Happy Thanksgiving from Kenya!

Well, it's finally here, our favorite time of year where we all stuff ourselves silly! It's funny when you're a kid you love the special days of the year where we get presents and it seems like the older Jonathan and I get, we just look forward to special days of eating! haha! Today, (Thanksgiving for us) we are currently waiting for friends, fellow missionaries to come celebrate this special Turkey Day. We have so much to be thankful for and it is our ABSOLUTE privelage to serve the folks here in Kenya. We are developing great relationships with people and even testing out our Kiswahili. We are actually having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. We are having turkey, stuffing, gravy, salad, mashed potatoes, yams, sweet potato pie and Jonathan and I made pumpkin cheesecake. Oh happy day!

Since we haven't updated in a WHOLE MONTH, we have a lot to catch you up on! Swahili school is going very well. We are becoming more confident in speaking Kiswahili with the locals. We are just excited about the school we are at. They have given us confidence in speaking Kiswahili. When we speak Kiswahili with the locals, people are so excited to help us along with the language. It's great!

We had a guy move in our house a few weeks ago. His parents are Baptist missionaries that lived in Kenya for several years and hey were just assigned to oversee missionaries in Uganda. We love having him at our house, he's a wealth of information since he's been an missionary kid for years.

We have just put up our Christmas tree a few days ago. So it feels like Christmas at our house a little earlier than usual. I told Jonathan that I wanted to make it look like Santa Claus threw up in our house. haha! With us being away from family and friends this year we just need to feel Christmas for a while. So we want to get some Christmas scented candles, have lots of goodies and do lots of Christmas projects with Josiah and Christopher.

Well, we tried uploading some new pictures for you to see but our internet isn't loading them so we'll try again real soon.

Furaha Siku ya Shukarani! Have a great Thanksgiving!

The Fergusons

A Man Named Samuel

A few weeks ago, Adrienne and I took the boys up to Brackenhurst for a snack and to let the boys run around a bit. We had our usual fun, and then began the walk back home. (I thoroughly enjoy the walk home from Brackenhurst more than the walk there, as coming home is all downhill!) On our way home, we stopped to buy some bread at a duka (small shop) by the road. An older man was sitting outside the shop, and asked us something in Swahili that we were not able to understand. He repeated himself, and as we were about to simply say "Pole sana" (very sorry!), A younger man came by and translated for us. After answering the question, we began talking with our new translator.

His name was Samuel, and he looked no older than I do. He was walking with his son, who was named Isaac. We walked down the road as we talked, and I asked him where he was from. He said that he was from Western Provence, and that he was in Limuru looking for work to support his son and himself. He asked us what we were doing in Kenya. I answered that we were missionaries, and had come to share the message of the cross. His face immediately lit up, and shared that he was a believer as well. He said that he had already found a great church in the community, and loved going every Sunday. I thought, here is this guy who came looking for work, but even before he found a job, he made sure he found his church. I knew then there was something special about Samuel.

As we walked toward our home, Samuel began talking about how it was wonderful that we were following God, even when he called us away from our home. He reminded me about Abraham, and how he was called apart from his family as well. He encouraged me to stay strong in the Lord, to remember that if we tried to do the work using our own power, we would fail. It would only be in relying on the power of Christ that we would succeed. Here I was, in Kenya to encourage the Body of Christ, and I was being ministered to myself. I thought to myself, and then said it aloud, God is good.

One of the best parts for me was that, as we went our separate ways, Samuel did not ask for help. He had just been talking about how God will provide for our every need, and it appeared that he wasn't just talking the talk, but was actively living what he shared. We are often asked for money, simply because of the color of our skin. But here was a man that has not been able to find work, who was simply trusting God to provide for him and his son. I later thought about his son Isaac, and the example that he has in his father of what it means to be a Christian man.

I was deeply encouraged by our short conversation we had, walking down the road from Brackenhurst. I was stirred up in my spirit from seeing this man's faith, and from seeing the way his son looked up at him as we walked. His son looked like he was proud that Samuel was his father. I looked down at Christopher, whom I was pushing in his stroller. I hope that one day, Christopher and Josiah will be able to look up to me with that same pride.

Neema na Amani,

Jonathan, for the Ferg4

Trials and Tests...

Language School: As I mentioned before, we took our first Kiswahili test last Friday and we got the results back. All glory to the Lord, Jonathan and I both aced our tests! What a relief. We celebrated by taking the kids to Brackenhurst to play on the playground and we just relaxed the rest of the day. This week the school has added a new part of our instruction. The school hires “conversants” to spend about an hour with us everyday speaking in Kiswahili only. The first day was miserable from stumbling over grammatical errors and constantly asking for the “word for this or that”. It was frustrating. The second day with our conversant was amazing. Jonathan and I were able to have a normal (closer to normal than the day before) conversation in Kiswahili. Wow! We are actually believing we are going to speak Kiswahili well at the end of the six month school. Incredible, huh? Oh! And every Monday, we sing praise songs in Kiswahili and we get a devotion from one of the instructors. The devotion is always in Kiswahili only, no translations. It’s always exciting when we catch a word or two or three more than we had the previous week.

Living Water Christian Fellowship, the church we are attending and will eventually serve after language school, is thriving and doing well. The fellowship is a small group of people but they are getting grounded in the Word of God. The people are so wonderful and very friendly. Please pray with us as Jonathan and I are praying about taking over Children’s Ministry as soon as school is over.

God has been so faithful to meet us right where we are at. The last week for me, Adrienne, has proved to be a bit better in terms of homesickness. It’s very easy for me to let my mind drift into the happenings of life in So. California and to be honest, get resentful of this calling to Kenya. I start thinking about missing out on major family events like birthdays, holidays or my mom’s up and coming wedding. I’m not going to lie, it gets hard. About a week ago, I admit, that I was praying and asking God why He would ask this if us. Why he would take us away from everyone whom we love so much. The Lord told me, “I know, I’ve been there too.” And it hit me, Jesus had to leave his mom, his brothers, friends, everything. The Lord above all other people knows what it feels like to be in a foreign place without the comforts of home to do soley what He came to do. Not to equate what we do out here with the work Jesus did for us on the cross. But He knows. It’s hard but worth it. I thanked the Lord for meeting me at that place and at that moment. The following Sunday, we were unable to attend church because of the high cost to hire a driver to take us an hour away to Living Water Christian. So we resolved to attend Living Water every other week until we move closer or get a car. So, last Sunday we walked to Brackenhurst to download some Sunday studies from Refuge and a few Wednesday nights. Sunday night, as I was making dinner, I listened to Peyton Jones’ Wednesday night teaching at Refuge. Man, was that teaching an answer to prayer. Peyton and his wife, Andrea, missionaries to Wales, were in town and Peyton gave a study that really ministered to Jonathan and I. We were nearly in tears till the end. Peyton’s message talked about how the Lord not only knows how it feels to leave family and friends behind as Jesus did on the cross, but he gave us to each other to be the body of Christ. Jesus told Mary, (John 19:26) “Dear woman, here is your son” and then Jesus told John, “Here is your mother.” Jesus knew how hard it would be for Mary to lose her first born son and how hard it would be to for John, Jesus’ disciple, to lose such a close friend, a Rabbi (teacher). So Jesus gave them one to another to fill that gap. That’s what the Lord is doing with us here in Kenya, he has given us friends and other members of the body of Christ when we need our family and friends that are so far away. The church here is Jesus to us when we want to see Him so desperately. God is so faithful!

Prayer Requests:

Josiah to get over this bad fever he got yesterday and that it wouldn’t infect the rest of us.

For Jonathan and I would be diligent in studying Kiswahili and that the language would continue to “click”

For a car!

Financial provision

Wisdom in dealing with street children/beggers

For our family to be in the Word daily and to seek God as our sole provider

For the Lord to be our strength when we feel homesick.

Robbie and Elizabeth and their daughter, Abigail (Senior Pastor of LWCF and family)

Thanks so much for your love, prayers and support. We miss all of you terribly but just know that God is working in us and stretching us in ways that we never thought

The Ferg4

Nakumatt, Haircuts and a Test!

Our life in Kenya has proved to be a challenge in many areas. We have seen God’s mercy as we get by without a car and learn how to cook from

scratch. It seems that our lives consist of making grocery lists (there aren’t many preservatives in the foods here so they don’t last long), studying and playing with the boys.

Our first test is this Friday, so

we have been studying hard this week. After our review in class today we feel like we can do well if we keep studying. Friday will be a short day in class for us. We plan on taking the kids to Brackenhurst and letting them play on the playground.

Going to the grocery store over the weekends has been no easy task. We shop at a store called “Nakumatt”. It’s kind of an “all encompassing” store. You can do your regular grocery shopping, buy appliances, furniture and lots

of other things. The Nakumatt we went to this last weekend was three flo

ors. The hard part about the shopping is figuring out how everything is categorized while our one and two yr. old boys sit in the cart. The last three times I’ve been to Nakumatt, it was very warm inside and one of the times we had t

hree power outages in the store. It was completely pitch black inside. It’s all part of the adventure.

Last Sunday on our trip to Nakumatt we had to pick up hair clippers. Having three boys in the house, we needed to figure out a solution to their ever-growing hair. Yesterday I cut Jonathan’s hair and it turned out great (I used to cut his hair consistently about 2-3 years ago.) Josiah, who loves getting his haircut, hopped right

in the chair for his turn. As I started to cut the back I realized I had WAYYY to short of a setting for the clippers. I called Jonathan in the room to help “fix” it. Although I can’t say the results were disastrous, they were DEFINITELY less than what we hoped for! The front looks great but the back….well, that’s a different story. Poor unassuming Josiah.

Well, please pray for us as we take our first exam on Friday. We’ll let you know how we did!

Blessings,

Adrienne

Welcome KWAVE Listeners!

Hi there KWAVE listeners!

Welcome to our blog! We love to keep our blog updated with the latest happenings of our lives, here in Kenya so please come back and check in often for our updates. If you would like to be added to our email list, please email us at at Ferg4africa@gmail.com and send us your address if you would like to be added to our newsletter.

In case you missed the message Friday, visit www.refugefm.com to download the message!

Bless you guys!

Adrienne and Jonathan Ferguson

Tune in this Friday!

Hi there,

Jonathan and I looked at each other a few hours ago and knew we had to do it. The long (for us) treck to Brackenhurst. It wouldn't be so bad if there weren't so many hills. But we wanted to post an update for you guys.

This weekend was a crazy whirlwind of events. Saturday, our friends Robbie and Elizabeth (the Sr. Pastor and his wife) of Living Water Christian Fellowship, came to pick us up for another shopping trip in Nairobi. We needed to pick up some groceries as well as some essentials for cooking and such. After a long shopping trip at Nakumat (the grocery store) and THREE blackouts while shopping, we were ready for a break. We hopped back into the car and made the trip back to Limuru (which is about 30 minutes), dropped off our groceries and our friends took us back to the church. Around 8:30 PM we were dropped off at the church to spend the night and so we wouldn't have to make the hour drive on a busy Sunday morning. Praise the Lord, we got rain on Saturday night (Kenya's been in a severe drought) but it also caused a piece of the ceiling in the church to cave in and collapse. The thud was so loud it scared us half to death and it made a long night for Jonathan who was wide-eyed after that.

The church service was great. The boys were a little rowdy and they have been fighting off a little cold since the plane ride and they have been going #2 after every meal. So we had lost a few outfits to the accidents. We were able to visit with friends we haven't seen in a few years and go out to Ethiopian food. After that, the boys passed out in the car and we made the hour drive back to Tigoni. Upon arrival, Jonathan noticed something was missing. OUR KEYS!!!! Our keys were back in Nairobi and the boys were so fussy. We thought, "Oh no!!!!" Thankfully our instructor, Peter, lives just don the road and had a spare set of keys. Once we got inside, we got settled and went our back to HAND WASH our clothes. After dinner (which was quite eventful!) we heard rain. About an hour later I erupted into laughter and thought, "Our clothes are STILL on the line!" haha. If we didn't laugh we would probably cry!

In other news, this Friday our interview on KWAVE (107.9) at 4:30 will be on the air. So tune in!

We thank the Lord that he has brought us to this place and we love the people and know the Lord has been faithfully providing.

Adrienne for the Ferg4

Thank goodness it's Ijumaa!

Josiah and Christopher in front of the house

Jonathan, Josiah and Christopher in front of the house

This is our classroom. We have 3 people in the class which makes it great for asking questions and really understanding the instructor.

You may not be able to tell from the picture but this is a HUGE pit we put our trash in. It's located at the back of the house and someone will come by and burn it for us. haha! The pit is HUGE!!!

This is Joyce. She takes care of the children while we are in class and helps around the house. Joyce is used to working with Americans and has been such a help with getting our life started here in Kenya. She also brought us a big bag of avocados from her tree at home. GUACAMOLE!!!!

Pole (sorry) this picture is sideways ): This is our house/language school. It is beautiful, isn't it?

Ahhh....sweet Christopher and Josiah love hanging out in the kitchen while we are doing chores and making meals. They are having a ball here!

This little lizard was found in the bathtub drain as Jonathan tried to take a shower one morning. We think someone left the window open and the little guy crawled right in. Jonathan picked him up and the lizard jumped straight off the second story and landed on the ground. Poor little guy!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the boys on the plane. Aren't they cute?

Habari za nchama! (What is the news of the afternoon?) We have just finished up our first week in language school and can say thank goodness it's Ijumaa (Friday)! We also have a holiday coming on Monday which is the break fast for the muslims so we've got a three day weekend.

Language school is proving to be a challenge but Jonathan and I are studying so hard and practicing our kiswahili on the locals. For two days we greeted people on the streets in kiswahili and most of the time we wouldn't get a response. So we asked our instructor about this and he replied, "It is not often that you come down the street and just greet them." Oops! haha. The people were very gracious with us wazungu (white people).

We are looking forward to a great weekend. Our pastor, Robbie, will pick us up tomorrow and take us to village market to do some grocery shopping and we will spend the night at the church. After church we will come back to the house once again.

A couple days ago we were invited to Zeb's house, a fellow student, for dinner. It was about a 30 min. walk to his house, but the view was breathtaking! I actually had to hold back tears once I got to his house. It was indescribable. Pole (sorry) I forgot to bring my camera ):

We have had a great first week here in Tigoni and the language school has proved to be the best thing we could be doing right now. It is the perfect transition to our life here. Every morning Peter, our instructor, greets us with, "Habari za asubuhi?" (What is the news of the morning?) In which we reply, "Nzuri" (good). Then he will ask us, "Habari za watoto" (What is the news of the children?) and we reply, "Nzuri". Dada Stella, the woman who teaches the second half of the class, has been teaching us our numbers, how to tell the time, verbs and lots of other things. After next week we will be in class from 8:30 AM till 3:30 PM. We have been so blessed by the school and the instructors.

Thank you so much for keeping us in your prayers. As the language school gets more intense we will need prayer for rest and patience with our children. Being in school to learn a new language can be quite exhausting.