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Got up a little early to read Stott before breakfast, then read
"Sharing the Good News with the Poor". Nicola was unwell and stayed at home,
while the rest of us were given a guided tour of Parklands Baptist Church , a large
active middle-class church on the other side of Nairobi. We then joined some small group
Bible studies that were scattered around the church building. A third of the team went to
the children’s work and a third stayed in the service. My third went to the Youth
service, which packed out a small hall in the basement. We sang mainly English songs and
then our contingent brought greetings and sang a couple of songs that were new to the
Kenyans. The main speaker was very good. He told us of three near-death experiences he had
had (a car accident and two gunpoint muggings) and asked us if we were "right before
God" and thereby "ready to die". It was challenging, but well-presented. |
| We went to a large shopping centre for lunch. The Wimpy King-size
Burger Combo certainly differed from the food we had been eating. After a quick change of
clothes at home, we went to one of Nairobi’s slums, where we played football against
a side made up of boys from the slum. Some of the girls from the Transform team were
considering playing, but it was soon clear that it wouldn’t have been appropriate.
Their team were fairly serious despite not having a ball to practise with. The pitch was
fairly clear, but if you over-ran near the edge, you risked falling face-first into a pile
of rotting, smelly rubbish. The pitch itself was quite hard sandy soil, with a fine layer
of loose sand on the top – perfect for sliding. Our four Brits were joined by three
Kenyan Sheepfold staff (Tom, Almas and Jesse) and four of their team. After our first game
of football at 1700m in the equatorial sun (best to get your excuses in quick, eh?), we
lost 3-1. The spectacle was only added to by the occasional goat, herd of cows and bed
crossing the pitch. The boys enjoyed the game, but the girls had been less enamoured by
watching, surrounded as they were by so many complete strangers, and feeling threatened in
the city nicknamed ‘Nairobberry’ by Kenyans. |
The sun sets very quickly in Kenya. Between about 6pm and 6.30pm,
it goes from fairly high in the sky to below the horizon. Similarly in the morning, it
shoots up somewhere between 6am and 6.30am. It had virtually set when we finished the
match, but we still all sat down for a talk by Paul. His translator, Kevin, who regularly
works in that particular slum, refused to start until all were quiet and sitting down. A strategy that was all the more
surprising in that it worked so well. There were quite a large number of locals who joined
us for the talk.Tea back home was followed by a chance to
relax, shower, wash trainers, and write postcards. I read a little, emailed home and
checked the "How to Use a Computer" guides that my IT Technician at school had
emailed in response to my request. |
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