Reflections

I had just returned from Kenya when I last wrote and I am amazed at what can happen in a year and a half.
I sat here tonight reading my other entries and loving the reflection on my thoughts.  It makes me miss this space.  A time to reflect on what God is doing, and the places he allows me to engage with him in His work.
When I last wrote about my kids was 4 years ago.  My how time flies. At the time Emily was a freshman. Now she is a freshman again... in college and Rebekah is a freshman in high school.  Luke is 12, not 8 and definitely a tween.  And now, we have Christina.  Our newest child to write about.
God brought her to us after using Kenya to change our hearts and she has been with us now for 7 months.
Last night I was reflecting on the last 7 months.  Pete and I were at his company Christmas party and I was amazed that we were actually having an evening out and someone else was putting Christina to bed.  When this all started, I could not even imagine how long it might be before that happened.  I actually couldn't conjure up the picture in my mind at all.  God has been so faithful to his promise to redeem his children.  He is doing it every day in Christina's life and in my own.  Each day he shapes and molds us all in this house.  We are learning about our weaknesses.  The very places where God wants to show up and prove himself mighty.
There are continuing challenges of course.  Life is full of them.  Challenges not only with Christina but each of us in this imperfect family.  We are learning day by day to lean on him and trust him with every part of us.
It is good to be back to reflection.  I plan to come here more often and get back to the therapy of expression and reflection.

We are finally home and I think we are mostly over jet lag. Sorry my posts were short and sporadic. There was not a lot of time to sit with a computer and write my thoughts. There is so much processing going on in my head. We were not in Kenya as tourists, so we were able to see much of the real life of the people who we met. It makes you think alot. We may tell ourselves or our children to appreciate what we have, but until you are really confronted face to face with what people don't have, you really don't get it. Last night my kids went to bed in bedrooms bigger than most peoples houses in the slums. They slept in a bed by themselves, not with all their siblings. They also ate yesterday, and had cookies for dessert, so when they went to bed, they did not think about how their stomach hurt. This morning they ate again and their brains will not be foggy as they go to school.
The amazing thing about that is that in Kenya, they also did not complain if they got food, even if they didn't like it. They were really too hungry to care. They did not pick and choose what would go in their lunch. They will eat whatever they are fed at school, if they are privileged enough to go to school.
At school during recess, they will not go to the ball box and choose a ball to play with, or go to the swing set, or the monkey bars. They have none of those things. They will laugh and play and be happy though. They will sing and play tag and make up other games. They are content. It is not that they don't dream of doing other things, becoming Dr.'s and teachers and graphic designers. They work very hard in school and they are incredibly resourceful. Please pray for those children today. Pray they will see their true value in the Lord. Pray they will grow in their faith. Pray for the Mathare Worship Center in the slum that provides a school for some. Pray for the parents who are trying to find ways to make money, that they would choose good things to do to support their families. The list could go on, but just pray, and while you are at it, thank God for what you have. It is a gift from Him who made you.

Today we are going to market. It should be an interesting experience. Those who have been here before and our Kenyan friends will help us. May your day be blessed. We are thriving in the Lord. Thank you for your prayers!

Lots of shopping today but kind of stressful. Bartering is not my favorite thing. Very tiring! Went to a very cool shopping place were women who are refugees from many places in Africa make handmade products and export them. It is wonderful. It is an amazing place of peace. It is nota bartering place like the market we were at. Much more relaxing. God's peace and reconciliation is truly there.

Thank you for praying. Today was a 180 from yesterday. We had so much fun doing a loose vbs with the kids at the Mathare slum school. Luke chose to go with the other part of our group to santuary of hope home and do manual labor to prepare for the building of a wall. He loved it and Mama Karau cooked lots of food and Luke came back this afternoon the old Luke we love. Mama knows the way to a boys heart. While the rest of us were at vbs we were having so much fun with glue and glitter and sequins. Glitter everywhere.!! I have so much to share with all my friends who are teachers. Time for dinner. Bye for now.

Just need to ask for your prayers this morning. Yesterday was very emotionally taxing. One thing was that Luke really shut down in the afternoon after a maximum amount of stimulation, not only at the orphanage but also at the school in the slum. Kids just surround him and want to touch him and barrage him with questions. He was having completely overwhelmed and tired. Last night he was in bed by 8 so that was good. The other thing was that yesterday had lots of emotionally hard aspects for all of us. Today is more of the same and it makes it a little hard to go into it. Prayer that God is our strength in weakness.

The orphanage and the slums

I am sitting thinking how I can describe this day. We went to the Mother Theresa orphanage and the Mathare Valley slum today. I could encourage you to google Mathare Valley slum, but you would only have a picture of the povert you already see on tv. Today was so much more than that. The most beautiful people live in the slums. We were able to interact with many and visited the home of a woman who to me was such a mixture of suffering and self sacrifice. We were able to here about her life and pray with her.

The children were amazing, surrounding us and touching us and so full of joy and laughter. Luke was royalty for sure. They really wanted to interact with him and he was very open to it. Emily, Rebekah and Luke are doing really well and taking it all in. We are so thankful for your prayers. No one on our team is sick and that's amazing.

The orphanage was absolutely Spirit filled. We got to meet incredible babies and children and the nuns who care for them. I still can't get over the sister who led us around. She just glowed with the very spirit of Christ. I can't even describe it.

I hope when we get home to be able to share with you first hand about more of the details.

Please pray for the ministry at Mother Theresa and Mathare valley. The people who sacrifice there are incredible and need our prayers. Thank you in advance.

Hello all,
we are in an internet cafe in Kasarani as a part of our scavenger hunt we are doing to go around town and buy things on our list and meet locals. So far we bought soda and toilet paper and I tried some meat that a man was grilling. People are very friendly. It is hot and we are all sweating but having fun. Trying to stay awake in the midst of jet lag. The food where we are staying is really good. Breakfast was bread and hard boiled eggs and fresh avacados and bananas. We must get on to our next store.
Bwana Asifiwe
Diane