Kisumu Yoder's: More Firsts...................

"Look back and thank God, look forward and trust God. God opens doors that no man can shut, and closes doors that no man open."

This quote was shared with me by my Sister Marla. It comes from a book titled, "Free Indeed." She read this around the time that Joe and Glenda came to Kenya and it has been an encouragement to her. And to me!!! Before we crossed the big waters, and lived in Wytheville where I was surrounded with my whole family, I had a feeling at times that I need to enjoy those times we had with my sisters and my dear parents because it may not always be this way. And now I understand... I had NO idea how much our lives would change... and the fact that my sister is actually here now and living next door to us is still a marvel to me! :) God opens doors and closes them and we do well to cooperate with His perfect plan. Tommys we MISS you SO much! May God be with you as you walk through new doors in America!

Its been an interesting week! Monday Wayne had pastor's meeting which lasted most of the day like usual. On Tuesday afternoon Wayne and Maurice went to visit three different church members in preparation for communion on Sunday. They struck out and did not find any of them. We trust that even days like that are not in vain.. There is always someone to pray for and small ways to help.

On Wednesday instead of going to Bible study with Wayne, I went with Lavina to the Rabour church to take food and other supplies that the ladies there would need to cook for all the Pastors and wives who attended the Ministers Meeting here in Kisumu. The meeting was for all the CBF pastors and their wives from Nakuru and Kisumu... including the Nationals. We all met at the Rabour church for lunch on Thurs. and were served beans, chapatis, and cabbage. It was very good!! Our family felt privileged indeed to have Grampa and Gramma Yoder with us for the weekend!! They arrived on Wed. afternoon with Lavon and Jadon Stoltzfus and stayed with us until this afternoon when Kore Beachy and Joe Fisher took them back to Nakuru. We were so glad they were able to attend the Ministers meeting with us and learn to know some of the other Pastors. One of our favorite parts of the meeting was the singing!! It seemed everyone put their hearts into it and we loved singing these beautiful Swahili songs... as well as some Luo. William Ondeyo shared the first message titled, "Stewards of God's Heritage." We were challenged to take care of what God has entrusted us with. After that Wayne shared a challenging message on "Vibrant Church Life." Samuel from the Engashura church interpreted for him and did a great job! And then we had separate workshops for the men and ladies. Rosemary Ondeyo and Debbie Miller shared practical pointers with the women and I was blessed!! The evening meal was served at Joseph and Becky's house where the tent was set up. My job was to cook up 20 cups of rice! Other ladies made chicken stew and we enjoyed cole slaw as well. We were kind of chased home with a downpour of about 2" of rain that eve. but we are SO thankful for every drop! We are experiencing great relief from the heat and dust! The weather is great!!

Friday was another inspiring day. We met at Josephs for Breakfast between 7 and 8 o'clock and then enjoyed more singing. There were 3 messages that morning.... Thomas Mboya shared on "The danger of Covetousness", Dean Miller on "Lessons from the life of Daniel", and Tobias Osur on "Running with Endurance". From there we went to the Rabour church again where we were served ugali, beef, and sukumu. It feels like we have a better connection with the National pastors now and for Wayne and I that is a real blessing since most of Wayne's focus now will be working with Pastors. After lunch Wayne, his Dad and Mom, and JoeAllen went to visit one of the Lela members. Wayne needed to confirm with her that she was ready for Communion. What a blessing to find her broken and surrendered and willing to confess the bitterness she had been harboring for so long! Friday eve. we went out to the Yacht club by Lake Victoria for our evening meal. We were happy to be joined by Grampas, Joe and Glenda, and Kore Beachy, and Joe Fisher! It was very windy that eve. but not too cold and at least we didn't have trouble with mosquitoes. We saw a hippo at a distance but heard later that eve. that Marlins and Gerolds who ate down the road at Kiboko Bay saw hippos on the land not far from where they ate! :) After coming home we spent some time watching the volleyball game.

Saturday was spent enjoying time with Grampa's and getting some things ready for Communion on Sunday. Wayne ran some errands in town and took his Dad along on the piki! Later in the day he took his mom for a spin and bought some pottery that we've been wanting for the porch. Mom is a bit braver than I am!! Maybe one of these days I'll be willing to brave the piki but for now I'm quite satisfied to stay home! :)

We experienced our first Ministers meeting this past week since our arrival in Kenya and now today we had our first Communion service that Wayne was in charge of. I was a bit nervous about whether we would remember everything and do things the way they're usually done, but God was with us and provided strength. Bishop Eric Ogwe and his wife were there for the service and he shared a good message with us. Dad Yoder shared in a Devotional and that was a blessing as well! The people seemed happy to meet Wayne's mom and dad! Washing feet with these people is a real blessing but oh my!! The water gets dirty very fast and we try to trust God to take care of the germs! :) I'm sure Jesus very lovingly washed the feet of those He served without thought of germs and such. JoeAllen is doing very well with learning culture and language. His interest and eagerness to learn is a blessing to us already! He drove home from Church today for the first time! :) Joe and Glenda are in the throes of language class and believe me! That's a stretch!! We try to help out with meals and babysitting sweet little Tiffany where we can because we well remember the stresses of language study! Eric and his wife joined us at our house for lunch today and we enjoyed hearing him share more about Luo culture. One thing he said that was very hard for me to believe and accept was that fact that when a family member is sick and nigh to death and there is no money to buy medication that would save their life... they will ask family for money to buy meds but sometimes they will say "no" they have no money. But then when the person dies and there is a huge funeral expense, they will get all kinds of help from the family to help pay for the funeral. They go "all out" to make a show at the funeral but WHY oh WHY don't they do more to preserve life???!!! It makes me feel like screaming! But God help me to accept different cultures and pray for people who will be willing to value God's Word over cultural practice.

Thanks for praying for us!! God is definitely using your prayers to help us through all the difficult "firsts" that we experience here in Kenya! Our prayers are with the Ab Fisher family who are going through a very difficult time since their son was in an accident. May God be with you in a very special way and give you peace. Clara