Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving, being an american holiday, does not exisit in Africa. I had a little fun with Morella, our cook. When she came to make dinner for us I asked her to bake a turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoe casserole, green bean casserole, squash casserole, oh, and could she bake a pumpkin pie with whipped topping. Not to mention this would be impossible because we don't have an oven here. Her eyes got big and she was speechless. We had a good laugh, then she asked me what is thanksgiving? I told her the story. She had seen things on TV about thanksgiving and was wondering what it all meant. Anyway, we had a nice day. Our dinner was good - chicken, beans and carrots, rice and ugali. No desserts though. I think I will get a snicker candy bar today. It is the only thing that tastes like it is supposed to.
My computer is in the shop again. We took it to a different place this time. It seems Gerald doesn't really know what he is doing and pretty much just took it apart and put it back together. He said he replaced the processor but he didn't. It has the original processor in it. The man working on it now says it overheated and burned out a couple of transistors. He will replace them. I should have it back tomorrow.
Today we will go to the "Crater". We need an outdoors excursion to maintain our sanity. I definitely prefer country life to city life.
The work here is progressing daily. Thank you for your prayers..... Love and missing you, Haviylah

Home visits and......billiards???

November 23, 2009


It’s Monday and we started our day with fried rice for breakfast. We went to 3 homes today. Our first visit was to Rose Anindo Ochalo’s house. She lives in a rather large 3 room house with her husband and a friend and her small boy, Abdul. Her husband is retired from a railroad job because he was injured in an accident which left him handicapped. He had a fractured leg and now has a rod in his spine from the accident. As the story goes his equipment was sabotaged by a jealous fellow worker. During the post election violence they had to leave their home and spent 6 months in an IDP camp. They had to flee to avoid danger because of their tribe. That incident has really affected the economy. People who were doing fine in their businesses before the violence are struggling to get back on track. Rose is very active in the choir at the church. I love to watch her praise God with her whole heart.

As we arrived in the neighborhood of our second visit, I saw a cute little girl holding a doll as she skipped through the yard. We went to the one room home of Dorothy Anyango. I was delighted to see that the little girl with the doll just happens to be her youngest daughter. I gave her a “sweetie” (piece of candy)and, as most kids do, she instantly popped it into her mouth. Dorothy has 5 children and is married to a Tailor. She has a little grocery stand and has just finished a tailoring course. She wants to sew for a business but needs money to get started. She was a gracious hostess and said to us, “You do well to come back to us.” (Most mzungos don’t come back a second time).

Lastly we went to visit Rose Odhiambo. She is from Uganda and lives in a 2 room house with her husband, who is a gas station mechanic, and her 5 children, including a set of twins and her granddaughter, Aquilla. She sells fabric from Uganda. She goes to government offices to sell her fabric, which is a bit nicer and more expensive than the usual. She also weaves straw mats and does a very nice job. We ordered one to bring home. We may want to sell them and/or use them to decorate in the coffee shop. Her ambition is to raise her kids in a godly way and help orphans. We had Stoney’s – the best ginger soda in the world – and “cakes”.

After our visits George challenged Noah to shoot some pool. Now Noah hasn’t played for many years but he was ready to take a shot at it. George says he is the Nakuru champion. Joel and I sat back and watched. George told Noah he would give him some lessons so before each turn he repeatedly said, “lesson # 1, 2 and 3” with each game perspectively. Noah started out pretty good but the table and balls were smaller than usual and he kept hitting the balls too hard. It was fun to watch and I am sure we will do this again. I put up some pictures on my web album for your enjoyment.

Then we went to town to pick up a few things at the Wool Matt, had a light lunch and came home. We have 3 home visits tomorrow. I love being in the homes of the people. It is a good way to touch their lives and hearts. They are always so grateful and so are we.

Until tomorrow…. Haviylah

PS I can't seem to get the pictures on my blog so please go to my web albums for illustrations.

An Adventurous Day

November 21, 2009


Today was an adventurous day. We went to town to meet with the youth. That went well. There were 12 of us (that is if you count George who came and went throughout the meeting). We had tea and a snack. Abba talked to them about having ambition and not quiting. He encouraged them to find out what God wants them to do and tell someone. They are getting ideas for Christmas. Abba suggested a feast….. with sweets of course…. They said they could do it. I don’t know how without ovens and refrigeration but I’m sure they will come up with something. We went around the room and each one talked a little. Some told stories of how they came to the church. Simon told how he was in a group of boys that hung out at clubs and would usually end up in fights. He said you had to have a weapon, like a ‘blade’ to go there. When Lloyd asked him to come to church he didn’t want to at first but decided to go. He loved it and decided to quit his gang. He now has 3 close friends he can talk to God about. He is an awesome young man. Joel came even though he is not completely recovered - he is doing much better.

After the meeting we needed to go get some groceries. Joel wants chicken alfredo so I will attempt to make it this week. We went to the butcher first to get some meat. It looked like it was closed because there was no meat in the display but they let us in anyway. There were other customers there too. They were cleaning so the man went to the back to get our order. Then we went to Tusky’s. That is the best place to get bread. They bake it fresh every day. I got some hamburger buns too. I will make burgers for dinner tomorrow. It’s Morella’s day off. She likes to learn new recipes so I am teaching her some American meals. George dropped us off but stayed in the van with some of the young people to wait for us. While Abba and I were shopping Simon came in to tell us George was being taken to the police station. Evidently he was parked in the wrong place and he didn’t have his license with him. They were saying they would put him in jail for 2 days but he called his friend, the inspector, who came down and after hearing the story, let him go. George thinks the lady police wanted a bribe and he would not give it. She didn’t know who she was dealing with. George knows everybody. During this time we got a 'Tuk Tuk', 3 wheel taxi, to bring Abba to the station and I went home with Joel, Lloyd and Vivian. While the decision was being made Abba was praying with some of the youth that God would let George go. When they finished praying George walked out. Who is like our God? They came home. Since we didn’t have lunch so I was going to make some popcorn but it didn’t work out so I poured some yogurt mixed with mango juice. Ummm it was good. Better than a milkshake. Now Abba is having a mens meeting. George just walked in and gave me a bag of popcorn, Morella is cooking dinner – pork chops. Tomorrow is Sunday and we will have a gathering and ladies meeting.

“We pray for you, you pray for us. We need you to survive.”

Better go now. Dinner is almost ready…..Haviylah

Daniel's visit and stories of everyday life.

It’s 10pm on November 17th. I have my computer back and it seems to be working fine. We took it back to Gerald and he got it going again. Let’s see how long it lasts?

I was talking to Nelly at the table about the possibility of moving the refrigerator out of the living room dining room area and into the kitchen. She said the kitchen was too small and I agreed she was right. But she decided to ask Beatrice, who was in the kitchen. I heard them laughing so I went to find out what was so funny. Beatrice said, “If we put it in the kitchen no one will know we have a frig.” That was funny. Beatrice has a great sense of humor. She is always making somebody laugh. I wish I could understand her more. She doesn’t speak much English.

Last night Daniel taught our people to be ambitious and not waste their lives. He told how he was raised in a very poor home and had nothing, but God gave him much to do to help people all over the world. He encouraged us to make history and to change Africa. Now we are heading out to Nairobi to take Daniel to the airport. The van is quiet. We are tired and contemplative.

I am overwhelmed by what God is doing through people like us. He has given us the desires of our heart - to reach people all over the world. He has sent us to 3rd world countries and then given us the grace to be here. There is no hardship to be endured. It is not even worth mentioning the daily inconveniences. My love for God grows when my love for all mankind is realized.

My thoughts are wandering towards God’s will for me now. I hear a lot about miracles of healing and wonder why I am not drawn to pray for miraculous healing. It’s not that I haven’t seen God do miracles of healing, even as an answer to my prayer. But that is not where my focus is. I would love to see a world without sickness but as it is I feel most useful to His purpose when I am caring for those who have not been healed. I feel like my work is to take care of those who are not healed miraculously. To be with them in their suffering and to ease their pain when I can; and to bring them back to health through whatever means is necessary and beneficial; to show the love and compassion of Jesus who cares for us and draws us to himself through suffering.

Speaking of suffering. Abba just came in from working out at the gym. He stormed in and collapsed on the bed, crying out for electrolytes. I’m glad I brought the Ultima Replenisher! He went too far with jumping right in to a strenuous exercise routine and literally passed out on the floor. George managed to get him home and now he is sleeping. That’s our Abba …. Pushing the limits again. LOL Don’t worry, he is fine.

This blog has been a series of days all in one. I will try to keep them up now that my computer is back. Thinking of all of you everyday. We could not do this without your prayers and support.   xxxoooxxxooo  Haviylah

A Candlelight Service

Yesterday was a nice day, pretty uneventful, until we went to the meeting hall for a teaching. I sat down on the front row with Petranilla and Joel. Then the sweet little girl named Priscilla came along and sat down beside me. She looked up at me with her big brown eyes as if to say “Got anything for me today?”. I think she was the only child there. She loves to hang out at the meeting hall when we are there. I let her draw pictures and write her abc’s in my note pad. As it got darker outside Petranilla told her to go home. She got up and left. After about 5 minutes she was back peeping in the door. Petranilla sent her home again. Again she came back. Then Petranilla got up and took her home herself. We did not see her again that night but I am sure she will be there next time we come. I pray God will keep her and draw her to Himself and that she will serve Him with all her days.

Noah spent a good part of his day preparing to teach and he was excited. He was speaking about the difference between the universal and the local church and the accountability we have to each other. It was a hard concept for them to catch. They had never heard of the local church. Through illustrations he was able to help them understand. He wasn’t too far into the teaching though when the power went out. It was getting dark outside so it quickly got to where he couldn’t see people’s faces or his notes. Petranilla whispered something to one of the ladies and she left to who knows where for who knows what. Since this had happened the night before I had the foresight to bring a small flashlight. I gave it to him as he was speaking but it only seemed to add to his frustration because it wouldn’t stay on and then it wouldn’t turn off. He found a way to close his talk and promised to take it up at a later date. About that time the lady came back and handed Petranilla a candle and some matches. She lit the little candle, dripped some wax onto the pulpit, and skillfully stood the candle in. This brought a little light on the subject and George, as usual, backed up the teaching with further commentary in Swahili.

After the gatherings there’s always a lot of ‘how are yous?’ slap- shaking hands, hugs and smiles. Then we sit in the van and wait for George to check on people and things. It’s nice to have the van because we get to give people rides and we have them to talk to or listen to while we wait.

When we dropped everyone off Noah vowed to buy 4 oil lamps for the church. When we got home we ate a meal prepared by Morella (still haven’t got that picture of her yet and she just left), visited a little and got ready for bed. I always think of you all and what you are doing at your time of day 8 or 9 hours behind us. When I wake up in the morning you have had the day to write emails. I always look forward to checking my mail first thing in the morning. Your letters and notes mean so much to me.

May you have a day full of blessings.

Lala salama. Haviylah

Home visits

November 11, 2009


We found out today that George has Typhoid. (don’t worry we had our ‘jabs’ (vaccination)). He went to the clinic today for a blood test. We were sitting in the van for about a half hour or more, not knowing how long it would be, so we took a walk through the streets with vendors on both sides and down the middle. I saw bought some pinto beans. The lady gave us a price which we did not understand what she meant so we over paid her. She was honest and told us we gave her too much so we took some of it back and gave her a little more that she had asked for. I thanked her for her honesty. When I started to take the picture of her a man came up yelling at me in Swahili. I looked at the lady and she wasn’t impressed so I just ignored him. He was pretty obnoxious but I got a couple of pictures in spite of him. It took all Noah could do to restrain himself I forgot to bring the cell phone so we had no way of telling George where we went and when we came back to the van he was still not there. We found a scrap of paper and left a note on the windshield. About that time he walked up from behind so were together again.

Then they took me to the barber that knows how to cut ‘nylon’ (mzungu) hair. His name is Gerald. He does a very nice job and puts his whole heart into it. He cuts the hair first, then there’s the shampoo with massaging followed by towel drying and oiling with olive oil. The best part is saved for last- that is a massage of the head and shoulders with a vibrater. Ahhh….helps relax those tense muscles. When we are riding down the bumpy roads you don’t know whether to tighten up your muscles or let them go loose so you end up a little sore by the end of the day. I will take pictures of the barber next time Joel or Noah get a haircut.

Next on our agenda was a home visit to Sycilia. When we arrived she greeted us joyfully. She took my hand and walked proudly through the neighborhood showing us off to her friends. We laughed together as we walked. She is a dedicated lady. When we came last time she is the one like the woman at the well. After teachings and gatherings she went home and told the everyone she knew about it. She is sick with cold symptoms and needs to go to the health clinic but doesn’t have the money. So we gave her what she needed.

Christine invited us to lunch at her house and because George wasn’t feeling well we decided we would go but not stay long. She served us the best fish you can imagine, beef stew and chipati (flat bread). It was so good. As we talked we could hear the wisdom in her words even though we could not understand her Swahili. George let her tell her stories and then a told us what she had said in his own words. He was so encouraged by her faith he started to feel better. She had been talking to someone who had left the church and wanted her to leave too. She said no. She is committed to be with us for the rest of her life. She had great insight into the untrue things that were being said to her. We ended up staying much longer that we planned. We were blessed.

We went back home for a little rest then went to the teaching. Noah is teaching accountability, responsibility, and authority. This is a really good teaching and he is being very clear. Near the end the lights went out so it was hard to see his notes but was able to finish without too much trouble. As he prayed for God to give us light the lights went back on. George spoke to emphasis the things Noah taught and then we went home for dinner, fellowship, check emails…. Then under the mosquito nets, read a little and sleep.

We prayed for you all this morning. Love you and miss you. Haviylah

Flamingo Clan Gathering

This morning I got up at 5:30 to catch up on updates. They are posted below and are kind of out of order. I hope it is not too confusing but you get the gist of it anyway. I am learning the blogger tricks and working with a computer going down. Hopefully that chapter of this trip is over now. I stayed home and cleaned out the frig to make room for the vegetables Nelly will bring home from the market. It was a slow, quiet sort of day. That was nice. Then we went to the Flamingo Clan gathering. All the clans gather in homes on Tuesday. We will go to a different one each week. It gives us a chance to get to know people in a smaller group setting.
This is a summary of the Flamingo clan gathering:
These are the people who were there:
1. Nelly– We met her there because she comes from working at her salon. She and Pamela lead this clan.
2. Christine-Last Sunday’s teaching was about turning the other cheek. She said that teaching helped her to change today. Her son and wife came to her house fighting. The other son asked her to bring peace. The wife fought her. She did not fight back, she turned the other cheek. This is a change in her life. She left but the wife came back at her. Again she did not fight back. In the end there was peace. She also wanted us not to take George to USA yet because the church needs him here now.
3. Karalyne- She said encouraging words about George. He has given them words of Life and helps them grow. She was empty and sick but Nelly and Christine came to her house to help her. ‘General’ prayed for her.
4. Lucy- She says she stopped going to church for a long time until now. She will come.
5. Susan-Says she has been built up by the teachings. She compared what comes out of us is like and orange when it is squeezed. She used to have bitterness come out when she was squeezed. Now grace comes instead of bitterness. Her husband has noticed the change in her.
6. Alice- The Sunday teaching showed her what is most important. She closed her work early today so she could come to the gathering tonight. For her this is a sacrifice. It could mean she will not eat. She will trust God.
7. Pamela- She said she used to get angry easily. The anger is gone from her and her husband says she is a different person.
8. George- He interperets for us. He is a Godly man and we appreciate his tireless efforts to take care of us and shepherd the flock in Nakuru. He is not feeling well and thinks he may be having a malaria attack. He will take medicine.
9. Noah- Noah taught about putting on the new creation – [Galations 6:15, IICorinthians 5:17, Galations 3:27]. The teaching are really good. I hope that when we get home he will be able to teach them to ya’ll.
10. Joel- He listens and watches. He is a good sent one and a servant. We are glad he is here.
11. Haviylah- I love to listen as they speak with grateful hearts. It reminds me to be grateful as well. I am learning so much. I want all of you to know what God is doing so I pull out my note pad and try to capture their hearts in words so I can send you the message.
They receive so openly and apply what is taught as soon as the first opportunity comes along. It is a humbling experience to speak to them knowing how everything you say will be considered carefully and then acted upon. I am reminded of the words of our Lord, “Whoever humbles himself like this child-this one is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 18: 4. They are like that. Many of them acknowledge that the change in their lives began when they were baptized on our last visit. That was 8 months ago and they are still changing from glory to glory.
We came home and had a nice dinner prepared by the cookJ Nelly added ugali and greens to the minced meat, fried rice, and salad. The lettuce had so much flavor. I didn’t know lettuce could taste so good. I started to clean up but Nelly asked me to teach her how to do a spread sheet on the computer for church records. She is sharp and catches on quick. When I went back in to finish the dishes, there were none to be done. Beatrice, the house girl had done them all. She is a good worker and does well with the baby too. I told George and Nelly not to let her go. They heartily agreed.
This update marks the end of my day. I will close and get ready for bed. Thank you for all your prayers. We are praying for you also.
Praying for you,
Haviylah

No more, "cock a doodle doo!"

                     "Tonight we sleep!!!!

Second Week in Nakuru

It's Monday and we are ready to face the challenges. Yesterday my laptop went out again. I was unable to get it back up after spending hours with Doug and the on line with HP Advisor chat line. They instructed me to open up the back and reseat the memory card..What?????? I thought I'd give it a try. Problem is we didn't have the right size phillips head screwdriver or the dissipated bag, whatever that is, so I abandoned that effort. They told me to simly pack it up and ship it to the states so they could pick it up and work on it. Ok, I'll sleep on that one. Well I didn't sleep very well at all. I read and prayed for Noah. He has been struggling with anxious thoughts about the work here. I finally got to sleep and then he woke up. God spoke to his heart and gave him peace. So when the rooster began to crow we were both up. George went into town and found a computer repair place in the "mall" so we decided to give it a try. But first we had 2 visits to make. The first one was Anne. Her daughter, Elizabeth is one we were able to help go to school. It is amazing to me the change in the faces of the people since we were here 8 months ago. There is hope for the destitute and rest for the weary. We talked about how we could help her with her business. she sells cooked corn and beans on the side of the road. We would like to be able to invest in some of these small businesses and use a percentage of the profits to help these families and th e church. Both Anne and Pamela were very open. Pamela is the lady in the picture that Joel is giving sugar to. Joel has been an awesome help. We were in the van on our way to the houses when he asked what he could do to help. He usually is a little surprised at the answers to that question, "uh... well... you can give the sugar to the moms and candy to the kids. Oh, and would you mind carrying my backpack?" If you aren't reading his blog you might want to. He has been a delight to have. Have I said that before? After our second home visit we went to the computer repair shop. I watched for three hours as he did surgery on the laptop. it was almost like watching your child getting stitches. you don't know if you want to watch or not. He did a good job and i am happily working on this blog. Needless to say we were getting hungry and thirsty so we went to a restaurant for a late lunch. i went to the restroom first. as i was coming out of the stall i was almost knocked down by a rather large lady. she was giggling and saying, " Hurry, hurry! The rain is gonna come down, the rain is gonna come down." So....I got out of her way, laughing out loud! The people here are so full of character. They are not as self conscious as we are in America. they are free with each other and there is always lively conversation wherever you go. We came home and 'rested a bit' . Petranilla came over and had dinner with us. Then we went to bed and slept the whole night through!! The rooster is in the freezer;-)

Gathering and Ladies Meeting

Sunday's gathering was great! it was good to see the shining faces of the people. Some we knew and a few new ones too. The children always make my heart sing. they are the future of the world. it is good to invest our time in their lives and it is not a waste of time to give to these little people. They gave their testimonies and were so full of gratefulness to God.

After the gathering George sent the men outside so the ladies could meet. I was planning to start the meeting by having each lady introduce themselves. Unbeknownst to me Petranilla had the same idea. She asked the ladies to stand and introduce themselves. When I told her later that I had wanted to start that way she was very excited to know we were in unity.
I encouraged the ladies to be creative, in their homes, marriages, mothering and friendships. To find what gift God has given them and to use it for His Kingdom. For examples I asked them what if: Judy didn’t sing, Alice didn’t dance, Mary decided not to be a friend, Petranilla didn’t pray. The church would be lifeless without them and the gifts they give to the body.
I talked to them about forgiveness by telling the story of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus forgave without conditions. She did not have to do anything first. He was doing the Father’s will by forgiving her and that the church must seek His will before making a judgment on a brother or sister. Gossip hurts and destroys unity. It was after He had forgiven her that Jesus told her to go and sin no more. Repentance is turning and going the other way. As we are one with Him we are given power to be His body in the earth.
The ladies listened attentively. They are amazingly open to hear and do. It is a very humbling experience to stand before them and speak. Your prayers and constant laying down of your lives enables us to do the work here. We are grateful for you and we feel your prayers.

The rest of the day was trying. My computer went down, I was tired and we were getting a little hungry. We had a big lunch so we had planned to just have popcorn and fruit for dinner. I could only manage to pop the corn. Joel asked where's the fruit, looked in my eyes and said never mind. I went to bed early but didn't sleep much. I have been reading the book I mentioned before about Mary Mozley, a missionary to Africa in the 1920's. She has been inspiring me to do the work here without complaining. I noticed that she had a cook, wherever she went. I remembered that Amy Carmichael also had a cook. What an inspiration! So I presented my inspired idea to hire someone from the church to cook and clean our evening meal. Everyone liked the idea, especially Nelly and me, so we now have a cook for 150 shillings a day. (that's about $2 a day I think). Her name is Morella and she is great. She eats with us so we have time to fellowship with her. I will send a picture later.
I will leave you with a quote from Mary Mozley:

"Take time in God's presence to be encouraged by Him and strengthened by a new revelation of Himself before facing anew the difficult way. Love is the beginning and end, the only thing that counts or matters. Not---How much have I served? but --How much have I loved?"

Yours always,
Haviylah

November 6,2009

Update November 6,2009
A new day and we are beginning to feel like Kenyans. After breakfast – scrambled eggs, yogurt and fresh fruit [pineapple, mango, passion fruit, papaya, bananas] – we finally sat down and wrote our schedule for the next two months. We will be busy with gatherings, prayer meetings, teachings, home visits, men, women’s, youth, leaders and clan meetings. Pastor Daniel will be coming November 15-18. We will possibly be visiting the church in Eldoret and maybe Peter in Uganda. Since the house is dark, [kinda feels like living in a cave] we decided to go to town again. This time George took us to a Choma restaurant. That’s where they roast the whole goat on charcoal, then they bring it on a wooden cutting board to slice it up at the table while you watch. This time they brought out a bundle of intestines too. Everyone tried it but me. Joel says it looks like macaroni. Hmmmmm ...I’ll pass on that one… Don’t have anything to prove…lol. The meat was served with ugali (best we’ve had yet, it was moist) and a salad (tomatoe, onion, lime, cilantro mixed together). We had a nice afternoon, just resting, playing with little Haviylah, watched a funny movie, cooked and ate. Now I am ready to go to bed and read a good book. Lala Salama [good night]. Haviylah

Nakuru November 6, 2009

Noah and George open an overseas account while Joel and I wait in the van and take pictures, watch people and chat.

Then we take a break at the Guava Cafe Coffee Shop. We are waiting for George to come back. He went to get mushrooms for dinner - minced meat (ground beef) and mashed potatoes. He laughed at the mashed potatoe idea saying that is for babies. I told him that's ok, he doesn't have to eat them. In the end he ate more than anyone!

Wed Nov 4
(Con’t from yesterday)
After lunch we went to the market to get vegetables. It has been raining so much here. Everything is green and much more beautiful than last visit. There are tall, trees with lavender flowers that look a lot like wisteria. They are beautiful! They drop their petals to make a beautiful carpet on the ground. I will try to get a picture if I can. Anyway, because of all the rain the market was a mud bogL ugh…. By the time we were done my toes were as black as George’s. So I asked George if there was a place we could clean up a bit. I was thinking maybe a faucet in an alley or something. He said “I know a place”- we got in the van and drove off. Before I knew it I was sitting in a shoe shine chair getting my feet cleaned and my shoes polished. Never done that beforeJ when he finished mine, George got his shoes cleaned and shined. Meanwhile across the street Noah and Joel were getting bombarded by ‘hackers’ (people selling stuff on the street). They ended up buying baseball caps and were quite happy when we got back to the van. So we went to the butcher to get us some meat…and mayonnaise too…. Don’t worry no one is starving this trip. I think we figured out the eating thing. We took the scenic route to show Joel the Rift Valley and the lake. There were thousands of flamigos! Beautiful! You can see them in the background of the picture of the grazing water buffalo.
I love living with Nellie. She is so sweet and we work together well. Joel is a big help in the kitchen and George and Abba are grateful recipients of our labors. She got up early this morning to kill the chicken Helen gave us. She cooked it for dinner and boy was it good!! Maybe that ole rooster’s worth the trouble after allJ We went to town to open a bank account and look for a battery for my laptop. Noah got a haircut as we watched. The young man cutting his hair was amazing to watch. First he applied hot towels to his beard and head as he gave a gentle massage. Then he began the sculpting of hair. I have never seen anything like it. He is more than a barber. He’s an artist. Very nice haircut! Then he got his assistant to wash Noah’s hair. She massaged as she lathered up the soap and he almost fell asleep. I took this opportunity to ask the barber if he could cut my hair too. He said, “Of course, I can do this for you.” George had already told me he is the best because he knows how to do “nylon” hair. I asked him if he was just as good with “steel wool” hair – like his. We had a good laugh. – OK back to Noah’s haircut – he was taken back to the chair and give a complete and thorough massage of not only his head but his face, shoulders and upper back too. Wow! We concluded our trip to town with a cup of coffee and sandwich before going to look for a battery for my laptop. We found out it would cost $246 to replace it… never mind. When we got home I talked to Doug – we chatted a bit as he checked my computer, that was nice – then we decided I should do an online chat with the Geek Squad at Best Buy where I bought the computer to be sure I had a new one that wouldn’t give me trouble in Africa. That was most frustrating. They were no help at all, so I gave them a name change…..Worst Buy…. ( I’m sure I’m not the first to think up that name.) My frustrations was at its peak when I remembered I had a program called HP advisor so I managed to get on a chat with one of their reps. The first line let me know they knew how to help me. After about 30 minutes of diagnosing the problem she gave me instructions to power drain the computer and come back online if it didn’t work. Just as we closed the conversation the power went out. What perfect timing! So I took a break and went in the kitchen to help Nelly cook dinner. We cooked, ate and did clean up to candles and flash lights. Now it was getting late so I put away my laptop, let down the mosquito net and got ready for bed when, lo and behold, the lights came back on! So I got back online – we have a modem that fits into an usb port like a gig stick – and reopened my HP advisor to restart my chat session. I got a different lady this time but she was equally as helpful as the first. She gave me a download to check out the battery and a promise to send me a new one if this didn’t work. (A brief intermission for a commercial - I have been on chat with Dell and Geeks and no one has helped me like HP!... Except our own personal specialist, Doug, of course.) Well it worked and I now have a fully charged battery.
November 5, 09
Good morning! We slept well with the regular scheduled rooster crows causing us to remember where we are. But it is getting a little easier to ignore. Next, put on the kettle for tea/coffee, get a shower. The water pressure was good today, or maybe I’m just getting used to the trickleJ The temperature was dropping to about 76 degrees so Nelly got out the snow suit for Haviylah, (she already had on 3 layers of clothes. We laid her on our bed. She couldn’t even turn over. I’m thinking they better come visit us in the summer. J
I feel your prayers today. Yesterday was not without its’ trials. George and Noah got a little out of sync but they took time to talk and things began to lighten up. We had a good rest of the day. After dinner they spent time together talking about what God is doing here. We know without perfect unity God cannot move and we will not let the sun go down without working out our difficulties. Our enemy is busy and we must be about the Father’s work. His will is all we desire to do.
I am reading a book from our library (thanks JoyJ) called ‘The Obedience of the Faith: Mary Mozley’. She was inspired by Amy Carmichael, to go to Africa as a missionary. One of her letters to her friends and family at home put my thoughts and feeling into words so I will quote her:
“Indeed we feel if Jesus Himself does not draw near and go with us, it were better not to go at all. ‘If Thy presence go not with us’ it would indeed be life and money wasted. There is so much to do in these days we hardly have time to think. Everyone is so good and kind. Our hearts ache for those who will be left behind, it is so much worse for them. The verse that comes into my mind is that one about a sword piercing through the heart. And it means that at this time. Yet for our dear ones ads for ourselves, the knowledge that the sword is held in pierced Hands and the piercing is guided in the highest wisdom and the deepest love is more that comforting. There is a hundred-fold more in this present time to be given not only to those who go but to those who give. May we indeed prove this. Our future is unknown for us as we go forward and for you staying in the homeland. How good it is to know that even so it is –
‘Peace, perfect peace, our future all unknown! Jesus we know and He is on the throne’”. -Mary Mozley
In other words I am missing you all already and love you so much. George says we are taking this first week to ‘rest’ …LOL…. and settle. Then we will get busy. My heart is full of anticipation of what God will do in these next 2 months, here and at home.
Haviylah

(con't from yesterday) This picture doesn't do it justice. I think he wiped most of it off when I got my camera out.....nice picture anyway.

Where was I? I don't remember the rest of the day before because yesterday was so full! and now we are leaving the Internet cafe so I will have to end with these pictures.

Yesterday was a fun day. We got up late ... because we didn't get much sleep.... our biological clock wakes us up at 3 am and the rooster outside our window makes sure we stay up. I made breakfast - scrambled eggs, fried toast and fresh mango and passion fruit. The food is sooo good and healthy. Joel loves it too. I'm glad he is health conscious and not a picky eater at all. After clean up we went to town. Cyber first then stopped at a restaurant for lunch. Noah had curry chicken with which he managed to dye his white beard and mustache yellow. I am not working from my laptop so I can't send a picture today.... my battery won't charge..... technical difficulties follow us where ever we go...... anyway I will send a picture next time. Noah and George needed to talk to Joseph so Joel and I walked to Wool Matt to buy some necessary items. We got done before they finished talking so we walked down the street to the open market. I was warning Joel how they try to convince you that you reallly need to buy from them and they will give you the best deals. We didn't get past the first two booths before we had to go back. It was fun to watch Joel. He didn't want to leave so we will go back another day. We went back to meet up with the men...who were still talking...so we sat and ordered a cup of tea. by the time we got the tea they were done talking and had to wait for us. Soon after we got home Christine (warrior Queen) came for a visit. She is such a giving person. We talked about health care in Nakuru. She does volunteer work in an American based clinic. She wants to go to med school. She has 6 kids and is 32 years old.
Sorry I have to close now....I will finish this tomorrow.....love you all an miss you so much...Haviylah

Adventure begins in Kenya!

Hello Friends,
I haven't had time to write until now. We are at the internet "cafe" and my battery is low, so this will be short. Noah wrote an awesome update. I'll just pick up when he burns out:) The lost wallet was a sweet word from God to me. Before we left home I was so worried I would lose it I even sewed an extra zipper into my purse. Guess you have to put it in and zip it for that to work. Now I know God will take care of my every need because He cares.
We are adjusting to time, altitude and temp changes. It has been much easier for me this time. I took SP Ferrofood to build my hemoglobin for the higher altitude this time and it seems to have worked:0 I am feeling great! Unpacking cooking and cleaning and visiting has occupied all of my time so far and we are getting settled.
The birthday for little Haviy was fun! She loved the cake the most. Everyone wrote sweet things in the birthday journal I brought her and we sang Abby's birthday songs.
Love to all,
Thank you for your prayers, we feel them.
Haviylah