A month in Minnesota.

This is superwoman Jenny Hall. She is in the process of helping my daughters bake desserts in this picture.

 While staying in Minnesota we went back and forth from the Freeman`s and Hall`s home. When Jason and I were students at Bethany College of Missions (now called Bethany Global University) Tim Freeman was the Director of the sending agency that we are now apart of. Carol Freeman was one of our teachers. She taught Women in missions and I will never forget her saying "If God can use an ass (donkey), He most certainly can use a woman to deliver His message". She also taught our Spiritual Warfare class giving testimonies of encountering demon possession and deliverance when living in the Philippines. Jason and I graduated with Tim and Carol's firstborn daughter, Jenny Hall. She was one of my best friends in college- I remember lots of shopping excursions, studying at Barnes and Noble, and watching chic flicks with her. Though it's been over a decade we have remained close. Jenny has her own business as a midwife assisting Mommas with home births. I am amazed to see how she cares so deeply for others. She and Cullen have a beautiful daughter by birth and have adopted 3 precious children to complete their family.

Righteous with Jenny's twins.

Samara walking to the baseball field with Jenny's son.

Our first morning in Minnesota with the Demellos, McKenna, and the Germos. Jenny was gone assisting a Mom in labor. 

McKenna is Tim and Chrissy Kelly's firstborn. The Kelly's are still in Kenya right now. The Kenyan President has lifted travel restrictions within the country, so now people can move about Nairobi and Mombasa-Which were on lockdown. Churches can open but no kids under 12 and no adults over 57 are allowed. On  August 1st international flights are supposed to start back up again. The number of COVID 19 cases continue to rise each day. Our return flights have been cancelled twice so far. Our plans are in God's hands and we have peace with the unknown. 

In this picture we are fishing with the Hadrava family in Northern Minnesota. Their family is so special to us. They have made several trips to gtown and have come with their church, Kabekona Community Church to build the goat house and paint the dormitories on the farm. I got to bring the ladies on this team to meet some of my neighbors and they joined me doing crafts at the clinic. It was a joy to reconnect with them again and also meet new people too.

My daughters were looking forward to going to different youthgroups and Sunday schools when we were preparing for our Home Assignment in America. They were dissappointed in not being able to do this for our first few months. Beckie Gregory organized zoom calls with kids around my girls ages. What a joy it was for my daughters to meet these kids they had seen on their computer screen, in person. In these two pictures they are picking mulberries with Bethany campus kids.

My girls with Volarie.

One of our rewards of being on the Mission field is getting to be apart of the internship program. Every year we get to meet college students from Bethany, that stay in Gtown for 16 months. They completely enrich our lives and our relationship takes on a very deep level during this time. To say we are devastated when we have to say our goodbyes is putting it lightly. It was so great to see some of their faces in Minnesota!

My girls with Alexa and Emily Lindberg.

For spring break during our Senior year of college, Jason and I went on a road trip with 8 other individuals. Angie and Bernard Welmers were with us on that adventure although they were not even dating at the time. (That began soon after) They have an amazing farm in Belleplain Minnesota. We got to spend an afternoon with them seeing all their crops they have planted and feed their goats some leaves. Angie made barbecue sauce out of her rhubarb we picked that day. We ate that on some pork pot roast and you better believe it was delicious! She sells an assortment of jellies, jams, pickled products and that rhubarb barbecue sauce. She also sells seasonal vegetables. We are hoping to return to their farm to see what different crops they are growing before we fly back to Kenya.

Jason and Bernard.

Here is Angie gazing at her youngest, Simeon.

Leigha 

Leigha Brewster came to visit! Leigha and her Dad, whom we call Best friend Kyle, came to gtown on a survey trip June 2019. Leigha is a midwife who got her training in the Philippines-Jenny Hall went to this same school. Leigha had been prayfully asking the Lord to send her overseas where she could use her skill set to serve those who do not believe in Jesus as Savior. Her desire is to be His ambassador as she ministers to Mommas and babies. When she was staying in my house she told me she did not only want to come to gtown because the need was great but because God had indeed called her. She was able to see two labor and deliveries at two clinics. She also did some prenatal care at the clinic on the farm. When her and her Dad left Kenya she told me she needed to process and pray. About a month later she called me to say she could not get the Mom's and babies of gtown out of her mind and God had given her the desire to come ! Needless to say we are so excited to have her join us!

My girls with Anna and Abby Frick.

The Frick family came to Mombasa on a short term team sent by Bethany Church. It was a very large team so we also came to Mombasa to help in whatever way we could. I remember getting to watch a song  presentation done by some workers in one of the villages. In return they asked that we also sing for them. Diane Frick lead us to sing "This is the Day that the Lord has made" and had us do impromptu hand motions that went along with the words. We exchanged testimonies on the bus ride as we drove around to different locations and I admired hearing about her homeschooling her 6 children-5 are adults now. It was so good to see them this side of the world. They took us on a hike to see a waterfall. We were not only able to walk under the waterfall but also walk through it and walk on top of it, something we have never seen or done before.

There are many others we have gotten to see while in Minnesota that I have not gotten to get a picture of. Our love tank is full. We are driving back to the East Coast right now But are now planning to fly out of Minneapolis to return to Kenya sometime in the middle of October. So Minnesota we will be back!