It is an Air Uganda flight. I had come to
attend Bernard's commissioning service at All Saints Kampala and
everything seems to have gone well. I am encouraged by massive family support
and the local church’s enthusiasm to have Bernard quit his job and head off to
England for a year. I am however not sure whether they know what lies ahead of
him. Could they be under the illusion that their very own Bernie is about to cross
over the proverbial bridge? Are they aware that he won’t be making any money
and hence won’t be visiting that Western Union booth. Many thoughts are racing
through my mind.
I reflect on my own farewell/fundraiser
7 years ago – all my family were there, we had hired a small room and everyone
seemed keen to come along. I am not sure what their real motivations were but
they sure did help me raise the 65K (almost exactly) that BA needed for a
return missionary ticket for the one year I was going to be away. Perhaps they
thought once I am in the land of plenty, there will be no limit to the amount
of money I will be sending back, maybe some were genuinely supporting gospel
ministry and perhaps others thought of it as a social investment from which
they might need a hand in return someday... maybe. I wonder what some thought
when I finally returned without a Mercedes Benz to show, not even a plot in
Kitengela or a massive investment plan denominated in Pound Sterling.
At least I tried to clarify expectations
for poor Bernie’s family. He is going out as a missionary, a trainee missionary
actually, without a salary and whose life henceforth will be characterized by
seeking and building partnerships for the sake of the Kingdom and not the glory
and glamour that the world (sometimes including friends & family) would
like. He is going to seek and serve His Lord and Savior My role here is to
reassure family and the church that he is going for a good cause and that we
(iSA) are keeping an eye on him.
I now need to return home. Its about
2.30 PM and the afternoon flight takes off from Entebbe at 4.50 PM. I need an
hour’s lead to get through immigration and checking in. My host however insists
I must have lunch and sure enough it is rude to leave without a meal. So they
put me in some room (since the other guests are not eating just yet), serve me
a director’s portion and get Celia to sit with me as I work my way through this
delicious Ugandan serving. I must gobble it down quickly so we can be on our
way to the airport by 3 O’clock. A
friend of Bernards offers to take me and Celia joins us. Its a scenic ride –
almost 40 KM but I am panicking most of the way wondering what will happen if I
miss this flight. Thankfully we get to Entebbe just before 4.00 PM.
My seat is quite close to the cockpit. I
am actually in the first row next to the window. I can see the ground moving J beneath us as we taxi away towards the runway. It is a slow move and as we
go along, safety instructions are given - usually a legal ritual before any
flight. I do not pay much attention on what to do if we land on water – whatever they mean by that cannot be landing. You don't land in water – you sink or at least swim if you manage to get out of the
fireball that is a crashing aircraft. And that if had better be if and
certainly not when. Next to me on the
aisle seat is a young man of about 21 years. He is light skinned and carries
with him one of those sophisticated phones. He had a big rucksack that the air
hostess had insisted is too heavy and could not fit into the overhead luggage
compartment. She had had it sent to the cargo hold while we waited and for a
moment I wondered what was in the bag. Why had he not checked in that bag? My
imagination is about to go on overdrive.
As we are about to get to the runway, I
notice the papers on my neighbour’s hands. He does not have a passport but has
a long letter printed on Ugandan Immigration authority’s letterhead. I manage
to read (rudely) at least the subject and a couple of odd lines. My neighbour
is being deported from Uganda to his country of origin – surprise surprise –
Somalia. This is it now. We are about to take off with an illegal immigrant
next to me, with funny looking gadgets in his hand, from Somali and he had a
rucksack, which is still with us in the cargo hold. Your guess is right. I
thought of him as a terrorist. All this talk about Al Shabab and the recent
Ugandan Airforce planes crashing in Mt. Kenya comes to mind. Interestingly he
does not switch off his phone even at take off when all gadgets are to be
switched off, or maybe he did not understand the instructions in English.
Should I offer to explain to him and maybe secure some friendship – may be not.
But why is he ignoring such important
safety notices? Does he need his gadget to detonate some stuff in the
rucksack remotely? Well, I don’t know and have no way of knowing. Shall I alert
the cabin crew of my fears? What if they are unfounded? I will come across as
paranoid but what if there is some truth?
We finally take off. Take offs and
landings are not anybody’s cup of tea – even for seasoned captains apparently.
Even our kind air hostess looks tense seated, all wrapped in seat belts in her
position, having just reassured us all will be well. I can’t help but doubt her
composure. Does she know what I know
about the guy next to me? Has she not read horror stories of flights gone bad
or watched movies like Flightplan or Cast Away? We are airborne now. I think
the best thing is distraction – it always works with the children to escape
from pain or discomfort. I will read the in-flight magazine or some other stuff
and shift my mind away from this suicide
bomber.
I pick the magazine.Its a September
issue. This sends my mind back to Septembers – oh its actually the month I
joined full time christian ministry and was sent off like Bernard. But hold on
for a moment – today is actually 16th September, 7 years to the date since I
lost my father. Oh goodness and here I am next to a random Somali guy who is
being deported and who has a suspicious rucksack? This must be it. There is no
escape and I have absolutely no control of events whatsoever. What will happen
to my family, how about the work – what if the worst I can imagine happens. My
back is against the wall and I feel helpless, almost hopeless.
However, a helpful distraction comes to mind.
Prayer. I can call upon the God of the universe who knows all things. I feel a
little guilty that I have taken too long before coming to this. But it is never
too late to pray. I am a little anxious but I pray nevertheless at least to
reassure myself that I have prayed. I am reminded of some guys who were
crossing a lake on a boat and then there was a storm. They feared for their
lives and panicked a great deal. Among them however, was the One who created
the seas, the universe and all the laws of nature. He had stood up and challenged
the panic-striken guys – where is your faith? I drew a parallel between that
incident and my present circumstance and suddenly became aware of His presence
in the flight. Faith takes away fear. Knowing He is in control no matter what
may happen allayed my fears.
50 or so minutes later we land in
Nairobi. I am comforted to be on the ground – where human beings should be – and can’t wait to leave the
aircraft. I am eager to get out but I notice the inflight snacks they had
served us. I had not eaten them – Tim will probably enjoy them totally
oblivious of the reason I did not have them. I will happily share them with
him, conforted to know that I know One who is greater than all my fears, real
and unreal. One to whom I can commit all my thoughts and needs for the years
ahead, one who says to me...
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Pillipians 4:6
In Him Bernard and other apprentices can
put their trust as they step into christian ministry – The Lord will provide
for them, has eternally protected them and will bless the work of their hands.
Their future is safe in His hands. He has already given us all that we need and hence we need nothing but Him. In Him we can
keep going as a young movement working to raise a generation of servant leaders
for Him and faithfully proclaim His gospel till He returns. He will provide for
His work, we are literally onlookers as He works in and through us to
accomplish His purposes for His own Glory.
I will let Him know of requests for you,
me and His Kindgom. How about you?
H.
No comments:
Post a Comment