Mombassa was a break at the end of an intensive 10 days, and a much needed one, especially for my wife and daughter who joined us to take a break from parish and A Level duties, along with a host of other pressures they both carry. I needed it too! Toby was beyond delighted to see them, running up to them in the airport and embracing them, relieved to have more than just his Dad to talk to.
We journeyed swiftly down to Diani beach, having already ascertained we’d made a great choice when talking to the Nairobians who had all heard of Diani as the place with clean beaches. That proved to be true and on two days we even snorkelled on coral reef, taking a bumpy sea tour to see some dolphins as well.
A third day was spent on an epic one day safari of Tsavo East National Park – 6 hours of commuting, and 4-5 hours of standing up in a VW style camper van where you could see under the roof and witness hippos, giraffe, zebra, elephants galore, ostriches, lions and lionesses and an array of birdlife that boggled the mind and often raced you around the park, as you shot along dirt roads at 40mph standing up. For Toby though it was the dragons that stole the day – Komodo dragons, seen raiding termite mounds and honing in on Impala to clamp in its jaws with a poisonous bite.
So our engagement in the Diocese was limited, but significant. As mentioned in the last post we spent Palm Sunday with the Bishop and Sub-Dean of the Memorial Cathedral, took another day trip into Mombassa to get the temperature a bit, and had an unexpected opportunity to minister with a young bereaved muslim man who explained that his friend died in road accident last night, a street boy aged 21 who was an orphan. He says it third road death in a year of a young person he knows, and explains how voodoo is used here to make it seem like an animal is on road and then is disappears after they swerve and crash. He said he doesn’t believe in it but in his shock and grief confessed he was scared for own life. In this Muslim dominated area he was also struggling to see how this senseless death of someone he felt care for could be part of God’s plan (inch Allah). Please pray for this kind young man. I prayed with him and suggested he prayed in the name of Jesus/Isa if scared as that is the most powerful name for breaking any curse.
Finally, we took a pilgrimage of sort to the Shimoni Slave Caves near to Wasini. This place of horrors was a key part of the Arab slave trade holding prisoners under ground in 5km of caves in the slightly better part of British Colonial history when Slavery had been banned, the Royal Navy was policing the seas and the likes of Captain Lawrence were making a heroic stand. Lawrence was a distinguished officer of The Rifle Brigade on attachment in Shimoni. In October 1895 was in command of troops with the objective of suppressing and eliminating the slave trade. He was killed in action by local slavers and is commemorated there. But the caves obviously evoke the earlier horrors of the transatlantic slave trade, which eclipsed the Arab slave trade by several million. ‘Give us, our free’ resonated in the ears from the powerful film Amistad as we saw chains and conditions that rival Auschwitz in their horrors. It was seminal to realise that the slave trade in the region was 4000 years old. ‘Man at war with man hears not, the love song that they bring.’ Some traditional African worship still prevailed in the caves today, marked by the gift of rose water to the spirits.
Even the memorial cathedral is a strange experience as a Brit. The memorial is to the founding four bishops of Eastern Equatoria/Kenya, but this very English looking church had few/no Kenyan converts for decades of it’s life. This year we were the only white faces there and it was packed out with young and old faces. History sometimes turns faster than we can imagine.
Despite the Arab slave trade Mombassa and the surrounding region remain staunchly muslim, albeit with a considerable amount of traditional religion and curses associated with voodoo around too. Sikhs are here and Hindus as are Roman Catholics (from the Portuguese occupancy) and Anglicans. Pentecostals proliferate as they have done almost everywhere since Auza Street. The Anglican Cathedral itself if offering a week of deliverance ministry after Easter. But Islam is key to this area, and with a high birth rate and Somalian immigration that looks set to extend. For a team coming to minister it feels like getting clued up on all these things will be vital, along with prayer cover and an eye to spot all that is so beautiful in this culture and the people who God loves so much who are eking out a living on farms, resorts and in the city here.
Your name is like honey 