Sunday, May 12: We had a long and grueling, but uneventful
trip to Malindi, Kenya for the first leg of our training trip. The people there
are so warm and welcoming that it is a pleasure working with them. Most
are quite poor with many lacking electricity or running water. They live quite
austere lives but seem quite content. The education level is generally low, so
they struggled some with the workshop, one of our most difficult ones. But they
made gradual progress as we worked through many passages. Through it all
they remained happy and engaged. They definitely have a vision to pass the
training on, having set up 5 different locations. The leader, a bishop, has
grown so much since we lasted trained here 6 years ago. He is humble, engaged
and enthusiastic about what he is learning. He was not engaged previously
so it is a real joy to see him as he is now.
Edie had an interesting time
with the ladies. Her translator was difficult, not really knowing how to
translate. Edie had to ask her to pass on what she said for almost every
sentence. She also had a tendency to fall asleep, which hinders translation a
bit. At other times she decided to teach, but through it all Edie patiently
proceeded, and the women made great progress. We gave them all bibles since
many had none or had ones that were falling apart. We actually bought them
at a Muslim shop since it was cheapest. Go figure…
We will return one more time
in October to graduate the class. It will be bittersweet to finish there.
We travelled on to Sri Lanka
last Friday. We were a bit concerned about the situation here since the Easter
bombings, but things seem very calm and normal, other than there are no
European tourists around. I am so encouraged by this group and their grasp of
what we are trying to teach them. I preached this morning in our
coordinator’s church. Afterward his wife said she had seen his preaching change
and now she knew why. She said he preaches just like you do. What she
meant is that he works his way through a passage of scripture, teaching and
explaining it verse by verse.
We start the book of Habakkuk
today and I am looking forward to seeing how well they do.
Al
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