I was surrounded by ~ 60 people seated on metal folding chairs in a meeting hall on the edge of the property. All the windows and doors were opened (it was over 80 degrees – eat your heart out, friends back home), no PA system, portable projection system showing words on a blank wall. 5 people from at least 3 countries, black and white, led worship (friend Serge playing guitar). What impacted me throughout songs (some familiar, some in Swahili) was that I was worshiping and praying with people from virtually “every nation, tribe and tongue”. Only about 15% of us had white skin.Today, February 4th, is Liberation Day in Angola. Freedom… The worship leader’s focus was “freedom” provided us by God. Look up Romans 6:17-23 (“free from sin”, “free regarding righteousness”), Galatians 5:13 (“called to freedom”) and Hebrews 13:5-6 (“the LORD is my helper, I will not be afraid”).
We spent about 90 minutes singing to our God, hearing news of needs and praises from across Africa, and then spending time praying. It impacted me to be sitting in Africa, praying for Africa, with Africans. It also hit me hard to hear of attacks on praying believers in a church in Jos, Nigeria by young Muslims last year. Some were hurt, some killed, many homes destroyed and many people wandering homeless and hungry. Not free in the world’s eyes but free in Christ all the same. Though peace has tentatively returned, pray with us that the Christians there will forgive and that God will meet their physical needs.
To encourage group consensus and commitment (a smart move), Omonge had me present to the three other members of the IT (computer) team the different options for resolving an issue their organization felt pressed to remove. After analyzing the “whats” and “whys”, I had concluded that the issue was really a minor irritation and that the effort to correct this was better spent moving forward on absolutely mandatory projects. With one person mildly dissenting, everyone agreed to focus on more immediate tasks.
I’m extremely thankful for the spirit of unity and commitment. Coming as an outsider, with all the baggage of being from another culture and unconsciously insensitive, I know I need to be careful to not offend, especially when I’m coming to the opposite conclusion of what they had assumed all along needed to be done. Another way you can be praying for me.
We had another meeting after lunch to determine how to tackle the (now) highest priority, installing software on two new powerful servers and how to replace two existing but older/slower ones as efficiently as possible. We came up with a list of 12 areas and split them up among everyone. Because of needs to provide expertise, training and focus, my name is on quite a few of the tasks.
Equipment that has been stuck in customs has still not arrived and we’ve not heard back from Judith if she was successful in her attempts yesterday. One of the two new servers, critical for our work, is part of that equipment. We started installing operating system software on the remaining new server late this afternoon. Ran into a number of glitches. At the end of the day, just when I thought we has the server running and ready to apply security updates, I discovered that the CD I was handled, labeled “Windows Server 2003 R2” is apparently “Windows Server 2003”, something very different and not what we need. We will probably have to start over in the morning once Omonge can straighten out this confusion. This is not devastating… just a loss of probably 5 hours of important time.
Offsetting this disappointment, I was invited to a fancy hotel restaurant by Jeff and Heather who now work in Nairobi. I first met them at our Wycliffe orientation in Orlando back in November 2006 and, though aware that they’d been assigned to Kenya, hadn’t seen them since. I consider this dinner my first real time on Kenyan soil. Before this, I’d landed at the airport, been carried by car to the center, and first stepped on ground inside a protected, walled compound. I hadn’t had a chance or need to be outside since.
They drive on the wrong side of the road in Kenya, the sides are lined with pedestrians balancing items of all shapes and sizes on their heads, and there are often motorcycles dodging and weaving cars on the single lane roads. (Heather had seen a man balancing a 27” old-style TV on his head another time.) With bicycles sharing the road, often tentatively balanced with tall piles of goods behind the rider, plus cars hustling and turning… well, you get the idea.
It rained today (with some thunder) but people are glad since it’s needed. Brief periods but big drops. The rain didn’t help the deeply rutted dirt road just outside the center. Jeff said I’d hardly find a rougher road in the larger area compared to this example right in the capital. Reminded me of the off-road training I’d gotten at JAARS in 2008.
Well, I’m still waking up any time between 3 and 4 am and finding it hard to get back to sleep. Of course, by mid-evening I’m out of it.
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