Our neighborhood children like to visit our home often. They are trying to understand why their friend Neil will be gone for three weeks and where Kenya is in Africa. I highlighted Kenya on the map of the world, but it looked so very small they thought it might be a hop, skip, and jump away. Then I told them Neil is 1/3rd of the way around the world, but they still couldn't imagine where in Africa Kenya is. So I showed them the map above and told them Kenya is over 2 times as big as Texas. "But what is he doing there?" one of them asked.
Thursday, Neil tried to rest to overcome the jet lag from being eight time zones east of Minnesota. His friends helped him get his Kenya phone working by purchasing minutes and restoring access to his Kenyan number so he would have his contact information again. The phone number had been discontinued after he hadn't used it for three months. Then he began playing cribbage with Joe and others in Joe's missions compound. Joe seems to be the champ so far with Neil a close second.
Neil brought out a copy of our Navigating Life book. The chapter on the Holy Spirit interested them. They read that chapter, and then two of the people in the compound prayed to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Then they relaxed with a game of Bible Trivia.
Friday morning, Neil had his first adventure of the trip. Joe dropped Neil off at a mall where he could purchase a chip for his phone's camera. Neil thought the way to Joe and Karin's workplace was pretty straightforward because it is just across the street from the Yaya Center. However, the Yaya Center is quite large, and he got turned around and had to backtrack into the shopping center. Neil has been there before and soon found his way to join Joe & Karin, and their staff in time for coffee. Their office has a large selection of books for Neil to read while they went back to work. Neil has been giving people words of encouragement. Neil asked me to tell Vanessa that he remembered asking those who asked for prayer for healing how they were feeling after he had prayed.
They had a delicious lunch at a nearby Ethiopian restaurant, but unlike the one Neil's sister Beth enjoyed while with Neil a few years ago, this place did not have a cat on a chair to entertain the guests. Neil had a nice nap and then surprised me with a phone call. It was wonderful for us to hear each other so clearly. I even let our cat Dorit listen to Neil's voice. She sniffed the phone, and when it didn't have Neil's scent, she lost interest. I could hear Joe and got a chance to visit with Karin. Neil said that Francis will pick Neil up at 9:00 a.m. Sunday morning when he will bid farewell to Joe, Karin, Esther, and Sophia.
Neil's cousin, Susan Kaiser, asked us to remember her sister Jeanette and her husband David, who will be visiting a school their church supports in neighboring Uganda. David also teaches in a seminary while he is there. A woman who usually travels with them has pancreatic cancer and is in serious need of healing. They will miss her because she has been a great help to them in previous years. Pancreatic cancer is usually fast-acting and deadly, but God is mighty and can heal even the most devastating diseases. Please pray with us for their friend.
Love,
Ruth