Apologetics Tour in Africa and Europe ^Featured

We arrived in Nairobi Thursday evening. This is the largest city and capital of Kenya. It has five million inhabitants out of a country with 40 million, but is surprisingly small in area; which, of course makes it very crowded. Nearly everyone here speaks at least three languages, English, Kiswahili and the language of their native group. The weather here is very pleasant. We are one degree south of the equator, yet it is mid to upper fifties at night and in the low seventies during the day. Kenya is unique in Africa as it is the most British of the countries, being relatively genteel, polite and calm (not a common quality in sub-Saharan Africa). Because of a relatively free and stable society, Kenya is one of the more prosperous of African countries. Its culture combines the Arab-influenced east coast, with the bustling city of Mombasa, forty-one native groups, and many refugees from Congo, Uganda, Somalia, Southern Sudan and more. Our fellowship has eight churches here, in Nairobi (1700 members), Mombasa (40 members) Eldoret (150 members) and five smaller churches.

We are staying at the home of Ben and Sarah. They are very gracious hosts. They have three children. We enjoyed wonderful local food. There is a British feel to the food, as well as African flavor. Nairobi is a mix of fairly modern, with much poverty as well. According to our friends, the slum here, with more than one million inhabitants, is the largest in Africa.

On Friday evening I spoke on Church History to the campus group, which is about 100 strong. The singing is really great and the group is very enthusiastic. Tonight Kate finally arrived, so we are all together now.

Saturday began with an early trip to the Nairobi National Park for a safari. We were so blessed to see buffalo, ostriches, Thompson’s gazelles, impalas, zebras, warthogs, giraffes and even a rhino. We were right in the middle of a herd of giraffes, which made for great pictures. The rhino made a move to charge our car, so we got right out of there. What a wonderful experience. This was followed by a lesson on the book of Daniel for the church, after which we watched the US and Ghana in the world cup. Our hosts rooted for Ghana, of course. Sorry Africa, but we are rooting for the US.

Sunday we attended the inaugural service for the new building east of town. This is the first church building for any of our churches in East Africa. It can seat well over 2000, which is a good thing because there were 3200 in attendance today! The building is actually not finished, but with 20+ visiting from the Triangle and other NC churches, they wanted to do the inaugural. I was able to do a Lord’s Supper talk on the Passover. George Irunyu (wife Ann) introduced the new building. Two elders from North Carolina spoke. There were new deacons, three baptisms, many announcements and absolutely inspiring singing. The service went for four hours! After excellent lunch, I spoke to about 250 on “Golden Rule Membership.” Imagine being at church for 6+ hours. What a devoted membership. When we left, after about 6.5 hours, there were still hundreds fellowshipping. Tomorrow we leave very early for Eldoret—a four hour drive. We are already thinking of coming back, including a visit to Addis Ababa and Rwunda/Burundi.

Eldoret, Kenya June 28-30

We traveled by land across the Great Rift Valley to Eldoret. This is the fifth largest city in Kenya, with 500,000 inhabitants. It is also the center of the terrible fighting after the most recent presidential election. The people here are still reeling after the communal fighting between the Kikuyus on one side and the Luos and their allies the Kalenjin on the other. Unfortunately, the politics of this country is highly polarized along tribal lines. The fighting was the result of what was perceived as a rigged reelection of the current president who is Kikuyu. There were at least 1300 deaths. The troubles were centered around Eldoret. As we drove into the city we saw many burned out businesses and homes of the Kikuyu. The church has been through some very traumatic things in recent times. Many lost homes and property in the unrest. Yet the church has been strengthened in the struggles.

The five hour drive to Eldoret is truly spectacular. The view as we enter the Great Rift Valley is stunning. We pass herds of dik dik and zebras, as well going through very fertile farming regions. We also crossed the equator on the drive (stopping for pictures of course). Eldoret is famous as the center of the region which produces most of the top long distance runners in the world. The area is just below 10,000 feet of elevation and is quite hilly, which may help explain the amazing ability of the locals in this sport. The weather here is very pleasant.
The church we met with has 150 members. It is a fairly young church, with mainly young families. They are led by John and Jane M. We met with the leaders of the church on Monday evening for a talk on Freedom in Christ, followed by much discussion. The leaders seem very insightful, although the church is somewhat immature and really needs good Bible teaching.

On Tuesday we traveled to an amazing overlook of the Great Rift Valley. In the evening I spoke to the church and many guests about Daniel, Prophet to the Nations. There were about 100 in attendance. The church here rarely has outsiders to visit and encourage, so we were very warmly received. We got to talk with members who had lost everything in the fighting last year. The church is still dealing with both the physical and emotional aftermath. The church here is very poor which limits their ability to help those who lost everything in the violence. John and Jane had thirty church members living in their house for two and one half weeks during the conflict after the election. They ran out of food and suffered many hardships.

We visited the HOPE site here in Eldoret. They have four full time workers, offering services which include HIV prevention, testing and counseling, children’s activity programs, a blood donation program, sex, abstinence and faithfulness classes, and many more programs. Our fellowship of churches has six sites throughout Kenya. We are really proud of the work being done.

On Wednesday evening I spoke on The Problem of Pain and Suffering for the church here in Eldoret. The church had many questions which we did our best to answer. It is great to see the commitment of the group to learn, as many are here for the third night in a row. The singing is really great in the church here.

July 1-4 Kampala, Uganda

On Thursday we made the 6-1/2 hour drive from Eldoret Kenya to Kampala, Uganda. We drove for about three hours to the border town of Kisumo with John. The area is quite lush, but the countryside is even more poor than what we have seen before, with many houses being mud/stick huts with grass roofs. The road gets very rough, to the point that we were fearful of getting through. By God’s grace we cross into Uganda, to meet with Richard, Pta (pronounced Petah) and Martin for the four hour drive to Kampala.

Uganda is a very green country with fantastically rich soil. There is a lot of food here. Agriculture is by far the largest industry. The people may be extremely poor, but no one starves in this food-rich country. After over twenty years of very bad rule under Idi Amin in the late sixties to the early eighties, followed by chaos from many guerilla groups for twenty years, the past five years or so have been far better, with stable government and a large growth rate for the economy. With the recent discovery of large oil reserves, the economic prospects are looking up here.

In passing to Kampala, we stopped at the massive Lake Victoria. We had a fantastic lunch of tilapia from the lake and visit the source of the Nile, taking a boat ride up the river, feeling the very strong current, seeing dozens of species of birds and 4-5 foot monitor lizards. What an amazing experience. From there we traveled to Kampala through lush farms and remnant rain forest. Kampala is a in a very hilly area. The population of the metro area is about 3.5 million, out of a country of 28 million. There is striking poverty here and the roads are quite bad in metro Kampala, with many huge potholes, but Uganda is a country on the rise. There is quite a feeling of optimism. Uganda is laid back and friendly compared to the more polite and reserved Kenya. The weather in Kampala is quite humid but not too hot—about 75-80 oF during the day.

We went immediately to a meeting of the Kampala Church of Christ where I taught a class on From Shadow to Reality to about forty five. The meeting was called just today, so this attendance is really quite good. The church seems very encouraged. The church we are visiting here has about 110 members. It is led by Richard and his wife Florence Ahenda.

On Friday we were escorted around Kampala by Roderick. I have met him and Brenda in London two years ago. We visited a memorial to African Christians who were tortured and burned to death by the local Muslim king in the 1880s. We also visited the traditional home of the local king of Buganda, who, on paper, rules the area of Uganda which includes Kampala. There is an uneasy tension between the government and the kings who still have a ceremonial role and own much land. After lunch with a beautiful overview of Lake Victoria, we went to a church meeting for a class on the Book of Daniel. There were about 100 in attendance. It was a lively meeting

Saturday includes shopping in a local market with a university student from the church. The crafts here are really great. After lunch I taught a class for the church on the question of pain and suffering. There are about 75 in attendance. With the political unrest and violence Uganda has suffered in the past thirty-five years, this is a particularly appropriate topic. After the class we had dinner of Indian food with Richard and Florence Ahenda, the lead couple of the Kampala Church and Johnson and Nora Namei, the leaders of the church in Kigali, Ruanda. Johnson and Nora shared how hard it is for the church in Ruanda. They speak neither the native African language nor French, making it very hard to lead the group, as this is a French, not English country. The church in Kigali has about twenty members.

There are very deep scars still today from the 1994 genocide of the Tutsis by the Hutus. They share that the current situation is very repressive, with the Tutsis back in power having killed many Hutus, but no one can talk about it. It is literally illegal to talk about forgiveness in public, making it hard for the church to deal with the wounds which undermine Christian growth. The Nameis feel very challenged to lead this group. I really wish I was visiting this group while here in East Africa. We had fun on our last night together in East Africa. Kate, Liz and I have had such an amazing time. We will have innumerable memories of our dream visit to East Africa.

I said good-bye to Liz and Kate at 2:00 in the morning as I am off to Budapest through Cairo today.

Budapest, Hungary July 4-7

After passing through Cairo, I landed in Budapest, Hungary at 4:00 PM. Unexpectedly, they have church at 5:00 in the evening, so I get to attend church. The church in Budapest has 130 members. They are planning on planting a church in Slovakia in the next couple of years. The group is fairly small, but they have a heart for missions. The church here is led by Peti and Virag Szabad. There is also a couple, Matyi and Anna who lead the campus group. I also got time with Fece and Ildi Varga who do not work for the church, but lead the teens.

Budapest is a beautiful city with a lot of history. The capital of Hungary has a population of 2.5 million out of 10 million in the entire country. This is an unusual culture because the language of the Magyars is not like any of their neighbors. In fact, the closest language is Finnish. The architecture of the city is really wonderful. The palace and parliament buildings are absolute wonders. The city is divided into Buda on the right bank of the Danube and Pest on the left bank.

I woke up on Monday AM to realize that I completely forgot Sunday was July 4th. American Independence Day is not important here. Monday I taught a four hour class on answering the hard questions (trinity, problem of evil, problem of suffering, problem of hell) by discussing the Christian world view versus that of naturalism, postmodernism, pantheism, Islam and so forth for about 30 mostly teens and campus. The culture here is interested in such intellectual questions about Christianity. These difficult theological questions are something Christians at the university need to be ready to answer. I had a very encouraging dinner with Sean Wooten. He and Lena and their two kids are here in Budapest to encourage the church. They lead the church in Kiev (2000 members). They just had a time of repentance and a campaign which resulted in 110 baptisms in just a couple of months. Sean is a great visionary leader. I am honored to spend time with him sharing stories and vision for the church. In the evening I did an evangelistic lecture titled “The Bible, from God or Man?” The hall was packed and many guests were present. It was an encouraging time.

Tuesday was another four hour class for the teens and campus on Jesus and Christian Apologetics. After this I visited a museum dedicated to the Hungarian doctor/scientist Ignaz Semmelweis. He is a bit of a scientific hero to me. I actually shared about his career in the lesson the night before, only to learn that his home and a museum to him were right here in Budapest. It was a great treat to visit this museum. This was followed by lunch at a typical Hungarian restaurant.

After a wonderful lunch with a group of marrieds in the Budapest church, I took an overnight train—a sixteen hour overnight ride—to my next destination, which is Bucharest, Romania. The trip takes us through the massive Hungarian plane, through the Carpathian Mountains, skirting Transylvania, and into Romania proper. I am passing from Catholic Hungary to Orthodox Romania. The churches begin to reflect the Russian/ Byzantine style. On the way into Bucharest we passed through some beautiful mountains. At this point I am truly exhausted.

Bucharest, Romania July 7-9

I arrived at the train station and am met by Gyorgy (Gyugyu) and his wife Anni Orsos. They are the couple now leading the group here. They came from Budapest two years ago. He is a Gypsy (Rom) and she is Hungarian. They have two small children with a third on the way. Gyugyu is still learning the Romanian language, which makes leading the group a challenge. The church here has fifty members. They are a mixture of young families with very small children and a number of older members. The number of older people in the church is unusual for our fellowship. The one who encouraged me to come to Bucharest is Christian Paduraru. He and his wife Erika lead one of the three groups in the church. They have three small children. This is a church with many small children!

Bucharest is a city of 4 million in a country of 23 million. There are a number of beautiful older buildings here, but many of them are crumbling. There is some of the feel of a decaying city here. This is a remnant of the terrible and dark days under Ciaucescu who ruled as an absolute dictator up until the liberation in 1989. I visited the massive palace which he had built at an expense which bankrupted Romania. It is impressive but gaudy. Romania is clawing its way back toward prosperity. It is now part of the EU, but I get the sense that it has a long way to go. Wages are low here but the cost of living is not so low. The Romanian language is an interesting case. It is a romance language. It sounds closest to Italian or Spanish. I can actually pick up a lot of words here. Romania has always looked more toward the West when its neighbors, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Bessarabia (Moldova) and to a lesser extent Hungary have looked East.

Wednesday evening I met with a few from the church in a park for a little dinner and some football. The church is in the midst of a campaign they are calling a Jesus week. Every day is devoted to observing some aspect of the ministry of Jesus—prayer, serving the needy, reaching out to the lost and so forth. The church here has many challenges but they are not just sitting around feeling sorry for themselves, which is really encouraging to me.

On Thursday I got to visit the old city a bit, but I am now rather sick so not wanting to tour all that much. The church was very encouraged. They desperately want more deep Bible teaching. Christian Paduraru is helping in this area.

Friday I got to tour the national palace. This is the second biggest building in the world, behind only the Pentagon. It contains dozens of massive salons. There is an unbelievable amount of marble, hundreds of chandeliers, massive stairs and beautiful carpets. It is a monument to the pride and selfishness of the autocratic personality cult of Ciaucescu. Actually, it really is an amazing building which the Romanians will eventually be quite proud of. We took the opportunity to talk about culture and history as we toured the facility. I learned about the history of Moldavia, Romania and Transylvania, the three kingdoms which traditionally made up what is now Romania. We talked about the role of the gypsies (Rom) and their relationship with the Romanians and the odd case of the republic of Moldova today, which used to be Romanian but is now over half Russian because of the deportations of the Soviets after WWII.

After visiting the palace, we had a wonderful home made Romanian lunch in the home of one of the members, including home made bread, potato/chicken soup and a dish with local beans and sausage. After that we visited the old city, with its fantastic facades, and the old fortress from the 14th century. The old center is now being rebuilt which is a great idea as this is a treasure.

July 10-11 Veliko Tarnovo and Sophia, Bulgaria

I traveled with 25 members of the Bucharest Church by bus to Veliko Tarnovo in Bulgaria. This is the former capital of Bulgaria in Middle Ages. The ride is four hours. On the trip we crossed the mighty Danube River, which is the border between Romania and Bulgaria. The border city is Ruse, which is rather drab, containing mostly ugly Soviet-style housing and what seems to be decrepit industry. From there we passed from the plains of Romania to the hills and forests of Bulgaria to Veliko Tarnavo. This city is perched on a mountainside, with beautiful buildings and a famous castle, all beside a rushing river. Now I think I love Bulgaria. Here we meet 15 members of the Sophia Church of Christ for a mini-retreat in this beautiful city.

Romania and Bulgaria have quite a bit in common, but much which differentiates them as well. First there is the language. Bulgarians speak a Slavic language and use the Russian/Cyrilic alphabet. Being Latin in temperment, the Romanians tend to be more passionate, while the Bulgarians are more relaxed. The Romanians, typically are very passionate about their Orthodox religion, whereas, in general, the Bulgarians are not so passionately religious and are more accepting of other religious groups.

The church in Sophia is quite small, with only 15 members. They are very family-oriented. They are led by a team, including Kiril and Boryana Kirilov and Miro and Doini Dolapchiev. On Saturday at the hotel I taught for about three hours on church history. Then we relaxed together over a great Bulgarian dinner, and watched the World Cup.

Sunday was a worship service. I taught on the question of evil and of suffering. After that we toured the castle. The grounds have been occupied more or less continuously since the second millennium BC. A castle/fort was built during the sixth century by the Byzantines. It was occupied by the Western Europeans during the first Crusade. Baldwin of Flanders was killed here. It is a beautiful castle and fort, surrounded on all sides by water. The castle was the capital of the Bulgarian kingdom in the 12-14th centuries, but the city was captured by the Turks in 1396. Bulgaria had lost its independence for nearly 500 years. The amazing thing is that they did not become Muslim in all that time.

From there, Miro and Doini and other friends drove to Sophia—about three hours through forests, hills and even mountains. It is very beautiful. Sophia is a city of 1.5 million in a country of 8 million. It is in a moderate sized plane, up against some large mountains, making for a really beautiful setting. We did a brief tour of the central city, visiting the Alexander Nevski Cathedral, the national parliament, the Russian Church and other monuments. I spent the night with Kiki and his wife. Tonight is the final of the World Cup. Tomorrow I fly home.

John Oakes