Nairobi Translation: Nearing the End

We had our last Sunday worship time for this trip together at Ken's church and then an afternoon at the safari.

Joel preached this morning from 1 Samuel 12:24 - "Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider what great things He has done for you." It was a good three point sermon with a lot of stories to illustrate. I could see the influence of his training at Dallas Theological Seminary, which he finished a few years ago, and his deep roots in the African culture that utilizes lots of stories to communicate a message. Joel was sharing with Bonheur and me yesterday about the influence his mother has had on him with her sharp Bible memory and excellent story telling. Bonheur helped translate for me as Joel preached in Swahili. Bonheur knows at least five languages well, so had no trouble translating for me. Ken and his congregation welcomed us warmly and it was a delight to worship with them.

After church we all piled into Ken's vehicle and headed back to the Subiaco center and had lunch. (Ken's son, David, is pictured with Joel and Bonheur) Then from lunch we went to the safari that Matt, Justin, and I had attempted to go to with Ken during our May Romans Project trip. At that time we had purchased passes for the Nairobi National Safari, but then we were denied entrance because the Chinese prime minister was visiting and no one else was supposed to enter the park. Ken, however, managed to get us in a side entrance, but military guards kept us contained in one small section riding around in circles seeing the same animals all afternoon.

This time it was completely different. The park had given us vouchers to be used by the end of the calendar year, so Ken and I decided to take Joel and Bonheur along with his three kids and niece. I thought of Matt and Justin the whole time as we saw numerous animals: baboons, zebras, gazelles, giraffes, ostriches, hippos, antelope, and much more. Ken had really hoped to show us a lion, so we scoured the huge park in search of a lion, but didn't find them in their usual places. Just as it had gotten dark enough to turn on our lights and as we were only a few miles from the exit gate, we finally came upon a lion in the road. It walked in front of us a ways and then sat on the side of the dirt road just 10 feet from the vehicle as we passed by. It was quite the thrill to see.

The perseverance with which we pursued our goal of seeing a lion this afternoon illustrated for me the perseverance that Joel and Bonheur have exemplified in their translation efforts this past week and a half. I thank God for these men and their diligence to present themselves as living, holy, and acceptable sacrifices to God in their translation efforts. Tomorrow is our last full day of work and both have their sights set on completing one more session. Bonheur hopes to finish session 12 and Joel session 11.

PLEASE PRAY that God would grant them grace to work well throughout the day.

Tuesday morning we leave to go back to our respective countries. Bonheur and I  leave for the airport at 5am and Joel leaves on a bus later in the morning.

PLEASE PRAY that God watches over us during our travels and that we make our destinations safely.

PRAY also that God would allow us another block of time in the near future to finish the remaining sessions of translations.