Kisumu Yoder's: The Hungry Soul...

"For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." Ps. 107:9

"The only one who can truly satisfy the human heart is the one who created it."

"The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread." Mother Teresa

Some of these dear Kenyan folks amaze me so much! Last Sunday Rosebella, a sweet widow lady from Dienya, walked two hours to get to church!! She hadn't been able to attend church for quite some time due to a broken hip. But last Sunday she slowly and carefully made her way to church. I'm sure her soul was hungry for something... for the Word of God and for fellowship with like-minded Brothers and sisters. And she was willing to endure some pain that I'm sure comes with walking a long distance after breaking a hip. I couldn't help but think about how easy it is for some who have snazzy, comfortable vehicles to skip church, even if they only have a 10 minute drive. I've been guilty of that kind of thing as well! God help us to have a hunger for the Word and for Truth!

There was a LONG Pastor's meeting on Monday! I think it lasted from 8 am til close to 6 pm. I was responsible for Pastor's chai time in the morning and then served them a lunch of chapatis and beans along with sodas. That eve.Wayne and I went over to Joseph's house a bit to visit with Mervin and Lois Peachey who were there for supper. Lester's were there as well. Mervins are former missionaries who served in Nakuru for 6 years or so. We don't know them real well but were able to make lots of connections.

On Tuesday, Jake and Jan Gingerich moved from their house to the one that Dean and Barbara Jean vacated. Deans opted to move out to Ng'iya where Mark Beachy's lived rather than move into the small guest house here on the compound for a number of months until they go back to America in June. We are getting ready for two new families in the near future! Brian and Mary Jane Mast with their 6 children plan to arrive on Feb. 23 and move into Jake's vacated house... the one beside the school. And then in April James Barkmans plan to come and move into the house that Lester's are in presently... next to the guest house. So as you can imagine there has been some extra work and activity but many hands make light work! These moves are definitely not as difficult when you don't have furniture and household things to move, the basic things are food and personal belongings. I didn't help Jan with actual moving but offered to make supper for them instead, since it seemed like that was more necessary at the moment. Wayne was out visiting in Ahero that day. He is quite burdened for George Owino and his son, Joash. Some of you may remember them as being members at Ahero years ago. (WY writing) They both left the church and fell away from God as well. About two weeks ago they were in the Kenya/Uganda border area (I'm not sure what they were doing there) when they were attacked by thugs and robbed. Joash put his hand up to protect his father from getting slashed by a punga. In protecting his dad he got a nasty cut to the hand that bled profusely. He was beaten further and George pled with them to leave his son alone. They eventually left, leaving Joash badly wounded in no mans land and far from help. They decided to try to make it to Kisumu. It's a miracle that Joash did not bleed to death on that several hour ride. When they boarded the matatu they kept the injured hand hidden inside a coat. The truth was revealed however when the occupants noticed blood running down the floor of the van. As I understand Joash passed out from the loss of so much blood, before they reached Kisumu. His dad seemed to have thought his son was dying in his arms, because he told us several times that he "died". This incident shook them and they are both "thinking". Join us in prayer that they would be broken and surrender to God their Father. Joash was truly given the gift of another chance. Wayne talked quite frankly with them about their need to repent and come back to God and the church.

On Wednesday Lester and Hannah and Wayne and I took separate vehicles and went to Dienya area to a special service at Rosebella's house. We both had vehicles full with people who needed a ride to her house. Rosebella is the lady I told you about with the broken hip. Since she wasn't able to be at church on Communion Sunday, when we were also going to receive her as a member, it was decided that we would go to her house and have Communion with her there. Wayne also received her into the church as a full member. It was a blessed time sitting outside under a big tree. Not exactly the place you would expect to witness Communion and feetwashing but it was evident that the Church was happy and rejoicing with Rosebella and I think God was smiling! She seemed to appreciate our coming so much. I could see that she had pain at times and was wincing a bit but she is able to walk!! Lester's kindly blessed the whole group with a special drink and mandazis.

On Thursday Wayne was gone again with a meeting in Kericho... an ADM (Agape Development Ministries) AGM (Annual General Meeting). It's really hard keeping all these different kinds of meetings straight! At least it is for this mama! :) That evening Kore Beachy joined us for supper and then Prayer meeting was held at Gerold's.

Friday was an interesting day for JoeAllen and Glenda, Wayne, and the young folks of the compound. They went to two different schools in the home area (Kebonyo) of Noah and Evelyn Atito to pass out Bible story books. They sang a few songs for them and acted out a Bible story as well. There was a misunderstanding on time so they got there early enough to visit two of the neighbors as well. We will include some pictures but since I wasn't along I can't tell you too much about it. Sounds like they had a good day though! Evenings on the lane continue to be enjoyed by all! Lester's son Christopher (Crit) arrived in Kenya last week and plans to be here for a month. So now we have more youth which is great!! Our family is looking forward to the arrival of Carmen and Glen Gingerich (Wayne's niece and nephew) the end of this week!! Tony's plan to be here for the weekend too as well as Angie Miller, also from our home area! Visitors are a blessing!! And family is extra special!!

(WY) Wayne was at another funeral yesterday in the Nyakach area. The father of Mary Lusi (Ahero) died. The funeral was conducted by the Catholic church which was educational. I do enjoy listening to the Catholic Choirs as they are usually pretty good. At a Kenyan burial you never quite know what to expect. Anyone attends, rich or poor, dressed smart or shabbily. Some people go to grieve with the relatives, some go to eat, some go to talk, some go to spin stories in one of the many, often lengthy speeches, some go in the name of business (anything from cold drinks or ice cream cones to taking your photo and hoping you buy it), some go to make a name for themselves and hopefully get a few more votes when election rolls around. It was humorous to watch rival political candidates get up and blow their own horns. There was a lady MP (Member of Parliament) in attendance that apparently has quite a following. She gave a rousing speech to cheers and hoots from the crowd. One of the reasons that politicians are tolerated at burials is that they always bring money to give at "offering" time. One of them publicly shelled out 2000/= and put in the donation basin. Another one promised 10 tins of maize to any new voters registering at a certain place. We would wish that the passion for obedience to God would exceed the current passion for politics.

We attended the Rabour church service this morning. Wayne preached a challenging message on ... I Have Sinned, But Honor Me Now.. out of 1 Sam.15. We always love to hear the choir sing!! They do an amazing job! After Church this mom was in despair with her tired, hot, hungry, impatient children! Daddy had meetings again after church. It seems to happen almost every Sunday the last while and it tends to be a test of endurance for all of us at times. Please help us pray that we can all be patient and accept this as part of the calling God has placed on Wayne. The work is not easy, especially when they have to terminate memberships like they did this morning! :( Depending on your prayers, Clara for the Yoders

Winam Gulf and the City of Kisumu in the background. The gulf is currently locked up with Water Hyacinth, a beautiful but troublesome parasitic aquatic plant. There are about 60,000 hectares of this weed on the lake.