Thursday, November 22, 2007

Happy Thanksgiving Family and Friends

This morning the entire team divided up and spent time on home visits. The reality of Africa becomes unavoidable when sitting in a very small hut with a family who has very little. And yet these families face the struggles with dignity and grace. They welcomed us into their homes inviting us to chat, drink Chai and pray.

Melody walked with Pastor Peter to Lillian's home to pray for her. Maryann, Andrea, Jennifer and Stephanie went with the interns to visit several other families.

Danette, Adele and I had a special opportunity to visit with Lucy and Kibet. They live about 1/2 mile down the road from the Kipkaren compound. When we arrived, they were so happy to see us and invited us in. After some very interesting conversation about their tribal background and how they met, Kibet shared with us his very amazing story. Both Lucy and Kibet have AIDS. At one point in 2004 Kibet was near death as his body was shutting down from the disease. He had lost so much weight (he is a very tall man) he couldn't stand or sit. Then Julie from ELI walked into his life. He said she was like an angel from heaven. She took Kibet to get medical attention and once they found out the AIDS, they were given anti viral medications. Kibet and Lucy now have much improved lives. They have accepted Christ into their lives and now have a very productive home. They grow wonderful fruits and vegetables and raise chickens to sell. It was such a joy to hear their story and spend time with them.

This afternoon, Adele and I, with the help of some of the kitchen staff, prepared Thanksgiving dinner for the team and the staff here. It was SO much fun cooking a turkey in a charcoal oven. I was a bit nervous since there is no way to monitor the temperature. The meal included stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, modified green bean casserole (we had no beans so we substituted with spinach), and pumpkin dessert.

We were invited to David's house for Thanksgiving dinner. It was really wonderful sharing food and thanks with old friends and new. We were all missing our families back home but enjoying the new memories we are making here in Africa.

Tomorrow we travel to Illula. We are expecting to witness more miracles there. God Bless!

Nan for the Iowa team

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