 |
German Songs & Pastry
Tenwek - A Place of Songs
The question for us on returning is always, “How was your trip?” A more difficult question that I always ask is “What did I learn, how was it different, how did my perspectives change?” The answers are never quick. Sometimes they come in the form of a video, but in the meantime, here are some reflections.
This year I have felt more like the “stranger” than in previous years since we left in the middle of a “travel ban” and will be returning during a new one. Going to a distant country and getting visas this year seemed like more of a problem. Maybe it was always an issue and we just never noticed. This year was a more “political” year because we are questioned about what is happening in “your country?”. At the same time there is polarization and suffering in Kenya secondary to the strikes of health care workers and teachers* in the government institutions. These barriers seem impenetrable and present in both our countries.
This time I have been moved by the music that I hear and sometimes sing each morning when I enter the hospital around 7:30 am. Small groups of nurses in each clinical area will be singing familiar hymns of faith. It is a wonderful Kenyan sound that I will miss! What if we had more music in our lives? How would that shape our day? Would that act shape our relationships into something more fulfilling than what we have come to expect?
This last week I attended a “good bye” party for a German medical student couple who have been here for 4 months. Beside having some wonderful German pastry and coffee, we celebrated with singing in German and English in this beautiful place called Tenwek. The word “Tenwek” has many meanings, but one of the oldest is “a place of songs”. This place lives up to its name. The strength that you find here is sustained by the songs that have surrounded us while we were here.
My initial response to “How was your trip?” is it was difficult but that what lasts are not the barriers and the problems, but the beauty and resilience of the people who live and work here, It is the beauty of their faith that sustains them and it is a powerful witness to us as we return to the United States. The future of caring knows no travel ban or boundaries.
See you soon,
Marvin
For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:38-39 (RSV)
p.s. *The doctor’s strike ended in Kenya on 3/14/17. The resolution must be followed by reconciliation that will also be challenging.
I think I could have sung that German version of 10,000 reasons. Wish I could have heard the singing.
ReplyDelete