. I struggle often to get myself up to faking excitement when lecturing on geography: its not my favorite. It’s also been hard with Rick and Carrie gone because I’ve had to take on new responsibilities that are tough to handle in a foreign culture and in the bush. While trying to help Reese fit in last week, I was also the teacher on duty. So that means that as several of my boys come down with strange tropical diseases like malaria and typhoid fever, I’m the one responsible. One day, David Kemboi (my 4x4 champ) was in his bed with his whole body shaking, his skin burning up, and crying. (since these guys don’t even make a noise when they are circumcised at age 16 without anesthesia for their rite of passage, you know a Kalenjin man is in serious pain if he’s crying.) So, Eliky and I made the 45 minute walk to Musasa with him, and then the 45 minute matatu ride to Kapsabet to get him to the hospital. They did a blood test, diagnosed typhoid, and we got him the right drugs and headed home. A few days later, he was still pretty bad, so he had to make the 3 hour journey on public transport home by himself. So, all that to say that you can be praying for our small school. It’s difficult enough with only a teaching staff of five, but these nasty tropical sicknesses make it worse. However, unlike the rest of Kenya, we do have plenty of rain, and consequently enough food, so that is a blessing. Hunger is becoming a real problem in the dryer central areas; I wonder how much America media has picked up on this lately at home.
Please also pray that I would put all my trust in Jesus to give me strength as I enter the "bell lap" of my time in Kenya here. Its easy to be looking too forward about going home, but I know God still wants all my soul and strength here, pouring myself into these guys and the community here. It is hard as a short-term missionary to kind of live with one foot in each of your worlds, as they are very different. I’m excited to still be teaching my Bible Studies on I Timothy, John, and Matthew with the help of Reese. The students seem to really enjoy them. I’ll be taking about 40 of the kids to a Christian Union rally at Kapkaben this Saturday, so you can pray that God would open their hearts here if He so desires, as these events are usually pretty evangelistic in nature. The other students will be going to playoffs for volleyball with Reese and Geoffrey, and then we got our football championships on July 1. Reese and I will also be going to Lake Baringo for an unofficial volunteer retreat on the June 24 weekend, so that should be a good time of rest and re-charge for us. Its good for me to feed off of Reese’s excitement; God always seems to send us encouragement in just the way we need.
Well, I’ll close for now. Reese
and I are both preaching at different church services this weekend, so
we’ll get to do a little preparing together. As I mentioned, please keep
Bonjoge in your prayers; lots of character building going on these days
among students and staff alike, but its exciting to anticipate how God
will provide.
Under His Mercy,
Kipkemei (aka: bwana Stevens)
Bonjoge Boys Secondary School
PO Box 13
Kaimosi, KENYA
Email: mcsteven01@hotmail.com
PS: I got a letter from my grandma
the other day, and she suggested "spider legs" for my new nickname. So
I guess the contest is open, and that’s the first nomination.
If you have comments or suggestions, email to my father at
stevens131@aol.com
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