Arriving at the Seminary

After we arrived in Kisumu, we stopped to pick up some groceries for the week. Most of the week, we ate with the pastors and students at the seminary, but once in a while we cooked for ourselves too. The main store we shopped at (no matter where we were) was the Nakumatt (which is the Swahili word for "elephant.") This is the equivalent of Wal-Mart in Kenya, though not quite as omnipresent. The closest ones to us both weeks were about one hour away, so we had to make sure we got what we needed when we were there.

Kenyan food wasn't bad, though it did get a bit tiresome eating the same things each day. We probably ate better than they usually do - we had meat each meal, along with "ugali" and "skumawiki." Ugali is a pasty corn-meal substance (not quite bread), and skumawiki is a green vegetable, kind of like collard greens. Those are the staples for many of the poorer people in Kenya. So after a few days of that, it was good to have a break and have some pasta!


The drive to the seminary took approximately one hour - mostly on dirt roads which weren't very good! Lots of ruts and holes and draining canals running through them. So the going was slow.

One of the things that struck me along the way was the poverty. I knew the folks wouldn't have a lot, but I was still surprised at some of the homes and how they lived. One of the fun things to see were the children - they were so excited when a car a people would drive by! They would run out and wave and were thrilled when we waved back. It seemed to make their day (and the size of their smiles was pretty incredible too!)

The seminary itself is named "Matongo Lutheran Theological College." It is a nice place. There are three classes of students there right now, and they have been able to put together a pretty good library. But they are in need of so much. One of the things I found out was that the students are only allowed 2 sheets of paper for handouts each week - because they cannot afford to give them more.
We brought along a lot of the new pocket-sized Book of Concords to give to them, which were much appreciated. I wish I had known how much they needed, because I could have brought more stuff along! Oh well, maybe in the future.

Tomorrow: Teaching the Pastors.