I just wanted to also give you a quick
follow-up to “From Dreaming Aspiration to Laborious Doing”. Our
ministry has definitely been improving. We finally made it to the
level of effective communication with everyone in the States that we
needed to talk to, and it turns out that we were more on the same
page about our activities than we first believed, which has been a
huge blessing. We still don’t have plumbing that works and our
electricity works maybe seventy-five percent of the time, but those
aren’t really issues, like I said before (other than the fact that
in order to wash dishes or do laundry we must walk with buckets to go
get water-and the water for a bucket-bath really just isn’t worth
it). But again, that doesn’t really bother me at all. We haven’t
had anyone else get ill, and above all, God has granted me the peace
about being here that I desired. A few other updates:
We went to an African wedding
yesterday, and with the exception of a few comments that were made
during the wedding that bothered me, I had a wonderful time despite
all of the chaos that was the whole thing. We were told to be at the
church at 10 AM. The wedding ended up starting at four. T.I.A.
But, we got to ride in the cars that went to pick up both the bride
and the groom and see how the people in the town all but mob the
vehicles to greet and support the couple. It was really too crazy to
relate well in words, but I actually enjoyed myself.
I do want to tell you about the
ministry that I have really started to get involved in (and I know
that there will be others added in the future). The internet café
that we go to in order to post these blogs and check email, etc., is
owned by New Hope Ministries. Because we visit a couple of times a
week while we are in Busia, we have gotten to know some of the people
there really well. The main people are Padama, Mubarack, and
Geoffrey. They are all incredible nice and speak very good English,
which is always a bonus. Through getting to know them, we found out
that they have an orphanage that is literally two minutes walking
distance from our house. So, this past week we started visiting
during the mornings. Though most of the orphans are away with
extended family or New Hope people for the holidays, there are still
a few that are around. I have loved getting to hang out with
Mubarack and Geoffrey at the orphanage and with the kids themselves.
I have especially gotten to know four of them, named Brenda, Caro,
Marta, and Jordan. People kept telling me that I would come to
Africa and want to bring a ton of kids home with me. Prior to going
to New Hope, that hadn’t really happened. But, I would bring
Jordan home in a heartbeat. He’s the coolest 8 year-old.
Honestly, if I could reasonably get him and Geoffrey (who, like
myself is 19) to come home and be my brothers, I would be seriously
considering how to make that happen. When we go though, they sing
songs for us and teach us African dances. They will take us to see
their pigs and newborn piglets and their hundreds of chickens (all of
which help pay for the care of the orphans). They love sitting and
talking, and they especially enjoy riddles. It has been an absolute
blast to spend time with them. It’s fun too to know people and as
you’re walking or riding down the street to pass these people and
greet them by name. I don’t think I can tell you how excited I am
and how greatly God has answered my prayers and the prayers that I
know many of you have been offering on my behalf. Thank you so much
for offering them up on my behalf.
