Postscript

We both learned the metric system in school.  I remember my science teachers telling us that sooner or later the American measurement system would be no more…so we’d better pay attention and learn this better, er superior, system of measurement.  I’d dutifully go home and tell my parents how we needed to get prepared for metric.  I’d repeat my teachers’ rants on how inefficient our American measurement system was using my own generated passion.  They would mostly just listen, smile.

My dad would take the opportunity to jokingly lecture me on how if we changed to metric, our song lyrics would get messed up.   He’d say, “How lyrical is kilometer in comparison to miles?”  Then he’d tool through his mind’s filing cabinet, find a song in his head with the word miles in it, and start singing out a tune replacing miles with kilometers laughing hysterically to himself even if I was not completely humored at that moment.

I learned it. I know how it works.  Yeah, yeah, base 10 and all that–so much more scientific, supposedly easier, more efficient, blah, blah, blah.  I didn’t listen well enough; now, I’m suffering.  It’s not that I don’t know that 0 degrees Celsius is the freezing point, and it’s not that I don’t think things like that are oh so practical.  I just still can’t quite feel how far 20 kilometers is, or feel how hot 40 degrees Celsius is…or feel how heavy 50 kg is. So, what do I do instead?  I translate it in my head…or use my handy-dandy converter on my cell phone.  Still!  I thought I’d catch on during this year in Kenya.  Nearly everyone we work with speaks of measurements in metric.  I wish I got it.  I even spent time studying the conversions trying to make myself get it!  I’m only at sorta get it and not at feel it, yet.

The US is the only industrialized nation in the world that still uses a measurement system other than the metric system for most of it’s measurements.  Pretty much everyone else uses metric most of the time.

Here in Kenya everything is metric:
* I buy 500 g of beef mince (translation: about 1 lb of hamburger).
* I set the cooker to 175 C to bake a cake (translation: oven on 350 F).
* We travel 13 km from our home to our church (translation: about 8 miles).

I never realized how ingrained the American measurement system was — in my psyche!  My teachers didn’t do enough to keep me from being emotionally attached.  I’ll get it, maybe even feel it… eventually. But, I agree with my dad–metric isn’t very lyrical.

From I’m Gonna Be by the Proclaimers
Translated into metric for your singing pleasure…

But I would walk 804.67 kilometers
And I would walk 804.67 more
Just to be the man who walked 1609.344 kilometers
To fall down at your door

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We had only 2 1/2 days set aside for Cape Town–enough time to go to the touristy areas before going back to Nairobi.  This was my second visit to Cape Town, and Jeff’s first.  I’m so glad we were able to see and explore this part of Africa together.  We spent time at the beach (the water is freezing, so just a walk), we went up Table Mountain, saw some African penguins, took a scenic drive, had dinner at the VA Waterfront and drove out to Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope.  A was a good trip.

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We finished our tour around the Johannesburg suburbs and made arrangements to take a train to Cape Town where we’re spending our last couple of days before returning to Nairobi.  The train ride was 26 hours long winding through small towns, farm land and cities on an ever southwesterly track until we finally reached the last stop–Cape Town.

Here’s our trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town in pictures:

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…another report on what we’re eating.  Every place we go, there’s always something new to try.  However, most of what we’ve been eating here is similar to what we’d eat at home in the US.

I can honestly say that I’ve been really excited about eating two things–cheese and cereal.  Laugh if you so choose… Can we get these in Nairobi?  Yes, but… the milk doesn’t taste quite the same, cereal is very expensive so we rarely buy it, and the selection of affordable cheese is much better in South Africa.  I’ve not seen any cottage cheese in Nairobi, at least not the same as I would eat at home.  I’ve had a bowl of cereal pretty much every day since we arrived–the best Cornflakes, Rice Krispies and Cheerios I’ve had in months!  And, the cottage cheese I had for lunch one day–to die for!!

Jeff, on the other hand, is excited about meat.  South Africa is known for it’s good beef, so we had to go out for steak once.  Mmm…cow…your sacrifice was not in vain!  The steak was excellent.

We like to try local soft drinks (soda).  There are the usual Coke and Sprite, but we passed those by for Appletiser, Grapetiser, Peartiser, Bitter Lemon, Stoney and Iron Brew–all local sodas. The first three taste like you might assume–like apples, grapes and pears.  Bitter Lemon and Stoney are similar to some sodas we get in Nairobi. Iron Brew tasted a bit like Dr. Pepper.  Do you know what else is popular here that we rarely see at home anymore–Tab.  We saw lots of Tab in the grocery stores.

Last Saturday we visited a flee market in a town called Irene (I-ree-nee). Amongst all the crafts and second hand items was a food area.  We sampled some cheese and Salomi, but bought some fresh doughnuts and a bottle of Hill Billy’s Chili Sauce.  This one was called Pain.  We’ll have to try it when we get back home.

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We’ve been in Johannesburg, South Africa this week attending a workshop called Funding the Family Business.  It’s a clever title for a workshop about how God funds his work…or, in other words, how a ministry staff person (couple or family) develops a team of financial and prayer partners to support their ministry.  This workshop has been run in several locations in Africa, and our African colleagues have found it useful in raising their own financial and prayer support. So, this time some of our South African colleagues were able to attend as well as staff from Mozambique, Madagascar, Ethiopia, Colombia (via Texas), Canada…and us…the only Americans.  Our course leaders came from Ireland, Madagascar, Tanzania and Ethiopia.

We were invited to come because knowing how our African colleagues are promoting their personal ministries will help me when I meet with Wycliffe organizations here about promoting their corporate ministries.  It’s best when both a husband and wife are participate, so Jeff got to come along, too.  He put his skills to use helping some workshop participants with their computer problems in the midst of our classes.

In our organization most staff, including us, are able to serve because of generous gifts and faithful prayers.  Each single person or family unit has their own team that gives and prays, which in turn directly impacts their ability to be able to follow God’s call and serve in their ministry roles.  Without that team of prayer and financial supporters, they, like us, aren’t able to serve.  We took time to reflect on how God has taken care of us during these last few years through his people (including some of you that read this blog! ).  It really is a privilege to be able to serve as we have, and we are so thankful to our prayer and financial supporters for your part in our ministry.  We wouldn’t be here doing what we’re doing without you.

We spent time in the course looking at the historic pattern of this kind of partnership between senders and go-ers. This model of the Church sending out workers and then providing for those workers through financial gifts and prayer has roots in both the Old and New Testaments.  In the OT the Levites were set apart by God for his service and the other tribes in Israel provided for their needs (Numbers 18:8-32).  In the NT Jesus and his disciples “traveled from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God,” and several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Chuza and Susanna) provided them with financial support (Luke 8:1-3).  We also know that Paul received financial support from churches for his ministry (Phil 4:14-16), and that others did, too (1 Corin. 9:3-12).

The whole group participated in several role plays, which were generally done in small groups.  We were the lucky ones that kept being called on to do demonstrations for the whole group to watch.  We got nick-named the default couple in honor of that continuous role.   This picture was of us doing a role play of a meeting with a potential financial supporter.  When we were initially raising our support, we had lots of meetings like this; however, even though we’ve had some experience, we learned a lot in this course, and might approach these types of meetings a little differently in the future.

It’s been a good week of meeting new people, reviewing some things we knew and learning new things. Now that the course is complete, we get to spend a little extra time in South Africa on holiday (vacation).

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