"God didn't add another day to your life because you needed it, He added it because someone out there needs you."
"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant." Robert Louis Stevenson
"Only a life lived for others is a life worth living." Albert Einstein
Mission life is a great place to practice selfless living. It's good for us to remember that what we have, and call ours, is not really our own. Our opinions and ideas are often subject to unit approval. Our wants and desires may or may not come to pass. FLEXIBLE is a great word! :) I wish I could say we're doing great with "selflessness" but I'm afraid we're still very much a "work in progress". Kenya has taught us many things, and I hope we never forget the lessons learned.
Wayne and I, and Clarissa spent some time with John and Mary Oyola (from Ombeyi) recently. Mary finally finished paying for her sewing machine and was so happy when we delivered it to her house for her! I hope it will be a huge blessing to her and to the rest of her household. We were treated to cold sodas! After leaving their house we went to the land office in Ahero where Wayne has spent many hours working on land issues. There is progress being made, slowly but surely!
The next day we attended Bible study at Ahero church. We went expecting that Richard, the one who was extremely disgruntled over the suitcase issue at clothing sale, would need to be discussed and excommunicated the following Sunday. He had been put on proving but was still speaking very disrespectfully to the Pastors and had told them they don't need to come back to see him. Well, to our surprise Richard was at Bible study that day and seemed humble and kind. We were happy to find out that the Sunday before he had repented of his sin and confessed his wrong! Praise the Lord! What a relief! While Wayne and I were at Ahero, Clarissa went to Chulaimbo with Brian and Rosie to help them with their clothing sale.
On Thurs. eve. Brian and Rosie treated the whole compound to some wonderful venison hot dogs that they brought along from America. Wow! They were seasoned just right, and we also had salads, and all kinds of other yummy things to eat that eve.
Last Sunday we attended Chulaimbo for the second Sunday in a row. The week before votes were taken to see if the church could give support ordaining Bro. Willice who was commissioned to be Deacon a year ago. There was 100% support!! We were SO happy about that and the church was too! Last Sunday was the ordination. Steve and Martha Esh were there as well and after the ordination Wayne handed over Bishop responsibility to Steve. Steve now has responsibility for all of the churches in the West. It reduces Wayne's load quite a bit, since now there are five churches left in his charge, instead of eight. We are very grateful to Steve for his willingness to do this. After the service that day we were treated to chapatis and green grams for lunch. Wayne and I treated the church to sodas since this was the end of our direct responsibility there. We will miss the brothers and sisters at Chulaimbo!
Our youth worshipped at Lela last Sunday while we were at Chulaimbo. They were at Rusinga Island overnight with the youth from Nakuru. They had been invited to join them on Saturday. Luke Kurtz's family was with them as well. It was in honor of Jeremy Fisher (CAM) and Matthias Byler who will be returning home soon. The whole group came to the compound for lunch at Allen's house after church. Our youth really enjoyed their time with the Nakuru folks. We love to see them get along so well!
On Monday after Pastor's meeting, the Pastors and some of the ladies were together to butcher the remaining chickens who survived New Castles disease. Out of 200 chickens, only 23 or so were left to butcher! :( We have new chicks again and we hope for better success next time.
Wayne took Brian and Allen to the Immigrations office last Wed. hoping that they can apply for their aliens cards. They were told that they're not processing those right now. I guess it's another reminder that we live in Kenya... you never know what to expect. We are very thankful that they have their work permits in hand now!
This past week Joseph and Wayne left for Kericho on Wed. for the CBF executive meeting. Since they needed to stay overnight, we invited Becky here for supper and the evening. Allen and Rhoda came too and we spent our time playing games and reading. The next morning the rest of the Pastors from here joined the group in Kericho for a joint Pastors meeting with all the national Pastors from Kisumu and Nakuru. There was 100% attendance of all the national and mission Pastors! We really appreciate the leaders and the way they're putting their hearts into the work!
While the Pastors were all gone we ladies had a Birthday party for Rosie, planned by Martha. It was a beautiful day and the food was amazing!! We ended up sitting together just visiting until almost lunch time.
On Friday eve. we enjoyed hosting Brian Wagler and Jeremy Fisher at our house. They were doing CAM work in the area. After supper the compound had a special surprise for Joseph and Becky on the lane. It was discovered a while back that when Josephs came to Kenya over 11 years ago, they hadn't had a welcome party for them. So Allens and the youth girls got their heads together and planned a grand surprise. There was homemade ice cream with all kinds of toppings, a beautiful cake decorated by Miss Rhoda, and 2 kinds of brownies, chips, etc. Clarissa had a nice welcome message written on a chalkboard, and there were lots of balloons! :) They were definitely surprised!! Unfortunately in two months we'll need to have a farewell for them. We were VERY HAPPY the other day to get the news that Dean and Barbara Jean Miller's family plans to come help out for a few months this winter! Opake Yesu!! We hope God blesses them real good for their willingness to do this! We are still praying for someone to come and fill the very important role that Joseph's filled. Joseph was serving as Bishop/Mentor for the Nyakoko and Oroba pastors and churches. If you or someone you know is interested in filling this need please contact Mark Webb.
Yesterday Wayne went to a big Anniversary celebration of Jan's Academy School. The neighbors who live in the house that connects with ours are the ones in charge of this school. There was a large group of Wazungu (white folks) from Norway here for the occasion as well. After Wayne left there he went to the funeral of Bishop Thomas Amata's step mother. Joseph and Allen went with Wayne. Sadly, the step mother committed suicide by hanging. We don't know what the motive was that led her to this choice.
Today we attended church at Oroba. We picked up Tobias and Elizabeth Ajuma in Ahero and took them with us. Miwani Rd. was muddy! This was the day that Oroba has been looking forward to! Paul Oda, who was commissioned there a year ago, had full support to be ordained as Pastor. There were a lot of people there! The whole Nyakoko church was there as well as Pastors from Ahero, Kajulu, Kasongo, and Ombeyi. Joshua Ochieng had the first message and Wayne had the second. We were treated to ugali, chicken, and sukuma for lunch afterward.
We rejoice to see the churches prospering. Please don't stop praying now!! Wayne and Clara
