Traveling Minute Report

This is the report I read during our monthly business meeting at church last Sunday about my trip to Kenya:

Freedom Friends Church
Traveling Minute Report
Kenya 2009

January 9, 2010

Dear Friends,

Since returning home from Kenya, I have had many people ask me about what being in Kenya was like and what it is like for me to return home. It’s a hard question to respond to as there are so many mixed up emotions, questions, and images within me that are involved in the answer. I find it difficult to describe the changes that took place, how the things I saw, heard, and did changed who I am, how I see the world, my own culture, and myself. But I did change, what I think of the world is changed and now I am left with the question, “How am I to integrate what I learned in Kenya into how I live my life and how I relate to the people and places around me?” My view of the world is much larger than it was before, my sense of the important issues people face is much more realistic, and I now have a better sense of what life, and my place within it, is really like.

The main focus of my trip was the three speaking opportunities I had at two Quaker conferences in the western provinces, one talk on “Women in Ministry” and another on the Quaker Youth Book Project both for the Young Quaker Christian Association of Africa gathering and the third on “Youth in Ministry” which I gave at the youth gathering of East Africa Yearly Meeting (North). All of the talks went extremely well. For the “Women in Ministry” talk, a pastor from the western provinces joined me in order to discuss her experience in ministry and some of the difficulties women face in obeying their call. I was also grateful for the presence of Eden Grace who was there as a support to me but who also added to the conversation during our question and answer period by giving concrete examples of supportive husbands within Kenya. It was very important to me to speak to the women from within their cultural context so I was very grateful for these two women in addition to all the teaching Eden gave our delegation about Kenya beforehand.

For the interest group on the Quaker Youth Book Project which John Lomuria and I presented together, we discussed what the book project is, the process we’re going through, what our experiences working as a board have been like, and where we are going from here. One of the attendees asked us to read one of the pieces going into the book so we read and discussed one of the board member’s stories on membership in a meeting. As a result, we had exactly the kind of conversation we would like the book to inspire, a perfect and very practical example of how the book can be used after its release. I was also very glad to be able to give John some emotional support as he has always before been on his own in Kenya while working on our project which was well received.

The third talk on “Youth in Ministry” took place in front of a large gathering of youth and young adults from East Africa Yearly Meeting (North). For my Biblical text I used the Joseph story as well as sharing some of my own history before encouraging them to obey the calls God had placed on their lives, to listen to what God is saying and to not let anyone silence who they are. For me personally, it was one of the highlights of my trip as the words I spoke became as true for me as it was for them; that I too, need to listen to God’s call on my life and to not let anyone silence me, others or even myself. After the talk, I received good feedback from both the Kenyans and the three women accompanying me. While to me, God’s feedback is most important, I know it can also come from those around me and so what they said was therefore precious to me.

In addition to speaking, I was also part of a delegation from the U.S., the Netherlands, and Britain who visited ministries around Kenya such as the Friends International Center in Nairobi, Lugulu Hospital, an orphanage in Turkana just finishing the process of closing due to lack of funds, and the monthly meeting in Lodwar. Each time we went somewhere, the people we visited with were very grateful we were there. For them, having someone come to visit, to see the ministries with their own eyes, is far more valuable and precious to them than receiving a check in the mail, as important as that also is. It taught our delegation that the most important gift we can give to each other is our time and loving attention.

Even though I am now home, the images of Kenya are still with me. I am learning how to live my life from the point of view I now look out from, to make decisions based on the growth I experienced while there, and to hear the voice of God in my soul in a new way. What this will all look like will be a continual unfolding, one I am excited to see. I pray my time in Kenya was a blessing to many. I am sure I will never know the full extent of that blessing or the ripple effects it might hold, but I trust God’s work and I am grateful to have been a part of it.

Thank you all for your support and encouragement in both my ministry in Kenya and as I continue to minister wherever God leads. I am grateful to have been blessed with a church that holds me in prayer as I go to spread God’s love.

Your fellow Friend,
Sarah Katreen Hoggatt