Field Trips - Kenya Part Two
During the Amahoro Gathering earlier this month, the nonAfrican participants participated in field trips to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Each group spent a few days "on the ground" in a particular context and got a feel for what life in Africa is really like. Over the next several days, I'll be posting reflections by a participant from each group.
This second report is from Ashley Bunting. As Bob mentioned, the Kenya group split into two groups: one participated in the Theological Conversation at NEGST and the other spent time with a pastor in Kibera slum. Ashley Spent time with Pastor Edward in Kibera. Ashley Bunting lives and studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently completing a French diploma, and looking into graduate theology programs in Europe.
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Having returned from the Amahoro gathering only a week ago, many of the memories are still very present in my mind, and I’m glad to be able to share them with you.
Our first visits in Nairobi, Kenya, were to an AIDS testing center and a support group that met in a slum called Mtumba (meaning “second hand”). The seriousness, and at times the awkwardness, of these environments were almost inevitable, but everyone was also undoubtedly touched by this group of women who could stand, introduce themselves, and say, “I’m HIV positive, but my main concern right now is for my children…”
From there our group split into those visiting Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) and a nearby church, and those visiting City Harvest Church and its ministries: the AIDS support groups and the Kibera Community Center. Those who visited NEGST and the church nearby told us about the small groups of thoughtful and struggling people they met; these people are noticing very similar dysfunctional patterns in Christianity to those we in the West have noticed, and are clearing new paths for their communities to live in the ways of Jesus.
At the HIV/AIDS support groups we spent time with people, hearing the touching stories of what living with HIV/AIDS is like. Many of them are women who tested positive and were left by their husbands (who do not usually get tested); these women must figure out how to care for both themselves and their children. They are incredibly brave and resourceful, and because they have access to ARV’s (Anti-Retroviral drugs), they are able to set up micro-enterprises to support their communities. Several also expressed that they were grateful for City Harvest, as it was one of only a few churches that accept people living with HIV/AIDS.
Kibera (the slum featured in the film The Constant Gardener), is the second-largest slum in Africa, with as many as 1.2 million people living on one square mile of land. For me personally, the over-crowding and lack of sanitation meant breaking through a new threshold of the extreme poverty; I had never experienced anything quite like this before. But for 1.2 million people, Kibera is home, and many said they wouldn’t choose to leave if they could. One of the main themes of the conference was the “Evacuation Gospel” v. the “Transformation Gospel”, and this became real to me in a different way. I learned that the goal should not be to get people out of Kibera, but to transform Kibera, as the Community Center is doing. A school during the week and a church on the weekends, the Community Center serves to equip people both with education and with Hope.
The main emotion I’m left with after visiting Nairobi is one of Pride. I am so proud to be able to call Edward, Beatrice, Silvia, Theresia, Phyllis, Charles, Jine, Caarlie, Aaron, and countless others our brothers and sisters, knowing that they have so much strength and courage against the odds they face. They are the Kingdom Agents who are, as best as they know how, living lives in the Spirit of Jesus to give hope to the world around them.
This second report is from Ashley Bunting. As Bob mentioned, the Kenya group split into two groups: one participated in the Theological Conversation at NEGST and the other spent time with a pastor in Kibera slum. Ashley Spent time with Pastor Edward in Kibera. Ashley Bunting lives and studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently completing a French diploma, and looking into graduate theology programs in Europe.
Having returned from the Amahoro gathering only a week ago, many of the memories are still very present in my mind, and I’m glad to be able to share them with you.
Our first visits in Nairobi, Kenya, were to an AIDS testing center and a support group that met in a slum called Mtumba (meaning “second hand”). The seriousness, and at times the awkwardness, of these environments were almost inevitable, but everyone was also undoubtedly touched by this group of women who could stand, introduce themselves, and say, “I’m HIV positive, but my main concern right now is for my children…”
From there our group split into those visiting Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) and a nearby church, and those visiting City Harvest Church and its ministries: the AIDS support groups and the Kibera Community Center. Those who visited NEGST and the church nearby told us about the small groups of thoughtful and struggling people they met; these people are noticing very similar dysfunctional patterns in Christianity to those we in the West have noticed, and are clearing new paths for their communities to live in the ways of Jesus.
At the HIV/AIDS support groups we spent time with people, hearing the touching stories of what living with HIV/AIDS is like. Many of them are women who tested positive and were left by their husbands (who do not usually get tested); these women must figure out how to care for both themselves and their children. They are incredibly brave and resourceful, and because they have access to ARV’s (Anti-Retroviral drugs), they are able to set up micro-enterprises to support their communities. Several also expressed that they were grateful for City Harvest, as it was one of only a few churches that accept people living with HIV/AIDS.
Kibera (the slum featured in the film The Constant Gardener), is the second-largest slum in Africa, with as many as 1.2 million people living on one square mile of land. For me personally, the over-crowding and lack of sanitation meant breaking through a new threshold of the extreme poverty; I had never experienced anything quite like this before. But for 1.2 million people, Kibera is home, and many said they wouldn’t choose to leave if they could. One of the main themes of the conference was the “Evacuation Gospel” v. the “Transformation Gospel”, and this became real to me in a different way. I learned that the goal should not be to get people out of Kibera, but to transform Kibera, as the Community Center is doing. A school during the week and a church on the weekends, the Community Center serves to equip people both with education and with Hope.
The main emotion I’m left with after visiting Nairobi is one of Pride. I am so proud to be able to call Edward, Beatrice, Silvia, Theresia, Phyllis, Charles, Jine, Caarlie, Aaron, and countless others our brothers and sisters, knowing that they have so much strength and courage against the odds they face. They are the Kingdom Agents who are, as best as they know how, living lives in the Spirit of Jesus to give hope to the world around them.
posted by LukeMiller at 8:37 AM
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