Well, we officially have a daughter who is two years old. It is hard to believe but so much fun! She is quite the talker and ball of joy and energy. I tell her how much I love being her mommy and it's the truth! She truly brings so much joy and laughter to the people around us and we thank God for that! She continues to pray for people and sometimes she will look out the window and say, "Jesus is coming!" She will even point. What a gift to have a little girl who reminds us to look for His return and live as if He were coming back today. :)
The birthday week was special but with Mama down and sick we are just praising God for His grace and mercy on us all. Pamela and Joyce (the women who work for us) took amazing care of us and everything really for KG's birthday. We had a small celebration with the school staff and their families and our household. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and people played ball and Frisbee, while others played with playdough and still others chatted. We started with the cake while everyone was there and sang to her and then in Kiswahili. If you ask me I think she preferred the Kiswahili. :) We then ate and some played some more while others looked at some photo albums and then it was over. We had a Mickey theme which was so fun. It was a blessing to find Micky things at a toy store here. To eat we had mandazi (Kenyan doughnut)fruit salad, banana bread, sugar cookies, chips and guacamole, sodas and cake. :)
We have been so blessed with so many packages from so many people.Thank you to all those who blessed us and all the special birthday wishes. God is so good! We praise Him for his blessings!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Monday, May 4, 2009
Kisumu Adventure
Many of you know that over our spring break (a couple weeks ago) we took a trip to Kisumu (our future home Lord willing). Over all our trip went very well (both the journeys to and from as well as our time spent there). We wanted to brief you on a couple of the highlights from our trip.
The first and probably most exciting one was the progress made towards our future ministry there. One of the days we were there we went out to meet up with our friend Steven and his family (who had traveled with me in the car from Nairobi to Kisumu). While visiting with him (a fair distance outside of the town (aprox 40 miles) we met his extended family as well as some of the men he has been studying the Word of God with. I (Matt) got the chance to sit with Steven and two of his friends and share with them our vision for seeing a sound Bible teaching church planted in that area. They were so excited to hear the vision and are eager to be taught the word of God. They reiterated their desire to grow deep, and to understand God's word, especially so that they could also share that with others. They are already in the practice of doing home visits and witnessing to many people in there area, it's only that they don't have a place to fellowship in the Word of God that hasn't been polluted by doctrines of men and other things even worse. Also during this time Peg was able to share a little bit with Maureen (Steven's wife) who also showed an eager desire to be discipled and to grow in the Lord. We are excited that after we move there, this seems like a likely group of people to begin investing in (along with a few others who have also shown great interest in growing in the Word). And it is our desire that this could potentially be the beginnings of a church in Kisumu.
Another aspect of our time in Kisumu was making friendships and connections with the existing missionary community. We were blessed that almost every meal we had was shared with another family, couple, or group of people. We were so welcomed by the missionaries there and several also expressed a desire to have a "Bible Study", as they are hungry for more of the Word. So many of the couples blessed us and gave us some very helpful wisdom as we prepare to be long term missionaries there. Some of the couples we met had been living there for over a decade, and we found there experiences very helpful. Although we know that we've not been called to target and reach this group (as they are already believers) we do have a heart to encourage them and to spur one another on in the Word of God and the works to which He has called each of us. We also recognized the invaluable resource of having people near by who know your culture and background and can be there to help you through certain things that a national couldn't understand. We are praising the Lord for this new family in Kisumu.
Lastly, one of our major objectives in this last trip was to "begin" our house hunt. We knew that the practicalities of finding a place to live probably would mean that this trip wasn't going to secure a place for us, but non-the-less we did want to become more familiar with the different neighborhoods and areas. In searching and seeing several places, as well as getting a good idea on prices, we feel much better about our next visit, that we know what we are looking for. So although we didn't get a place yet, good progress was made in that direction.
Now we are in our 2nd term of school and although we've only had a little over a week of classes, they are already seeming to fly by. It feels like we have just arrived here in Kenya a little bit ago, and now our 6 months of school are winding down. This week we take our 3rd major test (mid-term) on Friday, and thus are preparing for that. We have been saying a lot lately how blessed this time has been to learn, adjust, befriend, grow in our understanding of culture, etc. We do feel so blessed by this time God has had us here in Limuru at school. And on the flip side of that, we are also excited and looking forward to what is ahead.
We have so much to praise the Lord for. Thank you for praying with us as we learn to do His will here!
- Matt for the P3
The first and probably most exciting one was the progress made towards our future ministry there. One of the days we were there we went out to meet up with our friend Steven and his family (who had traveled with me in the car from Nairobi to Kisumu). While visiting with him (a fair distance outside of the town (aprox 40 miles) we met his extended family as well as some of the men he has been studying the Word of God with. I (Matt) got the chance to sit with Steven and two of his friends and share with them our vision for seeing a sound Bible teaching church planted in that area. They were so excited to hear the vision and are eager to be taught the word of God. They reiterated their desire to grow deep, and to understand God's word, especially so that they could also share that with others. They are already in the practice of doing home visits and witnessing to many people in there area, it's only that they don't have a place to fellowship in the Word of God that hasn't been polluted by doctrines of men and other things even worse. Also during this time Peg was able to share a little bit with Maureen (Steven's wife) who also showed an eager desire to be discipled and to grow in the Lord. We are excited that after we move there, this seems like a likely group of people to begin investing in (along with a few others who have also shown great interest in growing in the Word). And it is our desire that this could potentially be the beginnings of a church in Kisumu.
Another aspect of our time in Kisumu was making friendships and connections with the existing missionary community. We were blessed that almost every meal we had was shared with another family, couple, or group of people. We were so welcomed by the missionaries there and several also expressed a desire to have a "Bible Study", as they are hungry for more of the Word. So many of the couples blessed us and gave us some very helpful wisdom as we prepare to be long term missionaries there. Some of the couples we met had been living there for over a decade, and we found there experiences very helpful. Although we know that we've not been called to target and reach this group (as they are already believers) we do have a heart to encourage them and to spur one another on in the Word of God and the works to which He has called each of us. We also recognized the invaluable resource of having people near by who know your culture and background and can be there to help you through certain things that a national couldn't understand. We are praising the Lord for this new family in Kisumu.
Lastly, one of our major objectives in this last trip was to "begin" our house hunt. We knew that the practicalities of finding a place to live probably would mean that this trip wasn't going to secure a place for us, but non-the-less we did want to become more familiar with the different neighborhoods and areas. In searching and seeing several places, as well as getting a good idea on prices, we feel much better about our next visit, that we know what we are looking for. So although we didn't get a place yet, good progress was made in that direction.
Now we are in our 2nd term of school and although we've only had a little over a week of classes, they are already seeming to fly by. It feels like we have just arrived here in Kenya a little bit ago, and now our 6 months of school are winding down. This week we take our 3rd major test (mid-term) on Friday, and thus are preparing for that. We have been saying a lot lately how blessed this time has been to learn, adjust, befriend, grow in our understanding of culture, etc. We do feel so blessed by this time God has had us here in Limuru at school. And on the flip side of that, we are also excited and looking forward to what is ahead.
We have so much to praise the Lord for. Thank you for praying with us as we learn to do His will here!
- Matt for the P3
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Spiders, Bats, and Chickens
Well, over the past couple of weeks we've had a few strange things happen. The first of them took place when I (Matt) was leaving Kisumu to drive back to Limuru. I had just dropped Peg and Kenya Grace off at the airport, packed up the car and left to go pick up Steven and his family for our 5-6 hour drive across the country. Steven's family live on a farm (shamba) about 65 Kilometers (40 miles) outside of Kisumu Town. This was my third visit out there in our 5 day stay, so thankfully I was well familiarized with the unmarked dirt roads and how to get to their place (through a maze of sugar cane fields). After greeting the family again, and having some small talk, we got in the car and started our journey back to Limuru. But as we were nearing the main cross road leaving their house instead of turning left to start the journey home we turned right to make a brief stop for Steven's wife to say farewell to her mother. While we were there Steven said it would be okay for us (he and I) to stay in the car as he knew that if we had got out of the car it would take even longer for us to start the journey back. Well, about 5 minutes later or so, his wife (Maureen) came back to the car carrying her son in one arm (who had been with her the whole time) and a live chicken in the other. Immediately I wondered, "Are we going to drive all the way back to Nairobi with a live chicken in the car?" And sure enough we were and did. Steven could see the look of slight shock on my face and made a comment about how it was traditional in their culture for the mom to send a chicken home with her daughter when she had visited. He also noted that I probably wasn't too used to having live animals in the car. To which I said I wasn't, but I was sure it would be okay. Thankfully the legs were tied together, and she stuck its back end in a plastic bag (which comforted me). Most of the trip home the chicken was quiet, only a few times it would struggle and cluck or squawk, probably wondering where it was going... or why the road so bumpy. So, I can now officially say that I have driven with a live chicken in my car.... and most likely, it will not be the last time.
The next day or so after we had returned from Kisumu, we encountered to strange things which added to our 'wild-life' experiences here in Kenya. One was that Peg discovered a GIANT Spider up in the corner above our front patio. Often we'll eat out there when it's a nice day and we don't feel like being inside. When she first looked up at it she thought it was some sort of nest, but after I got a closer look I quickly found that it was a very large spider (slightly smaller than a tarantula but close in comparison). Just after the escapade of killing that spider we found a bat that was crawling in front of our door. Since bats are nocturnal, we never really see them, in fact, Joyce, our Kenyan friend who watches KG in the mornings saw it and said she'd never seen one before. We found out the following day from a missionary friend that bats are our friends as they eat thousands of mosquitoes every night, and in fact they are starting to bring bats into areas that are laden with malaria to eat the mosquitoes as one way of trying to cut down the malaria epidemic. We relocated our bat friend to the bushes... we weren't sure if it was sick and dying or if it was a baby and had fallen from a nest and perhaps that was why it was out crawling in front of our door that morning.
Well anyway, those are some fun stories as of recent that spice up our life here as we interact with nature. God is so good, and we are so blessed!
- Matt for the P3
The next day or so after we had returned from Kisumu, we encountered to strange things which added to our 'wild-life' experiences here in Kenya. One was that Peg discovered a GIANT Spider up in the corner above our front patio. Often we'll eat out there when it's a nice day and we don't feel like being inside. When she first looked up at it she thought it was some sort of nest, but after I got a closer look I quickly found that it was a very large spider (slightly smaller than a tarantula but close in comparison). Just after the escapade of killing that spider we found a bat that was crawling in front of our door. Since bats are nocturnal, we never really see them, in fact, Joyce, our Kenyan friend who watches KG in the mornings saw it and said she'd never seen one before. We found out the following day from a missionary friend that bats are our friends as they eat thousands of mosquitoes every night, and in fact they are starting to bring bats into areas that are laden with malaria to eat the mosquitoes as one way of trying to cut down the malaria epidemic. We relocated our bat friend to the bushes... we weren't sure if it was sick and dying or if it was a baby and had fallen from a nest and perhaps that was why it was out crawling in front of our door that morning.
Well anyway, those are some fun stories as of recent that spice up our life here as we interact with nature. God is so good, and we are so blessed!
- Matt for the P3
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