[Oe List ...] Mystery

[Ellie Stock]

Thanks, Dick, for your witness.  What an adventure and convergence of minds and mission.
Ellie :)elliestock at aol.com 


-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Alton via OE <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>
To: Order Ecumenical Community <oe at lists.wedgeblade.net>; dialogue-owner at lists.wedgeblade.net
Cc: Richard Alton <richard.alton at gmail.com>
Sent: Thu, Oct 20, 2022 7:26 pm
Subject: [Oe List ...] Mystery

Airplane trip toAfrica Just copied the Land of Mystery chart from Frank Knutson andthen had an awesome trip to Kenya that manifested this mystery. I knew this tripwould be different. Being COV19 housebound for like two years, it was a bigdecision to get out in the real world again… never know what is out there. Itwas a huge task to just get a Kenya visa. Trying to figure out how to getthrough the Kenya COV19 public health check station was nerve racking. But Idid it and it was an amazing adventure and the people I found out there, made itall worthwhile. This has happened to me before when strange people just showup in my life: Found my Chicago seat for the first leg of Chicago to Qatar andthen onward to Nairobi. The plane was almost full, but my window seat was stillempty- would be a great help if the seat stayed empty. And just then a younglady burst through the plane door with two gigantic bags and came running downthe aisle screeching to a stop in front of me. Hands me her passport- “Holdthis!”- and throws one of the bags over my head to the seat next to me… “Beback!”. This was the beginning of a thirteen-hour remarkable trip with this thirty-one-year-oldAmerican school teacher presently teaching in Bangkok, Thailand. The storiesshe had to tell about her seven years there. The most amazing part was her sidebusiness of raising ten dogs of which none weighed more than 2.2 kilos- so Igot to personally meet all ten dogs, their names and each’s adventures- photos,videos and awards. Much better than watching movies. Oh, yes and her name isKay which just happens to be one of my daughter’s names. And this Kay’s momalso raises dogs- a long family history of dogs… an amazing world we live inthat people do such things My second encounter was at the Qatar airport. Of course, wemissed my connecting flight. The explanation was that since Qatar was hostingthe Soccer World Cup between November 18 and December 18 this year and theyexpected millions of spectators, they had put in a huge number of new systemsthat were still being figured out like how to get people from the planes to theterminal. So I waited my five hours for the next flight and got in linefor my Nairobi flight. I am pretty good at chatting with people. The Africanlady standing next to me- an older woman who had a strange lookingpassport- so asked her what country she was from. She explained that this wasthe new East Africa Regional passport. “Nice- you are from Kenya? “Yes”, she (hername turned out to be Charity Gathuthi) had just come back from Australia fromvisiting her daughter. “Nice. What did she do?”: “A water consultant”. “What doyou do?” Well, I am retired in Chicago but still work on local communitydevelopment and was attending a gathering of people to look at climate change.I used to live in Nairobi- Kawangware Charity looked at me really funny, like I was from anotherworld. “Are you with ICA?” Yes, you win the prize for an astonishing guess. “Well,I know and have worked with the ICA staff, Nathan Ambunya, Patrick Mbullu andHenry Mpapale plus I did Kenya Cooperative consulting work for many years withTerry Bergdall. Have been away and have not had contact with ICA for a while.  But you tell Patrick, Nathan and Henry togive me a call.” Now that was amazing- like finding a needle in a haystack.Makes you wonder how many related ICA people are out their wandering theplanet. Now, I told you about the Thailand Kay encounter. Kay hasunbounding energy in relationships with other people. She was standing in thetoilet line and started talking to a stewardess and it turns out that they may alllook the same, but they are from different countries- part of Qatar wanting tobe the future Global airlines. So sure enough, I found two Philippine stewardesses.Found out a lot about the Philippines and other countries like Tajikistan. So,I am sitting there reading a book by Momaday called Earth Keeper in preparationfor presenting the ICA’s new Climate Change Manual- look up and there is anAfrican Stewardess standing in front of me; “What a great sounding book- Earth Keeper”I am from Zimbabwe and we need earth keepers. I will come back, and you cantell me more.  The page I was reading when she interrupted me: “And soGreat Mystery you who dwell in the endless beyond, you who spoke the first wordand made of your breath the mountains and the waters, the trees and thegrasses, the man and the woman and the child, hear me in my small voice. I amyour thankful creature. My people and all the birds and animals are yourthankful creatures. Hold us! Hold us in your hands and make us worthy of yourblessing. Tell us the old stories of your greatness, that our minds and ourhearts may be nourished with wonder and delight. Let us see your likeness inthe stars and let us hear your voice in rolling thunder and in the wind andrain. Be with us forever in the sacred smoke of your being. These are my words,my offering to you, Great Mystery ( Earth Keeper by N.Scott Momaday) And this is just one journey from Chicago to Africa. Life isamazing if you dare to go out and meet it.Dick Alton, Co-Director, ICA Kenya, 1980-86; still believesthat one should write a witness on one’s birthday and mine is quicklyapproaching, so this reflection -- 
Richard H. T. AltonICA Global FundMethodist Eco-Sustainability T/FT: 773.344.7172richard.alton at gmail.comMake Plain the Vision, Habakkuh 2:2
Won't you be my neighbor?_______________________________________________
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