The Wittz End: A time for Graduation.

Our family is standing with Cailin Germo after attending her Pinning ceremony to be a nurse. We are incredibly proud of her.

The Germo family has been a huge part of our lives. They modeled what being a missionary in Kenya looks like.

" There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens:

A time to be born and a time to die,

A time to plant and a time to uproot,

A time to kill and a time to heal,

A time to tear down and a time to build,

A time to weep and a time to laugh,

A time to mourn and a time dance,

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

A time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

A time to search and a time to give up,

A time to keep, and a time to throw away,

A time to tear, and a time to mend,

A time to be silent and a time to speak,

A time to love and a time to hate,

A time for war and a time for peace."

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

We returned to Minnesota so that we could cheer on our former interns for their graduation day. It was such a delight to meet their families in person because we have heard so much about them. Ed Dudek was the main speaker for the ceremony. He was one of our favorite Professors when Jason and I were in college. Ed Dudek passionately challenged us to remain humble and of course reminded us to live by the Spirit as it talks about in Romans 8. He is retiring this year and truly has made an impact on so many students throughout the decades by faithfully teaching and instructing from the Bible.

Our family got to see such a wide range of people we love while we were in Minnesota. Thank you to all who made time for us.

The Bethany media department asked if they could interview me and then our daughters separately. They sent us questions ahead of time so we could be prepared. Our daughters were asked things like what advice they would give to other families who were considering going out on the mission field. I was asked the basics of why Kenya and what is our vision for Kenya and what is the greatest need for the people of Kenya.

Kenya is a Christian country and so open and welcoming to missionaries. In the town we live in there are several Muslim unreached people groups but because they are living in Kenya there is a lot of freedom in sharing the good news compared to other Muslim countries where it is against the law to do so. Our vision is that God will transform individuals and families and there would be a first generation of a church for Muslim Background Believers (or Believers with Muslim backgrounds). As this church matures in their faith we pray for the generations to come that will be apart of the family of God.

We also pray that God will give His Great Commission to more "established" Kenyan Christians so that they will have courage to share the gospel with their Muslim neighbors. It is often expected that missionaries are to be the ones to " Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I (Jesus) have commanded you." Matthew 28: 19-20. And Mark version says " Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will stand condemned" 16: 15-16. There is a decent sized Christian remnant in Gtown and a good amount of Kenyan missionaries. There is a big need for the Kenyan church to step up and financially and spiritually support their missionaries that are making huge sacrifices.

We believe that God is alive and at work in Kenya. We also realize that this means that eventually there may not be a "job" there for us one day which is actually what we are hoping for. In the meantime time we are focused on our Home Assignment here in America. We want to take advantage of any opportunities that come. We are getting ready to have 3 teenagers (Charis turns 13 on May 30th). Righteous and Nevaeh are going to be attending Prom with friends friends of ours in Pennsylvania. Our girls are going to a Christian camp for 5 days in June, and I am sure that there will be other exciting events. Our plane tickets to travel back to Kenya are in the middle August. As we are in the current season we want to listen attentively to God voice. When we were in Gtown we were both "planting and uprooting". In our relationships we were relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us when we should "speak up and when we should remain silent". While we are traveling around to different States we end up collecting all sorts of random items and we have to constantly decide what to " keep and what to give away". Praying for you, while you read these words, to ask the Lord what season are you are going through right now. Is it a difficult time of weeping and mourning? Take heart, it will come to an end. Is it a time to laugh and dance? Embrace it to the fullest.