Kenya: Chapter 1 'Stereotypes'

I have a bone to pick with the media and the church.

As I prepared myself for this trip, I tried to go in with 0 expectations. We didn’t have a clear itinerary so I was trying to prepare myself for anything. My main goal was to not put God in a box - to let him speak to me and through me in whatever ways he wanted to. I understood that while many people would go on this trip with the main goal to hang out with the kids we met, I knew that the hidden mission would be to build relationships with the students at Africa Nazarene University - where we were staying. I was determined to stay out of any drama that might arise and try to be kind and bring peace in whatever stressful situations we found ourselves in. I thought I was ready for anything. I was not.

Nairobi did NOT look like I thought it would. It was NOT devastating poverty as soon as we left the airport but rather paved roads, bridges, and tall skyscrapers that looked just like the ones back home. I cried quietly as we drove to ANU, embarrassed that while I had not put God in a box, I had put Africa and Kenya in one. I expected to be living in buildings that were just a little nicer than lean-to shelters. I did not expect the buildings at ANU to have multiple levels. I expected dirt floors. I did not expect it to feel like home. I was wrong. As we walked into the work and witness apartment flats we would be staying in, I was even more surprised as I was encountered with a smell that was very familiar - the room smelled like my Abuela’s house in Puerto Rico (I cried again lol). ANU felt like home from the second we stepped on campus - because it was … and it is.

Stereotypes of Kenya were not the only ones challenged and broken on this trip. God broke down stereotypes of America too. On May 16 Janice, Jacinda, and I met Edwin and Kelvin. Edwin and Kelvin are two of the funniest, most loving, joy-filled people I know. As we talked about the 40-60 security dogs the campus releases every night to keep the students safe, Edwin told us that he could show us where they keep the dogs during the day. The next afternoon, Jacinda, Lauren, and I were walking down to see the dogs. Edwin was talking about how after he showed us the dogs, he was going to go wash his cousin Pauline’s car. When I was younger, my Uncle Gary lived in Nashville and he would wash his car once a week. He taught me how to wash a car - you can’t forget the wheels! I asked Edwin if we could help him wash Pauline’s car and he was surprised. “It’s not that fun”, he said. But I insisted saying that it could be fun if you’re washing with the right people. Before we helped wash the car, we stopped by Pauline’s apartment (she is the director of the sports department at the university) where she prepared coffee and honey rolls for us. Edwin’s little cousin Lynn drove the car up to an area with a water hose and we (Lauren, myself, Edwin, and his cousins Lynn, Stefany, and Jeff) started at it. When I say that car was spotlessly clean, I mean it. I taught them how to clean the wheels and they taught me the importance of cleaning the plastic on the inside of the car. We went over the car 2 or 3 times to get it spotless. Kelvin had walked by and asked to join. We didn’t have an extra rag so I gave him mine and decided to use the bottom of my “mission trip” skirt. Edwin and Kelvin were both shocked. They asked me “why are you helping us clean this car? I have NEVER seen a white person clean a car before. They sit and watch us do it. Plus why are you using your nice skirt? You’re getting it all dirty!” I explained that my skirt was just a skirt and that my parents had set a good example for me growing up to be hardworking. I chose not to say anything about God - I don’t know why. I felt bad about it later. I guess I wanted to show my faith through actions, not just words. That night at debrief, I didn’t tell the rest of the group of the adventurous day Jacinda, Lauren, and I had experienced. I don’t post this to get you to say “wow what a humble servant Erica is” or “way to put your faith to practice sweetie!”. I shared this story to say 2 things - first: this was one of the first moments I had in Kenya where I was not intentionally trying to build relationships or show God to others. It was real, it felt natural, it was authentic. Secondly: do you see what is wrong with this picture? Americans - especially American Christians - are perceived by the world as lazy, selfish, and entitled individuals and yet “American Christianity is the way things should be”. What kind of example have we been setting??? Earlier that very day Jacinda had helped cook lunch at a school and the lead cook had told her “I never thought a white woman would be in my kitchen… you must be so humble to be cooking food with us”. Stop it church. Stop looking for excuses. Stop sitting back and letting relationships, moments, and kingdom work fly by because you ‘don’t feel like it’ or the ‘style of worship/preaching isn’t your thing’ or ‘you’re too tired’ or ‘you’re comfortable where you’re at’ or ‘there are other people who can do it better’ or ‘you’ll do it tomorrow’. God’s kingdom is here NOW. You’re not promised tomorrow. What are you going to do with today? Pray that God opens your eyes to the communities around you - you don’t have to fly to Africa to love on your neighbors. Stop giving a hand out and start giving a hand up. We as American Christians cannot continue to live in this cycle of comfortably living our privileged daily routines when there is a whole world out there that needs love. Plus it’s not that the world specifically needs our help. We are in desperate need of the lessons that the world is waiting to teach us. Humble yourself enough to stop talking and to start listening and learning. Ask God to reveal the stereotypes you have - the mud that needs to be cleaned from your eyes - so that you can start to live into the selfless lives he’s calling you to rather than the dirty, selfish, entitled position we are currently comfortably sitting in.