Twice a day at 11AM and 4PM, all of us at the conference enjoy “tea time.”  We break from our meetings and all go outside where tables of cookies, coffee, and tea are served.  It’s a time to stretch, talk, laugh, and drink. 

Kenya was once under British rule, and even after they gained their independence in the 1960′s, tea time remained.  Another reason why tea time is still observed here is because Kenya is full of tea fields.  As a matter of fact, the conference center I am at is surrounded by miles and miles of tea fields.  The fields are cared for by workers who live in very humble “homes” on the plantations.  As you can see from the picture I took today, the plantation home is nice, but the workers’ accomodations are not. 

The fields are intersected by a maze of walking paths, and so for the sake of photography, my friend and I walked in.  After while, we realized that we didn’t know how to get back to the conference center.  We were lost (sort of) – I mean is a man ever really lost? Anyway, we found our way to a gate, thinking it might be a back gate to the conference center, but the guard who answered said that it was a private residence.  He did, however, tell us how to get back, and the only thing we missed of the conference was lunch.

My friend and I spent the rest of the day talking about the work he and his wife are doing in North Africa.  The work is hard and results are few, but I reaffirmed our church’s commitment to them and to the work, and he reaffirmed their calling and commitment to the work as well.  Please continue to pray for them.  Pray that the Lord will encourage them to press-on as they do a work that is tiring and tough.