Friday morning started with quite the excitement as we took our dear Maasai sister, Nanyu, to the clinic to have her baby.  Nanyu is a dear friend and sister in the Lord and my girls are very close to her as well.  Nanyu really wanted a girl, she has one girl who is older and married and she also has three boys.  Nanyu’s faith has been an encouragement to me for quite some time and we love cutting up together.   So, as we took her to the clinic you can imagine our excitement.

Around 1:00 I received a phone call from another dear friend and she said that Nanyu had delivered and the baby died and please come to help Nanyu because she’s not good.  My heart sank.  I gathered my things, gave instruction to my girls and I headed out, SarahB was with me.

When I arrived at the clinic the labor room was full of mamas, the baby was laying on the table under a blanket with her tiny feet showing and Nanyu was still in the delivery room recovering from a long hard delivery, including 50 minutes of trying to get the placenta out, which ended in the doctor reaching in a getting it.  The placenta was rotten and resulted in the death of the sweet baby girl.

I went to Nanyu who was laying on the table shaking and I prayed with her and encouraged her to keep her eyes on Jesus.  The delivery room was full as well with the mamas from our church and the next hours disappeared as we all stood around loving on Nanyu.  The scene of Christian community was intense and it’s something I will never forget.

After a while, a decision had to be made about the baby.  The father decided he would dig a grave near their hut and that Nanyu’s younger brother would carry the baby as I drove the four wheeler.

After a short time it was apparent that Miamusi, the brother, was not going to be able to carry the baby. Some of the ladies and I talked and one of them said they could do it.  Then after some time they said that none of them could do it, they were scared.  I said, if it’s ok I will carry the baby and Sarah can drive.  One lady said, "My dear sister how can you do this?"  I said, "God can give us the strength to do anything."

When the time came I talked to the doctor and we wrapped the baby up in some cloth.  She was perfect and looked just like Nanyu.  My heart was pounding and I asked God for strength.  I climbed on the four wheeler, with Sarah driving and the father on one side of me and the Uncle on the other.  After what felt like forever, we arrived to place the father had dug a hole, it was only 12”, I said, "It has to be deeper."  As I stood there for the next 20 minutes holding this lifeless infant my heart was pounding and I began to cry.  A dear lady, Mama Daniel stood next to me and wiped my tears and told be to be strong and keep trusting God because He knows all things.  She wiped my tears again and told me to push through. I straightened up and began praying in my heart for the father, who is not a believer, and was there digging his daughter grave.

The time came for the baby to be placed in the grave and there for a moment I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to do this, but then our Great God gave me strength and as I walked toward the hole the father knelt down and I handed him the precious girl.  He laid her in the 3’ hole, very gently and then placed a piece of cardboard on top of her and then put all the dirt back.  Then we prayed. May God’s name be glorified and the gospel be heard clearly by this father who just laid his baby in the shallow grave.

The lady that had been standing with me said that she had the strength to do this because she has buried 6 of her own babies.  Then she comforted my sweet SarahB who was crying, she held her and told her to cry, that it’s ok.

We all stood there for a while not saying much then we headed back to the clinic to be with Nanyu.

As of today, Nanyu is home resting and gaining strength.  It was hard bringing her home with empty arms, but God is good and has given us all amazing grace through all of this.

Please pray for my dear, sweet sister in Christ.  May God be glorified through it all!

It's December...

I'm not really sure how it's December already.  We boarded a plane for the USA in July and ever since we landed we haven't stopped traveling.  I'm happy to be sitting here in the mountains of NC and hoping for a peaceful month with family and friends.  We have traveled all the way to Maine and California and down to Florida and a lot in between.
 
I'm tired, but blessed.

In our travels we have had the opportunity to meet some wonderful people and see different churches in action serving their communities.  It has been an encouragement to me to see others serving Jesus where they are at.  As believers we are the body of Christ, being His hands and feet to those around us and showing His love. 

We are anxious to get back to Kenya and see everybody.  I miss the kids in the  Children's Home so much, although I have a blast talking to them on FaceTime, I miss being there for them on a daily basis and getting hugs from them.  They are so funny on FaceTime because I normally just see from their noses up!  They are not used to iphones like kids here in the US.

God is so good and I pray you all get an opportunity to worship Him this Christmas season.  Would you please remember the Children's Home in your prayers this season?  We want to make it special for them even though we are not there.

It's early and I'm awake.  It's still dark outside and I'm sitting here thinking about how I have to say goodbye to the girls in Girls Club later.
I live a life of goodbyes.  It started over 11 years ago when Travis and I crossed the ocean to come here.  It has not been easy but then again you start getting used to it.  You get used to ignoring the discomfort of all those goodbyes.

We have hosted over 50 people in our house over the past year and half.  My girls have learned, as well, the pains of saying goodbye.  Savannah said to me the other day as she was trying to hold back her tears, "why do we always meet such great people and then they have to leave"?

Jesus told Mathew to Follow Him, and I'm pretty sure he got up and followed Jesus without looking back.  Travis and I are passionate about Following Jesus. He has taken us on an amazing ride of faith and we have not looked back and regretted one minute of it.

William Carey said, "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God." When that is your goal, your life will be an adventure and you will see God do great things as you offer your life for His service.
i My husband and I attempted something big for God, we built a school in the Maasai Mara and opened a Home for needy kids.  God is doing great things just as we expected Him to, and I want you to know that HE gives you the strength and never leaves you on your own.  To God belongs ALL the glory.

Pray for me please as we are preparing to go on a 7 month furlough.  This will be the first time I will have to say goodbye to 8 sweet little children who call me Mom.  I know they will be fine here because I serve a great God who loves them and will protect them...but, this mama's heart is hurting at the thoughts of those goodbyes. 

This picture is a good summary of what I love about my life.  Sharing the Gospel.  Lately things have been busy and overwhelming but at this moment it all disappeared as I looked into the faces of these precious children and told them how much Jesus loves them and what He did for them on the cross.  They listened and were drawn in by the story of Jesus's sacrifice for us, for them, and our hope of eternal life in heaven.

May we never be so busy or wrapped up in our lives that we don't share the Gospel!  There are so many distractions!  So many things that are used to deter us from what is really important.  Please, don't miss it, don't miss the very reason we are here and exist!  To love Jesus with all our heart, mind and soul and to love others as ourself.

What does that look like for you?  How much time and energy do you spend on loving God and others?   It's not easy, I know, but, Jesus has given us a helper, His Holy Spirit to help us and guide us.

Oh please, don't miss it!  Don't miss the very purpose you are here.  I know that life is hard and painful but GOD cares, He loves you.   Spend your life doing what really matters, things with eternal value.  It really doesn't matter where you live or where you work or go to school, souls are there needing the Good News of Jesus Christ!   

All you need to do is...share it! 

I live in a place where the people depend greatly on rain so that their herds can have grass and water.  When there is a drought the people suffer immensely and the majority of their herds die leaving the people in poverty because they depend heavily on the herds for their income.

We have been in a drought for a long while and many cows became weak and sick and died.  The air has the stench of death and you can't go anywhere without seeing dead cows.  Then the rains came in a furry and killed any weak cows that were hanging on. When you depend on your cows to feed and cloth your family you can imagine this has been an extremely difficult time for the Maasai.

This week I taught ladies Bible study to a group of ladies in our church.  This Bible study has been going on for years without fail and has been a source of encouragement for a long time.  Although, there was a time when ladies just came but had no desire nor love for Jesus; it was a difficult time, but God's Word never returns void.

After our study in Matthew 6 and 11 about seeking God's kingdom and letting Jesus take our burdens many of the ladies shared testimonies of what God has done in their lives.

There is nothing better in life then to hear testimonies of people who have been saved out of darkness and brought into the light of Jesus.

Here are some of the statements made from these precious ladies.

"I had heard that God's word was preached in this church and I wanted to know what God says and not man, so I came.  After a long time, many years of sitting and listening to what God had to say in the Bible, His word changed my heart."

"We have come from a very far place.  Before we didn't care, we did't know Jesus, but now we know Him and we love Him.  Even if the missionaries are not here for ladies Bible study we still meet because we love Jesus."

Encouragement from an older lady who has been saved a long time.

"When you are at church listen to God's word and put it in your heart so that you can remember it.  When you are old like me and can't hear well you can know God's word because you have put it in your heart.  There is only one path to follow and that is Jesus.  He is the only way.

These ladies are all going through a tough time but they all know the ONE who cares for them.  Their eyes are on Jesus!

"I would rather burn out than rust out."  Amy Carmichael

I'm sure Amy Carmichael knew what it was like to be worn out.  She lived her whole adult life on the mission field serving others, mainly children in dreadful situations.  

Travis and I have been on the mission field for almost 11 years now.  My husband is like a locomotive moving from one thing to the next without any regard to his tiredness and I have always been impressed with his strength to keep moving on and doing the next thing.  He is solely motivated by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to see those around Him come to know Jesus.

I was called to missions when I was young and it was no surprise to my family that Travis and I were heading to the mission field as soon as we were married. When we arrived here in Kenya I was eager to jump in and do whatever I could to serve.  As time past and my girls grew in size and number I began to realize that there was a big task in balancing my family and ministry.  Two very big passions of mine.

For you moms, you know that being a mom entails a lot of job titles and I am pretty sure it's like holding down 2 or 3 full time jobs.  Then add homeschooling to that and now your plate is completely full and overflowing.  But then, I added my passion for missions and to be involved in the lives of the people I live among and to care for them and their children.

To balance all these things is a challenge and some days I fail.  I have learned that God's mercy's are new EVERY morning and that when you lay all these things at His feet He will take care of them and show you what you need to do and what can wait.

One of the best parts about all this is we get to do it together as a family.  It's not just things that Travis and I are doing but things that the whole family is a part of.  It's our life.  It's a crazy life of ups and downs and weird things like chasing goats out of the church so he will stop eating the hymnals.  It's a hard life of caring for people with real needs and real hurts.

The past month or so has been hard but I have learned so much about my God. He never changes!
He stays the same!
He loves me all the time even when I fail!
He will always pick me back up when I fall or just can't get up.

I love how Corrie Ten Boom said it, "In order to realize the worth of the anchor we need to feel the stress of the storm."

If I could encourage you to hold on to your God the Anchor, He will not let you sink!

Recently I came across the name Karen Watson.  Have any of you heard her name?  Do you know who she is or what she has done?  This article from Desiring God sums up who she is.

Karen Watson wrote her own epitaph. Its message has stirred me up to pray for more radical devotion to Christ. She has not died in vain. She was a Southern Baptist missionary to Iraq and was killed by unknown assailants March 15, 2004. I am mentioning it now simply because I was reading the book Lives Given, Not Taken: 21st Century Southern Baptist Martyrs, by Erich Bridges and Jerry Rankin. In it I ran across the letter that Karen wrote and left behind in an envelope that said "Open in case of death." It said in part:

Dear Pastor Phil and Pastor Roger,

You should only be opening this in the event of death.

When God calls there are no regrets. I tried to share my heart with you as much as possible, my heart for the nations. I wasn't called to a place; I was called to Him. To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, His glory my reward, His glory my reward . . .

       The missionary heart:

• Cares more than some think is wise
• Risks more that some think is safe
• Dreams more than some think is practical
• Expects more than some think is possible.

I was called not to comfort or to success but to obedience. . . .

There is no Joy outside of knowing Jesus and serving Him. I love you two and my church family.

In His care,

Salaam, Karen

How many of us could write this letter?

These days in our culture we are so comfortable, to comfortable.  We buy lettuces in a bag because we are to lazy to clean it and cut it up ourselves let alone try to grow it ourselves.

There is a whole world of people around us who do not know Jesus!  There are some Christ followers that are willing to give their lives just so others can know Jesus.

Please, don't waste your life, your time, your money on things that don't matter for the Kingdom of God.  Look around you, who needs to know Jesus?  Who hasn't heard the wonderful news of Jesus Christ and His free gift of salvation?

Give the gift of the Gospel this Christmas season.  Make it clear to those around you that life is about JESUS!

"And I heard God ask, Who will I send"?  Is. 6:8

What will you say?