SINGLES ON THE ROCKSNorth Singles Go For Sunday Picnic-Service Rock-Climbing Excursion
By Edwin Mahiga, North Region, Nairobi church
The mighty rocks of the Kanzalu hills beckoned, and on Sunday the 21st of November 2004, we, the North region singles, answered the call. The hills are 12 kilometres from the town of Tala, in Kenya's Eastern Province, approximately 68 kilometres from Nairobi city in the land of Kenya's Kamba people.
The idea to climb these rocks was conceived when I visited Benjamin Musau in Tala, where he teaches at Katwanyaa Secondary School. Benjamin is a close friend and brother in the Lord, and in his tirelessly hospitable effort to make me enjoy my tour of Tala, he took me to the hills for a hike.
Captivated by the beautiful vista, I regretted not having a camera with which to capture the view, and purposed to return, fully "armed," at the earliest possible opportunity. The rock formations are as beautiful as climbing them is exciting and challenging. They can easily be found at the top of the list of "the seven wonders of Ukambani (Kambaland)!"
I felt compelled to come back to these rocks with the rest of the North region singles for fun, fellowship, food and photos.
The rocky area is stunning and captivating, and the others thought the same when we got there as a group. One of the brothers could not help but exclaim that he could smell the air of God on the rocks. The spot where we had our picnic and service was at an elevation equivalent to the twelfth floor of a high-rise building. It forms offers a viewpoint that allows a wonderful panoramic view of Mwala village, the outstretching Yatta Plateau and Mount Kilimambogo and its environs. It is so high that the houses in the plains below look like tiny patches on the face of the earth. The most amazing thing is how the rock extends, forming a roof over the "twelfth floor." One can shelter from rain under the roof of the rock. Some were scared that the rock might break away and give in. (It didn't.)
Personally I learned two major lessons from the trip and always want to remember the trip so that I will upgrade my performance as a Christian.
There were some of us who didn't have the courage to go through places on the "twelfth floor" and I had to build a wall to guard them from falling. The lesson I learned from that experience is that I should go an extra mile in helping people grow spiritually, offering myself sacrificially in helping others realize the purpose of God for their lives. It helped me see that I should offer selfless support as a true servant to others and reminded me that I should take care of my bothers and sisters to ensure that no harm comes to them.
The other lesson I learned is that we all can overcome and be victors (Philippians 4:13). Very few of us believed that it was possible to go round the rocks and especially use roots to climb to the "fifteenth floor" (very top) of the rocks. One individual objected and said that we were tormenting the sisters by asking them to climb to the top. Some even suggested that we go back instead of climbing to the summit using roots from the rocks. But before they were done, Rachael, one of the sisters, was already halfway up the top. This encouraged them. They realized that it could be done!
This actually encouraged me by teaching me that we can scale our spiritual mountains, climb our spiritual rocks and overcome our spiritual obstacles. We can win our spiritual wars.
I learned that we should always challenge our own assumptions. Our assumptions are our windows on the world. Scrub them off every once in awhile, or else the light won't come in.
The world we have created around ourselves is a product of our thinking; it cannot be changed without changing our thinking. In short,
Watch your thoughts, for they become your words.Growing old is inevitable, growing up is optional.
Watch your words, for they become your actions.
Watch your actions, for they became your habits.
Watch your habits, for they become your character.
Watch your character for it will become your destiny!!!
All of us were excited when we reached the top. We sighed in relief. We had all made it. The beauty and mystery of how the rocks support themselves to remain standing shows how great our God is. It shows how loving He is. He made the earth and painted so many captivating scenes across the landscape.
The subject of our service on the rocks, "Understanding God's Love," was perfectly illustrated by the surrounding environment. The rocks and how they stick together was a true example of God's love for us and how he binds us together in Christ. I cannot forget how we were reminded that our faith should always be accompanied by actions and that faith without action is dead. We found a lady who had fainted due to hunger. Disciples offered her and her family some of their food. In summary we learned that we could move as a block and impact people by our love.
While on our way to rocks some whined about the walking distance, on our way back all were full of energy and singing. The wonders we had witnessed, faith we had forged, and the love we had learned had ignited us, excited us and united us. It was great being on the rocks And it's great living a life founded on Jesus, our Solid Rock!
Applying spirituality and defying gravity - don't try this at home!
The wonders we had witnessed, faith we had forged, and the love we had learned had ignited us, excited us and united us.