"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." Helen Keller
"If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." African Proverb
"Unity is oneness of purpose, not sameness of persons." Tony Evans
"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is when brethren dwell together in unity." Ps. 133:1 How true!! I was blessed by Wayne's message entitled "Together as One", this morning. Our unity with God and each other came at a price beyond comprehension. It cost the life and blood of the Son of God. He wrote this on the board to help us understand the blessing of brotherhood... " U N I Ty" When U n I meet together at the cross there is unity. U comes before I. If I come before U we cannot have UNITY. Selfishness destroys unity.
On Sept. 4 the Kisumu folks headed to Nakuru for joint unit meeting. We were served breakfast burritos on arrival. Yum! It was nice to see the two new youth who have joined the unit there... Mindy Nisly from KS and Brad McGrath from Taylorsville, NC. James Barkman shared their "Call to missions". An amazing story!! Ask him for details. :) . This was also the first time for James (our new unit leader) to chair the meeting. I think he thought his plate was pretty full that day, but he did very well! The meeting went well and was timely. We were served some delicious poor man's steak and mashed potatoes for lunch. Such a treat!
The next day we loaded up a van with items for clothing sale at Ahero. The turn out was very good! It's a lot of work but we always enjoy those days and the members seem so happy with their new clothes, etc.
On Thursday Wayne was in Ahero doing interviews with the 2 men who had the most votes for new Pastor. Oroba, Nyakoko, and Chulaimbo are also in the process for commissioning Pastors. We should soon know the results of all these votes and can share them with you. Pray for all the Pastors who are working with these churches. There are some sensitive and difficult issues that come up and they need MUCH wisdom and direction from God!
On Friday Stacy was happy to have visitors arrive from America. Her cousin William Miller and wife Janae are here as well as William's sister, Rachel. They are from Seymour, MO. We enjoyed hosting them at our house for supper that eve. Kore was here as well.
On Sat. Wayne and Joseph met with former Bishop Eric. They had a good visit but are still troubled by things they see and hear. More prayers needed...
We bumped and bounced our way to Kasongo for Church on Sunday. The people were very welcoming and seemed glad to see us. Before the service began, Wayne and I, Clarissa and Shonda, and some of the Kasongo members, walked across the road to the dala of John Ongus. His married daughter was buried the day before. She was killed when she fell from a tractor that was hauling sugar cane, and was driven over. John was very grateful for our prayer and care for him and the family.
On Monday all the Pastor's and wives left the compound at 7:30 for a day at Rondo Retreat. School was in session at home and Clarissa was left to babysit all the young children, since Stacy was out with her visitors and Sylvia was sick with malaria. Rondo is SO relaxing and beautiful! The men had their meeting outdoors and we ladies sat on a closed-in porch, on comfy chairs, where we could enjoy nature and our chai! We also had a meeting, a relaxed one, with not much on the agenda. Martha Esh so kindly agreed to share words of encouragement and inspiration with us. We were served a delicious lunch in the dining room. Chicken, french fries, and cabbage/carrot salad was on the menu! So good!!
On Tuesday my friend Emma from Ahero informed me that she was in pain, her labor was starting. I got ready to go meet her at the Ahero hospital but as it turned out she never left for the hospital until late afternoon or evening so I had to give up my plans since I didn't want to be driving after dark. Meanwhile Wayne was involved in a "gotomeeting" with some fellow missionaries, 2 AMA board members and the board of Reaching Out Ministries, concerning a program that could assist national pastors.
On Wed. morning I talked to Tobias, Emma's husband, and he said she was at the hospital but he still hadn't heard if the baby was born. I decided to go find out. When I arrived at the hospital I went to the maternity ward and was surprised to see Emma in bed, but no baby! There was also another lady on the same bed. I thought maybe it was a relative of hers but soon discovered that no, this lady was very much in labor and when I looked around I saw the room was FULL. There were 4 cots in the room and at one point I counted 12 patients! So as you can imagine there were 2 or 3 ladies sharing a bed, some walked the floor moaning and groaning, one sat on the floor beside the bed, (obviously in agony). One lady was talking a lot... saying things like "Nyasaye bi ka (God come here!) There was one sink in the room with a bucket underneath to catch the water that came through, and no soap anywhere to be seen. Poor Emma! Her labor pains stopped during the night. So I informed the nurse and she said Emma needs to go home and come back when the pains start again. I asked them if they will check her to be sure everything is ok. She said yes, and before long Emma needed to go to the lab to get blood work done. After she was finished with that I sat with her awhile to wait for the results. Finally I saw it was going to take a while, so I sent Emma back to bed and then took the results to her when they were ready. We still had to wait a long while after that until the Dr. released her. The sights and sounds of that day will not soon be forgotten!! :) . I was privileged to hear a birth happening in the very next room... I won't go into all the gory details, but the best part was hearing the first cries of a newborn!! Opake Yesu! There seemed to be a sigh of relief all over the room when it was all over. The lady who shared the bed with Emma was suffering back labor so I tried to ease the pain by rubbing her back. She thanked me for it. I've never seen so many women in pain in one spot before! I took Emma to her house after leaving the hospital. She lives closer to Awasi than Ahero, so it was a pretty long drive. I'm still waiting to hear news from her. She said she will keep me informed, so I'm praying for a safe delivery for her. Wayne attended Bible study at crippled Mary's house that day (from Ahero). Mary says there are people in her area that are dying from cholera. Oh so many needs!! That eve. Joe's were here for our traditional chapatis and beans supper. After that Wayne had a meeting at Jakes to talk about commissioning plans at Chulaimbo. The children and I spent some time with Jan and the rest of their family.
On Friday afternoon the school children met at Steve and Martha's house where they watched and helped make waffle cones. We ladies also spent some time there observing the process. Interesting!! Martha is an industrious little lady! She makes the BEST homemade ketchup, mayo, and many other goodies! Wayne spent a long day on Friday taking Charles and Pamela Ochieng to her homeland in the Sore area, about an hour past Homa Bay. They wanted to get some maize and take it back home to Ahero. The soil is good and produces well in that area. They live in a BEAUTIFUL spot on the hills overlooking Lake Victoria. Wayne also enjoyed meeting the family of Pamela. They had some interesting discussions on marriage, dowry and Luo customs.
Saturday evening we invited Joes and Steve and Martha for a birthday supper for Glenda and Vanessa. We had pizza, salad, and cake and ice cream. Clarissa had decorated 2 beautiful cakes. We celebrated Vanessa's birthday early since Clarissa is planning on going to spend some time with Judith while Tony is gone to the States. She plans to leave for Nakuru by bus on Tuesday morning.
Today we went to Ugunja for a Communion service. It was a good day! Ugunja has two funerals coming up next weekend... a lady named Helen Akumo who was in IC died, as well the son of Josephine Anyango who had been sick. We are so thankful for safety on the treacherous roads we need to travel. We saw 3 accidents this morning! One of them was a terrible accident in the hills outside of Chulaimbo, involving a matatu and a lorry. Kaylita rode home with us since James and Christina had a meeting about funeral plans. We appreciate your prayers for safety and please don't forget to pray for much wisdom with the many challenging things we face here! God bless you! Wayne and Clara Yoder
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