From the coast to informal settlements: Kenya learning tour

Dorcas Muia in her kitchen garden

\We left the ocean beauty of Watamu on Friday morning to board a coaster bus bound inland. Some of our Rep colleagues elected to have their mothers and kids skip this long drive and fly directly to Nairobi. But most of us settled in for what was to be about 10 hours of driving through increasingly arid landscapes heading northwest to the city. Our group included International Program Director Rebecca with her husband Blaine; Area Director Wawa;  regional staff members Milkah (finance), Mercy (HR), David (Peace-building and Advocacy), Kelly (Connecting peoples and Admin); and several fellow reps: Samuel and Winfred (from Uganda, serving in Chad), Semei (from Uganda, serving in South Sudan), Fred and Betty (from Kenya, serving in Uganda) and all three of us Mosleys.

Regional Meetings in Turtle Bay (Part 1)

October is frequently a very busy month for MCC country programs. It is a season when everything should be 'full under sail'. This is particularly true because much of September can be focused on orienting new volunteers, getting them placed, securing legal status for them to work, etc. This can be the main focus of the MCC Reps and administrative staff. By October, one-year volunteers should be in their assignment locations and living with their host families. With that out of the way, we can return to other operational aspects of our program, such as reviewing concept papers for new projects, receiving reports for ongoing work, and managing other administrative aspects of the program.

Time to abide

Mt. Longonot crater rim

The first three weeks after I returned to Kenya kept us on our toes. Three weeks of in-country orientation for our young adults was about as intense for them as for us, with activities of some type every day. It has been a relief to take work and life at a more sustainable pace since mid-September. We had mundane things to catch up on in the office (turning in the monthly financial report, shepherding new project proposals through the next stage of development, meeting with each staff member for a check-in on their work). We have also taken some time out to bring back a bit more work-life balance in the past weeks, so I’ll focus on those things.

Paul had been saying for a couple of weeks that he really needed an outlet for all the pent-up stress of driving in Nairobi, and kept mentioning a deep urge to climb Mt. Longonot. I decided I'd better join in, and so we found a day when we could take the adventure together. We actually climbed to the rim of this dormant crater at one point last September, together with David – I found it incredibly difficult then, probably because I was coming down with COVID or something. Or maybe the pace set by our then-15-year-old was impossible for me to keep up with. I was a bit apprehensive about trying it again, but I still wanted to test my endurance.

Trail to the crater rim

This time, we planned better, getting out of the house before 7 am, armed with 2 L of Ceralyte (oral rehydration solution) and another 2 L of water each. We were very pleased with the ease of registering at the gate and the nice low fee for residents to enter the park. We started walking at 9 am and decided to really take the first hike to the rim slow. It is a very steep ascent – in some places, so steep and eroded that they needed to put in concrete stairs to help people actually make it up without sliding. Those stairs remind me of a famous quote: "My old enemy.... Stairs!" (Po, Kung-Fu Panda) 

Once you get to the crater rim, the view is absolutely breathtaking. Even in the dry season, with a very dusty trail, the crater itself is remarkably green and vibrant, and you can see all around the edge, rising up to the peak about 1/3 of the way around counterclockwise. 

Trail to the top

We decided to get the climbing over with first, and so we hiked that way, getting more and more intimidated by the steep-looking trail ahead of us. It was pretty extreme towards the end, but never actually dangerous or exposed to a cliff. That was quite a relief to me, because I have a pretty bad fear of heights, and we were literally walking on the rim of a crater with extreme drop-offs on either side. But the trail always felt wide enough, and most of the time, vegetation lined the trail, making it impossible to slip and fall.

Looking back at the summit

We made it up to the top of Mt. Longonot right around noon and took a few minutes to take some photos and enjoy the view, but didn’t really want to stop for long. Our hiking poles were essential as we had to negotiate the gravelly trails to descend much of the rest of the way around the crater. It was strange because the rim looked so flat and gentle from afar, but is really quite jagged with lots of ups and downs. Eventually, the trail flattened out for the final third of the circuit and we could just relax and walk and enjoy the views and the different, wonderful plants. I found myself singing (in my head!) all the hymns I know in praise of God’s creation.

easy trail and sailing clouds

“Thou rushing winds that art so strong,

ye clouds that sail in heaven along,

O praise him, Hallelujah!”

We did finally take a bit of a break to enjoy the view before making our descent. I must admit, I was really moving slowly at this point in the hike. It’s not easy to do a steep descent either – those stairs were definitely our best friends getting down the elevation. We eventually got back to our car after 7 hours total and made the slow drive back up the escarpment to home.

stop-motion set

We had left David at home that day because he had actually just started a huge chemistry project. His teacher invited all students to investigate a particular chemical process involved in climate change and explain it using some kind of creative media. He gave them lots of options: short-story, drawings, and comic strip. But David was the first student who ever volunteered to try a stop-motion video. He loves working with clay and sculpting things so it seemed like an excellent media to experience. Paul helped him find a phone app to make the filming easier, and then he spent most of that day designing his set, creating his characters and then doing the opening sequence. We kept getting text messages from him – do we have an easel? Where can I find a picture frame? Any more cardboard? 

Adjusting the facial expressions of photons

He sorted himself out in the end. He's figured out ways to make the filming less time-consuming, and continues to work on this project. But I'm sure he's spent at least 30 hours already. 

We also had a great time preparing and leading worship music that weekend, together with three other Kenyans. I’m so grateful that our family can participate in music together, and it was a very fun set of music on the theme of joining God in his mission to steward and honor creation (hence the hymns in my head).

One image of abiding

Back in May, I had been asked to lead the teaching at our church women’s retreat at the end of September. I decided at that point to focus on John 15, a passage that talks expressively about discipleship as abiding in Christ. I’d been thinking about it all summer and decided to preach on it back in Baltimore when invited. But the one preparation I hadn’t been able to do much of in August and September was the most important: actually spending some time abiding! I was able to take one comp day each week (for weekend days worked) to really rest. Only when I stopped did I realize how tired I was. I took 3 naps in one day on that first comp day! I enjoyed some good time reading in my hammock and just tried to spend some time not accomplishing much. I had a similar day the following week, with a solid nap in the middle and some good time entering into imaginative prayer. I realize that in our culture, it is an absolute fight to take time to simply abide and enjoy Sabbath. Which is why I’m mentioning it here. And even feeling some unholy shame about publicly saying that I took time off, recognizing that it is a privilege to be able to enjoy a day of rest. I think that's all wrong, but it's hard not to feel like dedication to productivity at all moments is the highest good. 

First warm morning light

Tigoni tea fields

As a result of all that resting, I actually felt extremely peaceful by the time the women’s retreat day came. In fact, I haven’t felt such a profound absence of anxiety for a long time. Paul very kindly offered to drive me up to Brackenhurst in the morning last Friday and we had time to take a walk together through the tea fields, remembering our early experiences with the Renew Conference. Then he drove home, and I was able to check in to a room early and get yet one more 2-hour afternoon nap while it bucketed rain outside.

I was so happy to be in that environment again, with all the flowers and sunbirds, and then to begin connecting with ladies from our church. I don’t know that many people very well, so it was such a good opportunity to go beyond the surface. In the end we had 50 women attend, with about half coming the night before. We had really good dinner conversations around a table and then a very effective ice breaker session that helped me know at least 10 women quite a lot better. It was too cold and rainy for a bonfire, but we were able to gather at an indoor stone fireplace and even make s’mores there.

Morning teaching session

In the morning, I got up early to enjoy the quiet of dawn and then I was ready to help the worship team with guitar accompaniment. The morning sessions went well and I appreciated how responsive people were to the teaching. We had time for group discussion and then an hour of individual reflection: yet another period to head back into the forest and enjoy the quiet and the wildflowers. I also led a more experiential session in the afternoon, trying to help people learn about imaginative prayer and stepping into a Gospel. I sometimes feel that it’s a stretch for people to use their imaginations so actively in seeking to meet with Jesus. But then I remember that the Jesuits have been growing in holiness this way for more than 500 years and I feel much more secure in the discipline.

All ended well for the retreat, and I was able to get a ride back home with another woman who arrived about when we did and enjoyed quite a good, deep conversation during that drive. I was grateful for that too. While I was away, Paul had gotten David organized and dropped him off for his 5-day service and learning school trip, so we had a little taste of the empty nest for a few days.

Men's worship band

While the women were on retreat, it was up to the men to come up with a worship band for Sunday morning. Paul also spent quite a while Saturday night going over banjo parts so he would be able to join Uyi, Shadrack, and David in the morning. They did a lovely job of leading very worshipful music. And Paul also led an extremely athletic children's song with motions later in the service. 

Over the past few weeks, we have also been able to reconnect with several different family friends from different seasons of life. We met up with Aaron and Frieda Jell from our Ethiopia bible study group as they passed through town, enjoying a nice Thai dinner with them. The next weekend, we got together with LeCrecia and her two youngest kids, who were good buddies of David from school and the youth group in Addis – their family actually was the one who very kindly drove David to school almost every day, so they learned to endure his banter along the way. And then the next day, Lena and Patrick, friends from our time in Arusha, came to visit our church and share lunch with us afterwards. They were in town for the normal Kenya errands, and it was so nice to see them after a couple of years. One thing for sure: everyone ends up in Nairobi sooner or later, so it’s a great place to live in order to meet up with all your old friends!

Bonus photos:

LVC women's retreat

Elvis, an MCC IVEPer, visited us at church

Brackenhurst wildflower

waterfall in the tea fields

David's first woodworking project

An evening with the Jells