The Mt Kenya Times 
By David Ndirangu
Worth Noting:
- When Catechist Nicholas got out the church, he almost dropped in shock. His new bicycle was not there. He even went and literary groped with his hands around the place where he had left it but to no avail. He ran around the church building like he was out of his mind.
- There was no one else around. With both hands on the chin, he sat under the tree where he had parked the bicycle, wondering what to do next. It was then that he made a decision to go back to the church and pray for the return of his bicycle. He was back on his knees but this time it was really difficult to concentrate on his prayers.
Many years ago when I was in Chinga Boys’ High School (fondly called Baraki or Barracks by the boys), I had a friend and classmate called Maina Kangema. He hailed from that place in Muranga County known as Kangema. So in short we just used to call him Kangema. So Kangema told me a story about a Catechist from their area. A catechist is that person in the Catholic Church who is tasked with teaching religion to new members so that they can be baptised. This was the equivalent of one Wamubunge – our no nonsense elderly catechist in Tetu where I was born and brought up. For Kangema and his village mates, their Catechist (or Gatethiki – their tongues had a bit of a challenge pronouncing Catechist) was called Nicholas.
Catechist Nicholas who was around forty years old then had served his church since his early days as an altar boy. His job involved crisscrossing the hilly countryside, uphill and down valleys on foot since there was no other means of transport. He had for about a decade prayed to God to help him afford at least a bicycle to make his work easier and also safe him from the hardship of covering miles and miles on foot in search of new converts. His prayer was answered through one new Christian who offered to buy a bicycle for Gatethiki as a way of showing gratitude. So one Saturday morning, Catechist Nicholas set off to Muranga town to collect the Black Mamba bicycle which had already been paid by for by the new Christian.
He could not believe his eyes. It was like a day dream when he jumped on to the gleaming new machine. He cycled straight to the church to thank God for answering his prayers. When he got to the church, being a Saturday, there was no one else around. So he leaned the bicycle under a tree just a few footsteps from the church door, went inside and on his knees got into a fervent thanksgiving prayer. He could have been engrossed in prayer for close to forty five minutes when he felt he had prayed enough. He was now looking forward to the maiden Black Mamba ride across the village to everyone’s amazement. But alas,
When Catechist Nicholas got out the church, he almost dropped in shock. His new bicycle was not there. He even went and literary groped with his hands around the place where he had left it but to no avail. He ran around the church building like he was out of his mind. There was no one else around. With both hands on the chin, he sat under the tree where he had parked the bicycle, wondering what to do next. It was then that he made a decision to go back to the church and pray for the return of his bicycle. He was back on his knees but this time it was really difficult to concentrate on his prayers. After about twenty minutes, he stealthily walked out of the church and from the door, peeped at the place where he had left the bicycle in the first place. He could not believe his eyes, his Black Mamba was proudly resting on the tree as if it had been there all the time. He was overjoyed… The first thought that came to his mind was to go back to the church to thank God for making the thief return his bicycle. “But wait a minute…what if the thief comes for the bicycle again and this time takes it away for good…” these thoughts were going through the mind of Catechist Nicholas like a whirlwind. He felt the need to go into the church to thank God but there was the risk of losing his new bicycle. In technical terms this is known as Intrapersonal Conflict. This is where an individual’s own goals, values and roles play against one another. It is a dilemma of choice where one is confronted by competing alternatives.
Remember conflict is a disruption caused by differing or opposing thoughts, interests, wants, ideas and actions that threaten to disrupt the status quo. The second type of conflict is called Interpersonal Conflict. This is conflict between two individuals. It arises as a result of the individuals pursuing seemingly incompatible goals, having different preferences, interests, values and needs or just having a communication breakdown.
At a group level we have Intragroup Conflict when members of the same group have differences resulting in conflict and Intergroup Conflict which is conflict between two or more groups.
At the country level – we have Intra-national Conflict. This is where one community has a conflict with another within the same country. For example in Kenya, there was a time the people who live in the big valley could not see eye to eye with those who live around the big mountain. Finally, International Conflict is one that involves a nation against another.
I guess you wanted to know what Catechist Nicholas did thereafter…unfortunately we have run out of space. Let us try some other time. Sawa..
David Ndirangu BSc. CPA (K). Certified Professional Mediator Email: ndirangudavid2023@gmail.com
Similar Posts by The Mt Kenya Times:
- Karua leads tribute to Gen Z victims, demands justice
- Kenyans mark Gen Z anniversary amid protests and roadblocks
- Gachagua hails youth for staying home
- Dutch dominance: Netherlands top Group F after 3-1 victory over Tunisia
- Maeda and Elanga trade blows as Japan and Sweden advance in 1-1 stalemate
About the Author
