refined through the fire

This week I had one of those days at school where I'm so thankful to be a Christian school teacher. One morning I started teaching Bible before my students went to morning recess and finished after. They had excellent questions and awesome discussions followed each one. I can tell the Lord is at work in the hearts and lives of the children in my classroom. Please continue to pray for the salvation of those that do not have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

"It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until He has hurt him deeply." A.W. Tozer made this statement and it still rings true to this very moment. You could assume that with all the hurt that has transpired in my almost 27 years that I would be immune to it. That is definitely not so! If anything when I hear of a tragedy my heart goes out to the loved ones of those involved even more. I've been thinking all day of my cousin and what her mom and my aunt (her grandmother) must be feeling. I think the part that I'm having the hardest time with is the fact that I have no clue if she accepted Jesus Christ as her personal Savior. My reason for living is to share Christ with others. My hope truly is found in Jesus Christ! We have no guarantees of tomorrow. I remember not long ago having a conversation with an unsaved friend and telling her that I'm not afraid to die. To this day I'm still not afraid to die. My security is in knowing that Christ died for my sins and I'm forgiven! I have no fear because I know my ultimate home is heaven.

Lately, I've been challenged to be a bolder witness for Christ. There is nothing more spectacular than hearing someone pray and receive Christ. Their prayer is so sincere and unpretentious. They speak straight from the heart. Please pray that God would send people in my path that I can be a witness to.

Last, but not least - pray for rain!!!

LSU goalie

I got news this evening of a death in my family. My cousin died of cancer. She graduated from college in 2004 and found out about her cancer a few months later in November. It saddens me that I never personally knew her. I don't even know if she was a Christian. I am challenged more than ever to share the gospel. We never know when our last chance will be.

1st Full Week

Yesterday I completed my first full week of school. I see a lot of potential with my new group of students. I was able to talk to one of the five students who raised their hands. She was saved but just needed reassuring verses that there was nothing she needed to do to 'keep' her salvation. I'm still praying and looking for opportunities to talk to the other 4 students.

If Just One More Soul...

The Lord is definitely at work here in Kenya! There's a lady in church asking about salvation. In my classroom five students raised their hands this morning to let me know that they are not sure of their salvation or they're not saved. I have quite the mission field here. I feel privileged that God would desire to use me for His glory. Please pray as I'm going to purposely find time to talk with each student individually without it being obvious to the rest of the class.

Please pray for Emmanuel Baptist Church. Just in the last two months we lost Ryan Williams, Frank Toews, and a church member's son-in-law. While the second two were not members of our church many in our church knew them. Frank used to attend Emmanuel and the son-in-law was a pastor here in Kenya. The pastor who died left behind a young wife and a brand new baby. His wife's name is Rhea and her father, Mr. Bovard, attends our church. Please pray for Mr. Bovard's son David as he was in casts on both his legs and just as he was about to get them off last week an accident happened and he has broken both of them again in different places. He's already undergone surgery and is in the process of healing. The Bovards are in need of prayer as well as the Williams and Toews. Please uplift these families as well as Emmanuel Baptist Church in your prayers. Thank you!

Memorial Service

Today we had Ryan Williams' memorial service. This is the first one I've been to since my dad died September of 1997. The one before that was my mom's funeral. I was doing okay until toward the end. Dawn had all the mechanics that Ryan worked with stand shoulder to shoulder. Then she said to them as well as other AIM people to be sure to tell stories to her boys about their daddy. This summer when I went home I tried asking questions about my parents and no one could answer them. When people ask me who I miss the most while I'm in Kenya my first thought is always my parents. The truth is that I missed them even when I was in the States as well. Sometimes I wish I still had one of them so that they could tell me about the other. I was sitting toward the back at the service and it broke my heart when I heard the kids start crying. I may not have known Ryan well but many in my church did. I've been praying for those I specifically know that were close to him. It's always sad to lose someone. Thankfully with Ryan it is a time of rejoicing as well because he is now with our Heavenly Father.

First Day

Today was quite the interesting day. Out of 21 students 6 were absent. I foresee repeating everything I said today tomorrow. Sometimes that's just how life is. :-P It seems like I've got a pretty good group of kids. Both the 3rd and 4th grade teachers who had this group liked them a lot.

I'm really enjoying the peacefulness of living alone. It wasn't noisy with a roommate, but I like that in the evenings it's only me. In the quietness of my apartment I can pray aloud, sing at the top of my lungs (no neighbors have complained yet lol), or simply listen to good music from my laptop. There's nothing better than quiet time to worship God Almighty!

and the saga begins.......

School begins tomorrow and I think I'm ready. I'm looking forward to meeting all my students and getting to know them. It's only a half day so I'm not too worried about having to be super prepared. Full instruction doesn't begin until Wednesday.

Praying

This morning we had a good but solemn service. I knew Ryan Williams but not well. It was obvious to all that he was a great husband, father, and man of God. Many in our church were very close to him. Seeing his good friends in church grieving made me sad. Even after losing so many people in my lifetime I still have no words for those who are in pain. Some of them I didn't even approach because I lacked the right words. Please continue to pray for Dawn and her 4 children and and the pilot Frank Toews' wife, Tiffany, and their four children.

Cereal

So here's a little background before my story. Last Sunday we had a youth and young adults activity at a nearby school after church. As an introduction we were each asked to say our name and favorite cereal. My favorite is Weetabix Fruit & Fibre.

The person next to me during this activity is an American girl who's been here since June. She doesn't like regular Weetabix and so gave me a yucky face when I said my favorite cereal. Then I explained that Fruit & Fibre is not like the regular Weetabix. So since she was coming to my house this weekend I decided to buy some of my fav to share with her. I checked three different stores and couldn't find it anywhere. Finally, today she and I went to this small store to get a few things we forgot to get at Nakumatt and you'll never guess what we found! Yep!!! We found Weetabix Fruit & Fibre cereal. Yum! Yum!

It was the ending to a great day. In the morning I got to meet six of my students for this coming year. We prayed together and played a little game. The rest of the day was filled with fun times.

Mourning

Ryan Williams went home to be with the Lord today. Please continue to lift his family up in your prayers.

Updates

I realize that in my last entry I mentioned Ryan Williams but did not mention how I know him. He and his family attend my church here in Nairobi. He's actually a deacon in the church. He was flown to South Africa for his skin grafting surgery. The last I heard was that he was unstable and had to be placed on Dialysis to support his kidney function, short term. Please pray for Ryan's recovery. He and his wife just adopted a beautiful Kenyan girl this summer. Ryan's wife, Dawn, and others are working diligently to get her travel papers so they can join Ryan in South Africa. So if you could lift that situation up in your prayers also that would be greatly appreciated.

With preparations for school consuming so much of my time I have not gotten my car checked out by a mechanic yet. On the upside I am getting quite the arm workout because power steering went out a while ago. I should post an update in the next week about its full condition. I'm a little nervous to find out how bad it is.

Due to the lack of rain in Kenya the country has started rationing electricity. Different parts of the country will be without electricity 2 days a week from 6am-7pm. Power plants are hydroelectric and so without the needed rain they are in trouble. Please pray for rain!!! Thankfully I thought ahead and got up earlier to turn the hot water heater on so I had a nice hot shower. The lack of sleep was worth feeling clean. :-) Of course I wasn't thinking about the fact that my stove is electric and all I had to eat were eggs. It was a good reason to go to Java for a whole wheat bagel and Malindi chai latte. Yum Yum!

Well, please continue to pray for my new group of students. I am praying for salvation decisions and spiritual growth.

Monday morning thoughts

It's early Monday morning and I've got a lot on my mind. I need to go into school today but I'm procrastinating a little.

The first thing on my mind is...well...school. I've gotten a lot done but there is still much work to be done. Thankfully I've got someone coming in to help me. I'm really trying to get ahead so I have more free time to do fun stuff this weekend.

Next is my apartment. I have plans of what I'd like to do with it but nothing can happen until it is cleared of some things in the living room...no worries.

Finally, I've been thinking about Ryan and Dawn Williams. Ryan was in a plane crash on Saturday and is in pretty bad shape. The pilot in the crash died and the 2 passengers survived with fairly minor injuries. Ryan came out with a broken hip, broken pelvis, broken patella, severe burns and lacerations. He's in critical condition but stable. He is married with four young children. Please lift this family up in your prayers.