Philip's Kenya Blog - Friday

Just two morning sessions today. We spent most of the time looking at how you get from understanding a passage to preaching a sermon - things like stating and explaining your teaching points, getting the big idea of your passage across, illustrating and applying, getting and keeping people’s attention, etc. It was great fun. This is the most engaged and responsive group I’ve worked with over the four times I’ve done this sorts of workshops in Africa. Probably some of that is down to the fact that this is a city and they are a more educated group. But it is also because there is much that is healthy and good in the Anglican Church of Kenya. One of the sharpest men told me that I’ve been doing TOTs this week - training of trainers. It’s good that they want to pass things on and encourage Bible teaching.

We finished at 1pm and then there were votes of thanks, presentation of certificates of attendance (Jonathan and I had to sign all 46 and present each one, complete with photos), gifts to us (a shirt, extra large, which in my experience is the only size they do in Africa), more speeches, more prayers, more photos - it all took well over an hour. Then another lunch (heavy) and then we were taken - via the necessary traffic jam - to a park on the edge of town. It used to be a mine for cement (gypsum?) and now has been planted with lush tropical trees. Animals are either caged or semi-wild. We saw a couple of giraffe, some waterbuck, hippos, millions of monkeys, a giant tortoise, and the feeding of the crocodiles. Horrid. On the way home we popped into a shopping centre for the rich - a different world. We had a first class cup of Kenyan coffee - my first proper coffee for a week, serious withdrawal going on here - and had a quick look into a posh supermarket. The Kenyan coffee on sale there was about double the price of Sainsbury’s! Back to the house and a lovely refreshing swim in the dark with huge fruit bats flying overhead.

I doubt I’ll get time to write tomorrow, but possibly. We’re going to visit a church in the area, with a lovely vicar called Christmas, and then hope for a beach and a swim in the Indian Ocean. The tough bit again. Leaving Mombasa at 9.30pm and a 15-hour journey to Manchester. You could pray for that. But above all, let’s pray that this bears fruit and brings glory to God.

Thanks again to everyone for your interest, prayers and support. It’s nice to be excited about coming home. (Anyone got a warm outside pool by any chance?)

Much love in Him

Philip