Sabbath in Mombasa

On Saturday, July 16th we attended one of the local Seventh-day Adventist churches.  We actually saw several signs for other Adventist churches along the way.  Who knew Mombasa had so many SDA churches in this one small muslim town??  Upon our arrival, we were greeted by a very sweet young usher.  She asked how many people were in our party, I told her nine, and she proceeded all the way to the front of the sanctuary to secure some seats for us.  The children of the church occupied the first couple of rows.  This young lady abruptly snatched several seats right from under a few of the children which made it possible for all of us to sit together.  [Did I mention that we were late, and that this was in the middle of the service?].  Our driver later shared with us that kids get trumped on the regular in Mombasa when it comes to accommodating adults.

Speaking of children, we were exceptionally impressed with the behavior of all of the children.  The children intently sat in front and paid attention to the service...for the most part.  Ron pointed out that one of the most striking observations about these children was their discipline.  They sat still throughout the duration of the service.  They didn’t have snacks, toys, etc.  They didn’t need to run to the bathroom or go out for a stretch.  Needless to say, we were all impressed.  Overall, the children in Mombasa have appeared to be very respectful and obedient.  Most of the clinics are filled with children, and we haven’t had to tighten one up yet! lol!  One of our drivers attributed this to the fact that children remain mindful, even in the presence of strangers, because it is culturally acceptable to reprimand any child you see.  [Sure wish that same Mombasa culture applied to the children on our flights to Kenya!].

The church service seemed lengthy, but quite possibly it was because we were exhausted and were fighting tooth and nail to stay awake.  One of the deacons in the church asked us if we were understanding the language.  We said no, and they immediately directed two people to come sit directly in front of us to translate.  Mind you, there were only children sitting in front of us.  So, as you have probably already guessed...those same children were ripped out of their seats [AGAIN] to accommodate our interpreters.  Sorry kids! lol!  Anyhoo, between Dana, Ben, and myself, we shared one interpreter.  At different intervals, all three of us fell asleep in this man's face as he sat directly in front of us.  Smh.  It was quite a pitiful sight to behold.  

Church ended around 1:30pm.  Several members of the congregation came to greet us as we were introduced during the church service.  Once again, I was surprised by the maturity of the children.  Two boys and a little girl, no more than eight or nine, came up to me and introduced themselves.  What????  Wow!  Who are these super mature little people???  These kids know what’s up! 

The remainder of our Sabbath was pretty uneventful.  After Sabbath dinner, we hung out and rested.  Many of us walked to the beach behind our cottage.  It was beautiful.  Ben will post later about what we did there... 

Written by:
Adaire Brown