Located just opposite Daystar University’s main campus, Lukenya Girls’ High School (formerly Kilimanjaro Girls’) is a lovely little school set on the lush savannah plains to the East of Kenya’s capital. The Director is as an equally pleasant lady who’s benevolence has seen the establishment of the school which prides itself of a student population of over 300 girls, clad in their school colours of purple, grey and white. The School Principal is called Alex.
Leaving Nairobi Central on time proved to be a futile attempt with everyone in all sorts of places, and when I tell you the Youth can really drag their feet, I mean it! For a group that was to have left the church at exactly 8.00am, it wasn’t surprising to see that we actually meandered out, bus full to capacity, at 9.20am, with the intent of reaching Athi River, one and a half hours away in order to conduct a service that was to have started at 10.00am prompt.
With the likes of Jamo and Esther Mokaya of the Youth, it was all poised to be a melodious foray all the one-and-a-half hour way. They sat near the rear of the vehicle with Joseph and a pretty lady called Moraa right behind them. On that day, Tichy was a backbencher and so were a hoard of Drama members, who usually spell fun, mischief and most of all…. non-stop heckling! Bernard was wallowing in a miasma of emotions, I guess because this was his first trip with the rest of the crew this year having missed the previous two engagements at Masinde Muliro and Kathiani. Ted was at the mid-section of the bus, as he always was, and AMO’s Paul, Greg and Zebi at the front with the driver, I say with the driver, because that is where the front is!
Joseph was in his usual knowledge-giving aura when he enlightened me, for the umpteenth time, that it takes Kshs.55, 000 to fill up the gas tank of the bus. So that’s what it costs the Church for evangelism per long distance trip, huh? When Christ said spread the word to every tongue, people and tribe, He never said it would be easy and trust me, its not! But from all the ventures In-Tune has gone through in its ministry, one thing I can say with confidence is that the delighted and warm expressions you see on the visages of those you have gone to witness to is enough reward for all the troubles you’ve gone through.
We passed great Kenyan landmarks, both physical and artificial such as the magnificent Panari Sky Centre on Mombasa Road, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Bamburi Cement Athi River Plant and the first Fly-Over highway to be constructed in East and Central Africa, though still under construction. The road from past the Airport was also undergoing a major facelift and so I can’t even begin to describe the mild chaos it was over the bumpy stretch we endured for half the journey. We barely noticed time fly by as Esther, In-Tune and AMO Junior led a chorus singing session in tandem with all the lovers of a cappella music in the Evangelism bus.
Enough about the ‘how we got there’, now to the ‘what happened when we got there’. First of all, the gate was too small for the bus to fit in and through so we had to alight at the entrance and walk past the well-manicured lawn at the administration block, the chemistry and sciences lab and the school dining hall to the field just next to it, where there were cream white tents slap dashed into a square with space in the middle. Two sides fully occupied with the students of the school, one side with the special ministers, and the other end for the visitors who were us. The Principal was quick to tell us he had been expecting us at 8.30am! Nonetheless, he was, as was everyone else, delighted that we made it there safely and well.
The ministers, inclusive of four elders and Church Pastor Jacob Akali, quickly took us into the Sabbath school period, and what an animated session it was! The charming Elders Adams and Okoth, as well as Willis Ocholla took us through the week’s lesson in a lively and interactive session where Paul of AMO proved his prowess at Bible reading. Davie had a field day making the girls laugh with his witty one-liners as In-Tune was afterwards called to close the session with an item, ‘Higher Perspective’. It so happened that this ministry was primarily meant as the Form Four Dedication Service for the school’s candidates who would, as well as 270, 000 others across the country, sit for the K.C.S.E. examinations set to start on October 21st.
In the interlude in between, AMO Junior and the Youth Choir sang items each which were well applauded, glory be to God, as Pastor Akali, the speaker for the day and the Pulpit team made their way to the front to usher us into the sermon that would last for about 40minutes. George and Joseph took the ending moments of this time to take shots of those who were dozing during the sermon, which I am not sure, whether or not to display…hahaha. If you want me to display them, vote on the poll adjacent to these posts and the outcome will determine the course of action.
Pastor Akali proceeded to form a ‘circle of prayer’ around the candidates who were called to the front, and prayed for them, along with the Elders and teachers in the school’s staff.
Lunch was a deeply awaited, as well as deliciously scrumptious affair! Rice, beans, githeri (a delightful native mixture of beans and maize), veggies, salad, soup and soda were the constituents of the menu and all I can say is, congratulations to the chef. The meal was utterly delicious. At 2.15pm, the service kicked off again, with opening prayers and a period of musical presentations where all the groups sang, as well as the students of Lukenya Girl’s School. A couple of girls also dedicated their item to the Form Fours who would be clearing.
The Drama Band performed their great piece, ‘The Redeemed and the Reformed’, as we wound up our ministry for the day. The Elder in charge gave his vote of thanks speech, sincerely thanking the entire school administration for hosting us there and being such wonderful hosts to us. He gave the Director a set of inspirational books by Ellen G. White and also handed the Principal, Alex, some books of his own. The school administration in turn, represented by their Principal, thanked us for the program and the ministry, and wished it would still go on, but as it were, all things must at one point, come to an end.
Just before leaving, we partook of the Holy Communion, which was earlier held in Church on that day and vacated the premises at exactly 5.50pm; All’s well that ends well. May God bless the entire community of Lukenya Girl’s School.
The Masinde Muliro Concert, hosted by the Drama Band in conjunction with the Nairobi Central Youth Choir kicked off spectacularly, albeit late, with an opening prayer from Becky Nguru and then a wonderful praise and worhip session led by Esther Mokaya and her. This really got the congregation in the mood of the concert, which ended with some Kiswahili worship songs, and then another prayer of blessing and posterity.
You guessed it, once again In-Tune kicked off the concert with the song ‘Can You See His Blood’, which little did we know, would be our only item for the entire duration of the night. The Youth Choir sang, the MMUSDA Choir marched and the Drama band acted all insync as they made the evening one to remember, including for its shortness and abrupt end, because time had caught up with us. It was around 10.30 pm by the time people were vacating the mess, rather unbelievable because it was all over and done with before we knew what had hit us.
I guess guys felt short changed of more blessings because we had prepared a lot more to share but time constraints had not permitted it to be so. So I can honestly say not everyone was happy at the end of the long day. Retiring to the hostels, I was too exhausted to stay awake, but from what I garnered the following day, Jamo isn’t too happy with my ‘sleeping as a baby’ antics and there are a number of nocturnal creatures form Central Church who accompanied us. It was too bad the likes of Joseph, Bernard and Edwin had not accompanied us; then it would have been a consummation.
Surprisingly, on the day we were to head back, one would have expected guys to sleep in till late considering the fact that they had slept very late previously, but by 7.30am, the whole hostel was abuzz with activity as we prepared for the soccer match between the Central Youth and the MMUSDA Youth to be held at the adjacent Kakamega Rehabilitation School grounds. I’ll be sure to source for the photos, which were taken throughout the trip.
The game was pulsating with the visitors being two up by half time, but managing a strong come back afterwards, the hosts managed to secure a 3-3 draw that left all and sundry content. By that time it was ten and the players rushed back to the hostels for a shower and to gather belongings. This time was social time to get to interact with the MMUSDA members after which we said our goodbyes, bidding especially Chris goodbye as we made our long journey back to Nairobi at exactly 11.20am.
Our stopover was at Kericho for a breather, where hawkers struggled to sell to us tea and then at Nakuru where Zach and CJ, the trip organizers, had bought for everyone some fries and soda. Nairobi beckoned only an hour and a half away, as the streetlights and highways of the capital embraced us back to what we call home. God bless the Masinde Muliro University SDA Community for the hospitality and good will they showed us.
-End of Part Three of Three-
When the Church bus snuggled in through the entrance gates to the University, there was an aura of anticipation as it finally hit all of us that this was indeed it! The driver pulled over at the entrance as we ushered in the SDA Chairperson of the University who offered a prayer of thanksgiving for a journey safely concluded. Mr. Momanyi, the chair then welcomed us to the institution, emphasizing the fact that the entire fraternity had been preparing for our arrival for a long time coming now and that they were glad to see us there.
The bus was directed on towards the entrance to Hall 3 as we alighted and were greeted by the jubilant In-Tuner Chris who looked as happy and healthy as ever. There was an amicable evening fellowship, right after the guys and the girls had been sorted out in terms of sleeping quarters, each divided among members of MMUSDA, which we came to later comprehend, stood for the Masinde Muliro Seventh day Adventist Group. Rather shockingly, there were only about two freshers at the vespers, and proudly, Chris was one of them. Te Chair told us that once the new students joined, they found the freedom too appealing to not take advantage of and thus sadly, not many were committed to the Church, but he was glad when he saw people like Chris and that gave him hope that the Group did indeed have a future worth looking forward to.
We were treated to two special items from the MMUSDA Church Choir and a wonderful sermon by a 2nd year Student at Masinde Muliro. In summation, were truly blessed by the entire program. Later on we were encouraged to take an early night because the following morning would be early since it was Sabbath morning and the program for the day commenced on time and promptly…I doubt there was anyone to argue with that suggestion! Tichy, Zebi of AMO and myself found accommodation in Hall 3 on the top floor with the chairman and his vice, Ombachi, who were the greatest of hosts. They treated us to hot cocoa and loaf to warm us up for the night and organized that were have a whole room to ourselves, right opposite their room.
After catching up and socializing a bit, at around eleven pm we retired to our room that was equipped with a computer and gospel music. As Zebi played the role of DJ, I familiarized myself with what was to be my bed for the following two days as I drifted off into familiar territory.
6.30am wasn’t too bad a time to wake up on Sabbath morning. We found Momanyi and Ombachi had prepared breakfast so it was time to take a shower and get dressed as they wanted to start…and finish, on time, with the long program ahead. Lets not forget that that evening was to be the much-awaited concert, which the Drama Band and the Nairobi Central Youth Choir were to co-host. Having gone through the necessities of preparation, we met up with Chris outside the Hall and went to the Mess from where the service was to take place.
An impromptu practice attracted the likes of Jamo, Ted Okoth and the AMO Junior brothers as we sharpened our voices then went in to join the rest of the congregation for the service. We were ushered in by immaculately dressed ushers into the hall that was almost a quarter full; rather impressive considering the time of the day. In Tune sang for Sabbath School with AMO rounding us up and then the Divine Service kicking in with the Youth Choir giving us a special item and the MMUSDA Church Choir thereafter. It was as if the angels themselves had come a little closer just to hear at that precise moment. The Speaker for the day was a student of Moi University who had specifically been invited to speak to us on that day. He was an inspirational as well as convicting speaker. At 1.00pm, it was time for physical nourishment, with a surprise lunch catered for by the MMUSDA community.
2.30pm sharp and a mini concert was held leading way to a nature walk at 4.30pm that was to be to the world renowned Kakamega Forest. The funny thing is that it rains rather abruptly in this part of Kenya, and when it does, the rain comes down almost horizontally! We experienced this first hand for around 20 minutes in the afternoon program where In-Tune had one chance to present as the Drama Band also ministered.
The program ended with everyone being told that the visitors would host the much anticipated concert in the evening as from 7.30pm and therefore to keep time. The nature walk took us to Kakamega town itself as Chris opted to snatch Tichy and myself away for a while, to go and see his hostel on the other side of town. By the time we all got back to the University Campus…it was well after dark and stomachs were grumbling! The MMUSDA Chair went to the rescue again, this time sorting out dinner issues for everyone at the school mess…this went all the way till 8.00pm when finally the concert was to begin…
-End of Part Two of Three-
