What DO we DO?

The question that I get the most is: “The animal pictures are really nice and all, but didn’t you go to Kenya to be a missionary? What do you actually do?”

For the first year, we are forbidden – is that the right word? Yes, I think so forbidden from participating in ministry. The first year is to set you up for success in your missionary career. Language acquisition and culture learning. So what does that mean?

We spent the first four months in language school. We lived there, we had little contact with e-mail, Skype, telephone. There was no TV, no cable, no hot water. Just a big farm. We were surrounded with Kenyans and things happened almost every day where we had to learn a cultural lesson.

There were “handymen” or fundi who came by to try to fix the hot water, water overflowing, electricity stopping, or any other number of things. A lot of them had limited English skills. Trying to get through what you need with a limited knowledge of the language is frustrating at best. The lessons that we learned we huge. They disappeared for a month with no word only to find out that there had been a death in the family of the boss and he had to go up country to attend the service and mourn. I am as an American need, no demand information. I need to know. I was so frustrated, had this man just told me… Is that really the important part though? It didn’t change the fact that he was gone and wouldn’t be back anytime soon. They were right, for Americans, knowledge is power, but not everyone buys into that logic.

We learned how to drive while in school. On the other side of the road, missing donkeys, people pulling carts, people who have no idea how to drive. In the fog. This was another cultural lesson. In a cultural that is sporadic and unpredictable the driving is like the culture. Another American thing I have is logic and order. The progression of things. Once something starts, it will predictable end in X, Y and Z. I didn’t realize this was American.

This is common sense right? Come on. Help me justify myself here. No?!? When you live in a country racked with disease: TB, AIDS, Malaria, Polio. 1 out of every 10 children don’t make it to see age 5. The women who give birth have a 1 in 39 chance of dying in childbirth. Life is not predictable. Accidents happen. Often. There is no logic and order. People get hit by cars, they get burned and die from infection. How can there be predictability?

We began the process of learning to barter for goods. Not easy when you are haggling over 2¢. Just pay the 5 shillings and move on right? Nope. This is an important part of the culture. We learned which people to go to buy things for good prices. We also learned what “skin tax” is. Some things cost more because we are white. After a month in the market, it was easy to know who these people were because we had a good idea of the prices. We chose not to shop with those people. One day I was trying to buy a sheet from an older women. I was using my beautiful Kiswahili trying to find the base price to start with. She didn’t understand me. I was lost. I know I was saying the right thing, why was there a problem? She called a man over and talked to him quietly. She talked to me in English and he and I finished the transaction. I realized as I was walking away, she didn’t know Kiswahili or English, only her mother tongue!

To be continued…