"Go ye therefore," with Special Emphasis on "Go"!

If you look up the word "patience" in the dictionary, you will NOT find a picture of my Dad. Patience was not a virtue for Tyre Denney. When he felt led to do something, especially if it was for his Lord, Dad was ready to go at that moment and many of those who weren't ready had difficulty keeping up with him. In his moving message at my Dad's funeral service, Brother Jeff Eaton pointed out that Tyre lived by the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) and many of us agree. Dad was all about "going" and he was on the go about every day as a pastor. At times, Tyre was inclined to go as fast as he could to get wherever he needed to be...a trait that most of his children inherited. But, more about his driving slightly above the speed limit at another time. One of his memorable mission trips was to Kenya in the fall of 1985. That trip had a profound effect on my Dad and he shared some of his feelings in an open letter that was published in the local newpaper, "The Anderson News". Tyre wrote a weekly article for the local paper for many years and some of his articles are well worth reading again. A few of Tyre's thoughts from his open letter about Africa, dated October 19, 1985, are copied below for your enjoyment.

• I've been living here since Wednesday afternoon in a place that, in a strange and touching way, reminds me of the home of my grandparents in Georgia. There is so much here that reminds me of home. The sandy, reddish dirt roads are almost identical to those I remember. The crops of cotton and corn and peas are just as scraggly; the yards are kept swept as clean as a whistle, not a blade of grass in sight. And as you come into their village, the children rush into the house to get a chair and bring it out and set it in the best shade for the Visitor (they capitalize it, not me) -who-has-come-all-the-way-from-America-Kentucky-not-even-stopping-in-Nairobi (where everyone who is anyone stops)-to-come-to-Sabaki-Melindi-Kenya-to-tell-us-about-God-and-His-Son, Yesu Christa. These are the sights and sounds and smells and hospitality that one associates with the deep south of the United States and they have touched my heart.


• There is no language barrier to a smile. Richard, the pastor of Subaki Baptist Church and Joseph, my translator, have been trying valiantly to teach me the "hellos", "how are yous", "I am fines", "good-byes", and "God bless yous" of Swahili. But when I forget, the big Wazungu (wah-zoon'-gue, their name for a white man that is most nearly translated as "people that go around in circles") just smiles or laughs out loud. It works every time. If you didn't bring that nice mirror your wife bought for you before you left home, you can comb your hair by looking at your shadow on the tent wall. But it helps if, (a) you don't have much hair, (b) you don't have to see the results, and (c) you have a cap to cover it with. A big Wazungu whose hair looks as though he just stuck his finger in the light socket is something else. And little children get the tummy ache if they laugh too much. You cannot, repeat CANNOT, shave yourself by looking at your shadow on the tent wall. This really isn't too bad. The Guriama (Goo-re-amma) people respect and revere their elders, those with gray hair and gray beards. And, in light of the aforementioned hair situation, a gray beard helps.


• Ferdnnand Katana was here this morning by the time I finished breakfast, saying, "Please, sir, may I walk with you today. I want you to teach me more from God's Word." Even as I write these words, he is sitting under the cashew nut tree, patiently waiting. He has the New Testament I gave him clutched in his hands. Less than a week ago, Ferdnnand Katana and I were separated by over 13,500 kilometers, race, color, culture and belief. Today, the God who bridges continents, colors, cultures and the consonants of language will be with us as we walk together among the people who live in the villages of Subaki, Kenya.


• And, with tears in his eyes and much joy in his heart, the Visitor-from -America-Kentucky-who-came-all-the-way-to-Subaki-Kenya (without even stopping-in-the-big-city-of-Nairobi)-to-teach-us-about-God says, "Bwana Asifiwe!" Which, being interpreted means, "Praise the Lord"! And the Subaki Guriama always say, "Amen!"