Another week has flown by here in Kenya. We are so thankful for your ongoing prayers, notes and gifts! Here is a little update of the last week.
Last Friday, we skipped class to do our weekly shopping, try our hand at bartering in Swahili at the Masai Market, and meet some friends for lunch. It was a cold, rainy day. I was successful at finding two more pairs of stretchy, but not maternity, pants at the mall. We stocked up on nonperishable food at the supermarket. Then, we purchased some really cute nursery supplies for Joshua. I wasn’t planning to do anything too fancy if we were having another boy, but I changed my mind. (I already had a beautiful, fun girl nursery all planned out in my head…I guess those plans will have to wait!) I found orange, brown and ivory fabric for sheets and pillows and whatever else I decide to create. We got a cute giraffe and hippo for décor. I still have some things to find and/or make, but I think the nursery will be one of my favorite rooms when it’s finished.
Once we finished bargaining for matching Kenyan soccer outfits for the boys, we called the driver to pick us up. He didn’t understand my request, so we ended up standing in the rain for quite some time. Finally, we were on our way across town to eat at an amazing brick oven pizza restaurant with our friends, which was the main purpose for missing the entire day of class!
Although we were late (everything takes longer in Kenya!), we thoroughly enjoyed our time with our friends. They are visiting Tenwek and actually living in our house for 3 ½ weeks. While we’re sorry that Aaron and Allan won’t get to work side-by-side at Tenwek, we are so privileged to share our home with them. It was delightful to meet their daughters. I wonder if they’re sleeping in the boys’ triple bunk…
We are also grateful to meet them because they filled two huge trunks for us! Baby clothes, blankets, cloth diapers, toys, birthday party supplies, medical supplies, school books, etc. were overflowing the action packers. What a blessing!
Our weekend was quiet and restful. We enjoyed corn-on-the-cob for the first time since moving here. (I’m talking real sweet corn, not maize!) We visited the same church and enjoyed their kick-off celebration for 50 years of making disciples and teaching the Word. It’s so encouraging to be a part of such a Bible-teaching church that actually walks the talk. Although we couldn’t understand all the testimonies since they were primarily in Swahili, we were blessed by how many people could so easily share how the church had impacted their lives and their walks with God. God is doing great things here in Kenya! Praise God!
Monday and Tuesday were full days. We finished lessons 19 and 20, which meant we needed to take the first exam. Giving us much grace, the teachers gave us a day and a half to study. After an hour of test-prep on Wednesday, we started our self-study time. We spent Thursday studying. Then, on Friday we took the test!
I think we all did very well. Monday begins a new week. We’ve been told that we’ll learn the ‘yellow chart.’ I guess that’s a good thing, but I’m not sure. Before that, though, we’ll enjoy another quiet weekend. Hopefully, the sun will stay out and we’ll have some special family time. We are taking advantage of the cafe to celebrate Noah’s half-birthday. Since both Jacob and Levi will celebrate birthdays here at language school and will therefore be treated to Mommy-Daddy-dates, we thought we’d treat Noah to his date on his 8 1/2 birthday. We’re considering giving him half of a Lego set, but we think that would be torture for his personality type!
Psalm 146
1 Praise the Lord.
Praise the Lord, my soul.
2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose hope is in the Lord their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
the sea, and everything in them—
he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8 the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.
10 The Lord reigns forever,
your God, O Zion, for all generations.
Praise the Lord.
Praise and Prayer Requests:
- Praise God for the work He is doing in Kenya! Pray that discipleship will become a main priority in all churches across this country.
- Praise God for our successful assessments. We are doing our best to learn as much Swahili as possible in 2 months, so it’s encouraging to get good feedback. Please continue to pray for us. We’re half way done, and we have SO much more to learn!
- Pray for Tenwek.
- Pray for wisdom in answering the boys’ questions concerning the baby and Hannah. Pray for their hearts, and ours. Aaron and I have been grieving deeply again. It’s hard to know how to answer the boys’ questions. It’s hard to process things away from home, away from our normal, away from our main emotional supporters.
- Pray blessings upon those people at Tenwek who have sacrificially supported us the past year and a half. We are so far from our American support system, so we appreciate our Tenwek family so much. They walked the journey of losing Hannah with us, and they haven’t forgotten. Now that we are absent from that support system, we are made more aware of how special it is. We love you all! May God bless you for your emotional and spiritual support!!
- Pray blessings upon Levi and Aaron this week as they celebrate their birthdays! Levi will turn 4 on Thursday, and Aaron will be another year older on Friday.
- New and Old News - July 28, 2016
- Going back home - May 9, 2016
- Take the Pledge - April 11, 2016
1 Comment
Lisa Brey
Jul, 30, 2014LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the soccer photo of Aaron and the boys. We are big fans of soccer especially since both sets of our parents are from Europe. One set from Germany and the other from Hungary. Thx for sharing all the photos. I am glad to hear that your test went well and that you were able to barter in Swahili. Very Cool. Also, that you were able to have brick oven pizza and corn on the cobb. I think I take Jersey corn for granted. You look absolutely wonderful and I love the baby bump. I never looked that cute. Love and continued prayers for you and the family as well as a remaining healthy pregagnnacy. Can’t wait to see who Joshua looks like.