The Hungry Soul...

   "For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with goodness." Ps. 107:9

   "The only one who can truly satisfy the human heart is the one who created it."

  "The hunger for love is much more difficult to remove than the hunger for bread." Mother Teresa

   Some of these dear Kenyan folks amaze me so much!  Last Sunday Rosebella, a sweet widow lady from Dienya, walked two hours to get to church!!  She hadn't been able to attend church for quite some time due to a broken hip.  But last Sunday she slowly and carefully made her way to church.  I'm sure her soul was hungry for something... for the Word of God and for fellowship with like-minded Brothers and sisters.  And she was willing to endure some pain that I'm sure comes with walking a long distance after breaking a hip.  I couldn't help but think about how easy it is for some  who have snazzy, comfortable vehicles to skip church, even if they only have a 10 minute drive.  I've been guilty of that kind of thing as well!  God help us to have a hunger for the Word and for Truth!  

   There was a LONG Pastor's meeting on Monday!  I think it lasted from 8 am til close to 6 pm.  I was responsible for Pastor's chai time in the morning and then served them a lunch of chapatis and beans along with sodas.  That eve.Wayne and I went over to Joseph's house a bit to visit with Mervin and Lois Peachey who were there for supper.  Lester's were there as well.  Mervins are former missionaries who served in Nakuru for 6 years or so.  We don't know them real well but were able to make lots of connections. 

   On Tuesday, Jake and Jan Gingerich moved from their house to the one that Dean and Barbara Jean vacated.  Deans opted to move out to Ng'iya where Mark Beachy's lived rather than move into the small guest house here on the compound for a number of months until they go back to America in June.  We are getting ready for two new families in the near future!  Brian and Mary Jane Mast with their 6 children plan to arrive on Feb. 23 and move into Jake's vacated house... the one beside the school.  And then in April James Barkmans plan to come and move into the house that Lester's are in presently... next to the guest house.  So as you can imagine there has been some extra work and activity but many hands make light work!  These moves are definitely not as difficult when you don't have furniture and household things to move, the basic things are food and personal belongings. I didn't help Jan with actual moving but offered to make supper for them instead, since it seemed like that was more necessary at the moment.  Wayne was out visiting in Ahero that day.  He is quite burdened for George Owino and his son, Joash.  Some of you may remember them as being members at Ahero years ago. (WY writing) They both left the church and fell away from God as well.  About two weeks ago they were in the Kenya/Uganda border area (I'm not sure what they were doing there) when they were attacked by thugs and robbed.  Joash put his hand up to protect his father from getting slashed by a punga.  In protecting his dad he got a nasty cut to the hand that bled profusely.  He was beaten further and George pled with them to leave his son alone.  They eventually left, leaving Joash badly wounded in no mans land and far from help.  They decided to try to make it to Kisumu.  It's a miracle that Joash did not bleed to death on that several hour ride.  When they boarded the matatu they kept the injured hand hidden inside a coat.  The truth was revealed however when the occupants noticed blood running down the floor of the van.  As I understand Joash passed out from the loss of so much blood, before they reached Kisumu.  His dad seemed to have thought his son was dying in his arms, because he told us several times that he "died".  This incident shook them and they are both "thinking".  Join us in prayer that they would be broken and surrender to God their Father.  Joash was truly given the gift of another chance. Wayne talked quite frankly with them about their need to repent and come back to God and the church.

   On Wednesday Lester and Hannah and Wayne and I took separate vehicles and went to Dienya area to a special service at Rosebella's house.  We both had vehicles full with people who needed a ride to her house.  Rosebella is the lady I told you about with the broken hip.  Since she wasn't able to be at church on Communion Sunday, when we were also going to receive her as a member, it was decided that we would go to her house and have Communion with her there.  Wayne also received her into the church as a full member.  It was a blessed time sitting outside under a big tree.  Not exactly the place you would expect to witness Communion and feetwashing but it was evident that the Church was happy and rejoicing with Rosebella and I think God was smiling!   She seemed to appreciate our coming so much.  I could see that she had pain at times and was wincing a bit but she is able to walk!!  Lester's kindly blessed the whole group with a special drink and mandazis.  

  On Thursday Wayne was gone again with a meeting in Kericho... an ADM (Agape Development Ministries) AGM (Annual General Meeting).  It's really hard keeping all these different kinds of meetings straight!  At least it is for this mama! :)  That evening Kore Beachy joined us for supper and then Prayer meeting was held at Gerold's.  

  Friday was an interesting day for JoeAllen and Glenda, Wayne, and the young folks of the compound.  They went to  two different schools in the home area (Kebonyo) of Noah and Evelyn Atito  to pass out Bible story books.  They sang a few songs for them and acted out a Bible story as well.  There was a misunderstanding on time so they got there early enough to visit two of the neighbors as well. We will include some pictures but since I wasn't along I can't tell you too much about it.  Sounds like they had a good day though!  Evenings on the lane continue to be enjoyed by all!  Lester's son Christopher (Crit) arrived in Kenya last week and plans to be here for a month.  So now we have more youth which is great!!  Our family is looking forward to the arrival of Carmen and Glen Gingerich (Wayne's niece and nephew) the end of this week!!  Tony's plan to be here for the weekend too as well as Angie Miller, also from our home area! Visitors are a blessing!!  And family is extra special!!  

 (WY) Wayne was at another funeral yesterday in the Nyakach area.  The father of Mary Lusi (Ahero) died.  The funeral was conducted by the Catholic church which was educational.  I do enjoy listening to the Catholic Choirs as they are usually pretty good.  At a Kenyan burial you never quite know what to expect. Anyone attends, rich or poor, dressed smart or shabbily.  Some people go to grieve with the relatives, some go to eat, some go to talk, some go to spin stories in one of the many, often lengthy speeches, some go in the name of business (anything from cold drinks or ice cream cones to taking your photo and hoping you buy it), some go to make a name for themselves and hopefully get a few more votes when election rolls around.  It was humorous to watch rival political candidates get up and blow their own horns. There was a lady MP (Member of Parliament) in attendance that apparently has quite a following.  She gave a rousing speech to cheers and hoots from the crowd. One of the reasons that politicians are tolerated at burials is that they always bring money to give at "offering" time.  One of them publicly shelled out 2000/= and put in the donation basin.  Another one promised 10 tins of maize to any new voters registering at a certain place.  We would wish that the passion for obedience to God would exceed the current passion for politics.

   We attended the Rabour church service this morning.  Wayne preached a challenging message on ... I Have Sinned, But Honor Me Now.. out of 1 Sam.15.  We always love to hear the choir sing!!  They do an amazing job!  After Church this mom was in despair with her tired, hot, hungry, impatient children!  Daddy had meetings again after church.  It seems to happen almost every Sunday the last while and it tends to be a test of endurance for all of us at times.  Please help us pray that we can all be patient and accept this as part of the calling God has placed on Wayne.  The work is not easy, especially when they have to terminate memberships like they did this morning! :(  Depending on your prayers, Clara for the Yoders

Winam Gulf and the City of Kisumu in the background.  The gulf is currently locked up with Water Hyacinth, a beautiful but troublesome parasitic aquatic plant.  There are about 60,000 hectares of this weed on the lake. 

Service at Rosebella's

Pastor Lester with Dishon translating

Mama Rosebella, Mama Clara and Mama Hannah

Testimony time.

Thanks for the picture Tony!

At Noah Atito's

Mama Evelyn and Elliot

This young girl's name is Vanessa and she is the same age as our Vanessa!

Jaduong Joash wanted a picture with me. (Not Joash Owino)

School presentation

We sow the Seed...

God gives the increase...

Wrapped up, tied up, tangled up....

Vote for ME!

The queen of politics!  Notice the two mics!  The one was pretty undependable so two are better then one!

Notice his "living lectern".  Train up a child..  Do we involve our children enough in the work of the church?

Preparing for Mass

Custom printed, memorial water bottles.

Showers of Blessings...

 "And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing."  Ezekiel 34:26

   Today's weather Forecast:

God REIGNS and the SON SHINES. Expect showers of blessings!

  "We should certainly count our blessings, but we should also make our blessings count." Neal A. Maxwell

   We have been showered with blessings in more ways than one!  We have received some wonderful rain from Heaven this week!  I stood with my hands outstretched in awe as I felt some of the first drops in a LONG time!  Pake Jesu!  There were about 3 days this week that we received welcome showers and I was SO excited about having the dust settled so that it doesn't feel like I'm just rearranging dust when I clean!  The earth looks so refreshed and there is even a hint of green in our brown, bare lawn.  We know the rainy season is not here to stay but at least it has brought refreshment and hope to our drought-stricken friends!   

   Another big blessing to us in the past few weeks was the arrival of Dad and Mom Bender and brother Davey!!  How special to be able to connect with them again and spend some quality family time.  They arrived on the 20th of Feb. at the Kisumu airport.  As we got close to the airport to pick them up their plane flew very low over top of us.  Wayne stuck his hand out the window to wave but they didn't see him. A bit later we stood at the fence eagerly waiting for them to come down the steps of the plane... and finally spotted them!!  What a reunion!  I was amazed how well they did with jet lag! They were all able to sleep very well at night and didn't seem to have trouble adjusting to our schedule.  It was a huge blessing that they were healthy and able to enjoy life in Kenya with us!  We enjoyed hearing their comments as we drove these amazing roads around here.  One thing Dad will remember for a long time is the cows!  He got a big kick out of the cow that was lying on the street chewing its cud.  These city cows don't seem to care if traffic is passing within inches of them!  Davey's hearty laughs about some of the strange sights kept us grinning too. :)  

   The first Sunday Dads were here we all attended church at Lela, except for Wayne.  He was scheduled to preach at Kajulu.  I wanted to be with him but also wanted to be with Dads on their first Sunday here.  Joe preached a good message and the people were VERY happy to see our visitors!  The next day the Pastor's decided to do something different for their meeting so they ended up spending the day at Kiboko Bay.  My Dad and Andy Wengerd, teacher Rhoda's Dad  joined them there.  They had a nice day for the meeting... but it's sad that the whole bay is covered with water hyacinth right now and you can barely see any water except out at the horizon!  There is some talk about the country of Britain coming in here and getting rid of the weed for us.  I can't wait to see nice blue water out there again!  In the afternoon Glenda, Davey, Clarissa, and Mom and I drove out to Kiboko Bay to pick Dad up and then we took them to the Orphanage close by to visit.  Dads and Davey were amazed at all the children, and it was especially touching for Davey.  He had tears in his eyes and said," that could've been me!!"  That eve. the whole compound was invited to Josephs for a YUMMY pizza supper, complete with pie and homemade ice cream, compliments of the Andy Wengerd family!!  Bless them!!

   On Wed. Joes and us took Dads and Davey with us to Vincent Bonde's house for Bible study. I was so relieved that we got to sit outside under shade trees.  After the Bible study the ladies sang some African songs for Dads and even danced a bit!  They get so excited about visitors! :)  That eve. our family went to the Yacht Club for supper.  We invited the Wengerd family from Paris, TN to join us there. We enjoyed our visit but the mosquitoes were AWFUL!  Worse than ever!

   On Thurs. Dad, Joe, and Wayne spent time visiting and on business in south Nyanza.  In the town of Oyugis they had the unforgettable experience of going through an "unofficial" roadblock manned by a big crowd of young fellows demanding to see the voter registration cards of everyone attempting to use the road that day.  They passed out Torch of Truth and tried to make friends as they were going along as well as telling them that as foreigners they cannot get the needed cards.  They had to pass through the roadblock twice but both times they were able to make friends and Pak Yesu, they got through without any problems.  Pray for our churches during this time. With elections coming in August it is a time of some political pressure and uncertainty. We ladies took care of things here at home and in the eve. we were invited to Jake's house for supper!  We SO much appreciated those from the compound who helped us out with cooking by inviting us to their homes  and I was so glad that Dads could meet our friends here!  We hosted prayer meeting at our house that eve.  The power was off for a while but we did fine with the light from a gas lantern.  We were also blessed when some more visitors came by to say hello!  Ab Fisher's and 5 of their children stopped in to visit a bit.  They left for Nakuru again the next morning.  Kore Beachy also arrived that day as well as good ole Joe Fisher!!  It was so good to see him again!  He is here in Kenya helping out with the Lamp and Light building in Nakuru for 5 weeks or so.  

  On Friday, our churches, Christian Believers Fellowship held their Annual General Meeting at Lela.  There was a group of 60 or 70 there I believe... Pastors from the Kisumu and Nakuru churches as well as some delegates from each of the churches.  This is a meeting that needs to be held annually because our churches need to be registered as a society with the Kenya government.  I think Dad enjoyed getting to meet so many different people there.  Glenda and Mom and I were there as well to help with food.  There were 5 Lela ladies who cooked some wonderful food!  Rice, ugali, potatoes, beef, and cabbage!  They did a super job and the meal was ready and waiting when the meeting was over!  That eve. Tony's arrived from Nakuru as well and stayed at our house til Sunday.  We hosted a large crowd at our house that eve.  Glenda did chicken and we had chapatis, beans, rice, fresh salsa, cabbage salad, and Judith brought a wonderful mango dessert!!  

  Saturday was a special day!  We took time off to enjoy the day at Impala Park. Joes, Dads, and us were there as well as Judith and their children. We all enjoyed watching the monkeys although they were a pain sometimes!  One of them slapped my arm and dirtied my sleeve.  Another one made Tiffany cry when it slapped her hand and snatched her cookie from her!  Some of the group got to watch the lions being fed and heard them roar. The thing that amazed me was the cheetah. Brad and Jamie had their bikes there and were riding around the large cage.  The cheetah followed Brad wherever he went... stopped running when he stopped biking, and took off as soon as Brad did, running right beside him!  It was neat to watch but believe me I was thankful for the good fence between them!!  Wayne grilled some good chicken for us that morning so we enjoyed that for lunch along with Glenda's good potato salad, potato crisps, cookies and fruit salad.  Tonys, Joe, and Kore went out to eat that night but the rest of us ate a simple meal here at home.

     

   Dad preached a good message for us at Lela on Sunday.  It was a new experience for him to speak through an interpreter but he did very well! We were glad Tony's, Joe, and Kore could be there too!  It was a good-sized group of wazungu with all of us there.  The Lela folks welcomed us well and were so pleased when Dad and Mom handed everyone a new pen after the service.  That eve. we were blessed with a wonderful rain!  It prevented us from starting our compound activity on time but we didn't mind!  It actually got quite chilly and I was glad for a sweater and a scarf!! Dean's hosted the activity and asked Dad to share a topic with us. He inspired us with thoughts on "wisdom"... something we need so desperately!!!  God gave Dad strength to preach twice in a day!  God is good!

   Monday morning Dad declined going along to Pastor's meeting. Instead he helped Kore for a while with a CAM project on our carport.  That eve. we had a memorable time at Gerold's house... hearing stories of "most embarrassing moments, some love stories, etc.!! There was LOTS of laughter and more memories made!  Becky and Sylvia prepared a wonderful meal of grilled chicken and potatoes!!

  On Tuesday Mom and Glenda and I went to visit Dr. Bonyo, the lady who delivered Elliot.  I think Mom was rather amazed at the primitive setting where her office is located at the Milimani hospital.  There were chickens running around and the hospital gowns and sheets appear to be washed by hand and hung out to dry.  Bonyo was glad to see us but seemed quite preoccupied... I saw her playing a card game on her phone while she was talking to us. After leaving there we stopped at a new supermarket, Tumaini.  On the way out to the car Glenda and I got "goosebumps" when we heard some lovely, heavenly music coming from across the street.  The song was "May the Lord depend on you."  And sung in 4 part harmony with some instruments.  Absolutely BEAUTIFUL!!  And so much nicer than the loud, pounding music that we usually hear in the city.  We picked up some chapatis on Ring Rd. before heading home.  That afternoon John Newton from Nakuru arrived. He heard about Dad and Mom coming and desperately wanted to see them!  He remembers them well from 17 years ago when Dads were in Nakuru visiting Mahlon and Ruth!  He was TERRIBLY excited about seeing Dad and talked a mile a minute!!  He showed him stacks of pictures of former and present missionaries and was just making us laugh a lot by the funny things he said!  I'm sure many of our readers know him and won't forget him!:)  He stayed for several hours and we fed him rice, beans, cabbage, and chapatis.  He left then to spend time with some family members in Kisumu.  

  Wednesday came so soon and that was the day Dads left for home!  Wayne and I took an afternoon flight to Nairobi since we couldn't be on the same flight Dads were and then were at the airport to pick up Dads and Davy when there flight came in later that eve.  We rented a car since Wayne and I planned to stay in Nairobi for a few days and it was cheaper than hiring a taxi everywhere we went.  We took them to Hampton house for the night and then Wayne took them to the airport early the next morning to catch their flight to Turkey.  Thanks SO much for coming Dad, Mom, and Davey!!  We loved having you here and introducing you to Kisumu!  

  Wayne and I had some special time to be together for a few days before flying back to Kisumu last eve.  It's SO much fun when your children are old enough to stay at home alone and they think it's kind of fun too!  Here at the compound they have Stacy and Joes close by so they're in good hands!  Wayne and I spent a bit of time playing mini golf, shopping, and eating at American restaurants.  We were disgusted one eve. though when it took us an hour and a half through awful traffic to get to Pizza Hut!  On the way back it took us 15 minutes!  And of all things!!  The next morning we discovered there is a brand new Pizza Hut within walking distance of where we were staying!!!  Sigh... well we live and learn!  The second night we stayed at a guest house for about half the price of Hampton.  And nicer in a number of ways.  They didn't have wash cloths though and I was dumb enough not to take any with us when we left home!  Our flight home was delayed a while and I was getting awfully anxious to be back home with the children!!  But at last... home sweet home!! :)  Thanks to Joe and Glenda for picking us up at the airport!!  I love the short 30 minute flight from Nairobi!  It sure beats driving hair-raising roads for over 6 hours!!  

   Well we have been blessed!!  And this letter is far too long I'm afraid!  I won't be offended if you don't read it all! MANY thanks to all of you who sent goodies, cards, and pictures with Dad and Mom!  We appreciate it SO much and hope God blessed you real good!!  Clara

Here they come!! Kisumu International Airport

Glenda, Jake, Fannie and Davy

Gerold Miller and Andy Wengerd

Bible Study with Vincent Bonde

Cooking at Lela CBF AGM

Grandma time!

Who belongs to who??

Stealing sermon ideas??

Theres a bike somewhere!

Cousins!!  Jamie and Brad

Sunday at Lela

Thank God for the rain!!

How do you like that?!

Dads and Gerolds

Visit to Irene's (Lucas Otieno) home

John Newton and Jake

Thanks for coming Dad and Mom and for your support.