Thursday, May 30, 2013

A Beautiful Season of Life


For those of you who are reading our blog for the first time, WELCOME! If you have heard and want to see the video of the "cobra slaying" mentioned in Jonathan's interview on KWAVE, make your way to the blog post below. And let that be a warning, too. There is a video involving blood, a Spitting Cobra and a decapitation....all in the same video! If that freaks you out, be forewarned! DON'T SCROLL DOWN PAST THIS POST!!!! (; 
 
I am sitting at the computer, grinning from ear to ear over this season of ministry and life. All I can say is all glory goes to our God in heaven for the great things He has done! This post will be loaded with pictures for you! (Hooray!) 

Living Water Christian Fellowship in our last Sunday in the youth hostile
I was completely surprised when Jonathan called me on a Wednesday night to inform me that the youth hostel we have been calling "church" for over two years was sold and we needed to leave. "How long do we have to find another location?" I asked. "They close on Sunday." I can tell he wa still a bit shocked. "THIS SUNDAY???!!!!" We had just three days to find a new location so when the church comes on Sunday we would be able to inform them of where to meet for next week. Let me say that God does His most amazing work through willing hearts that are open to His leading regardless of time constraints. Jonathan left the next day feeling flustered, yet hopeful. He came home that evening discouraged. A church location in the city is quite pricey and he couldn't find anything that would fit into our church's budget. I encouraged him to take along our elder, Pastor George, for some encouragement and help. He and George left on that Saturday together to look for a location. Jonathan called me after just a few short hours raving about the fantastic location of the YWCA which is situated next to the University of Nairobi. We have been praying over opportunities to reach the youth in the area and couldn't have a better place to do it! The location fit our budget and they gave us a separate location for children's ministry for just $7 a month! 



Our first Children's Class Sunday
Sheila helps the younger kids color
Brian draws some pictures for the kids
I am pleased to announce that Living Water Christian Fellowship has begun our Children’s Ministry Program! Now, you may be thinking, "All this time this church hasn't had a Children's Ministry?!" Well, the short answer is, "Yes". Well, kind of....We came to Living Water almost 4 years ago where the church was meeting at a rented house. Our friend, Elizabeth Gorden, had a small classroom she would teach the kids from. The room didn't have any real lighting and no room for the kids to spread out. Elizabeth would faithfully serve and have a few volunteers every once in a while. Eventually the Children's Program died. Looking back, it just didn't seem to be the season for our church to have a program. The youth hostel we had moved to after the house had no place for the children. We made due by trying to quiet them and keep them busy through the service. It was a real struggle and you can believe that the enemy laid lots of guilt trips on me, personally, for not having something in place. Fast forward to this season of life and the Lord has abundantly blessed us with an AMAZING room for the kids. It's roomy, far away from the main study where we can make noise and have fun. It even has a small area for the kids to run around outside. Not only did God give us a space but He also put it on the hearts of 6 volunteers other than myself to help! For this, we are so grateful.

Good looking bunch, aren't we?
Vicky and Ramsey host a dinner for the team
We have had the pleasure of getting to know Calvary Chapel Deleware County in the last couple years. We were surprised to hear that they would be bringing a team of over 20 people to Kenya this year. This team just blew us all away with their willingness to serve and love the Kenyan people.  After they ministered a few days in Nairobi they went to Kisumu (Kenya) to help our friends Matt and Peggy Pottenger and Stephen Otieno at Calvary Chapel Lakeside. Not only was the ministry  amazing but they also lugged out over 90 lbs. of homeschooling books for us!!!!
















Before the race
I had such a neat time to take part in a 5k held at a private school known as West Nairobi. The 5k benefited disabled children in Kenya. Heshima offers physical, occupational, speech and language therapy and medical care. For more info. you can go to www.heshima.org. It was such an honor to hear about the organization and to run for such a cause.

Don't let these guys fool you, they didn't run (;

Finished! Josiah wanted to finish with me. This blessed my heart.





























We bid farewell this week to our friend, Josh Grossman, who has become like family. As you may have read from a previous blog, he took part in a five month internship from Biola University to work at an orphanage in Ngong called "By Grace". It was bittersweet to say, "Goodbye". Saying "goodbye" can be rough so we have adopted a new way of saying "goodbye" since coming to the mission field. It's "See ya' later". That way we don't have to do the "ugly cry" in front of friends and family. (; We are confident that God did incredible things in the life of this young man and we were glad to witness it.
My grandmother doing a clock project with the kids
One of my greatest joys is watching my kids with their family. It has been hard to be an ocean away from our dear family and when they can visit, we are beyond glad! My grandmother, Judy, flew in last week to spend some time with us and do some sightseeing. I was overjoyed to hear the kids talking and asking about their "Gigi" for weeks before her arrival. They had no idea the fun they were about to have with her. My grandmother brought loads of presents and projects from all of our family. She had a fun idea to throw the kids a "Froggy party". They opened presents,  worked on their projects and got to spend tiime together. The kids painted a beautiful bird house, made a clock and a keepsake picture frame box for me. I have the most wonderful memories of doing projects and having tea parties as a little girl. To see my grandmother doing the same with my children is wonderful. These memories I will hold dear to my heart forever.
My grandma has a way of making everything beautiful and special


Spitting Cobra Slaying



Some of you may be stopping by our blog from the first time after hearing Jonathan's interview on K-WAVE this week. WELCOME! Let me welcome you by showing you a short video of the slaying of the Spitting Cobra he killed in our shed. Beware, there's blood and decapitation!