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Msafiri Kenya - Matongo - by Will Schumacher
Will Schumacher continues to chronicle his experiences in Africa, now in Kenya.
Msafiri: Field Notes from African Seminaries
by Will Schumacher
2. Matongo
In St. Louis my favorite spot to work in the library is a table tucked away in the basement, with no windows to distract me. But here I have picked a small table where I can look out over the lush hills of the Kisii Highlands. The scene is a patchwork of small shambas (farm or garden plots), where I can see men and women here and there with hoes tilling their bananas, corn, avocado, mango, coffee, and tea. In the early mornings, when the air is clear, I can almost see Lake Victoria from my little table.
I am in the library of Matongo Lutheran Theological College (MLTC), where the pastors of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Kenya (ELCK) are trained. Started fifty years ago as a Bible school for evangelists, MLTC graduated its first class of pastoral candidates in 1978. Among them was Walter Obare, who later spent two years at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, earning a master’s degree. He taught at Matongo before being elected presiding bishop of the ELCK in 2002. Always eager to re-connect with our alumni where God has placed them, I was delighted to be the guest of Bishop Obare and his wife for lunch at their home a few days ago.
This is not my first visit to Matongo. I first got to know the place back in 1994, when the MLTC and the Kenyan church hosted an International Lutheran Confessional Conference. That was the second in the series of such conferences which have been organized every few years; they have been significant events for fostering connections and partnerships among Lutheran theologians and church leaders from many parts of Africa. A number of LCMS theologians have also taken part over the years, but The ELCK and Matongo have been the driving forces in organizing these important conferences. I hope they are able to carry through their plans for the next one, which should coincide with the church’s 60th anniversary celebrations in 2008.
Now I’m here both to teach and as part of my research into African Lutheran seminary education. They have scheduled me for two weeks of teaching, five days a week for five hours a day. The courses, History of Theology and Christian Education, are part of the standard curriculum here. They have juggled the usual teaching schedule to accommodate my short-term contributions. We have had other Concordia-St. Louis faculty here before, and one of the questions I’m trying to answer is how such short-term teaching in Kenya fits into a broader strategy to serve church and world
Osmo Harjula, a missionary from the Lutheran Evangelical Association of Finland, is the Principal of the theological college. On Sunday I traveled with Osmo, a couple of students, the vice-principal and his wife, up to a little place near the Uganda border for the ordination of one of MLTC’s last crop of graduates. The ordinand, Crispinus Omuse, is a young man from the area, and his native language is Teso. Here was a man in whose formation our faculty had a (small) hand. My colleagues Andy Bartelt, Bill Carr, and Tim Saleska all taught him in short classes. My opportunity to be there for his ordination was a special symbol of what this kind of international involvement means, a tangible reminder of why we do this.
As I went back and listened to some recordings I made during the service, I noticed that the microphone captured the chicken which cackled right behind me during the sermon, the crying children, the passing trucks, etc. — all part of the lively chaos which is familiar in Africa. The hen, by the way, was a gift for the new pastor and his wife, who also received a sheep and a goat besides more “normal” stuff wrapped either in gift paper or in newspaper. A meal naturally followed the long service. It was —guess what!? — ugali with greens, chicken, and sauce. I have, to be honest, had about enough ugali for the time being. It’s a stiff paste-like concoction made from corn meal, and tastes more or less like Playdough. It is the staple food in this part of East Africa. I eat it twice a day with the students in the dining hall, but only because I usually skip breakfast.
Accommodations at Matongo are, shall we say, basic. I’m housed in a guesthouse at the “upper station” which means I have a 10-15 walk every morning to class. This was, in past times, a “mission station,” which means that the houses are built to a standard deemed acceptable for European (Swedish and Finnish) missionaries. there is electricity (most of the time) and “running” water; but the plumbing and wiring are the products of many years of improvisations and compromises between the way it should be done and what was actually available in terms of materials and skill. Flush toilets are nice, even if it takes a long period of gurgling and dripping to fill the tank.
But last night I was initiated into the real mysteries of the inner sanctum of missionary life. Osmo fired up the sauna in the other house next to this one, and we sat and sweat for a while like civilized people. It’s a wood-burner, not one of these new-fangled electric saunas (I’m sure the house’s wiring wouldn’t handle that!), so the heat is wonderful and just a little smoky. Osmo had a little dish on top of the stones with some fresh eucalyptus leaves in it, and I think the steam would have cured just about anything. I hadn’t been to a real sauna in years, and this was the real deal — except that there was no lake handy. The Finns regard sauna as one of the basic necessities of life, and Finnish missionaries usually are provided with one no matter where they are. Osmo told me that Finnish blue-helmet peace-keepers in the Sinai years ago dug themselves underground saunas in the desert. When Americans plant icons of their cultural identity all over the world, in the shape of the golden arches, people lament the evils of globalization. Strangely enough, no one seems to think of the Finns as imperialists for building saunas all over the place; I guess you’re only an imperialist if your cultural icon catches on with the locals!
Over time, there has been a shift from missionary teachers to more national Kenyan instructors. Currently the Principal, Rev. Osmo Harjula, is the only full-time expatriate. Rev. John Momanyi serves as vice-principal and teaches practical theology. A 5-year staff development plan has resulted in a number of national teaching staff being sent for advanced degrees. Rev. Timothy Shihemi recently completed his MPhil degree at the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo. Rev. Moses Okoyo now has an MA from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, where Rev. Dr. Joseph Ochola also finished his PhD earlier this year. Rev. Tom Omolo is currently completing his MA at CSL. Morgan Bulla, the librarian, has a diploma in library science, and is currently enrolled in a degree program via distance education.
There will be a continuing need for graduate study opportunities as the MLTC staff development plan moves forward. This will be especially important as MLTC pursues accreditation from both the Kenyan government and the Accrediting Council for Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA), in order to be able to offer recognized degrees (initially the bachelor of divinity or BD). A dream for the future is to develop MLTC, together with the neighboring sister institution called the Matongo Lutheran Teachers Training College (MLTTC), into a fully accredited Lutheran university, which would be the first of its kind in Kenya, and the first university of any kind in its district. Relationships with other institutions, such as Concordia Seminary and Makumira University College in Tanzania, are an important element in building the institution toward that goal.
But until then, MLTC offers a four-year program (including a third-year internship) leading to a diploma in theology. Although the facilities are simple, the curriculum seems rigorous and challenging, and includes both Greek and Hebrew. Students need an “O-level” secondary school certificate with minimum grade of “C” to be admitted. In previous reports I have commented on the international character of theological education in Africa, and Matongo is no exception. Students in my classes there were mostly Kenyans, of course, but Uganda, Rwanda, and Sudan were also represented. After stops at two seminaries in Africa now, I’ve made connections to more than ten different countries. Where will this all lead in the next decade or two? It is an exciting and complex world, in which God continues to build his church and raise up leaders and shepherds for his people. I am convinced all over again that Concordia Seminary needs to be part of what is happening in places like Matongo.
1 A view of the main entrance to Matongo Lutheran Theological College in western Kenya.
2 The author (second from left), Rev. Osmo and Mrs. Arja Harjula, were guests of Bishop Walter Obare (second from right, next to his wife).
3 The author with students from the History of Theology class.
4 Students from the Christian Education class, with the author.
5 The beautiful and fertile Kisii Highlands.
Written By: host
Date Posted: 11/16/2006
Number of Views: 925
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