Karibu Kenya #2:  Jetlag, roosters and kanisa.

                The last two mornings have consisted of me beating the rooster to the crow. Not that I haven’t enjoined the early morning hours of 4am. It allows for an early start to my tea drinking and privacy to fight off ants that have crept into my pajama pants overnight. Maybe that was too much information. Welcome to Africa!

                 Yesterday, I actually made it to 4:30 am and my grandpa and I were up together. We started talking about his younger days of when he was in the military and lived in Arizona working with planes. Then after leaving the military, he decided to go to Africa and print Bibles; that of course is where he fell in love with grandma. For some reason I can’t seem to get all the juicy details. They say they got to know each other going on long walks to the river and back. Minutes later, I got the over-told fictional version where grandpa says he found grandma in the jungles of Congo as he was swinging by on a vine and beating his chest.  I suppose after 60 years of marriage you are entitled to retell stories anyway you please.

 

                While Saturday was a blur with me falling into jetlag comas, Sunday was much more memorable. Church didn’t start until 3pm which gave me time to run to the store and pick up some toiletries for my stay. Before going into the shopping center, our car was searched by two guards; then, upon entering the grocery store we were wanded by another guard.  It’s disheartening to see how cautious people have to be because of the terrorist attacks that have occurred in the area.

 

                The drive to the kanisa (church) didn’t take long. After 15 minutes, Dan, our driver, pulled off the highway and began weaving through buildings until we arrived at a little tin building filled with plastic lawn chairs. My grandparents have been ministering to the people in Githarai for some time now. The small congregation of about 30 consists of several Congolese, in addition to other Kenyan members. It reminded me somewhat of the church I attended in the Dominican Republic aside from the fact that it was conducted entirely in Swahili. The first hour of singing began with songs in French for those who were Congolese and then switched to Swahili later on. It was quite nostalgic to hear their rhythmic clapping and voices praise our God. The singing is beautiful. I did my best to keep up with the songs but I can’t say that my rusty 12 year old Swahili was that advanced. Thank the Lord there was a printed songbook! Things went downhill for me once the sermon started. Have you ever jetlagged in a small church service where everyone can see you? I can officially say that I have. It was the hardest thing to keep my eyes open and I almost fell out of the plastic chair a couple of times. When I introduced myself to the church at the end of the service, I was sure to explain myself and apologize.  Grandma says that no one saw me dozing off, but I beg to differ.

 

                After service, I talked with several of the church members: DJ, Karina, Biamungu, Mama Joel, Hope and the list continues. Everyone was very welcoming and I did my best to introduce myself in Swahili. It has been frustrating trying to dig for words that I know are still buried in my mind. I keep responding in Spanish, which is nowhere near helpful-I just get more confusing stares.  While speaking has been a challenge, there is a small glimmer of hope since I can still understand about 70% of what is being said. Maybe my mouth will catch up with my ears in the next two months. Dinah, a lady who lives on the compound and works for my grandparents, is confident that it will come back. She keeps reminding me of how good my Swahili was when I was little-somewhat depressing to hear when you realize how much of your language was lost. Regardless, I am determined to stay the course with hopes of improving.

                It is finally 5:01am but the sun has yet to rise and still no sound from the rooster. He must be getting his beauty sleep today. I will probably be on breakfast patrol again this morning so I will need to start the coffee and tea. Until next time.