“What’s Africa Like?”

Whenever we come back from one of these mission trips I always get the question, “So what’s Africa like?” and there just isn’t a good answer.

The answer I give was, “It’ was amazing,” or, “Kenya is a beautiful country,” or “The trip was great, we got a lot of work done and all got along.” Those short answers don’t really answer the question but it’s the best I can do short form. If someone wants to have a long conversation over coffee I can share some of my observations but I can’t really sum up a question like that in a few sentences, and would be foolish to try.

One reason it’s a hard question to answer is I don’t know what people want to hear. If people press me for a more in depth answer I’ll give out, “Kenya is a beautiful country of rolling landscapes that stretch to the horizon in places and all of the people I have met there have been friendly and welcoming.” That statement, while true, is a gross simplification but it seems to pacify most people.

The reality is that Kenya, and probably Africa as a whole, is too large to be properly summarized by an American who has spent a grand total of twenty days in country. It’s unfair to give simple answers that don’t reflect the complexity of the situation Mwangaza faces on the ground, but it’s easy to be misunderstood if you go into detail.

I’m happy that for some people I can be a portal into a world that they’re curious but know almost nothing about, but I’m afraid I’m not doing a very good job at it. I think after two mission trips it’s a bit much to claim that I understand Kenya. I think after two trips and several years of reading news about Kenya I have a basic comprehension of the land and its people, and sadly that doesn’t translate to any snappy one liners that illuminates what Kenya, and Africa, truly is.

Caption: See, Africa is massively beautiful.