Kisumu Yoder's: Love That Endures...

"What counts in a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility."

Leo Tolstoy

"At the end of the day, you can either focus on what's tearing you apart or what's keeping you together."

"A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers."

Wayne and I celebrated our 23rd Anniversary several days ago. I'm blessed to have a godly husband who loves me through thick and thin! Sometimes I thought the mission field was hard on our marriage and other times I feel like it's made our marriage much stronger. Our lives have been far from boring!! We've weathered many storms together and I'm extremely thankful for a love that endures! Commitment is the key! Feelings come and go... but true love endures!

The biggest excitement around here right now is the arrival of the Brian and Rosie Miller family from Grove City, MN! What a blessing that his work permit came through and they were able to come on schedule!! It's great to have more children on the compound! They have 5 children ranging in age from 10 - 2. Their names are Carlin, Austin, Eva, Tina, and Trevor. We keep waiting and wondering about the rest of the families needed here... but we trust God will provide in His time. We are sad to think that Melodie Beiler will probably need to leave in a few weeks because of her work permit being denied. We don't understand these things but we know God is in perfect control.

There was a good bit of time spent at the house where Brians moved into (beside the school). There was some painting to do and "fix-it" jobs. And then a thorough cleaning from top to bottom! But we enjoy those times of working together! I'm so happy for Brians that the road beside their house has been paved (actually bricks were laid). It makes a HUGE difference in the amount of dust that wafts through the windows.

Wayne and I and Clarissa took 2 new sewing machines out to the Lela area recently. Mary Ajode and Joyce Andawa finally got their machines paid off after months of careful savings. They were so happy to receive their machines that day! It's rewarding for Clarissa as well to see the ladies in the sewing classes she is responsible for, begin sewing for themselves and others. Mary and Joyce both wanted to serve us chai! At one house we were also served yams, and potatoes at the other!

It's clothing sale season again! Our first sale was several weeks ago at Ahero. Things went fairly well but sad to say as a result of a used suitcase that was sold that day there is a conflict between 2 brothers who both wanted it! Sigh... it has turned into something fairly big and now Wayne has to step in and try to help. We need so much wisdom for situations like this! Our next sale was held at Rabuor. Attendance was fair and there was a Bible study held afterwards under the trees outside. Wayne had the topic on the importance of "Little things". Our girls and Wayne sang a song for them about, "The little things in life make a big, big difference." The people loved it!

We attended church at Ombeyi 3 weeks ago. We're happy to see the church doing well but sad to hear that folks are saying former Bishop Eric has now been drinking openly. Please keep him in your prayers. We were invited to Allen and Rhoda's house for supper that eve. We really appreciate the way they open their home for the young folks on the compound! They planned a progressive supper for the youth lately which was much enjoyed, and they often invite them over to play games, etc.

The whole compound spent a day together at Rondo Retreat two weeks ago. Since there were so few children around we decided to all go spend the day, and we LOVED it!! What a lovely, refreshing place! The men sat outside for their Pastor's meeting while we ladies sat on the porch of one of the houses. We ladies had a few business things to discuss but most of our time was spent hearing stories. Christina shared an inspirational story about something that happened to relatives of hers...telling us that our time on the mission field is not in vain. Sometimes hearts and lives are touched in ways that we may never know about until years later. We also shared some life stories that day... Rhoda Wengerd, Melodie Beiler, and I shared. We learn so much about our "sisters" from these stories. Even though we all live and work so closely together here in Kisumu there are many things about our past that no one here knows. The youth girls stayed at Rondo for a few days longer to spend some quality time with Melodie before she has to leave.

Our old car (Fortuner) has quite a few "issues" that were getting to be quite frustrating. It was decided that it needs to be replaced. So Wayne needed to go to Nairobi to go car shopping and also to pick up our children's passports that have been waiting for us at the Embassy for a while already. Since it was close to our Anniversary time Wayne asked permission for me to go along so we could spend some time together "just us". :) He checked ticket prices and even though it was last minute he found a very good Jambo jet price, $37 USD per ticket! It felt like such a gift from God!! I was delighted to go along of course! That short little flight is so much fun! Approx. 35 minutes in the air compared to 6-7 hrs in crazy traffic. When we were sitting at the gate here in Kisumu waiting for our flight, I was amazed to think that only an hour and a half earlier we were still in bed! It only takes about 15 minutes to get to the airport. We left on a Wed. morning, got to Nairobi around 9am and then headed to the Masai market to do a bit of shopping. Our taxi driver was very nice and willing to wait on us wherever we went. From there we headed to our apartment that was located about 2 km. from Hampton House. Wayne found a very nice, CLEAN place on Airbnb that met our needs perfectly and the price was very reasonable. Around noon we headed to the Embassy to pick up the passports. Security is extremely high there so it takes a while to get in, but we made out fine. We had most of the afternoon and evening to relax. We walked to an Indian restaurant where we enjoyed our favorite meal... paneer for supper!

The next morning we met John Zook and son Cameron, and Marlin Yoder who joined us in Nairobi to go car shopping. We were looking for another Fortuner that is 4 wheel drive with lower mileage, etc. We really need a vehicle with a good back seat for a family of 6. We discovered these cars are hard to find! Our search was long and it looked like we might have to give up. But Wayne kept saying, "God knows". We stopped at many car dealers and many phone calls were made. One time we saw exactly what we wanted but the price was too high. We discovered there was a bright blue Fortuner available that might be what we need, but... Bright Blue. Hmmm... People would be able to spot Bishop coming long before he gets there. :) A phone call was made anyway and they told us they don't have a blue Fortuner but they have a brown one. GREAT!! So off we go to check it out. And God knew EXACTLY what we needed! This bright blue car wasn't selling because of the color, so just a week or two before the dealer painted it brown. The car was all that we wanted it to be, plus it had a winch, which we really appreciate but didn't ask for. John Zook took care of the payment etc. Then the Nakuru folks headed home. Wayne and I were able to drive the new vehicle home the next day! Opake Yesu!! God is good! Many thanks to the faithful supporters of AMA and the Board who blessed us with this new vehicle!! We are so grateful!!

A week ago we attended church at Kasongo. Wayne announced to the church that we would like to pursue commissioning a new Pastor there to assist Tobias Osur. The church seems to be doing well. We're so impressed with the row of young girls that sit up front and sing their hearts out! The volume is amazing! That evening we invited James, Christina, and Kaylita to join us outside around the fire ring.

Yesterday we attended Chulaimbo since it was Brian and Rosie's first time there. The church was VERY happy to have them there! They've been waiting for almost 3 months for this day! Pastor Willice needed surgery on his eye this past week but he's doing well now and we're grateful things went well for him. We enjoyed hosting Brians and Melodie here for lunch after church. In the evening Allen and Rhoda hosted the compound folks at their house. We had delicious enchiladas, layered finger jello, homemade ice cream, a giraffe cake decorated by Becky, and fruit! Twas wonderful! After eating the Pastors shared words of wisdom, encouragement, and blessing on Brians. We appreciate their willing hands and hearts so much!! God bless y'all real good! Wayne and Clara