Bwana asifiwe! (Praise the Lord!) I think this is my new favorite Kiswahili phrase. I have had so much to praise the Lord for over the past week and a half since I departed from the US for Kenya. I don't think I have even fully recognized all the wonderful ways that God has blessed me since leaving home. I was so scared when I left last Wednesday, but God has given me so much peace and provision that I simply cannot be afraid anymore.
The blessings began as soon as I set foot in the airport in Rochester. My suitcases were too heavy and were going to cost over $1,000 to get to Kenya, so I had to take some things out of them to get the weight down. The requirement was 50lbs. but the man at the check in desk allowed me to check both of my suitcases at 5 lbs. over the limit. On top of that blessing, my mom explained to a lady that I was leaving for Africa for the summer, and since she didn't want to see my mom cry, she gave her a pass to get her and my grandma all the way to my gate to say goodbye to me.
Flying was completely insane, and God must have been carrying the planes the whole way. I think my flight into DC went right through the middle of a big storm cloud! In spite of delays and rerouting, God provided me with traveling companions so that I wasn't stranded alone in an airport in Zurich as I waited to be rerouted to Amsterdam and then to Nairobi.
When I arrived in Nairobi, my luggage was all lost, including the carry-on that I had to check in Zurich, which had all of my medicines in it. I could not find the person who was supposed to be meeting me, but some nice man at the information desk called the ELI office and managed to put me in contact with Alex so that I could get out of the airport. The most important two pieces of my luggage (the carry-on and the big one with my clothes and personal items in it) arrived that night, so I could take them with me to Eldoret and then to Ilula the next day.
In the week that I have been in Ilula, the children, parents, and staff have been such a blessing to me. They are so patient with my shortcomings and understanding of the fact that I was really missing my home and feeling somewhat lost in this strange new place. God has been with me every step of the way, and his Word and his Holy Spirit have been my constant comfort and companion as I take each step on this journey that God has set out for me. I can do nothing but stand in awe and praise God when I look at the children and their joy in the simplest things in life.
The Kenyans have a custom of thanking God for everything in their lives and recognizing each blessing that they have been given, and I have learned much from this and from each of them. God is so good, and I praise him because he created these people and this land and sent me here to be a blessing and to be blessed by them. Bwana asifiwe!
Showing posts with label Ilula. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ilula. Show all posts
Friday, June 22, 2007
Monday, March 26, 2007
The Bridge: What Day is it?
Bwana Asifewe!
Julie and Kay here. We finally took posession of the computer to send an update. Well, Gary's taking a nap. It's 2:15pm as we begin to write. Obviously the power has returned. It returned during the night that it went out. I guess Gary and Shad were just too worn out from all the activities yesterday to post something.
And we're sorry that there won't be any pictures with this update because we don't really know how to do that :)
On Saturday, we were able to enjoy God's amazing creation as we had a 'day away' where they took us up a mountain to a view point that overlooks part of the Great Rift Valley. We realize that the previous sentince doesn't even do justice to what we saw, but we promise to show you pictures when we return. As we traveled up and down the mountain we were able to witness more of the Kenyan lifestyle, too. To say this is a beautiful country would be an understatement.
We stopped in Eldoret at an outdoor garden/restaurant place and had ice cream!
On to Sunday
Sunday School begins at 8:30am for an hour. It's for preschool-highschool. They're divided into 4 groups. Mick, I suggest we do this at The Bridge :) So we divided up amonst the groups and each got to share about ourselves and a Bible story. Then church started at 10am. WOW!! It was an amazing experience. All of the different age groups took turns singing in front of church, which is the dining hall at the training center. I believe Gary has talked about their singing in a past blog. It's something that is hard to describe, but I would compare it to what the angels sound like in heaven. It's pure, genuine worship. There was a time of testimonies. Anyone was welcome to come up and share what God had done in their lives.
Dorcas, a house parent and the choir director, lead her choir in some more amazing worship that was proceded by prayer. During their prayer time, everyone prays at the same time. Some literally cry out to God while others sit quietly in their seats. The children were also involved in this. The level of noise was almost deafening, but beautiful. We were then asked to introduce ourselves and give a short testimony of our lives. We followed this with some worship music and John preaching!
In the afternoon, we visited one of the house parents. Their youngest son, Emmanuel is sick. Please pray for him. He's 4 months old. They brought him to the hospital and saw signs of malaria. The rest of the afternoon was spent with the children playing kick-ball. Julie and I were cheer leading coaches. They thought we were crazy! They eventually joined in. Devotions followed where Gary gave his testimony and encouraged the children to grow in wisdom.
After dinner a few of us returned to the Children's Home to read stories and visit with the children. They're so precious!
On to today (though it's only 1/2 way done...)
Has Gary mentioned how much chai we consume in one day? It's probably an average of 5 cups a day per person! So we were schooled in how to make chai today! We'll make it for church some time.
We joined the whole ELI team for staff devotions. We again had the opportunity to share who we were, a bit about ourselves and words of encouragement. We appreciate that they constantly take time to share words of encouragement with one other as it builds each other up. We have not heard one complaint out of anyone's mouth. There are a lot of struggles, yet they choose to praise God (Bwana asifiwe!) It's sad that it's so unlike our culture. But don't worry. Julie and I are coming home to change that!
Work continued on the imfamous WALL. If you're thinking of constructing one out of bricks and concrete then talk to John, Julie and Charlene. It was a tough day of work because they felt they were more a hinderance than a help. So, our work on the wall is completed. The wall is not completed, but our work is. :) Shadrach and I were not given a 'wall job', so we went to the garden to help Lorence weed the onions. His garden is work of art. He told us that if you enter someone's garden that it's rude not to leave with some food. So he gave us each a passion fruit! YUM. And Gary . . . um. . . we're not sure where he was. Just kidding. He was working on a pamphlet about goats. Or as we like to call them, "The poor man's cow", which I will be milking in 3 hours!
Well, we're off to play with the children. This will be our last time with them as we leave the training center at 7 tomorrow morning. They're having 'closing ceremonies' for us. It'll be a night filled with lots of tears, but we know they have great parents to take care of them.
Thank you for your continued prayer. It plays a big role in what is being accomplished here at the center.
Julie and Kay here. We finally took posession of the computer to send an update. Well, Gary's taking a nap. It's 2:15pm as we begin to write. Obviously the power has returned. It returned during the night that it went out. I guess Gary and Shad were just too worn out from all the activities yesterday to post something.
And we're sorry that there won't be any pictures with this update because we don't really know how to do that :)
On Saturday, we were able to enjoy God's amazing creation as we had a 'day away' where they took us up a mountain to a view point that overlooks part of the Great Rift Valley. We realize that the previous sentince doesn't even do justice to what we saw, but we promise to show you pictures when we return. As we traveled up and down the mountain we were able to witness more of the Kenyan lifestyle, too. To say this is a beautiful country would be an understatement.
We stopped in Eldoret at an outdoor garden/restaurant place and had ice cream!
On to Sunday
Sunday School begins at 8:30am for an hour. It's for preschool-highschool. They're divided into 4 groups. Mick, I suggest we do this at The Bridge :) So we divided up amonst the groups and each got to share about ourselves and a Bible story. Then church started at 10am. WOW!! It was an amazing experience. All of the different age groups took turns singing in front of church, which is the dining hall at the training center. I believe Gary has talked about their singing in a past blog. It's something that is hard to describe, but I would compare it to what the angels sound like in heaven. It's pure, genuine worship. There was a time of testimonies. Anyone was welcome to come up and share what God had done in their lives.
Dorcas, a house parent and the choir director, lead her choir in some more amazing worship that was proceded by prayer. During their prayer time, everyone prays at the same time. Some literally cry out to God while others sit quietly in their seats. The children were also involved in this. The level of noise was almost deafening, but beautiful. We were then asked to introduce ourselves and give a short testimony of our lives. We followed this with some worship music and John preaching!
In the afternoon, we visited one of the house parents. Their youngest son, Emmanuel is sick. Please pray for him. He's 4 months old. They brought him to the hospital and saw signs of malaria. The rest of the afternoon was spent with the children playing kick-ball. Julie and I were cheer leading coaches. They thought we were crazy! They eventually joined in. Devotions followed where Gary gave his testimony and encouraged the children to grow in wisdom.
After dinner a few of us returned to the Children's Home to read stories and visit with the children. They're so precious!
On to today (though it's only 1/2 way done...)
Has Gary mentioned how much chai we consume in one day? It's probably an average of 5 cups a day per person! So we were schooled in how to make chai today! We'll make it for church some time.
We joined the whole ELI team for staff devotions. We again had the opportunity to share who we were, a bit about ourselves and words of encouragement. We appreciate that they constantly take time to share words of encouragement with one other as it builds each other up. We have not heard one complaint out of anyone's mouth. There are a lot of struggles, yet they choose to praise God (Bwana asifiwe!) It's sad that it's so unlike our culture. But don't worry. Julie and I are coming home to change that!
Work continued on the imfamous WALL. If you're thinking of constructing one out of bricks and concrete then talk to John, Julie and Charlene. It was a tough day of work because they felt they were more a hinderance than a help. So, our work on the wall is completed. The wall is not completed, but our work is. :) Shadrach and I were not given a 'wall job', so we went to the garden to help Lorence weed the onions. His garden is work of art. He told us that if you enter someone's garden that it's rude not to leave with some food. So he gave us each a passion fruit! YUM. And Gary . . . um. . . we're not sure where he was. Just kidding. He was working on a pamphlet about goats. Or as we like to call them, "The poor man's cow", which I will be milking in 3 hours!
Well, we're off to play with the children. This will be our last time with them as we leave the training center at 7 tomorrow morning. They're having 'closing ceremonies' for us. It'll be a night filled with lots of tears, but we know they have great parents to take care of them.
Thank you for your continued prayer. It plays a big role in what is being accomplished here at the center.
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