End-month News July 2023

End-month news July 2023   jimoharries@gmail.com    +254721804292

Dear Friends,

I am very appreciative to my mother for having made an effort to visit me here in Kenya. (My father could not come because his tinnitus makes him too sensitive to noises, and to be honest, most contexts around here are noisy!)

Having mum around has made me a bit lazy – now being obliged to travel to places by taxi and not by bicycle. (It is cheaper to hire a taxi with driver than it is to hire a car without a driver.) We have together been able to visit various of my (now adult living with their own families) children, who I once looked after. We have also so far visited five different churches / fellowships, which I would normally have done anyway by bicycle. It is nice to be able to share my routine-experiences with mum, although I think it may all be a bit overwhelming for her.

Opposition party protests within Kenya have marred mum’s visit a little. A protest before she arrived prevented me from getting to Nairobi to pick her up. 19^th, 20^th and 21^st July we were forced to ‘sit-tight’ within the Coptic mission compound here in Maseno, as it was too dangerous to take a vehicle onto the road. Mum’s departure for England is likely to be delayed. Having said that – the Coptic mission compound is a very comfortable place and mum is getting very well looked after. Here are a few pictures illustrating her visit:

Here are some illustrations since sent to me by students, of the Diploma in Theology class (on Christian Stewardship) that I taught in southern Tanzania at the end of June this year.

Interesting set of circumstances on my first day of bus travel in Kenya. When we stopped at a police check point, I was overhearing things about the police … sure enough, we set off, to the local police station! The police officer was shocked when he realised I could overhear what he was saying in the Luo language. The conductor had underpaid a bribe at a previous police checkpoint. He was supposed to pay 80p. Instead he paid only 30p. Retribution by the police: when the bus arrived at the following checkpoint, the police had called his fellow officer, and our vehicle had to go to the station because we were overloaded. Fortunately we only spent 20 minutes there, presumably as our driver had to pay a bigger bribe, before we were off again.

Public Lecture

I am to give a public lecture at the University of London on 18^th October this year. (In person, as I will be in UK then, not by zoom.) The title of the lecture is Researching Africa in Light of the ‘Religions’ of Anti-racism and Christianity. I see this very much as an opportunity for evangelism. (The lecture will be given within the Centre for World Christianity in the School for Oriental and African Studies. People will be able to participate by zoom, and presumably attend live if they want to. Details pending.)

Anticipated UK Visit

Just reminding all concerned – that I am due to be in the UK 12^th September to 31^st October 2023. The first three weeks I am to be in Norwich, then after that based in Andover in Hampshire. We are planning to have a public presentation of my ministry, and especially of the importance of Vulnerable Mission, on Wednesday the 11^th October, details pending.

Missions’ Service

Reminder – please join me at Wantage Baptist church in Wantage, Oxon, for a Missions’ service, on 8^th October. Details: https://www.jim-mission.org.uk/2023/07/13/mid-month-news-july-2023/ (scroll down)

Vulnerable Mission: Listening to God and Man in Africa

My latest book, Mission: Listening to God and Man in Africa is now available over Amazon. It is a collection of 25 articles. The Introduction tells of The Intellectual Abandonment of Africa. Here is some of the text:

“Clear and definite re-orientations are required in order to perceive, and begin to take account of, basic cultural differences. The means familiar to me for this purpose is known as “vulnerable mission” (see Vulnerablemission.org). Following vulnerable mission principles, some Westerners (including scholars) need to interact with African people while in African home cultures over a long period of time, using indigenous languages and resources. Not to seek to understand African people in these ways risks there being a dangerous ongoing miscomprehension. As a result, contemporary African people will continue to live in ways that are intellectually disconnected from the realities in which they are immersed.”