ABO in Machakos, Kenya

Traveling to Machakos...7 people in the back of a Land Cruiser

After hours of traveling, days of resting, and minutes of flurried computer activity, my first three weeks in Africa was spent in Machakos, Kenya sitting at a desk, studying. (That's right... the teacher had to go to class!) Our fearless leaders, Lauren and Donna, discussed culture, African worldview, different religions seen in Africa and the value of learning a language with us. We also studied safety and security in "Nai-robbery" versus a remote village and in an I$lamic culture versus an animistic African culture. We all found out that Africa is very different from a Western culture!! (I know, big shock...) For example: In America, you go to the bank and everybody lines up. You file through red velvet ropes, in an orderly fashion, waiting until the person in front of you is finished at the counter before you step up. In an African society, there is no such thing as a line. If you are finished, the next person who is ready steps up to the counter. This may or may not be the person who arrived next. This may or may not be you or the person standing in front of you. You may have gotten to the building first, but you may be the last person to be served. There is no such thing as a line (or "queue" to my lovely "great British" friends) in Africa! and since we live here...we have to be the ones to learn to adjust!

Jeanette teaching Western Children an African dance on Cultural Night

But the real main purpose of ABO (Africa Based Orientation) was RELATIONSHIPS! We were living in dorms with students from all over Africa, meeting with from all over the world. The woman I led worship with is from Germany, the woman I shared my colored pencils with during class is from South Africa, and one of my roommates in Nairobi was from Northern Ireland. We are all serving in different parts of Africa as well. My roommate in Machakos is living in the desert in Northern Kenya. Two of the girls from the dorm are serving with Mu$lims in Nairobi, and a bunch of us have been called to teach TCKs (Third Culture Kids) both in Kenya and Tanzania. It was awesome to be around so many like minded people! 52 people, one heart to serve! and we learned so much about African culture...

Andrea (from Germany), Naomi (from Northern Ireland) and Me on "Safari"

One of the last nights we were there, one of my African dorm mates arranged a cultural night. She had each one of us do a presentation from our respective cultures. We had African songs and dances from MANY different tribes, American worship songs, Irish jigs and stories, and John 3:16 recited in over 15 different languages! It was amazing!

The Scott choir performing on Cultural Night

We also had "work" to do. Each Sunday, we had to attend a different service in the area. This was to give us a first hand look at how Africans worship and the different ways that "church" can look. The first two weeks, my partner, Candace and I went to Machakos Primary Academy where we taught the "junior high" (Primary grades 7 and 8) sunday school class. It was a mixed group of boys and girls who boarded at the school. We had so much fun! Their praise team began each service with acapella singing, dancing and clapping. It was so much fun to watch these 12 and 13 year olds be so uninhibited!

The last week I went with a group of girls to Maasii Boys School. (It's a Primary and Secondary boarding school for Boys...obviously.) These young men are amazing... and truly love hip hop and rap!! Their praise team began with acapella singing, then two of the older boys got up and had a competition... who could write the best rap song! All of the lyrics were written as praise songs, but the beat was entirely Hip Hop! It was amazing to watch 200 young men pump their fists in the air and sing and dance to lyrics like, "Today I'm gonna pray" and "Am I gonna make sin a habit? No!"

We also had many different sessions where we learned more about I$lam. We even visited a Mosque one afternoon.

Ready to visit the Mosque!

The evenings that we weren't in class afforded us time to bond with each other and explore some of Machakos. But those pictures will have to be saved until tomorrow...