Kisumu Yoder's: Pain and Trials......God Is With Us

Christmas... How can it be that this beautiful season is almost here already!! Its easy to forget it here... at home there were reminders everywhere but not so here. And it certainly doesn't "feel" like Christmas according to the weather, although we have had some chilly days and nights recently due to all the rain. I LOVE rainy season, except for the mud. Its SO beautiful and green, not so hot, and well just great! But I feel so bad for people who have trouble with their houses flooding! A dear lady in Instruction class at Lela, named Lina Aduda, recently had her house flooded during the night. Her young children were sleeping on the floor and woke up to a wet bed. Now she has been dealing with mud in the house ever since! Imagine!! She was quite discouraged at first but she's still cheerful and greets us with a smile. We try to share with her as the Lord leads. It takes a lot of wisdom to know when to give and when not to, so that they don't become dependent, or "beggars".

Last week was a rough week. On Sunday morning a week ago, soon after we arrived at Church we discovered that the small mud house on the church property where Kevin, an orphan, lives was ransacked and the door was standing open. Kevin didn't come to Church that morning but from what some other church members told us we discovered that Kevin had a serious "run-in" with the neighbors. They supposedly tried to kill him with a panga and wanted to burn him in his house. We don't have all the details yet but for some reason Kevin didn't want the neighbors and community folks to get water from the well at the Church anymore. We don't understand why but I suppose we will find out the truth eventually. This made the neighbors very angry. They had a key to the well and were in charge of when people may come to get water and suddenly Kevin breaks their lock off of the well and tries to prevent them from getting water. After Church the neighbors came to meet with Wayne and the national Brothers. I was a bit nervous... I sure was hoping they would come peaceably and not in anger!! PTL!! They were very nice and workable and wanted peace with us as well. So for now things are ok. Kevin doesn't live in the house anymore since he was chased out. He still hasn't acknowledged any wrongdoing in the situation. Its tough because he is a member and will have to be dealt with if he doesn't change his ways. Please pray that Wayne would have the wisdom of Solomon and courage to do whatever is necessary. One thing that scared me is that Kevin told the neighbors that the "mzungu" (white people) were the ones that didn't want them getting water anymore. That was very false and we're glad that the neighbors seem to understand that now. Please pray that Kevin could have humility of heart and seek peace with God and the Church.

Sun. night was a traumatic night for Dean and Barbara Jean Miller and their family. I suppose most of you heard about the attempted break-in at their house. Barbara woke soon after midnight when she heard some noises and when she discovered a man at the door trying to break in, she SCREAMED, and he ran off. The pastors were able to watch the thief on video the next day. There are plans to make things a bit more secure around here. It was unsettling for all of us, to be sure!! But I thank God that in spite of this we have been able to sleep peacefully for the most part and we try to do our best to have things locked up tight. The rest is up to God. "Safety is of the Lord".

I have been having lots of trouble with an ingrown toenail lately. Wayne tried to stuff cotton underneath the nail several times. Marlin Stoltzfus helped out as well since he has been able to help a number of people with the problem. But on Wed. the pain became unbearable. Wayne was able to see that the ingrown part was on the side of the nail, instead of at the top where it often is and to get cotton way down the side was almost impossible, and EXTREMELY painful! I think it was the first time in my life that I actually screamed from pain. So off we went to the hospital,.. Aga Kahn, which is the best hospital in Kisumu. The Dr. took a look at it and said it definitely needs surgery. He was able to do it that afternoon so I just stayed and waited til they were ready. I had to answer a number of questions and get some blood work done. Meanwhile Wayne and Bradlyn left to go get the money needed for the surgery. Wayne also needed to go with Jacob, a church brother, to take some clothes to the prison where Edwin, a young man who was incarcerated 3 - 5 yrs. ago was going to be released. I didn't see Wayne again til after surgery. If I'd have known what I was getting myself into I may have "chickened out." I have had severe pain in my toe this past week!! I've had two c-sections in my life and I declare this pain in my toe has been worse than those surgeries were... as far as the pain. There must be an awful lot of nerve endings in our toes... sometimes it felt like they were all on fire. I had a fairly nice older Dr. who I trusted pretty well. I was put into a ward with 5 other beds in it. I think it must be a bit unusual to have a mzungu (white person) in a hospital bed because people seemed interested in what was going on in my corner of the room. Marji told me that when she was in the hospital sometimes people would walk by her room and see a white person, then they would back up for a better look! :) I got more attention than I wanted, that's for sure!! When I laid on the long narrow table in the OR there was no pillow so I was quite uncomfortable. I asked for one and thankfully they gave me one which helped a LOT! My bed in the ward didn't have a pillow either. I don't know if there's a shortage or what. The surgery took about a half hour. I felt no pain during the procedure where they made an incision and cut part of the nail off and must've taken roots out underneath. They stitched the skin shut then and that is supposedly going to take care of the problem forever. The very worst part was when they gave local anesthesia. Whew!! Talk about painful! But I tried not to flinch.... I wanted them to know that mzungus can be "tough" too. :) They kept watching me to see how I would respond. Several times when the Dr. was bandaging me up I told him that the bandage is too tight, but he said "no" that's how its supposed to be. Hmmm... well we found out it was NOT how it should be!! The next few days were pretty much torture. I couldn't be up much at all. The pain was very sharp, stabbing and constant. Finally, on Thurs. I couldn't take it anymore so we went to Dr. Sokwala, a nice Asian lady who had looked at my toe before. She unwrapped the toe for me and soon I felt great relief!!! She agreed that it was wrapped too tight. She said my Dr. won't be happy with me for taking the bandage off. He said I should leave it on for a whole week!! Contrary to his orders I have been changing the dressing every day and its slowly but surely getting better. I'm slowly hobbling around but at least I can be off of pain meds now.

On Thurs. Tony's arrived. They came to take Rachel, her boyfriend Aaron, and his sister Mary Ann to Nakuru for a few days, then they will take them to Nairobi later this week to catch their flight back to America. Tony's were here from Thurs. til today, Monday. Tommy's invited all of us, Tony's, the visitors, and us to their house on Fri. eve. for supper before Rachel's farewell on the lane. The food was great and we enjoyed the fellowship. The sad part is giving Rachel up!! Its rough for our girls too. We shed some tears this morning as we bade here goodbye! Goodbyes are SO hard!! But then I remind myself that with all the people coming and going here we are learning to know so many more people and our horizons are broadened. I've been dealing with some homesickness again lately. America seems like a dream... And I wonder if I'll ever see that wonderful place and our awesome family again. I remind myself that the safest place to be is in God's will. And its the most peaceful place to be too. Its just that our wishes and God's plans aren't always the same. That's where surrender comes in... and PEACE. :)

One day last week while Wayne was up on the roof; working on our water tank, he felt something hit his head. He looked around and didn't see anything so he kept working and pretty soon here it comes again... a nasty HAWK seemed to feel like his territory was invaded so he swooped down and left Wayne with some scratches on his head!! I was NOT amused!!! The nerve!! Oh well... could've been worse.

Yesterday morning was quite unusual... we had a real downpour of rain before Church. We left a bit later than usual because we didn't know if anyone would show up at Church. Lela area had much less rain then we did though and as it ended up attendance was very good. People came a bit late but there was good support. We left later than usual though because the testimonies went on and on. Wayne preached about reaping what we sow, and it seemed to touch hearts. We rejoice with Edwin who was released from jail on Wed. He was incarcerated for taking money from Agape, and he acknowledges that he took some but not nearly the amount he was accused of. It appears that the real "thief" probably used Edwin as a scapegoat in order to save his own "hide". Edwin was released early from his 5 yr. sentence because of good behavior and seems to have a good testimony. Life in jail was ROUGH and he is REJOICING to be free!! When he came through the line to shake our hands yesterday, he hung onto my hands and praised the Lord! After Church we ate in our carport with Tony's, Carolyn, Rachel, and her visitors. Carolyn kindly made the dessert and salad for us and Judith seasoned the ricardo chicken for me. Everyone is so kind and considerate of me right now because of my "handicap."

Thank you for your prayers! We feel your support and love! Clara, for the Yoder's