A Backwards People

During one of our daily outings Pastor Robbie saw two younger girls and a young boy alongside of the dirt road. They spotted us and waved enthusiastically at the car. Robbie called out to them using some African tongue and they replied in suit. We pulled up to them and Robbie offered them a ride to their "Shamba" (home) which was nearby on an expansive dirt, mud, and grass compound. As the children approached the car I could more clearly see that they were dressed very differently from the average African I was becoming accustomed to. The girls in particular were wearing bright-colored and beautifully designed, tribal dresses of some kind. We put their things in the back and drove a distance onto the compound. The kids laughed joyously as the roofless land rover jumped and jolted along the bumpy terrain. It was obvious they rarely got the chance to ride in a car and they were having the time of their lives. We soon came upon a small village of Shambas and tin shacks. We let the children out and helped them with their things, and before we knew it people-- children and adults alike--seemed to pour out from all over the place and approach the vehicle. At this point Robbie smiled and explained this was a Maasai village. He told us that he knew the two girls and the boy we gave a ride to through his wife Elizabeth who had been ministering to them for the past 9+ years. The children instinctively ran to the window and began running the hands along the metallic car doors. One boy in particular walked right up to my window and with a giant smile asked me my name. "Rainier" I said, "But you can just call me Ray. What's your name?" He smiled again, reached into the open car window to shake my hand and told me his name was Samuel. Of all the children, he remained at my door and continued to talk to me asking me all sorts of questions. He seemed so powerfully interested in who I was, what I was doing, and what brought me to Kenya.

Though using broken English and sometimes straining to understand my replies, I truly enjoyed my conversation with Samuel. All the while countless men, women and other children approached the car from all sides to shake my hand and greet me with enormous smiles. Most of which spoke no English whatsoever, and so I strived to express my thankfulness and friendliness in my smile and body language. It was such a joy meeting so many tribal Kenyans at once. All of which were so friendly and warm-welcoming! Through all the excitement Samuel never left my side. Always with more questions, and his express desire to see us more "lots" he said, and to bring a "futbol" (soccer ball) to play with him. Almost the entire time Samuel's hand lay on my forearm resting on the open window ledge. He seemed fascinated by my skin which was so much lighter than his own. He even reached in further to grab my bicep and said "show me your big muscles, yeah?" I laughed and was reluctant at first but had the hardest time denying such a sweet face. I rolled up my sleeve and flexed for the him and he grabbed my tense arm with the widest smile. I had seen and noticed it often, but had forgotten that almost all Kenyan have a powerfully similar body type and structure. They are all quite thin and lean. Tight, but necessarily in a muscular way, and all have stereotypically thin arms. I had not fully realized that when seeing me, a pleasantly-plump and husky-thick Mzungo (white/foreigner) I stand out against the norm here in Kenya. I then playfully said "Come Samuel, show us your big muscles, yeah?" and he laughed and rolled up his tiny sleeve and flexed as hard as he could. I reached out and grabbed his arm and expressed the same amazed face he gave me and said, "Wow! Samuel! You are so strong! What do they feed you African boys out here!" He laughed, smiled big and expressed how happy and thankful he was for meeting us. At one point Samuel's hand moved from my arm and reached for my left ear and he said he liked us cause we were good people, "I can tell you good person." With that simple sentence alone I felt my heart melt in my chest. I smiled large back at him and said, "Jesus make me good person. Without Jesus I be bad person. Because Jesus live inside of me He change me. He make me good person." I reached out, put my hand on his head and said, "You good person too! Jesus inside of you too? You born-again?" He nodded his little head, "Yes, Jesus inside of me, I born-again." I praised God and yelled "Amen! High five!" We both smiled so enthusiastically and were now overjoyed to know we had a connection in Christ. At this point Robbie had approached the car and was finishing up a conversation with the Maasai village pastor who then invited us all to an upcoming Maasai wedding. He asked if we would be interested in going and we of course said yes. "Sounds great" Nathan said. I shared the news with Samuel and he was super stoked to know we would be returning at the end of the month, and I told him I would bring futbols, lol.

As we said our good byes and began to leave the compound all the children gathered in a large group and called out to us, waving us along as we drove away. Though possessing so litte, playing with little more tha stick, stones and trash, these little ones had more joy than any other children I had ever seen! And that's saying alot working for the Children's Ministry of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. There was something special and blessed about these little backwater, tribal kids. Robbie began to tell us of the Maasai people, and that they are a warrior tribe. I thought back to the loving way we were greeted and asked if they are like that with all people. Robbie said that normally no regular person would be allowed to simply approach and enter a Maasai village like that, and that we were greeted so warmly because of the work of the Lord through Elizabeth and his ministry to them. They knew them very well and had earned their love and respect. We were accepted because of our connection to them (the Gordon family). At that point I felt so immensely privileged to be able to experience such warmth because God's love now moving through their tribe. Robbie also began to describe that many other Kenyans look down on the Maasai as a strange and backwards people. Compared to many other tribes or people groups living near and in the capitol of Nairobi, the Maasai stand out strange. All for remaining close to their cultural traditions. Even down to what they wear, eat, and do for a living, which is largely cow farming. They are a completely agrarian people. In fact, almost all of the land in and around Nairobi was and still is Maasai land. The word "Nairobi" (the name given to the capitol all Kenya) is a Maasai word to begin with. Much of the land was stolen or bought from the Maasai years ago. Much like the Indian people of America. Because of this, the Maasai are among the very few tribes (if not the only tribe) with certain special privileges. For example, to my current knowledge, only the Maasai are allowed to carry swords and "Rungu" (a special wooden, boomergan-like club) in public anywhere in Nairobi. Even amongst native Kenyans they stand out as an old-fashioned people. It made me think of the Amish community of the States. "What an amazing people" I thought to myself. And how blessed I was to meet them. If you think of it, please pray for the Lord's continuing ministry amongst the Maasai of Nairobi. They are a wonderful people that need Christ powerfully.