Provisions

So much has happened since our last post, it’s hard to know where to start.  We finished our last few weeks at YWAM with some excellent teachings, learning about the Father heart of God; His plan and purpose for each of us; the cost of choosing to follow Jesus; and making Him known to others through service and love.   When we signed up to train with YWAM, we had no idea that we would form such close relationships in a short period of time.   It was difficult to do yet another round of good-byes, so soon after having said good-bye to all of our family and friends in the States.  

Our travel to Kitale was relatively uneventful.  We had planned to do it all in one day, but God rearranged our plans for us, knowing that traveling over two days would be much easier.  Lindy, our “watchdog” was perfectly content to sit in laps the whole way, tongue-bathing the face of whoever she was sitting on.  The kids were great, no bickering or complaining, and we only had to stop about every 3 hours for potty breaks.  (I think the fear of the public gas station potties helped them hold it longer...they probably would have gone every 6 hours had it not been for the bumpy roads jiggling our bladders around!)

We have been continued to be amazed and blessed by God’s providential care and provision as we get settled in Kitale.  Two weeks before we arrived, we had no idea where we would be living in Kitale or even how to look.  God blessed us with some friends here, Sean and Meredith, who knew a missionary family in Kitale that had just left on a 6 month furlough to the States and were looking for a renter.  Go figure!  They offered us a significant deal on rent, which was right along with our budget, so we agreed to rent it sight unseen.  When we arrived, we were shocked to find a beautiful 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home on a private full acre compound complete with gardener, house help (and washing machine!), and night security guard!  WOW!  Oh, did I mention the porch swing and trampoline in the back yard?!  Honestly, it is a little strange living here after living so simply in Arusha.   We feel like we need to apologize when people see where we live now.   While we are greatly enjoying the blessing of this house, we will be looking for something more suited to simple living when we relocate in six months.

We spent this week unpacking, doing mounds of laundry (yay, washing machine!) that had collected over our last few weeks in Arusha with no running water, and running errands in town (getting a PO Box, bank account, internet, phones, etc.).  We are getting the feel of the town already, and becoming pros at getting around from place to place.  Kitale is much nicer than Arusha.  It has a small town feel, where everyone seems to know everyone else.  There are actually public trashcans along the sidewalks, so the town is pretty much litter-free.  You don’t fear for your life crossing the street, and it’s easy to navigate the smaller downtown area (approx 3 blocks by 5 blocks).

Meredith and Sean have been great in introducing us to the vegetable lady, the meat lady, the taxi guys, the furniture guy, the fresh-cut flower lady, and even the nail lady, who will come over to my house in January to give me my annual pink and green “Jenna Nails”, for only $5!!  Most of the furniture you can buy in town is cheaply made and really tacky (think Las Vegas lounge style), so we have hired a “fundi” who will hand-make all our furniture.  The prices are amazing and we’ve seen his impressive workmanship.  Jason is designing all our furniture and Dickson will make every piece to our sizes and specs.  Our first order of 3 pieces should be done in about 2 weeks.  

We had nearly forgotten Christmas is coming up, with all the busyness of moving.  Plus, we have none of the usual external cues.  The weather is warm and sunny, and the stores are not bombarding us with Christmas retail.  We bought a little wire Christmas tree and have enjoyed making ornaments out of origami and blown-out egg shells.  

We visited the Children’s Home one afternoon this week, to get oriented a little bit and meet the kids.  There is so much to be done there...it feels a little overwhelming.  OK, a lot overwhelming.  But we know absolutely that this is where we are supposed to be, and that brings peace.  We will spend half days there every day next week, working on projects alongside the kids to get to know them better.  The first project is packing all the bulk food that has been purchased to store in the warehouse.  The second project will probably be repairing school desks that are falling apart.  

Today we spent the day with a missionary team from Mbale, Uganda, who have been providing some of the financial administration for the children’s home.  They come down once a month to take care of budgeting, paying bills, paying staff salaries, etc.  They showed us the process so that eventually we can take over this role.  It was good to finally meet them, and to get a better understanding of some of our responsibilities.   

As usual, God has provided everything we have needed (and many luxuries we don’t), at just the right time.  His faithful love endures forever.  

Gift Exchange

God Provides.  Early last week, I had a feeling this was going to be my personal theme for the week.  But even as I wrote these words in my journal, I had no idea how He was going to reveal Himself in this way just a few days later.

Jason’s 40th birthday was last Saturday, November 6.  Before we left the United States, we had made the decision to take some money out of savings so we could have a special safari day while Myrtlemay was still in Africa with us.  As a surprise to Jason, I had scheduled a safari to Tarangire National Park for the day of his birthday.  On the Wednesday prior to his birthday, I sent an email to the safari company to confirm our reservation. Even though I had already pre-paid  and had exchanged several emails discussing the date and details, I got an email back the following day indicating we’d had a miscommunication and we were not, in fact, booked to go on the safari.  I was extremely upset because I really wanted Jason’s 40th to be very special.  But as I cried, I also felt a pang of guilt, because I was crying over losing an expensive day of frivolous luxury, when many of our classmates have not been able to pay their school fees.  

As I was struggling with this, our friend Annie approached and asked what was wrong.  Annie was planning to go with us on the safari, so I shared my disappointing news.  Much to my surprise, she got a huge grin on her face when I told her the safari plans had fallen through!  She went on to explain that a few weeks earlier, she had felt God was asking her to sacrifice her safari day in order to help a fellow student with school fees.  Annie had been fighting it because she really wanted to go with us on the safari.  She had been praying about it, but reluctantly.  Then, a fellow student approached her and specifically asked her to help pay for school fees.  Faithfully, Annie laid her safari down before God, and asked God for a clear sign that she was not supposed to go.  My news about the safari was indeed the answer from God that Annie had asked for.  She was suddenly joyful about making that sacrifice because God had been so clear in His response.  

I was glad Annie had gotten her confirmation; however I was still disappointed that my plans were falling through.  I was then encouraged by Naomi, another wise and faithful friend.  Naomi believed that God had something better in mind for Jason’s birthday, so she encouraged my to stop crying and start praying for creative ideas.  We prayed together, and then I started my research on outings in the Arusha area.  

I soon found out about Arusha National Park, where you can do your own drive-through safari for much less cost than Tarangire.  I talked to our base leader, John, about the possibility of getting a YWAM vehicle and a driver to take us to ANP on Saturday.  On Friday night, I found out that John had found us a van and a driver for early the next morning!  

I figured out all the costs involved and realized we could use the money we had designated for the Tarangire safari to spend the day at ANP.  In addition, we could bless Annie and two other friends by paying their way to go with us....and still have quite a bit of money left over to help with school fees!  I knew then that God was revealing Himself to us (again!) as our Provider, and that Saturday was going to be wonderful...

And oh, how it was!  In addition to a driving safari, we took a walking safari with a  personal guide (who carried a rifle...just in case), during which we got caught in our first Tanzanian torrential downpour.  It was great fun huddling up under a gargantuan tree eating shortbread cookies, waiting for the rain to pass.  After getting drenched under the tree, we decided the rain wasn’t going to pass anytime soon, so we went back to the vehicle and headed to a restaurant for a yummy lunch.  While we were eating, the sun came back out to top off our afternoon with views of gorgeous scenery and many of God’s beautiful creatures.    We had an incredible day and sang worship songs all the way home!  Glory be to God!

“God loves the person who gives cheerfully (like Annie!).  God will generously provide all you need.  Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” 2 Corinthians 9:7-8

          

Unanswerable Questions

The last two weeks of classes have been tougher than trying to masticate and choke down the hunks of gristly, fatty beef served every Tuesday and Friday for lunch in the pilau.  We’ve experienced the kind of tough that makes us question our core beliefs and grieve our now wavering confidence in absolute truth.  

I’m still processing the difficult ideas we’ve discussed in class, and am not sure how I’m going to put my many thoughts into words, so please bear with me as I attempt to share.  

The week before last we discussed the idea of “Worldview”.  We learned that people from the West tend to view the world from a primarily physical perspective.  Thus, we Westerners place much emphasis on science and the material world.  For example, when we get sick, we tend to look to medical science for answers, and often engage in prayer over our health as a “last resort” or only for really serious conditions.  

In contrast, people from the East tend to view the world from a primarily spiritual perspective.  So when our African friends get sick, even with a minor cold, it is typically viewed as a “spiritual attack” on the body and prayer may be the only sought after solution.  

This can be very frustrating for both Mzungus and Africans.  A Mzungu might find it exasperating that her African  brothers and sisters want to offer lengthy and loud prayers over her, when all she really wants to do is crawl home to a quiet place, and down some Nyquil.   Likewise, when the well-meaning Mzungu offers cold medicine to the ill African, it can be discouraging because what the African really wants is a powerfully spoken and highly emotional prayer.  

Learning about these extremes (viewing the world from a physical perspective versus a spiritual perspective) has shed some light on the nature of our experiences thus far in Africa.  A primary example is that since we’ve been here, we’ve heard much talk about witch doctors, magic, and demons.  These are things you just don’t hear about in the United States.  As Westerners, our first thought is to chalk it all up to over-active imaginations that have been nurtured in myths and superstitions.  But anyone familiar with the Bible has to acknowledge that the Bible also talks about sorcerers, magicians, and demons.  This leads to the question: Do they really exist?  I personally do not think I’ve ever witnessed any of these in my lifetime, other than the guy doing card tricks at a birthday party, and I certainly wouldn’t suggest that he has supernatural powers.  But I also say I believe the Bible; and if those things happened way back then, why couldn’t they happen now?  The Bible does say, after all, that God is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  So if we go on to assume that those types of supernatural occurrences do still exist today, I am led to wonder why I haven’t witnessed any of this.  Am I hard-hearted to the spiritual world?  Am I not “spiritual enough”?  Or is it all just a fantastic story that has managed to survive and thrive for over 2000 years??  Again, please bear with me, I’m just sharing the various lines of reasoning my brain has wrestled with over the last 2 weeks.    

Through the course of many intense discussions, reading, and prayer, I have come to the conclusion that a Biblical Worldview involves a melding of the physical and spiritual.  Extremes on either end of the continuum result in missing the fullness of life that God intended for us.  When we look to Jesus as a role model, we see that He was concerned about both the physical and spiritual aspects of people’s lives.   Not only did Jesus forgive people’s sins (hence, healing their spiritual bodies), He also healed their physical bodies of many kinds of illness and handicaps.  In fact, when He sends out His disciples in Luke 10:8-9, he instructs them to first heal the people, then teach about the Kingdom of God.  

And as if wrestling with some of those ideas wasn’t difficult enough, last week we went on to learn about the Holy Spirit.  I was very excited going into the week, because I love learning about how the Holy Spirit can develop in us the “fruit of the Spirit”.  In other words, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can learn to have love, joy, peace, patience, goodness, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control in any circumstance--especially those circumstances where those characteristics are not warranted, or even possible with human strength.  For example, I find it a great testimony to the power of the Holy Spirit that Paul could show love to the soldiers in the palace guard when he was imprisoned in Rome, and have joy over his opportunity to share God’s love with them (Phil. 1:12-14).  

But my excitement over learning more about the Holy Spirit became quickly clouded when our Kenyan speaker began talking about the miraculous physical healings that can occur through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Yes, the Bible speaks of many people being physically healed through the Holy Spirit, but again, I’ve never witnessed this personally.  In fact, I spent a good portion of the week crying because I just still can’t understand why God didn’t miraculously heal our friend, Jenna, who died at age 5 of cancer in January of 2009.  So the same questions of the previous week returned but with a slightly different angle:  Do miraculous healings still occur today?  If so, why didn’t our prayers heal Jenna?  Am I not “spiritual enough”?  Or is it all just a fantastic story?  

Honestly, I went through a period of wondering what I am doing here, and really wanting to catch the next plane out to my comfortable home and my comfortable world view in Mountlake Terrace, Washington.  But no matter how far out of my comfort zone I am stretched, I just can’t get past the fact that God has revealed Himself to me, time and time again, especially during this journey of coming to Africa.  Even though I still don’t have answers to many of my questions, I am choosing to rest on what I do know:

I know God exists.  I know He created me.  I know He loves me.  I know He is trustworthy.  And because of those facts, I persevere.  And for the rest, I take comfort in the following scriptures:

I Cor. 13:12 - “Now we see things imperfectly as in a poor mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.  All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God knows me now.”

Proverbs 3:5-6 - “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”

Isaiah 55:8 - “My thoughts are completely different from yours,” says the Lord.  “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.”

Romans 11:33-36 - “Oh, what a wonderful God we have!  How great are His riches and wisdom and knowledge!  How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His methods!  For who can know what the Lord is thinking?  Who knows enough to be His counselor? And who could ever give Him so much that He would have to pay it back?  For everything comes from Him; everything exists by His power and is intended for His glory.  To Him be the glory evermore. Amen.”

Romans 8:26-28 - “And the Holy Spirit helps us in our distress.  For we don’t even know what we should pray for, nor how we should pray.  But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.  And the Father who knows all hearts knows that the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.  And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them.”

Comments and additional scriptures would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks for reading and sharing. 

Another Goodbye

Last night we received an email from Jason’s parents which began:

Dear Jason and Amy,

This song was on my heart when I woke this morning after being at the hospital with Grandpa Mel last night:

Sing the wondrous love of Jesus,

Sing His mercy and His grace!

In the mansions bright and blessed,

He’s prepared for me, a place.

When we all get to heaven,

What a day of rejoicing that will be!

When we all see Jesus

We’ll sing and shout the victory!

In the early hours this morning, Grandpa Mel passed from this world, that was not his home, into his forever home, in heaven, with his Lord, who he longed more and more to see.

This email came to us just three weeks after receiving a similar email letting us know that Jason’s other Grandpa, Dick Owen, had passed away.  The YWAM staff have been very supportive in giving us the day off from our responsibilities today so we could spend time with the children, as a family.  Even still, it’s difficult to be away from the rest of our family, unable to offer help or even a hug. Please pray especially for Marmie and Ken, Jason’s parents, who have had to say too many goodbyes in the past 6 weeks: first to us as we moved to Africa, and then to each of their fathers.  What makes it bearable is knowing that each of these goodbyes is only temporary.  We know there will be a joyous reunion here in Africa when Ken and Marmie come to visit; but there will be an even bigger party with all of us one day in heaven.  We thank God for the relationships that both Grandpa Mel and Grandpa Dick had with Him, and we believe the promise that Jesus made to all believers in John 14:1-2, “Don’t be troubled.  You trust God, now trust me.  There are many rooms in my Father’s home, and I am going to prepare a place for you.”  Our prayer is that each of you will choose to accept the invitation Jesus has offered so that one day we can all celebrate together. 

“In everything, give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  I Thessalonians 5:18

Birthday Blessings

Yesterday was Ellie’s 11th birthday.  For those of you who don’t know Ellie, it will help you understand the significance of this story to know that Ellie has always been a very typical Middle-Class American child.  Beyond having always enjoyed a comfortable life, and never having been in need of anything, Ellie has historically been very attached to all her “stuff”.  She has, in the past, expressed her desires in such ways as, “If I can just save enough money for such-and-such, then I’ll have everything I want.”  Inevitably, after she has acquired whatever such-and-such it was, she starts the process over again, “Now, if I only had...”  Scenes and songs from “Madame Blueberry” come to mind as I write this :-)

We’ve been living in Tanzania for one month now.  We have been eating a very bland diet which consists mainly of rice, ugali, potatoes, sukuma wiki, beans, chapati, and white bread.  We have a small budget for picking up a few pieces of fruit, some powdered milk, peanut butter, and a dozen eggs every week to supplement.  We have been spending our time with people who are primarily from East Africa; people who don’t have a budget to purchase supplemental food items, or anything else for that matter.  In fact, most of them are still praying about how they will come up with the rest of their school fees, to pay for this training by the time it is over.    

In typical American fashion, we wanted to give Ellie a special birthday.  We thought the thing Ellie would want most for her birthday was a new friend, so we invited another mzungu family that Jason had met a couple of weeks ago, the Carters, over for dinner.  They live here in Tanzania, working for Christian Missionary Fellowship, and have  three kids, two of whom are close in age to Ethan and Ellie.  We “splurged” on dinner, and purchased items to make hamburgers and homemade french fries.  Jason borrowed the oven of a neighbor to make two chocolate cakes, because we had invited some of our new friends (about 20 fellow students and staff) over after dinner to join us in celebrating.  We had wanted to bless each of our friends with a small treat of chocolate cake (with real buttercream frosting!).  We had no idea how richly they would bless us instead.  

The Carters showed up with lovely African handicraft gifts, which we totally weren’t expecting.  Daniel, a man with a wife and three children who just lost their land to the government and currently have no place to live, brought Ellie a beaded bracelet and made her a puzzle out of a piece of paper he had designed and colored.  He also spoke a very special blessing over her and the rest of our family.  Richard, who has not yet been able to pay his school fees, sang Ellie a special birthday song, then led the rest of us in celebrating Ellie’s life in songs.  Ellie, who has never been serenaded in such a fashion before, wore the biggest grin I have ever seen adorn her freckly face.  Mama Eunice and Mama Joyce, who speak very little English, managed to get into town to purchase pretty floral birthday cards for Ellie that she has used to create a garden in her bedroom.  Annie, one of our mzungu friends, brought Ellie her first passion fruit.  Ethan and Mei used the money they had collected from the tooth fairy to buy Ellie a small box of guava juice from the little store on base.  Upendo, our Korean angel, brought some sculpting clay and cute pencils and erasers.  Myrtlemay had crocheted an elephant pencil topper, a scarf, and also given Ellie a journal to record thoughts about her new life.  Maureen, a creative new friend from Uganda, made Ellie a beautiful paper bead bracelet and earrings. Everyone offered prayers of blessing over Ellie before they left.  It was an incredibly special evening.  

Afterward, Ellie told us how special she felt because she knew the gifts people brought were a true sacrifice, made on her behalf.  She told us, “Especially the little things mean so much.  My cheeks hurt from smiling so much.”  That blesses a mother and a father more than words can express.         

  

A Matter of Perspective

Last Sunday afternoon, an African man came to our house with a “gift”.  He  brought us a Marsh Owl (still alive!) that had flown into his porch light the night before and gotten disoriented.  He described it flopping around, like it was blind, on his porch.  He went on to say that he had hit the owl in the head multiple times with a stick....which we didn’t understand.  We couldn’t quite figure out from his broken English if that was the only way he could subdue it to capture it (it was a bit menacing: about 15 inches tall, with a sharp beak and claws, and prone to hissing), or if it was for sport....?  

When the owl was still living the next morning, the man decided to bring it to us to care for.  (I guess after the kids looked after the litter of kittens in the dining hall, we became known as the “mzungus who like animals”).  The man had set it on the ground in front of our house.  It was a beautiful bird with brown and cream speckled feathers, the characteristic heart-shaped face, and piercing black eyes.  Had it not been sitting nearly sideways with its wings flopped out on the ground, he would have appeared quite majestic. 

Jason and Ethan made it a perch with a tree branch propped up on two cinder blocks.  Jason used the branch to lift the owl up and move it behind the house, where it wouldn’t be disturbed by all the African children who were poking at it with sticks and yelling at it.  Ethan was able to get it to drink water from a spoon (we made him wear safety goggles just in case it decided it had enough energy to attack him!)  Shortly after it drank, it started to perk up, and stood up straight on the perch with his wings pulled into his sides.  

When it began getting dark, the man who brought us the owl came back by and told us that if we left it on the ground behind the house, stray dogs would come by at night and eat it.  So Jason and Ethan found a suitable location higher up, on the 2nd floor stair railing of a building being constructed next door.  They carried the perch up there, owl and all, and laid it across the corner of the railing.  

The next morning, the kids went to check on Willow.  (Funny how any critter that comes into contact with my kids ends up with a name.)  He was still sitting on the railing, but when they approached, he flew off.  We were pleased that he looked strong and was able to fly well.  The kids felt really good, especially Ethan, that they were able to help Willow recover.  But alongside the feeling of satisfaction nagged this unanswered question that bothered all of us:  Why had the man beaten this magnificent bird with a stick?  

The next day, we asked Festo (our new Ugandan friend) about it.  Festo explained that many people here hold a belief that if an owl lands on your house, it brings a curse and someone in that household will die.  So by beating the bird, the man believed he was protecting his family.  That made more sense to us, and satisfied the nagging question...until another question popped into my head that still hasn’t been answered:  Then why did he bring the owl to us as a “gift”?  Hmm...  I think some things just don’t translate well into words.

We learned about another local belief this morning:  If you burn a rubber tire in front of your house, the stench will drive away snakes.  After seeing our first burning tire next to a set of snake tracks in the sand near our house today, I might just give that theory a go.  

Top 10 Things I am Thankful for this Week...

1.  My little house on the YWAM Arusha base, where we can retreat, invite friends, and build relationships.
2. That when I turn on the faucet, water USUALLY comes out.
3. That when I turn on the light-switch, the lights USUALLY come on.
4. That my toilet has a seat.
5. That we have a propane stove to heat water for dishes and bathing.
6. That our new friend, Upendo, has become our guardian angel, bringing us little (and big!) treats that we can share with others (like today’s lunch of BBQ pork ribs and SALAD!!).
7. That in America, when we have beef for dinner, we haven’t first seen it tied to a tree and moo-ing; then later, down on the grass getting skinned; then later still, in recognizable chunks all over the kitchen.
8. That I have been given fewer work duties each week, so that I can spend more time with my children.
9. That I have my family here with me (all the other students are here alone).
10. That God is doing a work IN us, so that He can work THROUGH us.  

The Importance of Bean Sorting and Other Such Knowledge

It’s amazing that with two college degrees, I still have so much to learn from my Brothers and Sisters in a developing country, many of whom may not have even finished primary school.  For example, bean sorting.  What exactly constitutes a “bad bean”?  Clearly, the ones with worm holes or black mold are bad.   But what about the broken beans, split beans, or just plain wrinkly or discolored beans?  Fortunately my new friends are patient with me when I have to ask, “Is this a bad bean?”  And as lowly a job as bean sorting may sound, it is actually very important.  During my two hours of bean sorting this week, I realized that I had a big responsibility to keep people from getting sick from bad beans, or cracking a tooth on a stray rock...especially in a place where medical and dental care are inaccessible for most people.

Last Friday, the girls and I helped in the kitchen, rolling chapati.  It is actually very difficult to roll ROUND chapati.  Ours were more “artistic”.  My favorite one looked a little like a road-kill flat cat.  It is rather humbling, though, when the cooker person brings it back and says, “Not this one” and you have to squish it all up and start over.  Our new African friends are very nice and helpful, but I can tell they feel a little sorry for the poor mzungus who don’t know how to do anything!  

Yesterday, we ventured off to find an internet cafe that some friends told us about.  We had a crude map (think, “Turn left at the big rock, and right at the trees that are standing in a row.”), and walked for nearly an hour to get there.  About half an hour into our walk, we encountered a swarm of bees encompassing the entire path we were walking on.  Surprised, and fearful because Jason is allergic, we turned around and began to run away.  An old man, who had passed us going the other direction, saw us running and started shouting at us, “Hapana! (No!)  Pole pole (Go slowly!)”  We were confused by the gestures he was making because it looked as though he was motioning us to go back towards the bees.  We stood there, evaluating the situation:  a large hedge of thorny bushes to the left, a field of thorny weeds to the right, a swarm of bees on the path in front of us, and a safe path back home behind us.  As we started down the safe path back home, the old man approached us and gestured for us to follow him.  He is now affectionately known by our family as the “Bee Whisperer”, as he slowly and calmly led us right through the swarm of bees and delivered us safely to the other side of the danger so we could continue on our journey.  We later learned that it is common knowledge in Africa to just walk slowly through bees.  Hakuna Matata. 

Today, we had our first off-campus church experience.  The adventure (and I do not use that term lightly), was yet another humbling reminder of how much we have to learn about surviving in East Africa.   Fortunately, we were led by our new friend, Festo from Uganda, who took very good care of us clueless mzungus.  

We left at 8:15 a.m. to get to church by 10:00 a.m.  We started out by walking about 45 minutes to catch the first of two matatus (15-passenger vans used as buses).  The first matatu ride was fairly comfortable, with only 19 people inside.  The second ride got a bit more cozy with 21 people.  We made it just before church started, stayed for the 1-1/2 hour service, and took about the same amount of time to get back.  (For those of you wondering how a church service in Africa could end so soon, it was a mzungu church.)  The final matatu on the way home was a record-breaker, even for Festo who is used to over-crowded matatus.  We topped out at 26 people...several of whom were literally hanging out the windows!  This experience gives an entirely new meaning to HOVs (High Occupancy Vehicles!).  

On the last leg of our journey home, which was walking about 2 miles from the main road back to the YWAM base, we encountered multiple vehicles zooming past us from both directions.  Picture a dirt road with no sidewalks, and matatus and motorcycles driving on the opposite side of the street than we are used to (except when they cross over to dodge large potholes or other oncoming vehicles).  Suddenly we realized we had no idea which side of the road was safest to jump to when a vehicle came barreling by.  It was Festo who enlightened us... In Africa, you actually walk single file down the middle of the road, so the cars can pass on either side.  Who would have thought!?!?!  Had it not been for Festo, we would still be wandering aimlessly around Arusha Town, or worse yet, we might be resembling the road-kill hedgehog we saw on our walk yesterday.

“Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you.  Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.  And He chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God.”     I Corinthians 1: 26-29.

    

Start With a Bucket...

If you want to begin to understand our Brothers and Sisters around the world, I suggest you start with a bucket and some laundry soap.  I am presenting a challenge to each of you, which I hope you will take seriously.  I would love to hear comments about what you learn during this experience.    

First, wait until afternoon, when the sun is still high and there is little shade.  Then pile up, on the lawn, one week’s worth of your own dirty laundry, including at least one pair of socks that started out white but are now heavily soiled with dirt, a pair of jeans, one large bed sheet, and one heavy bath towel.  

Fill your bucket with cold water and some laundry soap.  Stuff as many items into the bucket as you can, then one by one, pull them to the top of the bucket and scrub them.  The proper Tanzanian way to scrub is to start at one end and work your way down, grabbing fabric in both hands and rubbing it briskly together in the suds.  

You must bend over at the waist to reach the bucket, no fair cheating with a chair or stool.  However, if you are a mzungu, you can stand up once in awhile, or squat with bent knees, just to keep yourself from passing out.  

After each piece is sufficiently scrubbed, squeeze the soapy water out of it, and put it in another pile awaiting a rinse.  Take note that sufficient scrubbing involves returning once-white socks to their original color.  I can tell you from experience that it is harder than it looks.  And if you cheat, everyone will know what a poor washer you are by noting your still dirty socks hanging on the laundry line in front of your house.  

Once all the pieces are scrubbed, empty out your bucket and fill it with clean rinse water.  Rinse each piece thoroughly, then wring it out and hang it over a laundry line to dry.  From experience I can also tell you that double rinsing works best, or else you’ll end up with jeans and undergarments that chafe.  

While you work, sing praise songs about how thankful you are.  Keep at this for two straight hours without taking a break.  If you finish your laundry pile before the two hours are up, go ask a neighbor if you can help them with some of their laundry.  When you are done, stand up straight and smile broadly.  

In class this morning, we learned about the spiritual discipline of practicing the presence of God throughout the day.  In the presence of God, even menial tasks can become an act of worship.     

Psalm 16

Keep me safe, O God, for I have come to you for refuge.

I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! 

All the good things I have are from you.”

The godly people in the land are my true heroes!  

I take pleasure in them!

Those who chase after other gods will be filled with sorrow.

I will not take part in their sacrifices, 

or even speak the names of their gods.

Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing.

You guard all that is mine.

The land you have given me is a pleasant land.

What a wonderful inheritance!

I will bless the Lord who guides me; 

Even at night my heart instructs me.

I know the Lord is always with me.

I will not be shaken, for He is right beside me.

No wonder my heart is filled with joy, 

and my mouth shouts His praises!

My body rests in safety, 

for you will not leave my soul among the dead,

Or allow your godly one to rot in the grave.

You will show me the way of life,

granting me the joy of your presence

and the pleasure of living with you forever.

   

     

A Day in the Life of a YWAM Student

6:00 - 7:00 a.m.:   Awake to the alarm clock, as we are now able to sleep through all the roosters, ibises, dogs, and crickets.  Immediately turn on the kettle to heat water for sponge baths and breakfast dishes.  Bathe, get dressed, and pack up breakfast gear.

7:00 - 7:30 a.m.  Walk to dining hall for breakfast, which is usually chai tea and white bread.  The bread is freshest at the beginning of the week, and gets gradually more dried out by the end of the week.  We have learned to bring peanut butter and jelly with us for a more substantial meal.

7:30 - 8:30 a.m.  Return home to do breakfast dishes, and Bible study with the kids.  If time, sweep and mop floors from all the dust that finds its way into every nook and cranny.

8:30 - 10:00 a.m.  Worship and Intercessory Prayer time with the whole campus.  Worship songs are generally 1 to 3 lines long and repeated many times before moving to the next song, which makes the Swahili versions easier to learn!  Prayer is done “Tanzanian Style”, with everyone praying aloud (some louder than others) and all at the same time.  The first time we experienced this, Mei asked, “Can God hear everyone when they are all talking at once?”  We are finding it difficult to concentrate during prayer, not being used to this.

10:00 - 11:00 a.m.  Lecture with our DTS (Discipleship Training School) class.  Our class has 32 students.  Only 4 of us are mzungus (white people).  Annie is a college student who is from Michigan, but has just finished her second year at SPU!  Adam is from Vancouver, Canada.  The other students are from various parts of East Africa, including Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda.  We have several Masaii students from the bush, so campus is much more civilized than they are used to.  Most speak at least some English, so our classes are taught dually in English and Swahili.  We are learning a lot of Swahili just with the exposure, even though there is no formal language training!  Jason and I are the oldest students (Mama and Baba Mzee), and the only ones attending as a couple.

11:00 - 11:30 a.m.  Chai tea break.

11:30 - 1:00 p.m. More lecture time. 

1:00 - 1:30 p.m.  Lunch, which is usually rice or ugali (corn meal cooked with water to the consistency of mashed potatoes); with either beans, potato stew, or sukuma wiki (stewed greens).   Occasionally there will be a few chunks of beef in the rice, called pilau.  

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.  Free time.  This is when we do our household chores, such as lunch dishes, laundry, and additional cleaning.  When there is time, we play with the kids, check email (when the internet server isn’t down), etc.  Currently, Jason is working on putting together some simple book shelves in his free time so I can organize us a little better.

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.  Campus work duties, which may include food preparation, kitchen clean up, public bathroom cleaning, weeding and raking, hauling and sorting garbage, among other things.  

5:00 - 6:00 p.m.  Free time.

6:00 - 7:00 p.m.  Dinner, which is similar to lunch.  We still need to figure out how to get to town every week so we can pick up some additional fruit, vegetables, and eggs to supplement.

7:00 - 9:00 p.m.  Lecture or free time, depending on the day of the week.

9:30 p.m.  Bedtime.

The kids also started school on Monday. I think their favorite part of school is keeping their field journals, where they are keeping track of each new critter we see and writing about it.  We learned yesterday about the Agama Lizard, which is bright blue with an orange head.  We have also learned that native Africans don’t like reptiles.  Ethan was carrying another chameleon around today and all the mzungus were very intrigued, but the Africans were disgusted (and amused at the crazy mzungus).  

Jason took Mei’s staples out yesterday.  She did extremely well holding still, so we took her up to the little shop on campus and let her pick a treat.  She picked a lollipop, and was very excited, saying, “I didn’t know they had lollipops in Africa!”  

We just got word that our final piece of luggage is at the airport, so we are hoping it still contains all or most of it's contents:  all the math books (the kids are sooooo disappointed - ha!), Ethan’s Science Lab kit, some of Jason’s clothes, and some over the counter medicines we had stocked up on.  

Thank you all for your emails and notes of encouragement.  We love hearing about what is happening in each of your lives back home!  God bless you!  

The Adventure Begins!

Jambo!  We arrived safely in Arusha, Tanzania on Wednesday, Sept. 1 with just a few snafus along the way.  The first was a bit more than a “snafu”, but did not thwart God’s plan for our departure.  On Monday, about 4 hours before we were supposed to be at the airport, Mei fell and split the back of her head open.  Jason and Grandma Marmie took her to the ER at Highline Hospital, and with everyone’s prayers and speedy doctors, they were out of there in an hour and a half!  That was definitely a miracle!  She ended up with 6 staples in her head that we have to wash daily and keep covered in antibiotic ointment.  They gave us a handy dandy staple remover for when the time comes to pull them out.  We are not looking forward to that, but are a bit more confident since we took the Health Care class with PBT.  I was so grateful it happened before we left so I didn’t have to stitch her up myself!  She is doing well now with just a little tenderness around the wound.  

We had checked into paying for extra baggage before we left, figuring those fees would be less than shipping, and had been anticipating a $48 per extra bag fee according to the airline website.  We had 3 extras, so were expecting to pay around $150.   Somehow, that $150 turned into a total of $700 in extra baggage fees by the time we got here!  It was going to be even more, but I managed to turn on the tears saying, “But we’re just trying to help orphans.  We left our jobs, our families, blah blah blah...” and suddenly they shaved $400 off the fees.  

Most of our luggage arrived, with only one still missing.  However three of our sturdy plastic bins look like they got thrown off the plane (likely before it even landed!), and shattered, so some of our stuff arrived in plastic bags.  Fortunately none of our fragile belongings were in any of those.  

When we went to get our visas on arrival, we had to apply for visitor visas (which are only good for 90 days).  We had already applied (and paid!) for student visas several months ago, but they did not process in time, so we had to get temp ones until the student ones come through.  The people in line in front of us were from Guatemala and had to pay $50 each.  When we gave our passports, the agent said, “That will be $100 each.”  So we asked why we had to pay $100 when the people in front of us only had to pay $50.  He said, “You are Americans.”  So, there went another 600 bucks that we would not have had to spend had our student visas come on time.  The kids started to get really nervous when they kept seeing Jason pull out fresh $100 bills to pay all these fees, but I think they are learning quickly that many “problems” in Africa can be solved with money.  It is also a reminder of how God provides.  Before we left, He had given us more money than we had budgeted for, so we know He has provided what we will need.

When we arrived, there were several YWAM staff waiting for us with two vehicles.  They took us straightaway to the YWAM campus, to let us get settled into our home for the next 5 months.  Previously unbeknownst to us, YWAM has provided us with a private apartment furnished with a couch, chairs, a table, and beds.  What a wonderful surprise!  We have three bedrooms: one for Jason and I; a big one for the kids with two sets of bunks; and a small one for Myrtlemay.  The bathroom has running water and a toilet with a seat!  Ellie, especially, was extremely pleased!!  We had used the restroom in the Dar Es Salaam airport, and although it was “Western style”, it was missing the seat, and the girls are not quite tall enough to squat over it, so it was a bit tricky.    

They are taking good care of us here, and the kids seem to be adapting well already.   Even though the kids seem to be doing fine, Mei is obsessed with asking, “What is Ruthie doing right now?”   She is so intrigued by the 10 hour time difference, and of course she is missing her cousin and best friend.  

We wake up to roosters at about 4:00 a.m. each morning.  They are apparently set to go off like my snooze alarm, because after they wake me, they settle down enough to where I can go back to sleep for a half hour before they start up again.  By 5:00 the ibises flocking in the nearby tree join the cacophony.  I will say that the ibises have the roosters beat by a long shot.  I think it is about 6:00 before the howling of the local stray dog population joins in the morning music, all played to the background rhythm of crickets.  Breakfast is served at 7:00 so fortunately we have plenty of help waking up in time.  

We took a walk into the surrounding neighborhood yesterday and Ethan had his handmade slingshot with him.  It was an instant kid-magnet, and we were quickly surrounded by children wanting to play with his slingshot.  Most of them did not know English, so it was difficult to explain safety rules when they started pointing it at each other.  We had to resort to waving our arms and turning the children towards the nearby empty field.  Yikes!  We have had to explain to our kids that our usual safety rules still apply, but that others won’t necessarily use the same standards.     

Ethan, our animal lover, is constantly out exploring the compound for little critters.  Happily, I was told there are no snakes here.  He caught a chameleon yesterday and all three kids played with the poor little fella for quite some time.  I was standing behind it and it was pretty neat when he rotated his beady little eye all the way around to look at me without using his head!  

Today was laundry day.  I am such a wimp!  I had two blisters by the time we were done washing and wringing only three days worth of clothes.  The kids did great, and we all appreciate the convenience of a washing machine so much more than we ever did when we actually had one!

We start our YWAM classes, and the kids start school on Monday, so we have a few more days to relax and get settled in.  We are praying for all of you back home.  Please email us and keep us posted on what is going on in your lives!  We don’t want to feel disconnected from all of you who we care so deeply about.  Thank you for your prayers and support!  

Do you trust me?

I have to be honest that I have been dragging my feet about writing this post.  On the one hand, I'm thrilled to share how God has been working His miracles to bring everything together quickly for our imminent departure. On the other hand, for me to share with you exactly how He has been working will require a confession on my part...a confession I am frankly embarrassed to make.

In early July, while we were in Texas, we learned that we had been accepted into YWAM's Discipleship Training School in Arusha, Tanzania, starting Sept. 6.  We were thrilled, but wondered how we would raise the rest of our funds, for at that point we were only at 74% of our budget, meaning we needed to raise an additional $42,000 in about 7 weeks.

When we returned from Texas, a friend shared an idea of a potential funding source that would completely cover our remaining needs.  We contacted the people involved in distributing that funding, and based on initial feedback,  we felt certain this was how God was going to provide for us.  We began looking into purchasing tickets and completed visa applications, sure that we would be leaving August 30.  Then, on July 25, five weeks before our hopeful departure date, we learned that the funding source was not going to be available to us as we thought it might.

Here comes my confession.  I got frustrated and lost sight of the God we serve.  I could not see how we could possibly raise $42,000 in five weeks.  I was tired of not knowing what to say when people would ask when we were leaving.   I was tired of living out of half-packed boxes.  I was tired of busting my bootie every day to prepare, when we might still have 6 more months in the States.  I was just plain tired.  And grumpy.  And not fun to be around.  For a whole week.  I complained to just about everyone...except God.  I didn't even feel like talking to Him.

During this whole week, Mei kept pestering me about the calendar.  She has recently been obsessed with our ridiculously full calendar.  Everyday, she wants to know what we're doing, when we're doing it, where we're going, just question after question.  Finally I said to her, "Do you trust me?"  She nodded her sweet little head.  So I replied, "Okay, then quit bugging me.  I have it all under control.  Just stick with me."  Hm.  I heard myself and wondered if this was actually God speaking to me through my own mouth. So instead of continuing to whine, I put out a request for scriptures on facebook, and received some very good words from the Lord.

"The truth is, you will be in Babylon for 70 years.  (I hadn't waited nearly that long!) But then I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again.  For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. (Jer. 29:10-11)

"Be silent, and know that I am God!"  (Psalm 46:10)

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock."  (Isaiah 26:3-4)

Finally, I went to Him in prayer, asking forgiveness for my whining.  I made a decision to praise Him no matter what, for He is worthy of praise, even when I don't understand what He is doing.

And this is how He responded to my crying out:  Even while I was being a stinker, moaning and groaning, He had been working on people's hearts to prepare the way for us to go.  I woke the next morning to an email from some friends saying they had just sent a $(very large) check to the church on our behalf for our work in Kenya.  Later that day, another sizable contribution  came from an unexpected source.  Over the next few days, smaller contributions kept rolling in, adding to our goal.  It seemed every time I checked my email, there was more.  Then we were totally caught off guard when a friend's mom pledged a five-digit amount.  That put us at 96%!  Wow.  Talk about humbling.

Last Friday, we were on our way to dinner with friends, and I checked email on the way.  There was an email regarding another pledge from friends that put us over the 100% mark.  When we arrived at dinner, we told our dinner companions that we were at 100%.  They responded with, "Darn. We wanted to be the ones to put you over the top."  And they pledged even more!

We are currently at 107% of our base budget.  We have what we will need to live in a rental house and do the work God calls us to in East Africa for 3-1/2 years.  Additional funding beyond our base budget will go towards building a house on the compound where the Children's Home and Primary School are located.

I am ashamed when I read my journal entries from my week of wallowing.  I realize now that God is ALWAYS worthy of praise.  What we see from our perspective is like the underside of an intricate tapestry.  We see the loose threads and the messy criss-crossing of overlapping designs that are are not quite in focus.  But God sees the glorious artwork that He is creating.  It's not necessarily that every circumstance will turn out lovely and tidy.  No, because our circumstances are not the artwork.  We are.  We are God's masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things He planned for us long ago (Ephesians 2:10).  And it is through our trials, the refiner's fire, that we will become more like Jesus, perfect and beautiful.

We bought plane tickets today and went in for our travel vaccines. We have already gone through quite a journey to get where we are, but I suspect that in 19 days, the real adventure will begin!  I can't wait to see where He takes us!

With This Cup...

We have been in Dallas, Texas for two weeks, doing some missionary training with Pioneer Bible Translators.  In Bush Mechanics, we learned how to properly sanitize a daily water supply, build a home with a composting toilet, and harness the sun's energy to cook food without electricity or fuel.  In our Primary Health Care course, we learned that because we were born and educated in America, the nationals in Kenya will view us as being capable of helping with their medical needs, and we need to be prepared to minister to them in this way.  Thus, through the experiences of three amazing missionary nurses, we have learned that swimming in a dam can introduce parasitic snails to your body; walking barefoot in red clay soil can cause elephantiasis; and when someone shows up on your porch with their intestines in their hands, you should suture through all three layers of muscle, fat, and skin.  We have learned that if someone smells like stale beer, they may have tuberculosis; and if they smell like fresh bread, they may have enteric fever.  While all of this has been incredibly interesting, it has also caused us to stop and think, "What exactly have we signed up for??"

Last Sunday, as I sat in church preparing my heart for communion, I realized that taking the bread and the wine is not just a weekly reminder of who Jesus is and what He has done for us.  It is also an opportunity to renew our own personal commitment to sharing not only in the blessings of a life with Him, but also in the inherent sufferings.  It is an act similar to the giving of the rings in a marriage.  "With this ring, I thee wed..."  Our wedding vows are a public proclamation that we commit ourselves to our spouses for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health.  The act of communion is much the same.  With it, we accept whatever cup we may be given as we walk with Jesus.  Sometimes the cup will be sweet.  Sometimes it will be bitter.  But it will always overflow with His mercy and love.

When I become overwhelmed with fear about moving my family to Kenya, I remind myself that God has called us to do this, and the safest place to be is in the center of His will.  We know He may not protect us from every physical danger, but He will protect us spiritually.

"Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him; and the Lord protects him and keeps him alive.  He is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies." Psalm 41:1-2

God has continued to orchestrate His plan for our lives.  We have recently received our acceptance letter into the Discipleship Training School with YWAM (Youth With a Mission), which begins on September 6 in Arusha, Tanzania.  In accordance with our agreement with our Missions Committee, we need to have raised 100% of our funds in cash and pledges before we go.  We are currently at 74%, and praying for some new pledge cards to be in the mail when we return home!   If we do not have 90% of our funds by the time we would need to buy airline tickets (around the first week of August), we will need to  postpone our training.  This will be further confirmation of God's plan and timing, as we wait to see when He brings in the needed funds.

We also have had a very dear woman volunteer to accompany us to Tanzania for the first 12 weeks of training, to assist with our children while Jason and I are in classes!  This is a HUGE answer to prayer!!  I will wait to announce who this is, because I do not yet know if she has had the opportunity to share this information with her own family :-)  

Thank you all for your many prayers and words of encouragement.  So many of you have given your time, skills and money to help us in this mission.  May the Lord reward you for your sacrifices.  I love the story in I Samuel 30, ending in verses 23-25:

"For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike." And he (David) made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.

Blessings on you, Dear Friends and Partners, as we all share together in the reward for serving the orphans in Kenya!

Good Water

Our family has finally started feeling some of the sacrifice that comes with obedience.  In the past week we have found new homes for our chickens, Ethan's pet snake, and our dog, Bear. There have been many emotions running through our household. Yesterday, as I snuggled with Bear for the last time before handing him over to his new family (see photo), I took comfort in the following verses:

"Everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or property, for my sake, will receive a hundred times as much in return and will have eternal life." (Matthew 19:29)

"You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book." (Psalm 56:8)

"I cry out to God Most High, to God who will fulfill His purpose in me."  (Psalm 57:2)

All of our children have been really struggling with the idea of moving to Kenya lately.  Last week, Ethan told me, "I know you feel like God is calling you and Dad to Kenya.  But He hasn't spoken to me.  I don' think He's calling me to go."  I tried to assure him that if God is calling Jason and me, He is calling Ethan too.  That didn't really seem to help.  In fact, he even suggested several families that he might live with for the next three years!   


Milton Jones, our former pastor and new President of Christian Relief Fund, preached this morning -- a powerful lesson on trusting God and the good gifts He gives to His children.  He told the story of when he was in Kenya last summer, meeting with Dr. Hezron, a Kenyan doctor. Milton, Larry, and Julie (all CRF Board Members) were trying to convince Dr. Hezron to accept a position working at the Voluntary Counseling and Testing center for HIV/AIDS in Kisumu, Kenya.  Before the meeting began, Dr. Hezron asked if he could get them anything.  Julie requested water.  Expecting bottled water, they were all surprised when water was brought in a pitcher with three cups.  Knowing that a cholera epidemic was ravaging the area at the time (in addition to the usual travel sicknesses that accompany unfiltered water), Milt, Larry, and Julie gave each other knowing glances that warned, "Don't drink the water!"  They continued their meeting with dry lips and parched throats, and Dr. Hezron did in fact agree to work at the VCT.  


As the group was leaving, Dr. Hezron said to them, "You didn't drink the water."  So Julie politely walked back to the table, handed a cup to Milt and to Larry, and took one for herself.  Nervously, they all three drank the water.  As they finished, Dr. Hezron asked, "Do you really think I would give you bad water?  I am a doctor, and if I am going to be your doctor, you are going to have to trust me."

This morning, Ethan sat with us in service, which is unusual, because he usually sits with the teens.  As soon as service was over, he looked at me with tears in his eyes and an amazing look of enlightenment on his face. He said, "Mom, I think God just spoke to me."

"What did He say?" I asked.

He told me, "It was when Milton told about Dr. Hezron saying, 'Do you really think I would give you bad water??' God just told me it was going to be okay.  I'm at peace about moving to Kenya now."

And so we leave you for now with this thought from Luke 11: "And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for.  Keep on looking and you will find.  Keep on knocking and the door will be opened.  For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds.  And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.  

You fathers - if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead?  Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion?  Of course not!  If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him."

Cold Feet

No, we are not having second thoughts about moving to Kenya.  On the contrary, in the past week we have had our socks blessed right off, leaving us with chilly toes, as God continues to orchestrate logistics on our behalf!  Our ANSWERED prayers for this week include:

• finding a renter for our house while we are gone;
• finding an orthodontist in Kenya who can take care of Ellie's teeth;
• finding the right home for Bear, our Australian Shepherd;
• finding someone in Kenya to help with work permit applications; and
• being supplied with additional funds through friends and family who have chosen to join us in this journey.

In addition, we've had multiple people offer their professional services to help in unique and special ways including: helping us get our yard and gardens prepared for handing over to our renters; helping us prepare emotionally for the challenges that lie ahead; and taking family photos before we leave. 

We are waiting to hear from YWAM as to whether we've been accepted into their Discipleship Training School.  Lord willing, we will be accepted and will leave for Tanzania the last week of August to begin training on September 6.  We are still trying to find someone who can accompany us for 12 weeks to supervise the children in their homeschooling while Jason and I are in classes during the day.

Thank you to each of you who has committed to praying for us, and has offered support in numerous ways!  We pray that God will bless you abundantly as you serve Him.

$100,000 MILESTONE!!!

I once heard a missionary ask, "Where is the FUN in fundraising?"  I laughed, but now I really get it.  It is absolutely the hardest thing we have ever had to do in our married life. 

The idea of moving our family to Kenya was pretty difficult to swallow in the beginning.  But we have had so many unmistakeable messages from God that this is His plan for us, that eventually His peace that surpasses understanding has replaced our fears*.  (Not to mention that living in Kenya is certainly more appealing than living in the belly of a big fish :-)  It's an exciting moment when you finally peel your fingers away from all that you've been clinging to, with the hope that God will make good on His promise to deliver more than we could ask or imagine**. 

That elation of knowing you are in the center of God's will carries you like a hot air balloon over your promised land.  There you hover, gazing on the sunrise, and even smelling the adventure awaiting you.  But you've never operated a hot air ballooon before, and you suddenly realize you don't know how to land.  You have no way to touch ground in your promised land without the help of the hands and feet of God: your fellow brothers and sisters.

When we made the decision to move forward, we had no idea how humbling it would be to give up our independent status as professionals and ask other people for money in order to obey what we feel God is calling us to do.  We've been timid in our approach, because you never know how people will react.  We've been blessed with a number of friends who call it a "privilege" to be able to walk this journey with us by contributing their time, money, and skills.  We've had others react with disbelief that we would actually ask for support money so we could "vacation" for three years.  (I'm still not sure how taking care of 40+ children 24/7 could be considered a vacation...but whatever).

Whatever you call it, the process of fundraising has definately been part of our spiritual preparation, perhaps even moreso than our physical preparation.  Isn't the whole point of being a Christian to become more like Christ?  I can think of no one more humble than Jesus, giving up His royal status in the heavenly realm to be born a screaming (poopy) infant, completely dependent on Mary and Joseph for His very survival.  He touched the rotting flesh of lepers, scrubbed filthy feet, and eventually hung on a cross between two thieves, all to obey what God was calling Him to do.  As I write this, I wonder if I can start to view fundraising as a privilege rather than a burden.

So now the exciting news....  When we began the process of setting our budget and fundraising, the $160,000 we need to raise seemed absolutely overwhelming and impossible.  This morning we received an email from our amazingly efficient accountant at church that our cash and pledges have exceeded the $100,000 mark!  God is good and "knows all our needs.  He will give us all we need from day to day, if we live for Him and make the Kingdom of God our primary concern." (Matthew 6:33)

With our potential departure only 4 months away, we have much to accomplish in a short period of time.  We still need to raise almost $59,000; in addition to completing YWAM training applications, Kenyan work permit applications, preparing the house for rental, selling much of our household on Craigslist, figuring out our missionary health insurance and shipping options.  We are choosing to leave the fundraising in God's hands for now so we can focus on the other aspects of our preparation.  Please continue to pray with us that God's perfect timing would be revealed and that the many aspects of our new life would come together in a way that glorifies Him!

*Phil. 4:6-7
**Eph. 3:20