July 3

Blog July 3rd SATURDAY
ORPHANS:
Mary, Brendah, Shaline, and Morphine are all from Pastor Joseph’s church living with widows unrelated to them. Dianah and Evangeline go to Pastor Juma’s church. Ben, Noel and Paul all go to Cornerstone Preschool. Benjamin and Emmanuel are way out in the boonies. Gladys and Frida go to Pastor Steve’s and Gladys is the farthest back of anyone and using the worst roads. Vivian, Jane, and Lillian are cousins all living with the grandmother. Cynthia goes to Sony’s church in Makunga (easy to get to that one!) and Cynthia lives right on the main road. I visited Daisy and Sharon at their schools, so I don’t know the home situation. Abednego came to the Sunday lunch. I still haven’t seen or met Silas or Trophosa, and I’m spending my time with the TGD computer students to prepare them for working in business. Our prayer is that their work will fund the computer lab and help pay for salaries in the clinic --even growing it to a maternity hospital. We need outside help for the orphans. It cost $3500 for the land and we need a housing for at least 20. We have 22 but I am not sure about Silas and Trophosar, plus another girl who is 16 and in the 11th grade. I don’t know that I can add them because if I add people, the list will grow and grow. How I wish we could have a community of 2000 and the staff to create an atmosphere of love and learning in the Lord! But maybe if I just start with these 20.
The guardians send word to me...”The girls need notebooks for school.” I have to say no because I cannot meet all the needs without sponsors and a system. I have a place ready to purchase and the largest part of the money is coming!!! $2500. I am so thankful! God is moving already! But I need up to $20,000 to build a small house. It could even be forty. Harrison built a home for over $40,000 and he only has 14 people coming to live in it total. Which means a house could cost me $50,000 or even $60,000. Still, that is not unreasonable when you consider how many people will live there. I will need rooms for people who come stay with the children and watch over them. There will be plenty of service staff paid an extremely low wage. House girls work at $26 a month all day every day. But I will need some professional staff. There is a woman I know here in our computer class, Labinah, and she is a counselor. She’s very professional, well spoken in English, and loving. She makes 22,000 kenyan shillings at the clinic up the road which closes at 2pm each day. That’s $250 a month for only half a day of work! I told her I can’t pay that much. But maybe I could supplement something in the afternoon or weekends.
Joseph has worked hard for the children for weeks with no pay. His wife has assisted him. It is his ministry. Since we gave him the motorcycle a year ago, he has really been productive in service to the poor and needy. His church has prospered. His church wants to send him to the U.S.A. and if he can come, then he can also advocate for the children. Medine is sending for him in October. Anita has friends gathering medical equipment which she can truck to Little Rock for me. I’ll go up to Little Rock to meet her and drive it back--taking Joseph with me for a week. That’s sort of the plan right now. we’ll see what God does.
I will be building my own house there on the orphan land. It will only cost about $15,000 but I am paying all of that myself when I am able to divert any funds because the TGD building is taking everything and it is still not ready. But we’ll make a western style house with rooms for guests. It will have electricity and western kitchen and bathrooms. The children’s house will also have western bathrooms but I will have latrines nearby because many of them are very uncomfortable with our giant toilets.

BLOGGING ON JULY 3 ABOUT MY EXPERIENCES
I came to the hotel and got settled in my room. I unpacked everything and put it in a place. It was so nice not to have a crowded room full of my suitcases but just this ONE. It is hard to live out of a suitcase for weeks and I tried to bring all the stuff I’ll need and you know how it is.....you bring too much of some things and not enough of the others. But I’ve never made a long trip like this. I needed more hair conditioner, eyeliner, mascara, make-up, and brushes (I only brought one and it got lost ---you cannot buy my kind of hair brush here because there is no market for white people hair brushes.) I don’t need so many extra clothes of a kind I don’t really like. I thought I might wear them because I could get away with it--but no. I never want to wear the ones I don’t like---I don’t even like wearing the ones I do like here. I get tired of dresses. But now I’ll feel weird wearing pants at home!
I went down to get online and start downloading photos. It takes so long! It takes a couple of minutes per photo and I find it very very very difficult to be patient. It is not as if I can get up in the hotel lobby and do something different for the 5 minute download and come back when it is done. No, I just sit there. Waiting.But it is worth it. Everything I do here is impregnated with God. Everything has a purpose even when it is nothing or it is something awful. It’s a great feeling. I like it. I see the vision and I am fixed on the goals. There is so many needs which cry for attention but I know my purpose. I like the simplicity.
and I’m just so much more decisive here. Why not at home? Is it because I just have abundant Grace here? I don’t struggle with “I don’t know?!?!” (Sijui in Kiswahili)
I went to the restaurant to order some “chips” (fries, which I never loved before Kenya but i swoon when i see them here. rare and delicious.) and Titus and Rose were with the children eating Kuku (chicken) and enjoying family time since he’s been gone for four or five days in Nairobi. I went and got online and got those fries. I brought my Heinz ketchup (PRAISE THE LORD) which i bought at Nakumatt (nice new grocery that has expanded selection including kellogs corn flakes and oreos! yes, that is my diet. and coke. and milk. Pray for me, people. Pray for me.)
After posting, I went up to bed at about 10:30. I stayed as long as I could. I am still not familiar with this new computer and so makes things a little harder. Like choosing photos to post on my blog ----I have this TINY little window of TINY little photos to pick from and only see three at a time. I have tons and tons of photos and so it takes forever. In my room, I just let down so peacefully. I was all alone. My lovely fan was there. Whirring whirring whirring, ahhhhhh. I changed. I washed my face and brushed my teeth (bottled water only.) I changed into my comfy pajamas. I didn’t even WANT to shower before bed because the bed was calling far louder than any shower. The mattress was firm. Nice. nice. nice. The sheets were cozy. nice. nice. nice. I am not even sure I prayed as usual. but my heart was singing praise. I was singing thankfulness. I promise that no beach or luxury resort could send me into such escalating pleasures as the comfy room and bed with my fan in that moment. I reviewed my day in a sort of a bliss. and I felt my muscles start to twitch as I was falling asleep. I was so happy and so thankful and so peaceful, resting in Jesus, feeling loved and cared for and pampered and spoiled. I drifted off to sleep.
Now I have awakened and texted with Steve. I dressed first so I could take a shower after eating. I was looking forward to that shower. I went down to breakfast with my St. Dalfour strawberry jam ==just like i eat at home!! and I was so pleasantly surprised to see there was NO ONE THERE IN THE RESTAURANT BUT ME!! OH HALLELUJAH! WHAT ANOTHER GIFT FROM JESUS!! So I happily went to our usual area and asked Miriam to bring me a coke and a small water--baridi (cold.) Then I ordered an egg cooked lightly (they don’t like the yolk running at all --but i do--no such luck, oh well. i tried.) and some warm toast (they have some pre-cooked but i like it fresh.) I made me a hot chocolate. OH YEAH. Got me some orange juice --very fresh with no sugar added. like sucking an orange. two slices of pineapple and a slice of watermelon. I was thankful. I ate in peace, signed, went to my room. OH my goodness how delightful. now for a shower. the water was hot! yes yes yes. I didn’t even mind the mold everywhere. I didn’t mind anything. I promise the feeling is the same as staying someone so elite. I just reveled in the luxury and felt so blessed and pampered and joyful. Everything was familiar in the routine. I was even in the same room Steve and I checked into at the start of this trip. I know it seems silly for me to feel this way, but I am so serious! God is making me so happy and thankful and fulfilled it just amazes me to check my heart and find it blossoming all the time.
Oh if I could have my children and my puppies here and a western house with good internet connection and air conditioning for the afternoons. and a nice car like a land rover. You really need something serious here. and a couple of motorcycles. I’d like to learn to drive one so I could go on the back roads. Helmet ON. I love serving people and I love giving. Even with all the uncomfortable aspects, I’m fine. I prefer toilets with seats on them so coming to the Golf and getting to actually SIT DOWN if I need to use the toilet--now that is nice! I’ve missed that terribly. But I’m very happy serving Jesus and I guess that is how Paul felt even when he went through all manner of terrible things. I don’t think I could get too happy about getting beaten. But if God gave me grace, like he has given me over so many other things (i’ve gotten violently ill here twice in the past.) Well, I just guess you can handle anything with Jesus because I would not have thought I would be so cheerful about my physical experience. but I am NOT the physical ME. I am the spirit man. I am the eternal being. and these things are momentary. and I would give up my comfortable life any day for the joy of serving others. I promise you, serving elevates. all those big shots who want to be the big guy....the secret is serving. you become the big guy. just not in the way the FLESH longs to do it, but you become great in the spirit. and the poor people on earth who just want to receive, receive, receive. I am so sad for them missing this great joy! and the poor people who want to keep all their money because in their riches, they think they do not have enough! and here I am living on nearly nothing and so joyful. I don’t need the movies (of course, we all know that Stephanie NEVER needs movies.) I don’t need the restaurants (oh and I love the restaurants.) I don’t need the cars (I’ve really enjoyed my cars that I’ve had lately, but I’m in heaven here and I have no car.) I don’t need the house. (I’ve been living in someone else’s house and while I’d prefer my own, I am still rejoicing in jesus.) Now, I do need food, sleep, and to keep clean and go to the bathroom. I also need bottled water here. I hate using the bottles now when I consider that plastic doesn’t burn.
so now--get this. I have showered and BLOW DRIED MY HAIR! ha ha! I love that I can blow dry my hair even in Kenya! and now I am GOING TO TAKE A NAP. YEAH YEAH YEAH! I am tired. I am just so busy with people each day and how lovely just to be here with Jesus and take a nap. Then I’ll go downstairs and post this along with photos. It may take me a few hours, but I’ll get some photos in! nighty night!