What an example the African people are to me and the team. They praise our God through the many struggles of hunger, lack of adequate shelter and clothing, and of course, illnesses and AIDS. Their life is hard and difficult, yet, I did not ever hear complaining, but saw the constant raising of their hands to thank God for ALL that He HAS provided. Their faith is strong and resilient and they rely not on their own power, but God’s provision.
I want to share with you a special journey that I took while in Kipkaren. I was invited by Mama Sifuna to travel to her home. She was one of many ladies who would wash our clothes each day and take care of team needs. As we walked the rough, rocky and dusty path (which took about 30 minutes) we approached two small mud and stick buildings. The first room was a 12 x 12 foot building. There is one mattress for Mama Sifuna and her children to sleep on and one suitcase with ALL of their clothing. (She is raising five children alone, as her husband had left her.)
It was dark and musty inside and there was no furniture to sit down on. On her walls were strung various colors of paper mache. Those were her only home furnishings. We took several steps outside to her cooking room. In the one corner was a fire pit for cooking and in the other corner there was firewood. The few charred pots that she had were on a make-shift table outside. Ah, but her children were laughing and playing in the nearby tree, eating sugar cane and wanting their picture taken.
She was so proud to show me through her home. As Mama Sifuna and I traveled back to Kipkaren, we held hands and sang songs together, smiling and laughing and praising the Lord. I was smiling with my sister in Christ, but my heart was breaking for her and her children.
Thank you to all of you who have supported me and Andrea financially, or through prayer so that we could take this life-changing journey. You are in our thoughts and prayers, as well. Hi to Bob, family and friends and everyone at DCS!
Tutaone – See you soon!
Love,
Lori
Jambo! Andrea here. Well, it’s true, God really has been good. We came to Ilula from Kipkaren yesterday. After some car trouble and an hour and a half of sitting on the side of the road getting a great tan, we finally made it to Julius’ house (ELI's Director of Operations) for lunch. We had a wonderful talk about monkey tails and new babies, how Jesus came into his life, and much more. We met all his children, and then we left for Ilula.
When we first got there, they put on a beautiful welcome ceremony for the team and then welcomed us all individually. This was actually the first time I’ve gotten to meet the girl our family sponsors: Caroline. She gave me a bouquet of flowers and held my hand until I had to leave for dinner. Ilula is a bit different than Kipkaren’s children’s home. Here the children’s rooms are smaller and they all sleep on bunk beds with one big table in the middle of the room. They each have their own cubby for school supplies and shoes and one drawer each for their clothes. After we were shown around, we went to rest in our huts. After a wonderful night’s sleep we are ready to get going and fulfill God’s calling for each of us.
To all my classmates and teachers back home in Iowa, I miss you all so much and look forward to seeing you again. Oh, and for those who sent letters, thank you so much. I’ve loved all of the food so far, and all of the animals (excluding the geckos). I’ve seen GEICO’s mascot about 20 times!* Well, I hope that you’re all doing well and I can’t wait to see all of you again! Well, even though it’s morning here, it’s night time there, so lala salama! (good night) ☺
Love,
Andrea
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