Be of Good Courage...

 "They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his brother, Be of good courage."  This verse struck me this morning as I was reading in Isaiah 41.  It went right along with the thoughts that have been swirling around in my head.  Its my constant prayer that we could be a blessing and encouragement to those around us.  I know from experience how much it means to have family and friends shower us with encouragement and prayer.Our Church at home was constantly encouraging and affirming us, and showing love and support in many ways.  We were richly blessed! And I now look at that as a luxury! But I think God is wanting to teach us something... maybe He wants us to feel a bit of what He feels at times when people take for granted what is done for them and don't remember to thank Him.  We are learning to do thankless things... remembering that God is the only one who sees or cares. After all its HIM we're serving, so why should we care if our church folks show appreciation or not.  I'm thinking that maybe the encouragement and blessing that the family of God is to us, is just a side benefit on our way to Glory.  Our primary focus should be on Kingdom work without thought of praise or thanks from men.  On Christmas Day, after the service as we stood in the back to greet the people as they filed out, we handed them some small gifts... a kitchen "scrubbie" for the ladies, a bar of soap for the men and youth, and toothbrushes for the children.  I think they were probably thankful for what they got but I was amazed how few of them said, "Erokamano" (thank you).  In fact, a few of them wanted something more or something different than what they got.  It kind of took away some of the joy of giving.  But when I think of Jesus and how many people are "throwing away" the gift of salvation, it grieves me too.  How can we cultivate thankful hearts here at Lela rather than, "I'm poor, you owe it to me" attitudes.  Don't get me wrong!  There are times when they do thank us... they really appreciate visits in their homes, and transport when they want to go somewhere, etc.  but I'm still disappointed with how often they "beg" for things.  Oh we need the wisdom of Solomon!!  One thing I noticed about these people is that they can really identify with pain.  When I had surgery on my toe and had lots of pain, they were very sympathetic and touched by that.  They often asked me how I'm doing, etc.  Well... enough of my ramblings...

   Thurs. morning I went over to the house that Tony's vacated  to see if I can be of assistance in cleaning the house that Steve and Martha Esh planned to move into that afternoon.  As it turned out, Becky and Stacy were almost finished cleaning already and had things well under control so I just went home again and started cleaning my own house.  Since Wayne is the Principal at school we were responsible to have the Agape carport ready for the school program that eve. so I helped prepare for some of that.  Clarissa and Janette did a great job of decorating that afternoon and I helped get the food table set up for the abundance of good food we had that eve.  The program was very nice.  It was definitely different than what we are used to at home.This is a much smaller school, but they did a great job nonetheless and we certainly were blessed and encouraged.  Charity and Carolyn worked hard, as well as the music teacher, Marjie, and we much enjoyed the results of their hard work!  We also enjoyed meeting Steve, Martha, and Julie that eve.  They have been a real blessing already and we look forward to having them here for several months.  Steves brought us some treats from family members at home!!  What fun to receive new books, and some yummy things as well... such as BUGLES, PEPPERMINT PATTIES, etc!  Some of the things that were fairly common fare at home have become luxuries here.  When we came to Kenya I brought a pack of oreos along and stuck them in the freezer for a special time.  I decided that since its Christmas now we can eat them.  And I don't think an oreo cookie has EVER tasted so good to me! :)  We can buy oreos here but they are expensive and our budget doesn't allow such luxuries very often.

   Friday did not seem very much like Christmas.  It was a warm day and we're not used to going to church on Christmas.  It felt so much like a Sunday. Our service was a bit different...Wayne had a short message and we did a lot of singing (a lot in Swahili) and then we opened it up for individuals or family groups to share.  We have lots of widows here and they sang a song for us.  Some of the ladies who sang solos put some extra motions into them which added some smiles and interest. :) Christmas evening was very special!  MANY THANKS to the Marlin Stoltzfus family for making it a memorable day for the Compound.  They invited all of us to their house for the evening meal... and what a feast it was!!  Meatballs, chicken, gourmet potatoes, individual plates of lettuce salad, beautiful layered jello salad in goblets, pie, hoho cake, and an ice cream dessert, as well as date pudding!!!  It was a huge treat and I hope God blesses them real well for sharing with us. The tables were set beautifully and we had a nice time of relaxing and visiting for hours after the meal.  They youth so kindly washed the MANY dishes for us.  

  Wayne continues to be quite busy... he was out visiting a number of people last week and it seems there is always plenty to do here in the Compound as well.  We are so thankful that the sidewalk job is basically finished now.  Some large tree roots had made a big mess of things but it looks much better now.  

   We had our share of homesickness this past week!!  I haven't seen our girls missing home so much as they have lately.  I think the Christmas program at home was the hardest thing to miss.  And the future looks a bit dismal to them I'm afraid. :(  Their best friends are all planning to head back to America in the next 6 months or so.  We are hoping desperately that the new families will have some children for ours to fellowship with.  I have a feeling that fellowship for our children could be a big deciding factor in how long we stay in Kenya.  But its all in God's hands and we are making it a matter of prayer.  

   We trust you had a blessed Christmas and we wish you a wonderful New Year!!  Thank you for being our friends!!!  Clara for the Yoders

Another week in Luo land...More Pictures

Little lads at the church gate (wedding)

Ayla and Jerolin sitting on the grooms chair

John and Sheryl's wedding

Kenyan Nativity Scene (Talent!!)

Youth and Bishop's singing

Little Boys Moving Company

Brad and the Gingerich boys with "chicks"

Another week in Luo land

 Its a beautiful evening in Kisumu!  We've had so much rain, so it's a blessing to have sunshine all day!!  And the temperature is about perfect!  

   Thanks to all of you who remembered me on my Birthday!  It was a special day!  Wayne told me he would stay home all day and do whatever I want to. Wow! :)  We ended up going to town and getting some needed supplies... to the little duka where we get bread, to the meat shop, to a pharmacy to get plasters, (bandaids), and to Nakumatt. Its always an adventure to go shopping! :)  You never know what amazing sight you will see next.  After school, Wayne and I took the teachers some cold Pepsi and sat down to chat a while.  We just wanted to make sure things are running smoothly and talk a bit about the Christmas program coming up this week.  In the evening our family went to the Yacht Club to watch the sunset on Lake Victoria.  It was relaxing to sit by the water and watch for hippos. :)  We still haven't spotted any and the sunset wasn't very great because of clouds but we enjoyed our time anyway.  After we got home the single ladies from the compound joined us for cake and ice cream.  We had a great evening and heard some interesting stories. :)  

    Bible study was at Peter and Benter's house on Wed.  They are probably the most "well to do" folks in our Church... a number of their family are school teachers.  I had a comfortable couch to sit on and maybe thats why I had a terrible time staying awake for the Bible study. :(  Peter's house is a more permanent structure than most of the houses... looks like block walls outside, and they even had lights on in the room since it was rather dark outside.  

   Wayne had a very tiring but rewarding day on Thurs.  He was asked to preach at a large school 3 1/2 hours from here where a Pentecostal Assemblies of God youth conference was being held.  I think there were around 600 youth there.  The main reason they wanted someone to come was so that they could get Bible story books for all the attendees.  Wayne personally handed out all the books.  He was told that he could preach for 3 hours but he told them it wouldn't be that long.  He ended up speaking for about an hour and a half. Everything was translated into Swahili.  We hope and pray that the message they heard will bring forth fruit.  The students heard TRUTH and now realize the importance of the decisions we make and how it affects our eternal destiny.  Wayne says the trip was "brutal".  The road was terribly rocky and rough... into the interior of Africa!  I was so glad he was not alone... 3 of our church brothers, Jacob, Maurice, and Walter went with him to give moral support.  Needless to say, I was VERY happy to see him come home safe and sound that evening!!  I thought he might be too tired to go to Prayer meeting at Tommy's that evening, but he was okay.  We really enjoyed the lovely singing.  We also got to hear the youth and Marlin and Lavina practice songs that they were asked to sing at a wedding on Sat.  The singing was GREAT!

    Friday was a very busy day!  In the morning my washer quit working so Wayne and the "little boys" traded it for the guest house washer.  Wayne went to the Lela Church again to spray fleas, since the first spraying session didn't seem to do any good. :( He also went to Zilpa's house a bit to take something she needed, and chatted with some neighbors that live close to the church.  We're thankful that we can have a good relationship there and the unfortunate episode with Kevin didn't cause too many problems for us and the church. I did laundry, some cleaning, and made food for Tony's, Joe Fisher, and the single ladies from here for supper.  Tony and Joe had a food drop again in the area here so we were glad to have them here again. Judith and the children came along too and they stayed here overnight.  As we were enjoying our food on the carport it suddenly became very windy and stormy, so we had to go inside to finish our meal.  Tony's salad blew off his plate!  The power went off for a little while too, so we sat around with candles, and the gas lantern. 

    Saturday was the wedding of a young couple at the Oroba Church.  Wayne and I had plans to go,as well as most of the compound families, but Fri. night Wayne decided that he should stay home because he had nothing prepared for Instruction class and the message on Sunday.So Clarissa and Shonda went and Wayne and I got some needed work done around here.  Judith and the children went to the wedding as well and were met by Tony and Joe later in the day. Wayne went with Jake that afternoon to pick up 200 chicks to be raised here in the compound.  The girls reported a VERY bumpy, hour long ride to the wedding and then a long wait for the wedding to actually start.  Tommy preached a very interesting message and then there was another long wait til the food was served.  They had a typical Kenyan meal... Rice, beans, ugali, and sukumu.  The girls came home very tired but they were glad they went.   

    Wayne preached a message from Matt. 5 this morning on "Meekness."  It touched my heart as well as others and brought some tears and confessions.  We are thankful for our Brothers and Sisters at Lela who seem to be strong, but also willing to admit failure.  

   Christmas blessings to all of you!!  :)  We will really miss being with all of you, our dear family, on that special day, but we will do our best to make the day special here in Kenya as well.  Love to all,  Clara

I"m having trouble adding all the pictures to this post so I will create a new post with more pictures. Wayne

Men working!!

Lady cooking!

Part of the youth conference crowd

Passing out 101's

This and that................

  Good evening from Luo Land!  Its been a very unusual day here... We didn't see the sun at all! :(  In fact, I believe its the first time in the 4 months that we are here that my laundry didn't dry.  And since there is no dryer to use I will let the clothes on the line and hope for sunshine tomorrow!  Its a bit chilly as well and I have been wearing a sweater most of the day.  

  Its been a fairly quiet week in Kisumu.  We have had plenty of family time which is, by the way, a real blessing about living in Kenya!  I treasure these times even though I really miss home and all the interesting things that are happening there.  I remember how BUSY the month of December used to be and I'm amazed at how low key it is here.  I just found out today that I will have some added responsibilities now since Wayne is the school's Principal.  I will be in charge of the meal or snack that is served after the Christmas program next week.  We will be hosting the event at our house and decorating for that as well.  Clarissa and Janette have agreed to take care of the decorations so that's a big load off of my shoulders, especially since decorating is NOT one of my gifts!  I won't need to make all the food either, but just make plans and help organize I guess. 

  Wayne had a fairly busy week.  On Wednesday there was a work day at church.  Much work was accomplished with most of the members there to help.  It was a very warm day but went well.  The ladies hauled water from the well to wet the gravel church floor.  Then Wayne went back the next day to spray the floor since there is a bad problem with fleas there. :(  They did a lot of weeding and "mowed" the grass with slashers.  They hoed the prickers out of the driveway and weeded around the little house, etc.  The ladies cleaned up the little house that had been ransacked.  Afterward everyone was treated to chai and mandazis.  Wayne bought 80 mandazis and they were all consumed!  

  I didn't go to Church yesterday since Vanessa wasn't feeling well and my toe bothered me so much on Saturday that I knew the best thing was to prop my foot and rest as much as possible.  Its so hard for me to do when there's lots of work to be done.  Wayne reported a good service for the most part.  People showed up late because of mud and cloudy weather I guess.  Then there were some relationship issues between two of the ladies that needed to be worked through.  They didn't even have Sunday school so that they could work through some of those things.  Amazingly the message went very well with the problem on hand, and God worked in hearts and reconciliation was made. PTL!!  The testimonies lasted a long time then and so our lunch was quite late again.  

   We are glad to have our youth home again.  Most of them attended the CBYC (Christian Believers Youth Conference) in Nakuru this past week.  Sounds like they had a blessed time!  Mark and Mary Ellen Beachy were very involved in that this year.  Mark was the chorus director and Mary Ellen taught some classes for the girls.  Marks stopped in here a bit on their way home and we enjoyed their short visit. Marks are excited about flying to America tomorrow for their furlough!!  It must be a wonderful feeling!!!!  :)  

   Fri. eve. was a special evening for Wayne and I.  Joseph and Becky invited us, as well as Tommy and Marji, to join them at Simba Club... a nice Asian restaurant with a buffet.  Our children all stayed home and enjoyed themselves here.  We got home late since they don't start serving until around 9 pm.  The food was GREAT!  And the fellowship was too!!  I can easily see why people who have served in Kenya together seem to have a special bond.  Please pray for us with all the changes coming up...  Its just so hard to think of Tommy's and Marlin's leaving... and then Marks as well!!  But we trust God will provide and life will go on...

   I went to the hospital this morning to have my stitches removed, finally!!  I thought the Dr. was going to do it last week but when he looked at it he said it would just rip open again if he would do it now, so he waited til today.  Marji took me to the hospital since Wayne was at Pastor's meeting.  Bradlyn and I came home by tuk tuk, which was fun! :)  Its a pretty neat way to get around.  You have to watch those drivers though... they like to try to take advantage of the fact that we're mzungus and try to charge too much.  I had to wait on the Dr. quite a while this morning.  I think the rain slowed everyone down.  The removal of stitches was NOT FUN!  It hurt like crazy when he yanked the thread out of the nail. Oh well... I'm so glad that's done!  It looks pretty nasty now... pussy and a bit swollen.  Hopefully it won't get infected.  It really bothered me that the Dr. didn't wash his hands before taking care of me and didn't wear gloves.  He didn't bandage it for me afterwards either so when I got downstairs to a waiting area I put a tissue around my toe to protect it from germs and keep it from rubbing my sandal.  Its hard for me to trust the Doctors here but God is helping me to relax as much as possible. I just pray about the germs and try to take care of my toe the best I know how. 

Blessings to all of you in this Holiday season! You are all special to us and we're blessed to have you as friends!!  Clara  

Sand Mining (these guys in the river dig sand off of the bottom and through it up the bank)

Visit with Vincent Bonde (R) an 87 yr old blind and hard of hearing church brother. (He's still got the joy of the Lord!)

Neighbor lady washing in the church yard

Little guys at "Vincents"

Pouring the last of the chai on work day (who needs a 30,000.00 kitchen?)

Mary Ajode weeding around the church house

Monitor Lizard

Hannah Gingerich and friend!

Hotel beside our compound.  Try this for scaffolding!

Sermon prop from the message on Sunday

Pain and Trials......God Is With Us

Christmas... How can it be that this beautiful season is almost here already!!  Its easy to forget it here... at home there were reminders everywhere but not so here.  And it certainly doesn't "feel" like Christmas according to the weather, although we have had some chilly days and nights recently due to all the rain.  I LOVE rainy season, except for the mud.  Its SO beautiful and green, not so hot, and well just great! But I feel so bad for people who have trouble with their houses flooding!  A dear lady in Instruction class at Lela, named Lina Aduda, recently had her house flooded during the night.  Her young children were sleeping on the floor and woke up to a wet bed.  Now she has been dealing with mud in the house ever since!  Imagine!!  She was quite discouraged at first but she's still cheerful and greets us with a smile.  We try to share with her as the Lord leads.  It takes a lot of wisdom to know when to give and when not to, so that they don't become dependent, or "beggars".  

   Last week was a rough week.  On Sunday morning a week ago, soon after we arrived at Church we discovered that the small mud house on the church property where Kevin, an orphan, lives was ransacked and the door was standing open.  Kevin didn't  come to Church that morning but from what some other church members told us we discovered that Kevin had a serious "run-in" with the neighbors.  They supposedly tried to kill him with a panga and wanted to burn him in his house.  We don't have all the details yet but for some reason Kevin didn't want the neighbors and community folks to get water from the well at the Church anymore.  We don't understand why but I suppose we will find out the truth eventually.  This made the neighbors very angry.  They had a key to the well and were in charge of when people may come to get water and suddenly Kevin breaks their lock off of the well and tries to prevent them from getting water.  After Church the neighbors came to meet with Wayne and the national Brothers.  I was a bit nervous... I sure was hoping they would come peaceably and not in anger!!  PTL!!  They were very nice and workable and wanted peace with us as well.  So for now things are ok.  Kevin doesn't live in the house anymore since he was chased out. He still hasn't acknowledged any wrongdoing in the situation.  Its tough because he is a member and will have to be dealt with if he doesn't change his ways.  Please pray that Wayne would have the wisdom of Solomon and courage to do whatever is necessary.  One thing that scared me is that Kevin told the neighbors that the "mzungu" (white people) were the ones that didn't want them getting water anymore.  That was very false and we're glad that the neighbors seem to understand that now.  Please pray that Kevin could have humility of heart and seek peace with God and the Church.

   Sun. night was a traumatic night for Dean and Barbara Jean Miller and their family.  I suppose most of you heard about the attempted break-in at their house.  Barbara woke soon after midnight when she heard some noises and when she discovered a man at the door trying to break in, she SCREAMED, and he ran off.  The pastors were able to watch the thief on video the next day.  There are plans to make things a bit more secure around here.  It was unsettling for all of us, to be sure!!  But I thank God that in spite of this we have been able to sleep peacefully for the most part and we try to do our best to have things locked up tight.  The rest is up to God.  "Safety is of the Lord".  

   I have been having lots of trouble with an ingrown toenail lately.  Wayne tried to stuff cotton underneath the nail several times.  Marlin Stoltzfus helped out as well since he has been able to help a number of people with the problem.  But on Wed. the pain became unbearable.  Wayne was able to see that the ingrown part was on the side of the nail, instead of at the top where it often is and to get cotton way down the side was almost impossible, and EXTREMELY painful!  I think it was the first time in my life that I actually screamed from pain.  So off we went to the hospital,.. Aga Kahn, which is the best hospital in Kisumu.  The Dr. took a look at it and said it definitely needs surgery. He was able to do it that afternoon so I just stayed and waited til they were ready.  I had to answer a number of questions and get some blood work done.  Meanwhile Wayne and Bradlyn left to go get the money needed for the surgery.  Wayne also needed to go with Jacob, a church brother, to take some clothes to the prison where Edwin, a young man who was incarcerated 3 - 5 yrs. ago was going to be released.  I didn't see Wayne again til after surgery.  If I'd have known what I was getting myself into I may have "chickened out."  I have had severe pain in my toe this past week!!  I've had two c-sections in my life and I declare this pain in my toe has been worse than those surgeries were... as far as the pain.  There must be an awful lot of nerve endings in our toes... sometimes it felt like they were all on fire.  I had a fairly nice older Dr. who I trusted pretty well.  I was put into a ward with 5 other beds in it.  I think it must be a bit unusual to have a mzungu (white person) in a hospital bed because people seemed interested in what was going on in my corner of the room. Marji told me that when she was in the hospital sometimes people would walk by her room and see a white person, then they would back up for a better look! :)  I got more attention than I wanted, that's for sure!!  When I laid on the long narrow table in the OR there was no pillow so I was quite uncomfortable.  I asked for one and thankfully they gave me one which helped a LOT!  My bed in the ward didn't have a pillow either.  I don't know if there's a shortage or what.  The surgery took about a half hour. I felt no pain during the procedure where they made an incision and cut part of the nail off and must've taken roots out underneath.  They stitched the skin shut then and that is supposedly going to take care of the problem forever.  The very worst part was when they gave local anesthesia.  Whew!!  Talk about painful!  But I tried not to flinch.... I wanted them to know that mzungus can be "tough" too. :)  They kept watching me to see how I would respond.  Several times when the Dr. was bandaging me up I told him that the bandage is too tight, but he said "no" that's how its supposed to be. Hmmm... well we found out it was NOT how it should be!!  The next few days were pretty much torture.  I couldn't be up much at all.  The pain was very sharp, stabbing and constant.  Finally, on Thurs. I couldn't take it anymore so we went to Dr. Sokwala, a nice Asian lady who had looked at my toe before.  She unwrapped the toe for me and soon I felt great relief!!!  She agreed that it was wrapped too tight.  She said my Dr. won't be happy with me for taking the bandage off.  He said I should leave it on for a whole week!!  Contrary to his orders I have been changing the dressing every day and its slowly but surely getting better.  I'm slowly hobbling around but at least I can be off of pain meds now.  

   On Thurs. Tony's arrived.  They came to take Rachel, her boyfriend Aaron, and his sister Mary Ann to Nakuru for a few days, then they will take them to Nairobi later this week to catch their flight back to America.  Tony's were here from Thurs. til today, Monday.  Tommy's invited all of us, Tony's, the visitors, and us to their house on Fri. eve. for supper before Rachel's farewell on the lane.  The food was great and we enjoyed the fellowship.  The sad part is giving Rachel up!! Its rough for our girls too.  We shed some tears this morning as we bade here goodbye!  Goodbyes are SO hard!!  But then I remind myself that with all the people coming and going here we are learning to know so many more people and our horizons are broadened.  I've been dealing with some homesickness again lately.  America seems like a dream... And I wonder if I'll ever see that wonderful place and our awesome family again.  I remind myself that the safest place to be is in God's will.  And its the most peaceful place to be too.  Its just that our wishes and God's plans aren't always the same. That's where surrender comes in... and PEACE. :)

   One day last week while Wayne was up on the roof; working on our water tank, he felt something hit his head.  He looked around and didn't see anything so he kept working and pretty soon here it comes again... a nasty HAWK seemed to feel like his territory was invaded so he swooped down and left Wayne with some scratches on his head!!  I was NOT amused!!!  The nerve!!  Oh well... could've been worse.  

  Yesterday morning was quite unusual... we had a real downpour of rain before Church.  We left a bit later than usual because we didn't know if anyone would show up at Church.  Lela area had much less rain then we did though and as it ended up attendance was very good.  People came a bit late but there was good support.  We left later than usual though because the testimonies went on and on.  Wayne preached about reaping what we sow, and it seemed to touch hearts.  We rejoice with Edwin who was released from jail on Wed.  He was incarcerated for taking money from Agape, and he acknowledges that he took some but not nearly the amount he was accused of.  It appears that the real "thief" probably used Edwin as a scapegoat in order to save his own "hide".  Edwin was released early from his 5 yr. sentence because of good behavior and seems to have a good testimony. Life in jail was ROUGH and he is REJOICING to be free!!  When he came through the line to shake our hands yesterday, he hung onto my hands and praised the Lord!  After Church we ate in our carport with Tony's, Carolyn, Rachel, and her visitors.  Carolyn kindly made the dessert and salad for us and Judith seasoned the ricardo chicken for me. Everyone is so kind and considerate of me right now because of my "handicap."  

  Thank you for your prayers!  We feel your support and love!                                        Clara, for the Yoder's               

Volleyball court on the lane (from our gate)

She's still Ayla!

  

Brad and Co. fixing the lane

The "attacker" or his mate

I dare you ladies to try this while you talk on your cell phone!

sorting maize in Ahero

Do you think it was time?

Joint Pastors Meeting in Kericho

Post op

More of the ward

OWW!!

Thanksgiving and more...

"Serve the Lord with gladness: come into his presence with singing..."  That phrase in Psalm 100 stands out to me during this Thanksgiving season.  Yes, may we all serve with gladness rather than out of a feeling of duty or obligation.  Sometimes when I'm feeling selfish and struggle with our call here, God gently reminds me of the song... "I gave my life for thee... what hast thou done for me?"  

  We continue to enjoy visitors and all the different people that we cross paths with here in Kisumu.  On Sun. eve. the unit was invited to Marlins.  James Peight, Lavina's brother, showed us pictures of the work in Honduras.  James is on the mission board so we enjoyed hearing about the work there.  After that report he showed us pictures of their trip to Masai Mara since their arrival in Kenya.  That was very interesting!!  It included a 15 min. video which made it seem almost real life.  I'm looking forward to the day we can go see the "big five" of Africa! :)  We enjoyed yummy taco salad that evening as well.  

On Monday Wayne was in Pastor's meeting for 10 hours!!  I usually send Bradlyn over with a plate of food for him at lunch time.  They didn't even get finished with everything on the agenda!! It would seem to me that it would be very wearing to be in a meeting that long but Wayne seems to enjoy the fellowship. They have some good times together. :)

Tues. morning I went to Dr. Sokwala's office.  I have a nasty ingrown toe nail that has been a real pain for some time.  Wayne cut some of the nail away (while I nearly hit the roof) but it didn't take all the pain, although it helped the throbbing in my toe.  It "hit" me again that day how different things are here than in America.  We walked down the street trying to find her office and all I could see was a little sign that said "Daktari" or something like that.  The door was open with a few people sitting in a very small narrow room.  The lady at the old wooden desk asked me to sign my name on a piece of paper that had a few other signatures.  I noticed Glen Helmuth's name was on there. :)  I didn't need to fill out any info... I just sat and waited in a not so clean room that didn't smell very great.  I was happy with Dr. Sokwala though.  She's a nice Christian, Asian lady who seems very caring.  Her office is very plain and doesn't seem very well supplied with instruments, etc. but I think she knows what she's doing and she gives God the glory for what He does through her.  She wasn't able to take care of my infected toe but she did prescribe antibiotics and gave me an order to give to a surgeon at the Aga Khan hospital. I guess I will have to go get the nail cut away on the one side. :(

  Wed. was a VERY full but interesting day.  In the morning Wayne and Bradlyn and I went to the Kisumu airport to pick up Rachel and her replacement, Stacy Byler from Seymour, MO.  Welcome Stacy!!!  Rachel flew to Nairobi the day before to be with Grandma Lois when she flew out and then picked up Stacy that eve. and took her back to the airport in the morning for their flight to Kisumu.  Stacy got a good taste of Kenya roads on the way home... town was pretty crazy.  We're enjoying Stacy already.  She's a nice friendly girl who will do well here.  But the hard thing is giving Rachel up!!! :( :( :(  I dread it so much.  It seems this place is so full of goodbyes.  I hated it when Grandma Lois left too.  Rachel has become almost like a part of our family and we'll miss her terribly!!  Wed. afternoon Wayne and I and Carolyn headed out to the Lela area for Bible study at Eunice's house.  We stopped at Hesbon's house to pick him up since he can't walk well.  We had to go through major mud but with some rather wild maneuvers we made it out of there without getting stuck!! Whew!!  Then we kept meeting more church folks that needed a ride.  We ended up with 19 people in an 11 passenger van and on the way home there were 21!!  I honestly don't know how they do it!!  I thought Wayne and I were pretty lucky to be up front and not need to be "squashed."  I love these people though!!  They burst into song soon after the door was shut and they sang their hearts out.  I think they were trying to raise the roof. :)  They were in good spirits and we had a nice day together.  We had a good turnout that day... seemed like most of the folks were there.  I'm so glad for Zilpa's help when I need a translator and when I need to take care of sewing needs with the ladies.  We discussed which Scripture we want to study in Sunday school.  We ladies have a separate class twice a month and I will be responsible to teach one of those times.  I'm not too concerned because they talk a good bit and I pretty much let them take over since I don't have a good hold on the language yet.  When we arrived home around 5:30 Tony's had arrived from Nakuru!!  We quickly changed clothes and got ready for an evening at the Yacht club down by Lake Victoria.  Tommy took some family pictures for us.  Tommy's and Tony's and us ate in one pavilion and the youth and visitors had a separate place to eat.  It was a gorgeous evening!! There were even monkeys in the trees above us! :)  We haven't seen hippos yet though... hopefully one of these times we'll get to see them.  I'm really beginning to love Asian food... especially paneer.  Its fried cheese in a wonderful sauce that we eat over rice.  After we got home from the lake we enjoyed visiting with Tony's a while longer.  I needed to work on jello salad for the next day as well.  It takes quite a bit when you're making enough for 60 people!  

Thanksgiving day was very special!!  The morning was very busy.  I was responsible for broccoli and cauliflower salad and it took a lot of time!!  We asked a native lady, Consolata, to come help wash and cut it up for me.  She was here probably close to 3 hrs.  I finally saw she wasn't going to be finished in time so I quickly helped her for a while.  Judith brought cheese and bacon from Nakuru so that helped a lot! We had a yummy lunch with grilled steak, compliments of Marlin;  as well as ham, some of it came from America, thanks to James Peight!!  For dessert we had specialties that we don't have much here... cream cheese dessert!! 4 different flavors!!  Jake's and us were responsible to plan the afternoon activities.  The men and children played scatter ball in the school yard for a while... there was also Can Jam and corn hole. The adults and youth also played a game called "Bus stop".  That was hilarious.  We also had a homemade pinata for the children which they loved.  I couldn't help but miss my family and think about what they're doing.  Once when we were singing a Thanksgiving song and it mentioned, "father and mother, sister and brother" I found myself choking up a bit but it didn't last too long.  We are enjoying our Kenya family a lot too and it helps ease the pain of separation from our dear friends and family's at home.  

Tony is doing a food drop today but Judith and the children are around and plan to stay til tomorrow.  We look forward to having them here again next weekend.  It just feels right to have them in Kisumu! :)

 Blessings to all of you and thanks again for your prayers and support!!  Clara

The Yoder family at Yacht club

Family Day with Tommy's at Haandi's, a wonderful Asian Restaurant

Wayne and Bradlyn with our TALL friendly guard at Nakumatt

Logan, walking their turtle!

Bible study... eating nyoyo

Lina and baby Josephine

Lake Victoria

"Sisters" Heidi and Teacher Charity

Stacy and Rachel

Meriah Wagler with her friend... a frog

The food table on Thanksgiving Day

Who's pulling who? :)

Girls trying to get oreo cookies in their mouths without touching them with their hands

Need a great place to relax?  Come to Lake Victoria!!! :)