Our First Days in Kenya

Michael and I have had quite a few surprises since our arrival in Kijabe. Pictured below is Maurine with her daughter Shangwe and Deborah with her daughter Rachel. If you've been following the blog, then these ladies might look familiar. We blogged about them last March in Our Last Day in Kenya. Michael and I spent quite a few hours with them talking about our families and our faiths. Both of these ladies know God's word and depend on it every day.  We had no idea that we would ever see them again, so you can imagine my surprise when I walked out to the nurses' station on Monday and saw Deborah sitting there with Rachel.  Deborah and I both squealed (you know how women do when they see each other after a long time?)  Well, it was that kind of squeal when everyone in the room turns and looks. Cory loves it when that happens.  So all day today we've been hanging out with Deborah and Rachel and enjoying every minute of it. This afternoon  I was working in the ENT room and Michael says to me, "I think I just saw Maurine walk by with Shangwe!"  Michael and I fly downstairs to the clinic and there sits Maurine and Shangwe.  Maurine was as shocked as I was.  The best part was reuniting these ladies together.  It does feel somewhat miraculous when you see friends that you never expected to see again.  It really felt like a dream.

Maurine left today with Shangwe, but even with the short visit we talked through some pretty cool things. She said her time at the hospital last year was life changing.  She finds it amazing that something that should have been so frightening turned out to be such a blessing to her family.  We talked about the truths in the Scriptures which tell us that very reality - trials allow us to see God and his plan more clearly.  She said in Kenya many people think that malformations, such as cleft palates and lips, are the result of sin. What a relief to know that's not how it works - else I'd be covered with tumors!  We spoke of Jesus' words in John 9 when Jesus was asked why the man was born blind.  Jesus responded, the man was born blind "so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."  What a amazing God we serve.  He creates friendships out of hardships, joy out of trials.

Faith, Hope, and Love

 

No, those are not the names of these girls, but the descriptions would certainly fit.  Ruth, Rachel, and Sarah Beth (pictured here), along with Lydia have spent weeks knitting and creating crafts to sell during our weekly home school gatherings in order to raise money for our upcoming trip.  In fact, our entire Classical Conversations group has been working tirelessly collecting money, baking for a bake sale, AND these girls...knitting and creating and knitting some more.  Through much determination and endurance, they managed to raise over $200!  What a wonderful reflection of our beautiful Savior.  For any of us to do anything truly good, we must do it through the power of the Holy Spirit working in us.  That includes baking cookies for a bake sale, knitting, and going on a missions trip to Kenya.  We all can allow the Spirit to work through us for His glory. Do I hear an AMEN?  Thanks to all my Classical Conversations family for loving us and each other the way that you do. 

And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.

Corinthians 13:13

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Small Sacrifices

I want to tell you about William, a little boy in our homeschooling group.  Yesterday, William gave me a bag full of stuffed animals for us to give to children in Kenya.  According to William's mom, "Stuffed animals are some of his very best friends and he wants them to have some, too."  I told William that in Kenya some of the children have never seen a stuffed animal.  Last year, we would bring out an animal expecting a big grin on a child's face and a few times saw a little bit of apprehension instead.  Amazingly, the children thought that the animal was actually real.  But oh how sweet the look on those faces when they realized that it was a toy that was now theirs.  They had their very own dog or cat or monkey to take home with them.  So a big, huge thanks to William for his sacrifice.  Thank you to all our friends and family who have sacrificed your prayers, your money, and your time for this trip to Kenya.  I pray God will be glorified through each of our efforts.

Matthew 22:36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "` Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

I promised William I would get a picture of the child who received this bird.
 What a happy child that will be.  It chirps!