Counting our many blessings

Charis put up all the decorations this year. Even though there is no fall season here, Charis made sure that fall was represented well all over our house.

This year we had planned to celebrated Thanksgiving in Gtown. Kenya (Ethiopia,  and Somalia) have been receiving a lot of flooding due to El Nino and as the Turkey day approached we were wondering if the out of town visitors would make it here. By Wednesday evening everyone arrived safely and we praised God for giving His traveling mercies. 

When Thursday came our house and our hearts were full. Everyone stepped up to chop and stir whatever dish was being cooked. I loved watching multiple conversations happen and people meeting each other for the first time. We all have Jesus in common. He is why we are in Kenya and He is who we thank for carrying us through this year of 2023. Although all of us, who had gathered at our house, have left our relatives and loved ones from our places of origin, God has given us one another. I feel so privileged to be apart of His Kingdom and family of believers which transcends cultures. All our children kept each other company by playing the keyboard, playing badmiton outside when there was no rain, and just hanging out in our daughters room. In past Thanksgivings we were able to rent a tent to put in our backyard and moved long tables inside them and ate outside. Our dining room table had always been used for buffet style- in order to have room for all the different foods. This year our yard was full of water preventing us from going outside to eat. We ended up stacking up the food along our kitchen counter and we all squeezed together in the living room and dining room.

This year the menu was:

2 Turkeys (1 covered with bacon, one with a honey glaze)

mashed potatoes 

Macaroni and cheese with cheezits sprinkled on top

stuffing

Collard greens

sweet potatoes with candied pecans on top

Cream corn

green bean casserole 

Cranberry sauce

homemade dinner rolls

Pies= 2 Apple, 2 pumpkin,  pecan, tollhouse and berry cobbler.

We had some Kenyan friends and family from the Far East that ate Thanksgiving food for their very first time and I always like to ask what they think of this meal because so much of it is so foreign to them. Cheese is not a common thing at all here so the Mac and cheese is such a strange concept. The sweet potatoes is usually everyone's favorite- mine too because basically it's like eating dessert. 

On the day after Thanksgiving the road that brought people from Nairobi was washed away from floods. This now prevented any vehicles from coming or leaving our town. We still were able to meet as a team to discuss goals on how we can make Jesus name known in the regions we have influence in. We also have begun dreaming/ planning on how we can go to other regions nearby where there are unreached peoples. We had some time of worship followed by devotionals. In one of the devotionals we were challenged by Apostle Paul in Rome and how he always wanted to give account of the gospel to the different audiences he was brought before. In another devotional our teamate Paul asked all of us what it means to be a community and then we read from the Bible how the early church showed what community looked like. It is a group of people who have a shared faith and/or shared life experience. A few hours after this discussion the flood waters came up high in Gtown and we as a community moved team members that were effected into our homes that were on higher ground. I absolutely cherished this bonus time with Laura- her and her family came to stay with us. This was unexpected but a blessing in disguise. 

We have been able to stock up on plenty of food and fill up our vehicles with fuel because of the generous financial partnership from many of you. We have no wants of our own- indeed we are abundantly blessed. There is a village here in Gtown, that was living by the river and had their homes and possessions completelty destroyed by the flooding. This village is 100% Muslim and we desire that they will repent and receive hope thats found in Jesus during this tragic time. These villagers are living in an IDP (Internally Displaced People) camp less than a mile away on the soccer (futbol) grounds. As the body of Christ, we  desire to do something to help.Righteous turns 17 today and what she wanted for her birthday was to make it a day not focused on herself and think of others more needy than herself..  We want to relieve one of their burdens and are planning on handing out relief food sometime in the upcoming few weeks. 

As we read and admire the community that the early church had in the book of Acts may it also be so for today, for all of us known as Christians.

"All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." Acts 2: 44-47

 

These shoes show the evidence of how full our house and hearts were on Thanksgiving day. 

Righteous and Kendra are mincing garlic, Sianna is chopping celery, and Charis is peeling onions, all for the stuffing.

Here is my man making the bacon basket weave.

All dressed and ready for the smoker.

The children hanging out in our daughters room.

My heart is overflowing getting time to talk to Laura, Kristen, Grace and Della around the table.

Paul and Ashley put together different questions in the game Cahoots- where everyone played using their phones. Jason won!

Everyone had a good time participating in Cahoots.

The food was stacked on the kitchen counter this year to leave room on the dining room table to eat. 

This is Amos and Grace's son Caleb. He turned 17 on Thanksgiving and we all were able to sing Happy birthday to him. It has been such an honor to watch him grow from a young boy into a young man throughout the years.

In the evenings we would watch movies. I thought this was so precious Samara holding Zeenat's hand as they watched.

Ping pong competition. 

When there was no rain The kids played badmitton. 

I really cherished the extra time I got to spend with Laura.