Out of Africa

Cat and I went to Kenya at the end of May and stayed through the middle of June. We were part of a team of fourteen from my church that went to help complete the construction of a building. The building is a residence for women students of the Kenya Baptist Theological College in Limuru.
None of us are professional tradesmen; we are just Americans, so when there is a task at hand, we ask, "How can I learn to do that?" That is not the Kenyan way. In Kenya, people do the work for which they are trained. A butcher with a stuck doorknob calls someone to fix it. He does not start meddling around with him screwdriver. So when our non-professional team arrived to work with fourteen Kenyan skilled laborers, it took some adjustment.They thought we were going to tell them what to do and we thought they would tell us what to do. Eventually we got past being deferential and began to enjoy learning from one another and joking with each other.
Francis, a devoted Christian, was the Kenyan foreman. Here's an example of his way with me (whom he addressed as "Bwana").
"Bwana David, it is getting late now; we are almost at the end of the day. I was going to suggest that you might spend your time working on the wardrobes rather than cutting this trim, because we can do that ourselves. But it is too late in the day to suggest that, so I will not suggest that you work on the wardrobes. Is that OK?" By this Francis was telling me that he would much prefer me to complete the wardrobes, but he did not want to boss me around. I promptly attended to the wardrobes.
I will have more to say about the Kenya trip. Let me close this entry with the observation that the Kenyan workers gathered each morning before the start of the day to stand in a circle holding hands and to pray. They thanked God that he had given them the opportunity to work on this building. They prayed that they would carry out their responsibilities with integrity. They prayed for their brothers and sisters from America who had come all this way to work together with them. I do not doubt that they are praying for us now that we have returned. They know what prayer is about.