Sojourners walking together . . . We’re all on a journey.

DeDe and I fly out in the morning (18 April) for Zambia.

We’ll spend the next month at the fabled “40/40 Bush Camp.”

The first two weeks we’ll be in the captial city of Lusaka.  The last two weeks will be split between tent-living in a remote area (Curt is pumped, DeDe less so.) and staying in a Zambian home.

We’re not sure how much we’ll be able to be in touch  through the internet.

We covet your prayers during this next part of our journey.

We’ll return from Zambia on May 18 and head to our home in Entebbe, Uganda.

 

 

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16April

Today, we leave the beautiful tea fields, flower farms, and kind people of the Kenyan Highlands.

DeDe and I are sojourners once again. Bound for Nairobi, then a month in Zambia.

It’ll be our eighth place to live since leaving Dry Creek.  That’s ironic due to the fact that we resided in the same house there for 28 years.

A sojourner is a person who travels from place to place.  Every stay is temporary.  The length of the stay may be days, weeks, or months.  But the sojourner knows it is for a while.

It’s an apt word for the Christian journey.  Followers of Jesus recognize that we are not of this world.  It is only our temporal home.

We’re here for a while but there’s more to come.

Sojourners.  That’s what we all are.

Enjoy your journey.  We’re enjoying ours.

Curt

There are so many traditions and habits I love about Africa.

Just like my home in America, there are things I’d change, but there are many more good things than bad.

Definitely, many more good people than bad.

African hospitality is probably my favorite.  There’s a built-in attention to kindness and politeness.  For every car-jacking in Nairobi, there are thousands of small daily doses of hospitality shown to others.  Especially to strangers like me.

When you visit the home of an African, they greet you warmly at the door.  Every “hodi” (hello/anyone home?) is met with a hearty “karibu” of welcome.  It’s heartfelt.

Then when you leave, your host(s) will escort you part of the way home.  Because Africa is a walking continent,  it’s side by side often all the way to your home.

They would never consider releasing you at the door or porch. It would be considered rude.

They even have a (long) word for it:  nitakusendekisha.  “I will walk a ways with you.”

In other words, I will walk beside you in friendship and companionship.

Not in front of you.

Nor behind you.

Beside you.  They’ll often grasp your hand as a sign of friendship.

Beside you.   Shoulder to shoulder  bega ya bega.

Heart to Heart    moyo kwa moyo.

Ni ta ku sende ki sha.   It’s a word I like.  I think I’ll keep it in my grammar toolbox.

I want that kind of hospitality– and friendship– to be a hallmark of my walk on this life-journey.

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