September Newsletter - Sarah W. in Kenya

September 2007

Ecclesiastes 3:11 “He has made everything suitable for its time; moreover he has put a sense of past and future into their minds, yet they cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.”

On Sunday September 16 our group of Kenyan Young Adult Volunteers and Young Adults in Global Mission attended worship service at Nairobi Chapel, which is the local equivalent of a “mega church.” The minister who gave the message spent some time discussing Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, which says that for everything there is a time and season. He went on to further conclude that when we listen to God and trust Him everything is done in God’s time and according to His plan.
Since arriving in Kenya I have noticed differences in the concept of time. Downtown Nairobi is fast paced and somewhat over whelming at first. Just like any big city in the U.S. people are hurrying to their destinations down crowded sidewalks and congested streets. Matatus, the public transportation vans, zoom in and out of traffic blaring loud music as the attendants shout prices and destinations out the window to try and get more passengers on board. Business men and women walk at a fast pace and you either have to keep up with the flow or move out of the way. The fast pace of Nairobi contrasts greatly with the quiet and calmer atmosphere of Limuru; where our group of five volunteers spent two weeks during in-country orientation. During orientation we came to realize that time is somewhat of a relative thing. If you are supposed to be somewhere at 10am, arriving at 10:30 does not mean you are late. There is always enough time to stop and greet a friend and have a conversation with them.
I have learned to run on “God’s time” here in Kenya. I don’t stress out about being 10 minutes late because no one else does. And just like the minister at Nairobi Chapel stated, when I follow God’s time table everything works out perfectly. For instance I have started at my placement one week after most of the other volunteers. Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) did not have anyone to train me the week I was scheduled to start, so I was told to return the following week. At first this bothered me, I wanted to start right away like the others, but now that I have started I can see that God planned everything out much better than I could have. I began work at KWS at the same time that several Kenyan college students have started their internships there. I am working with Kenyan peers who are also new to KWS and I feel less awkward because I’m not the only new person. This has also allowed me to start friendships with Kenyans my own age and I’m slowly beginning to feel more a part of them and accepted by them. They are eager to teach me Kiswahili and to help me “become Kenyan.” I am seeing and realizing that God is already at work here and I am becoming slowly intertwined into His plan at my placement site. I have also learned that like Ecclesiastes mentions, I can not fully understand God’s timing or know what to expect. Just the other day three 2-week old cheetah cubs were brought to the orphanage at KWS and I was asked by one of the animal keepers to bottle feed them. The same day one of my new friends and I were asked to ride along with some KWS officers to drive through Nairobi National Park to survey and count rhinos. After such an amazing first week at my placement I don’t know what to expect in the up coming year. When one of my co-workers found out I would be here for an entire year he replied: “Aye ya! You’ll be a Kenyan!” I hope that he is right, because as I begin to see God here and as I try to follow His plan in His time I am realizing that there is no other place I would rather be at this point in my life and at this point in my walk with God than right here in Kenya.