This morning I walked up to a field in its first year of "grow back". It was a mountain field. This afternoon I went back to the new mountain field I first visited. I saw six people there. Their job was to scare monkeys away. Some of them were grinding something or doing other things as they waited for monkeys. They were late getting to the field yesterday and the monkeys did some damage.
Above: Boys guarding the mountain field from monkeys
One of the missionaries was talking this evening about things she wishes they had and things they left in Kenya. It made me think again about how materialism is not defined by how much one has, but by how satisfied one is with what one has. I also wonder what "incarnational evangelism" implies for missionaries in a place like this one. I think that to live among the people as they live would greatly increase the credibility and effectiveness of my witness. It would also greatly decrease my standard of living and life expectancy. I don't know if I could bring a wife or children into such a situation. This is definitely something for a missionary to consider before marriage. I doubt that real, honest-to-goodness incarnational evangelism could be done through most established mission organizations. I don't think it is a possibility for me this summer. I wonder if I could find a few people willing to do that sort of thing with me?
Another of the missionaries seems to often complain about the response of the people. It must be discouraging for her. I think I can understand why the people act as they do in some instances. For example, many of us grow up with a feeling that pre-marital sex is wrong. We would experience great cognitive dissonance or guilt feelings if we sinned in this way. But the young Christian Lotuko woman who is now pregnant probably had no such feelings to help her overcome the temptation.
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