On the Road Again…

As
I sit here in a hostel in Nairobi,
Kenya, I can’t
help reflecting on the whirlwind that the last week has been.  

Our
Children’s Fun Day was a hit, though a bit chaotic in my opinion.  The puppet show was a hit, though it seems
that a lot is lost when a translator is needed.  Face-painting, crafts, all crazy but the kids
really had a wonderful time and that is truly what matters.  Lunch was the craziest part of all! Well over 500 children to feed and not nearly
enough dishes, so for about 3 hours straight we washed dishes, sent them back
out, and kept the cycle going.  Never
again will I complain about doing dishes in America!! While it was a long, hot, exhausting day, it
was a day that the children will fondly remember

Now
for the big news. Our host, Paul, has
resigned from SEEK due to many reasons. Lately
we had also been having some struggles with the management there and since Paul
was our host, not SEEK, that left us in a tough spot.  We spent time praying over it, as did our
leaders in America,
and felt that staying once our host was gone was not a good plan for our team.  AIM doesn’t have a contact at SEEK, so it
would lead to many communication and possibly other problems.  So we are moving back to Uganda (not
Busia, don’t worry) to work with True Vine Ministries in Tororo, an
organization that we worked with for a week in January and LOVED!! That was during the period when I was on bed
rest with my hurt back, so I was sad not to have been able to take part in the
entire ministry. I longed to return, and
now we get to!  We initially wanted to go
there left Busia, but that wasn’t God’s plan at the time.  While I am sad to be leaving Kenya early, I
am grateful for the time we had there. Working
with Joy and Prisca, doing the girl talks, all of it was a blessing for me, yet
it feels like the time is right to go work with True Vine.  The majority of our ministry in Kenya
was working with schools, and they are on vacation now until we leave which
lead to an open gap in our ministry.  After
lots of prayer and some very difficult goodbyes, we packed up and left for
vacation. We are not returning to Mbita
when we leave vacation, just driving straight through to Uganda.  See, whirlwind!! Thus is the life of a
missionary.

Once
at True Vine, we will jump into ministry.  We will be working with an organization called
Smile Africa a few times a week.  This is
an aid organization that feeds over 400 starving children a day.  We worked there in January and fell in love
with the children and Pastor Ruth, the wonderful woman in charge.  We help distribute food but mostly we play
with the children who are absolutely gorgeous.  I am so looking forward to returning to Smile
Africa! To find out more about the
organization, go to http://www.smileafricaministries.com/.  We will also be helping at the on-site clinic,
doing whatever may be needed.  Most
likely we will assist the doctors with patient paperwork, help in the pharmacy,
etc.  One thing I am most excited about
is our “Family bible studies” each evening with Robert, one of the staff.   We did these every evening while we were
there and I absolutely adored them!  Someone
different led them every night, and we would share what God was teaching us,
encourage one another, etc.  So our last
3 weeks will be back in Uganda,
crazy but true!  Pray for our transition
and travels.

Vacation
is wonderful!! Safari was amazing, great
food in Nairobi, and looking forward to Mombasa beach tomorrow.  Only thing I don’t like… African roads and
transportation. Next time you are
annoyed at construction on the roads, just be grateful that we don’t drive on
swiss cheese roads in America.
 Not fun.

I will
write blogs about vacation when we get to Uganda (never thought I would say
that again)

Love you
all!