Life on Mount Elgon
The last couple of weeks I have spent on the side of the largest mountain in the world, Mt. Elgon. It’s not the tallest 14,000ft nor is it the highest but it’s the most massive mountain in the world. It is home to many people who dwell and farm its beautiful slopes. It is also home to my friend Chris Allison and his family. Sitting on top of one of the hills that makes up the mountain at 7000ft is a small house by American standards but huge by Mt Elgon standards. There is running water, but you cant drink it. Sometimes it’s even warm. There is a solar panel on the roof that collects what little electricity they have. It’s 2 hours from the nearest city complete with paved streets and electricity. Kitale town is where I write this update. Just in case you’ve been wondering what I do here in Africa I have tried to give you an idea of a typical day on Mt Elgon.
I wake up every morning before the sun rises to the obnoxious squall of the ibis (a bird) that must have built its nest right outside the window. I think the ibis wakes up the rooster who in turn wakes up the cows and the donkeys. In a matter of seconds there is a symphony of animal sounds resonating through the window. If all this did not happen every morning I don’t think that the sun would know that it's time to come up yet. I get up and walk into the kitchen where Janet Allison is already up cutting fresh fruit from the orchard in the backyard. Breakfast consists of fruit and any sort of bread you can imagine that is made with fruit.
Mornings are usually pretty relaxed if it is one of those mornings we don’t have to travel very far to get to the village. In this lazy morning time without much electricity to spare I've found plenty of time to read and have attempted to learn a little more Swahili. I actually picked up Wuthering Heights off the bookshelf for no apparent reason. I guess I was just curious as to what it was about. Now I'm hooked. It's a very strange book. I am often looking forward to the time that I can get back to reading it. I wish I could write in the elegant style of books of that time. Writing these days, with TV and email has gotten so relaxed, precise and action packed. It seems people don’t take time to write about observations, relationships, and those sorts of things... Perhaps I just read the wrong books. At least for me it’s something different.
Oops, I just got sidetracked. As I was saying, often mornings are very relaxed here on the mountain. But that is not always the case. Some mornings just after breakfast we pack up and hike to some village that is about 5 or 6 miles away and about 1500 feet higher. There are not roads to all the villages that we visit. Sometimes there is not even a trail to speak of and we have to hike through some cornfield. It seems no matter how early we leave it always takes longer than we expect to get to our destination. We end up dodging herds of cattle and then find that the bridge is out. Then we run into somebody who sees white people and wants advice about a sick mule or something.
As we climb the air gets thinner and the sky turns a darker shade of blue. Breathing becomes much harder and steps become shorter and I feel as if I take two steps back for every step forward. It’s at this point when my heart is racing and my asthma is causing intense pain in my lungs that I begin to wonder what in the world I’m doing here. But then I remember that if I think I’m traveling a long way, there are several Kenyans who are traveling even farther just because they know I’m coming.
When we arrive (late) at the church we are still the first to arrive. Some churches meet in the shadow of a tree or in the home of a member. Some churches are privileged enough to have a church building but they are not as common. So, someone welcomes and we sit and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait… Eventually people will start coming in. It is customary for everyone to greet everyone else. So greetings last a good 30 minutes or so.
As we sit and mingle the designated song leader will shout out the first couple words to a song. The congregation will then repeat what the song leader just sang. In the short time it takes them to sing that he gets to make up the next verse of the song. Many of the songs consist of simple little statements like “You’re the only one,” “Jesus is mine” or “Jesus is number moja (one). Many of the Christians are not literate and could not read out of a songbook if they had one. Although they are not literate they are not stupid. They can memorize much more than you or I ever could and a whole lot faster too.
During the preaching I get to listen to bla bla bla bla for about four hours. I have learned a little Swahili but the people preach in Sabaot so I don’t understand a word that is being said. Every man in the church would love to take the chance to preach if he had the opportunity and sometimes it seems like every man does. If it’s on a Sunday they often ask me to preach for the Lord’s Supper or giving. And yes, they have a sermon before each one. So every Sunday there will be at least three sermons but probably more.
It is only proper to feed any guests that one might have in this culture. Remember that fruit I had for breakfast? Well it’s 4:00 or so before I get lunch. And when I get it in the village it is usually the epitome of bland food, fried plantains, all kinds of beans, potatoes, as well as other strange vegetation. I try to eat a little and smile while I do so.
Then we get to take the hike back to the house. Fortunately most of the time it’s downhill on the way back. We will get back just before the sun sets. At least we always hope too. Nighttime is fun because the solar panels have been collecting sunlight all day so there is a little bit of electricity in the batteries to do something fun on the apple computer that is older than I am or watch a video on a TV from the same time period. If we are lucky we will finish the movie without the electricity running out. I go to bed at "missionary midnight" 9:00 and then the day starts over again at 5:30 or so. depending on that stupid ibis.
Well that may give you an idea of what I’m up too. On the 19th of June we will go to Mozambique. Hopefully I’ll get one more update in before then.
I wake up every morning before the sun rises to the obnoxious squall of the ibis (a bird) that must have built its nest right outside the window. I think the ibis wakes up the rooster who in turn wakes up the cows and the donkeys. In a matter of seconds there is a symphony of animal sounds resonating through the window. If all this did not happen every morning I don’t think that the sun would know that it's time to come up yet. I get up and walk into the kitchen where Janet Allison is already up cutting fresh fruit from the orchard in the backyard. Breakfast consists of fruit and any sort of bread you can imagine that is made with fruit.
Mornings are usually pretty relaxed if it is one of those mornings we don’t have to travel very far to get to the village. In this lazy morning time without much electricity to spare I've found plenty of time to read and have attempted to learn a little more Swahili. I actually picked up Wuthering Heights off the bookshelf for no apparent reason. I guess I was just curious as to what it was about. Now I'm hooked. It's a very strange book. I am often looking forward to the time that I can get back to reading it. I wish I could write in the elegant style of books of that time. Writing these days, with TV and email has gotten so relaxed, precise and action packed. It seems people don’t take time to write about observations, relationships, and those sorts of things... Perhaps I just read the wrong books. At least for me it’s something different.
Oops, I just got sidetracked. As I was saying, often mornings are very relaxed here on the mountain. But that is not always the case. Some mornings just after breakfast we pack up and hike to some village that is about 5 or 6 miles away and about 1500 feet higher. There are not roads to all the villages that we visit. Sometimes there is not even a trail to speak of and we have to hike through some cornfield. It seems no matter how early we leave it always takes longer than we expect to get to our destination. We end up dodging herds of cattle and then find that the bridge is out. Then we run into somebody who sees white people and wants advice about a sick mule or something.
As we climb the air gets thinner and the sky turns a darker shade of blue. Breathing becomes much harder and steps become shorter and I feel as if I take two steps back for every step forward. It’s at this point when my heart is racing and my asthma is causing intense pain in my lungs that I begin to wonder what in the world I’m doing here. But then I remember that if I think I’m traveling a long way, there are several Kenyans who are traveling even farther just because they know I’m coming.
When we arrive (late) at the church we are still the first to arrive. Some churches meet in the shadow of a tree or in the home of a member. Some churches are privileged enough to have a church building but they are not as common. So, someone welcomes and we sit and wait, and wait, and wait, and wait… Eventually people will start coming in. It is customary for everyone to greet everyone else. So greetings last a good 30 minutes or so.
As we sit and mingle the designated song leader will shout out the first couple words to a song. The congregation will then repeat what the song leader just sang. In the short time it takes them to sing that he gets to make up the next verse of the song. Many of the songs consist of simple little statements like “You’re the only one,” “Jesus is mine” or “Jesus is number moja (one). Many of the Christians are not literate and could not read out of a songbook if they had one. Although they are not literate they are not stupid. They can memorize much more than you or I ever could and a whole lot faster too.
During the preaching I get to listen to bla bla bla bla for about four hours. I have learned a little Swahili but the people preach in Sabaot so I don’t understand a word that is being said. Every man in the church would love to take the chance to preach if he had the opportunity and sometimes it seems like every man does. If it’s on a Sunday they often ask me to preach for the Lord’s Supper or giving. And yes, they have a sermon before each one. So every Sunday there will be at least three sermons but probably more.
It is only proper to feed any guests that one might have in this culture. Remember that fruit I had for breakfast? Well it’s 4:00 or so before I get lunch. And when I get it in the village it is usually the epitome of bland food, fried plantains, all kinds of beans, potatoes, as well as other strange vegetation. I try to eat a little and smile while I do so.
Then we get to take the hike back to the house. Fortunately most of the time it’s downhill on the way back. We will get back just before the sun sets. At least we always hope too. Nighttime is fun because the solar panels have been collecting sunlight all day so there is a little bit of electricity in the batteries to do something fun on the apple computer that is older than I am or watch a video on a TV from the same time period. If we are lucky we will finish the movie without the electricity running out. I go to bed at "missionary midnight" 9:00 and then the day starts over again at 5:30 or so. depending on that stupid ibis.
Well that may give you an idea of what I’m up too. On the 19th of June we will go to Mozambique. Hopefully I’ll get one more update in before then.
Hi there! It is so exciting to hear from you from all the way over there. Your story sounded so interesting, and you have such an interesting and simple way of putting things. I'm really sorry about the annoying ibis, but I think I would rather wake up to an ibis than to a disonant alarm hahaha.
I'm so glad that you are having a good experience there, and getting to see all these new places, things, and people that I have never seen before. You are so blessed to be able to be there ^.^
Posted by Anonymous | 12:06 AM