My Personal Walk with God

 
Reading my Bible each day is a habit that was ingrained in me at an early age.  I can still remember the determination in my heart at 10 years old to make it through the Book of Leviticus!  I did make it through and went on to read my whole Bible through from cover to cover--over and over again.  How thankful I am for my Bible!  There have been times that I've slept with my Bible clutched to my heart for the comfort and peace that I'd gleaned from It's pages.  It is my tangible link to my God.  The words within are His Words to me.  Isn't it amazing that a God so great would humble Himself to speak to us?

Last night, as I crawled in bed, I saw my Bible on the bedside table, and suddenly realized that I had not picked it up at all day.  I had groggily jumped out of bed in the morning to feed a hungry baby.  Then I had proceeded downstairs to feed my hungry men their breakfast.  And the day went on from there.

Before I went to sleep, I knew I had to read a chapter from my precious Book.  However, I much prefer my time with God in the morning.  I have found that I can pray and nurse Brina at the same time.  However, I cannot focus on my Bible and nurse her at the same time.  There are too many interruptions to make sure she does not fall asleep!

She is doing better though.  We are down to 30-45 minutes each meal time now.  (That means an hour or more sleep time for me in the middle of the night!)  I woke up a half hour before she did this morning feeling rested and was able to read several chapters before her meal.  What a blessing that was for me!

Also, this morning, I read this quote by Hudson Taylor.  How true it is!

“Do not have your concert first, and then tune your instrument afterwards. Begin the day with the Word of God and prayer, and get first of all into harmony with Him.”
                                                   
                                  ―Hudson Taylor, Missionary to China



And by way of a P.S. that does not at all pertain to this post:  I want to take up this challenge!

God, Keep Me Sweet

Feat accomplished!  I cooked supper last night!!!  And not just any supper--fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn, and green beans.  There used to be much MUCH more time in my day, and I think I had forgotten what it really means to multitask!  I do not have a picture for you, but perhaps you can picture in your mind a new mommy, bouncing a sleeping baby who is supposed to be nursing (under a blanket because of a very curious 4-year-old!), tasting, stirring, cooking, and trying to listen to the chatter of a little boy who just found something new to show Mommy about "God's creation". 

Talk about busy!  Every moment counts in my day right now.  Brina is not like Seth when it comes to her food.  Almost from day one, Seth "devoured" every meal offered to him.  Brina takes her time--45  minutes to an hour to get what Mommy considers a full meal.  She's continually falling asleep, and I need her help!  Doesn't a sleeping baby look so precious though?  My heart melts with love to see her smile in her sleep when I say her name. 

When Brina sleeps, I turn my attention to my boy.  "Let's read a book."  or "Show me what you are doing outside."  Seth has had a lot of changes in his life all of a sudden, and at times, I see the confusion on his little face.

We recently moved into a new house, a very big house.  It took him weeks to not be scared to go upstairs by himself even in the daytime.  He felt like he had to see and know where his parents were at all times.

Then a new little sister arrived.  He has not shown signs of jealousy, thank the Lord.  He absolutely adores his baby sister.  He constantly wants to give her hugs and sugars, and he loves holding her.

Thank You, Lord, for my children.

He draws her pictures and writes her love notes.  He teaches her "important" things like how the car works--steering wheel, gas pedal, windows, etc.  (Yes, he knows all of that.  We make sure we know where the car keys are at all times!)  But there has been some adjustment in his life as Mommy obviously has to spend so many hours during the day nursing the baby.  Daddy and Seth have been spending even more time together which has been good for him.

Then Squeak, one of Seth's guinea pigs, died while we were in Nairobi last week.  We had brought the guinea pigs with us, but Squeak got sick with what we think was scurvy, and we lost him.  BJ did all he could to nurse that animal back to life, but in the end, we had to tell Seth.  It was rough.  BJ and I cried harder than Seth did.  My heart ached to watch his face.  He did not cry a lot, but he asked us lots of very hard questions like "Why did God let Squeak die?"  "Can I still see Squeak everyday?"  He doesn't totally understand all about death yet, and it scared him that he might lose his baby sister too.  Some of the prayers he has prayed for her safety have really wrung my heart strings.  

So with so much going on right now, yesterday, my frustration soared with what I felt was my own inadequacy.  How can I do it?  My heart sent up a desperate prayer, "God, keep me sweet."  Granted, those words imply that I am naturally sweet all of the time.  I assure you that such is not the case!  At the end of each day, I find myself confessing to my Lord the many sins of my mouth and my attitude.  However, it is a goal that I want to live for--to stay sweet to my family and those around me in spite of circumstances and pressure.

Right now, I am trying to find a routine that will work for us.  I am SO thankful that I planned 3 weeks off school when the baby was born.  That is one of the best decisions I ever made in my life!  I thought it was to give me sufficient time to recover, but I find that it is giving me time to work things back into our lives one at a time.  First, if I can learn to juggle nursing and cooking, then we will add teaching back into the morning routine too.  BJ has been such a great help.  He made jambalaya the other day, (yum!) and has been bringing home restaurant Chinese food for some of the other meals this past week.  (We have a great Chinese restaurant here in Nakuru, better than any I tasted in the States!)

So that is to update you on my past week.  I read a post last night that I really needed to read about what we let our hearts dwell on.  It was here on Kami's blog, a missionary wife friend of mine.  Thank you, Kami, for encouraging my heart.

Sabrina's Name

For BJ and I, our baby's name is very special.  We've known her name for several months, but it was fun to share the secret between ourselves!

I asked my sister if I could name her Joy after our little niece, Rebekah Joy.  

Rebekah Joy, my sister's first baby, touched so many lives in the six days she lived before God took her home to Heaven.  You can read her beautiful story here.  Rebekah Joy will always have a special place in our hearts, and I wanted my little daughter to carry on part of her name. 

The name Sabrina is for Mrs. Sabrina Holmes, who is a missionary wife in Nigeria.  

She was Sabrina Hopkins when BJ was growing up.  The Hopkins family goes to Central Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where BJ was saved as a bus kid.  They have four grown children, Sabrina, Ricky, Daniel, and Ashley.  Sabrina is a little older than BJ.  Ricky and Daniel are about the same age as BJ, and Ashley is younger.  It was Ricky Hopkins who led BJ to Christ when they were 10 and 9 years old.   Bro. and Mrs. Hopkins took BJ into their "family" as one of their own and they were a huge influence in his life spiritually.  

We think the name Sabrina is so pretty.  And we wanted to honor this family who allowed God to use them in the life of a little boy who would one day himself become a missionary.  They did not know that at the time, of course.  You never know what the future holds when you invest time and love in someone's life.  It is very special that we can tell our daughter that she is named after a missionary in Africa, a missionary who had a part in influencing her daddy's life growing up.

I must admit, though, that she already has a nickname.  She was only a couple of days old when BJ began calling her Brina.  It stuck, and that is what we are all calling her now.  It seems to fit her so well!

 

Seth's and Sabrina's Newborn Pictures

Seth

Sabrina

Seth

Sabrina

Sabrina's Birth Story

First of all, I want to sincerely thank everyone for praying for me.  And then I want to share with you my daughter's birth story as I know some of my friends are wanting to know more of the details.  I have tried to be discreet in the way I wrote it, but I wanted to write it all down for a memory for Sabrina.  

Thursday morning, we came into Nairobi for my weekly doctor's appointment.  He told me he did not think I would make it until the 25^th.  He strongly suggested against my going back to Nakuru.  So we decided that BJ would cancel his sign language class that night in order to make the trip back up to Nakuru alone.  He needed to get Seth’s guinea pigs, frogs, and a few other "important" things we needed and didn’t bring with us in the morning.  He left Seth and I at the Madory's house, drove to Nakuru, and then turned around and drove right back.  In the meantime at the Madory's, I began noticing that my contractions were getting tighter and stronger.  Still no real pain, but they were definitely different somehow.  I called BJ and told him not to dilly dally!  He booked it back down here.  Normally, it takes 2 hours 15 minutes.  It took him an hour and a half! 

I couldn’t tell if I was in real labor or not because I’d been uncomfortable for weeks with contractions.  However, the Madorys were quite sure that I was in labor and that we needed to go ahead to the hospital.  Bro. Madory was so worried that BJ would not make it back in time!  He kept eyeing me like he was trying to gauge how far along I was!  At that point, though, I knew I was not going to have this baby anytime soon because I was still laughing and having a good time. 

When BJ arrived, he ate supper, and then we talked about what to do.  We finally decided to go ahead and go to the hospital.  It was 9:00 p.m. Thursday night, and the blessing of it was that at that time of night, there is almost no traffic whereas in the daytime, it could take us an hour just to get across town to the hospital.  I had peace we had done the right thing . . . until we got to the hospital, got checked in, and were given a labor room.  The nurse checked me and I was excited to be almost halfway!  But then my contractions slacked off to 10-12 minutes apart, and I felt pretty good.  My heart sank.  Here BJ was exhausted from having driven back and forth to and from Nakuru 3 times in a day, and now here we were sitting in a hospital room and I doubted that I was even in real labor.  He was determined to stay right where we were though.  I knew I could not make labor happen, but I sure wished it would. 

BJ got some shut-eye on the floor because I really didn’t need his help at that point.  I wanted him to rest as much as he could in case I needed him later.  I highly doubted it.  I timed my contractions in bed throughout the night (i.e. got no sleep) for the next several hours so that I would have something to tell the doctor in the morning.  They stayed 8-12 minutes apart till about 3:00 a.m.  Then I began noticing them getting closer together--more like 5-7 minutes apart and a little more painful.  At that point, I realized I was actually in labor.  I was happy!  I realized it was just progressing normally instead of being ramped up with petocin. 

At 5:00 a.m., my water broke in bed during a contraction, and I got excited!  Now, I knew the doctor would not need to suggest that in the morning to speed things up either.  I woke BJ up and told him I would now need his help through contractions.  And I was right.  Wow!  Immediately, after my water broke, my contractions really hurt, and they started coming every 2-3 minutes apart.  Things got blurry for me after that.  I labored (relaxed as much as I could) through them for some time loosely holding BJ’s hand.  Then I called for the nurse to come check me.  I figured I had to be pretty far along by then with those really hard, painful contractions.  That was the only way I was making them through them was just KNOWING I had to be far along.  She checked me and I was still only halfway.  Unfortunately, my stamina crumbled.  I asked for medicine to help me relax for the contractions because I knew I was about to start tensing up through them.  They gave me a shot of Demoral, and it made me sleep between contractions, which meant I wasn’t worrying and tensing up for the next one.  I purposely tried to relax when the pains started, but it took everything in me.  I was determined to not yell, so I just quietly moaned ohhhhhhhhhh the whole way through a contraction, and prayed for help.  The nurse told me if I would stand up by the bed, gravity would speed things up.  So I did, and it was sooooooo hard to stand through the contractions.  I heard the nurses saying in Swahili, "Anaendelea poa."  (She is doing so well.)  It didn't help my frame of mind though.  I honestly felt like I'd failed.  That was the first medicine my baby had gotten the entire pregnancy.  Gravity did make things progress quickly though.  I went from halfway to all the way in just 2 more hours! 

Now for the part I can’t understand.  Why in the world do they have such things as “delivery” rooms?  Why make a pregnant lady labor in one room until the contractions are right on top of one another and unbearable, and then make her walk across the hall and climb into a bed in another room to deliver the baby???  Next to impossible.  Well, somehow I made it into the other room and onto the other bed and was told I could now push.  My doctor was not there yet, and it looked like the nurse was going to deliver this baby.  I only pushed for 20 minutes.  With Seth, I remember the pushing totally took the pain of the contractions away.  Not this time, I pushed and still felt pain, but I didn’t have to push as long because Sabrina was not near as big as Seth was.  (Seth was 9 lbs 7 oz, and I pushed for 45 minutes.)  My doctor did make it in time, and the baby was born rather quickly Friday morning at 7:24 a.m.  She was 7 lbs 12 oz. 

All that registered in my mind when I saw her was a head full of black hair and the fact that last week, BJ’s mom was just sure the baby was going to have dark hair like the Cajun side of the family.  Well, I don’t know if the dark hair will stick around because both my sister and I had dark hair as babies.  If it does stay, it probably does come from the Cajun genes.  Everyone related to BJ’s dad has black or brown hair except BJ and Seth.  I hope it stays dark!

Finally, it was over.  BJ was holding our baby girl, and I was content to let him have her for a while.  

Looks like she's smiling

I knew she was safe in his arms.  I soon nursed her though, and she nursed like a pro. 

I spent all day Friday in the hospital with Sabrina.  Seth came to see his baby sister Friday afternoon during visiting hours, and it was such a sweet time.   

We left the hospital midday on Saturday, and now we are all back at the Madory's house in their guest apartment where I feel like I can really relax. 

By the way, I’m so proud of my little girl!  Soon, I will post about her name, and show you baby pictures of Seth and Sabrina.  They look identical except for size and hair color!

Introducing Baby Cormier!

Sammy and Brian

BJ talked with Sammy again after church yesterday.  He went over everything again to make sure that Sammy fully understood the Gospel.  Then he told Sammy that the only thing he had to do was to ask Jesus to save him from his sins.  Sammy firmly stated, "I'm ready."  Sammy got saved!  He is the first deaf person we've seen saved since coming to Kenya.  What a tremendous blessing that is!  After a year and a half of teaching/interpreting, to see one of these precious deaf souls come to know the Saviour is such a blessing.  It sure makes it worth it all.  Oh, by the way, BJ gave Sammy a ride after church to Dagoretti, a town on BJ's way home.  As Sammy got out of the car, he signed to BJ, "Now I have peace in my heart!"  Praise the Lord!

Brian is a little deaf boy about 9 years old.  He came to Grace Baptist yesterday morning with his hearing mother and sisters where I interpreted the service for him.  Brian's story is sad.  He was refused entrance to the Nakuru Deaf School because he has a tiny bit of hearing in one ear--not enough to make him hearing though.  So his mother sends him to one of the hearing schools here in Nakuru where he gets absolutely nothing, including sign language.  His signs are very limited because he is not around the Deaf much.  My heart ached as I interpreted for him because I could tell he was not understanding hardly anything I signed.  I fought back the tears as my heart filled with such a burden for this little boy.  I pray he will keep coming, and that one day, he too will understand about Jesus Christ.

Cultural Lessons I've Learned Recently

Lesson #1--A Language Lesson

I've been fighting some discouragement with Swahili since moving to Nakuru.  They have different ways of saying things here which makes the language sound so different.  And some things they say the same, but the meaning is different.  Recently, BJ and I learned something that really helped me.  After a year and a half in Kenya, I still find myself translating Swahili in my mind literally back to English, and unfortunately, you cannot do that with languages.  The words may be the same in both languages; however, the meanings could be very different.

We have noticed that whereas in Nairobi, people were constantly complimenting our Swahili, people here in Nakuru have not seemed to be as lavish with their compliments.  Here everyone keeps telling us the same thing, and I was getting more and more discouraged.  Here they simply tell us, "You sure are trying."  Well, what does that convey in English?  Definitely not a compliment!  I was translating the meaning of each word directly back into English, and I was sinking deeper and deeper into frustration.

Grace Bible Baptist--BJ sitting in the front with Seth

"I am only trying?  Can't they give me any more encouragement than that?  Wow!  I must really be doing terrible every time I open my mouth in this language."  It was really affecting my confidence, and it was becoming difficult for me to keep "trying." 

On Thursday, in Karen, I could understand people and converse with ease.  Here in Nakuru, the best I can do is try.  BJ and I got to talking about what the phrase, "Umejaribu sana" could possibly mean.  Literally, it means, "You have really tried."  But the people who say this do not seem like they are purposely trying to discourage us.  Instead, the more they say it, I get this feeling that it is supposed to be a compliment.  It sure isn't a compliment in English, but I think here in Nakuru, it may imply something entirely different.  It is their way of complimenting us in learning the language.  After I saw it like that, it gave me the encouragement I needed to press on in "relearning" the Swahili language. 

So, Missionaries, do not make the mistake of taking things literally in a language before learning the true meaning of the words.  And sometimes there may be more than one meaning!



Lesson #2--About Pregnancy/Babies

I learned something else about the culture here about 6 months ago when we began telling people that we were expecting a little one.  In the States, it is happy news, and we tell everyone!  I thought to do the same here because I was so ready to share my joy!

It puzzled me when people would look away, act like they didn't hear, or change the subject.  It really bothered me and even embarrassed me until I learned the reason why.  It is embarrassing to be excited about something, share your heart, and then people not seem to care and instead change the subject completely without even acknowledging what you just said.

So why were they being so hush hush about the matter?  I asked around and found out why.  There is still a lot of superstition here in Kenya.  People were afraid if they said anything about my unborn child, it might die or something bad might happen to her.  Ah, then I understood that they were actually trying to protect me.  After that, I just became very selective who I told my news to so as to not make people uncomfortable!

Both of these issues could make me as a missionary wife frustrated, discouraged, and even bitter through my own misunderstanding.  So all of that to simply say, DON'T take things the way they seem to you.  Find out the reason why.  Find out how your people think, why they do the things they do, and why they say the things they say.  Even if you've been on your mission field for years, you'll never stop learning the culture.

Baby at 38 weeks

We went to Nairobi yesterday to see my doctor.  It was a long day.  We left at about 6:30 a.m. and didn't get home until 9:30 p.m.  I was so thankful that I tolerated the roads pretty well this trip both to and from.  Baby kept pretty still during the hours we spent driving, so that helped a lot.  I noticed the contractions pick up in intensity though whenever we hit a bumpy stretch of road.

My doctor visit went well.  I hid a smile when I walked into his office because he stared at me a minute and couldn't remember my name!  Then he checked his records and thought I hadn't seen him since October which had to be the reason why he couldn't remember my name!  It didn't seem to bother him that I hadn't seen him in 3 months; he is so laid back!  However, I explained that I'd been in to see him before Christmas, and he had told me to just wait until after the New Year.  Then he remembered my last visit!

The baby is still doing well.  She has turned and is now in the right position for birth.  I was happy to hear that even though I'd already suspected that that was the case.  Instead of feeling arms and legs everywhere, now I often feel her back and bottom.  It definitely feels better that way for me!

I'm about 10 lbs less than I was at the end with Seth, so that really made me happy!  I haven't necessarily been watching my weight, but I haven't been as hungry with this baby either.  I think it's the type of food I've been eating this time too--home-cooked meals instead of deputation fast food!  Give me home cooking any day.  I do NOT miss McDonald's one bit!!!

On that note, we did try the new KFC in Nairobi yesterday for lunch.  It has become a big hit here in Kenya, and I must admit, it really hit the spot for me too!  Granted, Mawmaw and Pawpaw, it is not Popeyes or Raisin' Canes, but it sure is good when there are no other American restaurants around!

So our tentative plans are:  We go back next Thursday (if Baby waits that long) for one more doctor visit.  At that point, we will probably just stay in Nairobi with the Madorys until the baby comes.  They have a guest apartment for missionaries to stay in.  It will work out well because Seth can just stay there with them when BJ and I go to the hospital.  He loves it there!  They have 5 dogs, a huge yard, a trampoline, and three kids to play with!

Yesterday afternoon before his sign language class, BJ met again with Sammy, a deaf young man who has been coming faithfully to Karen Baptist.  Sammy has been asking a lot of questions about the Bible and salvation.  He admitted to BJ that he is longing for peace in his heart, and it is obvious he is searching for that kind of peace.  So BJ has been teaching him one on one at his pace the Way of Salvation.  Sammy is close, so close to accepting Christ.  Please keep Sammy in your prayers.  BJ wants to talk with him some more this Sunday after church.

TODAY! Seth's Spiritual Birthday!

Not tomorrow, not next week, or next year, but TODAY!!!  This evening, I walked into my husband's office to find Seth once again on his daddy's lap.  This time, they had the Bible open in front of them.

I had not known they were in there.  I went to the living room and fell on my knees to pray because I knew it was "time".

We took these pictures afterwards.

No, I did not get to hear that sweet, little prayer, but I sure got to hear about it afterwards!  A little while later, Seth came running out of that office to find me.  "Mommy, I asked Jesus to forgive my sins!"

I could not speak for the tears clogging my throat and filling my eyes.  I tried to gain control, not sure if he would quite understand my tears of joy.  But then I watched his eyes grow wet with tears too.  He just seemed to know why Mommy was crying.  Big hug time.

"Mommy, I wish I could see in my heart.  I wish I could take scissors to cut my heart and see if it's all clean in there."

With his precious face in my hands, I gently explained that that is what faith and belief is all about.  It is something we can't see, we just believe that what God said He would do, He will do.

A quick rush to Daddy who had followed him into the room.  "Daddy, I'm so happy I'm saved!" 

My heart is so full!  Oh, my heart is so full!  And so are my eyes with tears.  This is a day to remember forever.  I am one happy mommy!  "Thank You, Lord, for saving my boy!"

Mr. Roger Needs Prayer

Some of you may remember several months ago when I posted about Mr. Roger getting saved.  You can read about that here.  Mr. Roger works for Elpina, our former neighbor.  Back in August, BJ was able to lead him to Christ.  Since then, he has been taking a discipleship course--the ABC's of Christian Growth.

Well, Elpina called me today and told me that Mr. Roger is going through a major trial right now in his life.  He went back to his village for the holidays.  Then he didn't come back to work when he was supposed to.  He did not call, and would not answer his phone for more than a week.  Finally, he showed up at Elpina's gate in tears and told her his heart-breaking story.

Evidently, Christmas and even New Years Day went great as he celebrated them with his family--his wife and his baby girl (about 1 year old).  As he was telling them goodbye to come back to the city to work, he picked up his baby and hugged her.  Then as he set her back down on the ground, she suddenly fell over and died.  They do not know why as she was healthy and happy a few minutes before that.  They are in shock from the tragedy.  He brought his wife back with him to Nairobi so that they can be together during this time, but they are grieving over the loss of their only child.

My heart just aches over the sadness of it.  Every time I would ask him how his little girl was doing, his face would glow with pride when he spoke of her.  She'd just started walking when we moved.  Please pray for this man and his wife that God will give them peace in their hearts and heal the deep hole that is left in their lives.

So Close

My mommy heart is waiting.  My little boy is so close to salvation.  He talks about it every day from the time he wakes up in the morning, during school, and after school with his daddy.  His Bible has become precious to him, and he carries it around with him even when he goes outside to play.

 

He wanted a Bible with the Old Testament in it too.

Sometimes he just sits there and looks at his Bible, then tells me, "Mommy, I'm just thinking about how God loves me."

And here was such a precious question for me today, "Mommy, will you go sit with me outside and read with me from my Bible?"  These are memories that I will cherish my whole life.

Still reading in John together

Oh the joy of raising children for God!  Is it easy?  No.  In fact, to be honest with you, I've been discouraged lately at the constant need on my part to reinforce respect and instant obedience from my little son.  (Daddy doesn't seem to have the same problem getting that from him!)  He is by no means a perfect child.  I would describe him as strong-willed, very sure of himself, and the type that will one day make a great leader.  Great traits to have, but this kind of personality does present some challenges in the training years! And I am still so new at this.  However, my heart trembles with joy and anticipation as I see God at work in my little boy's heart. 

We are purposely going very slow with him.  We have taught him about salvation from the time he was born.  But we want it to be his decision to ask Jesus into his heart.  BJ has a lot more patience than I do, so I just keep sending him to talk with his daddy.  They have had some very serious talks together lately, and we both feel that he understands.  It is just a matter of time.  It may be tomorrow, maybe next week, maybe next year.  Please pray with me as my son is not far from the kingdom of God!

BJ with a Daughter

I've often wondered what my husband would look like with a little daughter in his arms.  Very soon, we will know!  There have been times when I could not resist taking a picture of BJ holding these precious Kenyan children, especially when he lifts little girls into his arms!

So precious

We were invited to supper at Pastor Oloo's house recently.  He is the national pastor of Grace Bible Baptist Church here in Nakuru.  His wife, Carol, served us a delicious meal of stew and chapati.  Seth loves chapati which is sort of like a tortilla fried in a little butter.  BJ and I do too.  Have I said before that I love Kenyan food???

The little girl in the above picture is the Oloo's oldest daughter, Wendy.  That picture was taken a year ago on one of our trips to Nakuru, but I couldn't resist posting it again as it is so precious to me.

And here is BJ holding Seth and their second daughter, Elisabeth. 

 

It is somewhat blurry because I could not get all three of them to hold still at the same time!  I got that smile from Seth when I told him that very soon he would be sitting on Daddy's lap with his very own little sister beside him.  He is so excited that our baby will be here in a few weeks.  He keeps asking me, "Mommy, do you want to hold our baby really bad?"  I sure do, and so does he.  BJ is excited that God has given him a daughter.  As you can see, he's been practicing holding little girls!

One more picture.  Seth got sleepy as we stayed there past his bedtime.  The sound of BJ's voice in Swahili lulled him to sleep!  The Oloos wanted to know our testimonies and how we met.  It gave us a good opportunity to practice using the language, and we sure enjoyed the fellowship.  Pastor Oloo is now in the Congo for a month looking after the new church plant there while Bro. Mickey and some of the other men in the church look after the ministry here.

Out of Water

We moved to Nakuru right at the end of rainy season.  I think we had three weeks in which it rained every day.  Then the rain stopped, and we've had next to none.  We've been trying to be careful with the water we used because we've only gotten about 6 inches of city water in our tank these last two weeks.  From what we've been told, this is what happens here every December and January during the dry season.  This morning, I knew we were all but out of water when I turned on the faucet in my kitchen sink.  

So what do you do when you run low on water?  You stop flushing toilets, washing clothes, and washing dishes for sure.  Baths/showers get limited to every other day . . . or longer sometimes!  And they become "spit baths" at that.  Basically, you start really prioritizing what the water is most needed for--drinking and cooking.

In New Guinea in the village, we depended totally on God for water.  If we had no rain to fill our tanks, then we had no water.  We would then have to find a mountain stream somewhere and fill up every container we owned with clean water!  Here in Kenya, at least in the towns, we have water trucks.

I don't know where they get their water from (maybe from wells?), but when our tanks run dry, we can pay them to come refill our tanks with water.

Refilling our underground tank

Needless to say, water does become a precious commodity on the mission field sometimes, especially during the dry seasons!

Requesting Prayer

Today, I want to link to another missionary lady's blog that I ran across some time ago.  I have never met this family.  In fact, I don't even know their name.  But each time I read one of her posts, I feel burdened to pray fervently for them.  They are missionaries in Egypt, and with the recent voting and uprisings there, things have been uncertain for them to say the least.  Her blog is called Experiencing Him.  I love that name!  You can read as she shares her heart here and in earlier posts as well. 

I have been in very dangerous situations before on the mission field.  Not here in Kenya, but definitely in Papua New Guinea.  However, we did not live in potential danger on a daily basis.  I cannot even imagine the stress of that day in and day out.  I know that God gives grace for the place that He calls you to, but I also know that this dear missionary family needs all the prayer support that they can get.  I asked her if I could link to her blog in order to ask my friends and family to pray for them.  God knows their name and where they are.  He knows exactly what they need too for each and every day--provision, peace, protection, big angels encamping round about their house!  Please send up a prayer for this missionary family today.  And then, please go one step farther and add them to your daily prayer list.  Missionaries need prayer more than anything else.  We all know that.  How much more those who are serving God in Middle Eastern countries?

The Most Beautiful Sound in the World . . .

to me is hearing my son's voice read the Bible.  The last few days, he's been saying over and over, "Mommy, I don't really know how to read."  Puzzled, I would answer, "Yes, you do.  You are reading to me every day in school, and you are reading very well."  He kept insisting that he doesn't know how to read yet.  Last night, I finally understood his meaning.  As he crawled into his bed, he said, "Mommy, I don't know how to read yet because I don't know how to read my Bible, and I really want to read my Bible."

I just stared at him for a minute, then made a quick decision.  I told him that each morning before school, he would read the Bible to me, and I would help him with any big words he comes across.  I (foolishly) wondered if he would get discouraged because I thought I'd have to give him a lot of help.

This morning, I opened his Bible to the Book of John, and he started reading verse after verse.  I only had to help him with two words!  He was reading words that I didn't even know he knew!  I had to smile when he got to verse six.  He read it like this, "There was a man sent from God whose name was John." . . . (pause) the Baptist!

He got excited, and after school, he wanted to read his Bible some more.  He rushed outside to where his daddy was doing yard work to show him how far he'd read.  Then he parked himself on a big rock to continue reading.

Let me tell you!  That is the sweetest sound ever to my ears--hearing his little, soprano voice read the Bible out loud.  It made me realize how important it's been for him to see BJ and I read our Bibles every day.  Each morning, he quietly crawls up into my bed, snuggles up beside me, and simply lays there watching me read my Bible.  I think it did something in that little heart of his.  He wanted it for himself too.  It is sobering to think of the impact we have on our children without even realizing it sometimes.

This and That

It's been pretty quiet on my blog lately, I know.  All I want to do is sleep these days it seems.  Only three more weeks!  I am having pretty strong Braxton Hicks contractions now as the time draws nearer.  I've been reading up on natural childbirth--the Bradley Method.  BJ appears to be cool, calm, and collected about the whole thing.  He just wants me (us--Baby and I) to wait until we get to Nairobi before anything starts!  Neither of us relish the two and a half hour road trip to Nairobi with me in labor.  So hopefully, this baby will wait until the week of the 25th.

Mary went back to Bondo today to her deaf boarding school.  She will be there for another three-month term.  In the meantime, I am studying Swahili every day and listening to people speak in order to get accustomed to the Swahili here.  Little by little, I am seeing progress, but it will take a while.  Last night, BJ preached the evening service in Swahili, and I was able to interpret for him quite easily!  I understand his Swahili just fine.  Now to understand Nakuruans!  BJ and I have had Nairobi people tell us that Nakuru Swahili is all mixed up, and Nakuru people tell us that Nairobi Swahili is all mixed up.  Neither group speaks proper Swahili like they do in Tanzania!  BJ and I learned grammatically correct Swahili, but I think it sounds funny to the people here in Nakuru.  Oh, well.  I intend to learn to speak the language like they do whether I speak it grammatically correct or not.  To me, the most important thing is to be understood and to learn their language.  I will know the grammatical way, but I will learn to speak it their way because they are proud of their way and I want to win their hearts. 

I haven't been taking many pictures lately either.  However, here are a couple I took of Seth's Sunday School class.  Can you pick him out from among his classmates?  He sure enjoys his class and all of his friends.