By Greg Moore, The Kansas City Star
Kenyans are God-fearing people.
And though I haven’t been to church since coming to Nairobi more than a month ago, I did ride the bus last week.
It all started in a gift shop in the city centre. And it ended with a 20-something preacher in suede cowboy boots yelling at me in Sheng, the Swahili-English patois that everybody here speaks fluently.
I had been looking for a nice gift for my wife since I came to the area. And just about every shop in the city centre sells little elephant statues and banana leaf mosaics and beaded leather bracelets that read “Kenya.” For most friends and family, such keepsakes are perfect.
But these gifts aren’t exactly romantic. So a couple of friends agreed to take me to a jewelry shop in an affluent part of town.
The three of us got on a Citi Hoppa bus, and so did just about everybody else in Nairobi. People turned sideways to shuffle down the aisle toward the remaining seats in the back. These buses, unlike their American counterparts, don’t have standing room. Backsides rubbed against shoulders. Shopping bags bumped into heads.
Soon each seat was full. Everyone was touching someone else. There was no air-conditioning. And since it’s early summer – and since the people of Nairobi wear long-sleeve shirts and pants regardless of the weather – we were all sweating bit.
Right before the bus pulled off, a young guy got on board and stood in the aisle. He looked around and smiled with anticipation.
There was nowhere for him to sit. But he didn’t seem to care.
The young man wearing stylish jeans and a casual blue blazer started to nod at people. He had on a button-up shirt that was open at the neck. His skin and eyes were light brown. His hair was curly and black. My friends took one look at him and knew he was from the coast.
He didn’t have any wrinkles. And none of his hair had turned gray or fallen out. I took one look at him and knew that hadn’t yet turned 30.
The bus got going. And so did he.
He held a book by Pastor Rick Warren in his left hand. He introduced himself as being from a church in Mombasa.
The bus started slowly. And so did he. And it was all in Swahili. I had no idea what he was saying. But I know Christian preaching when I hear it.
The bus sped up and gained momentum. And so did he.
A few minutes in, I looked around. No one was talking. And just about everyone was paying attention.
“Especially, for our generation!” the young preacher yelled in English. It seemed like he was looking right at me.
He was into it. When the bus jerked, he grabbed a seat, braced himself and kept going in Swahili.
“Honor your mother and your father!”
He paused. The bus was silent.
“Especially! …”
He took off again. Swahili. His face was red. English. His index finger was wagging. More Swahili. His voice was turning horse. Still more Swahili. The bus had been going for more than 15 minutes and so had he.
He yelled out a Bible book chapter and verse in English. He went back to Swahili, but now he was whispering.
Again, I have no idea what he was saying, but whatever it was, he meant it, and the people on that bus were into it. No one other than the young preacher said a word.
He stopped. I looked around. So did he.
“Wow,” I thought. “That dude knows how to work a cro…
“Especially!” he yelled, snapping me back to attention and breaking the silence in English. He quickly switched back to Swahili and kept going for another 10 minutes or so.
Finally, he was done.
“Amen.”
A woman handed him a bill folded up into a little square. Others reached up and handed him money as well. Some gave him small stacks of coins. Others gave him paper.
“Thank you,” he said, wiping sweat from his brow. “Thank you.”
The bus pulled to a stop. He gave a wave and jumped off without paying.
No one complained.
And anyway as one of my friends said on the way to the jewelry store, “He didn’t use a seat.”
The Kansas City Star has exchanged journalists with Nation Media in Nairobi, Kenya, for the last three years in partnership with the Alfred Friendly Press Fellowships. Greg Moore, who is The Star’s wire editor, is traveling and teaching journalism in Kenya and Uganda for the next several weeks.
Submitted by GregMoore on November 15, 2009 – 7:24am.
Commentaires