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Joining in worship, adoration of
Christ
Pastoral Pondering: The Bible --
God's love letter
Helping
others in
a foreign land |
The Stanfield family have made a home in Kenya as
part of their work as missionaries |
By Schellene Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
|
The sign over their door reads “Karibu”
– welcome in Swahili.
And that’s exactly how one feels when invited into the home of Jeff and
Christine Stanfield.
The wooden carvings of exotic animals placed here and there around the room
and a woven basket are the only exotic-looking items in a room that is otherwise like any
other cozy living room.
The Stanfields, career missionaries with the African Gospel Church, have
spent the last dozen years – with a few visits home to America – serving the
people of Tenwik, Kenya. And even though they’ve only been back in the states since
August, the couple and their children – Elizabeth, 14, and Christopher, 11 – are
already missing the wide open fields, temperate climate and openness of the people of
Kenya.
Life there is slow and “hakuna matata,” the phrase made popular in
America by the Disney movie “Lion King,” is more than a motto.
Christine, a registered nurse, decided to become a missionary when she
realized that most of the patients admitted to her care in the hospital were there due to
lifestyle choices they had made. These choices included accidents caused by driving too
fast and heart disease brought about by overeating.
“I wanted to go help people who were sick through no fault of their
own,” she said.
She also teaches at the Tenwik school of nursing and has been assistant
administrator at the school.
Christine said the people of Tenwik have a different perspective. A
“hurry, hurry then there’s no blessing,” attitude on life. The saying means
slow down and talk to people.
The people in Kenya are open and friendly, they said, and relationships are
important. Often, when walking along the road, if you meet someone he or she will shake
your hand, ask about your day and insist you visit for tea, she said.
Christine said the people may be poor by U.S. standards, but
sharing and giving is important to them.
Originally from Newberg (except Christopher, who was born in Tenwik
Hospital), the family lives and works in Kenya, 180 miles Southwest of Nairobi.
Jeff said he decided in the mid-1980s to go on a mission. “God told us
to go,” he said. “We needed to go to another culture.”
A computer technician, Jeff now serves as the director of the information and
technology department at the Tenwik hospital. He said he wanted to use his talents to help
improve the lives of people who had never had access to that kind of technology. “It
was exciting to go into an area where technology was so new,” he said.
Returning to Newberg was odd for all members of the family. “Life has
gone on here, lives have changed (since we left),” Jeff said.
Elizabeth, who is home-schooled while in the U. S., said she doesn’t
feel she fits in here. “Nobody understands where you are coming from,” she said.
Her mom agreed, adding that the family is surrounded by people concerned with
day-to-day survival in Africa.
“Here, people’s perspectives are different,” she said.
People in Kenya, many of whom are lucky to have $5 a month in disposable
income, worry about gathering food and water and ensuring that their children go to
school. These basic needs make many concerns here seem frivolous and wasteful, Christine
said.
And the rules are different here. Christina said Christopher was puzzled when
they first moved here, when the family had to wait for traffic to dissipate. In Kenya, if
you get tired of waiting in line, you just pull off the road and drive around, even it
means driving on the sidewalks.
Christopher also remarked that the roads here are too smooth, making it
difficult for him to fall asleep on trips. And he misses the wide open fields to play in.
Although each said they would miss something about the U.S. the family will
be glad to get back to their home in Kenya.
Christina will miss the ready contact with her family and Jeff the ease of
computer support and availability of equipment to purchase. Christopher said he will miss
the food, “especially Dairy Queen,” and Elizabeth will miss the malls.
Their work with the church, however is important to them, as it allows them
fellowship, as well as a chance to get to know the people.
Christina said she enjoys encouraging the Kenyan people to stay a part of the
church and share their faith and personal relationship with God. “We want them to
understand that God loves them,” she said. |
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From Feb. 4,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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