Scripture Reading
· Romans 12:13. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.
· Hebrews 13:2. Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
· 3 John 1:8. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.
Culture Reading
·Read in Culture Smart: Kenya, Chapter 2: Value and Attitudes, 42-46
·Kenyans are wonderful hosts, generous to a fault. This is magnified when you realize just how little material things they own.
·Kenyans value social connection, long conversations, and fellowship.
·They love story telling. And everyone usually gets to tell their story in a gathering.
·Time is event-oriented, not chronologically-oriented. When the people show up, the event begins. When the people leave, the event is over. It is better to leave watch in your suitcase at the hotel. Unless you are working with a mzungu--or doing business (hotels and plane flights definitely watch the clock).
·Religion is important to the Kenyan life. The majority of Christians in Kenya are connected to the Anglican Church through British colonization. Pentecostal influences are increasing through media broadcasts. Islam is a growing religion on the coast. Traditional religions have taken on new significance in recent years as some young people seek to understand their tribal heritage.
·The Kenyan home is a unique experience. It is clean and well-kept. It displays the basic values of the family in a very minimalistic way. They are prepared to entertain. They make use of every valued scrap of material. Kenyans are quite resourceful.
Devotional Thought
One of the joys of visiting Kenya is the hospitably of the people. Anyone with a Western education is automatically seen as successful and worthy of praise, adding to the sense of power and entitlement that many visitors feel when they come to Kenya. At first, it is easy to accept the respect and accolades given by Kenyans. It is almost too tempting to embrace the celebrity status that comes from being a white person/foreigner (mazungu) in a Kenyan crowd.
But it would be a mistake to receive the hospitality of our hosts without responding back with a double amount of Christ’s love. Incredibly, the Kenyan culture (as it is with other 3rd world cultures) has captured the essence of biblical hospitality. The term for “hospitality” in Romans 12:13 and Hebrews 13:2 literally means “love for foreigners.” It takes the same root for outsider (xenos) that we use in the term “xenophobia,” which means “fear of outsiders or foreigners.” Kenyans are excellent practitioners of this spiritual discipline—at least for their own clans, tribes, and wazungu (plural for mzungu). It is our goal to help our Kenyan hosts to see the value in extending this hospitality to all members of society, not just the special guest.
Let us receive whatever honor we are given with grace and thanksgiving. It may mean spending an extra hour in worship. It may means eating a 3rd or 4th meal in the afternoon as we visit with various local families. It may mean we eat any number of boiled greens (sakuma wiki), potatoes, beans, rice, vegetables, fruits, and meat (goat, chicken, lamb, beef, pork—and “other”) with joy and enthusiasm. It may mean an extra session of worship or prayer. Whatever fellowship we may experience, let us remember to give it back to our hosts and to our Christian family in Kenya. They have offered us their homes and churches as a place for our comfort and work. Let us offer our hearts, minds, and grateful kindness in a show of mutual love and Christian fellowship.
Reflection and Prayer
·Pray for our hosts at the Luke Hotel. Pray our accommodations will meet our needs and provide a safe place of rest when we are not serving.
·Pray for Nash and Joyce and the EPIK team as they prepare to host us, help us with travel, and prepare the training ministries in which we will participate.
·Pray for hearts of joy, thanksgiving, and grace as we journey as guests in Nairobi and Limuru.
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