Missing Africa...

I've really been missing Africa lately. A lot. I miss the culture. I miss the people, especially the friends I made. I miss the laid-back way of life. I miss the value people hold on relationships with each other. I miss the chai. I miss the food. I miss doing ministry there.

I miss how seriously they take God, sin, and the gospel.

Here in the US, life is "easy" compared to life in most other countries. For the most part, we have what we need [and want]... or could pretty easily get it.

clean water.
electricity.
food.
a solid structure to live in.
a job.
a car.
clothing.

And not to mention all the "extras" that the average American thinks is a necessity.

With all of our basic needs seemingly taken care of without much effort, it's easy to "forget" about God and depend on him for our every breath.

I'm reminded of this today as I reflect on our time in Kenya. Life in general was just more difficult. Most things didn't come as easily. I woke up most days with the feeling of dependency on Christ to make it through the day.

I miss it.

Am I brave enough to ask the Lord to take away whatever He needs to in order to make me truly depend on him?

 [mike and jake during a mission trip in meru]

 [having a good time in meru]

 [village traffic]

 [mama peris' baby]

 [me and mary]

 [the market]

[the girls]

 [the whole crew]

[me, 17 weeks pregnant]

 [jake and joseph]

 [jotham]

[jake]

God ALWAYS provides.

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I'm sorry that there hasn't been an update recently. We made it home on October 9th. We didn't have any problems during travel, so that was a huge blessing. We did have some fun going through customs coming back into the States, but it wasn't a huge problem. Since we had been on a farm, they had to bleach/disinfect all of our shoes. Took a really long time, but hey, it was one less thing for us to do when we got home, right? Everyone who was on the plane seemed sick, so for the first couple of days of being back home, I was battling a really bad head cold and ear pain. I guess that will happen after being on planes for 16+ hours with a bunch of sick people! After a while it all simmered down to just being a cough, which I'm still dealing with, but I'm feeling better in that sense.

God has really been showing us "who's boss" [He is, in case you're wondering]... He's just been blessing us in huge, huge ways that just leave us breathless, with our jaws on the floor. Here are a few of the ways, so we can praise the Lord together:

-we are living with friends who are taking care of us financially [groceries, rent, etc] until we are able to 'get our feet on the ground.'
-we were blessed with a car that cost us very little to buy, and a few friends put time and money into repairing it with Jake and making it drivable.
-Jake has a job; he is going to return to working at the Dubbe's farm on Wednesday. We are very blessed by this family!
-an anonymous angel sent us a letter in the mail along with quite a large financial gift. Although we don't know who this person is, God knows, and we pray that He will generously bless them for being such a blessing to us.

We serve a really big God! 

I had an appointment with a midwife today. Although nothing was 'figured out' as to why I've been feeling so miserable, it was reassuring to know that the baby is growing as he or she should be. My blood pressure and weight were fine. She had me do the 1 hour gestational diabetes test today, and I passed 'with flying colors,' they said. Supposedly it has to be under 140, and I was at 91. Yayy. The baby's heart rate was 140. She wants me to have an ultrasound done sometime this week; although I wouldn't have normally wanted one at this point in the pregnancy, since they [the doctors in Kenya ] didn't 'do' everything she [the midwife] would have liked them to do/check for, she asked me to have another one. She asked if we wanted to know the gender early, and I said no; she laughed and said we 'might have to look away at this ultrasound because it might be blatantly obvious.' So hopefully we won't 'accidentally find out' what we're having, but it's obviously not the end of the world if we do.

As for me being sick... I'm still having a lot of 'pain' and we're not really sure why. I was in tears on Saturday night because it was so terrible. It just does not seem normal! It seems to be intestinal but sometimes it feels like it could be in my stomach. It comes and goes no matter the activity, what I eat or don't eat, etc. It seems to be worse in the evenings, through the night and sometimes in the morning. The midwife wanted me to give some stool samples to be tested in the lab; she said it's possible that there are eggs or parasites or... something... going on inside of me making me sick. So, I... uh... get to... *whispers* collect some poo... and take it to the lab to get tested. If I test negative for all that, then we'll just take it from there and try to figure out what's going on. I'm still really nauseous a lot, but the pain is what bothers me the most. My appetite seems to be better... but maybe it's because we have access to a refrigerator here and it's easier/possible for me to just grab an apple or milk or something. I was looking through a pamphlet that I got today about eating, and my eyes bugged out at what a typical day of meals should look like for a pregnant woman... still not getting anything close to that, but at least I'm able to get down more than 500 calories per day now.

I think that's all on "us" for now... we'll keep you updated as we find things out. Please just continue to pray for us as we re-adjust to being back here [dealing with re-entry culture shock, etc], as Jake starts his job, ad as I try and grow a baby. We really do appreciate all of your prayers, support and encouragement. Thank you.

We think about Kenya often and hope that you will continue to join us in praying for those we left behind, specifically Eric, Juli and Sarah... and the four student leaders, Mike, Vitalis, Philister and Jonny. Please pray for them as they continue to invest into the students that are there, and that the Lord would renew them and give them strength as this is the point in the year when everyone gets very tired and is worn out. Also, please continue to pray for the students. Graduation weekend is quickly approaching [November 28th]!

We'll update as we are able. Praise the Lord for providing for our needs.

hard decision...

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Some of you may have received this e-mail. I wanted to post it on our blog as well so that we could try to let everyone know as best as we could. 

Dear family and friends,

Some of you have been able to keep up with our blog and are aware of the fact that Laura has been struggling with some pregnancy and health issues for the past couple of months. We've been to the doctor several times and have tried some different medications to see if they would help, but we have not noticed any significant change. In talking with Eric and Juli, communicating with a doctor from back home/church, and visiting with a missionary counselor, and also after a lot of prayer, we have decided that it would be in the best interest of Laura's and the baby's health that we return to the States sooner than we had originally planned. Our time in Kenya has brought us through many different experiences… growing, learning and being challenged in various ways. But that doesn’t mean that our early departure will be easy. We have grown to love the ministry, the friends we work with and others we have made, and the students who are in the program. This was a very hard decision for us to make.

The tickets have been changed and we will be returning to the States next Friday, October 8th. We would appreciate your prayers during this time. Our comfort has been the fact that God is God, no matter what happens… He is our Constant, our Rock and our Support. We cling to those promises.

For those who are financial monthly supporters, you can discontinue your support, unless you'd like it to go towards the general fund for Camp Jabez. If anything does get sent in specifically for us, it will be put aside and the giver will be contacted to make sure they are aware that we are home and will be asked if they'd like it to go towards the general fund or to be disregarded.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail us. We won't have phone access for a while. Thank you for walking in this journey with us. We will update you as we are able. 

In Christ Alone,

Jake, Laura and baby

Kenyan Christians abducted, tortured, raped. Pray?

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I don't know much about The Barnabas Fund, but someone posted this article on Facebook and I'd like to ask you to pray for those involved.


"Three men including Mr Y, the leader of a group of Kenyan missionaries supported by Barnabas, had traveled to Nairobi on the morning of Wednesday 15 September to help three Christian women to move out of their apartment to a safer location. The three men arrived safely, but when Mr Y’s wife called them later that day, she could not get an answer. By 9pm she began to realize something serious must have happened. Going to Nairobi, she found the apartment door unlocked but no trace of the missionaries.

The police began an investigation and at 4am on 18 September the group were found - dumped at the side of a main road. They all had their eyes and mouths tightly sealed with tape, and their legs and arms were bound, but they were all alive. The three women had been systematically raped and were deeply traumatised; still suffering from shock, they were not even able to talk. At the hospital they were given drugs to reduce the risk of their contracting AIDS. They will remain in hospital for two weeks of comprehensive care to help them recover from the physical, psychological and emotional distress.

The three men had been tortured and their bodies were covered in bruises; one man needs treatment for a dislocated shoulder after he was thrown “like luggage” into a truck. The men will remain in hospital for five days to receive counselling. But Mr Y’s wife said, “No matter the agony, they praised the Lord.”
Early in the ordeal, the Muslim men asked one of the women, “Who’s the saviour of this world?” When she boldly answered, “Jesus Christ is the Saviour,” they slapped and spat at her and shouted “You’re wrong, you prostitute, it’s Osama who’s the saviour.” When the group was finally released, they were told, “You’re lucky ... we’re directed to free you. We could have killed you this night. Maybe your Jesus saves you. But warning ... stop leading Muslims astray with your corrupt Bible. Nobody shall be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.”

Kenya has a strong Church, yet Christians face challenging opposition, and the situation of converts and women can be particularly difficult. In July, 18 converts from Islam met on a secluded beach to be baptised by Mr Y and his team, when they were suddenly attacked by a crowd of around 100 Muslim men who beat them with pipes and wooden clubs. Five had to be hospitalised for several days, including a woman who had been beaten unconscious and a man with a broken arm.

Barnabas Fund is covering the hospital fees of the missionaries and converts involved in both these incidents."

[ https://barnabasfund.org/Kenyan-Christians-abducted-tortured-and-raped.html ]

"Nothing less than unconditional surrender is ever a fitting response to His sacrifice on Calvary..."

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I've been reminded several times by several people that I have a blog that severely needs updating... so, now that I have some time to actually sit down and pound out some thoughts, here I am. To keep myself organized, I'll try and stay on one topic at a time, since it's been so long since I've updated.


CAMP JABEZ:

It's hard to believe that we're down to the last 11 weeks of the discipleship program. In the beginning of this year, I thought the end would never come [not that I wanted it to; it just seemed so far off!] and now it's hard to believe that it's basically almost here. The thought of going home is exciting; it's been a long year, and a challenging one at that... but it's going to be hard to leave this place, too. I've really come to love the people. I'm still working on 'loving' the culture, though... the changes can be difficult sometimes!

We recently took a team of 10 on a 5-day mission trip back to Meru. We've been to Meru once before, in June, I believe. This time it was supposed to be a bunch of churches coming together for a youth 'camp'/program... but only 10-15 students actually came. It was still a good time; the students we brought did very well with the times they were asked to share in the teaching sessions and during the house-to-house evangelism. It was a hard week for me, pregnancy wise; when I had to go to the bathroom, my routine quickly became: "Run into the tin shack, vomit from the smell, pee, and quickly run away." Also because of the heat and all the walking, my legs and feet swelled up and I had to take it easy after that. Since I hadn't had much of an appetite either, it was hard for me to eat the food they provided and the amount they gave... I feel bad, because I don't want to offend anyone; it's not that I don't like the food, it's just that I can't eat all of it. They always make fun of the "wazungus" [white people] who can never finish their food... but I don't think they realize that their portion sizes are about 2.5 times the amount that we normally would eat in one meal!

 [a few pictures from the mission]

 [banana trees]

[the dreaded 'squatties']

 [where the meals were prepared and we ate]

 [me and Philister]

 [everyone sleeping on the way home; the people you can't see are hunched over in their seats, completely zonked out!]

On Monday nights, we meet as a leadership team and have a short Bible study, and we also discuss a book that we are going through together. The plan is to read/finish 5 books by the end of the term... right now we're reading True Discipleship and Spiritual Leadership... two books I wish I would have read earlier! They are really changing my perspective on leadership and showing me how pathetic of a leader I am... not in a bad way, but basically just showing me how small I am and how big God is. They both talk about what it takes to be a leader/disciple... and it takes everything. You have to be willing to give it all up. That's so hard for me to grasp sometimes. "True Discipleship" is where my title quote comes from. It's been on my mind a lot lately. We may think we gave up 'a lot' to come to Africa for a year... but in reality, would we be willing to give up EVERYTHING, down to our lives? I've just been thinking about that kind of stuff a lot lately.

On Tuesday mornings, we still attend the 3 1/2 hour class... last term we were going through a book called "Leading Christian Organizations." This 8 week term, we are going through a book called "Power Ministry." Yeah, the title got me a little nervous, too! It's extremely Pentecostal and honestly, I'm not sure what I think of it... I'm still trying to figure out what I believe regarding the Holy Spirit and all that stuff... I'm trying to do more study and research on the topic so I can make a solid decision. I'm not even sure I want to think about the final exam... I've never really had to take a test on something that I didn't agree with/believe in, so this will be a challenge for me.

On Wednesdays, the bead women still come to the compound with their magazine bead necklaces and such. I've really grown to love this group of women, although I find the book work and going through the necklaces a bit tedious sometimes. The necklaces/bracelets are still for sale, if anyone is interested... they would make great Christmas gifts! Let me know if you'd like to purchase any.

Jake also teaches on Wednesdays... right now he's teaching about false religions to follow up the course on evangelism. He seems to enjoy it.

Fridays are my day to teach the second class, from 5-7... which is just the girls. I think I'm just now starting to "not dread" teaching... after 8 months, I still don't feel it's my gift or my strong point, but it's going okay. We just finished going through the book, "Lies Women Believe and the Truth That Sets Them Free" and now we're going through a devotional book that takes you through the Psalms. I'm not exactly sure how to teach through a devotional book, though; but I guess I'll figure it out.

On Sundays, we usually attend a missionary fellowship church about 45 minutes away from here. The attendance varies from 10 to 25, but it's nice to have fellowship with other missionaries. Occasionally we stay to have a service with the students [they have one every Sunday, whether or not we stay], like we did last week; we shared in communion together... something we haven't done since Easter.

So that's the gist of what our 'weeks' look like... but you gotta tie in all the 'life' stuff that goes on, too... the building projects, being with the students, cooking, going to town, etc...so  it usually means we are pretty busy people.

PREGNANCY:

I'm now on my 21st week of pregnancy. It's still going pretty well, although the trimesters seemed to be a little confused; I wasn't ever sick in the previous trimester, but now I'm pretty much nauseous all the time! I haven't sleep well in about a week because the nausea hits the hardest in the evening, although it's pretty constant throughout the day, too. It comes no matter what I do; if I eat, if I don't eat... regardless of what I eat, activity, etc. I haven't had much of an appetite lately, either... for the past couple of months, I've had to force myself to eat because it just hasn't seemed appealing to me, even the foods I like. My mom and a friend both sent me packages with some treats in them, so I've been trying to snack a little bit more... but it's hard when eating just sounds disgusting.

I had my second appointment last week. Everything seemed fine, but the doctor didn't really tell me anything, so I'm assuming all is well. I had to prod him for answers, which he seemed irritated by, but heck, there were things I wanted to know! The baby's heart rate was 148... I'm down 3-5lbs from my last appointment at 10w4d... the placenta is in a good place. The ultrasound technician took pictures, which we were told at the end of the appointment 'were for the doctor to look at, not for us to keep...' which I guess was fine, because there weren't any 'fun' pictures [face, full body, etc], anyways. Jake took pictures of the pictures with our camera, but they're not all that exciting. At the end of the appointment, the doctor lectured me for about 10 minutes for not knowing what reactions I had to certain medications that I'm allergic to. I was kind of stunned at his tone of voice and words, so I was probably stuttering while I said things like, "Well, my mom has records of it all... that stuff happened so long ago, and the reactions were serious enough that I haven't taken them since childhood... I just don't remember..." and he replied, "Well, 'my mom said' isn't good enough for me and I don't consider that an allergy." Rawr. I'm kind of glad that I won't be delivering here... personally, I'd like a doctor who doesn't make me feel like an idiot! I understand what he was talking about; it's probably good stuff to know... but I felt pretty demeaned with how he was talking to me. Oh well.

Here are a couple 'belly photos' from 19w6d. Still not much to show, but at least there's a little somethin' somethin'. I haven't felt baby move yet, but I hope to soon!

 
COMING HOME: 

After the student's graduation ceremony on November 28th, we [Eric, Juli, Sarah, Jake and I] plan to take a few days and do 'something fun.' I'm not sure what that entails yet, exactly, but I'm pretty sure we'll be traveling someplace somewhat touristy [Mombasa, maybe?] and do some fun things and relax a little bit. It will be nice to have a few days to unwind before we begin the long journey home. I think we are leaving here on the 8th of December and we arrive home on the 9th, late. We'll be staying in Apple Valley with our fantastic friends, Andy and Katie [love you guys!!], for an undetermined amount of time until we figure out 'what's next.'

Eeep, my mom is calling on Skype... gotta go! I think this suffices for now anyways. :] Blessings!

Pray for Kenya!

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This blog post will be short; we just have one specific prayer request and we'd like to ask you to join us as we lift it up before the Lord. Some of you may know that Kenya is voting on a new constitution tomorrow. This is a pretty big deal for Kenya, and we're asking that you would pray for protection for everyone who is here during this time. Many people have left their homes for fear of violence. We're not too worried about the area that we are in [we live near a military base], but prayer for protection is always a good thing. God has His hand on us and will protect us however He sees fit... His will be done! The results should be announced sometime on Friday.

Our students are on their week-long break at their homes right now, so please also pray for protection for them and their families as well. If things do get sketchy around here, we'll let them stay at home longer if it isn't safe to travel. We hope for them to come 'home' to resume classes for our final term on August 8th.

We'll update you as we are able. Our internet expires tomorrow and we might not be able to renew it for a week or so if we can't travel. Thanks for praying!

Projects, projects and more projects...

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I was chatting with a friend this morning and she said that she enjoyed reading our blog. Then I realized that it had been a while since the last time I updated, so I figured it was about time. Thanks for the reminder, Tiara!

There have been three major projects going on here at Camp Jabez... so far, only one of them has been completely finished, but the other two are in progress.

Project #1, a wind generator

[the wind generator is secured by wires in three different places that have been attatched to some cemented rebar]

Project #2, the fish pond

We decided to make the pond out of cement and concrete blocks instead of using plastic lining. There were so many more 'pros' to doing it this way. After everything is in place, it will be water proofed.

Project #3, the cow barn/shed

Right now [like literally, as I type], Jake and the boys are working on cementing the part of the floor where the cows will stand.

I'll have to take some more photos when they're done, after it cures. They've been offered a reward if they finish today: nyama choma [= "roasted meat" in Swahili]... a special treat for working hard! I can hear them from where I am in the house, yelling and chanting on encouragement to each other as they mix the hardcore [rocks], cement, sand and water together.

I'm sure by now you know which of the three projects has been completed and which two are still in progress. :)

More bread baking has been on my list of things "to do..." I really enjoy doing it, and we all enjoy the 'end result.' It sure doesn't last long around here when it's freshly baked!!

Pregnancy wise, things are still going really well. I just passed the 2nd trimester mark... well, at least, I think I did. I never was able to get a straight answer from any resource about when the 2nd trimester started... and I heard a million different answers! Some said at the beginning of 13 weeks, some said at 13w3d, some said at the end of 14 weeks... so I just picked the middle response and went with that. I'm now at 13w4d... baby is the size of a peach and continuing to grow! I still feel fantastic... I still haven't had really any nausea; just the tiredness. The "emotional fog" definitely lifted, for which I am very thankful... that was a rough couple of weeks!

This photo was taken at 12w3d, but even now at 13w4d there is still no 'bump.' The layers I'm wearing look funky, but baby still hasn't made an obvious "I'M IN HERE!" statement... although I'm told that he/she will, and SOON!

Jake and I are getting more and more excited every day... but I still don't think the realization has fully hit either of us yet. We've been doing some reading and we feel pretty prepared on that front... but we still need to contact our "non-insurance company" and see what policies they have regarding birth coverage.

The students are going on their 2nd term break tomorrow; they get 8 days to spend some time at home. I think they are all very excited! Although we've had a lot of issues this term, I think most of them are growing and learning a lot of things. If you could be in prayer regarding the country of Kenya as a whole next Wednesday; they are voting on a new referendum. They aren't expecting things to get nasty around here, but there are quite a few people that have left their homes 'just in case.' If things do get sketchy, the students will end up having a longer break than we planned, as it might not be the safest to travel. But, God is in control and He will take care of all of us.

Jake and I are going to spend the weekend in Nakuru, hopefully; I am VERY EXCITED to have a REAL shower! Bucket baths get a little old after a while. :] I think we'll just relax most of the time, but we plan to go into town and walk around the market for a little while. 

Then we begin our third [and final!] term on August 9th... I can't believe it's almost at the end already! The time is flying by, especially more so now that I am counting down the weeks for something else :] 

I think that's about all that's been going on here lately... we've been staying busy with lots of little things every day, and there's a few big things here and there, too. But life is good. God is good. Things are going well. Thank you for praying!

[ little things ]

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First of all, I want to give a shout out to my parents, who celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary last Saturday, on the 26th. Happy [belated] anniversary! You are both great parents and we miss you a lot.

There have been a lot of 'little things' going on around here lately... not huge changes, but I figured we could update you :]

We spent last weekend in Meru with four students and a student leader. The weekend was basically a "Weekend Challenge," and all of the students had a chance to share during one of the sessions. The theme was "Make Straight the Paths" based off of Matthew 3:3. It was a good weekend, but definitely an exhausting one for me! It was neat to see some more of the African culture and see more of Kenya. We've been staying in the same place for a long time so it was fun to see some different things and meet new people. Here are a few photos from our weekend:

[this is the car we smashed nine people and all our luggage into for a half an hour ride]

[this is the church where the weekend challenge was held]

[kate leading the children's sunday school class]

[i figured out how kenyans stay so thin but are able to eat so much: they dance. all.the.time]

[mike, the student leader, and jake]

[the team, minus jake, who is the photographer, and me, who was resting at this time]

[meru was a very beautiful place!]

It's hard to believe that I'm already almost 10 weeks along... sometimes it's difficult for me to believe that I'm actually pregnant, because I've been feeling so good. I've had very little queasiness, and my only main symptoms are that I'm extremely tired all.the.time and my emotions are giving me a roller coaster ride. I think my first appointment is next week sometime [I say "I think" because Juli made the appointment for me when she took Arielle in for an appointment, so I'm not exactly sure]. I'm kind of nervous! I know what to expect for a typical appointment in the States but I'm not sure what to expect here... I guess we'll see!

Juli's parents, Bob and Kathy, came in the middle of June and stayed for two weeks. It was sooo good to have them here! Bob and Kathy are really special to us and it was such a treat to have them here. I'm sure they enjoyed spending time with their grandbaby and with Eric and Juli. I really enjoyed the hugs from Kathy. It was just so nice to have them here... I miss them already!

It's Friday, so I'll be teaching the all-girls session tonight. Besides doing that, I've been meeting with one girl every day for some one on one time. I think we've all been enjoying it. It's nice to get to know them better.

Jake is still teaching an evangelism course on Wednesdays, and he's been doing work on the barn, trying to get that finished. We're also trying to figure out a solution to our water problem... not exactly sure what the issue is, but we don't have any water! Rainy season is definitely over so our supply of rain water has been finished.

If you could be praying for one of our students, Flo... her brother passed away earlier this week. Please pray for her and her family as they are grieving.

I think that's all for now... I just heard that there are some turkey eggs about to hatch, so I want to go check it out!

Blessings!!


PS. Kathy, this is just for you, because I forgot to show you how to comment on posts before you left :] See at the bottom of the each entry where it says "comments"? You can click that, and a small box will pop up. You can write a comment, and click "publish" and it will post to my blog :]

I still can't get over...

...that it hailed here today. I have to keep reminding myself that I'm not in Minnesota; I'm in Africa. And it hailed. Weird! Although it was only small, pea sized hail, it was still very odd to see!

It rained SO HARD today. I think rainy season is here. Yayyy! Here are a few photos...

[See the white specks? Pea-sized hail! It obviously melted pretty quickly.]

Praise the Lord for so much rain!

Jake and I started Swahili lessons on Monday. We have two hours of class in the morning [8:45-10:45], and two hours of class in the evening [5:00-7:00]... Monday through Friday, for 6-8 weeks. Probably 8. Haha. Our instructor's name is Jacken... he is a good teacher and a VERY patient man! It's definitely easier than it was on the first day, but it's still by no means easy. Must... study... more...

We got a package in the mail the other day from Jane and 3rd/4th grade AWANA girls from our church! My mom also added a few things that we needed, which was really appreciated. It was very sweet to read through the booklets that the girls made for us, full of stickers, Bible verses, and things about themselves. The Jolly Ranchers, brownie mix, coffee... so thoughtful! [Jane, we'll be sending a letter for you to read to the class! THANK YOU!]

There are only a few students here right now... most of them are still away for the break. I'm excited for them to come back... it's too quiet here without them!

Please be praying for us as we discern whether or not we will be returning to Africa after this year or not. We both want to be open to hearing what God is saying to us, and where He is calling us; putting aside the selfish desires of what WE want... regardless of how much we miss home.

That's all for now... :]