Home again, as they say, but without any jigs. Arrived in Binghamton yesterday around 8:30 in the morning, kept in a state of constant wakefulness by a bus driver who uncannily resembled Chris Farley playing a motivational speaker who lives out of a van parked down by the river. The haircut, the contours of the body, the outfit, the tenor of the voice, everything about him resembled that long mourned comedic genius. Kept wondering if he, the bus driver, had... Read more
The full force of winter—gray skies, occasional rain, temperatures of fifty to sixty degrees—is bearing down upon and afflicting the population of Nairobi. The pharmacist, when I meekly inquired about throat lozenges, declared that she had not been sick for years and years, but had caught this very cold. Everyone has it. It is the most contagious thing ever. The only thing to do is wrap up in a blanket and sit before a fire, and to rub expensive cognac... Read more
By rights I should have a lovely scintillating podcast and a whole lot of links for you today. Being here wide awake in Nairobi, however, and Matt asleep in Binghamton makes the podcast an impossibility. And the fact that I haven’t read anything at all for weeks means there are no links. Well, that’s not true, I’ve read Something New (that’s a PG Wodehouse) straight through. The thing I like most about being here, besides the overpowering head-cold that supersedes... Read more
I am always in the habit of promising to pray for people. I say it all the time, “I am so so sorry about what you’re facing. I will pray.” And people I know and love say it to me often as well, “I am praying for you.” It’s a thing that a Christian says, and—here is the kicker—does, just as much as anything else, like reading the Bible or hauling her miserable over-fed, common-cold-addled bulk out of bed to... Read more
Is it the end of June already? Which means the year is half over. I’m sitting here listening to my parents practice the choir for church tomorrow. I should be singing with them but I’ve caught a cold that seems to have removed my voice as one of the functional aspects of my person. It’s obviously a divine intervention to keep the choir up to level. In a few moments we’ll be going to a pastry shop for the weekly... Read more
One We are nearing the end of a whirlwind week. Daily visits to the school, a quick dash of the elephant orphanage, bountiful meals with friends, and constant trips to Carrefour for stuff we forgot on the last trip are taking up every moment. Yesterday we staggered into Carrefour four separate times. Today we’re throwing a party for the children and their families—beef stew, chapatis, cake, and other forms of sugar—it should be thrilling. Two Kenya, just like everywhere else,... Read more
This week will be one long apology for not blogging very much. But first things first. Here is the podcast Matt and I did right before leaving Jerusalem, he to go home and me to come to Nairobi. In it we talk about Gafcon and what we liked best and the future of Anglicanism around the world. And now to the usual apology about blogging. The difference of hours has really thrown me off. In spite of spending the first... Read more
Greetings from Nairobi. Jambo Sana, etc. I am sitting huddled next to a large bubbling pot of soup trying to keep warm. The presence of a cat named either Bill (girl) or Bob (boy—just to be unwoke…what’s the opposite of woke? Slept?) on my lap means I am typing with one finger. My mother has gone from 11 cats to 8, which must be progress, defined one way or another. This cat woke, hem, me up this morning by smacking... Read more
Today is the Sabbath, a strangely monumental occasion to observe. There are a few cars driving by, but the usual bustle of early morning is completely absent. The train isn’t running and no one is out. We are going to rally ourselves for a long walk into the old city to see what it is like when no one is there. And then perhaps we’ll get a taxi back. Yesterday we discovered the place where ordinary people shop. This question... Read more
Didn’t purposely neglect to post yesterday. Sat down to write a dozen times but couldn’t pull my mind into one single direction. The veritable accumulated feasts of the conference itself, this beautiful city, and all the lovely people have put me almost to saturation point. I can’t think of anything, or know where I am, and it will take me weeks to sort through and unpack all the riches of this time. Which makes quick takes perfect, seven scattered things... Read more
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Preventing Grace
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