"Do you know..." Rukundo had asked last night, "why I find my iPad in a pan in the morning?" I smirked. "Well, if you get up first to switch on the shower, take the butter out of the fridge, open the balcony door and put the pan of water to heat on the cooker, you'll find that you can't light the gas unless the power is switched on, and you'll have to unplug your charger and put your iPad somewhere safe. Later, in bed, I felt bad about teasing him like this. I felt even worse when I got up to find that he'd done all that, and was sitting reading morning devotions from the said tablet. I apologised. He smiled. "I know your heart means good."
The other guys were still scurrying around when their lift arrived early. "We've left you the washing up, Old Man - okay?" I heard as the door slammed. Gregory's wife, Judith, had generously supplied us with a couple of chapatis each for breakfast. I think that Len and Viv ate theirs in the car going into the city centre.
My extra hour and a half allowance went quickly. I hand-washed another load of Viv's and my stuff and hung them out. On my early Multiply trips, I used to take a complete set of clothes for the whole time. But when I last went to India, Steve Surefoot introduced me to the high-tech world of travel convenience, by which you wash your clothes in the shower and find they're dry in the morning. Last year I returned from Zambia not only with shirts, etc, that I'd packed but not worn, but also clean clothes I'd washed along the way in my luggage. But, and it may be a big but, when you're constantly moving from place to place, as we shortly shall be driving overland to Uganda, you don't know what facilities you're going to find.
I read and reread the teaching notes I'd complied back in Sheffield until my lift arrived. We bumped along a side road near Gregory's house and church. Sam, my driver swung into a tidy parking space by an equally tidy blue-painted corrugated sheet tabernacle: Christ Covenant Church. The warm-up worship was in progress, and when I stepped in there were about 15 people in the congregation. Pastor Charles' wife was leading the service. I panicked slightly realising there'd be a collection, and all my money was in the bag I'd packed ready for the afternoon's 'bonus' conference session.
The meeting started and the worship team of three ladies, plus Charles on keyboard, left the rest of us depleted. I sneaked the purse that had local currency out of my bag and surreptitiously unzipped it and peeled what I took to be a 1,000 Kenya shillings note (about £6.50) ready for the action. African tithes and offerings are a notoriously theatrical affair, and, looking around at the other folks, I though this fairly high denomination note may be somewhat conspicuous. I also wondered how my highly intellectual exposition of Hebrews 13 may go down. Ah, cares at worship time.
After I'd finished the 'preach', we poured out into the sunshine. Charles asked me if I'd like a bottle of pop, and sent a lad off to find one. Waiting around, I got into conversation with Sam. It turns out he's a hairdresser. "Ah, where would you start with me?" I asked. "Ah, yes, I've thought there may be some business here," was his reply. The bottle of pop never arrived, and after nearly and hour hanging around Charles dispatched Sam and me to Gregory's Christ Evangelistic Church. He pressed and envelope in my hand. "This is for a nice lunch," he smiled. It was a 1,000 Ks note.
Gregory's 'boys' helped me to set up, in between their trying to learn "Not because of what I am..." I got a welcome cup of chai, and launched into the workshop session on teamwork. Towards the end, Len and Viv slid down to the front chairs, and I handed over to Len for a second session on servant leadership. Viv plonked himself beside me. He graphically described how in the 'south' service, as well as the tithes and offering there'd been an acutely embarrassing and drawn-out appeal for funds for a new pulpit. "Wave your 1,000 Ks bill now and get a special blessing." "If I thought I could have created a disturbance by kicking over some chairs and storming out, I would have done!" Viv exploded.
Len heard from Ali that someone had tried an arson attack on Abundant Grace and the Police forensic team had been in action til 2am. He was worried. We had our final meal of filleted tilpia at Cabroche Growers Cafe while the Man City versus Chelsea match was on, did some shopping for food to eat on the next three days' of minibus travel, and landed back at the apartment to start packing. Tomorrow, it's all new territory.
The other guys were still scurrying around when their lift arrived early. "We've left you the washing up, Old Man - okay?" I heard as the door slammed. Gregory's wife, Judith, had generously supplied us with a couple of chapatis each for breakfast. I think that Len and Viv ate theirs in the car going into the city centre.
My extra hour and a half allowance went quickly. I hand-washed another load of Viv's and my stuff and hung them out. On my early Multiply trips, I used to take a complete set of clothes for the whole time. But when I last went to India, Steve Surefoot introduced me to the high-tech world of travel convenience, by which you wash your clothes in the shower and find they're dry in the morning. Last year I returned from Zambia not only with shirts, etc, that I'd packed but not worn, but also clean clothes I'd washed along the way in my luggage. But, and it may be a big but, when you're constantly moving from place to place, as we shortly shall be driving overland to Uganda, you don't know what facilities you're going to find.
I read and reread the teaching notes I'd complied back in Sheffield until my lift arrived. We bumped along a side road near Gregory's house and church. Sam, my driver swung into a tidy parking space by an equally tidy blue-painted corrugated sheet tabernacle: Christ Covenant Church. The warm-up worship was in progress, and when I stepped in there were about 15 people in the congregation. Pastor Charles' wife was leading the service. I panicked slightly realising there'd be a collection, and all my money was in the bag I'd packed ready for the afternoon's 'bonus' conference session.
The meeting started and the worship team of three ladies, plus Charles on keyboard, left the rest of us depleted. I sneaked the purse that had local currency out of my bag and surreptitiously unzipped it and peeled what I took to be a 1,000 Kenya shillings note (about £6.50) ready for the action. African tithes and offerings are a notoriously theatrical affair, and, looking around at the other folks, I though this fairly high denomination note may be somewhat conspicuous. I also wondered how my highly intellectual exposition of Hebrews 13 may go down. Ah, cares at worship time.
After I'd finished the 'preach', we poured out into the sunshine. Charles asked me if I'd like a bottle of pop, and sent a lad off to find one. Waiting around, I got into conversation with Sam. It turns out he's a hairdresser. "Ah, where would you start with me?" I asked. "Ah, yes, I've thought there may be some business here," was his reply. The bottle of pop never arrived, and after nearly and hour hanging around Charles dispatched Sam and me to Gregory's Christ Evangelistic Church. He pressed and envelope in my hand. "This is for a nice lunch," he smiled. It was a 1,000 Ks note.
Gregory's 'boys' helped me to set up, in between their trying to learn "Not because of what I am..." I got a welcome cup of chai, and launched into the workshop session on teamwork. Towards the end, Len and Viv slid down to the front chairs, and I handed over to Len for a second session on servant leadership. Viv plonked himself beside me. He graphically described how in the 'south' service, as well as the tithes and offering there'd been an acutely embarrassing and drawn-out appeal for funds for a new pulpit. "Wave your 1,000 Ks bill now and get a special blessing." "If I thought I could have created a disturbance by kicking over some chairs and storming out, I would have done!" Viv exploded.
Len heard from Ali that someone had tried an arson attack on Abundant Grace and the Police forensic team had been in action til 2am. He was worried. We had our final meal of filleted tilpia at Cabroche Growers Cafe while the Man City versus Chelsea match was on, did some shopping for food to eat on the next three days' of minibus travel, and landed back at the apartment to start packing. Tomorrow, it's all new territory.
