“Why We Need Africa”                                                         April 11, 2010
Philippians 1:  3–6                                                              The Rev. Dr. Beth Braxton

In the beginning of this Eastertide season, between two great festivals – the Festival of the Resurrection of our Lord, which we celebrated last week with bells, balloons and Alleluias;  and the Worship Festival next Sunday when all our choirs sing and instrumental groups play to commemorate our thirty years of ministry on this corner of the world; I thought it appropriate to share a resurrection story of this church – our particular ministry in East Africa. Two people have asked me recently -- when are we going to see the DVD of the Kibwezi trip? Since our church calendar is full with wonderful concerts and retreats, I thought I would bring our story here to worship on the eve of our thirtieth – it is a mission project itself which is celebrating a “coming of age” at 21 years of ministry. (Now there may only be two people who are interested, maybe the rest of you might want to listen in!)

READ scripture:  Philippians 1:3-6 Paul’s letter written from prison beginning with thanksgiving. This passage could be read as our thanksgiving for our partnership with Kibwezi or it could be read as Kibwezi’s thanksgiving for their partnership with us!

Listen to the word of God.

A person who has been to East Africa on a couple of mission trips sent me a You Tube video and said, “You have to watch this; you will understand it’s meaning.” The video is entitled “I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me.”

I want to show it to you first as it is like a background theme to our mission and this message this morning. It goes by fast, so pay close attention; it is only two minutes.

SHOW You Tube Video:  “I Need Africa More Than Africa Needs Me”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAB-zJPsJjs

IN 1987 Burke Presbyterian was only seven years old and looking for an international mission. I had been here as pastor for three years and had had some involvement previously with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA). Our Mission Ministry Group at the time decided Kenya would be a good place to get involved so I wrote the PCEA and asked how can we might help in their ministry in a long term effort? We were invited to Kibwezi, Kenya, the site where the first Scottish missionaries came in 1891; the need defined to us was to grow the church and build a PolyTech, vocational school for students who could not afford to go on to high school or who could not make the grade to go on to high school.

After each mission trip; and there have been nine of them, I have written a report, and with the exception of two of the trips I have made a DVD to document what we did and who was involved. This year, after writing the script I worked with Ed Parker on some photos then he put together the DVD.
For those who are visiting and new to our church, let me describe Kibwezi then and now. Kibwezi is a small town about 100 hundred miles Southeast of Nairobi the capital. In 1988 the area around the town was mostly bush. The Presbyterian Church, that had just been built, was a small mud brick church in the area of the cemetery where 11 Scottish missionaries were buried. The PCEA had also started a three curriculum vocational school; carpentry being taught out under a tree, masonry taught in an open air classroom, and a sewing class inside a room with dirt floors, one borrowed treadle sewing machine and only cement bags for patterns. There were roughly 24 students at that time along with about twenty pre-school children meeting in the church with one blackboard. Period.

Now The Kibwezi PolyTech is part of the Kibwezi Educational Centre with Pre-School, Imani Primary School through 8th grade, the PolyTech with five curriculums, Secretarial College, Tumaini Orphan Home, clinic, the Bethel Church and fifteen congregations out in the villages surrounding Kibwezi. At noon the dining hall feeds upwards of 500 children, youth and staff! This to me is a 21 year miracle!

In the short 10 minute DVD that I am going to show you, I have given just a taste of how the ministry has grown and I have used the story of “the feeding of the 5,000” as my theological paradigm. One thing to note is that unlike other mission trips where we have largely been involved in building a classroom or dormitory building together, now you will see the group were all dispersed using our many gifts, from computer skills to preaching.

SHOW DVD: “An Incredible Journey”–9th Mission Work camp (See Website).

The question of this sermon is “Why We Need Africa?” Let’s make it specific: Why do we need Kibwezi, Kenya?

Continuing with my theological paradigm of the loaves and fish–I can answer in three words–“twelve baskets full!” It is because we bring home twelve baskets full of “left-over” gifts:

1. Faith – The first basket is full of faith. The primary gift we receive in Kibwezi after serving the food of our gifts that God provides, is faith. The faith of our Kenyan brothers and sisters is evident all day long in all the obstacles they face. In the midst of struggles with drought, food shortage, lack of funds, they affirm “God will provide;” and they work together with God! Through their witness, our faith is increased.

2. Hope – The second basket is full of hope. They hope to take in twenty more orphans; they hope to build a high school one day. Their expectations “that God can do far more than we can think or imagine” is the hope they live and pass on to us!

3. Love is an overflowing basket. Their love is so evident in the giving of themselves and what they have. There is an East African proverb that says: “You only have what you give away.” We are invited into their homes for dinner – sometimes six or sixteen of us into a space half the size of our new cottage. They have given me a whole new perspective on having guests to my home: Don’t fret over what I don’t have, like space, or particular china; just enjoy the relationships.

4. Community is the fourth basket. The concept of working together; we are not going to get the stones moved unless we ALL work together. I remember one image in a sermon that Rev. Kimathi, one of the first pastors in Kibwezi, gave. He was preaching on the Corinthian passage where Paul uses the image of a physical body for the body of Christ, the church. Kimathi said if the little finger is hurt or cut, do you send it to the hospital? (I was picturing a little finger walking by itself…) No, the whole body goes to the hospital! We are in this world together. If one person is hurt, we all go to take care of that hurt because we are all a part of the hurt!

5. Connectedness is the fifth basket. Kibwezi connects us to global understanding of a completely different culture and the values they have to share.

6. Singing is an overwhelming basket. From the time a child can speak, a child sings! They show us that one of the greatest inspirational activities, that cost no money, is singing, not just for children, but adults too. They sing their faith! Their day begins and ends with singing.

7. Dancing/movement basket is a part of the music and singing. You don’t just stand still and sing, but you move with the music and are twice blessed.

8. Sense of time – They themselves will often speak of “African time.” There is not the tension of scheduled time, we will meet when everyone shows up. If we can’t do it today, we can do it tomorrow. We experience and take away the eighth basket full of unhurried time.

9. The ninth basketful is a good measure of simplicity. The folks in Kibwezi are not encumbered with lots of stuff; there is simplicity of living. No cars, but walking and bikes, matatus (small buses) for transportation. One pair of shoes for work or school and one pair of flip flops for all other times, and so forth. Pencils are used until they are so short you cannot hold them any more. As the You Tube video said, “Possessions in my hands will never be as valuable as peace in my heart.”

10. A basket full of perspective is the tenth basket. When you live with just the basics for even a short month, you gain perspective on what is important. You gain perspective on yourself. You gain perspective on your country, seeing how others see us.

11. The eleventh basket is the witness of the church. We experience the power of testimony, of hearing their stories of faith. They willingly talk about how God has worked in their lives; that nourishes our souls and encourages our own stories.

12. The twelfth basket is really full of joy. Again as was expressed in the video: “Joy has no regard to circumstance; I bought into the lie that circumstance defines happiness. I see joy in these African people.” That joy now helps define me.

Yes, we need Africa! Burke Presbyterian Church has been given a great gift in our partnership in the gospel with Bethel Kibwezi Church and the Educational Centre there. We come home every time with at least twelve baskets FULL! I thank you for being a part of the loaves and fish miracle! Every time you give a gourmet dinner for four and earn $125 in the Kibwezi auction, it is most of the room and board for a PolyTech student. Every time you offer babysitting in the auction and earn $25, you are providing several Bibles and hymnbooks for a village church.

Yes, I thank God for YOU and OUR partnership in the Gospel for the first day until now! Amen!

Let’s join in singing “Blest Be the Tie That Binds.”