Kisumu Yoder's: Safely across the water and back again!!

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." Andre Gibe

"A ship is safe in harbor, but that is not what ships were built for. John A. Shedd

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, If I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me. Ps. 139

I would love to know how many miles we've traveled since the last time I wrote! I'm keenly aware that "safety is of the Lord." And we have been blessed abundantly with health, strength, and protection as we traveled by air and by land! Excitement ran high in this house as time neared for our journey to America! We were blessed with fairly good flights, although we had some turbulence at times and stress at airports!! Security was extremely high, especially at JFK airport. We stood in LONG lines and barely made our flight to Charlotte in time. And then what was supposed to be a one and a half hour flight ended up being more like 5 hours of sitting on the plane!! Endurance was running out!! But we were glad our pilot was careful and didn't make a foolish decision to fly through a bad storm. We had to stop in Raleigh to refuel and then eventually landed in Charlotte where we were united at last with wonderful family members!!! Mahlons and Jeremy's ( my sisters and their families) were there to meet us. We were SO exhausted and Wayne and I slept some on the way home from the airport. We arrived at Joe and Glenda's cozy little abode around midnight and were met by my Dad and Mom!! What a wonderful welcome! We walked into the house and were amazed by all the goodies and lovely things to eat piled on the table and in the fridge!! How could our minds and our stomach's take it all in!!! :) Jet lag wasn't a big problem on that side but we've been having a hard time of it since we're on this side again! :(

How can I describe furlough to you in few words? Well it was wonderful, relaxing, exhausting, fun, and sometimes "nerve wracking", and well a lot of things!! It was definitely a real highlight to connect with family and friends again! Our church at home was so kind and welcoming! We had a time of it getting ready for church the first Sunday!! We're not used to wearing socks and black shoes and suit coats and such like! It felt like it took us so long to get ready and then there was a missing sock and too short pants and so on! Oh well, we finally adjusted. And it was actually kind of fun to feel a bit more dressed up then usual. But oh how nice it was to go to church this morning and not have that urgency to dress just right! :) We spent our first week in Wytheville enjoying time with family and doing some things at our house which is rented out presently. We were sad to discover a leak in the basement where our belongings are stored so we needed to throw some things away, fix an outdoor hydrant which caused the leak, and try to get rid of some mold that came as a result. Wayne got a new dehumidifier and things seem to be in good shape again. It was a bit hard to see other people living in our house. I really didn't have a desire to be there much because it felt too strange. But we're thankful that our renters are taking fairly good care of the property, although the flower beds were sadly neglected. But with the help of Wayne's mom, dad, sister and most of the older "cousins" we were able to get rid of the awful weeds that had taken over. And then Chet and his boys mulched the beds which gave it a brand new look!! What a blessing family is!!

We were happy to spend some time at Shepherd's Retreat near Caldwell, OH. Tommy and Marji Wagler and family, Joseph and Becky Hostetler (from here, but were also on fulough), Charity Yoder, and Aaron and Rachel Yoder joined us for part of our time there. We also got to see Melodie Beiler one evening!! :) It was so good to spend time with former Kenya folks!! There's a connection there that is just hard to describe. We spent time playing some games and the men and boys did some fishing. It was just a wonderful relaxing time! One of the highlights was the awesome food that Marji and Charity shared with us!! We took some paneer cheese with us from Kenya and Marji fixed it Asian style along with rice, and even naans!! Oh it was SOOO good! :) From Ohio we traveled to PA where we spent Sat. afternoon with Lester and Hannah Stoltzfus and their family. It was great to be with them again and they served us a wonderful meal as well!! And then we traveled another two hours to Wayne's parents house where we were welcomed again so kindly!! Tim and Ruth's family came to spend a bit of time with us that eve. as well. Wayne preached at Shady Grove church the next day and it was great to connect with those folks! We were privileged to spend time with some Bender family cousins, uncles and aunts that week at Ray and Annie's house! Most of our time in PA was spent at a cabin with all of Wayne's family except for Tony and Judith and family. The cousins spent many happy hours together and some of the nights were a bit short! Many happy memories made!!

The remainder of our furlough time was spent in VA. We had many meal invitations... I guess I won't take time to name them all, although each one was enjoyed immensely!! And we also had a very nice Bender family time at Copelands Retreat in Marion. Aww... precious memories!! There's SO much that could be said but this is getting too long already! We just want all of you to know that we were richly blessed and encouraged by our time at HOME and we feel like we left with renewed courage and strength for the work awaiting us here in Kenya. Were we ready to get back?? YES, YES!! :)) Kenya feels like home and it was wonderful to reach Nairobi and be met by Joe and Glenda, Tiffany, and Elliot! The next day we had lunch together with Tony's family in Nakuru on our way back to Kisumu. Kore came to meet us too and if just felt "right" to be here again!! It's so nice to be together as a family again and take care of our own needs instead of feeling so indebted to everyone for giving us so many meals, beds, etc. "Home is where the heart is." And right now that's Kenya but we don't know how long God wants us here. We will take a day at a time and try our best to fulfill the purpose He has for us here. There was plenty of work for us when we came... and the next number of weeks look busy, especially for Wayne. And then there is the uncertainty of our future here with elections coming up soon. Predictions for a peaceful election are not there but we know who's in control and we want to hold His hand in faith.

We were at the Ugunja church this morning where Wayne preached a good message on "Worship". We enjoyed a great meal of our favorite; rice and beans and chicken, at James and Christina Barkman's house afterwards. Since Dean and Barbara Jean left there are two more churches added to Wayne to have Bishop responsibility over. Wayne's cry and prayer is that God will raise up more leaders to help carry the heavy load!! Please help us pray! It was WONDERFUL to be back in a Kenyan church service with all the "Amens", and "Pake Yesu's"!!! :) We've been warmly welcomed back by our compound family as well and it's just great to see everyone again!

I should mention yet that Maurice Andere was buried yesterday. Appreciation was expressed by one of the sons for Pastor Mark, Pastor Lester and Pastor Brian's ministry to Maurice in his illness. He was a proving person at the Dienya church and was afflicted with cancer for a long while. He suffered a lot in the last months of his life. The cancer had eaten a deep open wound into his side. I love to imagine how glorious Heaven must be especially for our dear friends here who have known so much poverty and difficulty. During the burial it started raining heavily but they continued with filling the grave. Wayne had the graveside service and he and the few others that stuck around to the end, got soaked!! Two of the church sisters cheerfully braved the storm and sang their hearts out. They sang with rain running down their faces. Today Wayne has a very stiff neck. There's SO much more that could be written about the last few days but I've got to stop somewhere.... Blessings to all of you in your "journey's" as well. THANK YOU for blessing us in so many ways! Your gifts of money, food, and so much more will not be forgotten!! Your prayers are most appreciated!! Love, Clara