We often tell people that two years of living in Kisumu, is long enough to call this place home but short enough that we are still rookies at what we are doing. As we continue on this journey of missionary life in a third world country we continue to learn invaluable lessons and never know what the next week or day will hold. Over the last couple of weeks we've had some good lessons in perspective. As humans, I think It is easy to loose perspective on anything but it seems to be an area the enemy really likes to use with missionaries. After all when we loose perspective we often find ourselves distracted. And oh how the enemy loves to distract us. It makes sense because when we are distracted we are not focused on the Lord or what He has called us to do. Recently we found ourselves grappling with an issue and at times I found myself loosing perspective. Instead of keeping my eyes focused on Jesus the Author and Finisher of faith, I was focused on the issue at hand and to be honest, absorbed with it. It is in those times that I tend to see the ugliness of life, find myself worrying and hurting, and even question what the Lord has called me to do. I will be the first to say that you can't just discard feelings and ignore them. Especially as women we have to work through them, but one of the lessons I am learning is that in that process of working through things, if my focus isn't on the Lord I will miss the beauty the Lord has for me in the challenge or trial. Romans 8:28 says," And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called, according to His purpose." That is beauty right there. Even what the enemy may have intended for evil, God can use for good! That is beauty. A few days after resolving the issue we had been working through, Matt and I were sitting in our living room and looked out the window as the sun was setting. What we saw was something so beautiful. In the midst of our rather ugly, security fence with barb wire twisted here and there, the sun was shinning through the broken glass on top of the wall. It was stunning and absolutley beautiful. We ran to get our camera. In that moment of taking in the beauty, the Lord showed me an incredible picture of perspective. Instead of looking at the ugly, rather confining security fence that can sometimes bring about discouraged feelings, I was looking at the sun shinning and creating beauty. "Look at My Son in every situation," I heard Him say "And you will see beauty!" No matter the situation, when our eyes are fixed on the things above (like our Saviour) and not on things of the earth (Coloss. 3) we truly see the beauty of the Lord. Not only did I learn a sweet lesson on perspective but the Lord also used the lesson to encourage us in our calling here. What a gracious God He is!
May we all keep looking up at the Son and stay focused on His beauty!
By Peggy
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Friday, September 9, 2011
Pure Water for the P4 House
Throughout our time here in Kenya, we've always known and abided by the rule of "Don't drink the tap water". Although technically the water is treated by the city water plant, by the time it reaches our place (or any place for that matter) it is not only unfit for consumption but when using it for a myriad of other things, it can also be too filthy. A friend of ours was complaining that the water coming to his house was making his clothes dirtier after washing them than they were before. So, although we know not to drink the water and to be careful when bathing, etc. to keep it from being ingested, it is near impossible to keep our little girl, Joellie, from getting some amount of water in her mouth during her evening bath. In fact, we wondered if our water could have been the cause of her frequent tummy issues over the past year. All these problems in addition to the fact that we frequently have guests in our home, prompted us to begin investigating ways that we could try to purify the water that we had for our house. Often when drawing a bath for the little ones, we have noticed a layer of silt/dirt particles that darkens the water as it fills the tub; And that's the very water that Joelle often would be getting into her mouth. Before our recent trip to that States this past Spring, we began investigating different methods of filtering our house water. And while in the States, the Lord put it on someones heart to help us with the funds needed to get "clean water" in our home. For which we are so grateful to the Lord for His provision.
The process that it took to "install" something to purify the water was anything but easy. Although by American standards the cost was not all that high (less than $300) the labour to get everything done and working right was quite tedious. The first Step was to finish investigating the different methods of filtration systems that could handle the flow of water needed for the house. This took several trips to a local water specialist store and many long conversations with one of their employees to see what would be best and most cost efficient. (The first system that we were looking at would have cost over $1,000). Once we had a peace from the Lord about moving forward with the filtration system of our choice. We had to coordinate with a welder, a plumber, and a mason to come and install everything (which took another couple weeks after having secured the water treatment device). Aside from the plumbing of pipes to run our water through the filter and back to the main line to the house, we needed to install a housing box for the filter system in order to protect it from the weather elements (which was built by the welder, and installed by the mason in the side of our outside wall). After this was done, we then had to have our current water storage tanks (one large tank above the house and one large tank at the bottom of the house) scrubbed cleaned and disinfected. There were also two hot water tanks in the house which have been a "dirt/sediment catch" over the years since their original installation (I'm guessing over 10 years ago). Neither of which had ever been removed or cleaned since the house was built. (The pictures are of one of those tanks being cleaned and what came out of that tank).
The way water works here in Kenya is that the city provides water to those within its jurisdiction, but because the water can be very low in pressure coming to the house and many times will go for days without coming at all, people install water storage tanks for the water to fill. If their is a "top tank" such as our place has, then the water is then gravity fed into the pipes of the house, which then provides enough pressure for things like a shower, etc. Because sometimes the water pressure coming from the city is too low to effectively fill the top tank, people (like us) have opted to have a down tank which can be filled much easier by the city water, which is than pumped up to the top tank. What we've managed to do for our water filtration system is to put a filter in between the down tank and the up tank which passes the water (via the pump) into 2 filters (a 5 micron sediment filter and a 1 micron sediment filter). These filters then have to be changed when they clog up with too much sediment for water to pass through them. Although these filters remove almost all sediment, there is still the possibility of small things such as bacteria, viruses, amebas, etc. that would be able to get through (although the risk is reduced quite drastically by the filters). So in order to kill any type of "bug" that could make us sick we then also treat our water with a "chlorine" based water solution that we dump into our down tank about once a week. Now with the combination of the chlorine and the sediment filter, our house has "clean water". PRAISE THE LORD!
We wanted to thank everyone who has prayed for us and even those whom God used to help supply the needed funds for this to become a reality. Although we still try to keep Kenya Grace and Joelle from drinking the bath water... it's not nearly the concern that it used to be. To God be the Glory!
The process that it took to "install" something to purify the water was anything but easy. Although by American standards the cost was not all that high (less than $300) the labour to get everything done and working right was quite tedious. The first Step was to finish investigating the different methods of filtration systems that could handle the flow of water needed for the house. This took several trips to a local water specialist store and many long conversations with one of their employees to see what would be best and most cost efficient. (The first system that we were looking at would have cost over $1,000). Once we had a peace from the Lord about moving forward with the filtration system of our choice. We had to coordinate with a welder, a plumber, and a mason to come and install everything (which took another couple weeks after having secured the water treatment device). Aside from the plumbing of pipes to run our water through the filter and back to the main line to the house, we needed to install a housing box for the filter system in order to protect it from the weather elements (which was built by the welder, and installed by the mason in the side of our outside wall). After this was done, we then had to have our current water storage tanks (one large tank above the house and one large tank at the bottom of the house) scrubbed cleaned and disinfected. There were also two hot water tanks in the house which have been a "dirt/sediment catch" over the years since their original installation (I'm guessing over 10 years ago). Neither of which had ever been removed or cleaned since the house was built. (The pictures are of one of those tanks being cleaned and what came out of that tank).
The way water works here in Kenya is that the city provides water to those within its jurisdiction, but because the water can be very low in pressure coming to the house and many times will go for days without coming at all, people install water storage tanks for the water to fill. If their is a "top tank" such as our place has, then the water is then gravity fed into the pipes of the house, which then provides enough pressure for things like a shower, etc. Because sometimes the water pressure coming from the city is too low to effectively fill the top tank, people (like us) have opted to have a down tank which can be filled much easier by the city water, which is than pumped up to the top tank. What we've managed to do for our water filtration system is to put a filter in between the down tank and the up tank which passes the water (via the pump) into 2 filters (a 5 micron sediment filter and a 1 micron sediment filter). These filters then have to be changed when they clog up with too much sediment for water to pass through them. Although these filters remove almost all sediment, there is still the possibility of small things such as bacteria, viruses, amebas, etc. that would be able to get through (although the risk is reduced quite drastically by the filters). So in order to kill any type of "bug" that could make us sick we then also treat our water with a "chlorine" based water solution that we dump into our down tank about once a week. Now with the combination of the chlorine and the sediment filter, our house has "clean water". PRAISE THE LORD!
We wanted to thank everyone who has prayed for us and even those whom God used to help supply the needed funds for this to become a reality. Although we still try to keep Kenya Grace and Joelle from drinking the bath water... it's not nearly the concern that it used to be. To God be the Glory!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Stateside Visit
Needless to say it has been a long time since we've posted. Whew! The month of April was all about preparing for our Stateside trip and lining things up for potential summer teams. Both took a lot of time and work in the midst of our normal lives and ministry so there was little time for anything else. (Even a blog post...smile!) Now that we have completed our Stateside trip and have a few moments in London with our dear friends the Hoydles we can finally post on our blog. Excuses, excuses. Thank you to those of you who faithfully check and follow our blog. We are trying to be better about posting more.
Some missionaries don't always enjoy their return to America but we have to say we really love America and the people who come with it. Smile! Of course like any country there are things that bother us and drive us crazy but that just comes with living in a fallen world. We love the order on the roads, the incredible varitey of food choices, the "stuff" that we don't need but really enjoy like soft toilet paper, well made jammies, sticker frames that you don't have to nail, Ikea cheese graters, salad spinners, good sound equipment, Mac N Chz, etc, etc. The list could go on and on. We also enjoy the choices of things to do for children like parks, and play centers in malls, museums, and pools etc. Oh and child care on Sundays is a great thing too. When Kenya Grace is asked what she liked best about America she says, "I just don't know. It's just so hard." That is her way of saying it's hard to choose one thing. :) And we have to add that having a break from the mosquito nets, bad mosquitos, bad water, bad bugs, etc was a delight and very refreshing!
By far, and many people have heard us say this several times, the highlight of our trip was the amazing time with our family and friends! We are so grateful to have fellowship with our family and praise God for our amazing friends! We loved seeing what God is doing all over America and are just so thankful for the amazing time! We've now returned home after a very, special 5 days in London with the Holyde family and friends from CA. We can't begin to explain how great it feels to back. We are now working on unpacking, settling in and finding a good routine. Thank you for all of the prayers and love and amazing support. For all of you who we got to see and spend time with, please know we are still cherishing the time!
God bless you! Till next time!
Peg for The P4
Some missionaries don't always enjoy their return to America but we have to say we really love America and the people who come with it. Smile! Of course like any country there are things that bother us and drive us crazy but that just comes with living in a fallen world. We love the order on the roads, the incredible varitey of food choices, the "stuff" that we don't need but really enjoy like soft toilet paper, well made jammies, sticker frames that you don't have to nail, Ikea cheese graters, salad spinners, good sound equipment, Mac N Chz, etc, etc. The list could go on and on. We also enjoy the choices of things to do for children like parks, and play centers in malls, museums, and pools etc. Oh and child care on Sundays is a great thing too. When Kenya Grace is asked what she liked best about America she says, "I just don't know. It's just so hard." That is her way of saying it's hard to choose one thing. :) And we have to add that having a break from the mosquito nets, bad mosquitos, bad water, bad bugs, etc was a delight and very refreshing!
By far, and many people have heard us say this several times, the highlight of our trip was the amazing time with our family and friends! We are so grateful to have fellowship with our family and praise God for our amazing friends! We loved seeing what God is doing all over America and are just so thankful for the amazing time! We've now returned home after a very, special 5 days in London with the Holyde family and friends from CA. We can't begin to explain how great it feels to back. We are now working on unpacking, settling in and finding a good routine. Thank you for all of the prayers and love and amazing support. For all of you who we got to see and spend time with, please know we are still cherishing the time!
God bless you! Till next time!
Peg for The P4
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Most Recent Video Update
Friday, March 18, 2011
CCL's First Ladies Conference
Our first ladies conference was held this month. Ladies from Calvary International Fellowship in Nairobi, came and taught us about "Taming the Tongue," from James chapter 3. It was a blessed time as 20 of us gathered together to worship the Lord through song and dance, wonderful teachings, prayer and fasting. It is normal here like many ladies conferences to prepare lunch or at least chai (tea with milk and sugar) which is usually served with buttered bread but the leaders at CIF found there was a desperate need to fast for some of the gossip issues happening at church. We bodly went along with this as we as women face these same issues here in Kisumu. It truly was an incredible day of learning, surrendering, sharing and praising God for His faithfulness and reminders of His desires for us as women. Many women told Pastor Stephen the next day that they were surprisingly blessed and really enjoyed it. We were happy to hear that, as the fasting part was very different for our women and many were apprehensive. During the conference several women shared "Cardboard Testimonies," a way to share your testimony of coming to Christ in just 6 words. It fit the theme of being women of few words and was very powerful! Another aspect of the day that was encouraging was seeing our women lead worship, and translate. Translating is difficult and several of our women can do this but are apprehensive. They did a wonderful job and prayerfully have more confidence in this. Kelli Compean closed the conference with a beautiful teaching CBS style which really involved the women and was a perfect way to close the day. Each women went home with three roses that were white and pink. Kelli encouraged the ladies to be reminded by the white in the rose,of their purity in Christ and by the pink on the petals, that Christ's blood was shed for them and covers their sin. One rose was for them and the other two were for them to give to a friend or neighbor and to share with them what they had learned from the Word of God that day. We are so grateful to partner with CIF and to have had such a wonderful first conference. Thank you CIF and thank you Jesus for all you are doing in our lives as women.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Recent Visitors
Our Pastor and friends Jack and Jinell Arnold came to visit us the end of January through the beginning of February. It was an absolute amazing visit for many reasons. First of all they are dear friends of ours whom we've known for many years. Just being together felt SO normal and it was amazing to catch up in person and let me tell you we talked for hours! Another reason their visit was so special was because they are the Pastors of our sending church. Having them here on the ground with us seeing what we do and what God is doing with CCL was really special. They were so encouraging to us and the O4 and they not only encouraged but shared the Gospel and blessed everyone they encountered! It really was a "moment in time" visit and we praise God for it! It was rather hard when they left especially for Kenya Grace who had an amazing time with them. They showed her such love and attention, that I think she thinks they are family. Smile! Well, they are family to us! And now that they have returned, there is a spark for teams to come and visit. We are already preparing. Praise God!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Health Conference
The first of the year began with a visit from our dear friends Ed and Kelli Compean. Kelli is a nurse and ministers regularly to her church body in Githuri. She has held several health classes at her church and has seen wonderful fruit. In fact she has not had to see as many people for health reasons because they have made changes in their nutrition and lifestyle. We asked her if she would come to CCL and hold a health conference. She was more than willing and we are so grateful as the conference was such a blessing to the fellowship and a sweet opportunity for people to invite others to CCL. It was two days and Kelli addressed issues from nutrition to diseases, to when to go to the doctor, to health reproduction and sexual diseases. She talked about how to save money and not buy unnecessary medicine which is a huge problem here. Doctors will prescribe an anitobiotic for anything as well as extra things that are not needed. It was so great to see the people listen intently, and ask more questions than there was time for. Kelli was an amazing teacher and really took time with the people. Everyone was so appreciative and the mamas of the church met with Kelli on Sunday and shared in a special way their appreciation for her. It was also an opportunity for the mamas to come together for the first time to cook, and run the kitchen for the conference. We praise God!
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The girls excited about a box!