Kisumu Yoder's: Choosing Joy....

"Choosing joy is being able to see God's goodness even when life is hard and messy."

"Busy is a choice. Stress is a choice. Joy is a choice. Choose well."

"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings." William Arthur Ward

It's been a good week in Kisumu! I'm blessed with what a difference attitudes can make as we choose joy. I know it's easier said than done!! Last Tuesday Wayne and I and Clarissa went to Zilpa's house to help her celebrate the Anniversary of the day she was healed from a serious sickness. She gives thanks to God every year for giving her another year of life. Joe and Glenda were there too and we all enjoyed our time very much. We did some singing and Wayne read some Scripture and we enjoyed some wonderful Kenyan food!

Wednesday was our first solo clothing sale at Rabour. Stacy went with us to assist since she has helped others and has some experience. Praise God things went very well and there was no mad rush to get the best bargains, etc. I was so relieved! We served some juice and "biscuits" (small packs of cookies) afterward and they enjoyed that! We stayed for Bible study then and oh dear! I had a terrible time staying awake! I must be getting old! In the evening Carolyn's parents, James and Esther Rodes, Carolyn, and Stacy and Rhoda joined us for supper. We had our traditional Wed. eve. meal... chapatis, beans, and fresh salsa.

On Friday Wayne met his uncle and aunt Perry and Judy Beachy in Ahero!! They are in Kenya visiting their son, Kore, and they came to Kisumu to spend time with us over the weekend. We enjoyed them so much! It kind of felt like Gramma was here again! And the children had so much fun with Perry and enjoyed all his tricks! :) In the evening we were all invited to Joseph's house for supper. Becky and I and Glenda helped each other with food. Brian and Maria Wagler and family from Nakuru were there as well as the singles, and Joes. Wayne and Joseph grilled some yummy chicken for us!!

Saturday was another first for us! We attended our first Kenyan wedding at the Nyakoko church. Joshua and Caren were the Bride and Groom. Pastor Gerold preached a good message and Joseph was the Moderator. We really enjoyed the day and were glad that Perry's and Kore could be there too. The wedding was to start at 11 but I think it was closer to 12:30 when it actually began. Wayne and I ended up staying in Kisumu until the Bride's family came to meet us so we could take them to the church. I guess time doesn't matter to these people so we need to learn to be ok with that... at least in some cases. :) Pastor Thomas Amata from Rabour, married the couple. Most foreigners are not allowed to do that at this point so we depend on our few native Pastors who are licensed to perform marriages. The bride is very young and seemed quite shy but we trust their marriage will be great! After the wedding we were invited to the Grooms house to eat. We were privileged to be inside the small house with the couple and we were served ugali, chicken, beef, and sukumu. We ate with our fingers. We left in a big hurry after eating because a storm was brewing and some of the roads were BADLY muddy on our way in and we were afraid of getting stuck back there. In spite of pouring down rain we made it out of there! And Kore came behind us with his cruiser to pull us out if needed since we just had a small car. That evening we made homemade ice cream and enjoyed pizza with our visitors. Yum!!

On Sunday morning Perry's and Kore, and Clarissa went to the Chulaimbo church to listen to the Rabour choir sing. The rest of us attended at Ahero. It was a good service and we had a relaxing afternoon. In the evening we were invited to Joe's lawn to sit around the fire which we all enjoyed!

Monday was family Day so that meant no Pastor's meeting! We took our visitors with us to Lake Victoria for an early morning boat ride. It was beautiful and so peaceful that morning. We enjoyed watching the fishermen with their nets, hippos, monkeys on the bank, women washing clothes, a fish market along the lake, many beautiful birds, a HUGE lizard, etc. After coming home we fixed a hurried breakfast of pancakes and eggs and then Perry, Judy, Kore, and Wayne headed out to go mountain climbing at Monkey Stone! I was proud of Judy for braving that very difficult climb! She had some extremely sore muscles though! In the evening we hosted a crowd here for supper. Our visitors were here as well as Josephs, Joes, and 3 couples that work with "Open Hands" ministries. They were John Sensenig and his wife from Danville, PA (East District), Merle and Edith Burkholder from ON, and Joe and Marilyn Kuepfer from Nakuru. We're discovering that many people travel to Kenya and we love meeting all these interesting folks and making connections... we keep discovering how small this world actually is! :) We said goodbye to Perry's on Tuesday. Thanks for coming!! And thanks for bringing us yummy treats!!

On Wednesday morning Wayne left early to go to Ahero area and pray at the dala of a couple who was migrating from their parents dala and beginning their own. Interesting how they do things! In the eve. we hosted Jake and Jan's family as well as Jake's parents, John and Christina Gingerich from Hayward, WI. We always enjoy making connections... John's know my wonderful aunt Leah and uncle Gilbert really well and remember my Grandpa Bender! :)

Today was the Special Offices Seminar at Ombeyi. It was the first time we were at that church so we enjoyed being there. I think there were close to 150 people in attendance. All the CBF Pastors and wives were invited as well as their spouses and then Superintendents, songleaders, ushers, janitors, interpreters, Sunday school teachers, needs committees, etc. were all welcome to come and be encouraged in the work of the Kingdom. Wayne had a topic on "God's call to the Work." Thomas Omata on "Lazy or Active?" and then there were several workshops in the afternoon. I enjoyed Barbara Jean's topic for the women titled "Practical ways for a wife to help her husband." We transported the Kajulu folks to and from the meeting and believe me we had some AWFUL roads... we bounced and jolted around for over an hour. Something terrible happened on the way home and I'm afraid I'm going to have flashbacks for the rest of my life! When we were getting back into Kisumu the vehicle just ahead of us hit a young girl. She ran directly in front of him and there wasn't a thing he could do. We saw her flying through the air and then rolling over and over on the pavement. And then she lay completely still. We drove right past her and her eyes were still open. I instantly got a horrible headache and was in bed for a while after we got home. If it would've happened in America we would definitely have stopped to help where we could but its not always safe to do that in Kenya. The driver of the vehicle ahead of us stopped and I sure wonder if he got mob justice. We heard someone start screaming. It was SO awful! Anyone who saw it happen could surely see that the driver was innocent... so I hope... Please pray for protection as we travel these treacherous roads! I know a lot of you do! So thank you and please don't stop!!

God be with you all! Let's remember to choose joy! Clara