Letters from Kenya - the love of God

One of my expectations going into our work and witness trip to Kenya was to be fully present to God and to others during the trip.  I can honestly say that during our times of worship and devotions the presence of the Holy Spirit was near.  Selena Freeman and John Prichard did a fabulous job taking the word of God and applying it to what we were experiencing in Kenya and what we would experience as we returned home.  It was truly a spiritually “forming” experience.

What I wasn’t expecting was the spiritually forming experience I had with one of the workers at the jobsite.  God taught me as much, if not more, about His character and what it means to be human than I’ve learned in any book or seminary class.  All this through my interactions with an electrician named Naphtali.   

Naphtali is a quiet and serious man.  He’s the 7^th of 8 children born to a poor couple from the Lora Tribe.  Naphtali lost his father when he was quite young and he was raised by his mother and grandmother.  Naphtali speaks of them with great reverence, understanding that the love and discipline he received from them has allowed him to become the man he is today.

Naphtali makes 500 Kenyan shillings a day for his labor.  That’s roughly equivalent to $5.75 a day in American currency.  Naphtali considers himself blessed with his labor and his pay because he’s the only one in his family that has gone past what we would call junior high in education.  He graduated from high school and went on to Tech School where he learned the electrician’s trade.

Naphtali is considered the leader in his family because he’s bettered himself through education and because a great deal of the money he makes he sends back to his village to take care of his mother and siblings.  Where most of us would consider this to be a burden, Naphtali considers it a blessing, an expression of what the human spirit is truly supposed to be and do.  Because of his actions and attitude, Naphtali has also put one of his brothers through schooling to become an auto mechanic.

In order to do this, Naphtali lives in the slums of Nairobi… a very destitute and dangerous place.  He pays 1000 Kenyan Shillings a month to live in a one-room structure with no electricity or running water.  He has very few changes of clothes and oftentimes the only meal he eats during the day is the lunch that Panina (the foreman’s wife) makes for the workers.  All this he does with a true sense of purpose and fulfillment, knowing that He is doing what God would have him do as a man and family member.

As I mentioned, Naphtali is an electrician.  What I didn’t expect was that Naphtali was a theologian, instructed deeply by the Holy Spirit concerning the character of God and what it means to truly be human in this life.  The second day I worked with Naphtali he told me a modern day parable.  Naphtali shared with me that he had been thinking a lot about oxygen lately.  At first I thought that was kind of strange, then as I listened, I was taken to school.  Here’s the parable. 

Naphtali told me that if mankind had to pay for oxygen like we do the other necessities of life we would be in desperate trouble.  For the rich man would be able to purchase all he needed plus a surplus that would go to waste because it would never be used.  The poor man however would not be able to afford what he would need and would die because of it.

Naphtali then said this, “What a generous and merciful God we have!” “For God owns all the oxygen and gives to all equally so that they might live… not only so, but more than enough oxygen for every person.”  “What a loving Father in heaven we have!”

In such a simple reflection, Naphtali squarely recognized and confronted the systemic and individual injustices that are present in the world through the hands of mankind not living as they were created to.  But even more profound, Naphtali spoke of the true nature of God – His generosity and benevolence, His mercy and grace, and most important, His love for the creatures He created in His image.

As I’ve had time to reflect on this interaction it has caused me to take a long look at the way I see the world, the way I understand my responsibilities as a white man in the most powerful and resourced country in the world.  Will I support business and industry and governmental policies that only serve to “purchase and hoard a surplus of oxygen” for myself?  Or will I choose to love my neighbor as myself?  Will I choose to think of the needs of both my neighbors here in Springfield and my neighbors across the world? 

These are questions that I’m asking myself.  Questions that we as Christians need to reflect upon as members of a country and culture that controls 3/4ths of the world’s natural resources.  In the global village we live in today, our answer is very much one that will prove to be the difference between justice or injustice, human flourishing or human suffering.