In a remote, Northeastern corner of Kenya, a visiting group of volunteers left an unfinished building project, but plenty of completed visions and 80 new lives in Christ.
In a remote, Northeastern corner of Kenya, a visiting group of volunteers left an unfinished building project, but plenty of completed visions and 80 new lives in Christ.
The 30 visitors came from the Filipino Capitol and Breath of Life Seventh-day Adventist congregations in the Washington, D.C. area. Their desire was to serve and share the gospel in Africa, with an emphasis on an area not usually visited by mzungu, as foreigners are called in Swahili.
A bus ride after two days of travel brought us to a dirt road, where 17 lay evangelists—called the “Everlasting Gospel Bicycle Ministry”—awaited our party, providing an escort for the last few meters of foot travel to the compound where we would stay.
Pastor Blasious Ruguri, executive secretary for the East-Central Africa region of the church and our host for the trip, had brought us to his home village, housing our group in his family’s compound.
We were in a land of earthen huts with thatched roofs, no electricity and no running water. We had anticipated all this; had prepared ourselves mentally for the squat toilets, bathing in a basin, sleeping on the floor. What we received was better than we imagined. There were still the squat toilets with the small hole in the floor, out of which would occasionally fly bats, if your timing was off. And the wash water was in basins, filled from a barrel outside the door with water brought by wheelbarrow from a well a kilometer away. What surprised us was the open, humble friendliness of the Mankau people and how quickly this made us feel at home. The environmental differences soon became mere curiosities.
We were there to build a community center for Mankau, one especially dedicated for use by the women of the village. It was being built right next to the small Adventist church, but would be a larger size. In fact, when Jemima Orilloso, the group leader, and Pastor Ruguri first laid eyes on the foundation and wall frames already constructed, they realized the building was much bigger than had been planned. It seems when the local builders realized that outside help and funds were coming, they decided to think big!
Unfortunately, this had not been taken into account when materials were bought, so our first order of business was to send back to Nairobi to get more building supplies, about a three-day round trip. That gave us a bit of a break before hard labor commenced, so we decided to make some visits into the community.
We had come ostensibly to build, but we were also there to meet people, teach and evangelize. God quickly made interacting with the residents our priority and we were soon making good friends and forming connections.
The entire group took a walk to visit the community school, which had invited us to attend a school awards ceremony. It was held outdoors under the trees, with some 250 children gathered on two sides of a square and a large number of parents forming the third side. At the front, seated at a long table, was the school headmaster and his staff. The children, from primary to secondary grades, were an attentive group, seated on wooden benches or on the ground, dressed in their dark green school uniforms.
The younger students were being called forward to receive recognition for work well done and, in addition to appreciative applause and shouts, they got a piece of candy.
Then came the performance by the school choir, which slowly progressed into the square, doing a choreographed dance to their a cappella voices, a captivating performance for us.
A little later, the headmaster welcomed us and Jemima gave a little speech. Then she invited our entire group to come forward and sing one of our favorite songs during the trip, the animated “Father Abraham Had Many Sons,” which soon had the kids laughing, clapping and cheering, though not on the account of our great talent.
The meetings were held in a large space next to the new building under construction. We had stories and games for children early in the evening. Women were gathered in another group where health and other topics were discussed. And then all were seated on the ground and nearby logs for the evening preaching service, which featured Pastor Marcel Sigue, pastor of Filipino Capitol.
A platform was constructed that appeared rather flimsy, made of branches and other rather natural pieces of wood. But it held up, even under as many as eight people. Two crooked branches, planted vertically in the ground, morphed into the frame for a video screen, which likewise served as well as one could wish. Power was provided by a small generator; “small” meaning that when the lights were on and the sound system was turned up, the lights would dim when the speaker shouted. Or they would go out when the video projector was turned on. Consequently most of the services were conducted in the dark, with a dim light for the speaker to see his notes. Not that the crowded complained. They had come and would return home in the dark, with no flashlights, and some would travel for many kilometers on foot. Light was not an issue.
And did they come! Pastor Ruguri said he had never seen such a turnout in his village. The audience grew to nearly 1,000 and they stayed into the night until all was over, including the special treat of seeing a theatrical movie on the video screen after the sermon was over. It was usually a Bible drama and held their attention until 10 p.m. or 11 p.m., when they would all walk home, in the dark.
After just a few nights, and with all the preparation work done by the Everlasting Gospel Bicycle ministers, when the pastor made an appeal for baptism on Friday night, a large crowd gathered at the front. The next day, Sabbath, following a spirited church service under the trees, the entire group made their way by bus and on foot to a river a few kilometers away. And, in an unforgettable sight while hundreds witnessed, 70 persons were baptized that afternoon, including the youngest member of the mission group, 13-year-old Jess Abalorio.
Two days later, when the time came to leave, it seemed strange that we, who measure accomplishment by completion of tasks, felt successful and satisfied, even though an object of our mission, the community center building, was not complete. We had put in hours of hard labor, pounding large rocks into gravel with small hammers, mixing mounds of sand, stone and cement into concrete by hand, painting wood trusses as they were constructed by the local carpenters. But much remained to be done. We left with the trusses rising in the air and the promise that the job would be completed by those we left behind.
But we also left with the accomplishment of making friends, establishing bonds, and becoming part of a community. They requested, and we promised to return to Mankau as early as next year. There remains a lot to be done. A larger church is now needed. They’ve already laid the foundation, and it’s big! There are students wanting to continue in school and parents needing help with those costs. There are families with all the types of issues we face in our society, appreciating the support some of us can give who are trained in those counseling areas. There is the need of a water supply for the village, and a source of capital would be a large boost for some of the small businesses being created by villagers for their income.
Driving away from Mankau, after many hugs and tears, we were back on the bumpy road, the red dust soon covering our hair and clothes. It would remain with us through the hours of travel back to Washington. It was ironic that the last question the customs officials had on our return to America was “Have you been on a farm in a rural area?” Upon learning that, indeed, these were the shoes I wore on that farm, they took them to “sanitize” them. I got them back and, although they had sprayed them, the red dirt could still be seen clinging to the soles. A part of Africa will always remain with us.
