Misri sirudi tena

Yup, we've all sung the song, but have you really been to Egypt? Well, employer sent a group of us to our sister company in Cairo for a few days of knowledge transfer. It's not enough to judge a country or people, but here are a few insights from a week's visit.

Cairo

Imagine Thika Road ploughing right through Githurai or Umoja. That pretty much describes Cairo in a Nairobi perspective. The roads are expansive (single lanes only in down town, rest are multi carriage ways with interchanges), lakini juu ngata ni 30 bob, jam is crazy. Actually, there's been an oil shortage (imagine) over the last 4 days, so long queues at petrol stations.

Due to desert conditions, city is not so clean. Limited housing means lots of highrises within the city, but the outskirts are more scenic, with tonnes of new housing developments transforming the desert landscape. The people are friendly but will do anything to get loot from a tourist.

Smart Village

The equivalent of our soon to be Konza City, Smart Village is a beautiful business park where the major players (international & local) in the ICT sector have set up base. This was the venue of our meetings, and I was very impressed by the setup. All buildings must have white walls and blue glass, but beyond that designs are varied. The Village is on the outskirts of Cairo, and if this is what Konza is about, hope I won't have retired by the time it becomes a reality.

Pyramids

I got to finally see what all the hullabaloo about a pile of rocks in a certain design is about. Breathtaking is the only way to describe the pyramids, whether up close or from a distance. We were fleeced for some very expensive horse ride around the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx but since it's a once in a lifetime experience, will not complain. Hey, Misri sirudi tena :-)

Status Update

Well, I'm still alive, so that's a good start. Guess adjusting to this new phase of life has taken it's toll on my blogging mojo. But we will be back, trust me.

My old man passed away in Dec. Have really struggled dealing with death, don't get me started on the fact that I haven't gotten over my mom's passing. So twin blow is hitting me, wave after wave of sadness and regret. They were both so young, and I totally blew my opportunities to really be a blessing. Life sucks without them!!!

Graciously, God cared enough to ensure I have a loving wife & supportive siblings, relatives and friends to stand by me at this time. Yaani, ningekuwa down mbaya!!!

I've just competed another successful stint as acting manager. This one was particularly enriching because of interacting with heads of departments and the director. Must admit, you can envy their perks, but boy these guys must earn their keep with tonnes of brain sweat. Oh, and I'm heading to Egypt next Sunday for a research trip. I know the song says "sirudi misri tena" but a man finds his destiny in the road he took to avoid it.

Cheers!!

The Other Side

Well, so much for staying away. I had good reasons, you see 2 weeks ago, in the words of Jaguar, nilivuka border. Who's the lucky lady who managed to bring down a rogue elephant in 2 years? You remember her from http://youngkenyanman.blogspot.com/2009/11/love-new-season.html

So how is the other side? Well you can't comment on performance in a marathon, just after 50 metres. And from the experience suggestion that this is a rigourous race, I will remain bracing myself for the worst. But it is pretty positive, and with lots of positive influencers around me, by God's help we will finish well.

Howevcr, everyone keeps saying I am no longer a young man :-(

It's been a while...

Hey good people,

Sorry for the many months. Yaani, all those lost ideas!! I will regret. So what have I been up to? Here is in reverse chronological order:

Ruracio - my time:

Finally acquired my beautiful Nandi bride last Friday for the pricey sum of 5 cows and 1 ewe. Pricey coz they quoted for us 120k a piece, while ng'ombe za Mt Kenya ni 35k. They actually made us read Genesis 34:12 in English and Swahili to funga us completely. We finally settled (actually they refused to budge) at 80k - quite a bargain considering she's priceless :-) Wonder if clearing this debt will enhance my credit rating...

Nyumba:

Decided to go the mortgage way, took a 6% company facility on a 2 bdr apartment east of JKIA. Was informed of the legal fees, but when they hit you, they hit you hard. Yaani I pay the bank's lawyers, the vendor's lawyers and my lawyers!! And serikali still takes 4% stamp duty and other charges kama valuation etc. Kweli, building your own house is far more affordable. However, there's better likelihood of future rental income from an apartment...

Masomo:

Year two of MBA. Almost there, however the week shilling (UK degree) is hurting me kabisa...

Biashara:

Registered an ICT company in Kenya. Used a registrar, but still experienced the government bureaucracy. Took over 2 weeks. Clearly ICT needed in serikali...

Witness

After attending a 4 week church program on fundamentals of the faith, today was the day the rubber met the road. In pairs, we were to go out and tell the good news to a certain location around Nairobi CBD, and report back in 3 hours. I was paired with a young lady and dispatched to university hostels. We picked a particular hostel, went to the top floor and began knocking doors. Outcome?

• Most guys actually will listen to the gospel message outlined in a simple, non-offensive and straight forward manner. The four spiritual laws work!
• The decision is the tough part for most but in our case, 2 guys actually said the sinner's prayer. Others however retained the booklet to make the choice by themselves on their own time.
• Others simply weren't interested. At least no one was rude or unruly. But some just played us, asking that we come back after 10 minutes, when they were nowhere to be seen.
• For those who were already believers, it was good to hear about their walk and to pray for any need.

Some highlights from the rest of the pairs:

• One team came across a guy in Uhuru Park. He had been brought to Nairobi from Kitale for a job a few days before but was abandoned. So he slept on a bench, then the next day was mugged. He figured all this was God's retribution for not believing. The team took him to OTC and paid fare for him to go home.
• One pastor came across a guy who said that God had told him that a pastor would come to see him that day about salvation.
• Others got a lot of information about people's view about God, Christianity, our church etc. Guess people do know a lot. And people do not know quite a lot either. And we do not know quite a lot about people either.

Some thoughts:

• Truly the harvest is great but the labourers are few.
• How will they hear unless someone is sent?
• Sharing the gospel should be as easy as telling someone about something you love e.g. Man Utd, fiancee, M-Pesa etc.
• Love is the greatest thing one can share. So many are in need of love expressed simply by concern.

Blessings.