20 Years ago....

20 Years ago today we said those two special words "I do."

Love is patient; love is kind.
Love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way: it is not irritable or resentful;
it does not rejoice in wrong doing, but rejoices in truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
And now faith, hope, and love abide,
and the greatest of these is love.

(I Corinthians 13)

September 10th, 1988 I would have never dreamed all that would have transpired in our lives these last 20 years. We were so young(22) and had our whole lives still before us. We didn't have very good jobs. I was selling grave plots and then later those big toilet paper, paper towel, and dish soap dispensers. Kevin didn't even have a job at first but then later sold cancer insurance. But you know, we had each other, and that at the time was enough. In those early years of our marriage God taught us so much about love, faith, and trusting in God for everything. Even though there were struggles, I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have now known Kevin over half of my life since we dated 4 years before we were married. I love him more today than I did 20 years ago and am excited about the many years ahead that God may bless us with.

Don't you just love that 80's hair! Yes, ladies, that is all natural hair color. My hair started getting darker after Zach was born.

Off to our honeymoon...with about 100 crickets that our lovely friends in the background placed in our car.

Here we are 20 years later: with a few wrinkles, a few kids, wiser, and still in love!

Happy Anniversary!

Chains do not hold a marriage together. It is threads, hundreds of tiny threads, which sew people together through the years.
-- Simone Signoret

For it was not into my ear you whispered, but into my heart. It was not my lips you kissed, but my soul.
-- Judy Garland

I don't pretend to know what love is for everyone, but I can tell you what it is for me; love is knowing all about someone, and still wanting to be with them more than any other person, love is trusting them enough to tell them everything about yourself, including the things you might be ashamed of, love is feeling comfortable and safe with someone, but still getting weak knees when they walk into a room and smile at you.
-- Author Unknown

I wouldn't change a thing
as happiness you bring.
You are my soul mate.
A marriage made by fate.
-- Catherine Pulsifer

Baby Rabbits

One of our female rabbits had 10 babies a few weeks back. Today Hannah and Justin got to hold a few of them. Most of them are white but there are a couple that are gray and white and one brown one. They are so cute!

The Search for Happiness

"It's a hot, sultry day with the sweltering wind spinning little dust whirls and carrying them swiftly down the winding road by the Sea of Galilee. There is an air of expectancy in the atmosphere we breathe. The wind skips happily across the surface of the ancient sea. We hear voices raised in an excited , feverish pitch as friend calls a greeting to friend. Along every trail leading to Galilee little groups of people begin to gather. The word has spread abroad that Jesus is returning to Galilee.
Suddenly He and His little brand of followers emerge over the brow of a hill on the road to Capernaum, and immediately in their wake follows a vast multitude of people from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and from beyond the Jordan River.
Quickly the word spreads from mouth to mouth. "Jesus is coming!" Other multitudes from Tiberias, Bethsaida, and Capernaum soon appear and join the others. Together they follow thirteen robed men. As they reach the summit of the hill where the gentle winds from the plains sweep over them, affording relief from the sun, Jesus stops and motions for them to sit down and rest.
The air is tense. It is a moment to be captured and held for eternity. The crowd hushes as Jesus climbs atop a large rock and is seated. In the valley on the deserted road, a lone camel rider wends his way along the trail toward Tiberias. A quiet falls upon the multitude as their faces gaze expectantly at Jesus. Then He begins to speak.
What He said there on that Mount of Beatitudes in faraway Palestine was to go down in history as the most profound, sublime words ever spoken! There in reverent, measured, simple words He revealed the secret of happiness-not a superficial happiness of time and space, but a happiness that would last forever.
His first word was happy. Immediately His listeners must have
pricked up their ears."

This was taken from Billy Graham's book The Secret of Happiness. Just this little portion was in my devotional for this morning and I thought I would share it with you too.
I learned through this devotional that there are two kinds of happiness. One kind of happiness comes to us when our circumstances are pleasant and we are free from troubles. However, you know as well as I do that our circumstances are constantly changing. Therefore, our happiness can evaporate just like that.
The other kind of happiness is the kind that is a lasting, inner joy and peace that will survive in any circumstances. It is a happiness that endures no matter what comes our way and can even grow stronger in adversity. This is the kind of happiness that Jesus talks about in the Beatitudes. It is the kind of happiness that can only come from God. He alone is our answer to the search for lasting happiness.
If you get a chance read Matthew 5:1-11 for yourself. The bible says in John 10:10 that Jesus declared, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." Then in John 15:11 it says, "These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." I pray that each of you are experiencing true happiness.

WWJD

Each week before we begin our new lesson at the women's meeting we review the one from the week before and I always ask the women if they told anyone that story. This week about 6 of the women had gone out and told their neighbor, their husband, or their children. If you will remember last week I had told them the story of the Prodigal son. Amai Banda had told her husband about the story and then told me that she had the opportunity this past week to live the story. She has 23 grandchildren and most of them are living right there with her. This past year 3 of her grandchildren have gone off on their own and didn't tell anyone they were going. They haven't heard from them in all this time. One child has been gone for a year, one for six months, and the last one for two months. On Sat. two of them came home and one called. She told her husband that they could not fuss at them but that they had to accept them back in love and forgive them because that is what she learned in her lesson last week. Praise God!!! It is one thing to hear the word of God but to live it is even better.
At Chainda II one of the women asked a question during the lesson about her neighbor. She said that her neighbor will come and ask her to help with something but then later would insult her over something. She asked, "Am I to keep loving her?" I asked her, "what did Jesus do when people were insulting him, whipping him, and spitting on him? " She just hung her head, the task overwhelmed her. We talked for a while about this and she went away encouraged and ready to continue loving this neighbor.

A Fun Break!!!

These last few weeks have gone by so fast. We have all enjoyed Zach being at home on his break. We have gone to some fun places, hung out here at the house, and enjoyed each others company. Of course, we are sad to see him leave tomorrow. Please pray for him as he travels back to Kenya tomorrow and for us all as we adjust to being apart again. Kevin and I will be going to a meeting in Nairobi in a couple of weeks so we will get to spend the weekend with him then. Thank you so much for your prayers!


One day we went to the Crocodile Farm which we have been to many times but this was the first time we got to touch a crocodile.

Sometimes they just lay all over each other but they don't seem to mind.

One day we went out to Ibis Gardens to take care of some stuff for 40/40 and then had some family fun! There is a lot of pavement there so Hannah took her bike and the boys took their scooters.

Riding on the pavement just wasn't exciting enough for the boys so they rode their scooters into the water. (Of course with permission from the owners)

Yum! Ice Cream!

During his break, Zach made a swing in our yard. The kids have really enjoyed it.

How can a little girl be tomboyish and....

prissy, all at the same time?

Take up your Cross

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." Luke 9: 23

Amai Banda is the woman I wrote about last month that has diabetes and has had one of her legs cut off at the knee. She walks with crutches if she needs to move around but mostly she sits. Last week I went to visit with her and she seems to be doing better, eating right, and taking her medicine once again. She asked if I could take her to the meeting that day so I did. On the way home that day she asked if I had time each week could I come and get her so she could go the women's meeting. She said she was very encouraged after being there that afternoon. You see, she is not able to go to church on Sundays because it is so far away and also because it is up two flights of steps. I agreed that if I had time I would pick her up. Well, on Thursday I was running late because of another stop(see story on Amai Nkoma below). So, I was thinking I just did not have time and maybe next week I would leave earlier. As I approached the road to go to Amai Banda's she was at the end of the road in a wheel chair and dressed in her purple attire. That is what the Baptist women wear to their meeting. Anyway, I pulled over to collect her. She was so excited that I had stopped. She had asked someone to push her 1 1/2 kms in a wheel chair partly on a dirt road so she would be out at the main road when I passed by.
Then at Chainda II there were several visitors from the local village. I was a little late arriving there so I had not seen everyone come in. At the end of the service as we are about to all file out and shake hands I turned around and saw one of the visitors crawling out of the church all the way to her hut which was about 50 feet away. There didn't appear to be anything wrong with her legs but obviously there was. I'm assuming she crawled in too.
Can you imagine?? Both of these women wanted to go to church pretty badly to be pushed in a wheel chair and to crawl to get to church. I can hardly even write this without tears coming to my eyes. Don't you know how that pleases our Father! One day, Amai Banda will enter into Heaven walking to meet Jesus. I'm not sure about this other woman whether she is a believer or not. As far as I know she hasn't ever been to the church even though her hut is so close. Pray that this woman would know Jesus if she doesn't all ready. Pray she will find the one she may be searching for. Pray that one day she will also walk to enter into heaven like Amai Banda.
As I thought about these two women on into the night and for the last several days I asked myself to what extreme I would go to if I was in a similar situation. Would I humble myself and crawl to church if need be? What about you? How much do we really love Jesus??

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" Galatians 2:20-21

Prayer Walking Continued

At Chainda II we continued our lesson on Prayer Walking. This time we used our left hand to demonstrate 5 different places you could go to do prayer walking. I was just going to use my fingers this time because I didn't know of any hand signals. Then I had the idea of letting them make up some hand signals that went along with each one. They did a great job and it was fun.
I'm going to list the 5 places to go and then a prayer request for each.

1-Places of Government/chief/headman.
Pray that places of government would rule their people with justice and righteousness. Ask God to bring salvation to those in authority.

2-Places of Education.
Pray that God would transform the hearts of the teachers to turn to God. Pray for the children in the schools to get a good education and that they would learn truth and grow in wisdom.

3-Places of Business.
Ask God to create new hearts in buyers and sellers. Ask God to help them understand that He is their provider, sustainer, Redeemer, and Lord.

4-Places of Religion.
Pray that people would have their eyes opened to see that no one can come to salvation except through Jesus Christ. Pray that idolatry would be destroyed.

5-Places of Community.
Ask God to transform each community or village. Pray that people would honor God in their speech and behavior as they meet together at the well, the market, at the bus stop, or where ever they may be.

When we finished the lesson all 13 of us chose one of these places and then we had an extended time of prayer for them. It was a special time.

Same day another experience..

"As Jesus was on his way, the crowds almost crushed him. And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years, but no one could heal her. She came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped."

Amai Nkoma is one of the women that I pick up from Mphamvu Baptist Church on Thursdays. Yesterday, when I pulled over on the side of the road to wait no one was there. Her husband came running down the road to let me know that she was not going to be able to come because her bleeding had started again. She has had constant bleeding for about one year. Recently, it had stopped but then just water came out. Now the bleeding has started again. For the second time I explained to them that she really needs to go to a gynecologist. They had a bit of money saved up but then just spent it all going to a prayer meeting. They said they are praying and trusting God to take care of her. He is working on a project now to make some extra money and then she can go to the doctor.

Please pray for Amai Nkoma to be healed of this sickness. She is only about 40 years old and still has young children at home. Her husband is one of the church leaders at Mphamvu. Pray her husband would finish his project soon so they would have enough money for her to go to a good doctor.