Kisumu Yoder's: April 2019

"A flower blooming in the desert proves to the world that adversity, no matter how great, can be overcome."

"Where flowers bloom, so does hope."

"The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose." Isa.35:1

Last weekend we spent a short vacation in a semi-arid area of Kenya about 2 hrs. north of Nakuru. We were on the shore of Lake Baringo at a place called Tumbili Cliffs. We wanted to spend a bit of time with Tonys before they leave for their homeland. It was lovely there! The desert has it’s own kind of beauty. There was LOTS of cactus. We also saw many bee hives in the trees along the way. We enjoyed seeing a herd of camels beside the road, and later some ostriches off the road a bit. The HUGE termite mounds we saw were amazing!! Some of them must’ve been 8-12 ft. high! Wayne had a grand time taking pics of many beautiful birds. The monkeys would’ve liked to raid our dwellings but we keep a lookout for them. The worst thing was the HEAT! We were so grateful when it cooled down overnight. We were able to lie in our beds and watch the sun rise over the lake in the morning. So awesome!! I’m so glad we have hope of rain in the near future! That area has not seen much rain since November. Nakuru is also extremely dry!! Kisumu received some welcome rains but now they’ve mostly stopped again and our hearts go out to our church brothers and sisters who are praying and waiting for rain. So many thousands of people depend on rain for their daily food. Oh God please allow the desert to blossom very soon!!

Three weeks ago we enjoyed a Baptismal service at Dienya. We rejoice that a youth boy, Naaman Ogilo was baptized. Brothers Paul Obare, Maurice Omondi, and Dickson Otieno were also appointed as lay leaders for 6 months, to lead the Dienya church after Tommy's leave. Lord willing we will have a missionary pastor to walk along side them in the future but we are praying that this will be the beginning of a move toward indigenous leadership at Dienya. Uncle Sanford and Laura joined us that day. Tommy and Marji invited us to join them at their house for lunch. It was delicious and such a treat to be with them again!! We dread the day they will leave Kisumu again. They add a lot of life to the Compound and our Thurs. night singings have a lot more volume when their family joins in!

On Wed. Wayne and I joined Joe and Glenda at the Lela Bible study at Walter’s house. There was a good discussion that day. In the evening we had our usual chapatis, rice, and beans. Joes, Rhoda, and Melodie, joined us.

What excitement on Thursday morning when Bradlyn woke up early and heard new little puppies outside the window!! In short order the whole family was outside and in awe of the many puppies!! Our dog Dixie has had two false pregnancies in the past, much to the dismay of our children, and their mother. J I had pretty much given up hope of her ever having puppies but Bradlyn made this a serious matter of prayer. Almost every night he prayed for puppies. Well, God answered exceeding, abundantly!! Dixie had 12!! One died, but the remaining 11 are thriving and doing well so far. I think God must’ve had a smile on His face when He answered that prayer for Brad! J We’re enjoying them although it takes extra time to keep the mama dog well fed so she can feed all those babies! The puppies eyes are open now and our children spend a lot of time playing with them. We hope it won’t be too hard to get rid of all of them! Wayne advertised them online and we’ve had some interest, so we’ll see…

Wayne has been busy planning seminars and meetings the last while. He spent part of a day with Pastors Tobias and John Omondi making plans for the Kisumu Youth Seminar. Another time Wayne and the same Pastors visited Charles and Pamela Ochieng. There appears to be some lingering clanism that surfaced over the recent commissioning. These issues can cause pain and roots of bitterness if they are not uprooted. Though these things may look a little different in this culture than they do in ours we are at times also guilty of the same kinds of divisive, ungodly bias. How we wish these folks wouldn’t have to deal with all these cultural things that cripple them.

On Friday eve. Steve Eash’s from Nakuru were here for supper as well as Lamp and Light workers David and Charles from the Mbaruk church. There was a Lamp and Light seminar hosted by the Kajulu church the next day. It was a VERY warm day but it was also a blessing to those who attended! The seminar was for any students or potential students in the surrounding area so there were a variety of denominations represented and some interesting questions fielded in the question and answer time. Wayne had the final message in the afternoon.

Sunday found us at Kasongo for our first Communion of the year. Things went well and we were home in good time. The churches out there do seem to be more at rest since Erick's excommunication. The next morning, we had a joint unit meeting with Nakuru in Kericho at a place called “Ray’s Place”. It’s a nice place and was a bit cooler than what we’re used to in Kisumu. We ladies joined our Pastor husbands for the day. We had a time of prayer for those who are leaving in the next several months… Becky Miller, Janice Gingerich, and Glenda. We also had a good time of sharing whatever was on our hearts. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to be with the Nakuru folks in this way.

On Wed. Wayne, Joe and Glenda, and a number of Lela members, went to the Sondu area to visit the clan of Irene. Moses and Irene are both in Instruction Class at Lela and want to become members but need to get their marriage legalized first. Joe and Wayne met with the clan to get their approval and to make sure the relationship is cleat and has a Biblical foundation. They reported a good day!

Thursday was the youth seminar at Ahero. This was for CBF youth who wanted to attend from any of the Kisumu churches. Marji and I went a bit later since our schedules are very full and busy these days. But I was glad we had the opportunity to be there part of the day. The Ahero cooks do so well in going ahead with food preparations but Wayne and I were still responsible to make sure they have all the ingredients they need.

We LOVED the school children’s Easter program that was held at the Compound on Friday eve. They did a super job and it really helped the singing to have Tommy’s children there as well! The snack afterward was pretty amazing. Becky Miller did a superb job of decorating and the food was extra special and very attractively done.

We Kisumu ladies had an enjoyable time Tuesday shopping at the Kibuye market, Food Plus, and finishing with lunch at Java House. We don't take a lot of time to do things like this together so it was special!

The big event of this past week was the annual Ministers Meetings held here at the Compound. This seminar includes all Missionary Pastors and wives from Nakuru and Kisumu as well as the National Pastors and their wives. There were approx. 100 people here. Wayne and I are responsible for this big event and I must say I was out of my comfort zone many times. It was exhausting but rewarding as well. We changed a few things this year… instead of eating lunch at the Rabuor church on Thurs. and Fri. everyone ate here. We had a tent set up on the lane outside of Joseph’s and Tommy’s gates for the cooks to use and enjoy some shade. The Rabuor ladies did all the cooking except for the Fri. morning Breakfast which was served by the Missionary ladies. It took a LOT of organizing and food needed to be bought for all those meals. Water needed to be hauled… etc. etc. But in spite of all the work we feel things went well and maybe by the time another year rolls around we’ll have some more wrinkles ironed out of this new way of doing things. The topics were VERY good! The theme this year was “Passing on the Faith.” The speakers were Winfred Miller, John Omondi, Enos Kalos, Wycliffe Asira, and Thomas Amata. The workshop for the men was taught by Tommy Wagler and the ladies were taught by two health workers, Rosemary Ondeyo and Jane Juma. They talked about safe drinking water, HIV, and more. I’m really hoping the Pastors and their wives will take what they have learned and teach the members in their churches.

Please pray for the future of the church in Kenya. We praise the Lord that many of our members are first generation members but unfortunately unless there is a drastic change, many of them will also be the last generation in the CBF church. Very few children are embracing the faith of their parents. There are obviously a variety of reasons. Be very thankful if your children have the opportunity to go through school in a setting that embraces and enforces your values. Many here do not have that privilege. Families are also under huge pressure from their surrounding clan and their "religion". Biblical faith that is fleshed out in daily living is very rare in this "very religious" country. It also seems that many parents have low expectations for their children and possibly have more of an "earthly focus" than a "heavenly" one. What is my expectation and vision for my children? (This paragraph was by Wayne)

We went to Ombeyi for their Communion service this morning. We were past Nyamasaria when we suddenly thought of the grape juice we had left in our fridge at home. Sigh!! So we ended up turning around to get it and ended up being 10 minutes late for church. Benard Omondi from Ahero went with us to help with translating. There was a fairly stiff breeze blowing through the shelter this morning so we didn’t feel the heat like we do sometimes. Please pray for Gaudensia, wife of former Bishop Eric, that she could be strong and courageous through this difficult time with her husband being excommunicated. Our hearts go out to the family of Jorim Atito who passed away suddenly yesterday. Bishop Joseph had just arrived at his home when the wailing started. Jorim was a very strong man physically and a faithful member at Oroba. He had been sick with typhoid in the previous week but he also had some other problems so we aren't sure what caused his death. This is difficult for the church and Josephs. Pray for them. Josephs leave for furlough tomorrow (Monday) so they will not be at the burial of this loved brother.

God is answering prayers for workers in Kisumu!! Opake Yesu! I believe there are 4 couples who have committed to coming! God is good! This answer to prayer for workers is an example of the desert “blossoming!” J When things seem hopeless, God allows the desert to bloom and bring us hope! Pray for Tony and Judith and family as they fly across the waters in a few days. We’ll miss them! It wasn’t easy to tell them goodbye! We’ve been blessed to have “family” in Kenya with us! God bless you all! Wayne and Clara