So, I went where no other mzungu (white person) has gone. We climbed the mountain... in my car... prepared with sleeping bags and a big container of water we fetched along the way. From ground level you descend into the mouth of the cave. This particular mountain is still an active volcano and where people fast and pray is only one set of caves among about 8. Each cave is known for something different--some have monkeys, others have bats, this one is for prayer. The caves are a tourist attraction, so much so that when the guide for the tourists saw a white person among the Kenyans there he wanted to charge me a tourist fee!
There is a schedule and understood rules for your time at the caves--no food, only water (juice is ok--some even go without water), no showering (there's no water, so that's not really an option anyway). This is the main area with a campfire for fellowship and Bible study. We also slept here. I learned a lot of Maasai and Swahili trying to figure out the stories as they sat talking around the fire.
In the morning, evening and 3am you climb down into the "power room"! Inside is a big room where people pray. I wasn't thrilled with the 3am wake-up call, but when everyone is going, you go with the flow.
The place is huge. It's not just one cave, but a series of caves. You can walk underground for a long time. The main prayer area is a place called "long journey". You walk underground for about 30 minutes, crossing a dried up riverbed--maybe a lava riverbed. At one point the air goes from cool and crisp to dry and humid... You continue walking until you reach an area where you have to lay down and shimmy in to fit! The second time I went, we laid there for 5 hours of praying and singing!
My friend Eva and I encouraged one another. It was wonderful to have another woman there. All we'd have to say to each other was, "are you hungry?" "yeah, I'm hungry." And after we'd acknowledge it, we'd be fine.
Dear Ashleigh,
ReplyDeleteI read the article about you in the Christian Standard today. It was great to read about someone from the Madison Park church doing such great work. I grew up in Quincy and Madison Park Christian Church. I now live in Oklahoma City.