Christmas road-trip: Laban's party to celebrate being circumcised

Laban is the firstborn son of my friends, Nathan and Alice. For the 8.5 years I had my mud hut, they lived just a short distance down the hill. During those years, they had me over for dinner numerous times - always for chicken and ugali. Nathan also used to take care of my house whenever I was away.

Like many other Bukusu boys his age, Laban was circumcised a few months ago. It's typically done among this people group in August of every even-numbered year.

The following December (during the long school vacation), a celebration party is usually held. Friends and family bring gifts, and also bless the boys and pray for them.

Hannah and I were privileged to be in attendance at this special occasion in a village called Fafaral.

The event was held at Nathan and Alice's home, where they constructed a covering for the attendees.

The Bukusu are one of the Luhya sub-tribes; the Luhya are the third largest tribe in Kenya (after Kikuyu and Luo). They mostly live in the western part of Kenya. The Bukusu practice male circumcision, a traditional rite of passage for boys moving from childhood to adulthood. In their language, it's called khukhwingila, which whens means 'to enter'.

Traditionally it has been done outdoors, as a lengthy overnight event. The boys were circumcised in age-groups and the practice had a lot of traditional rituals associated with it. However, in modern times, more families are taking their boys to proper medical clinics for the procedure and the traditional beliefs are being replaced with a Christian viewpoint.

The party was held outside under the canopy. Those that didn't get seats, found a spot on the ground. Some folks hadn't seen each other for a long time, so there was a lot of joy. There was also lots of singing praise and worship songs. The music and the speeches were carried throughout the neighborhood with loud speakers.

There's always a special time for giving gifts, accompanied by lots of dancing and celebration. I gave Laban a new Bible; he was also given small cash gifts, a blanket, a large bunch of bananas, and this goat.

After the ceremony, everyone enjoyed a nice lunch and later - chai and mandazi (fried bread).

Laban's mom, Alice (middle foreground), and others enjoyed dancing and praising the Lord.

A bit part of any gathering in Kenya is speeches or 'saying a few words'. This is a small sample of those that greeted the crowd and addressed some comments to Laban: a 'mzee' (older gentleman), myself, Laban's young friend, a pastor friend of Nathan's, and Bishop (Nathan's older brother and Laban's uncle). 

It rained during the last part of the ceremony, so some people squeezed inside the house for lunch.

Others sat under the canopy.

Some found a spot wherever they could manage.

Proud parents and excellent host and hostess, Nathan and Alice

Jonas (Bishop and Nathan's oldest sister) who I had not seen for several years, and Laban

Just some of the many friends that came for the special occasion. I've known Pastor Job (center) for many years.

A few fun shots of the many children that attended

. . .

All of the photos were taken by my friend, Hannah, but I filmed the video clips.

Christmas road-trip: Visits with Mary's and Agnes' families

Edgar with Maggie and Damaris (two neices), and his son, Seth

A beautiful young girl, one of Mary's relatives

 

Seth with his mom, Eliza (Mama Manu)

Seems Robert and I ran out of things to talk about, while relaxing on his mom's veranda :)

Adu cooks ugali for lunch, to go with our duck

Duane built this detailed two-story house out of mud

He used modeling clay to make this person sitting on a couch eating food

Duane and Zach (on the right) with two of their cousins from Kocholiya

 

Adu and Tony show off their strength, by lifting their homemade set of barbells

All photos except the last two were taken by my friend, Hannah.

What I learned living cross-culturally as a Christian, written by Cindy Brandt

One of my favorite quotes regarding living cross-culturally is this one by Duane Elmer:

"Among the hardest tasks in life is to divest (rid or strip) ourselves of the culture we wear so comfortably."



I think the following piece, written by Cindy Brandt, does a good job examining this struggle:


What I learned living cross culturally as a Christian
We all wear a set of spectacles. Everyone does. Those lenses dictate the way we view life. They determine the habits we make, what to eat, when to sleep, when to marry, and how to work. They assign value to our lives, determining what is meaningful: family, faith, honor, love.

What I learned living cross culturally as a Christian is that you can see Jesus wearing different spectacles. You do not have to abandon your spectacles, or switch it out for a new one in order to find Jesus. You do not have to forsake the cultural values you were assigned at birth, taught by your parents, passed down by your ancestors, in order to know Jesus. No, you find Jesus by looking through them.

What I learned living cross culturally as a Christian is that some people have mistaken the Good News to be changing out the spectacles for new ones. We have reduced the Gospel to be an exchange of values and habits. What I have seen in both cultures I reside in, is that there are good values and bad values in both; we are differently good and differently bad. We are quite equally flawed, not one culture can claim superiority to teach the other much. As long as we believe we are the Bearer of Right Values, we will be pronouncing ill-informed judgment on other cultures because we have not yet learned to see God through their spectacles.

What I learned living cross culturally as a Christian is there is more than one right way to be Christian. When you see Jesus differently, your walk with Jesus is going to look differently. When people with different spectacles worship Jesus in the same way, it is likely because the dominant cultural narrative have subsumed the minority, often in the name of unity. They say that God is the same here, there, and everywhere, therefore if you follow God, you will look like me. Uniformity is a passive form of aggression. Homogeneity is coercing everyone to wear one pair of cultural lenses. It is leaving some people stripped of their core values, robbing them of dignity, leaving them without sight to see their way forward. It is perpetuating violence in the name of a nonviolent Jesus. The Good News is not that there are new spectacles we get to force upon other people’s faces. Jesus came wearing old spectacles, practicing Jewish laws, performing Jewish rituals.

What I learned living cross culturally as a Christian is that so much strife, across races, cultures, and nations, happen as a result of people being unaware of their spectacles, believing their worldview is the only right way to live. They begin to see others who live differently as evil or secular. That their way of living is uncivilized, less enlightened, sub-human. They refuse to believe that others also see God, that their lenses are just as clear, their view just as bright. That God reveals Jesus to everyone regardless of what culture they were raised in, no matter what color their skin.

What I learned living cross culturally as a Christian is that the Good News is the possibility for every tribe and nation to to participate in the life-giving, humanity affirming way of Jesus. When he taught us to love our enemies, he is showing us the way to honor a different way of doing life, to rest assure us all that every person is made in God’s image but situated to see God differently.

What I learned living cross culturally as a Christian is that the Gospel makes room for everyone, those who wear this set of lenses or that. It is Good News, indeed, that not any of us possess the singular image of God, that we only see a partial view, so that we spend our lives inviting more people to our table, to sit, eat, and tell us what they see.

Cindy was raised cross culturally, married cross-culturally, worked cross-culturally, and is raising her kids cross-culturally. She is grateful to be privileged with a unique vantage point - like she has been given two sets of spectacles in a world where most people wear only one.

Cindy writes at cindywords.com

Carols by Candlelight: an annual event for the community, hosted by Karen Vineyard Church

Everyone always looks forward to this wonderful annual event. Folks from all walks of life gather at the Karen Blixen Museum around late afternoon. Carrying blankets, chairs, and picnic meals, they find a spot on the beautiful grassy compound. Soon the event starts as we all join in singing traditional Christmas carols. As the sun sets, we light our candles and sing 'Silent Night'.

Note: All of these lovely photos were taken by my friend, Hannah

Jamhuri Day picnic at Uhuru Park

Once again, I gathered a few friends for a picnic on a national holiday in Kenya. Jamhuri Day 2014 was Kenya's 51st year of celebrating their independence. The weather was great and we had a nice time of leisure and conversation amongst many other folks.

Joy and Jasmine enjoyed the merry-go-round and several of us rode paddle boats on the lagoon. Linet had her toenails painted by Francis, a quite charming nail technician and most of us enjoyed an ice cream cone. Just as we've done at every picnic at Uhuru park, we shared our meal with a hungry - but grateful - street boy.

Emmanuel, Jim, Jeremy, and Derrick

Jennifer, Esther, Joy, and me

Joy is on the creme-colored horse and Jasmine is on the yellow one.

Joy

Jasmine

Jim

I guess I was enjoying myself too much to get photos of Carol, Linet, and Hannah.

Great weekend get-away; Champagne Ridge

In November, a few of us from my homegroup spent the weekend at Rongi Saba house in an area called Champagne Ridge. We were just on the edge of an escarpment overlooking the vast Great Rift Valley 3,000 feet below us. We had stunning views throughout our time there.

I cycled the 25 miles (40 kilometers) from my house in Ngong town to our destination. Half of the trip was on rough roads and most of it was quite hilly terrain. I enjoyed the adventure, challenge, and solitude.

Here's a section of flat roads, basically in 'the middle of nowhere'.

Acacia trees grow all around the area. As luck would have it, I got a puncture from one of the thorns.

In the evening, we played a fun game of Scrabble and had a nice fire going.

I got up early in the morning and enjoyed some chai out on the veranda.

God gifted us with this absolutely stunning sunset!

Homegroup weekend at Savage Wilderness Camp

Anna, Lyz, and I in front of Mission Falls

In September, a few of us from my homegroup spent a weekend at Savage Wilderness Camp. We had a nice time hiking in the area and enjoying each others company. It's always great to get away from the hustle and bustle of the big city and enjoy God's out-of-doors.

Martha and her son, Tendo, enjoyed the pool

Our tents for the weekend

The falls from a different perspective

Rice paddies in the area

A beautiful sunrise across the valley, during an early morning walk with Anna