"Without valleys, you can't appreciate mountain tops."
"Mountain tops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys." Billy Graham
"Though the mountains be shaken and the hill be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed, says the Lord who has compassion on you." Isa. 54:10
Our family had the privilege of taking a week of vacation while there is no school due to CBYC (Christian Believer's Youth Conference) being in session. We visited Amboseli Park which is close to Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest free-standing mountain in the world. What a magnificent mountain!! I couldn't believe that we were actually seeing snow!! :) We got up early mornings so that we could get a good view of the mountain. Most times during the day the mountain is covered by clouds. Our vacation time was definitely a time of highs and lows. We had some mountain top experiences but also some valleys to go through. I kept thinking of the phrase in the song that says, "the God of the good times is still God in the bad times." Opake Yesu!!
On the 15th of Nov. we traveled to Nairobi to pick up some very special visitors at the airport! Excitement was high! Chet and Gina Stoltzfus and their 6 children came to spend several weeks with us. Gina is Wayne's sister. There's nothing as special as having family come visit!! There's SO much that could be said about their visit, but I think I will let the pictures tell you most of the stories. :) We enjoyed their visit immensely and will always treasure the memories! Both Sundays that they were here we had Communion services... first at Lela, where there was also Baptism for Moses and Irene, a fine couple who recently had their marriage legalised. They have been a blessing to the church at Lela! The second Sunday we went to Kasongo for a Communion service. They tried to keep the service a bit short so that we could go to Nyakoko from there. There was a handover of Bishop responsibility there from Joseph to Wayne. It didn't take a lot of time and before long we were on our way home to enjoy another lunch of ricado chicken, rice and beans. Chets saw some of the interior of Kenya that day. They did real well with all the bumps and bad roads... I'm sure it made them thankful for smooth roads at home!
We tried to give Chets as many African experiences as we could in the short time they were here. One unforgettable experience was the day we left the Masai Mara. By the way, we didn't see the big 5 at the Mara... the leopard eluded us, but we were privileged to see the cheetah with 6 cute little ones. So amazing!! Also saw some of the cutest little lion cubs!! They're so playful it's hard to believe they will grow to be so vicious! On our way back to Kisumu we visited our Masai friend, David's home. He lives just across the river from the Mara but we had to drive a long way around to get there. It was quite an adventure getting to his house... We drove through mud and places where I don't believe a vehicle has ever been. We got stuck once with the van, but Masai guys pushed us out. They are a very friendly group of people and it seemed they felt very privileged to have us come visit them. There were several places where they had to pull out fence posts so the van could get through. At long last we reached the metal church building. Some of the ladies were there to welcome us by clapping, singing, and dancing. Then they grabbed our hands and took us into the building with them, singing and dancing as they went. :) Inside we had introductions and Wayne shared some encouragement with them. Then our children and Chet's passed out Bible story books for the Masai children. They were delighted. We also had Masai Bibles to sell (at a very affordable price, thanks to Mount Zion Literature Ministries and their supporters) there that day, but we didn't have enough. There were quite a number of requests for more, so Wayne plans to make sure they get more soon. Before we left they asked Wayne and I, and Chet and Gina to stand up front. Then the ladies came and presented us with Masai blankets for the men, and beautiful leso's for Gina and I. We were very happy for that and will treasure it! After leaving the church we drove a bit further to David's home. We were in elephant territory obviously because we saw a pile of evidence! David's family lives in a small round mud house with a thatched roof. But David took us to a lovely spot beside the river to eat lunch. They served us rice and goat meat. Yes they killed a goat for us!! Bless them for their hospitality!! We were treated royally and will remember that day for a long time!!
Another day we went to Beldine's school in the Lela area to pass out Bible story books to the children. Wayne also shared a story with them, and we did some singing. We also enjoyed a special Kenyan meal at Tobias and Elizabeth Ajuma's house one day. The food was great!! While we waited for the ladies to finish making chapatis, etc. Tobias took us on a walk down to the river, where they take their cows every day to drink. Our national friends were very happy to see Chets and they always love when we bring our visitors to their homes.
Thanksgiving Day was another highlight while Chets were here. They brought the unit here some wonderful good ham that was served that day. Oh it tasted just like home! :) There were also mashed potatoes, dressing, salad, rolls, and strawberry yum yum for dessert. The youth girls did a great job decorating as usual. It was a lovely day and we all enjoyed some games in the afternoon such as kick ball, apple bobbing, yard blitz, and more... I really enjoyed the beautiful singing that day as well. It was really special to have our visitors here as well as Paul and Darlene Overholt who were here visiting Steves.
As mentioned, after Chets left our family spent some time at Amboseli bush camp which is about a 3-4 hr. drive from Nairobi. It's a beautiful little camp situated right in front of Mt Kilimanjaro. They have nice tents to sleep in and a nice outdoor kitchen where we did our own cooking. We've been wanting to go there and decided that since there was no school last week this would be the time to go. It was definitely a mountain top experience for us! We were able to watch giraffes and a number of other animals from our outdoor living room area. We didn't see elephants from our lodge but they were very close by! As we were driving in, there was an elephant quite close to the road that wasn't too happy with us and started flapping it's ears and coming after us. We didn't stick around there long!! Amboseli has MANY elephants. We drove through the park one day and I think we probably saw around 200. After leaving the park we had a flat tire. I was thankful we weren't out in the middle of nowhere with wild animals all around! After some trials the flat was fixed but then of all things, when he tried to start the car the battery was dead! A number of vehicles stopped to see what we need but nobody had jumper cables. Thankfully our car has two batteries because of the winch, so Wayne switched the two batteries around and then we were good to go. What a relief! On our way back to Nairobi we got into a terrible traffic jam and lost a good bit of time. We saw some HORRENDOUS accidents along the way. We were so thankful for God's protection! We had very much of a valley experience on Fri. eve. in Naivasha. We found what we thought was a nice place on Airbnb... but were quite disappointed to say the least!! The views were beautiful but it was a very undesirable place to be, and not clean. I guess we live and learn. And it was so cold and damp that eve. One highlight though was going on a walk after supper and seeing a giraffe in the field below our house. The next day we headed for Nakuru. Our adventures and trials weren't over yet! Soon after leaving Naivasha we found ourselves in a very long traffic jam. The line wasn't moving at all. Eventually we saw that the smaller vehicles were going down over the bank to another small road beside the Nairobi road. So we followed them for a long ways. And still the trucks on the main road were lined up for miles and miles. The road we were on was AWFUL with potholes and mud! Eventually we came to a stop because so many cars ahead of us needed to go through a frightful mud hole and cross a railroad track. It was an unbelievable sight with cars stuck left and right. Some vehicles were hung up crossing the railroad track. It could've looked like a scene in a movie. It was CRAZY! I told Wayne Kenya is too exciting for me!! Take me home where I belong! :) Thankfully we were driving our 4 wheel drive Fortuner so we didn't have trouble getting through all the mud holes. When we eventually came back to the main road where the traffic was moving slowly again, we still had one more obstacle. The ditch beside the road was deep and steep and I was afraid our vehicle would tip. But Wayne found a spot where he thought he could do it so we shot up on the road where a truck driver waved us in front of him, and WHEW we made it! I think the long line of trucks was about 30 km. long!! Were we ever glad to reach Nakuru alive and well!! Johnny and Sue Ann weren't at home but they welcomed us to stay at their house. It was great to finally be able to relax and get some laundry done. We barely had clean, dry clothes to wear anymore! In the afternoon we went to the Lamp and Light building to see the CBYC students. It was great to see everyone! I felt sorry for the Kisumu folks because they were SO cold! We're not used to the cold and damp weather but now since we're home it's been really cool and rainy here too!! On Sat. eve. we were invited to Freeman Byler's house for supper. We really enjoyed that! The next morning Wayne preached at Free Area church. The CBYC students were divided up in 3 groups. They attended Free Area, Engashura, and Mbaruk. We really enjoyed the service. It was great to see Mark and Shirley Peachey there as well. They were here visiting his brother Jason and Nancy. We went back to CBYC for lunch and then headed back to good ole Kisumu. Thankfully our drive home was uneventful and it was SO wonderful to be home!
Today we ladies were together to clean the house next door to us where Dean and Barbara Jean plan to stay, at least until Josephs leave. We're really glad they agreed to come help us out. We're sad to think of Josephs leaving though!! They have been a huge blessing here with all their years of experience. Continue to pray for us in all our mountain and valley experiences! We trust God to lead us a day at a time. Our hearts go out to our national friends who are suffering from flooding. Helen, from Rabuor, is sad because her house fell in. We try to encourage and help the best we know how. Please don't forget to pray for us!! God bless, Waynes
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| Lela sisters cooking for Moses and Irene's marriage legalization |
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| Pastor Joshua with Moses and Irene (Center) |
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| They came! |
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| Overlooking the beautiful Rift Valley on the way home from Nairobi |
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| Visit at Johnny's in Nakuru. Thanks for the wonderful breakfast! |
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| Gina and one of Judith's friends, Mama Salaomi |
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| A stop with Chet's at Tony's old house. Jason and Nancy Peachey (left) live there now |
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| Children's class on Communion morning at Lela |
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| Ryan and Derrick worked at Lela one morning with Pastor Allen and then went to Ahero for lunch |
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| The girls did some painting in our house (with Chandler's counsel!) |
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| Thank you for all the grass you mowed! |
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| The boys doing some maintenance on our solar water heaters |
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| Beldine with her school students |
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| Cheetah before the storm |
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| Mara sunset |
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| David on his cycle |
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| Our welcoming party at the church |
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| Masai mama paying for her Bible |
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| Lunch at David's |
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| Cousins roasting marshmallows in our carport |
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| Communion at Kasongo |
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| Paul Overholt sharing encouragement with us at Steve's one Sunday eve. |
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| Joseph, Becky, and Trevor |
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| The youth enjoying each other |
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| Old friends! Paul and Darlene and James and Christina |
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| Lunch at Tobias Ajuma's house |
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| Lake Victoria sunset |
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| Kenya Christian Academy |
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| wrapping Steve's sprained ankle on Thanksgiving day |
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| Mama Heleda Ngere's funeral at Ombeyi |
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| Rain in Nairobi! |
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| Amboseli Park |
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| Mount Kilimanjaro... the tallest free-standing mountain in the world |
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| Our view from the 12th story Airbnb apartment where we stayed |
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| The Yoders in elephant country |
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| CBYC |
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| Mud everywhere!! |
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| Mark and Jason Peachey at Free Area |
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| CBYC students singing |
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| Cooks at CBYC |
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| Joseph treated the Pastor's to lunch at Java House on his last Pastor's meeting |
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| Making gingerbread houses |
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| Looks like snow in Kisumu!! |
