Kisumu Yoder's

"But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all men liberally and without reproach; and it will be given to him." James 1:5

"Not until we have become humble and teachable, standing in awe of God's holiness and sovereignty, acknowledging our own littleness, distrusting our own thoughts, and willing to have our minds turned upside down, can divine wisdom become ours." J.I. Parker

"Don't let circumstances change the way you see Jesus. Let Jesus change the way you see circumstances."

It feels like there are a lot of "heavy" things on our minds right now. So many areas where we need God's wisdom! I've been wondering how a person can ever hold up if they don't have God to turn to. And I'm so glad that when we fail and make foolish decisions God doesn't give up on us right away but He keeps bringing circumstances that give us a chance to grow.

The days are getting warmer. It's starting to feel more like dry season weather, but evenings are still quite cool and occasionally we get a nice rain that really cools things down.

The Pastor's are having a meeting today as usual on Monday's. But they asked Bishop Eric not to come today because of demonstrations in Kisumu again. We heard that they were calling for mass action today. It sounds like things got pretty rowdy out there. The police were using tear gas to break up the crowds. When they ran out of tear gas in Kodele, we heard they had to run for cover because they were being chased. We are SO ready to have this "election business" over with!! Maybe you should help us pray for patience and endurance. :) The election date was pushed off a bit... as far as we know now it is scheduled for Oct. 26.

For those of you who know Dishon from Rabuor... he has finally been accepted at the District hospital in Kisumu to do his Internship. We are so glad for him and we trust he will be a great Doctor some day! :) Recently Clarissa and I went to District (a government hospital) to see if they would allow us to help with a delivery. I've always had interest in nursing and midwifery and Clarissa is sharing my vision. But I had forgotten that the nurses are still on strike so the maternity ward was closed. So I guess we will try later. It didn't seem like it will be a problem for us to be there for a delivery and I'm excited about being able to present the new mother with baby clothes!

My thoughts have been going to Caroline, a dear lady from Lela, who has been battling cancer. At least that's what we're quite sure it is. She has tumors in her uterus and liver and has been suffering quite a bit of pain. Joe and Glenda invited me to go with them recently to visit her and my heart goes out to her so much. She often stands bent over because it's the only position that gives her some relief... even at night. How I wish I could ease her pain but hopefully our visit gave her some encouragement.

Last Sunday we were at Dienya for church while Brian's were at Lela for pulpit exchange. We had a good service and enjoyed connecting with those folks again since we hadn't been with them on a Sunday since before furlough. Our hearts were often with our home church that day since they were having a Deacon ordination. Phineas Kauffman and Bro.in law Mahlon Stoltzfus were in the lot. We relaxed knowing that no matter who was chosen they would do a great job but we would've loved to be there to show our support!! Mahlon was chosen. It's rather special to have close family members take Wayne's place as Deacon but at the same time we know some of the things that face those in ministry and we ache for them a bit too.

Last Tuesday there was a Special Offices seminar scheduled for all the missionary couples as well as all the members in our churches that hold offices such as S.S. teacher, superintendent, usher, song leader, etc. Unfortunately it needed to be postponed because of demonstrations in town that day but now the meeting is scheduled for this week.

Wednesday was our third clothing sale of the season... this time as Kajulu. Things went well for the most part. It's a lot of work but the people always seem to enjoy the day so much and that makes it feel worth it! On the way home we dropped a few people off along the way and we ended up taking Loice to her house. She wanted to show us where she lives in town. I don't know if I will ever get used to some of the housing conditions and things we see here... OHHH we are SO blessed!!

Earl and Edna Peachey are spending a week with the compound here in Kisumu. They were in Nakuru last week. We've been enjoying them very much! Earl has preached two inspiring messages for us so far and we look forward to more special activities yet before they leave. We hosted them at our house for Brunch on Sat. morning along with some other special visitors... Tony's, Joe Fisher and his special friend Janelle Stoltzfus. They arrived on Fri. afternoon and stayed til Sat. We spent time at the lake with them on Friday eve. and then sat on the lane a while to watch the volleyball game. Clarissa made and decorated a Birthday cake for Kaiden's first birthday. On Sat. morning we watched while Kaiden smashed his cake and enjoyed the sweetness! :) Unfortunately Wayne wasn't able to be around a lot of the time that our visitors were here. He needed to do a body transport on Fri. and preach at Elisha's funeral on Sat. Elisha was a member at Rabuor who was hit by a matatu while crossing the highway. Elisha had been sick as a child with some kind of sickness that affected his mind so he was never married.

Yesterday we traveled to Ugunja for a Baptism and Communion service. We rejoiced with the church that 2 new members were baptized; an excommunicated member was restored and a former member came back again after having been gone for a few years. We expected to get home quite late with all that was on the agenda but things were quite timely and we were home by 2:20 or so. James and Christina and Kaylita were here for lunch and they helped with food by bringing salad and dessert. We had only a short time to rest before we headed to Jake and Jan's house. They hosted a unit activity. It was uniquely set up for the couples with a small table in front of our chairs complete with a nice drink and peanuts. Earl preached a good message on "The Vine and Branches." After the service we enjoyed a yummy "haystack" meal and some of Becky H.'s wonderful chocolate and peanut butter pies!!

I look forward to Monday evenings because our girls do the cooking and give me a welcome break! We've enjoyed some wonderful chicken fajita soup and tortillas,etc. And this evening they made chilli paneer and naans. Oh it was yummy!! Blessings to all of you! Clara for the Yoders

Our new skinning rack. Check it out Tommy!

Jediah Gingerich

Lookout for this woman!!

Vanessa's party at school

Happy Birthday Vanessa!

Chulaimbo Bible Study

Big boys play too!

Interview with Mama Elizabeth

Blessing, Elizabeth Ajuma and Nellie

Mishack (his dad Paul Juma has cancer)

Mama Lillian and Moses

Protests..

What a load!! I think this trailer has 128 wheels!

Joe and Janell

What are you doing with my cake??

Kaiden Zook

The Yoders of Kisumu

Stacy and Rhoda

Clara, Caroline and Glenda

Elisha's Burial. Amata and Gerold

Rabuor choir

Erecting the new crosswalk in Nyamasaria

Canaan bound??

Ugunja Baptism Charles and Hellen

Receiving Philista back into the church!

Rejoicing!

Sunday evening at Jakes

Demonstrations today

"If we fully comprehended the brevity of life, our greatest desire would be to please God and serve one another."

"Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters in life."

"So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts to wisdom." Ps. 90:12

We've been reminded of the brevity of life again lately. On Wednesday Wayne and I and Clarissa were at Rabuor for the annual clothing sale. An older member, Elisha, was there that day and I took more notice of him than usual for some reason. I was surprised that he knew as much English as he did. And I remember that he didn't buy anything but he took a pair of free trousers that had a tear in them. I was happy for him that he found something for free that would serve him well. I also noticed that he laid on one of the benches for a while... maybe he was tired? The next day we heard that Elisha went home after the sale but then left again and as he was crossing the highway he was struck by a speeding matatu. He was still alive and was taken to a number of different hospitals, given an Xray at one, but was refused admittance because of the ongoing nurses' strike. He was finally taken to a private hospital but could not be immediately admitted because they lacked the 50.00 (approximately) admittance fee. They put him in a bed and a young man that was with him said he would go home to find the money needed for admittance. The next morning when someone came in to check on him, they found him dead. Poor soul!! But if he was ready to go, then he is much better off now!! His mind wasn't clear anymore. Oh how I hope that this nurses strike will soon be finished!! It's awful to think about all the people who die because there is no one willing to care for them!!

There is also another member from Rabuor who is lying in the mortuary right now. His name is Walter and he has had a lot of health issues in the last year or so. Now there is a BIG bill for the church or family to pay and they don't know where the money will come from. There was a significant amount of money that had been raised for his hospital bill that never made it for the bill but was swiped by a unscrupulous relative instead. Oh God, please give wisdom to know when and where to help!!

Last week there was another reminder of how suddenly life can be taken from us! Wayne and I and Brian and Mary Jane were at Dienya for Bible Study at Maria's house. We had a very nice time and dear mama Maria was so thrilled to have all of us there that she almost danced! :) On the way home as we were coming through Kisumu on Industrial street we came up to an accident that had just happened. A small box truck hit a piki. The driver, a young man, was lying sprawled out on the road, face up, with blood running down his face. He was dead by all appearances. So quickly his life was gone!! Oh I hope he was ready to go! Jake and Janice also came up on an accident in the last week or so where 4 members of the same family were killed in a piki accident. They saw some very gruesome things!

Yesterday Wayne was at the burial of Bishop Eric's grandson, a sweet 3 year old boy, who was murdered. He appears to have been strangled, and then his body was thrown into a deep well. His body wasn't discovered until a day after he disappeared. The boy's aunt, is the one who is suspected of committing the crime. She LOVED that boy, or so everyone thought. She took care of him so often that people would have thought she was his mother. I just wonder what caused her to commit such a crime!! I was praying for Wayne, I'm sure it wasn't easy to preach at a funeral like that!! And so... life is fragile! God help us to be ready when our time comes to go!

Last Saturday our family headed to Nakuru to be there for a special commissioning service at the Free Area church on Sunday. We spent time with Tony's Sat. eve. and then our girls stayed at their house overnight while Wayne, Bradlyn, and I stayed at the apartment by the school. That was special for me because that's the house that Mahlon and Ruth lived in 17 years ago. We have lots of good memories of our visit to their house in 2000! The service at Free Area the next day was a LONG one! It started at 9 am and was finally finished sometime after 5pm. There was a break over lunch time. But in spite of our tired "seats" we were VERY blessed and encouraged by our time there! How exciting to think that the church has been blessed with two new leaders!! Sammy Meshack was chosen by lot to be the new Pastor, and Enos Kalos was chosen to be the Deacon. I was amazed by the beautiful 4 part singing at that church! Moses does a tremendous job leading the singing. The message bearers were Wayne, Samuel Njogu from Engashura, and Lorne Keupfer. We were richly fed and inspired! Bishop Freeman Beiler was in charge of the Ordination. The cooks did a good job of serving LOTS of people at lunch time! I believe almost all of the Nakuru AMA, CAM, and Open Hands staff were there. For those of you who know John Newton, he was quite happy that day and did a good job of ushering, organizing, and making announcements. :)

Sunday evening we were invited to Johnny and Sue Ann's house, along with Tony's, and Lorne Keupfers. Sue Ann served us some wonderful food!! We really enjoyed being there! The next day we were invited to Tony's for breakfast... some more good food!! Monday was family day so it was really nice to be able to travel home and not worry about our children missing a day of school. Joe and Glenda had a bad experience that day as they were enjoying family time at Impala Park. The monkeys were very much enjoying some of their leftover food and one of the monkey's was too close for comfort for Tiffany so she kicked at it, and ended up being bitten close to her ankle! The Impala staff didn't seem too concerned but just said, "she'll be ok, just take her to the hospital." Hmmm... But when Dr. Sokwala heard about it she ordered them to come to her office immediately. Tiffany was given antibiotics for infection and began a series of rabies vaccines. Tiffany is being so brave and hasn't even cried when they give her shots! So I guess the moral of the story is... be careful when feeding monkeys!

On Tuesday Joe's family and Wayne, Clarissa, and I went to Mama Zilpa's house. Every year she invites the Pastor's families to come celebrate the year she was healed from her sickness and thank God for giving her another year of life. We helped a bit with food preparation and very much enjoyed her tasty cooking! We sang some songs and Wayne encouraged her with a Scripture reading.

We were blessed with a nice, fairly cool day, for the joint unit meeting here in Kisumu on Friday. It even rained some, but not enough to cause problems. Joe and Glenda were the hosts and did a good job of having their place nicely cleaned up and inviting for all of us. A lot of work and food preparation goes into days like that but we sure enjoy the fellowship! It's great to have the opportunity to be with the Nakuru folks once in a while too! In the evening we spent some time with Stacy and her visitors, Troy and Raquel Witmer. Raquel's parents are Tim Millers from Belize. It was interesting to make those Belize connections and share some stories from there! Saturday eve. we were together again enjoying a pizza supper at our house. Rhoda Wengerd was here as well.

This morning Wayne and I, Shonda and Bradlyn attended church at Ahero. Clarissa and Vanessa attended at Lela to help care for Tiffany and Elliot. They enjoy helping Glenda with babysitting! The message was preached before Sunday school, at Ahero so that we would have time to go to Rabuor for a members meeting. The main purpose of the meeting was to introduce the idea of Bishop ordination to the church. We have been blessed by how brothers, Thomas and William have been working together and carrying on the work at Rabuor. Several weeks ago Wayne met with the pastors and they agreed to begin pursuing ordaining a national Bishop for the Rabuor congregation. Ballots were passed out and are to be handed back in 2 weeks. He is wanting to hear the voice of the church in the matter. How exciting it would be to have another National Bishop! It would also free Wayne from one of the 7 churches he is responsible for. Wayne does not believe it is the perfect plan of God for one man to be responsible for so many churches, but neither do we want to rush things. He also introduced a long range goal of adding a Pastor to the team there. Please join us in prayer that this work could continue according to the will of God and that He would continue to raise godly leaders to carry on the work of His Kingdom in Kenya.

Thanks to all of you for your interest in our lives and for your prayers!! Wayne and Clara Yoder