My mother—she better not be worrying!—recently sent me a link to the U.S. State Department’s travel advisory map. (I do enjoy interactive maps!)

This one provides a good reminder that the mission to Nairobi is not just an assignment to go teach a class in a place where just anyone is able and willing to do so. I am being sent to a place that can be a difficult place to go.

While most Kenyans identify as “Christian,” Kenya is not always a safe place for professing Christians. The State Department’s advisory adds another datum: the risk of “kidnapping,” especially near the Somali border, makes Kenya additionally dangerous for “Westerners” like me.

This reminder only serves to reinforce the need (as described on the mission page).

I put my trust in God’s providential care and matchless grace, knowing that—on bright mountains or in dark valleys, in life or in death—

אך טוב וחסד ירדפוני כל־ימי חיי
ושבתי בבית יהוה לארך ימים

Only goodness and covenant-love will pursue me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of YHWH for the length of days.

Psalm 23.6