Archive for the Hoffmans in Africa Category
Tuesday, January 17th, 2012
The Shangilia kids taking their first peek at the "treasure."
My family had an opportunity that was especially exciting: bringing and passing out books to the children at Shangilia School and Children’s Home and at Kibagare School. You see, I adore books and grew up with a library always, almost literally, just around the corner. Here in Kenya, however, that is not the case. There is limited access to the reading materials that we so often take for granted and the scant number of books for purchase are very costly.
We want to thank Dawn & her daughter, Grace, from Michigan who coordinated their Pebbles and Stones group along with other friends to gather all their nicest books as a gift for the schools. They even collected money for postage so that the books could be shipped directly to Christian Mission Aid in Nairobi.
Before handing out the books, we participated in the students’ Bible lesson, though I think that the stack of “mystery boxes from America” was somewhat of a distraction. To get something in the mail is exciting, but getting something that you were dreaming of and praying for – and needed – is even better!
Sabra giving Monicah her new Bible.
The looks on the children’s faces were priceless as we pulled stacks and stacks of books from the boxes. Monicah, a lovely young student at Shangilia, received a beautiful Bible hand-picked and purchased by Grace. Monicah was thrilled – not only did she get her own Bible to read, but it was also specially engraved with her name on its pretty purple cover.
After we had handed out all of the “treasures,” one of the children delightedly whispered to my mom and me, “Now we have more books than students!” Truly, the books could scarcely have gone to a home where they would have been more well-loved.
My Grandma Patty ready to share books at Kibagare School.
More books than students!
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Aviya Zuri Hoffman
Tuesday morning, as I was giving our dishwasher (Samuel) a little reprieve, I found myself weeping over a soapy cloth and sink half full of dirty dishes. I was so overwhelmed with the presence of the Lord, thanking Him for the miracle that He brought to our family just five days earlier. Over the last several years in Africa, we have had the opportunity to witness many amazing things: the blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk, the sick and diseased are healed. But if I am allowed to pick my favorite miracle, it would be our little Aviya Zuri.
From the very beginning, Aviya has been nothing but surprises. Somehow, despite a nearly thirteen-year-old vasectomy, she was conceived on our fifteenth anniversary. This unexpected pregnancy was an occurrence that was prophesied more than ten years earlier by our friend Prophet Ed Lixey. Though of course, at the time, I was pretty sure that he had “missed it.”
On the 5thof January, while carefully monitoring Sara’s labor, our midwife (Lucy Muchiri) broke Aviya’s bag of water at about 12:30pm. Both Sabra and Samuel were delivered in less than 45 minutes after their bag of water was broken, so I was expecting things to move quickly. While we were waiting for Sara’s contractions to move closer together, we shared Prophet Ed’s word with Lucy. Later Lucy told us that when Aviya’s life was hanging in the balance, the Lord reminded her of the prophetic word and she knew in her heart that Aviya was to live and not die.
Lucy and Sara waiting for contractions to grow closer together.
However, our little miracle took nine hours before she made her début. We were so thankful to await her arrival in the comfort of our own home. Ever since we knew that we were expecting, we had been planning for a home birth at our apartment in Nairobi. After hours of waiting, and much to our surprise, it wasn’t a head that we saw at 9pm, it was a little bottom. Somehow, late in the pregnancy, Aviya found a way to flip around and was now being born in a jack-knife breech position; definitely not ideal, especially at a home birth.
Our midwife Lucy was just as surprised as we were to see the little bottom coming first. She called me over and I held Aviya as Lucy pulled out one leg at a time. It was emotionally difficult to hold her lifeless, limp, blue body as Lucy reached in to free Aviya’s arms, which were raised above her head. Finally, after a few short minutes that seemed like an eternity, Aviya was freed up to her neck, but her head remained stuck in Sara’s cervix. Sara was pushing and yet Aviya remained with her body hanging limply in my hands. At that point, Lucy quickly moved to perform an episiotomy so that we could free Aviya. One small cut, and Aviya’s head was finally able to clear the birth canal.
Samuel is finally a big brother!
At 9:24pm Aviya’s body came into the world. Without breath, without movement we laid her on the bed below Sara. By now we were all praying over Aviya. For the next thirty-six minutes we continued to work on cleaning the airway and administered infant CPR under Lucy’s direction. Lucy said that there was only a faint heartbeat. Sara kept telling us to call Aviya back as she sang a song in the Spirit over our little miracle. At some point, Sara grabbed the computer and typed that Aviya was born and NOT breathing on her Facebook status. In between calling for the ambulance, I called one of my Pastor friends that I knew was praying for us at that time. Within moments, people all over the world were lifting Aviya up in prayer. Friends far and wide were calling life and breath into our precious little girl in the name of Jesus. In the midst of the chaos, a tangible sense of the Presence of the Lord filled the room. Lucy continued to speak life as she took care of Aviya. Sabra was speaking life and praying in the Spirit as she took her turn administering CPR to her little sister. At one point, I felt praise begin to rise in my spirit-man and found myself walking around the room clapping and praising the Lord. Everyone began to thank God for Aviya’s life. Then at 10:00pm, Aviya took her first breath, followed by another and another; then a few small cries. Our miracle was born!
Sabra and Aviya
While doing the dishes this morning, I found myself recounting all that the Lord has done for us over the past few months. I remembered that on the morning of December 15, I was asking the Lord about Aviya. With Sabra and Samuel the Lord told us so much about them before they were born and spoke many promises over their lives. When asking about Aviya, the Lord told me that He is full of surprises and even her birth would be a surprise. Little did I know that she would come bottom first into our lives with a birth experience that would bring miracle after miracle. Aviya’s name means “my Father is Yahweh.” According to her Grandpa Hoffman, Aviya just wanted to spend the first 36 minutes of her life with Him before coming to join us. I can definitely believe that to be true for our precious little girl who remains a mystery, full of surprises. We know that Daddy God has great things in store for His little Aviya Zuri.
Ready for the Kenyan sunshine.
Karibu(welcome in Swahili) Aviya!
…now back to changing dirty diapers and playing kissy-face. I never expected to see these days again. God is so good.
Playing kissy face.
Friday, December 30th, 2011
39 weeks pregnant... and counting!
I can hardly believe that another year of life in Africa is coming to a close. As I write this, I am 40 weeks pregnant with our surprise blessing baby girl, Aviya Zuri. It has been over 20 months since Sabra, Samuel & I were in the United States; 15 months for Chad — we are hoping to visit sometime in 2012, but have no definite travel plans yet. Chad is continuing his role as Operations Director for Christian Mission Aid (CMA) here in Nairobi, Kenya and already has a full year’s schedule ahead of him. Click here to go to the CMA website.
Sabra is one quarter into grade 11 and in addition to enjoying the fellowship of a great international youth group that meets weekly, she is completing her Kenyan ballroom dancing medal certificate requirements with plans to earn her International Ballroom Teaching Certificate through Dancesport early next year. Samuel is into the second quarter of grade 8 and is keeping up with his guitar practice on his own. He has made some friends at the apartment complex where we live; although he would love to live outside the city where he could run and play and raise chickens.
Sam in his school uniform.
2011, like most years, has held it’s share of blessing & pain — each joy & sorrow an opportunity for us to run toward God and seek refuge in His unchanging love. In the 15+ years Chad & I have been married, this year has been the one where I simply could not “see” or anticipate the changes that were coming for our family. At first, the “not knowing” was really uncomfortable and scary for me, but as the months have passed, I’ve found myself learning to trust in who God is instead of in the things He’s doing.
Our 15th anniversary. We had no idea that baby Aviya was part of God's plan. What a blessing!
January found us living on the south coast of South Africa, along the Indian Ocean in Kwa-Zulu Natal nearly to the Wild Coast region of the Eastern Cape. Our family of four plus dogs, Ginger & Poppy, lived from January through April in a converted 2-car garage just steps from the beach. During January and February both Chad & I worked each weekday at an independent Christian School that ran on the ACE system. All grades were in one classroom, and students worked at their own pace to achieve their academic goals. Think homeschooling in a classroom with 30+ students. Chad really enjoyed the students and his pastoral/administrative role there. I worked as a classroom monitor and assisted students with their daily work and grading. It was also Samuel’s first time in a school. Though he continued with his current home school curriculum, he wore a uniform and kept to a regular schedule along with the other students who ranged in age from 7 to 19. It has been a joy to keep up with almost all of the students via facebook even though our time with them was brief. To read Chad’s blog post about our ministry at school, click here.
Chad ministering with Larry Kitchel on a Sunday morning.
March was a tumultuous month in many ways. My Grandpa Ted continued his struggle against cancer and moved into a hospice care home. It was hard not to be in Michigan to play a role in the daily life of my Grandparents, especially when they need a helping hand more than ever. We also received word that our friend, Larry Kitchel, the founder & director of Christian Mission Aid, was battling cancer as well. On March 27, 2011 Larry went home to heaven, leaving behind a legacy of love in Africa that spanned more than 25 years. To read Chad’s blog post honoring Larry’s life, click here.
In April we said good-bye to life at the beach and to all our friends from the south coast. At this point, Chad & I knew some change was once again on the horizon. Plans that seemed “in the future” were accelerated towards a transition from life in South Africa to Kenya. On Easter weekend, we left Kwa-Zulu Natal and drove north to Johannesburg, South Africa where our dear friends, the DiCocco family, welcomed us into their home with open arms. Click here to go to the Dicocco family blog – Trace’s photography is a visual feast documenting their life of love in Africa.
Chad left for Kenya the following week but the kids & I stayed behind to make travel arrangements for the dogs and our belongings. I can’t begin to imagine making such a sudden international move without the home-base that Bill & Trace Dicocco provided for us — from home-cooked meals to listening ears to dependable internet to coordinating cargo, the few weeks at their home provided exactly what we needed to be able to transition into our new life.
Our last day living on the Indian Ocean.
As May began, Chad jumped into his new role with Christian Mission Aid and worked to find housing for our family. Nairobi is a huge international city and he quickly discovered our budget would not allow for a house that was near enough to the CMA offices. He toured many different places from apartments to maisonettes (similar to a stand-alone townhouse in a complex of many identical houses) to townhomes.
Our Nairobi apartment is the top two floors on the right.
The cost of customs fees in Kenya on top of the transporting of cargo put us in a position where the few household goods we had purchased in South Africa had to be left behind, so in addition to finding a city home near the office that allowed for pets, Chad also needed to find us accommodation that was furnished. On May 13, Sabra, Samuel & I flew from Johannesburg to Nairobi, Kenya with Ginger, Poppy & all our suitcases flying as cargo. The flight was quick and easy, but had I known about the challenges we’d face bringing the dogs and our belongings through customs, I would have been discouraged before we even began. With an empty wallet from doling out “gratuities” (the polite word for bribe money) and more than 10 hours in customs offices, we were now home with Chad in Kenya and on the way to our apartment! Little did we suspect that by the end of May we would discover after thirteen years and one vasectomy, that I was pregnant. Talk about surprises! To read my blog post written just after my positive pregnancy test, click here.
Sabra with one of the babies at New Life Orphanage.
June and July are typically cooler months in Kenya, though the rainy season was late in coming this year while the drought ravaged Eastern Africa. My Grandpa Ted passed away but life simply didn’t allow for us to travel back for the funeral. I spent most of June feeling nauseated from the pregnancy and as a family we worked together to adjust to big-city-life in a new country with a new language, new foods, and new people. We’ve never lived in an apartment before — not even before we had kids, so even though our current home is more spacious than the 2-stall garage conversion, we are still getting used to the “closeness” that apartment life in the city brings. It didn’t take long for Ginger & Poppy to adapt to their “porch potty” on our third story balcony and after a while we all adjusted to the rhythm of city life, too.
On our third-story balcony with Poppy and Ginger.
The neighbor children in our apartment complex affectionately refer to Poppy as “the barking cat” and to Ginger as “the dog of Sam”. Many Kenyans are afraid of dogs, since traditionally they are viewed as “guards” versus pets. At this point, it had been over a year since I had driven a car and the cooler days cooped-up indoors sometimes seemed endless. As a home schooling family, we enjoy being together at home during the days while Chad works in the CMA office but we are blessed to be able to accompany him during ministry and outreach.
Veronica & Jeremiah Hamlet of Sports Power with Pastor John & Mama Gladys and us at God's Grace Mission Church
August, September and October all run happily together in my mind with a flurry of visiting ministry teams joining us at CMA from the US and Canada. The teams came to bless the people we work with in Kenya with their own sets of unique skills including dentistry, photography/video production, sports ministry, youth outreach, food distribution and medical care, plus teaching and training of all kinds. As we began making preparations for Aviya’s arrival, many teams kindly brought along suitcases for our family packed with baby gear and goodies for the rest of the family. We also found a wonderful local home birth midwife named Lucy Muchiri to provide prenatal care and attend Aviya’s delivery. One luxury of daily life here that we didn’t have in South Africa has been having internet service at home. It is much easier to communicate with all of you, and we’ve been excited to reconnect with old friends via facebook.
By November, another rainy season was upon us, and Sabra & I began to wonder if our laundry would ever again be dry. Chad traveled for two weeks to South Sudan to catch-up on the ministry happening there with CMA. To read more about Chad’s trip to South Sudan, click here.
Chad sitting in a school visiting with one of the students in South Sudan.
Sabra and Samuel preparing for tea at Pebbles and Stone training.
I was already having a lot of contractions and am so thankful for all the extra responsibility that Chad, Sabra & Samuel have graciously taken on to keep our home running smoothly. Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, so it was business as usual in Kenya. We found that weekend this year to be much harder than previous years for missing all of you and longing to be together again. One November week, we were without electricity for more than 60 hours, but believe it or not, even that is beginning to seem “normal”, as we experience at minimum one random 12-hour stretch without it every week in addition to the daily “flashes” of on-off-on-off electricity. We are excited that our Vonage voice-over-IP phone line works here at our apartment as long as there is electricity. Did you know we still have our same Michigan phone number, and that calling us all the way across the ocean is a just a local call for you? We are 8 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time, though, so remember to take that into consideration.
Sam's first taste of nyama choma (roasted meat). It's mbuzi choma (goat meat).
Summer has come to Kenya and as for December, I was holding off writing this entire post with the hope of sharing the happy news of Aviya’s birth, but now on the 30th, there is not much more year to wait on! Chad & Samuel accompanied Sabra to her ballroom dancing lesson this afternoon where she is being introduced to the Kenyan ballroom examiner, who has agreed that if she can prove herself with her dancing, that he will waive the age requirement for her to enroll in the teacher’s course. ***** Whoo hoo! Exciting update: instead of just a meet-and-greet with the ballroom examiners, Sabra’s instructor had the “real” dance exam planned for her (which he didn’t tell her about, because knowing her personality he didn’t want to stress her into “performing”). Sabra excelled in all 12 dances, earning her Dancesport Kenya Ballroom Medal certificate!
Shalom and Sabra.
Tomorrow we are looking forward to a day of visiting in our home with friends from Naivasha: Pastor Francis & Jocelyne and their children, Shalom & Emmanuel. They’ll be coming by bus in the morning and we’ll spend the day together at our home in Nairobi. If Aviya arrives, I certainly couldn’t be in better hands since midwife Lucy is nearby and both Francis & Jocelyne are RNs. Then on Sunday at 2:00 a.m. (New Year’s Day), my Mom, Patty, arrives by plane from Michigan. Samuel is counting down to her arrival — and to the all the gifts, gear & supplies that are accompanying her! Perhaps Aviya is simply waiting for Grandma, too.
Praying for a woman during a training session at Charisma Tumaini in Sinai.
Please continue to pray specifically for our Kenyan visas & long-term work permits, which have still not been processed. We really need that paperwork to be approved in order to move forward and finalize our commitments. I know most of you are as excited about Aviya’s impending arrival as we are, so keep watching facebook for an update. I have been trusting God that it will not be a birth-by-candelight and that we’ll be able to share with you throughout the home birth process. One of the best ways to follow our lives is by reading our blog posts at Journey247 and enjoying the photos we’ve shared.
Learning about Kenyan plants during a visit to a friend's shamba (farm).
Though communication via a blog-style format is still relatively new to us, we really love to share our lives with you — even the day-to-day stuff. To read one of my posts about everyday life, click here. In fact, even Sabra & Samuel have begun to blog on a regular basis to give you their perspective on Kenya. To read Sabra’s latest post, click here.
We want to thank you for your prayers, encouragement and financial support working together to allow us to live a life of love & ministry as missionaries here in Eastern Africa. Please prayerfully consider how you can come alongside our family in 2012. Our Michigan registered non-profit organization, Journey 247, will provide you with a receipt for tax purposes.
You can give quickly & easily (before you forget your good intentions) by using the Paypal link in any of our blog posts or you can write a check made out to Journey 247 with “Hoffmans in Africa” indicated on the memo line and mail it to:
Journey 247
PO BOX 275
Hudsonville, MI 49426-0275
May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours!
With love from Africa,
Chad, Sara, Sabra, Samuel and Aviya
At church in Maasailand.
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.” ~ 1 Chronicles 16:8
Tuesday, December 20th, 2011
Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday
I’ve heard before, and said myself that “hurt people hurt people.” Today I found myself wanting to use that tidbit to justify someone’s lack of judgement (I was trying very hard to make sense of something hurtful thinking that it was more honorable than just simply wanting to “hurt them back”) but that line of thinking was stopped with an “ah ha!” moment deep in my spirit: I can choose to forgive someone who has hurt me (whether accidentally or on purpose) WITHOUT offering excuses for their behavior and without trying to understand where they were coming from. Over the past twenty-seven months of living in Africa, this is an area where God has helped me to grow; freeing me from having to justify (and over-explain) the things I do whether the good or the bad.
My “ah ha!” moment this morning has presented me with the opportunity to experience something personally painful and choose to do what is right in spite of my feelings. You see, the fact that we have been hurt or are in pain is not the stamp of approval for us to go around with our mouths (or emails) blazing like Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday “cleaning up” Tombstone. While I may be more prone to speaking harshly when I am tired or feel stressed, I am still responsible for my words & actions. If we all used being hurt as a license to continue the pattern of hurting others, then the cycle would never end.
The truth is, we’ve all been hurt or have experienced pain in our lives, and we’ve all made poor decisions at once time or another and have been a source of pain, hurt, confusion or frustration to someone we love. Sometimes the person may have meant to provoke you or purposely cause you pain, but most often it’s our own state of mind and interpretation of the situation that we filter the situation through before drawing our conclusions about how “bad” the situation is.
To be completely transparent with you, December has been a blessed yet terribly painful month for our family in many ways — and no, I am not talking about late-stage pregnancy and contractions (though those have contributed to my physical discomfort and have therefore given me lots more moments to choose to walk in love and speak kindly to others.) Being lied to or lied about is hurtful — being cheated and taken advantage of certainly does not feel good — and yet, I can can choose to truly forgive without needing to offer one word of justification for the other person’s actions — I can even choose to forgive if they won’t admit to wronging me and even if they’d hurt me again given the chance. We are free to either react (negative) or respond (positive) to the circumstances of life. That choice is what dictates our own level of internal peace. We are all unique — the Bible says we are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14) in the image of the Creator. Adversity can make you beautiful if you let it!
“Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4 NIV)
Perhaps this isn’t as big of an “ah ha!” to you as it is to me, or maybe it’s the forgiveness part you need God to help you with — either way, because of His great love for us, the circumstances of life will continue to present us with opportunities to make the choice to draw closer to Him.
Summer is here! The beautiful Ngong Hills near our home in Nairobi, Kenya.
Friday, December 16th, 2011
Sabra playing with the babies at New Life Orphange
It is a beautiful morning – the sunshine is just starting to show its face, the birds are waking up, and…..wait….is that the sound of a kazoo? Why yes it is, here at six in the morning. And thus the day begins.
Since the sun is already blazing, I decide start on some laundry – each load of which must be washed, hung to dry, ironed, hung or folded, and put away. A little while later, as Sam and I are sitting to do some homework, there is an unexpected knock at our door. Ah yes, the electrician who was coming back “tomorrow” four weeks ago. As I sit at the dining room table, he comes in; takes off his socks, shoes, and button-down shirt; and climbs (now barefooted) onto the table. I must say, it is rather disturbing to have foot marks on the table you eat at. And, even now, I am skeptically eying the lights – now loose from the ceiling again – that were “repaired” using the shove-a-piece-of-stick-in-the-screw-hole method. Not particularly effective, if you ask me.
Mom and I now make our list, gather our fabric shopping bags, and set out on the 3 km walk to the grocery store. Now, shopping here is very hit-or-miss. No amount of careful planning can ensure that you find each item on your list, so we are learning to take things as they come – and that includes more areas of our lives than just shopping for groceries. The most exciting thing we found was a can of V8 juice, and we were thrilled. Mom pointed to it on the shelf, and in an awed whisper asked, “Is that V8?” And indeed it was. We are certainly learning to take pleasure in the small things. We can’t even just go out and buy items like hairclips or mechanical pencils, so we are happy for the things that we can find. As we go to pay, the card machine isn’t working – in truth, it nearly never is. So we wait….and we wait…..and we wait until it gets sorted. Finally we’ve finished. Next errand? Take some cash from the ATM. Sounds simple, right? Not exactly. The first machine we try is out of money, as is the second. On a really bad day, the third one won’t have money either. Eventually, we usually end up with some cash….sometimes. After we are all done running errands, either Dad picks us up after his work day – spent “out in the field” or in the CMA office – or we walk home. (Before we buy any groceries, we always figure out how we will be going home. If we walk, we have to be careful to watch the weight of our items, because that box of milk or that pineapple that “wasn’t very heavy” seems a whole lot heavier after walking 3 km with it on your shoulder!) As we enter our apartment complex, the small neighbor kids start yelling to us, “Baba Sam, Mama Sam, Sister Sam! Where is the barking cat? Where is the dog of Sam?” (Are you catching that Sam is popular? He is like the Pied Piper for young children. The dogs are popular as well.) Sam and some of the other neighbor kids are in our living room – Sam is the best, and our house always has Wii and homemade “biscuits” (cookies), so of course they come.
Sara with two Maasai midwives -- having contractions during a CMA food distribution.
I make dinner, and we spend some “quality time” as a family. We have to light candles some evenings, as the power goes out rather frequently here. Candles and matches are household staples for Nairobi living. We turn on all our water heaters about an hour and a half before we want to have hot baths or showers – the same goes for heating water to wash dishes.
Our days go like this part of the time, always filled with humor and surprises. The rest of the time we are out at churches, visiting schools or slums, hosting teams from North America, and building relationships. And that is our call, our call to community. Just another beautiful day in Africa….
Chad & Sam at church in Maasailand
Friday, November 4th, 2011
Chad left our home in Nairobi, Kenya for South Sudan early Tuesday morning, the 1st of November. Today he was able to get an email update through to me, so I wanted to share it with you. Up to this point, he has not had a way to send me any photos, but I am sure the camera will be full when he returns. If you haven’t caught up on our two years of life in Africa, take a moment to search our other blog posts on the Journey247 website — we have been working to write more often & include more photos for you to enjoy.
I also want to thank you for your continued support through prayer, by encouraging emails/phone calls and with your giving. As missionaries who are not backed by any particular church or denomination, we rely on your generosity to live a life of ministry in Eastern Africa working with Christian Mission Aid where Chad is the Operations Director. You can give easily using paypal or by writing a check — remember that financial gifts are tax-deductible through our 501c3 Journey247 (registered in Michigan). Lately I have had several people tell me they’d like to give but that they feel their gift is too small to be worthwhile. Let me tell you truly, that even a “small” gift buys food and “small” gifts added together pay for electricity & water. You make it possible for us to continue to share the love of Christ.
Love & blessings!
~Sara
Here is the update from Chad:
The satellite network is VERY unreliable. We are still able to communicate with the office over the radio every morning, however, we really can’t hear them very well so our message has to be relayed through our team in Mathiang. This place is amazing.
Sam would absolutely be in heaven here and I hope to take him with me sometime. It is very quiet and peaceful. We have spent the last couple days hiking from village to village. From June to November, this place is completely shut off from the rest of the world except for the occasional CMA sponsored plane that is able to land in the mud. Even those flights often cannot land and many times are stuck in the mud.
Now the rainy season has finally come to a close (that’s why there is so much dancing in the villages this week). The is one very rough road to Mathiang that will be dry soon and the traders will come bringing things like sugar and soap. The people here are so happy. CMA also has some bikes and wear able to ride them to visit some of our church leaders in the far places.
Today, I will have to swim across a river to get to the village that we are going to. I’m not sure on the spelling, but the name of the village is Pytet. Tomorrow we will be baptizing in the river. At least I hope it is the river, because the first location that our church leaders chose was a very muddy, leach infested spot. Either way, praise the Lord!
On Wednesday afternoon I was able to meet with about 50 church leaders that traveled very far to be with us. Yesterday (Thursday) I also visited the only school in the area. It has about 200 students and only goes up to grade 6. The Dajo Payam administrator (like a county commissioner)is currently studying at a 4th grade level. The students
have no desks and sit on large tin cans. There is a structure built for the school, but most of the classes still remain outside under the trees. In the rainy season, the dirt floor in the school turns to mud due to the flooding. Only the teachers have textbooks and chalkboards are too few for the number of students. If the students want to continue learning past grade 6, they need to go to Mathiang which is a 13 hour walk in the dry season. So basically, it is
impossible for many of the students to continue on. On Sunday, the local churches will be gathering here at the CMA clinic compound.
On Monday, I will be traveling to Wichbor which is one of the far villages in Dajo. They say that we will bike as far as we are able, then we will have to park the bikes and continue on foot. We here that there is also a small school there and we are going to meet with church leaders and assess the situation. We have had theoportunity to pray for so man as we travel from village to village. God is so good. I already have so many stories to share.
I love you. My love to Sabra, Samuel, and Aviya as well. I really appreciate the prayers of all our friends as
we continue to carry the hope of the gospel to very remote places.
I miss you very much.
Much love to you today!
Friday, October 7th, 2011
Queen Esther -- painting by Edwin Long (1878)
If we are obedient to God, if we eagerly desire to become the men and women He has called us to be, and if we are chasing after His will and not our own, we discover our giftings and impact lives. You see, each and every person is uniquely gifted by God and should, through His strength, use their talents to His glory and the benefit of others: “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” (1 Peter 5:10) Here I want to stop my quote and point out the words various forms. It is so important that we realize that there is not just one way to honor God – not just one way to change the world. I thnk that, in many cases, we have really come to underestimate God’s amazing power. We have fallen into believing that bigger is better – if you can’t do it big, why do it at all? If you aren’t Joyce Meyer or T. D. Jakes and are just plain old you, how could you make any difference? But what not everyone understands is even those people are just one person. If everyone would become “the one,” think how it would radically impact the whole world!
I am going to use some examples: Esther from the Bible and Neo from Matrix. They were each “the one”; they were put in the right place at the right time: “And who knows but that you have come to…postition at such a time as this?” (Esther 4:14) Now, each of them had a choice: accept or say, “Thanks, but no thanks.” They could have made the choice to walk away, BUT, as Mordecai told Esther, “For if you remian silent at this time…deliverance…will arise from another place…” (Esther 4:14) Esther could have refused the task set before her, and God would have made another way to save His people. In fact, He could have just zapped the “bad guys” with a lighting bolt or done something else equally miraculous. So why didn’t He? As I said, God has given each of us a destiny and a purpose, and He wants us to follow His call no matter how impossible our circumstances may look to our own eyes.
Let’s take a look at Neo now. He was really concerned that he wasn’t “the one.” Because if everyone else was wrong and he wasn’t truly “the one,” then there was a big problem, right? However, as the Oracle told him, it wasn’t about whether he was actually “the one” or not; it was about him believing that he was the one – about him believing that he could be change and make a difference. We need to come back to a place where we focus not on the seeming impossibility of something, but on how just how big God is, because with Him, nothing is impossible and He will always equip us to do what He has called us to do.
I want to finish by quoting verse eleven of 1 Peter 5: “If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ.” The time is now – the time for each of us to be the one to step out, to be the one who does what is right, to be the one who obeys.
Friday, September 30th, 2011
At the Kibigare school, Kathleen has Steve bring one of the students forward to help with the lesson.
Today Sabra & Samuel stayed home to catch up on school work while I went along with Chad, Kathleen Trock & Sue DeKoekkoek for a day of follow-up on the Pebbles & Stones training that took place over the past weekend. We started on visiting Kibigare school in the Kibigare slum area on the northwest side of Nairobi where the students were excited to see us. They even remembered that our baby girl is named Aviya Zuri, though they thought it was funny that I named a baby who was still in my tummy. Whenever we go to schools or to children’s homes, I feel it’s important to introduce Aviya because it helps children to understand the value of life. You don’t need to come out and explain all the technical details of “baby making” but I think it’s wrong for children to assume that pregnancy just happens.
At the schools Chad introduces himself and explains that he has three children. He tells the kids that Aviya is his daughter and has our last name because he is her Daddy. When he does this there is lots of laughter, as the kids are often asked to guess how old his youngest daughter is. The older girls seem to catch on the fastest and are quick to point to my tummy while giggling and saying, “she is zero years old”.
One of the things I admire most about Kathleen is how she takes time for each child. Listening = love.
Upon arriving to our next stop at Shangalia — which is both an orphaned children’s home & a school — the older girls were surprised that they could feel Aviya kick their hands when they were placed on my tummy. After sharing those moments with them, I had girls all over me. I love that they could sense my love for them and knew that I was a safe person. They busied themselves with my hair and after giving up looking for where my extensions where attached (hard to find since I don’t have any) they quickly started on my beauty salon treatment. Faith sat on my lap chattering in Swahili while the older girls, like Monica, at my sides kept saying in English, “No, Faith, this muzungu (white person) is not your mama.” Christine cuddled under my right arm with her face buried in my chest & never spoke a word, but it was plain to see she was more comfortable with women than with men.
My Shangalia beauty salon -- Faith on my lap, Monica (in grey) at my left & Christine nestled under my right arm.
Monica asked me if I thought she was a boy, which really made me laugh. She has her hair shaved, is thin & bony and at ten has no bust in sight — she said the other girls say she looks like a boy. This actually made me laugh more because I was able to tell me that I had her exact same body when I was ten and that kids teased me, too — at first she didn’t believe me but after sharing a few stories with her, we were laughing together. The girls told me how Faith, at four years old, is the youngest member of the Shangalia family and that they all take turns rotating Faith between their beds at night since she won’t stay put in her own. Meanwhile, Faith was growing more & more snuggly and suddenly my lap was wet & warm — she looked up at me with her big brown eyes and patted my face — yes, I had been peed on.
The Shangalia kids at prayer asking God to be a father to them. The blonde in the front is Lena, a german student who lives as a volunteer at the children's home.
One of the classrooms at the Kibigare school.
It’s hard for me to visit without wanting to take every child home with me, but knowing they are in a safe, loving environment gives my heart a measure of peace. So many smiles awaiting me make me eager to visit again. Chad promised the kids at Shangalia that next week he will teach them to do the funky chicken. Then we laughed together while saying Sue’s name aloud because her last name, Dekoekkoek, sounds similar to saying “the chicken” in Swahili, which is “kuku”.
I can’t believe that it has already been a week and this is Kathleen & Sue’s last day with us in Kenya. At Shangalia, Kathleen shared a lesson that centered around God being our father, and the kids soaked up her words while quickly learning the hand motions to the songs we taught. At Kibigare the lesson reminded us that God is good all the time… and truly He is.
The students at the Kibigare school were quick to catch on to the signing motions that go along with a song teaching us that God is good.
Monday, September 26th, 2011
Roadside shops that we passed today near Soweto in Nairobi, Kenya.
Sam, my dad, and I had the amazing opportunity to spend the day out with our dear friends from Pebbles and Stones, Kathleen Trock and Sue DeKoekkoek, visiting the children at Charisma Tumaini school and Provision Education Center. (Mom & Baby Aviya stayed home to rest.) We did short Pebbles & Stones groups with them, teaching them that God not only speaks – He wants to talk to and have a personal relationship with each one of us. I think that my very favorite part of the day was our “listening time” with the students at P.E.C. Over 160 children – ranging from about three to twelve – were gathered into one room, yet there was nothing to be heard but the beautiful sound of silence. God’s sweet presence so filled the room that it was nearly tangible.
Samuel walking the sreets of Soweto near PEC.
When I looked at all those little blessings (as Mrs. Kathleen so fondly calls us children), each and every one of them had his or her eyes scrunched shut and hands folded neatly, expecting to hear the Father’s voice. Student after student came to the front to share what God had said to them, or a prayer that He had given them. I can’t help but think about how much the Lord must love it when His children quiet themselves before Him and simply listen.
The students of PEC praying.
In the silence
You are speaking
In the quiet I can feel the fire
And it’s burning, burning deeply
Burning all that it is that you desire to be silent, in me
(Lyrics from Jason Upton’s “In the Silence”)
Listening to the Father's voice.
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
The jeans I am ironing today at my apartment in Nairobi.
Let me say first thing that I confess to having once laughed at someone for ironing their jeans. Perhaps that was the day I made an inner vow not to iron anything at all, I really don’t remember. The truth is, I hate to iron. I really think it is because that no matter how hard I try, I am still really bad at it. Doesn’t John Maxwell advise that we should devote 90% of our time to the 10% in life we are really good at? Well if that’s true, then I shouldn’t be ironing at all.
Unfortunately, people with front-loading washing machines who line-dry their clothes are really forced to iron. I am sure this is why Chad has to devote a portion of his day each morning to ironing his own clothes. Many years ago I figured that since it takes me about forty minutes to iron a men’s dress shirt, and then he still irons it before putting it on, it just really isn’t worth my time, or the amount of frustration I endure. However, Chad has a closet full of shirts that need ironing.
I noticed a while back that he didn’t seem to be wearing any “repeats” but then realized that he was going through his closet wearing the least wrinkly ones; in other words, the ones that needed the least amount of ironing. When we were in South Africa, Dora came two days a week and she did the ironing. When we lived in Michigan, I took everything to shirt laundry – well worth my $1.25 since you can get easily get “two wears” out of a crisply starched, laundered shirt. Here in Kenya I do exactly what I did every other place we’ve lived, I don’t iron. The problem is, it’s getting to be a problem. I am actually starting to get worried that Chad will post a want notice up at the grocery in order to hire someone to come to our apartment to iron. So today, before things spiral any further out of control, I’ve got the iron nice and hot…
My Brabantia brand ironing board & coordinating lime green iron.
I was off to a great start and that is where ironing jeans comes into the equation. You see, you can iron the little clothespin “pinchy” lines out of jeans in about 30 seconds. It made me feel really good about myself because after ironing for only two minutes, I was finishing my fourth item. Then I started to remember my old steamer in America — oh how I liked it much better than an iron. Then I started remembering my nice Brabantia ironing board in South Africa – it had lime green flowers & I had a lime green iron to match – that made it easier, um, to look at. And being cuter somehow made it okay. But this flimsy ironing board here in Kenya leave the metal mesh grate marks on your clothes and makes me wish I had taken the lime green one on the plane with me. How that could have happened, I don’t know, but in retrospect it seems like there should have been a way. Unfortunately this line of thinking isn’t good at all – I really need to stop myself before I start thinking of all the useful things I’ve given away, sold or left behind over the past two years of life in three different countries and seven different houses/apartments/farms/coverted garages. Sigh…
Chad doing his laundry before I arrived in Kenya.
I’ve gotten used to not having a dryer and I must say that clothes certainly do look nicer for longer when they have been line dried. And sun-dried sheets are just plain wonderful! The crispy towels I could do without, but truthfully I can hardly recall what a fluffy towel feels like – maybe they would seem strange to me now. One thing I won’t ever do, though, is dry my bedsheets like the maid across the parking lot is doing today. She has freshly laundered white sheets lying out on the parking lot pavement. It seems to me that would just make them dirty again but I better not say “never” because that’s what I said about ironing jeans… and just look what happened with that!
As a footnote, I’ve simply got to add that the electricity has gone out twice since I sat down to write this post, but power outages are a story for another day…
