Dukas are wonderful

I must take the time to write about how wonderful duka’s are. They are these small shops that are in walking distance from anyone’s home in all of Kenya. I guess it could be compared to the amount of McDonald’s or 7eleven. There are 3 main Somali ladies that run the duka right outside of my house. They spoil Righteous rotten where everyday when we pass by she calls out "this,this" and they will give her a free lollipop. That part reminds me of the drive thru bank tellers where they would always give her a loli bc they saw her sitting in her car seat. I recently took my brother to my duka (MY BROTHER IS VISITING US FOR TWO WEEKS) and they actually invited us to come inside to take pictures. This is a big deal because often Muslims do not allow their picture to be taken. I have heard some believe that their souls will be captured by the camera which is similar to the Amish people. We were warned by several people that it is very dangerous to ever take pictures in our town. When Jaco first moved here, 8 years ago, he took a picture of a mosque and a mob got angry and threatened to burn down his home. I have learned that once I have developed a relationship with someone I can ask permission to take a picture with them and I have never been refused. Over the New Year’s we went on vacation with a Muslim family. I am amazed at how well we got along and respected each other. They bowed their heads when we gave thanks for our food and we made sure we kept the vacation schedule open during the times they went to pray at the mosque. This family allowed us to take pictures with them all the time. I enjoyed our time together and definitely want to travel with them again. Back to the wonderful duka, it has everything you need. Often times I will start baking something only to realize I am out of an ingrediant. It is nice that I can get it only a few steps away.
Shakina was taken from Jaco and Heleen’s home a few weeks ago.There is now no way to ever see her again but the family remains in confidence that they were suppose to take her in at the time. There is a picture of her with Heleen on Christmas day. Jaco and Heleen are now in South Africa with their new baby Suanne. They had to have an emergency c-section here. When Suanne came out she was not breathing well so they took a helicopter to Nairobi Hospital. A special donor offered to pay all the expenses for them to go and receive hospital care in South Africa. I am happy to report Suanne is doing well and completely breathing on her own now! Please pray for Jaco’s family as they really have been attacked hard these past 2 months with Shakina being taken and the new baby being born early. I am finally posting some picture from Christmas day at the orphanage. We cooked a lot of food, spent hours with the children, gave the gospel message and gifts to all who were there.