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Friends United Meeting |
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Quaker Life
November 2002
Triennial Youth Reports
An Unforgettable Experience
By Kristin Weinacht
Saying "Africa was fun" is not the exact way to describe my experience in Kenya.
My dad, brother, best friend, and I traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, this past July for two weeks. My experiences were overwhelming and have implanted memories in me that will last forever.
The first week we were there we attended the Friends United Meeting Triennial sessions. It was incredible to see how many Friends churches really do exist. I had many chances to talk with the African people, which was an amazing opportunity. I was impressed with how friendly they are. We were always greeted with a smile and a handshake. They worked very hard to make us feel at home. When we came to a person's home, business or school, we were taken care of before they took care of themselves. When we arrived at one destination late at night, and roughly four hours behind schedule, the cook rolled out of bed and fixed supper for us.
One experience that shook me deeply was seeing slums in Nairobi. Wooden and tin shacks stretched for miles. It is one thing to hear about poverty and another to watch it unfold before you. It does not seem fair that some people have so little but others have so much.
After the Triennial sessions we traveled on a safari to Kaimosi, Lugulu and Turkana. At Lugulu we visited the Friends hospital. I was extremely impressed by what the facility has done with available space. It was very sad to see all the sick people. It made me wish I could do something to make them recover more quickly.
We also traveled to the dry, brown and hot area of Turkana. We had to fly because it was too dangerous to drive. When we stepped off the plane, many people came to greet us and make us feel welcome. Then we traveled to a rural area. A group of about thirty people sat under a tree and visited with the help of translators. The women sat on cowhides and the men sat on small wooden stools. For me it was like stepping into a picture from a National Geographic magazine. I flew from Turkana wondering if I had really experienced all I had seen and done that day.
The Africa trip was a true blessing and we are all truly blessed. I don't think saying "Africa was fun" is the exact way to describe my experience but the word that does is "unforgettable."
Kristin is a high school senior and the daughter of Alan and Margie Weinacht. She is a member of Indiana Yearly Meeting.
An Life-Changing Experience
By Peter Stevenson
At Canadian Young Friends Yearly Meeting in 2001, an opportunity was presented to go on a workcamp and the Friends United Meeting Triennial Sessions in Kenya. I had often dreamed of traveling overseas, but always thought I wouldn't be able to go until I finished high school. This was the first opportunity I had heard of that applied to me.
Sixteen Young Friends from Canada, United States, Jamaica and Cuba participated in the pre-Triennial workcamps. We split into two groups, and I, with seven others, went to Lugulu, a small village in western Kenya. In Lugulu, we sanded and painted the roof of the Lugulu Friends Church and the roof of Mount Elgon Yearly Meeting offices. We also planted some trees on church property.
Although we came to do service work with the Kenyans, they wanted to show us what they were doing. We visited many Friends schools, and I was astounded by the work Kenyan Friends have put into advancing Quakerism in Kenya. My monthly meeting is over 650 km from my home, so I am not able to attend my Meeting for Worship for Business. Because I belong to a small worship group, I don't have easy contact with other Young Friends throughout the year; I can only attend three larger Canadian Quaker gatherings per year. Lastly, there is not a single Friends school in all of Canada. However, in Kenya, there are fourteen yearly meetings and well over 100,000 Quakers, despite the fact that Kenya is less than a fifteenth the size of Canada! There are countless Quaker primary and secondary schools, as well as such services as Friends Lugulu Hospital and Friends Theological College.
Working and living with the Kenyans was a very moving experience. Their happiness and joy of life, despite their poverty, amazed me. Before the trip, I said, "Money can't buy happiness" but I was also a strong supporter of the redistribution of wealth. Now, I'm not so sure. Would giving these Kenyans more money make them any happier? I don't think so. However, I realize there are many legitimate needs in Kenya and we can still help.
The FUM Triennial was also an amazing experience. I was left spiritually uplifted for the rest of the night by Ben Richmond's Isaac T. and Lida K. Johnson Lecture. His talk, among other experiences at the conference, helped me discover my personal relationship with Christ and the Bible. I also attended a workshop on discipline, discernment and identity. There were Friends from a variety of Quaker backgrounds, and an assertion was made that the identity of Friends is trying to become Christ-like. This statement speaks strongly to me. If it is true, then evangelism, "spreading the Gospel," is simply helping others to become more Christ-like.
Kenyan Friends are eager to make contact with North American Quakers. Many Kenyans told me they would like to see an exchange program set up in which Kenyans could come to North America and North Americans could come to Kenya. The big talk of the conference was of identity. Friends have been asked, "What is it that makes a Quaker a Quaker?" We have not been able to give an answer. We have a uniformity neither of worship nor beliefs; we have no set doctrine. This is an issue that was on everyone's mind at the FUM conference, and I hope that Quakers throughout the world can come to a consensus on who we are.
Peter Stevenson is a member of Canadian Yearly Meeting.
Copyright (c) 2002 Friends United Meeting
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Link to other Triennial reports on the "FUM Celebrates Double Centenary" page.