Jacobsen Night at the Crusade - Part One

[Sorry for the long delay between posts.  I've been traveling with the kids.]

Hanging out after the trails.  I SO BADLY wanted to try that ladder!

Every afternoon around 4 we served as guest speakers at a crusade meeting.  The crusades consisted of music from our African worship team followed by Mzungu testimonies and a Gospel presentation which include an invitation  to receive Christ.  Tonight it would be my turn to share testimony and Dave's job to preach the message.  More about that later, first let me tell you about my day on the trails.

It really was another great day!  Yes, the old anxiousness returned prior to stepping out (could it be called missionary stage fright?) but the nerves were quickly abated as I began my first visit with the local hooch-man.  That's what I'm calling him, "Hooch Man" because his job was to make and sell moonshine called chang'aa.  Chang'aa is nasty stuff!  We were told that it only took one drink to get you drunk and the drunks we saw seemed like they were in another world - which made us wonder if there was also a hallucinogenic quality to the stuff.  Given that they use methanol to ferment the stuff, I wouldn't be surprised.  [see http://brookstonbeerbulletin.com/kenyas-kill-me-quick-moonshine/ for more info]  Tourists are warned that even one drink could kill you - literally.  In fact, during our trip, 17 people in the slum of Kibera (outside of Nairobi) died in one night from drinking the same nasty brew!

Anyhow, the crusade stage was set in the livestock trading yard which was just across the road from the new church.  At the opposite end of the yard was the hooch house.  We were welcomed in by a tall, broad-shouldered man who offered us a seat in the shade.  As we entered I saw an older woman spreading out a corn mixture over a tarp to dry it in the sun.  Next to that, the hooch man was stirring a big cauldron of something.  I innocently asked my translator what she was drying and he told me the ingredients to make alcohol.  We had to walk through the smoke of the cauldron to take our seats and WHOOEE!  Potent smells were in the air!  I was grateful we didn't sit in the direct path of the hooch pot because I'm sure I would've become tipsy on the fumes alone.

I assumed we would have resistance to the gospel from the hooch man because in Africa, Christians do NOT drink, therefore those who make their living event remotely related to the hooch industry (i.e. the farmer selling corn) believe they aren't allowed to be Christian.  Unfortunately, they've gotten this idea from well-meaning believers who have told them so.  I was prepared to give a response to that assumption, but to my surprise the hooch man received the Lord gladly along with 3 others who had sat down to visit with us!  You just never know.

I saw the hooch man at every crusade meeting and I heard from another team member that he had received Christ at one of the crusade meetings earlier in the week.  Whatever the case might have been, I saw him worshipping God several times throughout the week and no - I never saw him drunk (just his clientele).  Yes, I'd like for the hooch to stop, but it isn't my place to give this man a bunch of rules to live by.  It is God that brings gentle conviction to change, not condemnation which only leads to a rule-based faith.

Another interesting visit I had was with a man named Lawrence who was the landlord for a local property.  We visited under a tree where he was receiving payment from his renters and balancing his books.  He shared with us his frustration with some churches who by his account only wanted your money and cared nothing for you as a person.  He asked good questions about the new church and what they believed.  He also told us about a radio advertisement for a man coming to town claiming to be God and asked what we thought about it.  You can guess what I had to say about that!  Lawrence listened intently as I shared that true salvation came only through Jesus Christ then prayed to entrust his life to the Lord. 

Pastor's House Behind Church

There were others that day - the young mother washing her floors, the household of women who wanted to clarify some of the rumors they'd been hearing, the old man named Joshua we met along the road who wanted prayer for his broken hip and the young man I spontaneously felt compelled to share my testimony with.  Yes it was a great day for visiting with the people of Akala. 

After walking the trails, the Mzungus met in the pastor's house for lunch then had a couple of hours to rest and prepare for the afternoon crusade meeting.  Since David was preaching and I was giving testimony (along with Stephanie and Emily) we retreated to the church building to grab some quiet time.  Throughout this trip there were children wandering in and amongst the Mzungus all day long and that afternoon was no exception.  The kids were being very well behaved that afternoon and at one point, Peter sat several of them down for "lessons".  I wish you could hear their sweet little accents as they tried to repeat the English phrases Peter was teaching them:

This pic is dark, but it is Peter teaching
the children - Wish you could see
his face more clearly

"Jesus is my friend."
"I love Jesus."
"The Mzungus are my friend."

Then in a child-like voice (imagine it very high pitched) Peter starts teaching them Joy to the World, phrase by phrase.  Some of us started singing with them from our various places around the room, quietly at first, but then louder and more confidently as the children started mastering the song.  We laughed a little as we all tried to remember the 2nd and 3rd verses but all in all, we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!  Then young Nathan from our team - who happens to be a fantastic singer by the way - asked Peter to teach him a song in Swahili.  Poor Nathan had to put up with my questions for the rest of the trip on how to pronounce things, but in the end I too learned the little ditty called Mambo Sawa Sawa.

I'm glad they wrote down the lyrics!

Mambo sawa sawa, 
Mambo sawa sawa,
Yesu akiwa inkini
Mambo sawa sawa,
Mambo sawa sawa,
Mambo sawa sawa

Things are very better
Things are very better
When Jesus is on the throne
Things are very better
Things are very better
Things are very better

To be continued...

Pastor Dave gathering his thoughts for the crusade. 
Yep, these trips really stretch your comfort zone!