jacob, Author at Mugendi

The Most Foolish Bird

January 4, 2017April 6, 2023 2 min read

There is a very foolish bird called Ngune. That’s the name in my native Embu language, I don’t know its English name.

The bird only feeds on frogs, and the highlight of its foolishness is that it spends the whole day catching frogs from the river and placing them on a rock on the riverbed (perhaps to dry them) so that it can eat them later.

The stupid thing about it is that whenever it places a frog on the river bed and gets back to the river to get another one, the frog immediately jumps back to the river, and chances are that it will pick the same frog in the next catch. This goes on for the better part of the day. At the end of the day, the foolish bird carries home just one frog, after laboring for a whole day.

To help this bird, we’ve come up with a very bizarre but workable plan. We are going to send someone into species travel, be laid as a Ngune egg and hatched into a Ngune chick, and grow to eat frogs. By speaking fluent Ngune-ese, he will teach other Ngunes that they need to eat the first frog they catch, before attempting to catch another one.

We don’t promise any security, or that Ngunes will believe him. We just hope that he will not be eaten by crocodiles and foxes, poisoned in a polluted river, or even die of hunger in case rivers run out of frogs or climate change gets rid of frogs. Besides, the Ngunes might not believe them.

Can we get a volunteer, please?

We talk of wild animals, but the wildest of all animals is man

August 14, 2015December 5, 2018 2 min read

“We talk of wild animals, but the wildest of all animals is man.” –GK Chesterton

70 years ago (August 1945), an atomic bomb was used in war for the first time. The devastation was cosmic. Japan was the recipient; the US was the aggressor. About 140000 people lost their lives, and that marked the end of World War II.

70 years later, no nation has dared use an atomic weapon again. A lesson was learn’t from that experience, which is fresh in the memories of all nuclear powers in the world. Japan surrendered to the United States, and ever since, it has based its constitution on a pacifist constitution. Attempts to change this constitution have always been met with resistance by the populace. Every year, Japanese students visit the Hiroshima Peace museum, and carry home a lesson that inspires peace. Generation after generation of Japanese continue to choose peace over warfare.

Rwanda seems to have learn’t a lesson from the genocide. The unity and oneness that characterizes the country seems to emanate from a collective willpower of ‘never again.’ Genocide museums always teach the bitter lessons every year to new generations, which may not have experienced the genocide. I expect that Rwanda will remain a very peaceful country for a long time in history.

In Kenya, I don’t know to what extent we learn’t from our 2007/8 post-election violence. When the ICC cases are over, and IDPs are resettled, and new political alliances are formed, will we ever remembered that we almost annihilated each other based on the primary languages that we speak.

When there was an attempt to build a monument at the place where women and children were burnt to death in a church, the political leaders mounted a big resistance. Maybe, we do not want to be reminded of our past failures.

I have heard it said that a clever person learns from his own mistakes, and a wise person learns from other people’s mistakes. I do not know where we stand on this. Once again, the good old GK Chesterton once said, “He who refuses to learn from history will be forced to repeat its mistakes.”

Parable of the Life-saving Station

June 6, 2015June 16, 2021 2 min read

On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a crude little life-saving station.

The building was just a hut, and there was only one boat, but the few devoted members kept a constant watch over the sea, and with no thought for themselves went out day and night tirelessly searching for those who were lost. Some of those who were saved and various others in the surrounding area wanted to become associated with the station and gave of their time, money, and eﬀort to support its work. New boats were bought and new crews trained. The little lifesaving station grew.

Some of the members of the lifesaving station were unhappy that the building was so crude and poorly equipped. They felt that a more comfortable place should be provided as the ﬁrst refuge of those saved from the sea. They replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged building.

Now the lifesaving station became a popular gathering place for its members, and they decorated it beautifully because they used it as a sort of club. Fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions, so they hired lifeboat crews to do this work. The lifesaving motif still prevailed in the club’s decorations, and there was a liturgical lifeboat in the room where the club’s initiations were held.

About this time a large ship wrecked oﬀ the coast, and the hired crews brought in boatloads of cold, wet, and half-drowned people. They were dirty and sick. The beautiful new club was in chaos. So the property committee immediately had a shower house built outside the club where victims of shipwrecks could be cleaned up before coming inside.

At the next meeting, there was a split among the club membership.

Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s lifesaving activities as being unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal social life of the club. Some members insisted upon life¬saving as their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were ﬁnally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all the various kinds of people who were shipwrecked in those waters, they could begin their own lifesaving station.

So they did.

As the years went by, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a club, and yet another lifesaving station was founded. History continued to repeat itself, and if you visit that seacoast today, you will ﬁnd a number of exclusive clubs along that shore.

Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.

by Dr. Theodore O. Wedel

Is there life after birth?

April 8, 2015December 5, 2018 2 min read

Two twins were talking in the womb:
Tell me, do you believe in life after birth?
Of course. After birth comes life. Perhaps we are here to prepare for what comes after birth.
Forget it! After birth there is nothing! From there, no one has returned! And besides, what would it look like?
I do not know exactly, but I feel that there are lights everywhere … Perhaps we walk on our own feet, and eat with our mouth.
This is utterly stupid! Walking isn’t possible! And how can we eat with that ridiculous mouth? Can’t you see the umbilical cord? And for that matter, think about it for a second: postnatal life isn’t possible because the cord is too short.
Yes, but I think there is definitely something, just in a different way than what we call life.
You’re stupid. Birth is the end of life and that’s it.
Look, I do not know exactly what will happen, but Mother will help us…
The Mother? Do you believe in the Mother? !
Yes.
Do not be ridiculous! Have you seen the Mother anywhere? Has anyone seen her at all?
No, but she is all around us. We live within her. And certainly, it is thanks to her that we exist.
Well, now leave me alone with this stupidity, right? I’ll believe in Mother when I see her.
You can not see her, but if you’re quiet, you can hear her song, you can feel her love. If you’re quiet, you can feel her caress and you will feel her protective hands.

Written in Hungarian by Útmutató a Léleknek, translated by Miranda Linda Weisz.

if Humans had Horns…

January 21, 2015April 15, 2024 3 min read

What if human beings had horns?

It sounds evil and weird, but I think by now it would be normal. We would be used to it until it sounds normal.

I would remember the beautiful horns my grandfather had. Maybe we would know people by the shape of their horns. Life would be quite different. We would outdo each other in beautifying our horns. Monks would be dehorned. Hats and caps would be perforated to give rooms for horns. Vehicles would be taller to accommodate horns. Roads would not have bumps, to prevent horn damage when matatus hit bumps at high speed.

Horn Business

There would be a multi-billion dollar industry dedicated to care of horns. Here are a few examples of a few shops you would find in a mall:

Horn-Cure: for the longest horns
The Nairobi Horn House: replacing broken horns
Horn-First: …if your horns have refused to grow
The Horns: for all your horn needs

Parliament would be a risky place to be elected to (for Hornarable Members). Occasionally, we would hear that a MCA was gored during a motion to impeach a governor.

Over every door post, there would be a clear warning written ‘Mind your horns’. In addition to dermatologists, we would have hornologists who we would pay a lot of money to have a horn-canal treatment, for painful horns.

Reindeers would be an endangered species, from horn poachers. Artificial horns would be a thriving business. Beds would be at least ten feet long. Diving would be prohibited in swimming pools, except for monks. Rugby players would be charged with first degree murder. The world would be hornited.

No longer would we depict the devil as a being with horns, but we would brand him with a very prominent tail, to distinguish him from humans.

Female Horns

Fashion trends would be a bit different. Some would consider long, straight horns to be a sign of beauty, while others would think the curved horns are the best. We would occasionally complain about the rising cost of horn polish whenever we visit the hornbill (not a bird, but a business name or a profession). Assuming that female horns would be smaller, or shorter/smoother/colourful than male horns, we would have a movement and a handful of NGOs trying to fight for the equality of horns. They would argue that all horns are equal, and children should be allowed to have their horns the way they want. Socialites would have horn surgery to ensure that their horns look exactly like elephant tusks, while instead of a Mohawk, we would have people donning one horn like a rhino (I won’t mention Sonko).

https://www.traditionrolex.com/43

Luckily, Humans Don’t

Fortunately, we don’t have horns. Genesis tells me that it is because God did not create us with horns, while evolutionists claim that either horns fell off our heads according to the law of natural selection, or we did not develop them because they were not necessary (an insult to zebras). As far as I am concerned, God created me without horns.

What if human beings had tails?

Is Prophet Dr Owuor a false prophet?

September 29, 2012January 8, 2019 1 min read

The main problem we have in the church is ascertaining whether most of the churches are genuine or not and whether many of the so called men of God are real or crooks. It is not a surprise that these questions are asked; Jesus already prophesied that in the last days there would come many false prophets.

I prefer not to go into details on whether he is a true prophet or not, but would instead recommend that you look at it yourself. The arguments that arise on his authenticity range from the weird manifestation of the working of the Holy Spirit, questionable cases of healing, flashy lifestyle (chase cars and security), unfulfilled prophecies, his titles (mightiest prophet), and most of all the cultic nature of the repentance and Holiness ministry which is associated with him.

The standard tests to ascertain his authenticity are in the Bible, don’t look any further. The Bible asks us to test the Spirits, and we shall know them by their fruits. Check the fruits and see if they are genuine. Don’t look at the miracle works; the Bible has already said that many will claim to have done many things in his names, but Christ doesn’t know them. Miracle works can also emanate from the kingdom of darkness.

Still googling to find out if prophet Dr Owuor is a true prophet? Know your faith, and you shall find the answer.

PSALM 23

September 26, 2011July 6, 2020 2 min read

Psalm 23 is my favorite Psalm. I read and recite it over and over because of the lessons that keep popping up.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, i’ll fear no evil
Psalm 23:4

Valley of Death

Although creativity and diction are a few of the many tools that any poet or writer must have, the psalmist was many a times writing from personal experience. I imagine that as a shepherd, David, perhaps, had to pass through this place several times. Might be you don’t now that the valley of the shadow of death was a physical location, somewhere between Jericho and Jerusalem. (Did the guy, rescued by the Good Samaritan, meet his fate here?)

The valley of the shadow of death is a ravine overhung by high precipitous cliffs, filled with dense forest, and well calculated to inspire dread to the timid and afford a covert to beasts of prey. I imagine the ‘foolish’ sheep straying from their good shepherd, David, and going into this place, and the shepherd had to follow them and ensure that each one of them went back home safely.

He could not stand the wrath of his father or domineering brothers by going home having lost some few sheep. Here, danger lurked, not just to the sheep, but the shepherd as well.

Bravery

David was a brave man, really brave. In the battle field, he had told Saul that ‘when a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep… I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it’ (1 Samuel 17:34).

But in the 23rd psalm, David explains the source of his great courage and strength- the fact that his shepherd was watching after him. He says ‘the Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine,’ (1 Sam 17:37). His great faith in God made him to be the bravest warrior among all the Israelites gathered in the valley of Elah.

My Shepherd

The Lord is my shepherd. But like the foolish sheep which would walk through the dangerous valley and survive just because they had a tough shepherd, I also survive through many dangerous and hard moments by the grace of God.

From Psalm 23, I know that it is not about me, but about my shepherd, and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…

Creating a Blog or a Simple Website

December 28, 2010 2 min read

If you know how to use Microsoft Office, then you can create a blog or a simple website. The initial set up can be a little bit technical, but your hosting service provider can help you do that. What you will then focus on is writing and posting articles, which you should do without much difficulty.

But first, there are a few things you should know:

Domain name: refers to the address that people will use to access your blog/website (URL). A domain name is something like www.example.comor www.google.com. Domains are usually sold by domain registrars, and you pay an annual fee to own the domain. The cost is ranges from 5 to 15 USD per year (on average).

Web hosting: This is the service that allows you place your articles somewhere they can be accessed from the internet. You can think of it as a flash disk that is accessible from the internet, unlike one plugged in your computer which cannot be accessed outside the computer. Web hosting companies provide hosting space and charge an annual fee for hosting services, although there are free services that are features.

In most cases, the web hosting service provider provides both domain name and web hosting service. A good example is Truehost Cloud. Click HERE to see their page.

Now that you know the terms, here are four simple steps to creating a blog or a simple website.

Choose a domain, and a name for your blog/website. An example here is the blog under the name ‘Wanjiru Kihusa – A Better You’ and whose domain name is www.wanjirukihusa.com.
Find a suitable service provider who will host your website. A good recommendation is Truehost Kenya who can assist you set up your blog or your website.
Go to hosting and domain name provider and buy the domain and also get yourself the hosting service. In most cases, they will help you set up and configure these.
Follow the directions provided and you will be ready to start posting. You can get a lot of email, chat and phone support if you use Truehost Cloudas your webhosting and domain name provider.

All Posts By jacob

jacob