14
Kakuma Refugee Camp: ?Now, Where is the Water ??
| Bro Innocent Baruani (Nairobi, Kenya)
E
very time I start packing up for a trip to
the ecclesia at Kakuma Refugee Camp, I
get engulfed in memories of the long and
exhausting 900-km road journey ahead; but
all of a sudden thoughts of smiling faces of
brethren, sisters and contacts eagerly
awaiting ?the feet of those who bring good
tidings? cross my mind and get me enthusi-
astic for the journey.
Bro Lovis Mbongo joined me on a 5-day visit
to Kakuma Refugee Camp. As always, the
journey to Kakuma is never uneventful; our
trip ? this time round coincided with a
terrorist attack carried out at the Westgate
Shopping Mall in Nairobi and so we had to put
up with several security checks at a number
of roadblocks set up by the police (where all
passengers had to get off the bus and present
their identification documents) in an effort
to apprehend the perpetrators of that
heinous act. There have been allegations ? by
Kenyan authorities ? that the said attack had
been planned and masterminded by some
refugees in the Kakuma Camp; therefore
every one travelling to and from the camp
was considered a suspect.
Bible Studies and Baptisms
The first activity of our visit started late in
the afternoon on the same day of our arrival,
with a Bible study session where Bro Lovis
was the main speaker. He refuted the belief
in the trinity which attracted a heated
discussion from the audience that was made
up of many friends who believed in it. Due to
a good number of questions which came up
during the debate, we decided to extend the
question-and-answer session to the following
morning. As expected, the ecclesial hall was
full to capacity. We took great pains to
answer to so many questions mainly about
the basic teachings of the Bible (God, Jesus,
Kingdom, Satan/ sin, Israel, baptism?).
Bro Lovis Mbongo leading the Bible talk
Part of the Kakuma Refugee Camp that stretches way into the distance,
providing for some of the 968,790 refugees in Kenya