Diversity of faith

Elizabeth Thuo

09-1019

DIVERSITY OF FAITH

 It’s Tuesday once again and I wake up feeling exhausted. I had slept late completing various assignments and the usual chit chat with my roommates. I carry my pink bucket and go to the bathroom hoping there is some water but as usual I have to walk across the hall downstairs. I curse in my heart as I slowly walk along the corridors of Patience West hostel and I pass by many students still half asleep pushing their buckets and mtungi’s on the floor. I smile. It seems like a busy morning already and it is only 6.00 am. The borehole tap is crowded and as I also get in the queue, Winnie a friend asks me if I was attending the chapel service. I look up, scratch my head, rub my half closed eyes and answers yes.

Daystar University has a tradition of having two chapel attendance days. These are on every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday service for those in school over the weekend. This is to ensure that students get a well rounded perspective on life spiritually. It is expected of any Christian University to offer such nourishment to the soul through various programmes if not, would that really be a Christian University? I guess not. Every student has their own perspective on the chapel attendance rule and is either a staunch Christian, surface Christian, rule follower or life sceptic.

 A staunch Christian

Faith without actions is dead, faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. It’s all about faith. It is a strong belief in someone or something. A person without faith is like a dead man walking in the sense that life becomes pointless. After taking a heavy breakfast made up of four slices of bread, a mug of tea, a sausage and a small bowl of porridge am ready to start my day. The destination to head to is the amphi theatre. As I walk out of the dining hall, I run into Maryanne, a classmate who seems enthusiastic about the day. She keeps talking about how God will provide money for her to go shopping and that in the near future she will be the proud owner of a deluxe apartment room. I burst into laughter as I was expecting her to say her own car or home but well we all have different dreams.

The sound of musical instruments especially the drum, get louder and louder as we walk into the massive hall and I couldn’t help but mumble the words to the popular hit Tambira Jehovah. What a way to start a day, praising your creator in song, dance and prayer. How I wish I could do this every day. The beats and rhythm bring out the joy that only music can find. I am looking around and all I see are students immersed so deep in worship, others looking miserable and the rest are standing, clapping but no single word from their mouths. This might be a common scenario in almost all Churches or gatherings of spiritual nature.

Students in the Amphi theatre

During the service I observe those around me. I have not even looked beyond my neighbor and I am surprised .I whisper to her and ask her what her name is and her response is ‘I am Sara’. I can always understand those who deem it unnecessary to attend the chapel service and remain warm under their blankets but cannot tolerate someone who is chatting on social network sites like face book when the preacher is trying to drive the message home. Sara gives me a cold hearted stare I could feel like her eyes could see inside my soul. Now I understood the meaning of the phrase if looks could kill and better the devil you know than the Angel you don’t know. I put her case aside and focus on the word.

The word was so inspiring and to some extent was speaking to me like the message was directly applicable in my situation. These are the days where you are attending a sermon and you instantly remove any doubts in your mind about the existence of a supernatural being. I remember clearly the breakdowns and meltdowns I was experiencing back at home and in all the assignments and exams that have not been giving me even a simple ounce of sleep. The most memorable thing I capture is that adversity is not rare meaning it will always have a victim at all times with no necessary criteria or qualifications to choose who it will strike just like HIV. The sermon ends with a prayer and it’s now time to head to our morning classes luckily for me I only have an afternoon class.

I head straight to the library to borrow a textbook when I bump into my friend Ann Ngucie. There are only a few words I can use to explain her, simple, precise and focused. Those are her trademark qualities. As they say birds of a feather flock together, I wonder if those qualities could work in my life at some point and that they would rub off on me during my exams or in future while I will need the enthusiasm in job hunting. I simply ask her how the sermon was and why she had decided to attend chapel on that day and her answer could not be any more straight forward .She says , ‘ Ever since I got into Daystar we have always had to attend chapel and sign to indicate our presence and this has become like a routine to me.’ This is true and I do not even question her considering that I had once appeared on a defaulters list. I am no saint either.

It is said you can choose your friends but you cannot choose your family members. I consider myself lucky as my pool of friends is like a mixture of colored marbles in a jar, different. I decide to walk back to the hostels and do some reading as I prepare for my afternoon class. My mind seems refreshed by the thought of all faiths that exist in the world. The Hindus believe in a white cow and consider it holy .Many American celebrities declare themselves atheists meaning they do not believe in God while scientists believe in science. As a Christian one should look at this view from a Bible’s angle. Romans 2:3 say ‘If you a mere mortal can pass judgment on a fellow human being to such an extent imagine God’s judgment on you.’ We have no reason to force other religions or denominations that we are the best in the spiritual field after all no one has seen Jesus Christ and come to tell us.

As I enter Patience Hostel once again, I hear a soft voice calling my name along the corridors. I look behind me and see it is my friend Mercy Ngei still dressed in her night dress, with half opened eyes, she puts her half fetched bucket of water down and  she says ‘morning’. I respond. After a few minutes of chit chat, I now head to my room. I look back across the corridor at Mercy and imagine all that she has missed out on today. In today’s society with all the evils lurking around us if you don’t stand for anything, you will definitely fall for something. You got to have faith people.