Will you choose to love ?

I've been going over and over in my head that past week a conversation I had with a good friend last week. We got to talking about some of the issues we had both been running into when all of the sudden she said. "Who are we to think we get to decide who God loves? Shouldn't God be the one who decides that ??? We go around and accuse the evil things of this world on the devil, and at the same time we let him use our own religion against us. We say that God does not love homosexuals, Muslims, murderers, etc.. In that very same moment we are allowing this hatred of others to turn them away from God completely. The devil wins at that point ! We say we are doing everything "In the Name of God" but showing hate to people is not the God I know. This life is short, and we are all on this journey together. Why not be patient and kind and loving toward each other and make this crazy journey a little easier. No one is beyond God's love. I don't believe he would create us just to let so many people suffer. He is an Awesome and loving God. That is the God I will choose to believe in. We are all allowed to have our own opinions and beliefs. I believe all forms of worship as long as they come from the heart are beautiful to God. Whether it's out on the lake, it's raising your hands & clapping, or sitting quietly God knows our hearts...

Please continue to pray for the women in the slum. I have been talking with Alex and he asked we pray for Mary.She has been very sick.

Please pray for Alex and his family. We love him and are so grateful for all he has been doing for the group.

Never Alone

We haven't updated in a while, but we are going to try and get back in to posting more regularly. The program in the slum is going very well. We have been able to get them several sewing machines. They have been able to make many things and sell them at the market. They have also been making jewelry. Last month with the help of a donation we were able to buy a salon hair dryer for them to use to do hair for other women as a way of making money. The women are staying very busy and doing well. Some of them have been sick so please be praying for them.

Above is a picture of Alex with the new dryer. Alex said with the money the women have been making they have been able to pay some school fees for their children and pay to rent the place where they are storing the sewing machines and dryer. They have many more projects they hope to complete in the future. Hopefully, they will be able to add more women to their group and teach them the things they have learned and be a blessing to others. Thanks for you prayers, all that have given, and your encouragement.

"May your tears come from laughing

You find friends worth having

With every year passing

They mean more than gold

May you win but stay humble

Smile more than grumble

And know when you stumble

You're never alone"

Update on Sukananga

I know it's been a while since we have updated but I wanted to let everyone know what was going on with the women in the slum ! Thanks to a couples donation we were able to send money to Alex who had been there at the beginning of the feeding program with us and took over when we left. He was able to get the women two sewing machines to give the women opportunities to make money for their families. They are being taught how to sew and are selling their creations on Fridays at the market. They have been so excited and thankful. He also took some of the money for the church Jerry preached at that was planted while we were there in a city about an hour and a half away. They are continuing to grow and there are about 150 + members there now. We just received another donation and are sending it next week so hopefully another sewing machine or two can be purchased. Just wanted to say thanks for all of the prayers and giving along the way. None of it would have been possible with out you. You don't know how much you have impacted these lives on the other side of the world !!!! Thank you !

Trusting God's Will

Since we've been back and even before we left really I've done a lot of questioning God. Why did I think this is what He wanted us to do ? Why did we sell everything? Am I just that stupid ? Why did I do this ? Just dealing with a lot of anger in general. Not understanding at all. Then the other day a friend said something that finally gave me peace. I was telling her how I was feeling like a failure and just really didn't understand God now. I feel some days like I am farther away from him than before all of this started. She she said God calls us to sell everything we own and give it to the poor and you did that. You proved to him that you were willing to do that and you accomplished everything you were called to do in just obeying him in that. It made me look at everything in a totally different way. Though i still have a lot of questions and am working on some things, I finally feel like I am on the road to "healing" from everything. I miss my kids so much, and I find myself throughout the day wondering what they are doing and figuring out what time it is there so I can think about what they might be doing now. Right now it's around 5 in the morning and they will be starting their day soon. Elias would be coming running up to me with the biggest smile and wanting me to pick him up and hug on him. Celine and Caren would be yelling Mommy and saying Good Morning !! (one of the few things in English they would say ) The 3 girls would also be crying about the fact that we put on a shirt or shoes they didn't want. The boys would be running around being loud and trying to escape from me putting on their shoes and jackets. I miss those moments, and I can't wait until Heaven where all of us can be together again !

A Little Update...

We have been home now for a little over 2 weeks. Trying to get settled in and back into a routine. Missing my babies a lot ! Everything makes me think of them ! But everything is falling into place so I know this is where God wants us for now, and doesn't rule out us going back in the future for whatever period of time that might be. Jerry got a position at a local church as a Youth/College Minister which is very excited about and he's also trying to start his own lawn care business so he can have winter months off so that would allow him/us to go back for a month or so to Kenya. I got a job at a doctor's office and started this past week. It went well and I'm looking forward to see what else God has planned in our story and getting to see my kids again. I will update when we have new information and I will try and get Jerry back to posting regularly !! :) Thanks again for all the prayers and support.

We are not called to be successful, but we are called to be faithful to God !

As some of you already know we are going to be leaving Kenya on Wednesday night. It is not what we want but like the quote for the title above we are trying to be faithful to GOD ! As we have been here these last 6 1/2 months we have made some amazing connections and relationships with people here in Kenya. Our hearts have grown more and more for these people and we want to minister to them any way we can. We have gotten to start a feeding program and Jerry has gotten to take part in a church plant and minister at many different churches here. Our board in the U.S. and we talked on Thursday and if we were to stay with them we wouldn't be able to deny our heart for outreach missions, and they need someone that can be with the children 24/7. This breaks my heart because I have come to love these children as my own, and for now I can't imagine life without them, but we feel this is God's leading and have to be obedient and trust in His leading and timing. We have plans to return in the future, we just don't know the timing or the purpose. So to make this post a little more light towards the end here are few things I'm going to miss and won't miss about our time here in Kenya ! We will continue to update you on our journey. Thanks for all of the prayers, encouragement, and support that has been given ! Please keep us in your prayers as we make this transition and try to understand God's will.

Things i'm going to miss:

1. Of course the kids ! For the first time in my life I finally got to experience what I have been jealous of my whole adult life. The look on kids faces when you come in from being gone and they have a huge smile on their face and coming running toward you like no one else is around. I have gotten to feel what it is like to be loved unconditionally by these kids, and learned so much from them !!

2. The hearts of the Kenyan people. They have been so welcoming. I'm going to miss all of the workers so much . Especially Naomy, she is around my age and I've built a special friendship with her. She told me today and it almost made me cry that she wanted my email and she would try and figure out how she could get an email account and use a computer so she could keep in touch. She is one of the sweetest people you will ever met. 3. They way the people here truly worship. They have no other distractions, and they can sit in a church service for 4 hours and still not get enough, while I am ansy and ready to go. It's taught me I need to work on that and I am selfish with my time.

Things I will not miss :

1. Smigel (sp?) the dog. He does not understand calm. I think it is his joy in life to terrorize the kids because they are petrified of him. He jumps on you, goes between your legs and trips you, etc.

2. Sweeping up rice and noodles off the floor. Do you know how hard that is when you have a tile floor with grout ?

3. Being stared at constantly because you are maybe the only white person someone has ever seen.

4. Having to track down a piki piki to go into town, and then sitting three to a motorcycle. Then fearing for your life the whole time you are on it because they drive so crazy !!

I will post more later , just wanted to give an update !! Thanks again for everything. We are truly blessed by everyone in our lives.

You Have to Change Yourself First

"A monk wrote more than 900 years ago, “When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family. Now, as an old man, I realize the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realize that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation, and I could indeed have changed the world.”

Don Soderquist

If you are anything like me I go around most days thinking "If we would just change his attitude or what he thinks about a certain idea than everything would be better.", "Or if this would just happen things I would finally be happy." But after reading this quote the other day I got cut to the heart. How can I expect my situations or people around me to change without making a change within myself. It's very selfish of me, and I will never know true happiness ! We have to start with ourselves, as Ghandi said "Be the change you want to see in the world." How can I influence others if they don't see Christ in me ? It all has to begin with us. We have to be someone, that others see you and want to be like Christ as well. To be honest, that is not me most of the time. Like the quote says above all of the times in life I've been in turmoil over what someone else has done, if I had just changed myself in the first place or my thoughts things would have a lot different outcomes. So, all together we have to start working on ourselves, and maybe it will reach our families, and then our towns, and then other nations, and together we can change the world ! Please pray for me as I embark on this, and I will be praying for you !!!