During my day in Kenya, I spent two weeks with the pastor in the village of Kabuku. It happened to be at the time when the Diocese of Mount Kenya South was celebrating the one hundred-year anniversary of the arrival of the first Anglican missionaries in the area. The first station in Kikuyuland was founded in Kabete in 1900, and the people still refer to it as the mother church.
To kick off the mission, a luncheon was held in Kabete with representatives from each of the 82 parishes. Each parish then sent six missionaries to spread the Gospel in a parish unfamiliar to them. The theme of the week-long venture was John 1:1-13: “the light shines in the darkness.” From the words spoken at Kabete, I gathered that there was a general feeling that life is a struggle against evil and that one needs God’s grace to overcome it.
I was paired with a Christian woman named Mercy, and we went door to door in a small village. At one of the homes we attended, the people were busy working in the fields, with each family member contributing to the work effort. Once we introduced ourselves, however, they all put down their tools, shook our hands, and invited us to have a seat. Mercy read from the Gospel of John and then the family asked if they could say a prayer for me. They felt it an honour to pray for my safety while visiting their country and on my return flight to Canada. It was quite apparent that members of the Kenyan Church have a strong sense of fellowship in prayer, and they love to pray for one another.
Everyone we met that day happened to be a Christian, though from a number of denominations. Although I felt slightly uncomfortable going from home to home at first, all the people that we met opened their homes and hearts to us. It was quite the experience.
