The past few years have witnessed an expanding Chinese population within the Kenyan capital of Nairobi and with it came the inevitable cultural exchange between the two nations.
Religion is one key aspect of culture that has been visibly imparted on the Chinese following their growing church congregation in Nairobi.
Every Sunday, the budding Chinese Christian community come together at a designated office block (mostly located in the leafy suburb areas of Nairobi) to conduct mass as they embrace their new found faith.
Everything at the service is in Cantonese (a variety of the Chinese language originating from the city of Guangzhou and its surrounding area in Southeastern China.), from the sermon to the worship songs, down to the hymns and prayers.
Members of the congregation then go on to upload the audio recordings of the Cantonese hymns as well as screenshots of the day's sermons on WeChat (the most popular chatting application in China) for those who cannot make for the service.
Their makeshift house of worship harbours various Chinese migrants who came to Kenya to serve in various capacities such as health workers, Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) operators as well as general importers of assorted goods a CNN report revealed.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Samuel Mwangi who works alongside Chinese nationals affirmed that they had made a choice to immerse themselves in the local culture including religion, with Christianity the main one (80%).
Coincidentally, their new-found passion for Christ comes at a time when Christians are allegedly being persecuted and churches razed down back in their home.
A senior pastor at the Bread of Life Church, Jonathan Chow, during a recent sermon in Nairobi, revealed that it was a dangerous time to be a Christian in China.
The Ministry's churches in Africa tended to be operated and attended by Africans, however, there has been a steady increase in Chinese-led congregations
Recently, a Chinese man identified as Liang Yongyu disclosed that he had converted to Christianity after running into the love of his life, who happened to be a Christian, Karen Ngunjiri.
Later on in December 2018, pastors married the couple at a lavish wedding that was highly publicized and hosted in the shadow of Mt Kenya.
