Reverend Christopher
Lee, 25, is from Northamptonshire, England and
is a deacon in the Anglican Church of England. He worked at the Kiteto
Christian College Mission in Kiteto, Tanzania, a tiny town in the rural
area of the Manyara region, for three years after he graduated
university. He is now studying theology at the University of Cambridge,
and when those three years are completed, he looks forward to the next
adventurous chapter of his life as an Anglican priest.
'True faith provides
great strength for life and allows miracles
to happen.' -
Christopher Lee
the interview
One night while I was traveling
and working in Africa, I met two British doctors who had volunteered at
the mission Chris ran, and when I told them about Epiphany,
they suggested I talk to him but they never told me his name. The night
went on but I never met Chris, and the next morning we were leaving. I
remember being upset with myself for not seeking him out and trying to
interview him - here I was in Africa and blew an opportunity to get an
interesting interview. As we were about to leave, the driver of our van
started talking to this guy with a backpack who needed a ride. We were
headed in the same direction as the guy so I told him we were happy to
give him a ride. We introduced ourselves and I asked Chris what brought
him to Kendwa Rocks (the place we were leaving), and he replied, "I was
just vacationing for a bit, I help run a mission in Tanzania." That's
right, the missionary priest I was so upset to have missed the night
before had just climbed right into my van! On top of that, the
doctors had told him about me, too, so he'd thought about what his
greatest epiphany would be. Kismet? Serendipity? Whatever, I'll take
it- it was meant to be. I pulled my camera out of my backpack, and we
conducted his interview in a speeding van en route to Stone Town,
Zanzibar.