"Home is where God is" Thats a quote that someone shared with me recently and I really like it! I want to thank all of you who are so faithful at writing and sending notes of encouragement. We feel so blessed to have friends that care. We eagerly look forward to reading e-mails in the morning and throughout the day. There are certain ones who are very faithful and deserve recognition... such as Jim Pash, Anthony Grubb, Rosy, who faithfully send the Church news every week plus family news anytime, Esther Zook, Mary Ann Yoder,Wanda Peachey, and Carolyn Yoder. My dear sister in law, Ruth, from PA is also very faithful in writing and it means a lot because I know she really doesn't have time to write! My wonderful sisters, and Mom often write too... Thanks a million! It was great to talk to Tracy Osborne on the phone last week!! Thanks so much for calling! You're a dear friend! I'm very sorry if I have missed someone... I know more of you have written too... and I'm sure I'm missing some of you but again THANKS to all of you and God bless!
The beginning of last week found us heading to Nakuru with Marlin and Lavina for Unit meeting Tues. afternoon and Orientation on Wed. We were very surprised when we walked into a pizza shop for lunch before we went to the meeting and found a big group of youth there, including Clarissa, as well as Tony and Judith! And soon after we got there Tommys walked in. None of us had planned this beforehand so that was fun. The pizza doesn't taste anything like Papa John's but its very edible. :)
After unit meeting and a wonderful supper provided by the Nakuru folks we had a good night at Tonys. The worst thing that happened was that Bradlyn had some VERY bad sores in his mouth that kept him from eating and made him extremely grumpy!:( I don't understand whats up with the sores because he was very tired and had a bit of fever too. Now Vanessa has been extra tired and has sores too. Also one or two of Jake's children have it. Seems like it may be a strange virus. People are telling me that we are likely to get strange illnesses here. :( It takes a lot of trust and prayers at times but we really can't complain because we've been blessed with good health most of the time... and nothing real serious yet.
The topics for our orientation were all very good and so encouraging. Marlin Stoltzfus had the first topic titled "Thriving in a Foreign Environment". The challenge to me was to not only survive, and do what has to be done but THRIVE. He gave the example of greenhouse plants that are transplanted. The health of a plant when its moved to a different place may depend a lot on the health of the plant when it was transplanted. Another thing he mentioned was that when we get beyond the point of needing the "leeks and garlics" then we show growth. He mentioned that a missionary takes "deprivation" for granted. Very challenging thoughts and I see much room for growth in my life!! Marlin Yoder shared about how we can foster true Brotherhood. He did a great job and I thought of his Dad, Ray Yoder from Bastrop, so much when he was talking. He looks and talks like his Dad. :) The last topic, Vision for the Future; was by Samuel, a native pastor from Engashura. I declare he looks a lot like Randy Lapp. :) He did a terrific job of speaking... very good English and he shared many things with us about how Kenyans "think". We learned much about the culture and how we can best meet the needs of these people. It was amazing to hear him talk. Its a real blessing to have someone like him to be the "link" between the two cultures. On the way home Wayne drove and we brought Barbara Jean and her children, as well as some of Tommy's children home with us. Tommy, Dean, and Marlin stayed an extra day in Nakuru for a meeting. Barbara Jean said they counted speed bumps one time between Nakuru and Kisumu and there were 177!! It wears a person out to always be tensing up for those bumps and avoiding potholes and all kinds of other things. I saw a big truck with a mudflap stretched along the whole rear of the truck that had big letters that said, "RELAX". Hmmm... was that for me? The timing was good and I really did try to relax after that. I really think I've come a long way... but I'm not always sure.... :) Maybe you should ask Wayne. Travelling here makes travel in America seem very safe! I'm surprised there are many accidents there.
Some of you have wondered about cooking... is it going better? Yes and no... I think one of the hardest things is when I look at a recipe and get excited about making it because it sounds so good but then I remember that I have to make the cream of chicken soup, the ranch dressing, the cheese sauce, or the refried beans.... I can't just open cans or bottles of stuff. And when I think of all that work I just kind of give up and opt for something simpler. And so we are eating very simple meals and my family complains very little. I think they are already becoming less "picky" about food which is a good thing. I enjoy trips to Nakumatt with Wayne. It takes us about 2 or 3 minutes to get there and it seems there is always an adventure of some kind. The other day there was a man there with a big stack of hats on his head and many wares hanging from his belt... shoes, belts, and I don't know what all. He made quite a scene and when we stopped to talk with him he said he is a "mobile shop". :) We got a kick out of that and I wish so much we could've got a good picture of him. I'm totally amazed at the music that comes over the loud speaker at Nakumatt!! I have heard many English songs such as "Swing low, sweet Chariot" as well as beautiful songs such as "Hallal" sings. I think most of the songs are Gospel songs. We see many vehicles that have signs talking about God, His goodness, and inspirational sayings. This eve. when we were out at Hippo Point a drunk came up to us and was even talking about God... saying things like, "God is good, all the time". :) It would be a blessing to see more evidence of God in their lives.
On Fri. eve. we prepared a meal for visitors, Trevor and Regina Derstine as well as Trevors uncle Mark and his wife. I think Trevors may have been the ones who started the "Reach Out Ministries" here in Kenya. We also invited the single ladies from here. Our plans changed though when we found out that Trevors and Marks weren't going to need supper after all, so we invited Joseph and Becky to join us instead. We had barbecued chicken, rice, and cabbage salad. I didn't need to make dessert because we had a special activity planned out on the lane after supper. The youth played volleyball and we also had a farewell for Jason and Cynthia's family. We enjoyed Coke and Fanta floats and salties. By the way... when I was buying salties at Nakumatt that morning I was AMAZED to see that they have Bugles!!! And they're even the real Bugles brand like they have in America!! I couldn't believe my eyes!! The bad thing is they are very expensive so I used self control and left them on the shelf. Trevor's and Marks joined us out on the lane that eve. and we VERY much enjoyed their visit!! They are very interesting to visit with and we're so glad we got to meet them.
Its hard to believe that Jason's are actually gone now!! They will definitely be missed!! It was hard for me on Sun. when the church folks at Lela said "goodbye" to their dear pastor and his wife. It was hard for them... some were crying. Its very obvious that Jason's had a very good relationship with the people here and so it makes it a bit hard to step in now and try to take Jason's place. I know we won't be able to be just like them... we will need to just be ourselves and pray that the people will be able to adjust to us and our way of doing things. Please pray!!! If we ever needed you to pray its now! It looks overwhelming at times but I'm sure we will make it if we take a day at a time.
Wayne has been finding plenty to do... today he was helping George, a native man who cares for our flowerbeds and hedges, etc, to take out a short sidewalk that was being pushed up by tree roots. He has school devotions in the morning, Bible study at church in the afternoon, Instruction class and message on Sunday. Oh, a correction..... I had mentioned once that Wayne was put on the school board but he is actually the Principal. All the men here are on the school board. So he has school related things to do sometimes. I enjoy having him around the house when he's not out visiting or running errands in town.
No comments:
Post a Comment