Those Peculiar Johnsons

I Would Rather Kill My Dogs

Don’t get me wrong. I like my dogs very much. They are loyal, playful and they offer genuine friendship as well as protection. It is because of this, that I have developed a genuine emotional tie with both of them. I feed them good nutritious food, bathe them in clean water with doggie shampoo, make sure they are immunized, and protected from ticks, fleas and other vermin that get under their fur. However, I would rather kill my dogs than allow them to live in the slums of Nairobi.

The infamous slums of Nairobi reportedly contain over 50-70 percent of the 3-4 million souls who inhabit this capital city of East Africa’s most economically prosperous nation. Personally I am inclined to think twice about taking my dogs to the slums, lest they see some of the frightening scenes and living conditions. I am not sure they could handle it. It might offend their sensibilities.

There are scenes like five foot high garbage heaps of rotten food mixed with plastic bags, broken bottles, and empty cans. The children who live here have great imagination and ingenuity. To them, these are not really garbage heaps. These are playgrounds and places to hunt for hidden treasure. Treasure is where you find it and how you name it.

Some of the treasures are things like food. Well, my dogs would not eat it. However, these children are not as picky. They are much hungrier than my dogs and quite frankly, they are used to eating from this putrid pile of other peoples’ refuse.

There are some convenient things such as the pit latrine which is within walking distance. That is convenient for you and the other two to three hundred people sharing the outhouse. Don’t fall in. It may be hours, or even days before they find you. On a rainy night, many people have been known to resort to the ‘flying toilet’ which consists of wrapping your waste in paper or plastic and tossing it on to the path outside your door or window. Well, it beats getting rained on, robbed or raped in the dark.

The houses are not quite the caliber of my dog’s abode either. Even the chicken we got as a gift recently has cleaner and, safer living conditions. The houses in which these families live are made of pieces of rough hewn board, mud walls and tin roofs. There is no electricity, except that from a charged car battery at the home of the more prosperous neighbor. He is the one with the radio and television, which provide him with a source of income as he charges people to watch football games, black market videos and DVD’s the latest soap operas and of course everyone’s favorite; ‘Oprah’s on!’

Going inside one of the houses is a lot like entering into a cave, or coal mine. There is a small tin can with a cloth wick saturated in kerosene giving off smoke, fumes and even a small amount of light. This light is just enough to keep you from tripping over the pieces of rudimentary furniture, pieced together from discarded wood and twice used nails. You can’t read by this small lantern, but many of the people here don’t read anyway, if they had something to read. It is very important if you are trying to read, to not let the paper or your clothes, or the curtains get too close to the lantern. The curtains act as walls separating the 10 feet by 10 feet room into kitchen, and bedroom. Privacy is a luxury a man and his wife and five children don’t have here.

Fire in the slums notoriously destroys homes and displaces hundreds of people at regular intervals, much like urban renewal, or better yet, innovative renovation. There is plenty more mud, sticks, and tin to re-render its splendor. So be careful where you place that lantern. If one house catches fire, well, there goes the neighborhood! My dogs like to lie on the rugs near the fire place, not in the fire place.

If a fire does erupt, it will be near impossible to extinguish as the few watering points have one faucet for every 500 people and you have to wait your turn with your own bucket and walk the five to ten minutes back to your house with the 20 liters (25 pounds) of water without spilling too much of it. There are no roads big enough for the city’s very few fire trucks and even if they could make it down the tortuous mud and stone paths, they would have to push people aside for water too.

You could dip from the generous flow of sewage flowing a few feet outside of your front door. However the particulate matter would stain the very clothes and other valuables you are trying to salvage.

Amidst this ambience of sewage effluent, there is the wreaking ambivalent affluence of the landlords who collect rental fees at regular intervals. They have no problem evicting those who cannot afford the equivalent $10 or $15 per month rental fees and will do so without the slightest notion of nicety. No pay, no stay is the order of the day.

Yes, I truly would rather kill my dogs than have them live in the slums of Nairobi. I think that even their fleas would flee from this down side of life.

He was naked, She was hungry

As I was driving home last night from dinner at a friends house, the rain was pouring down in sheets like...., well like sheets!

As I passed by Wilson airport, a small airport just near our home, I noticed a person who looked like a very thin tree, for the size of the body. In the middle of the night, about 11:00 pm, cold, wet and completely naked, walking along the road. I could not tell if it was a man or woman. I had already whizzed by this person and I felt a twinge of pain as I splashed cold muddy water on this already naked body from the $150 tires of the van.

I turned the van around at the next available opportunity and went back to see if I could find him/her. By this time the naked person had hidden themselves in the high grass surrounding the airport fence. I tried twice more, in vain to find him/her. I could not. I was tempted to get out of the van and go look, but I felt it was too dangerous at this time of night and instead just went home. I was intending to give him the sweater I was wearing as I was riding in a comfortable, dry van, with a warm dry shirt, heading to a nice warm bath, then to a nice warm bed.

Earlier that evening I was buying a phone card. As I stood at the counter to pay for it, a young woman was counting out a few coins to purchase a small loaf of bread. She wore a very dirty shirt, with lots of holes in it. She stood there, embarrassed as the clerk at the counter told her she did not have the 30 shillings (about 40 US cents) to afford the bread. It was a very small loaf. The clerk handed the bread back to the stock boy who went and put it back on the shelf.

I was a bit oblivious to what was happening and would have remained so, if the Holy Spirit had not shaken me from my self absorbed state. I was thinking how much I miss my wife and family and how lonely it felt, trying to get a phone card, just to communicate. It is easy for me to get self absorbed. I could have bought a bar of chocolate!

I only noticed it as the clerk handed the bread back and the woman got ready to leave the store.

I handed her 50 shillings and clerk had the stock boy bring back the bread. She then handed me the 20 shillings change. I gave it to the woman with the torn and dirty shirt. I never even looked her in the face. I was afraid that I would make a connection and I preferred the gift be anonymous without undue embarrassment to her.

Every single day I encounter people who have tremendous needs and for the most part, I am sure I am oblivious to much of it.

From not seeing the woman who needed bread, to splashing the naked person on the road side, I wonder how often it is I am so concerned about me, myself, my needs and desires and completely unaware of what is going on around me.

People are in great need around each of us every day.

We need to learn to live our lives through the eyes of the Savior.

We need to ask Him to give us His sight, His senses, His extra supernatural feelings of what is going on around us.

I notice too little, and often too late, the hurting person who needs a hug, a smile, a word of encouragement, a warm sweater or a loaf of bread.

What about you?

Mt 25:35-36 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

Gums Mints or Condoms: Safer Sex Season

It used to be I would buy a pack of gum or mints to impress a girl. Nowadays, boys and girls impress each other not with fresh mints in their mouth, but with condoms in their wallets and purses. Condoms outnumber the gum and candy at the grocery counters here in Kenya. I can’t figure it out. Since when did sex become something like food, an item we could not do without?

As I search for a pack of Double Mint gum, I have to look beyond the half nude pictures of men and women in suggestive poses. Is this what God intended?

The Bible never even hints at God saying that any of His creation was safe. He only stated that it was very good.

Genesis 1:31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.

Sex is not meant to be practiced in a safe manner. It is meant to be enjoyed in a manner that brings glory to God by how He has allowed us to experience the pleasures of the human body He created.

Any relationship that does not mirror God’s intention for sexual intercourse, that is male and female intimacy within the bonds of marriage, may protect from disease and pregnancy, but it brings death to the spirit and the body.

1Corinthians 6:18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

It is only safe sex for a season. With the Creator’s blessing, it is very good!

Avoiding Defeat: The Modern Christian Era

The enemy must be identified and totally annihilated. There can be no room for negotiation, treaties, or retreat. We are meant to conquer not to concede. We are in the midst of a war for the hearts, minds, and most importantly, the souls of mankind. No general ever won a war by seeking to avoid defeat.

It is because of this clear mandate that we would rather seek to avoid defeat than to meet the enemy head on. We are afraid of the consequences of victory. Victory means we will have to change our own personal lifestyles. Our choices for what we eat, wear, drink, buy, watch, and listen to will have to change if we are to seek true victory. Hence, we as Christian soldiers just seek to avoid outright defeat.

It is because of this fear that we don’t witness to the lost. We are afraid of what it will personally cost us if we claim to be in the Christian army. Hence, rather than fight, we just seek to avoid defeat. Who wants to be embarrassed calling themselves a Christian?

We wear the armor, the uniform, carry the ammunition, but we are careful never to truly engage the enemy. The enemy comes into our homes, our personal lives and we accommodate him, and make him feel very comfortable. We never fire a shot. We never open our Bible, never memorize a scripture, never witness to anyone. We just want to avoid defeat.

We entertain the enemy. We listen to his music, watch his movies, read his books, and even engage in the activities. We call it harmless fun. Everyone is doing it.

We avoid use the armor of holiness, righteousness, godliness, and purity.

Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his Might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

No one wants to use such words as it will chase the enemy from our homes and we need him there in order to feel that we are trendy, open minded and free thinking. The problem with open minded free thinking is usually our brains fall out.

Let us engage the enemy and defeat him completely. Ask the Holy Ghost to help completely eliminate the enemy in your own life. We are meant to conquer, not concede.

Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Sensible Suffering

I met with my counselors today. Two of them meet me for about one and one half hour. They are more than just pleasant, they are genuinely friendly, concerned and really allow me to probe my own mind to find out what makes me ‘tick’ or ‘get ticked’ as it were.

It is actually good for me. The one thing they both observed is that I don’t allow myself to just feel. I always have a rationale, a Biblical reason, or some spiritual point of view to the things that trouble my mind. I must admit, they are right. I have a hard time just letting go and crying about situations, or allowing myself to just ‘break-down’ and relax. I am just uptight and wound that way, 27 hours of the 24 hour day.

I had two counselors, for one and one half hour to help me unravel. Reality awaits me after I leave the comfortable confines and soft chairs of their offices.

I will return to my clinic on Friday where I will spend five to ten minutes with 40-50 patients, translating between Swahili and often a third language, trying to help them unravel why it is they are dying. I will talk to a woman whose breast I removed for cancer, only to tell her that after three months, I found it has spread to her liver. The disfiguring and painful operation was for nothing.

I need to get this out in the first five minutes, and then find the next two minutes to re-explain it to her family, one minute for it to settle in and then a minute for questions and one minute for prayer. I never get much of a chance to help them make any sense of this whole scenario. They want me to answer the deeper questions, such as ‘why me?’

I don’t have the time for the ‘why me’ questions. It always leads to deeper discussions of ‘why not you?’

‘Would you prefer someone else have this illness? Do you think you are more deserving than someone else?’

Or I could try this; “God can use this illness to show Himself strong in your life, to strengthen your faith, and draw your family closer.”

These are hard questions because the other 49 people are wondering what is taking me so long in there with these weeping people. I finally get rid of them and the ‘why me’ questions, only to have a young girl of 3-4 years who has been raped and the penis of the man, her father, has torn through her vagina and into her rectum, so that they are now just one hole together. I start to ask myself ‘why her?’

What kind of God allows this to happen? Is He asleep when this kind of thing goes on? Isn’t this senseless suffering? What is the purpose of this pain and grief the girl is feeling and the shame of the mother who has married and still lives with this ‘beast’ of a man?

How do I console the mother and counsel her that God understands it all? What is the sense of this suffering? I need to figure it out in the next ten minutes because the 48th patient is already impatient! Do I tell the mom that God cares, will make a way for the girl to forget, is calling for her to make decisions about the man she calls her husband, is wanting them to repent of some sin…., what sense do I make of this suffering?

I don’t have much time. I certainly don’t have time to cry. There is only one of me and not two to discuss the challenges of this and the next 47 patients who are coming my way.

I give up and do the necessary paper work to admit the girl on my account, as the mother has no money. I check to see if the girl is HIV positive, but only time will tell. I reserve that information for later.

I admit that my counselors are right. I do need time and room to cry. That is why I am in their office. I can hope to make this sensible suffering.

If I cannot find a Biblical way of dealing with these issues, I will go mad. I hide my fear, my pain, my grief within my faith. I try to make Jesus the one to bear the burden I am feeling. After all, the Father got sense out of His Son’s suffering. Why can’t He make sense out of mine, and the people I serve?

Job asked the same questions and came up with this one answer:

Job 1:21-22

And said, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither:
the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD.
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly
Job 2:9-10

Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?

Can it not be that God is trying to work something in their lives that neither they nor I can understand or appreciate? I sure hope so! That would be sensible suffering.

Next please.

Common African Recipes or How to Prepare For Famine in Three Easy Steps

How do you prepare for famine if you have never even known hunger? Here is the trick. Try these 3 easy steps.

Before starting, prepare yourself by fasting for three days. Because you are unfamiliar with starvation, you must drink at least a cup of water daily while fasting. Body/mind preparation is essential for you to withstand the rigorous demands of food deprivation.

Now you are ready to begin. Don’t get nervous. It is as easy as 1,2,3 to achieve a fat free, low cholesterol, low salt, low carbohydrate, low nutrient, minimum caloric diet that is pathetically normal to people enduring famine.

I promised you three steps. Here they are; 1) Gather; 2) Prepare; 3) Eat.

Step 1) Gather; Climb up high in a banana tree, or any tree that has some remaining leaves, and throw down some of the largest leaves. Watch out for the thorns on some of the other trees. They will pierce your skin, just like they pierced the tires of the four wheel drive Land Rover. Save the younger, smaller, and tender leaves for tomorrow. Now walk to the nearest puddle of water or stream and fill any container you can find with water. A clean bucket, or old oil can without holes works better. The two hour walk would be wasted if more than half of your water is spilled on the way home.

Be very careful not to stir the water up too much or you will get mud and silt. Avoid any place where animals may have deposited bodily waste. It adds an undesirable color, taste, fragrance, and texture to the water. It also leads to death by diarrhea.

Watch out for hungry crocodiles (your kids are easy for them to swallow) and other thirsty wild animals (they will literally kill to be first in line for water). Now gather some dried grass or dung and place it on the charcoals that remain from yesterday’s fire.

Step 2) Prepare; Place your banana leaves and water in a pan (recycled from discarded oil drums) on your fire of charcoals, dry grass and dung. Don’t let your kids get too close to the fire, as if they get burned, there is no place for them to get care and they will probably die. Also, the inhaled smoke predisposes them to pneumonia, and asthma and is bad for their eyes. These are just some precautions you should take, like not putting foil in your microwave. Don’t be in a hurry for the dung to get warm. After all, this is not fast food. Bring to a boil or at least heat well.

Step 3) Eat; It’s just that simple. You are now dieting in the style that is a staple for millions of Africans every day, if they can find leaves and water. Well, to be true, I made up the recipe based upon the stark ingredients I have seen as we tour the villages and homesteads of people here in Kenya. These are the ‘must have’ elements of a diet for people struggling to survive.

As an American physician with over 15 years of experience working in Africa it is still hard for me to believe there is such famine some where in the world. As I clean my overcrowded refrigerator, discard cartons of egg-foo-yong, stale pizza and overripe strawberries I think, “how can people be hungry when I am so full?”

As I worry about my widening waistline I feel uncomfortable and guilty about my excesses as I come from a land of plenty. I have trouble understanding famine when I haven’t even known hunger. Let’s get back to the recipes. If you don’t find banana leaves, you can always try sawdust. I have read of this in other sub-Saharran African nations. Sawdust does not require any special sauces, so my thinking is you can eat it raw by the handful. People in those nations have tried more readily available things as well. Rocks and soil do fill the belly and since they are very slow to pass through the digestive system, they give a prolonged sense of fullness. You have to give them credit for their creativity.

Then there is always tree bark and roots. Season these with the natural silt that comes from the water. As you pound the roots, some of the sap exudes adding a pliable consistency to the roots making it easier to swallow. Taste is not a consideration when you are eating to live. After all, remember, you are starving.

One of the best things about this modern day African recipe is that it never spoils. You can eat it again and again, especially when it is the only food you have. The alternative to this recipe is death.

All over the continent weakening mothers hold emaciated children, sucking at their dry breasts, as they slip from soft weeping to silent coma and final stillness. They must bury the bodies deep, deep..., deep in the sand, as the hyenas and vultures are hungry too.

Are you ready to handle this recipe? Do you think you have the right stuff to survive this diet? If not, you may be ready to do something to help those who alleviate this specter of starvation and death. You may want to ask your Father in heaven to give you a real hunger and desire to help fill the real hunger and desires of those who have so little when we have so much.

The most recent health statistics reveal that Americans are dying earlier than in previous decades. The cause of early death is now obesity and the related diseases. Imagine that! Our access to excess which we deem as success causes early death, while so much of the world goes hungry. It is obvious that we use different recipe books. I read a report that says we as Americans spent $14 billion dollars on exotic chocolates in 2005. Imagine the condiments you could add to this recipe with that much money. Talk about a Happy Valentine!

Today and, tonight you will gather, prepare and eat. Most likely, the steps you follow will be much simpler than outlined for the common African recipe I have described above. Your meal may give you heartburn. If it does, before you take your antacid allow your heart to ache for the people who will fill their bellies with dirty roots, cold sawdust and warm leaves. Ask the Lord to make you make you aware of these very common African recipes.

Mt 25:35…. 45 “For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me drink….,Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.”

Just This Once Jesus

The little boy slowly lifted his head from the stone, and licked the surface collecting what he could on his tongue. At three years of age, he had known nothing but chronic hunger. His face was covered with the fine residue of corn meal dust which was left behind by the nearby chickens. This stone is used to hand grind the corn or maize, into a powder which can be cooked into a mush, one staple of the Kenyan diet. Since the boy was bigger than the chickens, they dared not fight him for this remaining food, however, they did hover nearby, just in case the boy would decide he was full. After a half minute of licking, the boy laid his face back on the stone and knelt, resting to get enough energy, to watch the chickens and try licking up more corn meal dust.

I have been hungry before, but never desperately hungry to the point of licking a brick.

I thought to myself, ‘why not just this once Jesus? Why not turn this stone into bread?’

During our most recent trip to Ukambani region of Kenya, we saw people who were desperately hungry. With our work team from Philadelphia, we visited homes and compounds of families who had less food in their store rooms for one month supply than I feed my dogs for a week. They did not complain, neither did they try to super-spiritualize their condition. They quietly just did what was necessary to get by, as always.

The chickens and livestock are their last hedge against complete hunger, and are used as a last step measure to ward off death. When times are hard, such as a medical emergency, people first sell their crops, then their animals and last of all their land. Since this land is so arid and of little value, these chickens are all that is left of the family’s wealth.

After another year of failed crops due to lack of rain, the people cut the remaining trees to make charcoal to sell for cash. A full bag of 60 pounds or 28 kilograms gets a price of about $2.25 or 180 Kenya Shillings. This takes over one week to produce with cutting of the trees, collecting the compost and stoking the slow burn phase to make charcoal. A lot of trees are felled to ward off hunger. This boy licking the stone is a usual part of the landscape, like the surrounding deforested hills and heavy soil erosion. The landscapes mirror the deeper story of the ravages of hunger on families.

We delivered and helped plant over 1,000 trees this trip, placed four water pumps on wells, and provided irrigation equipment and seeds for acre sized community gardens. We held Bible study and group activities for children and helped complete another two classrooms of the community school we have been building. With all of this work completed, the little boy was still licking a stone for corn meal dust.

Why can’t we just turn these stones to bread? Is it such a bad thing? Why not just deliver the necessary food, water, and medicines to the people who have known hunger for generations? Why not just this once Jesus?

As I ponder these questions with the Holy Spirit, He encourages me that the changes we are making are not just to provide food for the day, but food security for the future. We are not only changing the landscape of the earth, but also softening the stony ground of spiritual erosion to make it fertile soil for the gospel. We are already seeing changes in some communities which were at one time totally dependent upon donated food from the UN, and are now able to sell their surplus to buy livestock to replenish their herds (this is their savings account). Our work is making a difference and families that were starving are now eating on a regular basis.

The boy lifts his face again and sticks out his tongue to lick the stone. The chickens resort to eating some bugs and avoid the boy as he has not yet had his fill of the corn meal dust. The Holy Spirit speaks softly to remind me that the Father does hear my prayer and that He is not interested in ‘just this once’, but desirous of making a long term impact on the lives of the people we serve here. Just this once is not enough for this boy. He needs bread for today, for tomorrow and for eternity. Help us to provide the Eternal Bread of Life and the necessities of this present life to those whom we serve in Kenya.

On My Way to Work

I turned the car key and gave the gas pedal a few pumps, expecting it to reliably do what it has done several thousand times, or so it seems over the past few years. I was in no particular hurry as I had awakened in plenty of time, read my Bible, bathed, and dressed and had even taken time to shine my shoes. I wanted to look my best for this 8:00 am meeting. It was important that I make it on time so a 6:30 am wake up and being fully prepared by 7:15 left me in good stead.

Everything, every bird in the sky and dog on the compound had cooperated. I even noticed that the electricity had not been cut so I could have a hot cup of coffee to go with my freshly made smoothie of mangoes and pineapple. I was ready to go. I was pumped, and so as I pumped the gas pedal, I knew the car would be as kind to me as all of nature had proven so far.

The car engine gave a brief heave and then kind of sputtered. I knew how it felt actually. It was a bit cold even for Nairobi, somewhere in the low 50 degree Fahrenheit range. The engine whined at me this time, as if to say ‘not now please.’

The morning meeting was scheduled at Good Shepherd Church with some of the pastoral staff to discuss the ministry of The Least of These. From there I would head straight to Saint Mary’s Hospital to start my 9:30 surgeries and then on to my afternoon meetings by 4 pm. I had it all figured out as I gave the ignition key its third turn and noticed that, the dashboard remained unlit and the engine continued to ignore me. I made the executive decision which many husbands in Kenya do every day. I would call my wife to come push the car.

Kay had just come to the back door to remind me of some other details and errands I had to run. She had this puzzled look on her face, wondering why I was sitting still in a quiet car. I rolled down the window and shouted “I need a push!” She smiled. She had seen this thing played out before.

Typically, the man steers the car, while the women passengers push to get the clutch engaged, once there is a good momentum. (This is how you start a stalled manual car for those of you who drive only automatics.) That is usually because the man is the one who really knows how to drive, but also women do a great deal (some say most) of the manual labor. For some odd reason, I just have not gotten Kay to agree to this division of labor after almost 15 years in Africa. As she got behind the wheel and…, well you get the picture. I still wanted to be on my way to work so there was no negotiating this.

Fifteen minutes later, with the help of three of the men on our compound, we got the car started. I called ahead to inform the pastor of my late departure and anticipated 30 minute late arrival. ‘No problem’ he said. ‘We will move on and just get your report when you arrive.’ I felt relieved as I did not want to hold up the proceedings.

Halfway to the church, I had to climb a hill in the midst of heavy morning traffic. This is not so bad if you have a reliable car, but on the other hand…, yes, you guessed it. The car stalled. Now this hill is notorious for the size of the potholes and the volume of traffic during the rush hours. If you are not careful, you can very easily lose a tire, or break an axle in one of the holes and if you break down, you have a rather large group of irate drivers and passengers saying unkind things about you, your lineage, forebears, and heritage.

Several men who were along the broken sidewalk decided they would lend a hand, directing traffic around me, so that I would not collide with other cars as I rolled downhill to pop in the clutch. The drivers were declaring me ‘an unrighteous Philistine’ and other unkind things. I ignored them and with the clutch engaged again, I was enroute, to my morning meeting. The meeting was fruitful and encouraging as Good Shepherd pastors agreed to become even more involved with the orphan and street children ministries. It was time to go on to my surgical cases and after a good push by the pastor and two members, the car started and I was again on my way to work.

So far, this is not a bad morning. I have had three stall outs and I am only 40 minutes late. As I head towards the hospital, I decide to take a less crowded road, just in case I have another breakdown. I couldn’t take the idea of having drawing another unfriendly crowd. I cruised along the road at about 54 km (30 miles) per hour, just as a goat ran across the road, causing the two cars in front of me to stop and of course, me to stall again. This time was not so bad. There was a shoulder to drive on and though people were not happy with me being an obstruction, they had an alternate route by which they could pass me and give me those pitiful stares. Again, a few fellows on the roadside pushed me to the side, but for some reason, they could not get enough momentum to start the car. I called the hospital, informing them of yet another delay. I cannot imagine what they were really thinking.

‘Just tell the truth and say you got up late Johnson!’ I could hear John the in-charge laughing at me.

One of the ‘good Samaritans’ pushing me happened to have a taxi and after a bit of negotiating and calling the mechanic to pick up my car, I agreed to the fare and we were on our way. Or were we? Just two minutes from the site of my breakdown the taxi motor stopped and he drifted over to the side and looked at me sheepishly.

“What is wrong?” I asked.

“I am out of gas. I have to call for someone to bring me gas.” He did not look the least perturbed or surprised and so, I had no choice but to believe him.

Putting in less than ½ gallon of gas in a car is routine in Nairobi. It is one of the security measures people use against car-jackers. That is, if someone gets your car, they at least must be inconvenienced enough to stop within a few kilometers to fill up. Who knows, they might get stuck behind some guy stalled out on a hill and run out of gas there? Anyway, this security measure worked well and we sat as the driver borrowed my cell phone to call for someone to bring him gas. Within 15 minutes, a young man runs up with 4 liters of gas in a vegetable oil bottle, pours it into the tank and the driver turns the ignition. This car is automatic and it has no clutch to pop, and there are no women nearby to push.

To his dismay, and my expectation, the battery was now drained from his constantly trying to crank the engine.

“I have to call for someone to bring a battery.”

I just looked at him and handed him my phone.

What would you say in this situation? A look is all I could do.

Fifteen minutes later, another guy comes with a battery and some jumper cables and before we know it, I am on my way to work again. Not to be surprised again, the driver stops enroute, and puts 100 Shillings worth of gas into the car. Now I am confident. I know we should make it with at least one and one half gallons of fuel, the hospital is only 18 km (10 miles) from where we are, and all security measures are in place.

I arrive, unscathed for my surgical cases at 11:30. I praised God for the adventure I had, on my way to work, and cancelled my afternoon meetings. I had used enough grace to cover the challenges of the day. This added meaning to, “…sufficient today is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34

How to use Jesus

Jesus can perform many functions in life and can be used in many convenient ways. Here are just a few examples of how you can use Jesus, as demonstrated by many contemporary American Christians.

1) Jesus as a tax exemption.

Just using the name of Jesus can allow you to help add line item deductions to your tax return. You don’t have to believe on His name, or even pretend to worship at His church. Just tell the government that along with the school loans, house mortgage and flood damage in your basement (next time remember to turn off that faucet), you gave a lot of money in Jesus’ name and you are guaranteed a better tax return. This is not true with regard to taxes in other parts of the world. America! You gotta love her!

2) Jesus as a ‘Handi-Wipe.’

This one is one of the all time favorites. When Jesus says He would wash us from our sins, this works out well. You don’t have to get thoroughly soaked in this faith, just clean enough for the next sinful adventure. You can appear to be washing away the dirt in a very religious way, but no deep cleaning is necessary. Go to church, carry a Bible and be nice to people. This is good as it gives the appearance of righteousness, without all of that holiness stuff.

3) Jesus as a political ally.

Whether you are bleeding heart liberal or cold hearted conservative, Jesus is a great tool to advance your political leanings. He adds just the tinge of compassion and a touch of conviction to make both sides of any political debate justifiable and believable. This can make your politics and your faith coincide with your desires to sway people to your point of view, without feeling any remorse or second thought of your true motivations.

4) Jesus as a career builder.

In many circles today just saying you have a religion is a good thing. The Christian religion still works in many parts of America, as it is seen as a good way to move forward in Christian ministries, from broadcasting, entertainment to writing books. Just use the name Jesus and royalties are pretty much guaranteed as those who claim to know Him like to sing songs and read books about Him, more than getting to truly know Him.

5) Jesus as a pick up line.

This is another favorite, especially for guys and girls looking for ‘clean and safe’ relationships. Given the present scare of sexually related diseases, just saying you know Jesus as your Savior, can allow the potential pick-up to take a sigh of relief as you head off to do whatever you put your mind to.

6) Jesus as a fashion statement.

This is never out of season, except when you want to travel incognito. That is, Jesus can be very useful, especially on Sunday when you are around people who claim to know Him. You can put Him away in the closet, as you put your Bible on the book shelf, until the next Sunday. That way, He does not need to be dry cleaned, pressed or even covered in plastic. Then on Monday through Saturday, you can live your life without the risk of getting any soil on Him at all.

7) Jesus as a money launderer

This is a bit harder than tax exemption. In fact, you may have to build a church, or even a mega-church for this. Once you have built this edifice, just convince all who come to worship you, (I mean worship with you) that all of the money they give in this life will guarantee they have a church pew, special hankie and prayer cloth or will benefit some snotty nosed, fly filled face orphaned child, in some nation on the other side of the world, (far away enough that you never see them).

So, as you see, there are many ways one can use Jesus. This is just a short list, off the top of my head. I am sure that with some imagination, we could come up with many more.

Suffice it to say, you don’t have to believe on Jesus to use His name.

There is one very important disclaimer I must make note of here, however. I remind you that Jesus is rather ‘touchy’ about these techniques and using them will put you on a collision course with Him in this life and the life to come.

Even though you may know all of the right code words, right causes and even some of the right people, if you are just using Jesus, as in the examples above, you will undoubtedly hear Him say; “This people draw near to me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me Matthew15:8” or “Depart from me, you workers of iniquity, I never knew you Luke 13:27”.

Be careful, and let Jesus use you and not you use Him. It works out better that way both here and hereafter.

Let’s Go Get Stoned!

This is a song by Ray Charles, that takes on even greater meaning in the Biblical context.

Barbara, Kara and Jamie are three very fascinating women. Barbara Oolman is a family practitioner, serving in East Africa for over 10 years now. Kara Fisher and Jamie Bearden are fourth year medical students from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine who have served with us in Kenya for the past six weeks. They have all been willing to go get stoned while serving in Africa. They actually served in areas where, churches are being burned and there is genuine open resentment to the Christian faith.

As they relate their stories, it is clear that they were definitely in danger of getting stoned as they visited areas which were hostile to Christians, in hopes of ministering to predominantly Muslim areas of Kenya. Christians around the world are being stoned, burned to death, shot and persecuted everyday in our present world. This is very current news if we would be willing to know of it.

Getting stoned is actually a longstanding Christian tradition. The religious leaders of the day tried to stone Jesus, and of course Stephen, the first martyr for the church got stoned as did Paul, whom they left for dead. My friend and colleague Phil Renfroe who serves at Tenwek Hospital, made note of how many Christians got stoned during the church’s early history and he said the impact of stoning depended on how big a ‘hit’ was taken to the head.

Suffice it to say, we must be careful in the present day use of words and take the Biblical translations in the context of the times. We don’t like the old context of suffering, so we deny suffering for our faith to be of any value whatsoever, unless someone else is doing it.

Very few if any of us are willing to be stoned for our faith, nor even suffer the slight of being embarrassed for what we believe. We deem tithing and sitting through a hour and half church service enough torment and torture. Giving to missions or even going on missions is beyond our mindset and ‘after all, that was for the old church.’

However, the Bible does tell us we should become filled with the Spirit, as opposed to being drunk with strong drink (Ephesians 5:18). It is this same Spirit with which Stephen was filled as he looked up into heaven and could take a direct hit to his body, and his head and lay down his life for his faith (Acts 7:55).

Getting stoned may cost you money, reputation, time and in some instances your health and life. While we may have sacrificed as much to be filled with the things which give pleasures to our bodies, how big a hit are we willing to take to advance the Kingdom of God? Would you listen to the Lord if He told you: “lets go get stoned?” What would you give for your faith? What are you willing to really sacrifice so that others may come to know Christ? How big a hit are you willing to take to your head and heart?