Sunday, November 25, 2007

Karibu Kenya


"Welcome to Kenya," Jonhes beamed when he met our plane in Nairobi and took me to the ACK (Anglican Church of Kenya) Guest House. Palm trees were backlit by nearby city lights, and the scent of bougainvillea was in the air. After a short night's rest, my early morning flight circled over Lake Victoria before landing in Kisumu an hour later. I chatted en route with a young mother of three. Lori had a sleepy son (9) and two daughters (7 and 3) remarkably in tow. An American ex-pat living in Paris with her engineer husband, she was introducing Joshua, Elyse and Sophie to Africa. They will spend three weeks at two orphanages in Oyugis, not far from Kisumu. Lori's father, a Cleveland architect, and her mother, a nurse, have been volunteering in Kenya for many years. Here, as on America's beleaguered Gulf Coast, communities of faith are providing the primary relief to communities in crisis. 'Twas ever thus... Amen and amen.

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