The Hill Country

A new journey began this morning, as we headed for Sunday morning service in Limuru, about 45 minutes from Nairobi. Limuru Town Baptist Church would probably be considered Faustin's home church. He pastored there for several years, and still serves as a mentor for several pastors and elders who form the backbone of the church. He showed up at the hotel without Salome, who fell ill last night, and decided to take a day off, and without a driver, because once again, traffic prevented our usual driver from attending to us. So what I suspected would be a simple (and marginally boring) taxi ride became an authentic Kenyan extravaganza. First, we boarded a public bus. I was again disappointed that I didn't get to share foot space with pigs and elbow space with chickens while surrounded by a mob of shouting natives. We alighted in the middle of downtown, and walked for 10 minutes through the bustling city, scurrying across busy streets and darting in front of all kinds of very large vehicles moving very fast. We finally arrived at the matatu hive. I don't think it's officially a "station" as most of the taxi vans are privately run, but it seems to be a corner where they can always be found. The chaos of our early commute reached its climax here, as I certainly had my fill of shouting natives trying to coax us into their vans. We selected one headed for Limuru, and to my delight, I got to sit in front with the driver and one other guy. Soon we were barreling down country roads as if pursued by the fires of hell (our destination was heaven, after all, whether in the form of church or death in a tragic matatu accident). Limuru is up in a very lush area of rolling hills, just Northwest of Nairobi, so the drive is quite scenic. About half way there, the dude sitting between the driver and I got off, and we picked up another passenger. I slid over to the middle, not realizing that my right thigh would be sharing space with the shift lever for the remainder of the trip.

When we arrived in Limuru, we made a breakfast stop for Faustin, who hadn't eaten yet, and then walked to church. The service was already in full swing, blasting jubilantly through speakers cranked up far too loud, as is the fashion. Limuru Town Baptist is truly a church on a hill. Thanks in large part to Faustin's influence, this relatively small congregation is well respected by churches all around the area. This church is as welcoming as any church I have ever attended. I was excited to meet many of the friendly faces I had met during my previous visit, including one unfairly adorable little girl who was the subject of one of my favorite pictures from 2009. I almost didn't recognize her, until she smiled at me, and then didn't stop smiling for the rest of the day. Mike delivered an excellent message about prayer while I took pictures and entertained the children. After church, we were invited to another masterful display of Kenyan cooking and hospitality, put on by the pastor's wife, in their little apartment. The grace and obvious pastoral care showed by this family illustrate further why Limuru Town Baptist is so outstanding in the community.

Finally, we caught another matatu through the hill country to another city on a hill - ByGrace Childrens' Home. It really is a small city. Stephen and Rosemary Mbogo care for 27 orphans from the Mathare slum in Nairobi proper, and provide school for many more (that number may be outdated, as they may have inherited a few more since the last estimate I was given). I was very excited for phase two of my trip, and for some more fellowship with the team from Granada, fresh off the plane. Ok, so they weren't quite fresh. When we finally found the place (Faustin and Mike had never been there, and my knowledge of the countryside surrounding Nairobi is not what it once was), we weren't greeted by anyone we had expected to greet us. Gad, the Mbogos property manager and caretaker let us in the front gate, and we came upon a horde of children playing in the yard, but no other familiar faces. Stephen was off on one of his escapades, and the Granada team was asleep. We wandered into the guest quarters where we're to stay, and a few tired, but excited friends came out to greet us. Anita, Sandi, Terri, Emily, Mitch, Laura, and Conrad managed to stave of exhaustion for a while longer to see us. We toured the grounds for a while, watched the kids push each other around in giant iron wheelbarrows (what wonderful safe fun), and had some tea. It was Mike's only chance to see friends from church before he heads back home. As with TLAfrica and Limuru Town Baptist Church, it's clear that the ByGrace Childrens' Home is standing tall and strong. My view has changed, but I've just migrated from one hill to another.