Sharing our lives and the good news.

The water in our backyard after the rains.

 These past 2 months were not without a fair share of troubles. It began with rain, we once again got more than this town was equipped for. Not only does the rains bring the flooding of roads, an increase of a variety of bugs it also gets a whole lot of people sick with fevers and upper respiratory infections. Kenya as a whole received some intense rain fall for several weeks and once again the dams needed to release water. The village that lives next to the river, where Amos and Grace have a school, had to relocate to higher grounds in the same IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp they were in over a year ago. There were other areas that people were effected by the flooding of the river and had to decide whether to ride things out or temporary move their belonging to prevent water damage. This has also brought complications to the farm. Our pump was about 10 feet above the river in a pump house that brought water underground to the crops every working day. With the flooding the river became at equal level to the pump and on Thanksgiving day, while hosting the festivities at our house, Jason and some of the guys on our team, went to remove the pump from the caged house. The pump is 400-500 pounds with no place to comfortably grab onto to. The men were sinking into mud while trying to carry, drop, carry, drop, the pump to dry land. With the Lord's help they were successful. Then the next obstacle we encountered was that the crops were no longer able to get watered because the pump was disconnected. There was absolutely nothing that could be done because the river was still high and surrounding land to muddy to try to reinstall the pump. The bank of the river eroded and eventually the pump house fell into the river. Jason had a trailer made for the pump so that it could be moved easier and then had to wait things out. It is hard to watch crops die and know that you cannot do anything to save them. We had depended on this pump that had provided water day in and day out. Now to fully put our trust in the Lord, the weatherman, the Author of Life (of humans, animals, and even crops!) We were not able to harvest much this past month, taking a huge hit to the income that is generated from this. We praise God that the rains of this nation have stopped and the pump has been reconnected to the river, a new season has begun.

Another huge challenge we faced was receiving news that one of the farm workers daughters, F, was critically ill. Tests were done and it was determined she had sickle cell anemia. On top of this she was suffering from a UTI and because of the strain that her body was having heart failure had started setting in. F is 10 years old and needed several blood transfusions. Cheyanne is a universal blood donor and gave to this little girl and Jason also gave twice. F needed to start medicine that she would have to take for the rest of her life, and we could not find in our town. We were able to get it purchased in Nairobi and it came by bus. There was lots of antibiotics given to F through I.V. and several weeks were spent in the hospital.  We praise God that F was finally  discharged and able to go home but still had a long road ahead of her. For awhile when she was still in the hospital no one knew if she would make it because her body was skin and bones and her pain was excruciating.  Today she is eating, walking, and so much better. We give all thanks to Jesus Christ, He is the Healer. Her father told Jason "before this I did not have faith I thought for sure she was going to die, but now I know Jesus healed her and He is good!"

For Many of the people that live here, Christmas Day is just another day. In the past the farmworkers would work as normal and everything in town would go on the same. In recent years the Holy Spirit has prodded our hearts to not only celebrate this day as a family (or as a family of believers as a team) but to celebrate with those we rub shoulders with on the farm. This year we had a whole day of programs that included: songs, dances, skits, eating together, as well as giving out presents and food packages. It was a day of laughter and joy. As the day started, I  remember watching the villagers coming into the farm along with Amos and Grace. I heard Amos say, "Here is a miracle walking towards us." It was F coming with her Mom and siblings! She looked healthy, you would never have guessed that a few weeks ago she was in the hospital battling for her life. In that moment it was as if nothing else mattered. God's deep love for this little girl had healed her so that she would have a chance to hear about Jesus- Jesus giving His life for her. At the end of Christmas day, Jason and Amos were able to share the gospel which explains why this day is so special to us as believers. The gospel is precious and so incredibly valuable it is not ment to be kept to oneself. It was our honor to tell those who came to the farm. I believe, as a team,  we all had the feelings of Apostle Paul addressing the Thessalonian church,

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us." 1 Thessalonians 2:8.

Paul doesn't stop here in his letter. He urges the brothers and sisters to "live in a way that pleases God" in 4:1 and He goes on to talk about when Jesus returns.

"For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever." 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

For those who believe there is so much hope for the future. "Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when He returns, we can live with Him forever. " 5:10. Jesus is coming again, even those with a different religion than our own know this is true. We desire that they are counted in as His children so we can spend forever together! Until that day please pray that we will continue to share our lives and the good news.

Jason had a wheeled cart made for the pump.

One night Jason came back late looking like this after a day working on the pump issues.

Preparing for the Christmas meal, on Christmas Eve.

Portioning out the food packages for the farm families.

How my living room looked from preparing the craft and wrapping the toys.

More food preperation.

A look at all the dolls going to the farm worker's daughters.

One of the many games played on Christmas day. 

Cooking the Christmas meal.

Eating together.

The plate of one of the interns.

Giving out the presents, one by one.

The 3 sided craft.

A little one holding her doll.

Jason and Amos sharing about Jesus.