"The Lord will fight for you; you need only be still." Ex. 14:14
"Be still (cease striving), and know that I am God." Ps. 46:10
"When you rest in His presence you rest in the knowledge He is in control."
Recently in our ladies Sunday school class, one of the youth girls shared a verse that is special to her, and I have also claimed it during this time of crisis. It's found in Ruth 3:18... "Sit still, my daughter, until thou know how the matter will fall:" There are so many unknowns...Will we be able to find a flight out of Kenya when it's time to return to our homeland as we had planned, the end of May? James Barkmans are in the same boat, and have already stayed longer than they planned. Will the replacements be able to come on schedule? When can we resume normal church services with our beloved national brothers and sisters? How long will Nairobi be "locked down?" Will life ever return to normal? Only God knows the answer to these questions. I'm sure all of you have lots of questions as well. In spite of the unknowns we can be at peace, knowing God will work out details according to His will. Opake Yesu!!
We continue to have rain almost every day in Kisumu! Last eve. it rained over 2 inches. The weather is about as perfect as could be, except for chilly temperatures some evenings. Most of the nationals have their shamba's planted by now, I think. Pray for a bountiful harvest.
A few weeks ago there was a burial in Kasongo that Pastor Tobias Osur wanted Wayne to attend. There were more people there than technically allowed by the government at this time, but what do you do? We heard that Anastacia died and I was sad to hear about it, because the lady I know by that name is probably in her 40's, a very friendly mama who has epilepsy. We thought she must've died of a seizure. But to Wayne's surprise, when he arrived at the burial Anastacia was walking around there with the other church ladies. :) Turns out that the mama Anastacia who died, had been sick for some time and we didn't know her.
We've pretty much been stuck in the compound here and sometimes we get a bit "antsy". But thankfully we have plenty to keep us busy, and if we need fellowship we can always find it here with our dear compound family! :) We ladies had a number of "sewing days" together in the last several weeks. We've made over 1,000 masks to distribute... mostly among our 11 churches. We've also invited some of the national sisters to come so we can teach them to sew masks. Sewing teachers, Pamela Ogema, and Hellen were here, as well as Pamela Odhiambo (Ahero). People are SO grateful for them! We are not allowed to go anywhere in public without a mask. Social distancing is also stressed a LOT, but in this culture... hmmm. Seems impossible. It's rather amusing sometimes. At some police checkpoints they check your temperature and make very sure the vehicle is not overloaded. Some businesses also require temperature checks and handwashing stations are everywhere. I never thought I'd see the day...
Wayne has made several trips to various churches where he meets the Pastors to deliver the masks. He had plans to go with Bishop Thomas Amata to Vihiga on Friday, to deliver masks to a hospital that is not well provided for by the government. But just a bit before they were to leave they found out that the hospital was going on strike that morning. The contact lady there told them not to come. She was afraid it could be dangerous for them to be there at that time, because of people being upset. I feel sorry for those who aren't being cared for now. Life is so difficult for many in this country.
Our family has also been busy getting our house ready for the next occupants. There was painting to do, floors to strip and wax, etc. I'm SO grateful for Clarissa's help with these projects since the oil-based paint smells so strong and makes me sick. We moved over to the empty house next door for a week so we could get away from paint fumes. The youth girls from here were also a huge help with painting one day. We still have a ways to go on our "want to get done" list but I think we're getting there!! Wayne and Brian spent some time at James' house working on a plumbing project.
Last Sunday we had a special service here in the compound.. an Easter sunrise service! It was a beautiful morning! Wayne shared the resurrection story with us on flannelgraph. We serve a risen Savior! PTL! We enjoyed a delicious brunch afterwards. Sunday services in the compound are becoming the norm now, and we enjoy it very much, but we still miss our churches so much and look forward to the day we can go out again. Our church services consist of singing English and Luo songs, one of the youth girls teach the children's class while we ladies take turns teaching the adult ladies. The men also rotate teaching S.S. and preaching. The fellowship meal afterwards is always a highlight!
Last evening the youth girls treated all the couples to a fine dining experience. They set up a beautiful table and served us chicken alfredo, olive garden salad, garlic knots, lava cake, and ice cream. It was SOO delicious!! We enjoyed some games of corn hole afterwards.
There is some limited visiting going on with our national brothers and sisters but for the most part life seems to have "ground to a halt". I'm SO grateful that our small mission school can continue in the compound!! May God have His way in the coming days and weeks. Current numbers of cases in the country that have tested positive for Covid-19 stand somewhere between 200-300. Deaths are around 14. Please pray that we could truly "sit still" and allow God to do His work through all this. Thank you for your prayers and support.
Wayne and Clara
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| Our wonderful youth ladies! |
