Chupatis and Challenges

Our last day of Swahili ended just like any other day here in Kenya. We had one main event (Swahili lesson), followed by a 2 ½ hr. lunch at Java House (the Starbucks of Kenya where all the expats go to eat), then returning to Phyllis’ house for the afternoon to hang out, text others on our cell phones and watch movies (today, Troy), and finally having Joseph take us back to our place, Mountain View, where a short walk to the internet café leads to a five-minute turnaround because the connection is so bad the email page won’t load, so we return to reheat the dinner Phyllis’ helpers had prepared earlier in the day. Whew!

Yet today I decided (with some God-encouragement unbeknownst to me) to make things a little different. Instead of taking my plate into the dining room where the other wazungu were eating, I decided to eat on the island in the kitchen and learn how to make chupatis with the house helper, Dennis. An expert trained by his mother since the age of five, Dennis showed me step-by-step how to make the perfect chupati, which by the way is a thick, wheat-style tortilla eaten with rice and other soupy, bean and meat-like dishes. Soon afterwards Stanley, the other helper of the house, joined us. Somehow we got onto the topic of what it means to be an Israelite, the different ways of baptism, and how one comes to believe in the Word of God and Jesus. What could have been a fifteen minute meal and retreat to my room for playing guitar and cards, or even typing up my blog, turned into a magnificent and enthralling discussion ranging from Kenyan cooking to theological thinking. And I loved it!

I am continually amazed at how God continues to work in my life and the lives of those around me in intriguing and beautiful ways. Being open to these experiences, and putting myself in the company of others, especially Kenyans, has been a challenged-filled blessing. And I have enjoyed every moment of it. I find that I am most homesick when I am not putting myself out there to be challenged or simply to engage with these amazing people. When I cannot see God at work in myself, I can find God at work in others’ lives… and subsequently my own.