No longer waiting

Waiting… It can consume so much of our lives.  We wait until we are financially stable, we wait until we are older, we wait until we think we are prepared… we wait until NEXT weekend, next year.  So much of what we do hinges on this “waiting game.” 
Simeon was a man who was waiting.  He was waiting for that promise.  To behold with His own eyes The Christ, the Consolation of Israel.  God had promised and He stood there knowing His God would not lie.
In our lives there are various seasons where God may ask us to wait.  And certainly we are ANXIOUSLY awaiting the second coming of that same Christ.  However this Christmas season we are rejoicing that we are no longer waiting to know Him.  We don’t have to wait for peace in our hearts, for joy in our lives, for love, acceptance, forgiveness, and salvation.  It has come… He has come.  Often we can catch ourselves waiting for something that He is ready to accomplish in us.  In our humanity we wait and try to find fulfillment in other people… in other ways outside of Christ.  Oh what joy is found in the revelation that we no longer have to wait.  He is ready… are you?
Christmas time in a warm climate for the first time.  Seems quite strange.  Instead of looking out our window and seeing snow falling we see clothes drying on the line.  It will be a different Christmas but it will be good!! Celebrating the birth of Christ does not have to depend on circumstances and environment… we are thankful for that.
We are settled back in here at home after a short visit to the U.S.  We are so thankful for that trip.  It proved to us again that God knows best.  What we thought was a last minute crisis was shown to be a great blessing.  His ways... tested and proven to be better!
We are just continuing to live life here.  Taking one day at a time.  Learning to abide. One thing that has become very clear to us is that we needed to live here.  As we look back over these past months we are completely overcome with gratitude.  The Lover of our souls has certainly blessed us.  He has taught us so many invaluable lessons.  Our souls have not always eagerly embraced them, but as we reflect we can clearly see that it was needed.  We needed to emerge from our cocoon of the familiar and the comfortable.  Our souls needed stretched and softened.  We needed to see our complete incapability.   We have been given a glimpse of Him… and He is nothing short of amazing.  As we continue down this path however long or short it may be, we look forward to the further cultivation of our souls and the souls around us as He works. 
MERRY CHRISTMAS to you all.  He has come.  He has lived.  He has died.  He has RISEN! And He is coming again!!

Fortification

Well sometimes life has a curve that you are completely unaware of that takes you to a place you hadn't intended to go. On Wednesday 27th, as we woke up to a steady drizzle outside the window, we would have never dreamed we would be flying to the states that night. In short, we found that when our visas expired on Thursday the 28th we couldn't just extend them.. we needed to leave East Africa.  We had been under a false impression after a trip to the Embassy we made last year concerning this. So we got online and found that tickets to the States weren't too much more than tickets to Ethiopia, so we booked them.  And here we are.  We kept looking at each other and reminding ourselves that this was no surprise to the Lord.  He knew, and He knows. So we will rest in that.  I was reading in Psalms yesterday and came upon this verse-- Psalm 32:8 "I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will guide you with My eye."  We are in good hands :)

I have been reading through Nehemiah.  One day I was sitting down where we serve lunch on Saturdays.  From my perch I had a great view of Kibera.  I could see people walking along the railway line headed off for another day.  I could see shop owners opening windows and wooden doors.  Mama's sitting our their goods. I could see children running through the streets leaping over ditches.  Then my eyes fell back to the pages in front of me. The pages that contain Life.  Those pages that mean more to me as the days go by.  As I read through Nehemiah I saw the parallel.  It quite nearly jumped off the pages.  The walls of Jerusalem were broken down,  they were vulnerable to attack.. their enemies had a clear view, unhindered access.  And it grieved Nehemiah.. he wept, he prayed, he fasted.  Then God moved Him to action.  I read quickly eager to devour the words.. the parallel burning in my mind.  I read how Nehemiah called them to rise and build.  I read of all the households committed to the fortification of this city.  Me eyes came to chapter 4 verse 17 and I had to stop and take it in.  Read it a couple more times..  With ONE hand they worked at construction, and with the OTHER they held a weapon.  I looked up and again watched the people walking, fetching, running, living another day they had been given.  I wondered within myself.. how many walls are broken down?  How many of these souls are living day to day unfortified... giving the enemy unhindered access.  God wants to rebuild.  He is in that business.  Am I willing to be used?  Am I willing to pray, fast, and weep?  Does He have my life to use in the fortification? Does He have my knees.. bent to the floor.. where the work is the most taxing but the most victory won?  Do I have two hands given... one for building one for defending?!  And then as my eyes continues there journey across the pages they came to chapter 6 verse 16 and it says when the wall was completed..  When all their enemies heard of it, and all the nations around saw these things, that they were very disheartened in their own eyes; FOR THEY PERCIEVED THAT THIS WORK WAS DONE BY OUR GOD.  Oh hallelujah!! All praise be to the Master Builder!!
He is looking for men, women, households who are willing to be used in His global construction project.  All around us there are walls in need of repair and restoration.  On our own we can try to slap up some bricks, cover the holes the best we can.. but they will never stand.  It is only when we come under the direction and supervision  of our Lord that change can be affected.  He wants to make us strong and repair the breaches and gaps in our walls so that we can then be poured out on behalf of those around us.  It is a glorious invitation to serve under the Great Master Builder. He knows very acutely what it means to stand in the gap for someone... what it takes to repair a breach that has been made... to put up walls of fortification.  His body filled a gap for us,  His blood poured out, His life breath expired, He was crushed so that the enemy could no longer have unhindered access. 

"Then I (Nehemiah) said to them, "You see the distress that we are in, how Jerusalem lies waste, and its gates are burned with fire. Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach (desolate)."  Nehemiah 2:17

Unworthy Servants

As I was sitting in church half listening to the sermon in Swahili, I was skimming through Luke when I came across these verses which I never really noticed before.

“Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” Luke 17:7-10

We are unworthy servants. Oh we are truly unworthy servants who are only doing what is our duty. We deserve no honor or praise or thank you’s or good job’s. The King of kings and Lord of Lords, the Most High God, the Holy, Holy, Holy One, the Creator of the world, the Redeemer of the world, has asked us to be His servant…and not only that but His child. He treats as His children. Oh how we are unworthy…

 Sometimes it hits us that we are in Africa. We are so privileged to be here. We are unworthy to be the vessels of Jesus in such a place. And we love every bit of it J The feeding program is growing weekly; this week we had around 180 precious little kiddos filling the benches and stirring up the dirt. We pray that the Truth may be grounded in them and that they may know the Lover of their souls personally. We were very thankful one of the guys translated the devotional this week on their heavenly Father, since most of the younger ones can’t understand deep English yet.

When we come home from the feeding on Saturdays or when we are standing in the kitchen in the morning we can count on being greeted by a kid or 2 or 5, popping up in the window or peeping through the flap in the door :)The kiddos that come over everyday are really becoming just like family. These kids are so precious and bring so much joy to our lives... Juma’s enthusiasm and determination to clean, dancing around with the “rasta man”… aka the mop; Boaz’s sweet smile and ability to see through the cards when playing match…he always wins; Felix’s bold, sassy personality and smile that lights up the room; Emmanuel’s dimples and grand sense of humor; Jane’s big brown eyes and talking to us in Swahili completely confident we understand every word she is saying; Wycliffe walking in and greeting us with a great big hug J They keep our house lively and full. We glimpse our Father's joy, beauty, and who He is through these kiddos. They are such a gift and we love them to pieces!!! And we love you all too and thank the Lord for you! Thinking of each of you and how you all have blessed us in different ways. Press forward and seek Him!

Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift! 2 Corinthians 9:15

Fried Apple Pie

Note to self… Don’t leave sweets to cool in front of the open window.  We have a little boy full of personality that lights up our house nearly every day.  It is not uncommon to hear his name being called at regular intervals.  Usually it is because he is doing something he shouldn’t.  He whirls around his eyes wide as saucers and scurries away.  Yesterday we were sending the kids home and all the sudden it was realized that the last fried apple pie was missing… so Chami goes running out the door just in time to see our mischievous friend running like the wind up the lane frantically stuffing his prize in his pocket.  We got a good laugh over that one.  
We have so much to rejoice and be thankful for.  We just purchased food for the second month of Saturday feedings.  The word seems to be spreading and the numbers seem to be growing.  Last week we counted 155 kids.  That is a lot of rice and beans. We are so grateful for our brothers and sisters here who are willing and eager to help out.  We take turns teaching a devotion.. then we try to play some games then we feed them.  We don’t simply want to be filling their bellies.  Full bellies won’t save a soul from hell.  It is our desire that Christ be proclaimed.  We pray the Holy Spirit would be working in their hearts to awaken them to grace, salvation, and love that can only be found in Jesus Christ.  He deserves to have their lives, their praises.  Oh that they would be established upon The Rock where nothing can shake them.  Please pray that the gospel would be lived, proclaimed, and believed here in Kibera.  In 1 Thesselonians 1:5 it says, “For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Spirit..”  When we share the gospel it must be more than just words.  Man’s words have no weight..  the Holy Spirit must be manifested in and through us.. He has to meet us in power.  Only He knows how to preach the gospel rightly.  Our job?! Be a vessel. Be a soul willing to be sanctified and filled.  Be a mouth willing to be used.  Be a life willing to look the fool and be used for the glory of God!! 
Most schools are now out for the remainder of the year.  Our afternoons are full of noise, laughter and life.  It is sweet.. and messy.. and loud… and Worth it!! Some of the older children come in carrying their baby siblings.   They look at us with wide eyes as they cling tightly to the one they know.  Sometimes stories are shared with us that cause us to sit, silent, no words left to say.  Life for a youngster here involves things that some adults in the U.S. have never had to deal with.  The responsibilities and burdens they bear are often much more than we think such small shoulders can carry.  We are continually thankful for our Father.  He knows.. He can fix.. He can heal.  Praise be to His name.
Continue to pray brothers and sisters! And may the Lord be exalted through your lives as you serve Him with your all.
“….that in ALL things He may have preeminence.” Colossians 1:18

boiling the bean stew

The crew

By Grace

Grace… what a precious gift! It ends the endless struggle to produce good actions out of an evil heart.  It ends the days full of unsuccessfully trying to scrub ourselves clean as we sit in a pit brimming with miry clay.  Salvation isn’t just the turning of a leaf.. it isn’t merely deciding to do better.  Salvation is the dying of an old man it is the raising up of a new life.  Salvation means a life full of new and different desires, a life marked by walking on a wholly different path.  “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21 
                I was drawn to think upon this as I rolled over in my mind a statement that was made today.  A young lady appeared at our door today.  Twice she came.  The second time bringing two children with her.  We talked as they enjoyed the hot food that was set before them.  She shared her problems, looking at us with eyes that have seen and known things many of us could not imagine.   Before we sent them on their way she looked at me and in broken English and said “God has made your heart smart.” Here you would use smart to describe someone who is dressed nicely, to describe something that looks pretty.  Somehow I didn’t think “thank-you” was the proper reply.  That is something I could never take credit for.  I tried to explain that Jesus could do the same for her.  He is in the business of taking lives that know no comfort except for the bottle tipped to their lips and radically changing them! Jesus alone can take dull hearts beating only for destruction and breathe life into them.  We ask that you will join us in prayer for this soul and her family.  He is able!!
                We have now been here for nearly 2 months.  Can’t believe it, God is good!  Lately we have had some really great conversations with hearts that are beating with the same passion as we have ...A passion to know our great God and serve Him with our whole lives.  We have been doing some serious dreaming.  Thinking about the future and discussing what it might hold.  We ask that you join us in prayer as we move forward into what the Lord has for us here.  
                Last Saturday was so great! We both fell in bed exhausted but smiling.  We were able to feed around 60 children.  They are saying we can count on at least double this Saturday! We are so excited about the new relationships that God is forming with those sweet kiddos.  The floor in the building where we meet is dirt… let me tell you, the dust can REALLY get to rolling!  A step outside is required every once and awhile for breathing purposes! Haha At first all the response we get is shy smiles but it doesn’t take long before they are laughing and encouraging us in our limited Swahili.  We had great fun talking and playing with them.  They are all ages.. toddlers to teenagers.  We are so excited to see where God is going take this.  It is His.  May His will be done!
                Thank you for all your interest and prayers!  In the words of Jonathon Edwards, “May God stamp eternity on our eyeballs.”  This life is a vapor.. it is quickly passing.  Let’s make it count for the Glory of God.  May His grace not be in vain in our lives!! Onward and Upward!!!!!

Adventures!

Life is soo good and adventurous with Jesus! J We now officially have our bed put together, a DINING ROOM TABLE WITH CHAIRS, and a working light bulb in each socket(and electricity after a week)! Truly these things bring so much joy… the little things that we took for granted in the US now are seen as great blessings and just make our day(although if we didn’t have them it’s okay too).

Last week, we got to venture out of our box here in Nairobi into interior Kisumu. We left last Thursday morning and arrived home around 6 am Monday morning, after an 8 hour bumpy bus ride through the night. It was quite the adventure and we are soo thankful we had the opportunity to go…it is like another world from Nairobi and especially from the US.  We attended a funeral of a friend’s grandma…our first African funeral. They celebrate the person’s life that was lost one last time all night and day on Friday until the funeral on Saturday. Some people stayed up all night, slept sitting up in plastic chairs under the tent, or crashed in one of the houses. Me and Holly ended up sharing a twin size mattress on the floor with 2 young kiddos(probably ages 2 & 4) who fell asleep on our laps the night before. They, along with a lot of others, were from the village and had come for food. These kids had obviously never known what it was like to be treasured and loved on for a whole day, which made for a difficult parting on both sides. Trusting the Lord to hold and keep those precious little ones under His care.

Another adventure were the matatu’s and piki piki’s. They kept us laughing the whole time…o my..there is nothing quite like it J At one time I counted and there were 29-30 people in a 12 seater van! Only like 6 of them being kids… 4-5 people standing at the door holding on with their heads bent inside. Pieces of wood were placed over the little aisles to add a few more people. Haha When you think there is no space left to occupy, you will be amazed to watch them squeeze in another person. We had to take motorcycles (piki piki) to the house we were staying at and to the funeral because they were in the bush…the 2 of us shared one and it was quite hilarious. The driver was acting like an American since he had two white people on the back and everyone we passed he would wave and shout, “how are you?” haha

One thing we became so thankful for was water! It was sooo hot and we could not drink water without boiling it which we did not have the means of doing so. We had brought 2 water bottles with us which does not last long when your sharing it with others..haha. When we got something to drink we would try to savor it but somehow it seemed in one drink the bottle was gone! Water never tasted so good.

Lord willing, Monday we will be starting Swahili lessons with a REAL Swahili teacher 3 days a week!!! We are cannot wait to learn and be able to communicate better with the kids.

TODAY WE ARE SUPER EXCITED because we are going to spend the day with kids down in the slum where we will be doing a feeding program hopefully every Saturday with some of our friends. We are so excited to see where this will lead!! EEeeeeek! You can be praying for the kids there and guidance in the program.

Our Father has continually been putting us in awe of Him and His goodness.

“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens…When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?” Psalms 8:1,3-4

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For the Lord God is a sun and a shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! Psalms 84:10-12

We truly thank you all for praying! Oh how we need more of Him!! We pray for all of you that you will be strengthened to continually press onward, seeking and knowing Him! We love you all!

The Kitchen

Some of the kiddos that come over after school :)

the adventure continues...

It feels really good to be sitting here on this Sunday night.  The candle is flickering in the middle of the room casting a warm glow throughout.  Ahh, isn’t life good? We are so thankful He has allowed us to live to see another day… to continue down this path of adventure.  His goodness abounds.  Seriously abounds.  It is all around… just waiting to be noticed. 
Our days have been changing a bit around here.  They seem to be filling up with little people!! Last week our friends from down the road, who we like to play with after school, found out where we live…. And apparently word is spreading.  They walk through the gate of our compound, kick off their shoes at the door and walk into our house with wide eyed wonder. I wonder what pre-conceived ideas they had about what the inside of a muzungus house would look like.  They probably think we are crazy.. still no kitchen table… one boy said “You have a big house, but small things.”  Haha yeah pretty much.  But they don’t seem to mind.  Saturday we had kiddos in and out for most of the day.  The concrete walls don’t absorb much sound, sometimes this place can really get rocking.  Occasionally we look up to see some kids stroll in who we have never seen before.  The first time it happened we just kinda looked at eachother and laughed… But, it’s good, we are enjoying making new friends. They don’t seem to mind either!   The only challenge we have faced so far is getting them to leave.  Today they were leaving and we noticed one pair of shoes that were still laying there without feet filling them.  I tip-toed to the bathroom, swung open the door and there stood the culprit.  Haha, never a dull moment. Here the doors have a small opening that you can reach in from the outside to lock or unlock the padlock.  This morning I got out of bed and walked out to the kitchen to discover a small hand reaching thru to check and see if they could open the door.  I’m not sure who would have been more surprised had the door been opened.. me, or him!  
In the next few weeks it seems we may be starting some new adventures and we would really appreciate prayers.  It is our desire that God would always have the lead in everything we do.  We will try to fill you in as it unfolds.  We are so excited to see what the Lord has in store!!
It is our prayer that you would have a fruitful week in the Lord.  Don’t get so caught up in what you call  “life” to miss out on Jesus who IS LIFE.  He is more important than jobs, and ministry, and friends.  May He have preeminence ALWAYS in ALL things!