Jesus the Healer....

 "Affliction brings out graces that cannot be seen in a time of health."

"Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable." 

 "Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones." Prov. 16:24

  What would we do without "Jesus the Healer" to help us when we feel weak with fear, we feel sorrow for a friend's heartache or our own, (our hearts are aching for the Kauffman and Breneman families who have lost Joanne,) we feel defeated and disheartened because of our failures, discouraged because of sickness, etc. etc. "Where could I go but to the Lord?" Without the healing touch of our Lord, life would not seem worth living. Praise God for our great Physician who cares for our physical and emotional needs! 

  The sun is blazing these days!! It feels like dry season is here to stay. But amazingly the grass is still green and it's the end of January! We were grateful for the rain we received this month but I think the nationals were a bit concerned that if we're getting rain now it could mean trouble in the future. It wasn't the normal weather pattern and could mean dry weather after their crops are planted.

  The last 3 weeks have been very full and busy! One day Tobias and Elizabeth (Ahero) and Wayne and I went to visit Tobias and Emma and baby Clara. They live near Awasi and because of the cost of transport to church Emma hardly ever attends with the baby. I wish there would be a way to help people in this situation but how... and where would we start and stop if we give money for this kind of thing... Wayne has also continued to make frequent trips to the land office, working on Nyakoko and Oroba land titles. He also needed to take Elaine Schlabach to Immigrations one day to try to renew her visa. Currently it is common for Immigration to only give visitors a 1 month visa making it difficult for those coming for a short time.

  Wayne attended the burial of Pastor Jacob Obiero's (Ombeyi) grandson a few weeks ago. He was 5 years old and died suddenly. Not sure what the cause of death was... Another day Wayne helped the Ahero members pressure-wash the walls inside the church house. The walls are looking very much in need of paint and repair. 

  We've had a lot of visitors this month! Kore Beachy and Jeremy Fisher were here for a few days and we enjoyed having them here but were sad to say goodbye to Kore.  We celebrated his birthday one evening by going out to eat at an Indian restaurant. He flew home last week and Jeremy is taking his place. Jake and Jan Gingerich have very much enjoyed a visit from his sister's family, Brian and Rosie Miller and 5 children from Grove City, MN. We enjoyed hosting Jakes and Brians here for supper on a Sat. eve. As usual we were able to make a number of connections with them and enjoyed learning to know their family. 

  Two weeks ago on Sunday we attended Kajulu church. It was good to be with those folks again and it seemed like a long time since we were there. The sad thing was that one of the members who everyone thought was a very faithful member was found to be in serious sin. CAM did a food parcel distribution to area widows and elderly.  It was later discovered that this brother had asked the recipients that met at his house, to give him some of the money that they received as well as the food parcel itself. There were also other things brought to our attention that were very disturbing and disappointing.This type of thing had been going on for a good while before it was discovered. It was a rough day for Wayne when he had to excommunicate him. I thought he handled the situation wisely... the church was 100% together on the path we needed to take and Joseph Omollo knows that we want to see true repentance and restoration for him.  Joseph received the excommunication and told the church that he will work through it and God will bring him back to the church.  We sincerely hope that he will follow his words with action. These kinds of things are very wearing and discouraging and we need the healing touch of the Master's Hand to give us strength at times like this!

  We've very much enjoyed the group of 8 that arrived here from Hillcrest Home last week. The unit leader from Hillcrest and his wife, Conrad and Amy Helmuth, were a real blessing and we enjoyed learning to know them. We know who both of their parents are so it was fun to make those connections. We were also amazed when one of the young men, Mylin Rohrer, asked Wayne if he doesn't know who he is? It turns out that Mylin's father, Mervin Rohrer, and Wayne worked together for a number of years at Penns Creek furniture in PA. So amazing!! When we first looked at the picture of the group that was coming we thought we didn't know anyone! But it turned out that we made connections with almost all of them. We hosted them here at our house on Sat. eve. for a pizza supper. Joes were also here, as well as Kaylita, Rhoda, and Elaine. Glenda made a delicious salad which helped me a lot! We were VERY grateful to the Hillcrest group for their help with chicken butchering on the morning after they arrived in Kisumu!! They definitely helped us get finished quickly and their cheerfulness was a blessing! Jake and Jan's visitors helped as well! We hosted the breakfast here at our house. We only needed to provide the place and the other ladies brought a DELICIOUS breakfast that was enjoyed by all under the shade of our big trees. 

  Sunday was a very special day for us and the church at Ahero. Brother John Omondi has been commissioned as Pastor there. Brother John had been Bishop in earlier years but had been removed because of misuse of a savings groups funds.  We thank God that the issue has been worked through and brother John has been humble and faithful.  Bishops Joseph Hostetler and Thomas Amata, shared the messages and Wayne took charge of the commissioning. The church seemed VERY happy and we all enjoyed the special singing by the Ahero and Lela choirs. The church at Lela attended Ahero that day and they were a wonderful blessing! Their ladies took charge of cooking the meal so the Ahero ladies could enjoy the service. Joes and us had planned and bought food for around 120 people but it ended up that there were around 150 there. God helped the food reach and the left-over amounts turned out to be almost perfect! There were a LOT of children there that day so that was one reason there were so many people. Times like this are so refreshing and we try to focus on things like this instead of always on those who have strayed.

  On Sunday evening the whole compound with all the visitors were invited to Jake and Jan's house for the evening. We enjoyed a heavy snack of finger foods, and then the Hillcrest group gave a picture presentation of the work at Hillcrest and sang some songs for us. We enjoy seeing life in other places of service.

  Monday was Family Day so Joe and Glenda, Tiffany and Elliot, and our family took the opportunity to visit the Holdeman mission in the Kisii area. It takes around 2.5 hours to drive there but we enjoyed the scenery along the way. Elevation is higher there and there are some very scenic places with the tea fields and all. One amazing thing that we saw was ladies carrying stacks of bricks on their heads.  They must have been carrying about 14 large kenyan bricks.  We spent the day at Derrick and JoLyn Unruh's house and were happy that Rustin and Raquel Toew's family as well as the two single girls, Shayla and Linda, also joined us. It's so interesting to see the setting there and learn about how their mission operates. I would say their houses are very comparable to what we're used to in Kisumu. We were sad to find out that the Derrick's little girl who had surgery on her arm here in Kisumu at Aga Khan recently, had to have another surgery in Nairobi a few days later. The Dr. here really messed things up and the arm wasn't set right at all! :(  Poor Amy had to endure a lot of pain! We were served a delicious lunch at Derricks and then headed home before dark.

  Today Wayne and Tobias Ajuma visited his sister and her family in the Pap-Onditi area.  They appear hungry for the truth.  The church they attend seems to be a Mormon off-shoot.

  We're getting very eager to have Clarissa back home with us!! I believe her return date is Feb. 19. We're happy that she can travel back with Melodie Beiler who has committed to serving here as social worker!! Opake Yesu!! 

  Please continue praying for our health here in Kisumu. Bradlyn and Elliot are both recovering from another bout of malaria. We're grateful for meds that quickly take care of it but I struggle a lot with fear of those strong meds and what the long term effects could be. We need Jesus the Healer so much!! I constantly have to remind myself that God called us here and He will provide for us. Your prayers help a lot!! God bless you!  Wayne and Clara 

  

  

Rosalind Groff shared her call to Missions at Unit Meeting

JoeAllen Yoder, Steve Esh, Winfred Miller

Ahero Bible study at Philista's house

Emma and baby Clara

Burial of Jacob's grandson (Israel church of Africa)

Pastor Jacob and Benter Obiero

Jeremy and Kore

We finally got this great dictionary reprinted!  If any of you former Luos are interested in one let us know.

Good times!

Brian and Rosie Miller

A religious procession

Plumbers... Jake and Brian

Brian and Rosie 

Enjoying the Hillcrest group

Beldine cooking for the Ahero church

The Lela cooks did a tremendous job! The food was great!

Bishop Joseph with Jacob interpreting

The church at Ahero giving their greetings to former Bishop Marlin Stoltzfus who wanted to be here so much!

Mylin Rohrer with his drone

Hillcresters singing

Derrick Unruh grilling some wonderful chicken

The Unruh's have a nice lawn with lots of tropical plants and trees

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Pastor Tobias' sister

Take Up Thy Cross...

"Anyone can wear a cross, but can you bear one?"

 "And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me." 

  Matt. 10:38

"Take up thy cross and follow me... how can I make a lesser sacrifice when Jesus gave His ALL."

The words of this song "Take up thy Cross" have been on my mind a lot lately. Before church this morning I was listening to this beautiful song.  And I was amazed in church this morning when Maurice Ogwe (Ombeyi) read a Scripture about "taking up our cross" and later we sang the song, "I gave my life for thee, what hast thou given for me?" I remember before coming to Kenya how God reminded me of the words of this song. He was asking me if I can't sacrifice my family, lovely home, and wonderful church in Wytheville for the work in Kenya. I struggled but said, Yes Lord, of course!  How can I make a lesser sacrifice when Jesus gave His ALL! Looking back the sacrifice has been small, compared to what God has done for me. And I marvel over and over at the goodness of God in giving strength for the piece of work He has called us to. 

  Wayne and I have been learning what it's like to "let go" of our children. It wasn't easy for this mama when I had to say "goodbye" to Clarissa, knowing I wouldn't see her for about 8 weeks. And it was especially hard knowing she was flying all alone over the big waters. I prayed for angels to surround her and God answered prayers! Soon after dropping her off at the Kisumu airport we met with the rest of the compound at James Barkman's house for a special supper. After awhile we saw Clarissa's plane going overhead. It brought so many mixed emotions! She arrived safely in Charlotte on Christmas eve. and was met by a van load of wonderful Yoder and Bender cousins. She was in very good hands with her aunts doting over her and making sure she had everything she needs before she headed to CBS later in the week. Unfortunately we haven't been able to communicate much with her because of bad service but we heard that she is loving it there and has already made lots of new friends. Praise God!  We're so glad she has this privilege! It was very hard on her younger sisters to see her go as well, but I think we're all adjusting and now we can look forward to her return in Feb.

 Life continues to be full and busy. I won't attempt to say everything we've been doing. Jake Gingerich was in charge of the new church building at Dienya.  He and some of his brothers worked hard to complete the project.  Some of the other missionary men were out helping as well.  Wayne went out on the day they set the structure up.  It's nice that they now have a building that wont get eaten by termites.  Termites are a serious problem in some areas here and at Dienya they were a constant battle.  Wayne also attended a graduation in Maseno recently. Gordon, the orphan "son" of Pastor Tobias and Elizabeth graduated that day along with around 3,500 other graduates!! The crowds of people and all the traffic was amazing! Wayne was glad to get out of there to say the least! After he got home that eve. we headed to Jake and Jan's house where we helped serve a mystery supper to the school children and teachers. It was a fun eve. and all the mysterious food names had to do with Christmas... such as Wisemen's Choice, Shepherd's Belly, Virgin Myrrh, Bethlehem's Specialty, etc. We didn't have a Christmas program this year because of only having 6 students but the teachers came up with other interesting things to do. One eve. they came caroling at each missionary house in the compound and brought a plate of cookies. We laughed to think of carolers coming to sing with bare feet! :)

  We enjoyed a Christmas service at Lela on Christmas Day. Some of the members read a Scripture verse and others sang a solo or got a group together to sing. Joes and us sang "Oh Beautiful Star of Bethlehem" for them. Wayne shared a short message and then we passed out banana and pumpkin bread that Glenda made. They seemed to enjoy that a lot! 

  The week between Christmas and New Year we tried to do some special things with the children and tried to get our minds off of Clarissa being gone... We invited Joes to go with us to Ruma National Park one day, which is about a 2.5 hr. drive from here. That's a good place to go if you want to see giraffes!! They have a different kind of giraffe there than they have at the Mara. The markings are more distinct. They are BEAUTIFUL graceful creatures!! We probably saw around 100 of them!  We saw zebras, buffalo, and some other animals but didn't get to see the rhino, the roan antelope, and the leopard. We ended up being in our vehicle around 9 hours that day so we were a tired bunch when we got home!

  Last Sunday we attended church at Kasongo. Unfortunately 2 members needed to be excommunicated that day... Simeon and a sister named Rose. These things are hard!! Wayne is so concerned that we judge righteously.  We cannot see like God can and we need His wisdom so much. On the way home we had to wait on a funeral procession that was quite a sight to behold... there were tractors and sugar cane wagons, cars, pikis, and people marching waving branches, dancing, and shouting. 

  On New Year's Eve. we compound folks were invited to Joseph and Becky's house for hot chocolate and fresh donuts!  So yummy! There were games of corn hole but most of us just sat around visiting. Some folks stayed up until the New Year arrived and others went home to their comfortable beds.:)  

  The Pastors have been busy taking care of year end church book records. A very time-consuming thing! Wayne went to Dienya one morning to meet with some of the brothers and then take care of the bookwork. Afterwards he attended Bible study with them at Joseph Odimo's house. Wayne also had an Agape Board of Director's meeting to attend here in the compound on Thursday.  That afternoon he and Joe went to visit Amani, one of the Lela youth boys that wanted Pastor and Bishop to come fellowship in his house and give him some counsel on Godly marriage and other issues.

  Derrick and JoLyn Unruh from the Kisii area (members of the Holdeman church) spent a few days here in Kisumu this past week. Their 9 yr. old daughter Amy had the misfortune of falling out of a tree and seriously breaking her arm. It was also dislocated. Derrick and Jolyn were on their way to Uganda for a youth conference when it happened so Derrick continued on to Uganda where he had obligations, and JoLyn came to Kisumu where she was met by the family that had been caring for Amy, Rustin and Raquel Toews, and their 4 children as well as Raquel's sister Kayla who is here for several months. I found out soon after 5:00 that there would be a number of extra folks needing supper so I added more rice to the pot, and pulled more beans out of the freezer. Thankfully I had plenty of chapatis on hand. We really enjoyed learning to know Rustin's family. We made some more amazing connections that eve. We discovered that Rustin's wife is related to my uncle Gilbert. Glenda and I were also quite amazed to discover that Derrick's wife, JoLyn, knows my step Gramma, Waneta Bender! She is her great aunt!! What a small world!  Amy had surgery at Aga Khan hospital on Friday. They had to put 3 pins in. Poor girl! She has been so brave. On Sat. we went to visit her and Vanessa presented her with some gift items that she had fun getting together. Jake's two girls also wrapped up some gifts for her. While we were at the hospital we got a call saying that Steve and Martha Esh were already at the airport waiting for us!! We had been misinformed or misheard the time we were to pick them up. So we quickly left the hospital and headed to the airport where we joyfully welcomed the Esh's back!! We are happy that their daughter Juli is also with them this time! They plan to fill-in at Dienya until the beginning of March. Last eve. Glenda and I provided supper for Derrick's family and 2 single girls with them. 

  Kore Beachy and his replacement, Jeremy Fisher, (Lee and Sadie's son) arrived here on Fri. eve. We enjoyed having them here for supper and afterwards there was a lively game of volleyball on the lane. There were a few girls; Linda and Shayla, school teachers from the Holdeman group here as well.  There aren't many missionary youth in this part of the country right now so they always love visitors.

  

 Today we attended church at Ombeyi. I enjoyed the nice cool breeze that blew through the open building, though the people passing on the path right past the church house can be distracting.  It would be nice if they could get the property fenced but the money for fencing disappeared twice now and the promises to pay it back have been empty.  Wayne preached a powerful message on "What is Truth?" He spoke very straight... Oh how we hope these people who are locked into this culture that is so full of lies can be free. Former Bishop Eric testified afterwards that he has lied and wants to be at peace. He gave a lengthy explanation of various money issues that surround him. Pray for him... there are still many words about him and things are so confusing. We get SOOOO weary of not knowing who or what we can believe. Pray for much wisdom and direction for the Pastors as they work through many difficult things. God knows the truth and we trust truth will be revealed in His time. Blessings to all of you, Wayne and Clara

 

Emmanuel and Amos (Chulaimbo) assembling The Dienya church house

Maseno Graduation

Mary (friend of Gordon), Elisabeth, Gordon, Tobias and Wayne

Elaine Schlabach and Jake's boys

Mystery Supper

Barefoot Carolers!

New Dienya Church building

First service in the new building

Elliot serving Christmas snack at Lela

Clara passing out family pictures

Old Mama Silpa carrying her Christmas gift of maize from Pastor Joe.  She was so happy!

The church "dishwashers"

Ruma National Park

President Uhuru actually came to Kisumu recently to a peaceful welcome  Kisumu has for many years been the opposition stronghold and he would not have dared come to town during the election chaos last year.

Brad with one of the puppies.

Jake and the Chulaimbo crew after they finished the Dienya building.

Vanessa with a school art project.

Dienya Bible Study at Joseph Odimo's

Rustin and Raquel Toews

Amani's "parents".  He is an orphan raised by his uncle.

Amani Kazimbiri

You want to take me home?