As the saints say here in Kenya, Bwana Asa Feway, sema tena Bwana Asa Feway. Praise the Lord, say it again, Praise the Lord! Our day Thursday into Nairobi was more than adventure and a bit difficult but full of blessings. As we expected our paper work was not finished but that was not a surprise as everything takes time here in Kenya. What was a surprise was a bit of the difficulty of our morning. Our poor driver was pulled over by the police multiple times, set up and they were demanding a bribe. Because we (Matt and I) would not pay the bribe ($3) it caused more problems and was soaking up an incredible amount time. Our driver was given permission to take us to our next stop and then return as they had his paper work. Unfortunately our driver was very upset and began to drive unsafely, just missing a matatu (bus) and because he was on his cell phone while driving (also a no no here in Kenya) he sped away from the police man in the intersection who proceeded to bang his baton on the back of the car. (Praise the Lord KG was asleep at this point!) We proceeded downtown into heavy traffic and our driver pulled out into the oncoming lane and just as I said to please slow down, to calm down and not worry about things, and to remember that we had KG in the car, he pulled backed over into the correct lane and swiped another car. It was a small fender bender but here in Kenya you negotiate right then and there and even pay. So needless to say we were ready to get out of the whole situation especially as a stranger hoped into the car to negotioate. My amazing, wise husband got on the phone and called a brother in the Lord who has been helping us shop for cars and asked if he could come and get us. In a matter of 2o minutes her was there. We thanked our driver and paid him for his services that far and joined our friend. That was a blessing in itself. We were quite a sight as we walked down the downtown street near the Hilton, with KG in her front pack, our backpacks and Matt carrying KG's car seat. Everyone asked if we needed a taxi and everyone stared. It was funny. (Later not at the time.)
We were so grateful that the Lord kept us calm, safe and that we were able to get another ride as we had so much to do that day and didn't have time for negotiations, and bribes. After an American lunch (Java!) and a reprieve and a surprise meeting with a fellow missionary Paul Cowley, we headed back out into traffic and to AIM where we checked on the vehicle we are looking at. The vehicle checked out really well and were able to use it for our ride home (our friend John drove and Matt drove it once we were out of the crazy traffic.) More to come on the vehicle, but please pray for us in this HUGE decision. We were so thankful to the Lord for sustaining us especially through the two hours of thick traffic and fumes, for His safety and protection, for a sweet meeting with an incredible woman named Maureen who is going to help us with the vehicle, paper work, work permit, etc, and for the people the Lord brought us to that day. We didn't arrive home until after 7:30 that night and that was after another adventure at a Nakumat (grocery store) where I picked up a new item that was on the shelf but they couldn't get it into the system. :) After 20 minutes of waiting and causing a long cue they said, not today. :0 I had to laugh especially after the day we had had. We were are so grateful for our sweet refugee at lanugae school where we can rest and gear up for more of the adventures to come. :) Our hearts our blessed as we say, "Haraka, Haraka, Heyna Baraka," Hurry, Hurry no blessing, and "Everything, can't be easy." It was also so fun to be able to debrief and laugh over stories with our housemates. They had gone to see a doctor since Noelle is pregnant and the first thing the doctor asked was, "What is the problem?" You have to laugh. :) Thank you for your prayers and for laughing with us in our adventures. We love you all!
Peg for The P3
Friday, January 30, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Adjusting to a new life
As one could imagine, there are many things, on many levels, that require adjustments in our way of living here in Kenya. The past two weeks of living here we have had our share of laughs, tears, stories, miracles, and more. It's hard to encapsulate everything into a few short stories, but I will try my best to share the highlights. After getting over jetlag (which took somewhere from a couple days to the first week) we ventured into new territory by moving into the language school about 45min drive from town (about $26 to take a taxi one way). Although we have visited Kenya many times, this was the first time for the P3 to be "on their own". We arrived at the school in time to say good-bye to the staff here for the weekend, and then it was just us (and a guard who would come just for the night time too). Some funny things that we noticed right away were the 'non-osha' stairs that have a big heart on them ("whoever built this house did it with love" we'd joke). A leaky faucet in the downstairs bathroom that during the course of the next week I (matt) tried to fix but ended up braking completely and almost flooding the downstairs entryway (I'm glad someone was there who knew how to turn off the water to that side of the house... and I'm also grateful that the floors are just cement... not a bit of water damage). Peg and I also had to adjust to being back in a classroom. Our first day met us with great anxiety, as every word was spoken in Kiswahili and we had no idea what was going on or how to follow along or what to do. (Later on we found out that it was a weekly, every Monday, morning devotion and worship time for the staff and students, of which there were a total of 10 of us in the room that morning). So once that time was over, Peg and I were to start our class, which was much more doable with interaction, note-taking, and the whole bit. While we are in classes in the morning, Joyce, our house-help, is taking care of Kenya Grace. We've noticed that this has been quite an adjustment for her too, as she has grown accustomed to having both mommy & daddy around all the time over the past month... and now she has neither of us for about 4 hours.
Now that our first week of classes has finished, and we are coming up on the second week of being in country, we are finding that the adjustments are less noticeable. For example, today Friday) the electricity went off in our morning class around 9am (of course everything continues without a blink) and didn't come back on till about 6pm this evening. (Even for Kenya that is a long time to be without power... especially in the middle of the day, but it didn't seem to be too hard for us to find ways around using power, and doing just fine without it).
Probably one of the hardest adjustments for us as a family is not being near family and friends back at home (whether that be in Cali or MI). Even the first week we were here we were able to have constant good-speed internet (I say "good" because it is way faster than the dial-up modem, but still pretty slow compared to U.S. standards) which allowed us to read and write email easily, and post things on our blog and facebook. But now at school internet is sketchy (and at dial-up speeds of less than 1kb per second) and works sometimes and not others. Also, for the past 6 months we have been living in community at people’s houses (even before that for a year next to close friends) which had provided a certain way of functioning that made us feel like family was always with us. To transition out of that and within a week of being here to be just the three of us in a Huge house out in the country... well you can imagine that the emotional adjustment has not been easy. But by God's grace, your prayers, and some time to go by, we are adjusting well. We are also finding daily blessings all around us, the weather, the people, the family time, etc.
I'm sure that we still have many adjustments to go through over the next few weeks, months and even this first year, but I know God will lead us through it. I'll end with a verse God gave me a couple days ago that really helped me. Psalm 139:9-10, "If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast."(NIV) God reminded me through that verse that He is in control, that He is guiding us, and He is holding us tight! Bwana Asafiwe! (Praise the Lord!)
- Matt - for the P3
Now that our first week of classes has finished, and we are coming up on the second week of being in country, we are finding that the adjustments are less noticeable. For example, today Friday) the electricity went off in our morning class around 9am (of course everything continues without a blink) and didn't come back on till about 6pm this evening. (Even for Kenya that is a long time to be without power... especially in the middle of the day, but it didn't seem to be too hard for us to find ways around using power, and doing just fine without it).
Probably one of the hardest adjustments for us as a family is not being near family and friends back at home (whether that be in Cali or MI). Even the first week we were here we were able to have constant good-speed internet (I say "good" because it is way faster than the dial-up modem, but still pretty slow compared to U.S. standards) which allowed us to read and write email easily, and post things on our blog and facebook. But now at school internet is sketchy (and at dial-up speeds of less than 1kb per second) and works sometimes and not others. Also, for the past 6 months we have been living in community at people’s houses (even before that for a year next to close friends) which had provided a certain way of functioning that made us feel like family was always with us. To transition out of that and within a week of being here to be just the three of us in a Huge house out in the country... well you can imagine that the emotional adjustment has not been easy. But by God's grace, your prayers, and some time to go by, we are adjusting well. We are also finding daily blessings all around us, the weather, the people, the family time, etc.
I'm sure that we still have many adjustments to go through over the next few weeks, months and even this first year, but I know God will lead us through it. I'll end with a verse God gave me a couple days ago that really helped me. Psalm 139:9-10, "If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast."(NIV) God reminded me through that verse that He is in control, that He is guiding us, and He is holding us tight! Bwana Asafiwe! (Praise the Lord!)
- Matt - for the P3
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Doing Well
Just a quick update while we have Internet for a few minutes....we are doing well. Been so busy unpacking and stocking our house for living. Had a quiet and blessed weekend just the three of us and some very fun times of laughter. We went for a walk around our school area and met lots of locals who loved that KG said hello and waved with both hands. We also went to church today at Living waters and enjoyed seeing some kenyan friends, followed by lunch with Vicky another special missionary friend and got to snuggle with her son. We are taking advantage of being in town and getting our shopping done for the week as well as picking up the rest of our things at Ed and Kelli's. We are tired but enjoying setting up are new home. We are all fighting aliments to some degree, teeth, bug bites, stomache, but overall we are doing really well. God is so faithful and loving on us and blessing us left and right. We feel the best during this transition when we are with the local people. :) After all that is why we are here, so that makes sense. Thank you for all your prayers! We love you and will write more after this week of school!
Peg for The P3
Peg for The P3
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Getting Up to Date
Hujambo! (Hi)
Well, we are officially missionaries in Kenya. It is an amazing feeling to finally be here. We were so blessed with smooth travels and a girl who was a real trooper. There were only a few moments of "I am going to melt down right now if I don't get off this plane," but they will quickly short lived, PTL! I reminded KG most people on the last flight felt the same way! :) God completely blessed us with shorter flights than normal, the wisdom to check in at Amsterdam to find out Matt's ticket to Kenya was all messed up and needed taking care of, smooth security lines and friendly helpful people all along the way. It was so neat to see these strangers grab the car seat or a bag and carry it on or off the plane. What a blessing!
On arriving, we did find that 9 of our 11 pieces arrived which is amazing. As we looked for the last two which included KG's bed, there was an opportunity to talk to a man named Lazurus who is not born again. It was a great conversation as he believes you become a Christian by works and being baptized. It was such a wonderful opportunity to share God's love and grace with him and he really took it all in. Ed Compean was there to meet us and he got to talk a bit with Lazurus and put him in touch with a Pastor friend of his who Lazurus lives near. PTL!
Of course customs stopped us and were very curious about all our stuff but the man was friendly and let us through and never even asked to look in our bags. That was a huge answer to prayer! Our friend Ed Compean met us and had hired a van to transport us to his house where we have been staying all week. He and his wife have made us feel so at home and comfortable and have been so incredibly helpful as we adjust and prepare for language school. We haven't had to worry about meals, Ed has taken us everywhere, they have offered incredible advise and encouragement and Ed gave Matt a driving lesson today.
We took a lot of our things to the school on Wed. and were so blessed by everything there! It really got our hearts excited which was wonderful after dealing with some homesickness and spiritual attacks. Our new home is wonderful and we have two of the rooms, one for us and one for KG. She is really excited and knew our rooms right away! We took all our bags in and unloaded a few. The beauty of the place is incredible. It is surrounded by tea farms and green, green, green and patches of colorful flowers. Have we mentioned yet, that the weather and heat feels so good and is such a blessing! :) The best part about going up to the school was meeting the woman KG will be with while I am in school. Her name is Joyce and she has the most beautiful smile. She is such a sweet woman and KG reached her hand out to her and let her carry down the stairs without any qualms. If you know KG you know this is huge! What a beautiful answer to prayer!
We have been getting things we need for our new home, taking care of many logistical things, and trying to rest when we can as we are all still adjusting a bit. Matt is probably the most adjusted to the new time (11 hours ahead of CA) but we are hoping we will all be there soon!
Today was exciting as Matt drove for the first time. This is a big deal because they drive on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the street and there are no lanes. It's all about the largest, most aggressive vehicle. That vehicle is the one that gets the ride away. He did an AMAZING job! It was awesome to see him just go for it and his wife was able to keep her mouth guarded (which wasn't too much of an issue) so that is an answer to prayer. :) We also got to meet with the director of AIM which was as huge blessing as he is an incredible resource! We are now on the hunt for a vehicle so please pray for us in this. AIM may be able to help us with this as well as many other things.
We will move tomorrow (our time Friday) and we are unsure of our Internet situation. We do not think it will be very good, so we will not be able to do much computer work. We will however figure out how to get to good internet at least once week. We have had great internet so we have been able to stay in constant contact, but that may change, so know we love you, are missing you and praying for you. We are so thankful for all the prayers and feel so covered! Our God is so amazing! On one last note, we want to thank the people who sent mail to us already. We received a letter from Tess, Mike and Jenny and Tricia! There were even goodies in the envelopes, like taco seasonings and airbornne. :) There was no duty on it, so yah!!! It was such a fun surprise and a blessing! God bless you all! Mungu Akubariki!
Peg for The P3
Well, we are officially missionaries in Kenya. It is an amazing feeling to finally be here. We were so blessed with smooth travels and a girl who was a real trooper. There were only a few moments of "I am going to melt down right now if I don't get off this plane," but they will quickly short lived, PTL! I reminded KG most people on the last flight felt the same way! :) God completely blessed us with shorter flights than normal, the wisdom to check in at Amsterdam to find out Matt's ticket to Kenya was all messed up and needed taking care of, smooth security lines and friendly helpful people all along the way. It was so neat to see these strangers grab the car seat or a bag and carry it on or off the plane. What a blessing!
On arriving, we did find that 9 of our 11 pieces arrived which is amazing. As we looked for the last two which included KG's bed, there was an opportunity to talk to a man named Lazurus who is not born again. It was a great conversation as he believes you become a Christian by works and being baptized. It was such a wonderful opportunity to share God's love and grace with him and he really took it all in. Ed Compean was there to meet us and he got to talk a bit with Lazurus and put him in touch with a Pastor friend of his who Lazurus lives near. PTL!
Of course customs stopped us and were very curious about all our stuff but the man was friendly and let us through and never even asked to look in our bags. That was a huge answer to prayer! Our friend Ed Compean met us and had hired a van to transport us to his house where we have been staying all week. He and his wife have made us feel so at home and comfortable and have been so incredibly helpful as we adjust and prepare for language school. We haven't had to worry about meals, Ed has taken us everywhere, they have offered incredible advise and encouragement and Ed gave Matt a driving lesson today.
We took a lot of our things to the school on Wed. and were so blessed by everything there! It really got our hearts excited which was wonderful after dealing with some homesickness and spiritual attacks. Our new home is wonderful and we have two of the rooms, one for us and one for KG. She is really excited and knew our rooms right away! We took all our bags in and unloaded a few. The beauty of the place is incredible. It is surrounded by tea farms and green, green, green and patches of colorful flowers. Have we mentioned yet, that the weather and heat feels so good and is such a blessing! :) The best part about going up to the school was meeting the woman KG will be with while I am in school. Her name is Joyce and she has the most beautiful smile. She is such a sweet woman and KG reached her hand out to her and let her carry down the stairs without any qualms. If you know KG you know this is huge! What a beautiful answer to prayer!
We have been getting things we need for our new home, taking care of many logistical things, and trying to rest when we can as we are all still adjusting a bit. Matt is probably the most adjusted to the new time (11 hours ahead of CA) but we are hoping we will all be there soon!
Today was exciting as Matt drove for the first time. This is a big deal because they drive on the opposite side of the car, on the opposite side of the street and there are no lanes. It's all about the largest, most aggressive vehicle. That vehicle is the one that gets the ride away. He did an AMAZING job! It was awesome to see him just go for it and his wife was able to keep her mouth guarded (which wasn't too much of an issue) so that is an answer to prayer. :) We also got to meet with the director of AIM which was as huge blessing as he is an incredible resource! We are now on the hunt for a vehicle so please pray for us in this. AIM may be able to help us with this as well as many other things.
We will move tomorrow (our time Friday) and we are unsure of our Internet situation. We do not think it will be very good, so we will not be able to do much computer work. We will however figure out how to get to good internet at least once week. We have had great internet so we have been able to stay in constant contact, but that may change, so know we love you, are missing you and praying for you. We are so thankful for all the prayers and feel so covered! Our God is so amazing! On one last note, we want to thank the people who sent mail to us already. We received a letter from Tess, Mike and Jenny and Tricia! There were even goodies in the envelopes, like taco seasonings and airbornne. :) There was no duty on it, so yah!!! It was such a fun surprise and a blessing! God bless you all! Mungu Akubariki!
Peg for The P3
Monday, January 12, 2009
We're Here!
We are in Nairobi! Glory to God. We have been so blessed! 9 of the 11 bags made it, so we are praising the Lord for that. We could use prayer as we try to head to bed, because KG's bed is in one of the missing bags. She will sleep on a mattress on the floor. Please pray for sleep as we Matt and Peg are exhausted. KG is wide awake after her two and half hour nap. :-0
Thank you for your prayers. We will write more later!
Peg for The P3
Thank you for your prayers. We will write more later!
Peg for The P3
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Made it to Amsterdam
PTL we are in Amsterdam and have been blessed all around. There was no line for check in at JFK, we had paid help with all the luggage, a yummy lunch, and security went well except for the flight stewardess who "thought" they were late for their flight, and separated us and our things. God is good and we are so thankful for a great flight. KG slept 4 hours and if the flight had been longer we think she would of kept sleeping. (It is her middle of the night as we type.)
We are now sleepily walking around the airport taking care of bussiness. God is so good as He led us to the transfer desk, to discover they had matt as a baby and Kenya Grace as an adult, 4 missing baggages and didn't even have Matt registered for this leg of the flight. It all got worked out and though we are not together on the flight we are hoping to take turns with Kenya Grace. We will all want to sleep. We are almost there and feel your prayers so much! Thank you!!!!! We love you and will write from Kenya!
We are now sleepily walking around the airport taking care of bussiness. God is so good as He led us to the transfer desk, to discover they had matt as a baby and Kenya Grace as an adult, 4 missing baggages and didn't even have Matt registered for this leg of the flight. It all got worked out and though we are not together on the flight we are hoping to take turns with Kenya Grace. We will all want to sleep. We are almost there and feel your prayers so much! Thank you!!!!! We love you and will write from Kenya!
Thursday, January 8, 2009
An Incredibly Blessed Day
It is hard to know where to begin. I guess I'll begin by sharing my Christmas/anniversary present from Matt. I first opened a DVD of The Phantom of the Opera, which thrilled me because I love this movie, but that was not all of the present. The DVD was followed by a well designed flyer of the poster of the Broadway play and a picture of two tickets. As it turned out, Matt had purchased two tickets for us to see the play in New York City with our dear friends Paul and Dar! What an amazing husband!
Needless to say we were very excited and anticipating the day! We watched the weather and soon learned that it was not going to be very good, but we still wanted to drive because we were hoping to pick up our left luggage at the airport. We decided we would wait till the day came and make a decision wether to drive or take the train. When the morning came, though it was very icy and yucky weather we decided to drive. We left about 8:30 and took Kenya Grace to Paul and Dar's youngest son's house. His sweet wife was going to watch KG with her son "Logo" all day. Kenya Grace was excited and gave her normal, "I love you the best Mama," cry. So we headed out towards Dunkin Donuts for a sweet and coffee as traveled to City that never sleeps. As we were bopping along the wet, icy road chatting away like kids, we hit a huge pot hole full of water. Seconds later we heard Paul say, "Uh, Oh!" It' never good when a mechanic says "Uh Oh" while driving. It turned out a very important belt fell off when he hit the puddle. It was such an important belt that the car immediately begin to over heat and we had to pull over. It was clear we were not going very far in the car. We immediately prayed and asked the Lord to guide the day and the situation and our very faithful God did!
We were able to get the car slowly back to Paul and Dar's son's house and decided to take their car to the train station and catch a train to the city. Their car was nice and icy and we couldn't find a scraper (something very common here in these snowy cities) so Paul used a plastic pan. The first blessing we encountered was the ice was not too hard and came off super easy! Yeah, we were on our way! Shortly after being on our way we heard a loud alarm......ahhhh.....but it was only the alert for the driver to put his seat belt on. :) Phew! Paul remembered a wonderful Italian bakery near the train station, so craving a sweet we headed that way!
It turned out to be a darling little bakery with amazing treats! We got a box full, ordered cappuccinos, and a tea for Matt and piled back in the car to see what train we could catch. Another blessing. We were all easy going and in no hurry knowing we just had to make our play at 2. Paul dropped us off to get tickets and went to find parking. We found the next train was an hour later so we bought tickets and were prepared to relax in the old station and enjoy our goodies. Suddenly Matt saw there was another train that left in 5 minutes. We checked with the attendant and found that it was headed to the city, so we shot a couple of pictures and prepared to run for the train as we anxiously waited for Paul. Soon we saw Paul and as he paid for the parking we jolted down the stairs, hopped onto the train and found seating facing each other. Another sweet blessing.
The ride to the city was so quick and full of laughter, discussion, stories and fellowship, and of course the amazing goodies from the bakery. We exited the train at Grand Central Station and I was amazed at how nice it was! Because the weather was yucky there were hundreds of people in underground. (Of course it is New York, so it could be like that all of the time.) We decided to grab a small bite since we knew we would be starving after the play if we didn't eat something and joined the line for Chinese. It was such a blessing how Paul found a table for us (there were people everywhere!) and it turned out God had a divine meeting for us. After being in Africa I always pray with my eyes open so as we prayed I noticed this man watching us at the table next to us. When we had finished he smiled at us and shook his head in approval. It turns out he does ministry with young men in prison and is always looking for places for them to get away from gangs and be discipled. Well, Paul and Dar perked up as they are headed into a ministry where they will serve at a children's camp that ministers to inner city kids. They exchanged cards and contacts and everyone seemed a little awed and blessed the encounter.
We explored the station including the lobby of the Grand Hyatt. So elaborate with a huge waterfall in the lobby. We hopped onto the subway which is always an experience and being our jolly selves, there were several people watching us. As we got off the subway, Paul began to talk to this older man who was very engaged. This man stopped Paul and said to him, I saw you come on and said there is something different about all of them. They have a wonderful ora he told Paul. He told all of us that he noticed how we smiled at our spouses and he seemed amazed. Of course Paul ministered to him and shared that it was Jesus and prayed for him. It was so awesome! Another sweet blessing!
We then came up from the underground into the crazy, lighted, swarming with people city. It was fantastic!!! We headed towards the theatre and just had a blast walking. I was amazed by all the theaters and shows going on and had fun people watching in line. When we entered in and found our seats we found out just how close we were. Are you ready for this? We were orchestra, row two, just off to the left. We could see the actors cry, sweat, and see the expression in their eyes. It was incredible! If you have seen Phantom, I do not have to tell you how amazing the play is, but if you have not seen it, I just have to say, you must try to see it sometime in your lifetime. I could do a completely different blog about the Phantom, so I will save that for another time.
Before I loose this I will conclude this amazing day, by telling you we ended the day by walking and playing through the lighted streets, and eating a diner called Ellen's Stardust Diner where the waiters and waitresses sing. It was great food and fun entertainment. We headed back on the subway, grabbed a Starbucks, and hopped on the 6:30 train. In addition to wonderful fellowship, we had an interesting conversation with a principal from Harlem. We were able to share about Africa and talk a bit about forgiveness. To top everything off, Kenya Grace had done an amazing job for Jen (Paul and Dar's daughter-in-law) and was a good girl all day. How great is our God!!!!! Needless to say were all quite tired but so filled up with special memories and an incredible blessed day! Thank you Jesus!
Needless to say we were very excited and anticipating the day! We watched the weather and soon learned that it was not going to be very good, but we still wanted to drive because we were hoping to pick up our left luggage at the airport. We decided we would wait till the day came and make a decision wether to drive or take the train. When the morning came, though it was very icy and yucky weather we decided to drive. We left about 8:30 and took Kenya Grace to Paul and Dar's youngest son's house. His sweet wife was going to watch KG with her son "Logo" all day. Kenya Grace was excited and gave her normal, "I love you the best Mama," cry. So we headed out towards Dunkin Donuts for a sweet and coffee as traveled to City that never sleeps. As we were bopping along the wet, icy road chatting away like kids, we hit a huge pot hole full of water. Seconds later we heard Paul say, "Uh, Oh!" It' never good when a mechanic says "Uh Oh" while driving. It turned out a very important belt fell off when he hit the puddle. It was such an important belt that the car immediately begin to over heat and we had to pull over. It was clear we were not going very far in the car. We immediately prayed and asked the Lord to guide the day and the situation and our very faithful God did!
We were able to get the car slowly back to Paul and Dar's son's house and decided to take their car to the train station and catch a train to the city. Their car was nice and icy and we couldn't find a scraper (something very common here in these snowy cities) so Paul used a plastic pan. The first blessing we encountered was the ice was not too hard and came off super easy! Yeah, we were on our way! Shortly after being on our way we heard a loud alarm......ahhhh.....but it was only the alert for the driver to put his seat belt on. :) Phew! Paul remembered a wonderful Italian bakery near the train station, so craving a sweet we headed that way!
It turned out to be a darling little bakery with amazing treats! We got a box full, ordered cappuccinos, and a tea for Matt and piled back in the car to see what train we could catch. Another blessing. We were all easy going and in no hurry knowing we just had to make our play at 2. Paul dropped us off to get tickets and went to find parking. We found the next train was an hour later so we bought tickets and were prepared to relax in the old station and enjoy our goodies. Suddenly Matt saw there was another train that left in 5 minutes. We checked with the attendant and found that it was headed to the city, so we shot a couple of pictures and prepared to run for the train as we anxiously waited for Paul. Soon we saw Paul and as he paid for the parking we jolted down the stairs, hopped onto the train and found seating facing each other. Another sweet blessing.
The ride to the city was so quick and full of laughter, discussion, stories and fellowship, and of course the amazing goodies from the bakery. We exited the train at Grand Central Station and I was amazed at how nice it was! Because the weather was yucky there were hundreds of people in underground. (Of course it is New York, so it could be like that all of the time.) We decided to grab a small bite since we knew we would be starving after the play if we didn't eat something and joined the line for Chinese. It was such a blessing how Paul found a table for us (there were people everywhere!) and it turned out God had a divine meeting for us. After being in Africa I always pray with my eyes open so as we prayed I noticed this man watching us at the table next to us. When we had finished he smiled at us and shook his head in approval. It turns out he does ministry with young men in prison and is always looking for places for them to get away from gangs and be discipled. Well, Paul and Dar perked up as they are headed into a ministry where they will serve at a children's camp that ministers to inner city kids. They exchanged cards and contacts and everyone seemed a little awed and blessed the encounter.
We explored the station including the lobby of the Grand Hyatt. So elaborate with a huge waterfall in the lobby. We hopped onto the subway which is always an experience and being our jolly selves, there were several people watching us. As we got off the subway, Paul began to talk to this older man who was very engaged. This man stopped Paul and said to him, I saw you come on and said there is something different about all of them. They have a wonderful ora he told Paul. He told all of us that he noticed how we smiled at our spouses and he seemed amazed. Of course Paul ministered to him and shared that it was Jesus and prayed for him. It was so awesome! Another sweet blessing!
We then came up from the underground into the crazy, lighted, swarming with people city. It was fantastic!!! We headed towards the theatre and just had a blast walking. I was amazed by all the theaters and shows going on and had fun people watching in line. When we entered in and found our seats we found out just how close we were. Are you ready for this? We were orchestra, row two, just off to the left. We could see the actors cry, sweat, and see the expression in their eyes. It was incredible! If you have seen Phantom, I do not have to tell you how amazing the play is, but if you have not seen it, I just have to say, you must try to see it sometime in your lifetime. I could do a completely different blog about the Phantom, so I will save that for another time.
Before I loose this I will conclude this amazing day, by telling you we ended the day by walking and playing through the lighted streets, and eating a diner called Ellen's Stardust Diner where the waiters and waitresses sing. It was great food and fun entertainment. We headed back on the subway, grabbed a Starbucks, and hopped on the 6:30 train. In addition to wonderful fellowship, we had an interesting conversation with a principal from Harlem. We were able to share about Africa and talk a bit about forgiveness. To top everything off, Kenya Grace had done an amazing job for Jen (Paul and Dar's daughter-in-law) and was a good girl all day. How great is our God!!!!! Needless to say were all quite tired but so filled up with special memories and an incredible blessed day! Thank you Jesus!
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Happy New Year!
The girls excited about a box!