Kisumu Yoder's: Grieving with friends...............

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." Hellen Keller

My mind keeps going to open and closed doors. In last weeks blog I wrote something about God closing doors that no man can open... It feels like that's what happened this past week when dear friends of ours from home lost their precious little girl. She was full term but died before she was born. Her sister Amy was SO excited... after 9 long years she was finally going to have a baby sister!! We were ALL excited!! I thought of this baby much and prayed OFTEN for her! For some reason I thought of Wanda often on Monday and felt uneasy and prayed extra much. When I woke up Tues. morning and heard the devastating news of the baby's death, I was heartbroken and felt such pain in my heart. It seems SO unfair! They say she was a beautiful baby... so perfect and looked like Amy. I hardly knew that a person can feel such pain for a friend... but it also brought back memories of the loss of our son back in 2001. And the loss of my little brother in 1978. It felt like the door of all our hopes and dreams was slammed in our faces. But God has been gracious to us and I'm sure He will be there for Johnny and Wanda and Travis and Amy as well. He will open other doors for them in His way, in His time. Praise Him!

We have had a safe and profitable week and we are thankful! On Tues. after Joe's language class, Wayne and Joe did some visiting in the Lela area. Church folks are happy to meet their new Pasta Joe! It's been a real blessing to have Joe and Glenda here! Early last week when I was struggling so much with grief and felt so far away from home, I told Glenda that it just comforts me somehow to know that she's right next door.

On Wednesday JoeAllen and Wayne and I headed to Alice's house for Bible study. That was a journey!! We kept meeting more and more members who wanted a ride to Alice's house. The van was loaded to the max! Zilpa was sitting in the boot (behind the back seat). And people were piled on laps. On the way home we counted 21 adults in the van! It was amazing!! :) The people just laughed about it and were singing on our way out. We didn't spend much time eating our rice and drinking chai that day because we had a long walk to our vehicle and some mud holes to "fly" through and the sky was getting blacker all the time and the wind picked up. It was with great relief that we reached the van... all in one piece.

Guess what! I actually braved the piki the other day!! Wayne and I went down the road to a duka and we survived! :) I felt blinded for a while though... my helmet wasn't on right I guess and so depending how much we "bumped" it would slide around and sometimes my vision was completely blocked and I was too scared to let go of my handhold to fix it! Oh well... I was learning to trust God AND my husband I guess. :) I don't care at all for bumpy, rocky roads though!!

We enjoyed Prayer meeting at Gerolds on Thurs. night. The power was off at first because of a storm but we used gas lanterns and made out alright. We rejoiced though when the power came on about half way through!

Sad to say I have had some struggles being content the last while. For some reason the mosquitoes seem to be multiplying and biting so fiercely... even disturbing our sleep sometimes. And the ANTS!! Oh they are SO tiny but so mighty! They keep me busy keeping food off the counters and spraying vinegar and Doom. But it only keeps them at bay for a few hours and then they are everywhere again. I hate the way they crawl around on my hands and tickle. I know its such a little thing... but oh my!! By the way... that reminds me of some statistics that Mark Beachy shared with us recently. On of the national pastors shared these statistics at one of our CBF churches. He was highlighting the undue attention that "big sins" get at times versus "small sins".

In Africa last year the number of people who died from ___________________:

1. Rhinos - 8

2. Lions - 500

3. Hippos - 800

4. Scorpions - 5,000

5. Snakes - 10,000

6. Mosquitoes - 2,700,000

I'm sure most of the mosquito deaths were caused by mosquito-borne illnesses that could have been avoided if victims would have taken medication. So I think I have a right to hate mosquitoes!! The other night I was longing for home where there are not so many pesty things around and where we have a faithful shower and I felt like singing "America the Beautiful." Oh well... I need to look on the bright side and remember the motto we have in our living room that says "I want to be so full of Christ that if a mosquito bites me it flies away singing, "There is power in the blood!" :) And about the shower... Wayne reminded me that I should be thankful I don't have to stand under a bucket! Good reminder!! Shame on me for fussing!!

Our Sunday service today was a bit different. Wayne and Joe left early to teach Instruction class and then Glenda and I and the children left an hour later. This was another first for me!! To drive all the way to church!! Thankfully all went well and I was not an aggressive driver at all. Clarissa was at the Ombeyi church with the other compound youth. Our attendance was very low to start out with because of rain. But people eventually found their way. After singing a number of songs Wayne preached on "The salt of the earth." It was challenging and the thought that stuck with me was that Believers should live in such a way that it will make the Unbeliever thirsty for God. After the message we had a few testimonies and we were touched by Esther's confession. The church has been praying for her as she hasn't been attending for around 3 months. We heard she had joined another church and she had freely confessed that she had been "drinking". She was having "pressure" problems and some "friends" of hers got her persuaded to drink to help take care of it. She realizes that she sinned and she brokenly confessed everything to the church and then cried aloud as she knelt on the stony floor of the church and lifted her hands to God. Wayne laid his hands on her head and prayed for her. Please pray for her continued faithfulness! Wayne had to leave right after that because he had a members meeting at Ahero that he needed to attend. So Brad and I went with him and JoeAllen took charge of the rest of the service at Lela. Wayne was officially given Bishop charge at Ahero this morning as well. We look forward to learning to know these people but I know it won't always be easy to leave our dear Lela church and face all these new people at 4 other places. I'm sure God will give strength for what needs to be done. More and more is falling onto Wayne's shoulders. Yesterday the file cabinet with all the church records, etc. was moved from Marlin's office into Waynes. I had to laugh at Bradlyn... he said it looks more "Bishopy" now with that thing in our office. :) I sure don't know where he came up with that term!

May the God of all comfort be with our dear friends at home and also with the Ab Fisher family and others who are struggling with very difficult losses!! Our hearts are crying with you, Clara