Bible Storying and the Small Things

  After a weekend of rest I had one day of intern training/orientation, and two days of training for what is called Bible Storying.
  I grew up learning stories from scripture and applying their meaning to my life. At the end of the story, my teacher would usually conclude with how the story points us to the hope of grace and salvation found in Jesus Christ. Since graduating elementary school, these opportunities to hear the stories of scripture in a simplified version have grown farther and fewer in between. But Tuesday I was told a story, the story of Nicodemus, three times. My group of trainees (including the Kenyan men I will be coaching with later in my internship and myself) was then expected, after answering some chronological questions, to repeat the story in full (thankfully someone else was picked to go first!).
  As our training continued I was struck by how useful this form of communication and evangelism is and how difficult it might be for me to use in the United States. I don't speak the truths of the gospel in the context of the story already written down within the pages of the Word. Oftentimes, I misquote or use a quote out of its original content. It is also a powerful tool for memorizing scripture because it puts the key verse within context of a story. It's just a wonderful tool that I'm excited to hone and use in the future.
  As I was being trained in the art of Bible Storying, I was also thrown into interactions with Kenyans within the context of their lives. A wonderful thing about Nairobi is that English is known by almost everyone. So language wasn't necessarily a barrier unless the guys started talking to each other in Kiswahili, at which point I would sometimes try and follow the flow of the conversation or busy myself with sitting their looking off into the distance.
  After the first day of bible storying concluded I was exhausted, but I didn't feel like I was in culture shock as much as my mind was worn out from trying to learn the stories through listening (this gal ain't no auditory learner). It took us a couple hours to get home because of the terrible downtown traffic and I realized why culture shock exists: although culture is based on simple core beliefs of people, the culture of a country manifests itself in the tiniest of ways that combine to make life in a different place hard work. For example, you have to fill up your cell using scratch cards, most places only take cash, most roads are so full of potholes that there need be no speed limit, it isn't very safe to be out after dark so after dinner you read or hang out with people, all the veggies must be washed in distilled water, hand washing dishes is an every meal sort of thing, your feet will always be dirty, people sing out loudly when singing in small group settings (which I LOVE), futbol is the way of life, and I could go on. Almost every single one of these things I really like because most of them cause life to slow down quite bit; you have to engage in each moment as a relational event. The people I have been spending time with do most things together like cooking, cleaning up the kitchen, etc. And although it is normal to help clean up after a meal, it isn't normal necessarily for the meal and clean up to have taken 3 hours.
  The soccer coaches finally warmed up to me and started trying to teach me Kiswahili or Shang (which is basically swahili slang that changes on a daily basis...only the younger Kenyans really use it). I love the language and I'm so excited to start language school this week!
  On Thursday I moved in with a family with whose two eldest daughters I attended Covenant, and have really enjoyed living life with them Nairobi style. I started driving a bit (outside of the busy city), and really enjoy driving on the opposite side of the road!
  This week I will also be spending time shadowing a doctor in a hospital outside Nairobi. WOOP!!!