Our last weekend

That's right. It is really hard to believe and harder to say. We have finished our last weekend here.  I think the strategy for leaving is to kind of just fade away. There was not a whole lot going on and this week there isn't much going on either.  The fade away is kind of nice as this weekend gave us all time to reflect as will the rest of this week.  But of course, it is difficult too. No one is around the seminary so it is just this empty place and there is this conference going on on campus but we don't know our place with it so we are just kind of hanging around and waiting.  Thinking a lot which is both good and bad.  It is nice to reflect and to think that soon we will be with you but also chances are that most of us may not see this country again.  What a weird time. Really.

So this Saturday was really a giant lazy day.  All still a bit groggy from the vacation, we just laid around and talked, wrote and read a little and did some prep for the evangelist's conference.  I did get to count soap that they were going to give as a gift to the evangelists, but there was not enough.  Later we pinned paper to other paper and watched Amistad.  The movie was great. Made me want to read a book or something.  And, I mean I know that we have no idea about the real African experience, we have only lived here for three months, but actually knowing people did bring the movie a little closer.  Surprisingly so.  Parts were really quite difficult to watch not because of any greatness on our own part or disbelief about the capacity of humans to harm but because more people in the world have faces for us now.  

Sunday, we went to the prison near the campus Kignolwe or something close to that.  We worshipped with the inmates and the prison community and watched a class get confirmed.  This process, like many of the rituals here, was a bit more joyous than at home.  At home we sit very reserved and the confirmands, for the most part, could really not care any less than they do.  But here, they were given front row seats of honor and confirmed as they knelt, like normal.  But as soon as the announcement was made that the affirmation was complete, the congregation blew up.  People shouted and clapped and sang.  The families basically rushed the stage to pose for pictures.  The pastors let this go on for a little while but then had to step in once the insanity cooled a little.  It is things like this that I have gotten very used to that will be difficult to turn my back on.  There was also a baptism of this Masai inmate who was so happy we had come and called us friends of the Masai.  The inmates at the prisons we have visited have a whole different demeanor than those at home.  Now, I know that there are still huge abuses and problems in the justice system here. Every week there are reports of some Masai being beaten or another person being killed in prison, by either inmates or prison guards.  But I do not think this has happened recently at the prisons we have visited.  The inmates speak well of their rehabilitation and are learning life skills.  They are genuinely happy when they see us and are trusted, as much as seems prudent, around the families of workers and at church.  There are even tons of kids in these communities and no one is afraid.  The inmates take pride in the beautiful grounds and are even trusted with no gates.  That's right, there are no gates at the prisons we have been to.  A very different thing.  

After prison, we just waited for a job from Luka.  We are not sure what the boundaries are for our participation in the conference and don't want to overstep them but would really like to go to it.  No job came last night. I am sure, with the bit of a language barrier, we would have been more trouble than we were worth. But today I need to be sure to find Pr. Hafermann to ask what we are allowed to attend.  It will be nice to see all the evangelists one more time. Even stopping by for a few minutes yesterday lead us to reunite with so many friends we have met.  I hope the rest of the week is closer to that and we can get out of the room a little bit.  

In the evening Steve and I watched the Masai movie with Kadeghe, Moreto, Jimmy and a few friends from the conference.  Surprisingly, they really really liked it.  I thought it was good too.  There were a few hokey parts but Kadeghe and Moreto both thought there were definite accuracies in it. Like some do believe that the red god manifests himself in a lion.  And there is a blessing where the warriors have milk spit on them.  Well, alright.

I guess it was also nice yesterday to get some meditation time.  I did this so much in the beginning and it was one of my original goals but it kind of fell away.  It is things like this that I want to and really kind of need to bring home with me.  I wrote down ideas on how to bring the different attitude toward life and spirituality home with me in my little black notebook thing.  I will have to remember to look at those.

Ok, I am heading off. Still stuck in this weird place between here and home. Tim