Friday, May 30, 2008

Friday, May 30, 2008

Laundry

I hurried off to find the Internet yesterday because I could not get it to work at Tangaza. In is about a 15-minute walk to a hotel. About 2 minutes before I got to the hotel it started to rain. I knew I could not make it back to Flora in time to get the clothes off of the clothes line, so I went ahead and sent my email.

When I got back all the clothes were wet. I left them dripping outside. At least the sky had cleared. This morning when I got up, the clothes were all still very damp. I prayed for sunshine. When I got back, almost all of the clothes were dry. Only my blue jeans and wool hiking socks are still outside. I felt an odd sense of accomplishment. They look basically clean, they smell alright, there are no obvious marks on them. I might be able to make this work.

Homework

I worked steadily after getting back to Flora until 6:30PM when I took a 10 minute nap. I got up and went to dinner. I end up sitting with two women who spoke no English. I thought I would finish and then join one of the other tables, but while drinking my second cup of tea I spilled it completely down my shirt and pants. I tried to make a dignified exit, but that is hard for me under normal circumstances.

I came back to the room and typed, read, worked on my research paper, wrote interview questions until about 12:30 AM.

Each night we have a process sheet that takes over an hour, but they are very interesting.

Three-legged stool

Today the early lecture was on Adulthood and Elderhood in African culture. One of the interesting stories was told by a woman about the way children are raised to respect the traditions of the community. In her tribe there is a specific three-legged stool that only elders are allowed to sit upon. If a young child sit upon the stool they will be scolded, if a child sits on such a stool they will receive strokes with cane,

if an adult who is not an elder sits on the stool they will be sent away from the community. They will be sent back to their mother’s home to be retrained and then fined for usurping the power of the community.

Britain’s Gulags

I learned about a dark chapter in Kenyan history today. The Mau Mau revolt of the late 50’ and 60’s. The British were extremely harsh in trying to put down this uprising. Eventually they held over 800,000 people in detention camps for upwards of 5 years. Lots of torture, lots of starvation, lots of evil. This is in the background of some of the land tensions that are going on even today.

Ghettos

Dr. Katola described the social changes that urbanization is bringing to African families. Based on African cultural values of hospitality, taboos of who can be under the same roof (a son-in-law cannot sleep under the same roof as his mother-in-law), and the expectations of wealth sharing have thrown families into crisis has increased the housing burden, and made it difficult for a person to make a living farming or working in the city.

We got out late so we missed prayer before lunch. Lunch was some rice and a chicken drumstick. Humble, but tasty.

Field Research

One of the features of the program is actually going to interview people about the topic of our research projects. Here is the report I will turn in next week:

Name of Field Assistant: Maurice Ogolla

Place Visited: Catholic University

Date and Time Spent: We left Tangaza at 12:50 and walked to the Catholic University. On the way we discussed my topic. We arrived at the Catholic University at 1:15 and met as went through my proposed questions for my first interview. We talked until 2:00 when my interview began. The Interview lasted 1:20 min. We then departed and walked to the Mattatu stand and I came back to Flora. I arrived here about 5:00 PM. I re-read my notes and typed them that evening.

Purpose of research: To discover the concept of reconciliation in African Culture in specific reference to the story of the Prodigal Son.

Description of experience. We had a delightful conversation with Peter Kiarie. He is a long time faculty member of the Catholic University. We met in his office. After introductions and pleasantries I introduced the topic of my inquiry and began by asking about the concept of original sin. Dr. Kiarie gave me an introduction to the creation story of the Kikuyu and its relationship to what a person is supposed to do. This served as a framework for understanding how a person would be out of step with others and therefore what requires reconciliation. We discussed the traditions of sin vomiting, the scapegoat, and purification. We also discussed the casting off ceremony in which a person is forced from the community. We talked about the punishment and cause of a person being exiled. We talked about the role of the father in making things right with a rebellious son. In particular I asked about an Elder running to greet a rebellious child. Dr. Kiarie, paused thought of this and then laughed. No, this would not happen in Kikuyu culture. The interview ended with a review of the importance of the community being one.

This sterile reporting can’t possibly contain the wealth of information I got during the interview. The things I learned were huge. I’m not sure if I am going to post them now or after I get to share them when I get home. Still thinking on these things.

Exercise

I am very concerned about staying in shape while here studying, but have not found a way to work out that is very effective. The compound is small and they have no treadmill. It is not safe for me to roam the streets at night. Also since I am frequently the only non-African I see, I keep wondering what it will look like if I start running down the street. I took the chance before dinner. I ran down the street, up to a pedestrian walkway that has steps leading over the road, and then ran back and forth across the road going up and down the stairs on either side. The air always feels polluted here, and it was worse being above the street, but I could tell that it got my heart racing. Then I walk, jogged back to the Flora. Not a perfect workout, but better than sitting all day.

Dinner

I had the most interesting dinner yet. I sat with my friend from Spain, a man from Germany who is building schools in the Sudan, and an Ethiopian Roman Catholic Priest.

Most of the food had onions so I just had potatoes and some egg dish. They brought some fruit after the meal was started and that was a first. It was peeled pineapple and OK.

The conversation was great. We talked about Spain (I had been to several places that we talked about together). We talked about Germany (he is from Munster, which in Baptist history is the center of the first massive persecution and execution of Baptists. He knew all about that, but told me he was not a threat). He told us about biking across S. America, twice. Each time he has spent 6 months and went over 11,000 km. He must be wealthy and healthy.

The Ethiopian priest was quiet until the end. I told him about our work and he got very excited. We talked for a few minutes. I started telling what I was learning. He confirmed every single thing I asked him about. It was as if I was describing the cultural situation in Ethiopia. We made an appointment for tomorrow and are going to spend more time together! I am going to interview him for my paper.

Homework.

I finished my first sort through the 3000 Henri Nouwen cards! This feels like a huge accomplishment. I am well on my way to structuring the spiritual devotional for 2009.

I wrote a paper, reviewed my interview notes, and typed this finishing about 10:30 and decided to call it quits and celebrate by watching a movie on my laptop.

Thursday, May 22 2008

Thursday May 28, 2008

Clothes Washing
I hit the spot where I could foresee that drying time would necessitate that I wash cloths. I went yesterday and bought laundry detergent. Last night I soaked my clothes in a basin. After breakfast I washed them in soapy water and then rinsed them.
When I first got here I was excited to see the sign for the laundry. Upon inspection I found that it was just a room with two sinks. I wish it had a wringer. I hung my clothes up inside because it had been raining. When I got back to Flora I moved them to the outside clotheslines, but I don’t have any clothespins.
I hope by tomorrow they will be dry.

To Tangaza
Today everything worked great. Then van was late picking me up, but I called them on my phone that now works, so I was OK. I got to class and we had four sessions today.

Session One. Leadership in African Society.
This was a very interesting talk by two different Africans on the principle of leadership in African culture. The core is that leadership is earned over time, it is based upon moral standing, it is based on perceived wisdom, and the person must be seen as just. Finally, the leadership is considered a sacred duty. There are few African countries were Kings or single leaders ever ruled until the modern era. Instead, elder councils are the norm. This means that what elders say is almost always followed and the communities await the decision of the elders. This is one of the primary reasons that Democracy has not flourished here.
They don’t have the concept of individual decision-making, it is almost all group consensus. They need to know the outcome to the election before the election, so they can know who to vote for.

The Pillars of Culture
Dr. Katola continued in my main course.
Two things stuck out for me today.
One, what we think of African culture makes a tremendous difference in decided what we want to do in African culture. He outlined different mission strategies. Most have been almost a direct attack on African culture insisting that to come to Christ one must reject African culture. The resistance to the movement is very strong in Africa.
Two, family relationships are very different. When he asked to the class to define security one of the Americans said, money. The Africans said family. The Africans can’t believe what they hear about the treatment of the Elderly in our country. They would say it is in human. They wonder how they could be put I homes to be away from family.
During our prayer time we made a long chain and did a chant that was in response to a lead singer. She sang a line and we responded, “I’m going to get on that train” She lead the long chain of people around the prayer area (Christian Conga Line). The train was conducted by Jesus and headed for heaven.

Political Crisis in Kenya
Many people were concerned early in the year when Kenya was in such turmoil. I have talked some of the students about it and it has been very hard on some of them. After lunch we had a lecture “The Present Economic and Political Situation in Kenya” by Odur Ong’wen. It was a fascinating description of the conflict, the election, and the background of the crisis. Primarily it is a land dispute that stems form the Colonization period in which huge areas of land we taken from the tribal people who are now displaced. It’s a huge mess and you could tell there was a lot of energy in the room. Worst of all the politician on both sides are some of the large land owners and don’t want to share their land.
The weirdest part is that during independence (1963) Britain left, gave them the country, and loaned them the money to buy the land back from the settlers that the British government had taken from the Kenyan people. They are still paying back this loan.
In addition America got caught in the turmoil. Some think that Obama was working with one side against the other.

Interesting People
I came back to Flora on the bus and had a great talk with a sister who is working in a neighboring country doing very similar things that we are doing in Ethiopia. She has two Ph.D.s and knew Henri Nouwen.
I also met Tom. He was a professor at the Berkeley School of Music in Boston for four years, but is now working on a Bible translation team, also in a neighboring country.

Wed. May 28

Wednesday, May 28, 2008.
At breakfast I met my friend from Spain (I thought eastern Europe, but was confused). His leg is already better and excited to leave here the middle of next week. I hope we will share some more meals together.
I ate fast, not because I needed to hurry, but because it just didn’t take long. Today it was bread and bologna. Well it looked like bologna, but didn’t smell as good. I had a piece of bread, jam and a cup of tea. Then I took pictures while I waited for the matatu (van) to pick me up at my front door. What a joy.
Traveling on public transport I have been advised to not carry anything that looks like it has value. They recommend wearing no jewelry, no watch, and no backpack. Keep your head down, down make too much noise, and blend in.

There is a banner in the courtyard that they must have hung knowing I was coming, “Whatever is good must be done well and quietly.” Do you know how hard it is for me to blend in?
Today, I was thrilled because I could take my camera and get some shots of the school and people. I also wanted to take some shots of the Flora Hostel and my room so that I could put them on a blog I was hoping to start.

Van to Tangaza
I packed up my camera and went to be near the gate at 7:30 AM which was 15 min. before I was told to be ready, but I didn’t want to miss the bus. At 7:45 AM I was pumped. At 8:00 AM I was concerned. Class starts at 8:30 AM and my best time to Tangaza has been 1 hour.

At 8:15 AM I abandoned my watching post, put my camera back in my room and headed for the bus. I walked on to the 111 immediately, but the traffic was worse than ever.

It took 24 minutes to the Karen. I jumped into the first Matttu I could find, but they will not leave until they get a full bus, so I walked on to campus at 9:15 AM (45 minutes late).
I was told that the driver got in trouble with the police. No one knew so we all just stood waiting and independently all of us made the decision to get to Tangaza the old way. I was the last to arrive, as I am the farthest away. I’m not sure why this is the case, but everyone else seems to be staying at some weird place that they have a connection to through their work in Africa. I constantly seem like the odd duck.
Because I was late yesterday, I missed the assignment I was supposed to bring today. I missed this morning and asked what I missed, but got little information. I bet I will find out tomorrow when I am unprepared for something else.

African Culture: An Overview
Dr Michael T. Kalola is my instructor. He has a beautiful English accent over a Swahili mother tongue. I thought at first I would not understand anything, but after about 10 minutes I got into the groove. We took notes like crazy. He is bright, funny and very helpful. They still have so much British influence that we stop mid morning for tea every day. Then we went back to class. We went steady until noon.
The class focused today on culture, what it means, and why people tend to think their culture is the best. I took five pages of tiny writing notes. My hand was tired. My brain was stretched and I’m still trying to deal with some of the implications.

Teeth
One of the weird examples he gave of culture had to do with recognizing significant biological events; in particular, the loss of first teeth. I immediately thought of our weird traditions with the tooth fairy. He asked the group if they could tells us their traditions. One group takes the teeth and the child must toss it backwards between their legs. In another group they take the first tooth and toss it toward the sun. Still another group is not interested in what happens to the tooth, but where it comes. If it is a top tooth, then they must marry a person whose first tooth also came in first in the top.
The question is which is better? Western society has often claimed that its ways are better, but in this game who has the upper hand? Can’t they all be equally valid? This then begins to apply to lots of opinions we have of Africans and African culture. I think this is going to be an area where I am going to be stretched.

Prayer
We had prayer together outside. This was so great. What a collection of more than 70 people from all over the world standing together praying. There were Christians of every stripe. I loved it. It was lead by one of the African assistants. It was so genuine and passionate. Heaven practice.
Lunch is a brief affair and modest, but not many onions so got a high score from me.

Library
We got huge amounts of reading assignments and so I went to the library to get the books. I have my new library card, something I always treasure. I got my books and headed to the computer lab.

Internet
The computers had not worked the first time, so it was so good to see them working and working as fast as at home. I read all the emails I got. That was like drinking in sunshine. This has been way harder emotionally than I ever imagined. I think they call it “culture shock.” Kind words went a long way to help right my boat. I had time to create a blog and will be able to add a few picture tomorrow.

Flora and phona
The van drove me back and promised to get me at 7:30AM. I told them I would only wait until 7:45 for a chance to actually make it to class on time. Then I went to get a SIM for my phone. It’s a long boring story of why I don’t have one, but the story of getting one here is brief and interesting. I went to the little shack next to the bus stop and bought one for what I think was $.50 that is fifty cents. Then I bought a calling card to “top it up.” I still can’t figure the money out yet, but I think I spent 5 dollars on that. I tested it and can text Cindy and make local calls. I am going to call he house late on Wed. to see how it works. (It will be 6:15 AM here and I will be getting ready for Thursday).

I took a walk of about 45 minutes. It was part work out and part mission to find soap to wash clothes. I felt like the family circus kid. Every chance I could I took steps sometimes making a circle to do them again. I think people might start calling me “Dances on Stairs.” I seem to be unique in the whole circuit around Flora. I did find soap and rewarded my self with a Coke light and some cashews.

I spent the rest of the night studying. It took me until 11:00PM to finish my homework. I had to write two papers, type the one I wrote yesterday and read multiple chapters from three different books.
I finished editing pictures and writing this about 12:00AM. It feels like graduate school for sure now.
Mind the Gap
Kyle

Tuesday May 27

First day of class

Last night I felt like any kid getting ready for the first day of class. I picked out what I wanted to wear, got everything out so that I could get dressed quickly and get to breakfast at 7:00am. I was told I needed to be at the bus stop close to 7:00 so that I would have no trouble to be at class when it started at 9:00.
I felt like a pro on day two. I went to the right mess hall. I got my food and shared a table with three delightful people. They were the first “strangers” on the trip who seemed open and interested in serious dialogue. They were interested in what I was doing and I them. I ate quickly and headed to the bus stop, but not before one of them said, “See you tonight.” It was amazing how a simple gesture of friendship was so meaningful.
Bus to Tangaza
I went to the bus stop and waited. Then I waited. I waited some more. I was given instructions to take the bus labeled “24.” Many buses came and went, none with the right designation. After 1 hour I began to get suspicious. Slowly and idea came to my mind.
“What if 24 does not run by this stop?”
I began to replay the journey from the previous day with Maurice, my research tutor. We had tried to come back on a 24, but it rerouted. He said that it was due to a different company running the bus, but a normal 24 would come to this spot. I decided at that moment he was wrong. No 24 came to this spot.
I knew immediately what I needed to do. I jumped on the next 111. This bus travels up and down Ngong road. Maurice and I had ridden this bus the day before. I needed to ride it to Karen. Essentially this is a suburb of Nairobi named after Karen Blixen, made famous by the movie Out of Africa. Immediately my nervousness set in, “Would I recognize the place to get off the bus?
I started to look both directions for landmarks, for funny shop names, for anything that I might lock into my brain so that I would know where to get off the bus. Fifteen minutes later we came to Karen. I did see things I knew and I ran the buzzer to get off.
I crossed to the spot where we caught the 24 the day before. After 1 hour and 15 minutes I had seen thousands of people only four of us where white. Now I was way out of Nairobi and I was fairly obvious. Taxi drivers wanted my business; the shop sellers wanted me, the Matatu* touts kept yelling for me to get into their vans.
I patiently and simple said, “No, I am waiting on the Citi Hoppa 24.” They would try to convince me that they were faster, better, here, but I just waited. Twenty minutes went by and then a 24 bus appeared. My mind screamed, “Victory.” I got on the bus and saw one of the white faces that I had noticed waiting by the side of the road while I was on the 111 bus.
The ticket man came and I told him I wanted to buy a ticket to Tangaza. He told me this 24 would not go that far, but I could get another 24 when the bus stopped. The girl behind me chimed in, this is not going to Tangaza? Sure enough in the middle of almost no where the bus stopped, they said they needed air in the tire, and we walked to the road and waited.
Eventually a Matatu came with the 24 sign in the window. By this time it was 9:00 and we were already late. Sarah, the other girl and I, jumped on the Mattata. It was fine. Not much competition meant a safer easier ride. We arrived at Tangaza college at 9:17.
*Matatu means ‘three’ and is they way they refer to a fleet of vans that are privately owned and run throughout the city. They mimic the official bus company routes. They are small vans, but can pack in 12-14 people. It is amazing. They also compete for passengers. Which means they drive like crazy to pass each other and get to the next bus stop first, where there are frequent yelling matches as people get on and off the vans. People do this in a hurry because they barely like to slow down. I was told by Maurice to get the city bus and avoid the Matatus.

The first person I met in the class was Sarah. She is just finished with college, from Bolivia where here Swiss parents are missionaries. English is her third language. These people always make me feel like a narrow minded American.
Class had started by the time we arrived. We missed the introductions, but through the day I pieced this information together. There are 35 students in the class and 35 research assistants. The majority of the students are from Africa and all of the assistants are Africans. There is a group of 5 students from Bolivia, Sarah is in this group. There is a group of three Americans who are Bible translators in the Sudan. There are two American Catholic nuns who are stationed in Kenya.
I have met Africans from Kenya and Nigeria and have been told that other countries are represented.

Class Orientation

The class is a simple but nice place. The bright African light makes artificial lighting seem strange. A picture of Kilimanjaro hangs on the front wall. The professors were incredible. I learned so many helpful things and they have been doing this class for about 28 years, so they have developed a great structure that has been tested and seems to work well. I can immediately see why I am in this course and how it is going to help our strategy for Ethiopia.

Most Interesting of the Day

African spirituality does not have the concept of ‘the fall of man’ in it. The idea of sin breaking the world and influencing God is not a natural concept nor easily communicated. They see the world as paradise. They believe God created it, and very few Africans are polytheists.

Tour of the City

We went on a general city tour to help orient us to the major locations around town. We saw the slums, the nice areas, the workshops that churn out the crafts, but the most interesting discussion was about polygamy. One of our guides is from a polygamist family. We talked about it for near an hour. One of his critiques of Western culture is that we believe in polygamy, but are not honest enough to say it. He says that many of our leaders have affairs, keep mistresses, and that many of our people divorce and remarry and that in effect we have serial polygamy.

The new bus schedule

They decided in the day to hire a bus to collect all of us and bring us to Tangaza! They will pick me up at 7:45am and should get me to class by 8:30am. This should make life easier. The driver took us home so that he could know where to pick us up.

Evenings at Flora
My desk is filled with work. I started by doing my homework reading and assignments for class (though it is not due until next Wed.). I took a nap of about 30 minutes with my head upon my desk (a skill I learned in Seminary). I still have to type it up, but it is finished. Then I started sorting my Henri Nouwen cards.
I have over 3000 note cards that I made during my dissertation. I began sorting through each of them and began grouping them into coherent piles. They will serve as the backbone for the devotional book I am trying to put together. As I slog through them the enormity of this task gets overwhelming, but I remember lessons learned while in the doctoral program, “Sit five more minutes and work.” I kept doing that until time for dinner.

I met my friend from this morning and we had a great time. One is here because it is next to a great hospital. Today they found that his leg infection is from a drug resistant bacteria and they figured out a drug to treat him. He was so happy. I think he might be Serbian, but it is hard to tell. Then I was quizzed by several about what I was doing and why. I tried to explain it, I think they eventually understood. Then our new table partner asked, “Are you from the South?”
“Yes, Texas and You?”
“Alabama.”
“Really? And what are you doing here?”
“I am on a Fulbright Scholarship studying the history of the colonization of Kenya.”
We had a great talk about the effects of the Western mindset in feeling superior to Africans during the period of colonization in the 1800s. He is a history student. He is staying here because he contracted Hepatitis in the field and was in the hospital for 4 weeks. His wife and son are here with him. His Fulbright has been extended a year because he has lost so much time to the unrest in Kenya and this illness. He is going to stay until September 2009.

Late Night

After dinner I studied for about an hour. Exercised by walking around the compound for about 20 minutes, then returned to studying until about 10:00. I started reading the book Grand Bob (My Father-in-law) gave to me. I could not put it down. Read till late. Watched the end of a movie on the laptop and finally fell asleep. Still not tired at night.

Mind the Gap

Kyle

Day 3

'Saturday Morning May 24.

I got up this morning expecting to spend the day with Buddy and Holly Young, but got thrown a curve. Buddy, who had just returned from Rio, got very sick. They were taking him to Dr./Hospital. So, I decided to audible.

Instead of going to the museum I had planned, it looked like the boys might be interested and I didn't want to do it twice, I decided to go for a hike. I had thought about it a couple of times before and had looked at some different hikes. I bought a hiking book at Paddington Station, ran back to my hotel, packed, and grabbed the Tube to Charring Cross. I was supposed to get a train to Winchelsea, but after buying the tickets the attendant told me that the station was closed today. I had to make a snap decision and decided to go to the end city of the hike and see if I could get a bus or a cab to the beginning of the hike. I bought a ticket to Hastings and got on with 4 minutes to spare. I read and re-read the description of the hike on the way down.

I especially liked this section, "In 50 metres you pass post 10 to take the leftmost fork (but not the next fork left in a further 10 metres), continuing on a wide grassy way uphill, your direction 225 degrees.". In the introduction to the book it says, "This book often gives the direction in degrees, when a change of path is encountered, so it might be worth buying a compass with a swivelling rim marked in degrees - although most novice walkers checking drafts of this book managed perfectly well without referring to either a map or a compass." I have my GPS so I am a little more confident, thought the word "most" is a little nerve wracking.

The train is now full of people. Almost all the seats are taken.

The Tube was filled with soccer hooligans-lots of yelling, lots of quick furtive looks by others in the walk ways. Since there had been trouble in Moscow this week after a lost match, I think people were a little more on edge.

I made it to Hastings. Then I figured I would get a bus to Winchelsea. This was not popular, nor expected. I got the impression that I might have been the first person to ask about this. I found the name on a bus route and asked the driver.
"Winchelsea by the sea or the town?"
I thought in my head, "I didn't know there was two."
I plaid stupid, because I was, and showed him my book. Another town was listed, Icklesham. He told me bus 100 went to Ickelsham. He told me the ticket was 2 pounds (about 4.00). I counted out my money and had 1.96. He waved me on the bus. Then we drove. It was a local bus, no other tourists on board. We drove some more. After a while I began to get concerned. Surely we had gotten to Icklesham. I tried to read road signs. None of the names appeared on the books terrible map.Then I caught sight of the word. Someone else got off. I got off the bus, the doors closed, and it sped away.l

Now you have gone and done it Kyle. Here I was standing in the middle of nowhere. I looked around. No signs, no stores, no people, the other guy who had gotten off the bus had disappeared. Even the street looked empty. I got the book out and read the description. I found two landmarks and realized I was in the exact right spot (I think). I tightened my boots, fixed my pack and headed back to Hastings which the book says was 9 miles.

I followed the first directions and got to an old church in the first ten minutes. I circled the church took some photos and then followed the directions in the book, except they made no sense. I tried different things, I started over three times. I back tracked, after 30 minutes I decided I need a new strategy. I had made no progress, The train had taken much longer than I expected it was later than I wanted it to be, I felt a little defeated, but was not even sure how to turn the process upside down and get the bus back to Hastings.

At the crest of the hill was a big windmill (Hog Mill) that Sir Paul (Beatles fame, lives in the area) paid to renovate. The book said I would be able to see it , but did not indicate I would go near it. I went straight for it. It was on a tall hill, there was a walking trail, 1066, that lead to it and even though it was headed in the wrong direction, I figured I could get my bearings and try to find a solution.

The view was beautiful. I could see the sea. I knew Hastings was on the ocean, I knew it was south of my location, so I decided to head across country to the sea and then turn down the coast to Hastings.

I put the book away and decided to trust my instincts. This was a little frightening as I have trusted them before and ended up in bad situations. I walked through beautiful farming country. They have all sorts of rules about allowing public access so I had no trouble getting through fields and over fences.

Eventually I started to see other hikers. I knew I was not on the right trail, but figured I was on a usable trail. I came to ocean and walk along its edge. I was only a few miles from Dover, so it is a place with rising cliffs, ocean spray, and soring gulls. I decided not to stop for 30 minutes and did that for about 2 hours until I made a brief stop to eat a bite. I had not seen any signs, but was sure by then that I was making good progress.

Then I found a trail leading in the general direction I wanted to go. I lead to a church. The church was open and for a donation they would allow people to go to the top of the tower. It was taller than expected and gave a great view of the sea and the towns and where I had come from. I could see my route. The book was trying to take me on the hypotenuse of a right angle, but not being able to find the trails I had gone the long way.

From the top of the tower I saw something, a radar station. I remembered reading about it in the book on the train. I got the book out again and scanned through the text until I found it. Somehow I had managed to find the trail I had intended to be on all day. I headed for the radar station and found myself in a beautiful park. I also found a park ranger. Because I despised the book by now I had put it up again and decided to go by feel and recommendation. I asked the Ranger the way to Hastings. He asked me if I had a map.
"No" I said sheepishly.
He pointed me to the headquarters and an older lady standing outside.
"She has a great map."
I went to get a map.
I asked her for directions to Hastings.
"The easy way or the hard way?"
Since I was training for Kili, I decided to take the hard way.

She tried to talk me out of it.
"It is up and down, and up and down, and up and down."

She gave me the map and pointed out the way. It was a terrible map. They had re-numbered the markers, it was vague at just the places it needed to be specific. I missed several turns, but kept making steady progress toward Hastings.

Eventually, I crested a hill and could see my destination. At the top of this last hill was a tower with a metal basket on it. It was used as a warning signal to alert the city of attack (Like the signal fires in the Lord of the Rings).

I walked into town followed my instincts and got near the train station where I got help from a friendly chap (I love the English). The train station had clean water, I had finished mine about a mile away from the city. I washed my face, gathered my things and got on the returning train where I am typing this update.

The conductor just announced that the train is shut down in front of us and we will have an hour delay and that buses are gong to be sent. Not much I can do, but wait and see.

I took my MP3 player with me, but never put it in. I started to listen for sounds.
Creaking Windmill
Wind in an orchard
A lamb calling for its mother
A swan noise, not melodious, but confronting.
Several friendly greetings
The sound of the waves against the rocks.
Children running and screaming away from the cold waves.
The sound of a baby carriages wheels being pulled through gravel.
Cars approaching cars receding.
A dog bark
Trees creaking in the wind
Twigs snapping as I walked on them
The wind whistling through the church tower.
The rhythmic thumping of my feet on the circular stairs of the church tower.
The whirling of the radar dish going round and round.
A small creek splashing out of a pipe.
My panting
My groaning
My voice, startling after several hours of solitude.
The sounds of carnival rides, children worn out, and arcade games

I didn't hear anything life altering, I just heard the world, it was beautiful.

Mind the Gap,

Kyle

Day 2

As I walked through the Subway station so many things were flowing through my head. First was the fluttering in my stomach. After such long planning this adventure is upon me, but part of me, a big part is ready to turn around, get on a plane, and come home.

For so long in my life I have lived with a very defined set of certainties. For elven years I have gotten up each day as the pastor of FBC Athens. I have to go back to the Spring of 1984 to identify even a vaguely uncertain time, but even then I was married, living at home, saving to buy a house, attending Seminary and preparing for ministry.

It has been along time since I have had to flex the muscles that help in the unknown. Trying to make sense of these feelings is uncomfortable, but I believe will be beneficial. Lots gets stripped away in the process.

It helps me know how much I define myself by my tasks, by my goals, and by my relationships to people, order, and routine. Already I can see that I need to spend more time feeling loved, accepting daily grace, being transformed by the sustaining presence of God.

I"m praying that all of these raw thoughts might help me be a better me, a better communicator.

All of these ideas were crowded around the thoughts and feelings of the surroundings. There is so much diversity in the subways. Hair styles, clothes, nationalities, clothes. There are happy people, sad people, incoherent people.

A group of boys came flowing through the corridor. They each had on blue blazers, stripped ties, white shirts. The were jostling to be next the the center boy. He was a bit taller than the rest. Like of flock of sparrows they wheeled around me and the others in the hall, forming, breaking apart, and then reforming into a ball.

I kept looking for Harry Potter, but he was nowhere to be seen.

It made me nostalgic for my school mates, for easier times, for the joys of recess. In part this was also the effect of sitting and talking with one of my best friends in High School, Holly Robinson Young.

I have this vivid memory of riding with her and Mark Wade in a car and all of us being silent. We had been friends for along time and on this moment we didn't have anything left to say. Holly said, "It is great to have good friends that you don't have to say anything to each other." It was the first time I remember feeling this absolute peace in a friendship and relationship.

She met me at Paddington Station. I told her we would meet at the statue of Paddington bear. I figured everyone knew it existed. She had never seen it. We have family photos sitting next to it. I had gotten there early to make sure I didn't miss Holly and Buddy. I scanned the train station waiting for them.

Then I saw Holly. She was talking to a policeman, I could tell she was trying to find the statue. Then our eyes met. We figured it has been eight years since we have seen each other (our 20 year high school reunion). Buddy had been delayed on his trip from Rio in Brazil. Holly and I headed for a place to eat.

At first we just walked. It was so much fun to begin to find a way to let the stories of a lifetime become shared moments. How to share without dominating the conversation, or boring the other person.

I listened to her tell about her professional triumphs. About the many places they have traveled, about the crushing workload, about the resolve to come back to the US (The have been gone for 10 years). We talked about extended family, helping others, and faith. She gave me updates on lots of our shared friends.

We had food at a Pub and then coffee at Starbucks. The only thing that could have made it better was more time. It made me treasure my friends all the more.

Day 1.5

I'm back on the train getting ready to head to London. I've just spent the day with Lawrence.

He seems so much better than last year. A number of trouble makers have left the church which is good and bad. It is good because he is more free to pursue God's vision for the church. It is bad because he has even less resources with which to do it.

Two important recent developments. One, Lawrence has met with the local Baptists and is beginning to gain traction in the association (not sure if that is what they call it, but its the right idea). The group of ministers in the area have written on his behalf to receive some money from the official Baptist world. His colleagues think he should be helped, now they are trying to work through their system to make that happen. I;m so proud for him. His diligence and faithfulness is beginning to pay off. In addition, he has met some of the former pastors of the church. They have told him of their difficulties at the church. Several of them did not get paid. The same trouble makers were at the church causing trouble years ago. He was encouraged by these talks.

I think he was a very successful pastor in Ghana and this struggle has been a very difficult blow to his ego. I think these pastor friends have helped him re-frame the trouble. It sounds so much like New Hope from my life. I would not wish it on anyone, but after surviving a place like it, a person has a deeper level of commitment and a stronger sense of calling.

Lastly, information for the future: The Jurys Inn Brighton has just opened. It is yards outside of the train station and has excellent rates. www.jurysinns.com. 101 Stroudley Rd. Brighton, BN1 4DJ, 44 (0) 127 386 2121. During the week is reasonable 56pounds, a little over 100 on weekends.

We had a coffee and then walked into town for him to get extra minutes on his phone. Their computers were not working so he was not able to get that done. Sarah was trying to reach him, but he missed her call. Eventually she called back. We were sitting on the rocky beach getting some sun and.she was coming to Brighton from the University where she is about the finish her final year for a Bachelors degree in renal nursing. She came and we got to sit together for about an hour and listen about their children. Their oldest is in the final year of high school and they are planning to send her to Ghana for college.

I asked why and they told me that the English schools are so focused on technology, that the children are learning to become lazy by depending on all the stuff around their lives. They think her education will be better in Ghana. They say it is better training for the mind when you have less technology to depend upon. It sounded just like me when I act surprised that kids in High School take calculators to class. We had to use slide rulers or paper.

We made plans to ask Bruce and Nancy Webb to come and do a marriage seminar and I will contact him when I get home.

When I get back to London I'm going to find a theater and see Indian Jones! I'm praying it is exciting enough to keep me awake.

Mind the Gap
Kyle