Inside Bekahs and Jason's head and hearts.

Me and Grace. 

I (Bekah) have recently wrote, that Jason could open up his own restaurant if we ever leave the mission field. Furthermore, if we do ever leave Kenya, I  can envision the two of us teaming up and starting our own Event Coordinating Company. Of course Jason would do all the catering with his gourmet style of cooking. I would have the inventiveness for the decorations and then provide fun activities that relate to the special occasions. God has given Jason his specific giftings that he uses daily at the farm and in town. Those include being a wise leader, being intentional to speak words of truth, he is a " jack of all trades" and besides so much more he is an excellent chef. God has developed my own giftings throughout the years. I have a passion to build deep relationships with women and children. I often am able to do this by going to visit my neighbors in their homes accompanied by the girls and bringing a "Mary Poppins" bag that contains games, crafts and snacks.  Each day both Jason and I long to use our giftings as an act of worship to God.

In the days leading up to Christmas the Lord gave me (Bekah) the idea to have a program for the village children who would be coming to the farm to celebrate Christmas. As that was going on there was the big task of cooking a meal for all of the farmworkers and their families. That's 50 adults and 72 kids. We planned on giving a present to each of them. At the end of day we were going to share about the greatest gift Christians have ever received- our Savior, Messiah, Jesus. In order to make all this happen it was essential to collaborate with others and it is a beautiful testimony how God brought all the details together. A few days before Christmas our family,  Amos and Grace and family, Maggie and newly returned Paul and Ashley got together to wrap all the presents and discuss the schedule of the 25th. On Christmas morning the cow was butchered and began marinating in Jason's special sauce. Next we all got right to work, along with the farmworkers, chopping up the tons of vegetables for the big meal of pilau. When kids began arriving at the farm our daughters started off the program with a dance to a song called No Sacrifice. Grace first explained the words of the song in a way that was understood in a Muslim context. We realized that there are Christianized words that are confusing to those who have not grown up reading/hearing the Bible. I am grateful for Grace's friendship and advisability to communicate clearly to the audience. After the song/dance, we played several Carnival style games with the children. Grace's daughter, Becky, helped teach them. Then Nevaeh and Samara performed a puppet show which Grace's son, Caleb translated. Lastly I was able to tell the story of Noah and the Ark. I have had the privilege to tell Old Testament Bible stories at several of the schools in our area but this was the very first time I got a chance to do so at the farm. Maggie translated it in Swahili in such a compelling way that the children were glued to her words and listening intently. I am only able to speak simple Swahili sentences so I need to rely on others when telling stories or even telling instructions to games. We truly were a unified team on this day. We give God all the glory!

 Jason's perspective: Christmas day on the farm takes months of planning. From purchasing the cow to fatten up for the slaughter to getting all the lists of names and ages of the children. There is also the dreaming and trusting God for what kind of budget we will have.  This year we dreamed big and God really showed up for those dreams.  In our own way it was a miracle.  I thought maybe I had gotten us in over our heads at one point because I had these big plans with out the resources, but God used His people to show the love of Jesus in a huge and tangible way!  We had enough to buy one month of food for each household, a lockable box to keep the food and other things in at home, a two fold matt, a queen size bed and mattress and even the bed sheets! Plus new clothes for everyone and toys for the kids! I was having Bible study w the believers today and we were in John Chapter 2 where Jesus does his first miracle turning the water into wine. I was asking if they ever thought they have seen a miracle one of them mentioned that the Christmas celebration seemed like miracle to them because they never thought they would see a day where they received so many amazing gifts. They were also sharing with me that several other workers have expressed interest to start studying the Bible with us on Fridays  Pray with us we want to be wise and follow the example Jesus set for us in 

John 2:23-24" Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man."

We have preached the Good News of Jesus to these people so many times and we are reminded again of the words of Jesus quoting the prophet Isaiah in Matthew 13:15 

For this people's heart has grown dull,

    and with their ears they can barely hear,

    and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

    and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

    and turn, and I would heal them.’

We truly want to be wise and innocent but we also want to lavish the love on His lost sheep so we definitely understand that we need balance! Pray with us that we are led by the Spirit and walk in

 obedience to Jesus !

Thank each and every one of you who gave towards this event and prayed for this event together we as the body of Christ are carrying the light and Jesus into the dark and hopeless places of the world!

We made animal puppets after the story about Noah was told. We prepared them at home ahead of time.

We ended up matching with Maggie.

Jason sharpening the knife for the slaughter.

Beef is what's for dinner.

Maggie, Ashley, Righteous and Paul are trying not to cry too hard while chopping onions.

The high-school boys rolling out chapati. 

Everyone was involved to get the meal finished. 

We purchased this 50 gallon cooking pot specifically for this day.

We have figured out how to plate up the food and hand it out- children eat first.

Pilau, grilled beef and a chapati. 

Jason and Amos proclaiming what Christmas is all about. 

Each family member received a gift.