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?

The past couple weeks I have enjoyed the children from our Mara Children's Home come one by one and  spend the mornings with the girls and I as we do school.  The girls have enjoyed it so much.  It's been good to spend time with them on an individual basis and see what their needs are or what they enjoy doing.

Byron does not like math but really excels in reading.  Soyion can finish two word search puzzles in the time I can do a half of one.  Nayanoi does not like the taste of my hot chocolate, and just because she is deaf/mute does not mean she can not communicate that to me with a very sour look!  Luken and Sipalon love doing math with Savannah and Dodo giggles at everything, which melts me. Simoton loves to read and did very good at her creative writing.

Two things that have really stuck out to me so far is one, that Nayanoi LOVES playing with baby dolls and stuffed animals which absolutely touches my heart because I am so thankful she has this opportunity to be a little girl and play!  Her life before was heading in the direction of a little beggar on the corner.  When she laughs and smiles I am filled with joyful tears.

The second thing is that Byron called me Mum.  This sweet little boy's mother abandoned him years ago and his father just died this year.  He has done very well adjusting here but needs a lot of guidance.  When he called me Mum my heart jumped.  I was wondering what was going through his head at the moment?  For me, I was thinking, absolutely Byron, I'll be your Mum!

I feel so blessed to be a part of the lives of these children.  It is a joy to watch my girls love, help and play with these kids as well.

Sarah, me, Kristy, and Missy

"By this men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."  John 13:35

There is always someone who needs to hear about the hope that is in Jesus.  Maybe it's your neighbor, maybe it's the flower shop girl or the lady that rings up your groceries.  We all need an encouraging word and a caring hand.  Christians should be known for their love for one another and their willingness to reach out a hand to those in need.  It's not just the "job" of a a pastor or missionary, it's for all Christians, young and old.

20 years ago my best friend died suddenly which shook my youthful life.  Still to this day I think about her, our sweet short friendship, and I'm encouraged by the short life she lived.  Hundreds of people came to her funeral and the Gospel was proclaimed very clearing.  That is what it is all about about, Jesus.  Sarah was known for her love for Jesus and others, even at the tender age of 16.  The week before she died she shared the Gospel with a girl at school and she came to know Jesus.
Jesus said, "By this men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

If you died today, don't you want to be known for your love for Christ and others?   As Paul said, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  We have one life, one chance to make a difference in this life.  I'm sure life is not about me, myself and I and what all I  can collect and accomplish for me and my own.  
To live is CHRIST and to die is gain.  Life is about Jesus.  I want all those around me to know Him, to love Him, to feel the peace that passes all comprehension.

So, when you see your neighbor who is struggling, when you walk by the girl in the flower shop, when you are standing in front of the girl ringing up your groceries, share the good news of Jesus with them.   Show them where the peace for this crazy life comes from.

May we be bold witnesses for Jesus Christ!