Then Pastor Joseph with Pastor Steve and brought two little boys to my attention. Benjamin and Emmanuel. Emmanuel was a darling little boy. Cheerful. Little Benjamin did not want anything to do with Doug. SCARY! He screamed!
I interviewed the aunts and they wanted the boys to go to some home where they could get schooling. Emmanuel is teased for being an orphan. Their parents have died of AIDS. Little Emmanuel understood what they were talking about. It crushed my heart. His shirt was ragged. His smile remained.
Then we were off to see the girls.
We went through the most terrible roads yet-and believe me, that is saying something! The ruts in the road WERE the road. They were deep and difficult to maneuver through. It was going to rain. They sky darkened and the temperature dropped and the winds blew. It was beautiful! Then the rains came in a Texas torrential downpour. I thought of Bernard in his home that was damaged from the rains. He would be soaked right now.
Pastor Joseph, Pastor Steve, and I discussed the orphans. They said that if we could get the children into one place, we could better administrate their support. This means a building. Buildings cost so much! I hate buildings! But to look at these girls and know they cannot go to school where they are at--well, buildings are okay.
I have wanted a place to live here when I come that has western amenities. The woman in Out of Africa had her whole setup with her--even her dogs. I like that. I know, I know, perhaps I must suffer on the mission field, but God has given me Steve. Steve is amazing. He does not like to slum it.
I am thinking that I could build me a house to stay in --and increase it so that the orphans could live there. Titus could educate them grade 7 and below for free at Cornerstone school. We could find sponsors for these children to help them get shoes, clothes, uniforms, and food. We could give them medical care at the clinic. Two of the girls had health issues. One had a fungal scalp condition and one had something similar on the back of her neck. It was not ringworm or scabies, but it looked like something treatable.
Steve is prepared to build for them. We will look at some land tomorrow. The pastors said that if we get a building and we are all official with our NGO, the government will provide some sponsorship. If we are established for five years and have good accounting records, I would be able to apply for grants from the U.S. government.
June 2 WEDNESDAY
Oh I am tired. I have lost my voice. it is so husky. i am so weak. all the strength draining. but i want to go on to the church. we went to Eshitsitswe headed by Pastor Steven. A new Steve. I can remember that name! He was a sweet man. Pastor Alipaul took Anita and Medine. I feel like we are separated. I have so much other business to attend. I am searching out the orphans.
So Pastor Joseph comes and says, Come see the orphans at the preschool. We go over to the throngs of children. I let Steve take the candy, but he just starts passing it out. There are over 100 children and they gather and circle hoping for another chance for a sweet.
At the church the other day, I passed out candy when everyone was seated so that you can go row by row without repeats. I think there were a few who went without in the end, but considering the amount of children involved, it was a small number.
My throat hurts. I’m faint. We had to take the most rocky roads yet. deep ruts in the road kept us thrown from side to side and up and down. We slid through some parts but never stalled.
The outhouse was the most substantial mudhut outhouse yet. it had very seriously smooth walls of a cylinder. A beautiful thatched roof. The flies buzzed and the odor was pungent but i felt sure I’d be concealed. As I went around to the front, I was dismayed. There was a little tarp hanging over the large doorway. AS IF! Since it was far enough away from the next home and a little hidden by a couple of corn rows, I consented.
Oh at the preschool I met Ben. A little boy. He was sad. He did not talk. The teacher said that even when he first came, he was very sick. He did not talk. He is six years old. Ben Amuko is in the pre-unit class. Both his father and mother died from AIDS. He has a married sister, but he lives with his grandmother who brews alcohol. Sometimes when there is not enough food, he is given alcohol to sleep. His favorite thing is school is drawing and painting. He plays with the other boys. He is trying in class but he is not that good. He has no shoes and no uniform. He needs school stuff.
I saw little Paul again today. Paul Wesa who is 8 now and in class 1. His father was poisoned and his mother died in a car crash. I thought earlier that it was both of his parents in the wreck. He is living now with an older step-brother. He leaves home at 5:30 am to arrive at 6. He has not had any shoes. His favorite toy is a bicycle and he loves coloring, drawing, painting and playing ball. His favorite food is rice. His brother’s wife mistreats him and gives food to the other children but he is not given food. There are five children in that home.
I lost my spice round at the church. I wonder if anyone would care to get it back to me. I think they had time to ask us. I’m disappointed. I never even used it for myself.
Doug spoke up at the meeting telling the men (and including the women) to take these teachings to heart and to have accountability with each other. Men should ask other men....how are you treating your wife? and in this way, they can grow in love towards their wives rather than forgetting a good teaching.
Stanley told me about his life when I asked him. He was poor. His father left and was always drinking. His grandfather was a preacher and gave his books and bible to Stanley, told him he was called to preach, and then died. it was solemn. Plus, Stanley had a vision at 3 am and when he woke up he went straight to church to fulfill the vision and pray. He saw a whole giant gathering of people and saw himself preaching and heard God tell him that this was what He was going to do.
He found that when he strayed away and tried to do other things, that life went poorly, but when he honored the call on his life, things were smooth. Eventually, he witnessed to his father who gave his life to jesus. His father has been saved since 1988 and is now such a good man.
Stanley has 5 children. One boy child died when age 6. He has a child of 8 and a new baby. Also Sharon is about age five. He traveled around doing drama and speaking in churches and schools. He has spent much time teaching children although he does not have a college education. He worked for an oil company and was a salesman for a Indian company selling spice. His wife is evelyn.
i had a hard night. this throat was killing me. I have had prayer, I have tried to believe for healing and rebuked sickness--but to no avail. My voice is hoarse and my body is weak. I slept from 6pm to 5:15am only waking to eat an oreo and take ibuprofen. I thought I had eaten a whole roll of oreos, so I was delighted to see that it was only half the roll. but so much for weight loss!
I had one bout of diarrhea and was shocked to have it end there! hallelujah! now that is fabulous and the only time that has happened. So prayer is working. Otherwise, all bowel function is normal and I am so blessed and thankful!
I have not been able to eat the food here. I suppose my body remembers my earlier sickness and associates the food. That is terrible and I am not sure how to overcome. I’ll be eating that food every day for the next few weeks. I brought a scone with me from the hotel.....more like a hard cookie, which was delicious and plain. Easy on the stomach. I ate it with water and was able to get through the service.
It is so fun here having church each day. We sing, we pray, we preach, we break for lunch. Then we do it again. We lay hands on people and minister. There are variations each time. It is so good how the different pastors come out with us. We love them so! It is such a joy.
One sweet mama came up to me to greet me. She told me I must take her to USA! and she made a swoosh gesture up to the sky as if her hand was a plane and made a swoosh sound! and laughed with a smile! She was so fun.
One little old guy made a special little .....violin? fiddle? it had one string on a stick and he had a bow to play it on. He could tune it with the nail at the top. It was quite clever and we got it on video. The rooster, chickens, and little chicks running about were delightful. I cannot get enough of them! I hope I can have chickens one day. I love to see them running around. Sarah fed the chickens from the table. I was afraid it was rude, but Lydia told me it is okay.
Lydia loved Sarah’s tattoos and piercings. She laughed saying, I am so black! Sarah said, I am so white! and Lydia said, You are! You are so white! and they laughed together and got photos. Sarah is so pretty and people are enjoying her. She did a great job on the accounting. Steve praised her telling me she did a wonderful job and worked well with Henry. Sarah praised Henry saying he worked hard and stayed focused even with people all around talking. It kept her on task and she appreciated his good work.
We went through some serious roads out to that church. it was the farthest we have gone yet. Pastor Joseph told Sarah, “Sarah, now you have been to Kenya. Golf Hotel is not Kenya.” And we knew it. We have already gone far back into the bush with Pastor Stanley and this was even further. It was good. The people in these areas have not had a church. Even if they have been a Christian, there was not a place to come together.
Anita spoke on the differences between men and women. She explained how men need respect and women need love. It was good to hear. Women come up to talk it out when there is a problem, but a good man walks away from a fight with other men--and so when he does that to his wife, she feels ignored. A man has to learn to comfort his wife when she is distressed. A woman needs to know how to approach him so he feels respected.
I guess I have profile several orphans now. There was Diana and Celestine at Pastor Juma’s church. There was Benjamin and Emmanuel at Pastor Wycliffe’s church. We spoke with the three girls at their home; Jane, Lillian, and Vivian. I talked to Paul and Ben at the preschool. That is 9 children so far. We still have 10 children to go.
We are supposed to go to ANOTHER church today. There are so many! But first we have to have a TGD board meeting. On Saturday, Steve is taking tons of people to the hotel to eat. I think I will ask him to have the hotel bring more cooks or something. They take nearly an hour to make you dinner. It drives me crazy. But everything takes forever here. It is African Time. You have to just settle into it. By the time I come to dinner, though, I am so tired and ready to have something to eat and go to bed. Yet, it is another long wait.
Another funny thing is at church when it is nearing the end. Pastor Stanley will imply that we are at the end and we are going to do one prayer or song and then go. But there is at least an hour from the time he says it and maybe more. It is easy to forget. When you are worn out from sitting in front of everyone or even from preaching or praying for people, it is easy to get eager to dismiss. You just long to relax and let down. Still, I love being in the house of the Lord. I love praising God and discussing Jesus and His Word. I love encouraging others to fix their eyes on Jesus.
I am so thankful to Jesus. Here I am in Kenya. I am praising Him among the nations. I know God is glorified and exalted! It is so good to worship Him with brothers and sisters on the other side of our globe! It is so good to know that He is everywhere. He is our all in all. Even my weakness has not dimmed my joy! But I have learned to moderate my mood. I got so euphoric last time that it made me ill! Now I just rest in the peace of deep joy. I am abiding in Him and resting in Him. I know that I will be here for such a long time, too, that I don’t have to take it in all at once. I can savor my time and relax into it.
I wish I could go to the churches and hear them preaching. Instead, they are so grateful for visitors which is a great honor. So we never get to hear the locals preaching, we just hear ourselves over and over. Anita worries that her message is the same, but she always changes it and the people are always interacting with questions. It is good! The people are often sharing examples and the pastor share their testimonies of how it is changing their families. It is a great blessing. I know so much about relationships and counseling. It is hilarious to me that my mind is blank when I come here. NOT IN THE USA! But when I am here, I have the Word of God and a Jesus focus and nothing else. I want to preach Jesus. I want to share Jesus. I want to encourage Jesus. But I must remember when I was a new Christian, that I wanted the practical advice of.....how do I implement this? What does this mean day to day? Maybe that can help me think about it.
Today I must be careful not to talk. I am over using my voice. But there is so much to say. To everyone! I must greet people, I am asked to speak, and I can’t help but review with Anita/Medine or Doug/Sarah. We are having a great time. It is so full and wonderful. It is so great to have church under the tree, like yesterday. Oh the joy of it! It is so fun to go to the little remote churches. God is so good. He has come to the people. He is changing their lives. I love to hear their testimonies.
No comments:
Post a Comment