tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62606006110203937052024-02-20T21:00:59.200-08:00God's Compassion, through the eyes of two servantsTwo ordinary, fallen people who are saved only by the grace of God through Jesus Christ, carry this message of hope into the African depths. Follow us as we follow God's leading to a place where He makes His name known among a people He created and loves. Why He is using us to carry this priceless message, I don't know, but I do know that He gets all the glory, honor and praise.The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-9762401441854357322016-06-04T06:14:00.000-07:002016-06-04T06:14:08.886-07:00<div class="MsoNormal">
“Where are you g…..” and then I heard it, my phone ringing
in the other room, and I knew what that meant. I got out of bed and got dressed
and headed out towards the car. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
A 3 AM phone call means only one thing here-a hospital run.
As I have mentioned before, our vehicle is the local ambulance. Here is how it normally
works: People call our friend, Simon, when they need help and he then determines
if it is a real need and then calls us. Normally hospital runs are a quick
drive to the village to pick up the person, and then a quick drop off at the
hospital. We are normally back within 30 minuets. <o:p></o:p></div>
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So, out we went, with unbrushed teeth, clothes thrown on,
and no deodorant. The call was for our friend, Joyce, and she didn’t live that
far away. She was over five months pregnant and was having problems. This did
not concern us, since she was having difficulties a week earlier and had stayed
in the hospital a few days before being released. We stopped in front of her
house to pick her up, but before we could get out of the car, a girl came to us
and broke the news that the baby has just come out. Distraught, we stumbled our
way through the dark and found her just outside her house sitting on the
ground. She was quiet and spoke softly as she asked me if we cut the cord or
not. I did not know for this situation, so I called the girls on our team who
are nurses. They happened to be out of town, but they walked me through several
things and told me problems to watch out for. Joyce still needed to go to the
hospital, so we carefully walked her to the car and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>drove in silence to the hospital. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
I kept pleading with God to help me and Jonathan know what
to do. We were tired, still kind of out of it, and we had no idea what to do
culturally. We needed Him, all of Him, to step in and just somehow use us in
this despairing situation. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Once at the hospital, I followed Joyce back while Jonathan,
and our friend Simon stayed and waited. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Since this is the part that is more heart-wrenching, graphic
and private, I will not go into the details, but it was there, in the light
that I saw him. The baby was a little boy. Until now, I did not realize how far
along she had been. When my niece was in the NICU I remember seeing babies
smaller than this survive. But there he was, born too early, in a place that
could not help him. Heartbroken all I could do was hold Joyce’s shoulder and
silently cry beside of her and her lifeless baby. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Just down the hall, was the sound of a woman in labor. Cries
of newborns were also heard as they were being hushed by their moms. And here,
it was silence that spoke what was happening in our room. No cries of a
newborn, no pains of laboring a full term pregnancy. Just silence. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
She needed a few things, so we had to leave and go pick them
up at her house. While we were on our way back, a woman was almost beat to
death right in front of the hospital over a land dispute. She arrived at the
hospital about the same time we did. My focus was on Joyce as she was wheeled
past us. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Joyce had been moved. The hospitals here are big open rooms
with many beds side by side. So, there was Joyce cold, laying in her bed beside
new mothers and their newborns. I hurt for her. We dropped off her things, and
the nurse told us to come and pick her up at 3:00. It was now 6:45 and the
sunrise was in full color and painted the sky a beautiful red as we drove back
home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
We got home, fed the pigs (yes, we got pigs but more on that
later), chickens, dogs and guinea pigs. Then we worked in the garden, and
cleaned the house. Before we knew it, it was lunch time. I received a phone
call and answered it before looking at who it was. It was Joyce’s husband. He
was 15 hours away and had not heard what happened. He gathered something bad
had happened and I encouraged him to call his friend and ask, and so he did. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
At 3, we went to pick up Joyce. Again, I left thinking it
would be a quick trip. We arrived to find out she had not been given any
medicine, and so we gathered her things. Before we left, she went somewhere and
came back with a small, cardboard box. I then realized that we were going back
to her village to burry her son. We stayed in the village for a while, grieving
along side of her. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
When we left the village, it was 5:00, and time to meet with
the believers. While everyone was still gathering, I decided to take a walk to
clear my head before it started. During my walk, I was joined by a very sweet,
young girl named Abus (meaning beautiful). She was walking to the well to fetch
water and asked if we could walk together, so we did. She smiled and giggled
the whole time, stopping now and then to pick a small thorn out of her foot or
to greet another that we passed. It was a nice little walk, and I am so
thankful for that little girl who just wanted to be with me and talk with me. I
made my way back to the meeting, and was blessed to be surrounded by believers.
They learned the story of the paralytic man and as the meeting ended, the sun
was setting. I decided to walk home. As I walked and took in the sunset, I praised
God for the closeness that I felt Him. I cant see the full picture, nor can I
see how he used us, but through it all, I felt Him close, and I felt His peace.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We got home, ate and while we were eating dinner, the phone
rang again. It was Simon, and this time it was a woman who was far into labor.
We jumped up and met her along the road. This time, we were on the other side
of the emotion. We were excited and when we dropped her off, I told her I would
meet with her and her new baby in the morning. We will see what tomorrow
brings.<o:p></o:p></div>
The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-55083123360416365022016-02-11T08:57:00.000-08:002016-02-11T08:57:02.615-08:00Dorcus, the Mother of my Mother<div style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; text-align: center;">
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I had just finished toasting some bread over the fire. The sun was barely peaking up over the horizon, and gave us just enough light to read. I sat down with my hot cup of tea ready to begin the day when Jeremy, our team leader, came over and asked to speak to Jonathan and I. We casually got up and joined him away from the fire and the others. He was joined with Robert, another trainer. “I just received an email from your dad,” Jeremy began. “He wanted me to let you know that your grandmother had passed away.” The wave of grief washed over me fiercely and I broke down dropping my toast on the dirt. Jonathan took my tea out of my hand and held me as I sobbed. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqHWT6dEUSMKM-q193oAwCzqQUaM1I7TJ2BVTAlCl0XH89nI8guwrcRxcBUITmKPH33j-2wp_EKZKTaZcD8lliyHOC5Qi1DL0OijqBXPzAcN27-5CIXeQ8-qZ0E-gyDeqgRhO3kgkM0U/s1600/P1010117+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: -webkit-standard; font-size: 13px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHqHWT6dEUSMKM-q193oAwCzqQUaM1I7TJ2BVTAlCl0XH89nI8guwrcRxcBUITmKPH33j-2wp_EKZKTaZcD8lliyHOC5Qi1DL0OijqBXPzAcN27-5CIXeQ8-qZ0E-gyDeqgRhO3kgkM0U/s320/P1010117+%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Senior Prom 2004</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>So, who is this woman who caused so much deep grief in me that morning? To let you in on my intimate relationship with my grandmother, Dorcus, I will have to take you back 13 years. You see, Dorcus had 8 children (4 girls and 4 boys), and the youngest girl was a wonderful woman named Donna, my mother. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">My mom is 2nd from the left<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">
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<span style="font-family: Cambria;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">When I was 16 years old, the Lord called my mother home. It was after her death that I clung to my grandma. She was the last part of my mother that I had. After mom’s death, grandma opened her home up to us and we lived with her for several months. We grieved together, and she quickly became the nurturer that I was longing for. She not only became that to me, but to my sisters as well. She taught me how to cook, and told me stories of mom I had never heard. Most importantly, she taught me how to pray. She was a prayer warrior and her whole day was wrapped around worshipping her Lord. She called me her morning buddy, and we would sit at the table in the mornings and talk for hours and hours. We would laugh and cut up and also miss mom and cry together.</span></span><span style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 12px;"> </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many memories were made in that kitchen</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></span>Anyone who knew her knew that she just loved people, and she had a sassy side. A lot of people say that is where I get it from. She loved to pick and cut up with people and make them laugh. We would go to Wal-Mart together and spend hours shopping, talking and cutting up. She made me laugh so much. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>As we were leaving to come back to the field, I visited her one last time. We both knew it would be the last time, so we both stalled when it came time to say good-bye. She gave me a few pairs of her earrings and sat me on her bed. She took my hands and told me she loved me. Then we hugged and cried for a while. I told her I loved her and how thankful I was for her. As I let go to leave, she held my shoulders, and looked my in the eyes. Her beautiful blue eyes were filled with tears as she said, ‘Ill see you in the morning.’ “Ok grandma, “ I said, “Ill see you in the morning,” and I walked out the door.</div>
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The trainers were very gracious to both Jonathan and I and let us skype into the funeral. It was a cold evening as we sat in front of the computer thousands of miles away from our grieving family members. However, the blessing of skype allowed us to grieve with them as we celebrated her life. Her church had a video from a women’s gathering of Grandma’s testimony. The projector came down, and she comforted us with her story. As we listened to her and watched her, we laughed and cried knowing that she was celebrating with her husband, daughter, siblings and parents who had gone before her. She is the only person I know who preached at their own funeral, and it is proof that she always got the last word. We are so thankful that we were able to ‘be there’ for the celebration of that very special lady, my wonderful grandmother, and other mother, Dorcus. </div>
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To best sum up what she means to me, here is a letter I wrote to her in November, but I never had the chance to mail it to her:</div>
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Grandma,</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>I am not sure when you will get this letter, but Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. Well, since it is a week before Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving. You have been on my mind a lot, so I decided to write you a letter. We were discussing people of prayer and you immediately popped into my mind. I thought about how you have always been a prayer warrior in my mind and I wanted to let you know. I’m sure you (knowing your humble spirit) would disagree. But grandma, you should know how much people look up to you. I’m going to miss cooking with you at Thanksgiving, but I am so thankful for those memories. I love and miss you, but also know that we are right where God wants us to be. He is so faithful and good to us. There is such a deep fulfillment in our hearts. Thank you for being such a good example to so many people. Thank you (and grandpa of course) for raising your kids in a Godly home. Mom and dad passed that on and Jonathan and I are on the mission field because of your faithfulness. I think about our times together often; about cooking, goofing off, going to Wal-Mart, K&W, and Chic-fil-a. Those are important memories to me and I am so so so thankful for them. I love you and Ill see you when I see you. </div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Your (favorite ;-) ) granddaughter,</div>
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<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Holly Lesley</div>
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-60324051631341667132015-11-14T07:14:00.000-08:002015-11-14T07:14:00.150-08:00Language Interruptions <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">It was only two days after my overnight stay at
the cattle camp, and we were back into every day life. The team had left and we
had started back our language classes. It was a routine day, when all of a
sudden our teacher got a phone call. </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">I
was only able to hear a few words of ½ a conversation but I knew something was
wrong.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">I heard the words tall grass,
buffalo, tree, car, and man.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">I thought
to myself, wow, my language is slipping this doesn’t make any sense.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">Finally our teacher connected the dots. One
of the men we had just met was taking his cows out to find grass when out of
nowhere a Cape Buffalo appeared. It charged directly at him and the 2000 lb. animal
flung him sideways into a tree.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">The
animal’s momentum carried him past the man but he quickly turned around to
attack one more time.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">The man was able
to crawl into some tall grass and hide until the buffalo finally left.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">One of our teammates was needed to go pick
the man up in our vehicle and take him to the closest hospital.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;">It was nothing short of a miracle that the
man not only survived, but also suffered no major wounds. He was discharged
from the hospital a few days later.</span><span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12pt;"> As
we begin to ask questions we found at that, while we slept right beside this
man two nights earlier, we had actually met him about a week ago. He was one of
several men who had decided recently to be a follower of Jesus and be baptized.
Pray that he will use his miraculous story of survival as a testimony to the
power of His savior.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria";"> Visiting our teacher Ngole's home</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria";">The man featured in this story is one of these four men whom we had the privilege of watching be baptized.</span></div>
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-17429432216953327252015-11-08T07:00:00.002-08:002015-11-08T07:17:22.749-08:00Camping at the Nawi<div class="MsoNormal">
Camping at the Nawi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The Nawi, when translated, simply means cattle camp or
corral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had heard that a few men from
a recent volunteer team were going to go share stories and “camp” at the cattle
camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had visited these camps several
times, but I have never had the opportunity to stay the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was thrilled when they asked me to come with
them, but as soon as I accepted the invitation I began thinking to myself “what
have I done?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The cattle camp is where all the “warrior” age men take the
cows during dry season to find grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sometimes it is days away, while other times it may simply be over a
mountain range or somewhere a little closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thankfully this time it wasn’t too far away, but it was far enough away
that we knew we were nowhere near the comforts of home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Each person brought with them a bottle of
water, a cloth wrap to use as a blanket, and a small stool, called an
ekicholong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no tents, there
was no food, we wanted to be as close to the Karamjong men who were staying
there as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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We actually had a four-course meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next paragraph is not for the faint of
heart, nor for my mother who will kill me when she finds out what we ingested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anyway, The first coarse was a very large,
hollow gourd full of fresh cows milk passed around until we finished it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second course was a different, bigger
gourd of homemade “yogurt” at least that is what we told ourselves mentally, It
was quite chunky and it was about as horrible as it sounds. It took a lot to
get it down, but we each did our part as the gourd was passed around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We took as much as we could and smiled as a
group of nationals watched in anticipation for us to try this delicacy. The
third course was cow’s blood cooked over a fire. It had the consistency and
taste of liver and was actually my favorite of the four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A little salt however, would have gone a long
way. The last course was all three courses mixed together in a container and
passed around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I then chewed about 4
pieces of gum and passed the rest around for everyone to try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My American friends greatly appreciated the
fresh taste of mint.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The moon was full, the night was cold, the fire
was warm, and our bellies had about a ½ gallon of warm milk inside them. If I weren’t laying on a rock and a root I
would have fallen asleep by 9:00.
However we stayed up another hour or so listening to the team tell 4
different Bible stories. They did a great job and presented a very clear
Gospel. I feel like after all we had to
eat and drink a church should have sprung up right then and there, however
contact has been made and Christ has been preached and shown. We slept about fifty feet away from a few
hundred cows. I kept thinking I hope my
friends, the Turkana people, don’t decide to go cattle raiding tonight as they
often do. In the back of my mind I knew
where several nearby rocks were in case I needed to find cover in the middle of
a gun battle. That was the last thought I remember before the cows</span>woke me up about 4 hours later. The men had a very long journey the next day
to find enough pasture to feed their cows.
As they left at 4 am so did we.
It was a great cultural experience and helped to show a glimpse of what
this ministry may look like in the future.<br />
<br />
<br />
* Please check back in one week to hear an update on this story. Also, continue to check back as we have several stories scheduled to be released over the next few months.<br />
<br />
<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-47601564924934432972015-11-08T06:33:00.002-08:002015-11-08T06:33:58.164-08:00We are back!!! At least for now<div class="MsoNormal">
Well, it has been awhile since we updated you all on our
blog and for that I apologize.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our blog
is a place to share everyday stories to give you a glimpse into our everyday
life. Here you will see more adventure and the liter side of life in the bush
as we tell some of the stories that don’t make it into our newsletter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> It has been a long and difficult road these past few years as we hurried up to wait. One day we would be thrilled with excitement thinking our departure would be within weeks or months, other times we would be depressed, thinking "there is no way, ever, we are going to be able to go back. Then all of a sudden as our story has so often unfolded God opened a door and swung it wide open. We were given clearance, sold our house, quit our jobs and boarded a plan in a matter of a month. God is so good and his timing is everything. Thank you all for your faithfulness to encourage us both in the States and as we have returned to Africa.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-55197747679018735032014-12-20T10:48:00.001-08:002014-12-20T10:52:57.401-08:00Our Journey Part I<div class="MsoNormal">
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I would love to be able to eloquently describe in vivid details the emotions we have experienced the last two years. I would love to articulate the problems we faced but I cant. Not because I don’t want to disclose that information, but because it is so unexplained, that we just cant find a way to express it to you. However, we want you to know, so here is our best attempt to catch you up to date.</div>
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<span style="color: black; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCPteDUvqY6kYK7vOIFV_mjPKVUkkTjriq_ZCBljWACbCxddkf4cuiHOcS3BwPM6krz4nWxneQQhPBQWmJZ3ltZjc_8Sq756NBNEnmTt4GvUiqw_G09i0looxbO5LeTCOyQIStiTa6Wo/s1600/DSC00418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvCPteDUvqY6kYK7vOIFV_mjPKVUkkTjriq_ZCBljWACbCxddkf4cuiHOcS3BwPM6krz4nWxneQQhPBQWmJZ3ltZjc_8Sq756NBNEnmTt4GvUiqw_G09i0looxbO5LeTCOyQIStiTa6Wo/s1600/DSC00418.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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I had gone on the field knowing that Spiritual Warfare was inevitable. We were marching into an area held in bondage by witchcraft and spiritual worship. However, I had no idea what it would look like, and it came in a way that held me captive by confusion. It did not come in the form of temptation like I had imagined it would. It didn’t come as a blazing fire labeled ‘warfare’. It came subtly and left me so confused that I thought I was crazy. I was beat down and didn’t even know why or how to even begin to pinpoint the cause. I decided to bury these fears deep and to ignore them. Little did I know they would all come flowing out in the fall of 2013.</div>
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That November, we had a team meeting in Lokichoggio, Kenya (where we lived). This meant that all our friends and co workers in S.Sudan and surrounding countries would gather together for a time of prayer, fellowship and updates. We had been looking forward to it. During this meeting, we realized that each one of us was tired and worn. It was during this meeting that I felt the need to verbalize for the first time things that had been holding me in confusion and fear. Our member care was there, so we sat down on the last evening and out poured all these mysterious issues I had been dealing with. Jonathan was hearing many of them for the first time. Our sweet member care, who are our dear friends, decided it would be best to remove us from the area for a short time and dig deeper into the issue. They did not have answers and were too confused themselves at what was taking place. They suggested we just take a month in Nairobi to try and figure out what was going on. The meeting ended and everyone returned to their homes. We waited in<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lokichogio for further instructions. On top of everything, we were both in deep depression, that neither one of us could lift the other up. The only way we got any relief from this heavy weight was to go into the villages and do ministry, so we did.<br />
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A few days later, on my birthday, we got a call. It had been a really tough day and Jonathan had heated up kettles of water and filled the bath for me to have a hot bath on my birthday. I was trying to relax, but then I heard Jonathan on the phone and his voice sounded bothered. He had just received a phone call and we were being sent to the States for a month. You would think joy would overcome us, but we had been looking forward to Christmas with our Turkana friends for months. We had so many wonderful plans. We could not leave, not now. We tried to make our case that we would be fine, just let us get through Christmas and then we would take care of ourselves. But, thank the Lord that those making the decision were not us, rookies, but Godly men who had years of experience and knew red flags when they saw them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Before we knew it, we were landing in Charlotte, NC. We told no one of our homecoming and stayed our first night in the states in a hotel near our families. The next day would bring tears of joy as we surprised our family and received overdue hugs. However, little did we know the following year would bring heartache we could never imagine as we journeyed on the road for answers.</div>
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-29654913776790180882014-12-20T10:47:00.000-08:002014-12-20T10:49:36.144-08:00Our Journey Part II<div class="MsoNormal">
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All of us assumed we would go talk to a counselor, get an answer, and be on our way back to Lokichoggio before long. However, appointment after appointment led us down a deep dark road of disappointment, frustration, and more questions. We talked to psychiatrists, psychologists, neurologists, pastors, counselors and more doctors. No one had an answer. Test after test came back negative. Each result would bring a doctor out scratching his head. We were healthy and one could find anything wrong, so they gave their best guess. Some said we were crazy and needed medication, others said we were experiencing side effects from a strong malaria prevention we had taken for a year. But nothing was definite, no guess from the professionals led us any closer to going back, in fact they all lead us further away. Month after month passed, and we were worse off then when we left. Deep into depression we spiraled. We were so deeply broken and without the joys that our Turkana brought, we were faced to look straight into the dark ugly face of this mystery. We spent the first six months in the darkest place emotionally and spiritually that either one of us had ever ventured. Our families were caught in the middle as we lived in their homes. They hurt with us and were crushed to see their children in so much emotional pain, but unable to do anything about it. They lost sleep, and saw our ugly brokenness. There we lay before them, crushed, with no answers, no motivation, and no hope of going back on the field.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I know by now your mind is rushing to try and figure out what happened to us. Well, let me give your mind some rest and let you know that is isn’t a deep dark sin, or a medical issue. It is something still unexplained to us, but we have stopped trying to throw a label on the problem. Please understand that it isn’t we don’t want to reveal it, but we cant. Just know that we went into a place held in bondage by Spiritual darkness thinking we were untouchable. We did not understand the tactics of the enemy and we were unprepared for the battle. We did not understand the full power and need for prayer. We tried to handle the attacks through our own strength. So, I guess this is the whole point of us putting all this out there is, The war is bigger than us, and the enemy is smart. However, he is also defeated and our God is bigger. Period. We NEED to be DAILY praying for each other!!!! We NEED prayer and lots of it. Pray for us, and other missionaries!!! The enemy wants to cause disunity, confusion, and fear. Pray that we would see where there is not unity and strive to stand strong where relationships are crumbling (Pray Eph. 4:1-3). Pray that we would be in tune to God’s leading and that we would not be blinded by confusion (Pray 1 Peter 5:8-11). Pray that when fear comes on us so thick, that we would be able to rest in Christ and His Word (1 Peter 3:13-17).</div>
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Slowly, we have been pieced back together. We did not get this way through doctors or counselors, but through the fellowship of the church and through the encouragement of our families. Each person praying for us, the Sunday School class in Asheville praying over us, individuals letting us rest in their homes and showering us in encouragement, realizing the importance of immersion in God’s Word, and appreciating the beauty of marriage and it’s purpose. Even though no one knew our situation and heartbreak, it didn’t matter. So many just poured their love over us even in our brokenness, even in our inability to thank them. We were too weak to move and encourage them back, and yet they still gave. Out of the selflessness, they mentored us, had us over for dinners, and met us for coffee. Little by little we gained strength to sit up. We then were able to brush ourselves off and actually stand, but still weak and feeble, we needed the support of those around us. Through perseverance of others reaching out to us and praying for us and through His leading and His Word, we are stronger then we have ever been. As I open my Bible, the tear stained pages and notes jotted down in the margin, remind me at how far God has brought us. A man who faced far more then I could ever imagine, once said “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generation, for ever and ever! Amen.” Eph. 3:20 & 21<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-41222416904015209802013-12-06T05:03:00.001-08:002013-12-06T05:03:52.374-08:00The Death of a Man<div class="MsoBodyText" style="line-height: normal;">
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<span style="color: #262626; font-family: "Lucida Grande"; font-size: 13.0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span><span style="color: #262626; font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13pt;">It was a normal
morning, as I sat down to read my Bible. This particular morning, I
began reading 1 Peter. I could not move past it, and kept reading it over and over. Our
hope is based on Christ’ resurrection! What a wonderful reminder! Little did I know what God had planned for us that day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It
was a Tuesday just like any other. We had finished language class & headed
over to the village for the weekly Bible study. We maneuvered between the huts
making our way to Anna’s house. There was a solem mood throughout the village. They were telling us
something, but we were only picking up a little of what they were saying. They
wanted to do something before the sun went down, and it sounded urgent.
Finally, a lady came that spoke some English and filled in the blanks for us. A
man had died that afternoon from malaria, and they needed to bury him before
the sun went down. Emotions of sadness, confusion and
nervousness all collided together. We have never been to a funeral. We did not
know how to act culturally, what to do, we had not learned the vocabulary
needed for a funeral. Sure we could fumble through some words, but the depth of
comfort we needed to communicate we were lacking. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">While walking over there,
Jonathan was informed that he would be expected to preform the funeral.
Unprepared, unequipped, out of our comfort zone and without a translator, we
did not know what to do. But, as God has taught us time and time again, it is
in these moments, when we have to depend completely on Him and not ourselves,
that He shows us His amazing power and strength. We followed the women through
the village to the house of the man who had just died. It was very quiet. There
was a grave dug out right beside the mans house.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">An older man, who was
grieving, sat under a nearby tree. We mimicked what the other
Turkana were doing, where they were sitting and how they were acting. I was
lead to the freshly dug and empty grave. We had a Turkana Bible, so I flipped to 1 Peter. My thoughts were interrupted by the screams of a young girl who
could not have been more then 15 years old. She was either a sister or a
daughter of the man, it is hard to tell in this culture. The women gathered
around her, holding her up comforting her. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 19px;">Three men went into the hut and came out carrying the man wrapped in a blanket. They laid him next to the grave and motioned for me to begin. I cannot explain what happened next, just that God was teaching through me. I was able to teach, very basically from that passage and pray with the family. The old man was called to throw the first dirt into the grave. The weight of his grief and brokenness were apparent. Once he was finished, another family member came and threw in some dirt. the community grieved and buried that young man together. When they finished burying him, the women told me to grab a stone from the pile that was near the grave and place it on top. I followed them and everyone helped cover the grave with stones as a sign that we are together in this and that the family is not alone. The way everyone was truly grieving together and in it together was very moving. It was sad to see how the children in the village were not phased by the death, and how it was just a part of life here. They see a lot of death, so this was just another day and another funeral. They all helped carry stones, even the little ones and place it on the grave then skipped off to play. We learned that when a child dies, only the parents cry and it is not as sad for the community as when an old person dies. This is because so many babies and children die. I mean, this man died from a mosquito bite! The death, and struggle of life is so overwhelming here that there are no words I can say. All I can say it that is has changed my life and mindset forever.</span><br />
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-25618385142211740862013-10-13T06:52:00.003-07:002013-10-13T06:52:51.501-07:00Skibbies & Snakes<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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There I was standing under the night stars in nothing but my
stripped skibbies holding a broomstick and a machete. I was face to face with a
giant cobra and the only thought that went through my mind was “what would
crocodile Dundee do?” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTi6-LM1r4nqmFhe1gQkrcERg6BOIgi1m71CVXpNcrQwYByY6qyu9F2g7ny_OYeaUJ4e1Xtmj1i-3haRK4gK3rgmlmpfgx_7aahyphenhyphen21MjmVcF_tDWLRilqQZdO-31VNkdKXdkHZNoerA4/s1600/DSC00352.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiTi6-LM1r4nqmFhe1gQkrcERg6BOIgi1m71CVXpNcrQwYByY6qyu9F2g7ny_OYeaUJ4e1Xtmj1i-3haRK4gK3rgmlmpfgx_7aahyphenhyphen21MjmVcF_tDWLRilqQZdO-31VNkdKXdkHZNoerA4/s320/DSC00352.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
The day started off normal enough, I drank my morning tea and went for a run (or rather a brisk white-guy jog). Since it was clean up day, I organized my movies,
which brought me to the Paul Hogan classic Crocodile Dundee. I arrogantly
thought to myself, as all men do… “You know, I can be like that guy”. My
thought was interrupted as Holly asked me a question about Daniel. She was
going to teach on fear and the necessity to trust in God. Little did I know God
was going to teach me a valuable lesson that day.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
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A few hours later, the birds began to chirp and Holly
spotted a giant snake up in the tree right beside our house. It was just far
enough away to be unidentifiable. Was it a black Mamba? Cobra? Python? I still
don’t know, but it was big. As fast as it appeared it went back inside the hollow
it came from. Disappointed in my self I
knew Mr. Dundee would be highly disappointed in me. I didn’t even try to catch
it. <br />
<br />
We made our way to the village later
that evening. A small boy came running up to me in the middle of the fellowship
saying “There is a big snake in your car!” As we approached the vehicle there
were men, women, children all over it, looking in every window possible. The
snake was nowhere to be seen, but everyone said, “he was just right there”,
pointing to the dash. “I saw him go inside” one child said. Pointing to a space
between the dash and the door. I looked everywhere, inside and outside but
couldn’t find him. Finally a brave woman spoke up, “If God can shut the mouths
of the lions, why are you afraid of one snake?” “Shoot, afraid, I’m not afraid”
I said confidently enough to almost be believable. Every bump I expected to
have him drop onto my feet. Every turn I would look down at the door where the
child pointed expecting to see his beady eyes staring at me… I set the record for
fastest time back to the house. I couldn’t wait to get out of that car. As I
walked inside and saw the movie case, I could tell right away Crocodile Dundee
had disapproval in his eyes. How could I have let him down again? Little did I
know I would get another chance to earn some man points that night.<br />
<br />
I woke
straight up to the sound of our dogs viciously barking and growling. I jumped
out of bed knowing something was terribly wrong. Of all nights to give the
guard a day off. I ran outside as quickly as possible, grabbing the only
weapons I could find, a machete, broomstick and almost dead flashlight. By the
sound of their attack I knew this wasn’t your ordinary kitty-cat they had in a
tree. I could sense real fear, and defense in them. As I rounded the corner I
almost stepped on him, the biggest cobra I had ever seen. His hood raised, I
closed my eyes and jumped back in case he decided to spit. My presence
distracted the dogs just long enough for him to go into a thorn fence and
eventually up a small papaya tree in our garden. His weight was breaking the
branches out of the tree, and I knew to keep my distance. As I handed Holly the flash light, I told her about my good plan.<br />
<br />
“You hold this and
shine it on him. After I get him out of
the tree, we are going to have to chase him. You go that way, I’ll go this way, and yell if you see him.”<br />
<br />
I could tell right away she didn’t buy into my plan. Maybe
it was the look in her eye, or maybe it was the way she handed me the
flashlight back and said “this isn’t the movies, don’t do anything stupid.”
That’s when it hit me, “Movies! Crocodile Dundee!" I raised my arm and flung my
machete with all my might, expecting to pin him to the tree. I hit him right
between the eyes, but since this isn’t the movies, my over sized knife simply
bounced off. He stretched out, probably yawned, and in the blink of an eye made it to the ground. I ran in, ready for a
fight, but found him making his way through knee-high grass. Holly once again
reminded me, from the safety of the porch, “Don’t do
anything stupid.” Always good advice! So, I decided instead of Crocodile Dundee,
I will be like someone else who talks funny, The old guy off Downton Abby, and
just sit on my tush eating crumpets and sipping tea. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-45639535226634145772013-10-06T07:25:00.000-07:002013-10-06T07:25:17.271-07:00Behind the Missionary Mask<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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I was ready to pack and go back home, back to the good ol' USA. We would be back home just in time to see my sister at homecoming. I had it all figured out, but how on earth did I get to this point?<br />
<br />
There have been times in my life that my quiet time was
something I did just to feel good about myself. Besides, I was a Christian and it
was something you were ‘suppose’ to do. I had heard that getting through a day
without relying on God’s strength was not wise, but I had done it plenty of
times over my life and nothing bad came from it other than guilt. Over the coarse of many years, I had the usual
ups and downs in my fellowship with Christ. I went to church, and enjoyed
learning more about the Bible, but the emotion, the depth was not as deep as I
had hoped. I knew I was God’s child, that was never in question, but what was I
missing? Older generations would stand to talk about the Gospel and would break down in tears worshiping their King. How do I get that? Maybe I was not ‘doing’ enough.
Maybe I need to confess more sins or pray 10 minuets longer. I didn’t know what,
but something was missing. Dont get me wrong, during those ‘highs’ in my
relationship with Christ, I knew His power. During the death of my mother, I
saw Him work in so many incredible ways that made me tear up in awe, but those
were just moments and memories. It is like no matter what God did in my life, a
few months later I would be right back to ‘doing’ my quiet time and the
emotions and awe were gone. I speak in past tense as if that were ages ago, but
it wasn’t. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uQtY8LcGwqpTgUrMDudW8YZvTIXkGgu0yHWvinoNn_8E_rPSoSYAB5ozgenoK4HIYrOb5unLIBRcPLYz3yalZg-QiSTPBzFPXXVgvSfzwm60hA_jDRaWMmkty75bIS2zSjUuw0qkxww/s1600/DSCF5953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1uQtY8LcGwqpTgUrMDudW8YZvTIXkGgu0yHWvinoNn_8E_rPSoSYAB5ozgenoK4HIYrOb5unLIBRcPLYz3yalZg-QiSTPBzFPXXVgvSfzwm60hA_jDRaWMmkty75bIS2zSjUuw0qkxww/s320/DSCF5953.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were far away from home and everything that was familiar .</td></tr>
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When we moved overseas in 2012, I had heard that we needed
to depend solely on God everyday. I hear from veteran missionaries that the
most important thing I could do for that day was spend time with God. For our
first few months on the field, I made sure that I put God first. I was away
from family, friends, my culture and everything I knew. Everything was stripped
away and I felt completely vulnerable and lost. Of course I depended on God, I
had to! I am not sure what happened next, but I think God wanted to show me how
important that really was. We had been on the field over ten months, and we had
found a routine and were enjoying living in Africa. Then it happened. I guess
it was slow at first and so I did not realize it, but God become quiet. I had
continued my on and off quiet times, reading the Bible as if it was a
storybook. But in December, something changed. I know our relationship with God
is deeper than any emotion, however, the depth of my soul felt alone. Now I
‘know’ God will never leave us, and I am not saying that is what happened, but
He became silent. Silent and distant is what I felt anytime I prayed to Him. I
got frustrated and started going through my day without Him. Those months were
some of the worse months I have ever gone through. It was like darkness was all
around me. At first, I tried to continue the actions of quiet time, but soon it
became so frustrating to feel abandon, and I just stopped. God still provided
opportunities for me to witness, but I was overcome with my inability to do
anything. I questioned why I was even here. I felt beyond inadequate. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Letters and emails of encouragement poured in, but I
couldn’t even read them. If they even knew who I really was, they wouldn’t be
sending these letters. People letting us know they were praying should have
been a breath of fresh air, but it just made me feel guilty, like they were
wasting their prayers on me. Jonathan did what he could, but he was feeling the
abandonment as well. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkjLAjVGD8rUvJkSUSvlUBNE5FySaQOMIXXrUI0bImOHNWG_ZQ_BhO-Bs4kJcHkYtHQDCJ5TdVwNzF8cneNTfv5-10bs-wJtV8xrkCoT-OVenKZlycwAOSwSefmeI-CdO8h-ZkpkGVTE/s1600/DSC00098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfkjLAjVGD8rUvJkSUSvlUBNE5FySaQOMIXXrUI0bImOHNWG_ZQ_BhO-Bs4kJcHkYtHQDCJ5TdVwNzF8cneNTfv5-10bs-wJtV8xrkCoT-OVenKZlycwAOSwSefmeI-CdO8h-ZkpkGVTE/s320/DSC00098.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was stuck, and I felt so abandon.</td></tr>
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When I did pray it was, <span style="background-color: white;"><span style="color: blue;">"God! I gave everything for you! We
came out here for you, to bring glory to you, not us. We trusted you and you
have brought us out here on the front lines, stripped us of our armor, and then
left us. We are getting hit left and right and you do nothing but watch.” </span></span>I was
beyond mad, I was confused, and emotionally exhausted. This went on for months.
The more I tried to seek God, the more distant He felt. I got angry when I
would read the verses talking about God never leaving us. I didn’t know what to
do. Everything I knew didn’t line up with what I felt and what I was going
through. Jonathan took us on a spiritual retreat to refocus at Lake Turkana, which was a little over 4 hours from Loki. While that was refreshing,
I just felt like I was doing everything to find God, but He couldn’t be found.
Who am I anyway, God is big enough to do what He wants. Was it time to throw in
the rag and go home? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our retreat of the Lake</td></tr>
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I realized that I couldnt just come & go to God as I
please. Too long had I just come and gone as I rode the waves
of this Christian life. Those months I was oppressed. I know
Baptist don’t like talking about this sort of thing, but the enemy was coming
at me with everything, and I had no protection, or so I thought. Those were
such dark months that I never ever want to go back. I threw all my ‘tricks’
down and decided to stop trying to get God to answer. I felt I just needed to worship
Him. For months that is what I did. I didn’t ask anything, didn’t even really
pray. I just read the psalms, and created a folder in my Itunes of songs of
adoration. I made sure the songs were solely about praising God. Not to ‘win
Him over’ but that was all I could do. I was broken, tired and beat up. So, I tried to stand and brush myself off, but I got knocked down again. So I just
worshipped from where I was, broken and beat down. It didn’t happened over
night, or over weeks, but slowly, I felt my soul was being fed again. The more
I poured out adoration and praise, the more I couldn’t stop. It wasn’t about
getting that ‘feeling’ back any more, but it was just about doing the one thing
I could. As weeks went by, my soul yearned to sing praises to God. God started
waking me up 5:00am where I would get up put in my earphones and worship
God for hours. I had heard for years about this, but I finally understood. In
the mornings, my soul would not let me go on without spending that time
worshipping God. As I read the scriptures, it wasn’t just about awesome stories
any more, it became a deep, intimate time with my Father teaching me.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
I had a reality check of just how weak, and vulnerable I am.
I am not just saying this because it sounds nice, but I am terrified to go
through a single day without the complete and total reliance on my Savior. Yes,
He has made Himself known again, but this isn’t just an up and down of my Christian walk. God
allowed me to see how important it is to worship Him. Those months were a blessing
and have changed my life. The enemy still attacks just as fierce as he did
during those previous months, but the difference is, I am now wrapped in my
Fathers strength.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In June 2013, family came to visit-what a blessing!</td></tr>
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Label me a missionary or whatever you want to call me, <u>but
don’t for a second think that I am anything more than I really am.</u> I am a
human, a weak one. I read cards and feel encouraged, but feel too inadequate to
be receiving encouragement from all these warriors in Christ. It only takes a
tiny pebble to make me fall, but I cling to my Father like I never have. I cant
think about His mercy without getting choked up. He is my wonderful, glorious Majesty
and I am determined to worship Him every morning, no matter what is happening
around me. Im sure you have noticed by now we always sign our emails, ’To God
be all the glory.” That isnt just some cool, spiritual, missionary phrase. Even
through this event in my life, He is bringing glory to Himself. With everything
inside of me, I know that God gets every single bit of glory and honor.
Anything good that comes from my life is through Christ.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just what the doctor ordered: Family, s'mores, and card games!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-12722047051574592562013-10-01T01:45:00.001-07:002013-10-01T01:45:15.854-07:00Westgate Attack
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“Humm, apple or Cherry?” I asked Jonathan trying to seek his
input in this important decision. We were meeting some friends that evening and
I didn’t know which type of dessert to bring. With the Nakumat bakery full of
fresh and wonderful desserts, the decision was hard. The man at the bakery was
very nice and friendly as he gave us some free samples to help us in our
decision-making. “Cherry, without question,” Jonathan answered. We had spent that
morning with our builder looking at supplies and trying to find ways to cut
cost on the house. It was September 7, and we decided to spend the rest of our
Saturday relaxing and enjoying Nairobi before we headed back to Loki. For lunch, we tried out the new hamburger
joint at Westgate. It was a brand new restaurant right at the entrance of the
mall. We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the fresh grilled burger, onion
rings and fries. The staff was very friendly and we struck up conversations
with them as well as other missionaries that frequent the mall. It was a very
pleasant place. Once our stomachs were full, we shopped around the nice
air-conditioned mall visiting various shops, enjoy a mocha at the coffee shop,
and made sure all of our ‘to do’s’ for Nairobi were finished. Little did we
know, that in exactly two weeks, the various employees we came across would
live through the terror attack on the mall that left countless dead. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Westgate was not a mall for the rich, but it was a pleasant
place for various people on different income levels. It was also clean and
orderly, and was our place we came to get refreshed. Before leaving that day,
we talked about how we were excited to return during the Christmas season. For
Christmas, they decorate so beautifully that we forget where we are. Last year,
the sounds, smells and sights made us feel closer to home. Westgate is where we would go to watch movies
with our Nairobi family and friends. With the mall only about 2 miles walk from
the Baptist guesthouse, many visitors frequented the mall. We took Jonathan’s
family there when they came to visit. It is where we could get away from the
chaos and get refreshed. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXG8mNNcAL_H-_gLwJQ3b5TvbKnTPI3gDiAf_cK7FgZWgY7Pn8mvtWcCZi7aWgedOW2ZzhVCxqc7gdcl_4wOWNs8srcFnDk7XA3t07E_7ELo3DdClVadAI1_DzcK5d84Qpsudx1_nTnUg/s1600/DSCF7276.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXG8mNNcAL_H-_gLwJQ3b5TvbKnTPI3gDiAf_cK7FgZWgY7Pn8mvtWcCZi7aWgedOW2ZzhVCxqc7gdcl_4wOWNs8srcFnDk7XA3t07E_7ELo3DdClVadAI1_DzcK5d84Qpsudx1_nTnUg/s320/DSCF7276.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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For our Nairobi family that lives right across the street
from Westgate, we praise God for their protection, but we also pray for them
these next few months as they process all the saw and heard. For our Nairobi
friends who did their weekly shopping there and their date nights, we praise
God for your protection but continue to pray for you as you too grieve over
this tragedy. For the employees that we shared in laughs and conversations
together, we pray that you are safe and that you may come closer to Christ
through this horrible ordeal. For all those who lost a loved one, friend or
acquaintance, we deeply hurt along side of you and pray that God’s peace will
be felt through your life. For everyone involved, our prayer is that God will
make His name known, and that Christ will be your stronghold. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Westgate may seem like just a headline in the news now as it
gets buried under the news of earthquakes and other attacks around the world.
To us, this will forever be grained in our minds. Those living in Nairobi and
us who visited, knew that mall well. We see the pictures and know exactly where
they were taken. We see the Nakumat footage and know it was taken on the
shampoo isle. We see the pictures of employees hurt and killed and wonder if we
were talking to them just two weeks ago. As a country familiar with the hurt of
terror attacks, please continue to pray as Kenya picks up the pieces and tries
to move on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-10449655586199549132013-06-04T15:38:00.002-07:002013-06-04T15:38:45.045-07:00Modern Day Jonah, Part 2The front wheel touched the pavement so softly most of the passengers were not even aware we were even on the runway. The flight had very little turbulence and we actually arrived on time. My mind began to argue with itself do I get a pizza for dinner or a hamburger? I had done my time, I had shared my faith, I had "suffered" this whole flight talking to my friend (if you don't know what I'm talking about, read part 1) I was ready for my alone, introverted time. My statement about faith being consistent all the time was the last thing said. <div>
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I looked out the cockpit window. (on this style plane there is nothing separating the pilots from the cabin, so being in the middle seat I could see straight out the cock pit) Suddenly the pilot put the plane into a full throttle. The plane began to rattle and shake so much I thought to myself "there is no way parts aren't flying off all over the place. He put into a steep climb as well as a very sharp spirally banked turn. I looked out my window and saw how close we were to the ground. My eyes quickly turned back toward the cockpit and I saw sheer panic.</div>
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*This is how I thought it would turn out, one big fireball</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWXKMC_2t-Yrkfq2yxyBJEyCsEElK9ku1e4e79rbLq__3U73Y6yTPei1Wbc6-nBCa-mcSZvFCyPB-X6pLWJ00yfn5zrg6JovJZqmasXKP-WXR73iPA1z-pdBRYcdAXcrvZBZ9wvA_SRc/s1600/DSCF5603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOWXKMC_2t-Yrkfq2yxyBJEyCsEElK9ku1e4e79rbLq__3U73Y6yTPei1Wbc6-nBCa-mcSZvFCyPB-X6pLWJ00yfn5zrg6JovJZqmasXKP-WXR73iPA1z-pdBRYcdAXcrvZBZ9wvA_SRc/s320/DSCF5603.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The pilot was pulling back on what ever pilots pull back on and the co pilot was shouting as she held onto the radio with both hands. I looked past the pilots because something got my attention, oh, thats a huge radio tower in front of us I thought. We turned and pulled up to miss it. My mind began to think what could have possibly gone wrong, was another plane on the runway? perhaps the landing gear got stuck? All the while my friend kept telling me "We don't land planes like this in my country" I finally turned to him and said, "We don't land planes like this in any country" and sunk back into my seat to notice the poor couple in front of us. A missionary couple from the Netherlands who had a small baby and had only been in Africa for three weeks. This was their first time on this particular aircraft. </div>
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She turned to me and said, "Oh my goodness are we going to crash? What should...." my friend interrupted her and said with all the confidence in the world, "The landing gear probably just fell off or got stuck, I heard a loud pop, we will have to make a crash landing" I saw panic rush over her face she turned to her husband, I looked at Holly as she rolled her eyes , I turned back to the couple in front of us and she was about to lose it. I had to give words of encouragement, I had to say it was going to be ok, I probably should have led us in a prayer, I needed to counter act with a more profound explanation.... so I pointed out the window and said, hey look a giraffe..... oh and a zebra (we were circling very low over Nairobi National Game Park) Wait, thats not what I wanted to say... oh well it worked, they were distracted. </div>
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* Ok we didn't get this close to the animals, but you could tell they were thinking one of those giant birds was finally going to catch them</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhsoLcGtbhEHqPfveba0EW-Eos3eiHtBeSIi-GRU8mAttN5aMj-jY4QOLiNkWn4zqLMRzwlVqRb5ApBNtg9i10hVsBJVcBS_BFO8Jb4KzbO0gukPq0DFB1JCRxxHdA4RcmM1ZEgiIkso/s1600/DSCF5942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyhsoLcGtbhEHqPfveba0EW-Eos3eiHtBeSIi-GRU8mAttN5aMj-jY4QOLiNkWn4zqLMRzwlVqRb5ApBNtg9i10hVsBJVcBS_BFO8Jb4KzbO0gukPq0DFB1JCRxxHdA4RcmM1ZEgiIkso/s320/DSCF5942.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The plane came back for a second landing. This time making a much longer and faster decent onto the runway. We were turning steep to the left, then back to the right, the runway was not lining up the way it had so many times before. The Pilots were sweating, talking loudly, pushing all kinds of buttons, pulling levers, pointing out the window (which I could only assume was a bad thing like, hey if we crash lets not hit that huge gas tank or something like that) Anyway, I grabbed Holly's hand not knowing what was about to happen. Everyone had assumed crash position, well except my friend who was still talking about something. I had tuned him out and was focused on the faint smell of smoke. We finally touched down. the plane began to fish tail back and forth. If it weren't for our seat belts we would have been thrown all over each other... did I mention my friend apparently didn't have his tight because he ended up in my lap. It took the whole length of the runway to stop the plane. We were afraid we would hit the building at the end of it, or flip over from the fish tailing. My last thought.... well it was "I'm going to be stuck in a pile of rubble with this guy on my lap talking to me about how he would have done it different", I wish it were more spiritual, but it wasn't. Then, as quickly as the terror set in, the plane rolled to stop. The silence was broke by a nervous laughter. The pilot stepped out and explained what happened. Apparently a reverse thruster getting stuck is not a good thing. The fire trucks unloaded and turned off their lights. The airport, which had emptied to watch us crash, were applauding. Other Pilots were high-fiving and congratulating ours. One of which told me that our pilot did what very few could, and that we should have crashed. Our Pilot responded, "I don't know how we didn't" as we were all walking away. </div>
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Then it hit me, not so much about what had just happened or what could have happened, but how my attitude through the whole flight was selfish, arrogant, and ignoring others around me. I had been so focused on "I"m going to do something," instead of simply trusting God to use me. I had an opportunity to really show leadership in a crisis situation and I said hey look giraffes; I didn't pray, I didn't remind anyone of God's sovereignty or power or protection or the hope that what ever does happen doesn't really matter if we are a Christian, I missed out. But I was also reminded of a quote I heard recently that being here is a privilege, God doesn't call the equipped, but He equips those He calls. I don't need to worry about doing anything in my own strength, I have His I can call on and should call on every day.<br />
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Here we are, ready to kiss the ground beneath our feet. So thankful we made it safely.<br />
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-68357643767637851412013-06-04T14:26:00.000-07:002013-06-04T15:38:52.538-07:00Modern Day Jonah, Part 1<br />
What a ride! thats what I would normally say all excited like after a twisting and turning roller coster at Carrowinds or Six Flags. However, this time "What a ride" followed by a huge sigh of relief/exhaustion, and a "never felt so good to be over with" mind set. I have to confess, I think writing this blog is opening my eyes to why some of this had to take place. I know from now on, I will try to listen to the Holy Spirt and not my selfishness telling me to retreat.<br />
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It all started back in Loki a few days before our trip to Nairobi, when Holly and I went to church. There we met a new "friend" a long talker from somewhere in Europe. He preached that day's sermon. I twisted and cringed on every word as he was giving the worst gospel presentation of all time. For example, I wrote it down because I couldn't believe it, "If you want to go to heaven, its simple there is one way, love your neighbor.... oh and your enemies love your enemies and your neighbors, that is what Jesus said was the way to heaven". I actually prayed, "Dear God please help the translator fix this guys mess." Maybe I should have prayed for the Holy Spirit to fix the guy. Anyway after the sermon we found ourselves cornered looking for anyone we could find as an excuse to avoid talking for the next 2 hours. Like good missionaries we dug deep inside for some excuse not to join him for lunch and left, thinking we were finished...<br />
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Our very large plane</div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDyKe-YjwWqbdUN5UYOp_qYHno-9-Fkee1W6404wZpHI1IMj6VG5alQ_OjhM4QTjKw1LOakSgaj4nPlmheA1vUDaD_Cj5JUN28LDtjlr-AJcmU9mr_BFdSUIspfWkjTKASfpddV4fYek8/s1600/DSCF6367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDyKe-YjwWqbdUN5UYOp_qYHno-9-Fkee1W6404wZpHI1IMj6VG5alQ_OjhM4QTjKw1LOakSgaj4nPlmheA1vUDaD_Cj5JUN28LDtjlr-AJcmU9mr_BFdSUIspfWkjTKASfpddV4fYek8/s320/DSCF6367.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It never crossed my mind to go find him and ask him what he meant by some of the points he made? I ignored all prodding the Holy Spirit was doing to go and ask this guy his testimony. Well God had other plans... We left a few days later to go to Nairobi. Holly and I spotted him at the airport and did everything we could to avoid sitting beside him. God has a great sense of humor by the way. It was a sixteen passenger plane, one seat on each side until the back where it is three across. Yep, thats where we were, at the very back of the plane, I was in the middle with long and not to mention close talker with bad breath right beside me. For half the trip I heard in a very loud voice how horrible everything about Africa was, its food, its culture, its weather, what ever else, I pretended to be asleep after that but he just kept tapping me to wake me up....<br />
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*What I probably looked like for 3/4 of the trip</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiL-hX5NIK7-5nfQC7yKCvXWih_-9oUC3wHZokVCXOCAqeiGD-0UUx2WMJnWRS9ap4HsgoTGDHHnUzulXgM9tcvaDGbZaw7gPjVVTXWh0A29XbZzxho3T_u2-iiR7Q53fwKSl6jgQX38/s1600/IMG_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixiL-hX5NIK7-5nfQC7yKCvXWih_-9oUC3wHZokVCXOCAqeiGD-0UUx2WMJnWRS9ap4HsgoTGDHHnUzulXgM9tcvaDGbZaw7gPjVVTXWh0A29XbZzxho3T_u2-iiR7Q53fwKSl6jgQX38/s320/IMG_0004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Finally in a Jonah like moment I shouted the words in my head "OK God, you win, I'll do it, please just make it stop" so I turned to him, and said, "Tell me how you became a pastor" ..... "oh thats nice, and just how did you become a Christian".... Then to my amazement he turned and said, "I've talked a while now, tell me, how did you become a Christian" I gave the clearest Gospel I could I explained that I realized I was a sinner I thought I could be good enough to go to heaven, but realized thru God's Word, I wasn't. However, Jesus had died for my sin, so salvation is about what He has done, not what I can do. We then talked the remainder of the flight about Theology and the importance of understanding the context of Scripture, that and how in his country churches were better then American churches, and African churches and every other place on earth. Thats the moment I said the words, that couldn't have been better timed as we were literally feet off the runway, "You know the Turkana people in Loki, they are not like you and I, each day there is a real possibility they might be shot by an enemy. They face famine, disease, desertion, shooting, drunk men, corruption and death every day in the face. Our God gave us a Gospel of hope, something that can be obtained, not earned by being good enough. We need to be able to face disaster and smile because we know with all certainty that our Salvation is reliable. And then chaos happened,<br />
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Hey, is that a problem with the wing?</div>
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-36615490816065372892013-02-09T06:40:00.000-08:002013-02-09T06:40:16.959-08:00Casting your Cares<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The past few months have really been an axious time for us. Our first Christmas away from family, saying goodbye to many friends, moving into South Sudan and leaving baby Christians who still have a lot to learn. However, we have seen God take impossible circumstances and turn them into occasions for praise. So below is a quick timeline of how we have seen God work the past few months:</div>
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DECEMBER:<br />
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He provided opportunities like the bull roast in Nanum to see some of the most unreached Turkana come to know Him. Everyday we have been reminded that God can take two ordinary people and do extrodinary things.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJoCQVTIs_eCBcuIbNzm3MrUPF58oodMY-i1rYTanZelS1eIXqHvtBxvGkrKz4PTVadjZJ-SGin2bWDy4IokXn1f1VE3ualAhiRLK8sVySbs23xeUtJ26W2VVyXrc8MRQS4JvJ7diMkE/s1600/DSCF4627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWJoCQVTIs_eCBcuIbNzm3MrUPF58oodMY-i1rYTanZelS1eIXqHvtBxvGkrKz4PTVadjZJ-SGin2bWDy4IokXn1f1VE3ualAhiRLK8sVySbs23xeUtJ26W2VVyXrc8MRQS4JvJ7diMkE/s320/DSCF4627.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">For Christmas, we missed our time away from family, but were flooded with letters, emails and encouraging notes from friends back home. We also grew a lot closer to our friends in Loki by spending a traditional Christmas and New Years with them.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6C5ZIwI3yv5wA3aLF7UFDM3e6CLtiIVC5ivTjkVtYD1cdxSQs17dZ42wOfOX6_iAVPtxO8_m3JyeRtRtQKKDVAlo7ktjO7H0-YPCJ_uIDWqh9d8xT-E5-PfrGv3OTPC6m_qu4YtzS0U/s1600/DSCF5302.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6C5ZIwI3yv5wA3aLF7UFDM3e6CLtiIVC5ivTjkVtYD1cdxSQs17dZ42wOfOX6_iAVPtxO8_m3JyeRtRtQKKDVAlo7ktjO7H0-YPCJ_uIDWqh9d8xT-E5-PfrGv3OTPC6m_qu4YtzS0U/s320/DSCF5302.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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A few weeks ago, God provided a solid man of God, a Turkana named Emanuel as well as called our friend Pastor Jon to continue to disciple our new brothers and sisters in Nanum.</div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">We ended up having to make several trips across the S.Sudan Border, but God worked everything out. It honestly could not have gone any smoother at the border.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">We are flooded with new friends who are welcoming us here in South Sudan and we are already seeing many opportunities for ministry and discipleship.</span></div>
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We had to travel back to Loki to gather a few more things, and our Christmas packages had arrived saftley. It was Christmas in February, but it couldn’t come at a better time for us!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bQdQd5Pwi4EgkZ8WnQGGlZy_rLwlwCNno194gaU0hS14mNXOM8VdnUpv0uJBZQkP89UlGBGi2jtMtb4W4WCtB-s9CIWZzGJgA0oiEd5X44sjEhbgIKXKp-TZwrQ7gRhlbsqSf5H2rj8/s1600/DSCF5408.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_bQdQd5Pwi4EgkZ8WnQGGlZy_rLwlwCNno194gaU0hS14mNXOM8VdnUpv0uJBZQkP89UlGBGi2jtMtb4W4WCtB-s9CIWZzGJgA0oiEd5X44sjEhbgIKXKp-TZwrQ7gRhlbsqSf5H2rj8/s320/DSCF5408.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<u>And, just in case you are completely confused: </u><o:p></o:p><br />
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On 2/4 we moved about 4 hours north of Lokichoggio into
South Sudan. Our supervisors are on furlough in the states. During the next 6
months, we will be living in their house while we are building our house in
S.Sudan about 2 hours south east of them.
This move came with us not only crossing from Kenya into South Sudan,
but also crossing from the Turkana tribe to the Toposa tribe. Be sure to check
out our upcoming newsletter for differences between Turkana and Toposa tribes.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-51838787741762112562012-12-16T10:31:00.000-08:002012-12-17T02:59:06.755-08:00Christmas in Africa (Part I)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #6aa84f; font-weight: bold;">Christmas in <strike>July</strike></span><span style="color: red;"><b> </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Africa</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Last year, we were drinking hot chocolate, while driving through town looking at all the twinkling lights as they danced across the landscape. We were surrounded by friends and family as we attended one Christmas party after the next. Every time we stepped outside, we were met by the bitter cold. We joined the crowds and the traffic that the local malls brought. Despite the traffic, it was a great time! Our minds could only fathom the dramatic difference this Christmas would be. With every party came another goodbye. With every opened present, we stepped closer to leaving what was so familiar. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">It is amazing the dramatic changes just one year brought, as nothing has been left untouched. Our families hundreds of miles away continue to grow and change. The heat has stolen the comforts of, "Let it snow," playing in the background. We are experiencing what we could only imagine just last year. It still seems like such a blur. No lights wrapped around houses, no songs on the radio, no movies on TV, no family nearby, no winter jackets and no malls. But also, no distractions from the real Christmas. God has blessed us with a Christmas that truly centers around Him:</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;"> We we are daily surrounded by donkeys, camels, goats and sheep. These animals remind us that He came humbly. We also can't help but imagine the sounds and smells that were in the manger that night. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Little shepherds carefully herd their flocks by our gate everyday reminding us that it was to shepherds the good news was brought. </span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">A clear night's sky, untainted by city lights or any lights, shine in it's full brilliance. We might not have Christmas lights stapled to houses, but we have billions of stars pointing to our Creator.</span></div>
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<span style="color: red;">Not having to buy gifts allows us to focus our time on Him. We miss our family, especially during this time, but what a blessing God has given to us. We get to experience Christmas in all it's splendor, and for the first time, get to focus 100% of our Christmas on Christ!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">As we enjoy our first Christmas in Africa, we were able to add a little 'distraction' in our home. We found a baby papaya tree, cut it down, and found it to make a great Christmas tree.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9JRoXqUKdw2TjF8U8qL-KgpYtxI80VFrY6XidOqizqsNv7i6BS_wq7zQFwkrwIv2QWH-je39_nemxSlQCPxW0BfOgQ6vNwYjrs0mfRzRIfvVEJw6cKC-r_Nr3jKLzhZIbppg51wlwm8/s1600/DSCF4448.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9JRoXqUKdw2TjF8U8qL-KgpYtxI80VFrY6XidOqizqsNv7i6BS_wq7zQFwkrwIv2QWH-je39_nemxSlQCPxW0BfOgQ6vNwYjrs0mfRzRIfvVEJw6cKC-r_Nr3jKLzhZIbppg51wlwm8/s320/DSCF4448.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">We brought over one shoe box of Christmas decorations from America, and we sure are glad we did. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">Here's something that will make you say,"Aaawww." Each year we have been married, we have bought a new ornament that represents the theme that year. So yes, for this year we bought an ornament in the shape of Africa.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoU-teD0MFSFJD9BFs4wzh2V75mCNFeXMOzSETDgyONTSZIRpYjvDimSjqpCkyg5adc-Z_1jm6m4bVZzyAScsHZfWFFc-m6Af9i4vFmvwr3EeLYJyBnC2lB6IGWjUAHhy89zIR0LfopA/s1600/DSCF4450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLoU-teD0MFSFJD9BFs4wzh2V75mCNFeXMOzSETDgyONTSZIRpYjvDimSjqpCkyg5adc-Z_1jm6m4bVZzyAScsHZfWFFc-m6Af9i4vFmvwr3EeLYJyBnC2lB6IGWjUAHhy89zIR0LfopA/s320/DSCF4450.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #38761d;">We bought this little tree at a market in Nairobi. It is make out of banana leaves and was a back up in case the live tree didnt work out. Who would have thought we would have 2 Christmas tress in Africa, when we sometimes didn't even put up 1 in America.</span></div>
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<br />The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-13458268842231868782012-10-24T04:49:00.001-07:002012-10-24T04:49:44.623-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
A few weeks ago, Jonathan had the opportunity to do a flyover of our territory. An AIM pilot took Jonathan and Shannon (our team leader) over the area that our people live. It is vast, covering more than 12,000 square miles. Shannon has split the territory in half, since we are the only two families (IMB) targeting this people group. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8kS0VYMmFCwZsstZ26kfUzLT3ox3Pzl8k5nS8Hk32HTpw49yWkR5bjE53ekALWStKacNuRhVNXbLXJW0BLtuNBnUM__-ykjMnNbD9yBwQy1McMFGSUDn9eXFCqoH4MTZFM-5VaUBSws/s1600/DSCF2562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL8kS0VYMmFCwZsstZ26kfUzLT3ox3Pzl8k5nS8Hk32HTpw49yWkR5bjE53ekALWStKacNuRhVNXbLXJW0BLtuNBnUM__-ykjMnNbD9yBwQy1McMFGSUDn9eXFCqoH4MTZFM-5VaUBSws/s320/DSCF2562.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see, there is no Wal-Mart here.</div>
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Just miles and miles of grassy plains and mountains with villages scattered throughout.</div>
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Most villages in our area are on the other side of these swamps and rivers.</div>
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With no paved road or bridges this cuts them off during rainy season (1/2 the year).</div>
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You won't get claustrophobic here.</div>
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During the flight, they were able to find the location of the large pockets of villages, find the best way to access them, and plan a better strategy for bringing them the Gospel.</div>
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This is Loki, our home until we move up.</div>
<br />The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-47035732645684046792012-10-13T01:27:00.000-07:002012-10-13T01:27:26.948-07:00Loki Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Welcome to the official Lokichoggio (aka Loki) tour. We know that after the tour, y'all will be jumping in line to buy your plane tickets. Loki consist of one main paved road with two branching dirt roads. We honestly love this little Mayberry town. It used to be bustling and busy, as it was the main hub for NGO's when Sudan was in war. Now that the country has split, so have all the white people and business. It literally is a ghost town now, which is one main reason we love it. Here is the tour, starting at our home and circling the town. Now don't blink, or you might miss this little ol' town.</div>
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Our compound-See grandma, I do work...sometimes.</div>
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Our home sits on about 5 acres, just outside of town.</div>
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Just outside our compound you will find a gang of young boys who kill all the birds around the town using homemade slingshots. Thus we have dubbed them the 'slingshot boys.'</div>
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This is for all you green people out there...our internet is charged by the wind. No wind, no Facebook.</div>
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Once leaving our home, you come to our lovely round about.</div>
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Entering town and on your left, you will see that we have a decent airport.</div>
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Just around this curve is the start of the town.</div>
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Paved roads, yeah, almost there...</div>
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There it is! Here you can buy charcoal (made by the local women), oil, flour and basic cooking items.</div>
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This is Main street and where all the action takes place, can't you tell?</div>
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This is down one of the two side streets. It is here you see most of the closed stores and shops. </div>
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Didn't we tell you? We have a Walmart! Express shopping-You point at random objects you want, they get them for you, and then tell you a total price.<br />
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This is the seasonal river that flows when it rains. This is the only road to S.Sudan, so when it is raining, you are stuck here.</div>
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After circling through town, this road is the back way home.</div>
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It is also the route of all the herds and shepherds. Yes, these little boys are shepherds.</div>
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Thanks for spending a day with us in Loki, we hope you have enjoyed the tour. </div>
<br />The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-28720441359010975472012-10-01T04:57:00.002-07:002012-10-01T04:57:21.938-07:00What a Surprise! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Over the past few months, we have been delightfully
surprised to go to our PO Box and find letters, packages, and boxes. We cannot
thank you enough! It never fails-when it has been one of those “Boy I miss
home” days, there is an encouraging letter awaiting us. Trust me, this is not a
guilt trip for those who haven’t been able to send one, since we would probably fall in that category
if the roles were reversed. This is simply a public thank you for those who
have pain stakenly hand written a note or packaged up a few goodies. I know you
wish to be unnamed, so you know who you are! We have received drink mixes
(really help the water go a long way), seasoning packets (helps the beef go
down), colored pictures (which are hanging all over our walls), letters of
encouragement (which are all over our fridge), summer sausage (Jonathan is saving
for his birthday), mac and cheese (made our anniversary special), instant sides
(great for those long days), and the list goes on. I never put out a ‘wish
list’ and you knew exactly what we needed, so thank you. As for those who have
not sent a letter or package, wipe the sweat from your forehead because there
are no worries! We honestly know you still love and pray for us, and that is
enough!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqH3dg0LcDOC6BIImx0TN5sNarEM94phT4562JnIzWsoP78W6IHoMuekcB5OHz9dNHuytkYoNtmhegtGNhg55vRSvdbAwjXxqRRFdBIta6It99j15EHB_zhSWaXg2xtgvNUvrknsHlqE/s1600/29+Sep+2012+15:57:57.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiqH3dg0LcDOC6BIImx0TN5sNarEM94phT4562JnIzWsoP78W6IHoMuekcB5OHz9dNHuytkYoNtmhegtGNhg55vRSvdbAwjXxqRRFdBIta6It99j15EHB_zhSWaXg2xtgvNUvrknsHlqE/s320/29+Sep+2012+15:57:57.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Yeah for fun wallpaper! It sure does brighten up our home!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiri9twz19n-pMBrdqwImkKe6nqeQf2JVXgowNKhIBr5m33x6m0I8Nf8ANZ9Zup004TNZohDr1LuLfJ9EZtS_R7OqosP-0jrtS23A0n2zc5D4gJOQ1zYlPBcgw-3SdaOgbGiRCmr4M_Ibs/s1600/DSCF1709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiri9twz19n-pMBrdqwImkKe6nqeQf2JVXgowNKhIBr5m33x6m0I8Nf8ANZ9Zup004TNZohDr1LuLfJ9EZtS_R7OqosP-0jrtS23A0n2zc5D4gJOQ1zYlPBcgw-3SdaOgbGiRCmr4M_Ibs/s320/DSCF1709.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
We are thankful for the beef and goat we can get here, but the taste is not like we are use to. Thank you for helping the meat go down!</div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOlmnpWvKPcatqX0g53EZZJtRnc8X15QhTJVWiwW7xdYmh8MiIyCWT0Mu5e6MnQHYwAXJd_xSo0kQKwnpic-D3oDfmiRduji2bUdH83fUqat5_UEVOwesRRxvuEZnLeHSbKkZluBlozE/s1600/DSCF2220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpOlmnpWvKPcatqX0g53EZZJtRnc8X15QhTJVWiwW7xdYmh8MiIyCWT0Mu5e6MnQHYwAXJd_xSo0kQKwnpic-D3oDfmiRduji2bUdH83fUqat5_UEVOwesRRxvuEZnLeHSbKkZluBlozE/s320/DSCF2220.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have been able to spread this out and make it last. One Jolly Ranger a day can go a long way.</div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcC67d_JyTrm_aqfJwOjDm3FL38weU0AeBKkdC7ynn_AHr1_QjqIYwXCmicmzHNQKkTGpyt9xBc6Vo-kSA6p2ki8EiYTOeEE8_4-I1IxYe-CaBSP_B3388pGTOGSh5KFhj9Tu1XCypMU/s1600/DSCF2221.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRcC67d_JyTrm_aqfJwOjDm3FL38weU0AeBKkdC7ynn_AHr1_QjqIYwXCmicmzHNQKkTGpyt9xBc6Vo-kSA6p2ki8EiYTOeEE8_4-I1IxYe-CaBSP_B3388pGTOGSh5KFhj9Tu1XCypMU/s320/DSCF2221.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Jonathan is one happy man (thanks to his sister, cousin, aunt, uncle and parents).</div>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfVbFuJCQgPD28LZ4E2j4cs16Lm5Lyc7HwOAQRh_MAPYgXHPOclw9tJR1rvZMXj-4pDQu-TVrhhOkyt6kwRv9JSMvhtEsv3_vn9g-_3wi_EOFI54vQz3aNUJkWNDQ3rpFa6yZmmOvEI0/s1600/DSCF2371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfVbFuJCQgPD28LZ4E2j4cs16Lm5Lyc7HwOAQRh_MAPYgXHPOclw9tJR1rvZMXj-4pDQu-TVrhhOkyt6kwRv9JSMvhtEsv3_vn9g-_3wi_EOFI54vQz3aNUJkWNDQ3rpFa6yZmmOvEI0/s320/DSCF2371.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
6th year anniversary dinner complete with steaks and yummy sides.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Xi3BAomY5NLDiiz2AL778bUG0D6sxt56l-klTRKvq2wAGvh2LBLR8aJZnUx48QMVbRnNwjIATwcS-115Xmm01ao8Viu3ey_JA2KjBH7o6595JSLVRWadtT9fOHNz_u9EC0i6K9yy_GA/s1600/DSCF2424.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-Xi3BAomY5NLDiiz2AL778bUG0D6sxt56l-klTRKvq2wAGvh2LBLR8aJZnUx48QMVbRnNwjIATwcS-115Xmm01ao8Viu3ey_JA2KjBH7o6595JSLVRWadtT9fOHNz_u9EC0i6K9yy_GA/s320/DSCF2424.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Now that Loki has chicken, the possibilities are endless.</div>
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We have had many people ask, so here are the basic things we can buy here. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Meat: Beef, goat and now chicken! Veggies: Tomatoes, onions, potatoes, collard greens (from our garden) and occasionally carrots, avacodos, and apples. Other: Tomatoe paste, romaine noodles, spag noodles, flour, sugar, coca, powdered/shelf milk, and other random stuff.</div>
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<br />The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-34230095631752365272012-09-09T05:32:00.001-07:002012-09-09T05:32:11.479-07:00We aren't the only ones living hereThere is one question that never fails to pop up. It is asked by the very young as well as the very old. Unfortuatley, we have to answer, "no, we have not seen a lion." Something about African's wildlife sparks people interest (including our own), so here is a glimpse of the "wildlife" in our back yard. It is not as exciting as a lion, but it will have to do for now.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRzSqdNAOz0emr3uzJpnIWyqYiUMMniQIHzhl1SLL6a-DB572hwCkKoA1OuslxdD_6J6ytXeWq1MMX1IMXozJZIig5aZcpneiS5uLe5eShoqtLLUK0UPZFRByFxt6AJBZ85UNNpxBWTo/s1600/DSCF1870.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBRzSqdNAOz0emr3uzJpnIWyqYiUMMniQIHzhl1SLL6a-DB572hwCkKoA1OuslxdD_6J6ytXeWq1MMX1IMXozJZIig5aZcpneiS5uLe5eShoqtLLUK0UPZFRByFxt6AJBZ85UNNpxBWTo/s320/DSCF1870.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Not the "wild animal" you were looking forward to seeing, but still scary enough for me.</div>
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European Roller-not sure what it is doing in Africa, but none the less it sure is purdy.</div>
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A small anakanak (monitor lizard)-they get pretty big but mostly stay hidden because they are a favorite of our killer dogs.</div>
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We have a parrot couple living in our yard. They are pretty skittish, so this is the best picture I was able to get.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYigct7oY2h_8E-1ZWEg40iaJM7duV4GX3lxPBocEjs-bZzzylzqun7SpmR4X0dbYqHdBJFOk4B_z_WKlSB74EgNWnVS8MnVoBC0EDfbJ25B95KRJ3cMXzAv2lZfw7WzoakLMhyFjCGQ/s1600/DSCF2433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYigct7oY2h_8E-1ZWEg40iaJM7duV4GX3lxPBocEjs-bZzzylzqun7SpmR4X0dbYqHdBJFOk4B_z_WKlSB74EgNWnVS8MnVoBC0EDfbJ25B95KRJ3cMXzAv2lZfw7WzoakLMhyFjCGQ/s320/DSCF2433.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And skittish for a good reason. Our large yard offers a buffet for this guy.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTg0FlgJOqMmfx3B-v9WBssUxgOiEHEDcPYYcpzNJKsDfrMWqXVhfcGf06IiZsSaLPwH90SlBDSa54607Dkwl2yMjoDg5cVW5n7SzErqTyluPT9Dw2fFEbIjjBmYQ785SpysCZFBV064/s1600/DSCF1164.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjTg0FlgJOqMmfx3B-v9WBssUxgOiEHEDcPYYcpzNJKsDfrMWqXVhfcGf06IiZsSaLPwH90SlBDSa54607Dkwl2yMjoDg5cVW5n7SzErqTyluPT9Dw2fFEbIjjBmYQ785SpysCZFBV064/s320/DSCF1164.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
And a wild cat-sorry folks, this little fellow became..ummm...well our dogs helped it go into a deep sleep.<br />
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For the honorably mentioned that we have seen in our yard, but did not have a camera, hyena, jackal, porcupine, mongoose, cobra and bushbaby. The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-71116599321786884472012-08-21T10:21:00.002-07:002012-08-21T10:21:09.247-07:00The Evils of Allergies<br />
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There we were celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary watching the sunset over Lake Turkana. We had a wonderful day enjoying God's creation and now we were enjoying His grand finale, one of the most beautiful sunsets imaginable. All of a sudden the wind changed directions and something set Holly into one spectacular sneeze fest. After each sneeze a local Turkana man would shout out Kape! really loud, which literally means GO AWAY! We couldn't believe how rude he was, but to keep our testimony we pretended it wasn't happening. Finally after 4 or 5 times, I said why do you want her to go away? It is just allergies; to which he then laughed as she sneezed again and said "Kape Ekipe" (Go Away Evil). You see, just a few hours earlier, we had a chance to talk to this man about Christ. He had a basic understanding of God's Word and claimed to have a relationship with our Savior, yet here he was convinced that Holly's allergies were nothing less then a brutal attack from the devil himself. I have always believed ragweed was wicked, but I think that might be taking it to the extreme.</div>
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Wow, what a reminder of the culture we are living in. The enemy has such a grip on this people that they are kept in absolute fear. Thank God we do not have to live a life of fear, our enemy has already been defeated, not by us, or even Benadryl, but by the wonderful and matchless grace of our Savior. One area of Spiritual Warfare we have seen inside the church here in Kenya, is how every believer feels like anytime something bad happens it is the work of the devil. Often there is so much attention given to Satan and the powers of evil, that Christ and His grace are never mentioned. Thank God, He loves us and cares for us. Satan doesn't care how much trash talking we do, or what we call him, he is only focused on distracting us from the work of sharing the Gospel. Will you please pray right now, that God, through His grace, will enable the Turkana and Toposa people to understand the battle has already been won. Our debts have all been paid in full on the cross of calvary and now love, hope and peace can replace that fear which so easily entangles and distracts all too often. </div>
The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-33689437767541724922012-08-21T10:20:00.001-07:002012-08-21T10:20:13.921-07:00Update: Water is back onLast time we left you, we were hi and dry. There was a problem getting water to our compound, and we were having to be pretty creative to make simple, everyday tasks work. Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging notes, we have had water consistently now for about a month so that is such an answer to prayer.<br />
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~JonathanThe Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-10515925564785000152012-06-17T07:47:00.002-07:002012-06-17T07:47:36.576-07:00Conservative living<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;">Don’t worry, Im not talking about the upcoming elections and Im not talking about the evils of dancing. Im talking about a new definition of clean. When we returned from Zambia in May, it felt good to be home, but little did we know, we had more training waiting before us. You see, the town’s generator that pumps water to our compound was broken. That was nothing new, since it would break about every week, but it was always fixed within a day or two. That is not the case this time, this time it is really broken. As the water in our tank got less and less, we knew we couldn’t just wait it out this time. So, we started to think of our options. There are many bore holes in Lokichoggio, and we would be more then happy to fetch our water there, but we need jerry cans to carry it in and they are impossible to get a hold of here. Before we had a chance to get stressed or to panic, God provided.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;"><span> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;">We found out they have delivery boys here, just like Dominoes! They load their bikes with four jerry cans (about 8 gallons) and deliver them around town. So, we have water brought to our house on a bike every other day. We are so thankful that God takes care of us, even in the little things. We have learned that 4 gallons a day can go a long way, and that there were many ways we used to waster water. I’ve learned to wash dishes, wash clothes, cook our food, cook the dogs food, clean and bathe with just a fraction of the water I used to. We just had to figure out a system and the ways to reuse water.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;"><span> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;">We are thankful for this new perspective, and seeing how it is barley a ‘hardship’ in light of the true hardships these nationals go through everyday, we have turned our complaining into praise.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFA1Gro8TVX7gyRmBQs0DkC5gl2zShkMwkgu9SGFIi1avlxB_MP5NHtWNiaLm3VKzp2gFZxAVOgGdoHp2VJ5p3nsoA5fWlSPzpMGQ2KSoenX7AQ9Ll2UAi_G9GaDzYWjiDF6Tr4yaTDk/s1600/DSCF0393.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFA1Gro8TVX7gyRmBQs0DkC5gl2zShkMwkgu9SGFIi1avlxB_MP5NHtWNiaLm3VKzp2gFZxAVOgGdoHp2VJ5p3nsoA5fWlSPzpMGQ2KSoenX7AQ9Ll2UAi_G9GaDzYWjiDF6Tr4yaTDk/s320/DSCF0393.JPG" width="320" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Cambria; font-size: 16px;"> </span></div>The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-45494311147309384582012-04-18T03:14:00.002-07:002012-04-18T03:14:54.181-07:00Do's and Dont's<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Just a few months ago, we were fully independent. Im not talking about the patriotic kind, but general independence. Since moving to Africa, we have had to become completely dependent on others. Dependent on the nationals, dependent on each other, and most of all dependent on God, not just for each day, but for each moment. We feel like children wondering around this new world. Barley knowing the culture, the language, the people or even the 'dos' and 'donts'. We rely heavily on the nationals that have taken us under their wing. Grace, Morine, Paul, Francis, Jon and David are just to name a few. Please remember these great Kenyans in your prayers as they take care of us lost Americans. </div>
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<b>Some do's and don'ts we have learned:</b></div>
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<b>Greetings:</b> </div>
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Don't: think a simple 'hello' will do</div>
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Do: stop, & actually talk to the person-people are above tasks here (hard for this 'type A' to grasp)</div>
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<b>Sandels:</b> </div>
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Don't: wear them while walking on anything other then the dirt road. This place has to be near the garden of Eden, because it is the most cursed with thorns that I've ever seen.</div>
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Do: Watch your step and brace for impact<br />
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<b>Stores: </b></div>
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Don't: Expect to get everything on your list, it will be in next week (maybe)</div>
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Do: Greet the store workers first thing, it will take you far in life<br />
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<b>Cooking:</b><br />
Don't: have your expectations so low that you don't try things<br />
Do: explore and have fun...mashed potatoes, steak and green beans are possible here!</div>
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<b>Time: </b></div>
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Don't: go by it, throw it out the window</div>
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Do: When you hear the singing, it is time to start walking to church</div>
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<b>Spiders:</b><br />
Don't: expect high toxic insecticide to kill them...I think it just makes them stronger<br />
Do: When all else fails, use the can</div>
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<b><b>Restaurants (AKA Hotels here): </b></b></div>
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<b>Don't: ask for a menu, unless you are bored and want some reading material</b></div>
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<b>Do: bet on beans & rice always being in abundance</b></div>
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<b>Being Different</b><br />
Dont: worry if children cry and run when they see you<br />
Do: Get used to being different and stared at (notice the baby beside me in this picture)<br />
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<b>African Culture</b><br />
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Dont: try to make sense of it</div>
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Do: Enjoy it! There is no place we would rather be, then with these people we love.</div>
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Things are different, but who said we were ever doing it right in the first place. We are just learning to be learners again.</div>The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-11276301524487305702012-03-04T11:23:00.000-08:002012-03-04T11:23:58.503-08:00"What can Wash Away my Sins..."<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:DocumentProperties> <o:Revision>0</o:Revision> <o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime> <o:Pages>1</o:Pages> <o:Words>282</o:Words> <o:Characters>1609</o:Characters> <o:Company>IMB</o:Company> <o:Lines>13</o:Lines> <o:Paragraphs>3</o:Paragraphs> <o:CharactersWithSpaces>1888</o:CharactersWithSpaces> <o:Version>14.0</o:Version> </o:DocumentProperties> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuPc15ibtLTJ-ghwXEsGodhYTlUvh9l7oLG_GGvWyFKVbRoHPDNdtpIG4C5duvcXM7zheHEZlW4_5jNQ5ZAXJnJhLA3DfwCKcoTi7O9JpTvvMVpypC7wPw4xQvaamPocrBE55Ly54_qM/s1600/DSCF0482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsuPc15ibtLTJ-ghwXEsGodhYTlUvh9l7oLG_GGvWyFKVbRoHPDNdtpIG4C5duvcXM7zheHEZlW4_5jNQ5ZAXJnJhLA3DfwCKcoTi7O9JpTvvMVpypC7wPw4xQvaamPocrBE55Ly54_qM/s320/DSCF0482.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">The beat of a drum, the a cappella chorus, and the swaying of the small congregation all collided together to form a heartfelt, nothing-held-back worship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After over an hour drive through a deserted land, we had arrived at this small church in a nearby town. As I closed my eyes, my ears were flooded with the sound of deep, heartfelt worship from these African believers as they sang “Nothing but the blood” in their native tongue. I am convinced that there is no better sound in the world. It is a sound my heart has longed for for many years. I remember being in college dreaming of the day I would worship with African believers. My prayer now is that I will worship and sing these songs with Toposa believers one day. A sudden breeze came and stirred my thoughts back to the present. I opened my eyes to the coolness of rain as the choir was still singing at the top of their lungs. The rain pattered on the tin roof and the smell of dust and smoke faded as the clean rain swept it away. It was just a short rain shower, but it was enough to bring fresh air. Still surrounded by the African voices, my glance turned outside as I peered through a small window beside me. The sight was a beautiful scene that neither words nor pictures could capture. The sun peeked through as the rain clouds faded. The beams of sun shone on the landscape of mountains speckled with villages near and far. Hut after hut, each representing people, families, God’s special creation. So many people, lost and hurting and so little time. The task seems overwhelming, but I’m reminded of the words of Pastor Tyler, “The task is big, but our God is bigger!” As I looked around, I saw men and women who have endured great hardships, yet just like the rain, they have been cleansed by the precious blood of Jesus. This doesn’t mean their life will get easier, but it means they have a Heavenly Father who promises so much more after this life. It means that faith in Christ alone can wash away sins!<o:p></o:p></div><!--EndFragment-->The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6260600611020393705.post-23640266451796396852012-02-18T03:58:00.000-08:002012-02-18T03:58:23.593-08:00Getting Creative"Fish out of water," is a phrase we are really starting to understand in full color. While God has really provided for us and blessed us beyond our expectations, there are still adjustments. There have been a few things that have forced us to get creative. Our creativity has been shaped by seasoned missionaries, nationals and mistakes. Though, we are trying to cut down on learning from mistakes. Here is a few things have learned:<br />
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Desperate for some ice cream...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghR6Y1RNH0xBLScT6vCB3tHybyrxoQ_YTdHX2YxWnDdGr4VBb-6aMY5cGGNegy3ya0WdRQ683wDMU5M9dB_orBy4YPdKfkJI-5M-Nq7jMAkTlkvdCFknO1UmbtsesDggR7yz879i17SsI/s1600/IMG_0037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghR6Y1RNH0xBLScT6vCB3tHybyrxoQ_YTdHX2YxWnDdGr4VBb-6aMY5cGGNegy3ya0WdRQ683wDMU5M9dB_orBy4YPdKfkJI-5M-Nq7jMAkTlkvdCFknO1UmbtsesDggR7yz879i17SsI/s320/IMG_0037.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>...We froze a pouch of shelf milk (doesnt have to be refrigerated) in our gas freezer and pretended it was ice cream. We learned next time we will mix in a little sugar before we freeze it.<br />
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Pizza cravings....<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsEieDmPi15-vp9OdPfcWNdymtiigUl-IQuXCkIr2zJoZOwRtqgOP0vvu7d2cSVsRnusm_ThRcOljYId_guxpvpajDh8Wm_yD8gTGc6bMxjiqDa5RGdBbIDtrEEeriT3ZYC7rlzq9OeQ/s1600/DSCF0433.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMsEieDmPi15-vp9OdPfcWNdymtiigUl-IQuXCkIr2zJoZOwRtqgOP0vvu7d2cSVsRnusm_ThRcOljYId_guxpvpajDh8Wm_yD8gTGc6bMxjiqDa5RGdBbIDtrEEeriT3ZYC7rlzq9OeQ/s320/DSCF0433.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjxjld79azGQ3vGSBodMSCNOYamzuTq2Ci9cA8wYkFQarARyuaRGQ6Lkn_TxnTlGajhdhuogqZguy5g3VfgwrK9uEnlDaXVv_esZquRQve9xXLRF7Vf40pUoMBmHZTsOtyMzS5wxNNpk/s1600/DSCF0435.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBjxjld79azGQ3vGSBodMSCNOYamzuTq2Ci9cA8wYkFQarARyuaRGQ6Lkn_TxnTlGajhdhuogqZguy5g3VfgwrK9uEnlDaXVv_esZquRQve9xXLRF7Vf40pUoMBmHZTsOtyMzS5wxNNpk/s320/DSCF0435.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
...With no oven I learned how to take a simple flatbread recipe, and make pizza crust using our gas stove. We topped it with tomatoes, mushrooms, onions, sukuma (greens) and fresh mozzarella cheese (brought from Nairobi). We learned this is a weekly must, it is our new favorite!<br />
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<span id="goog_2051415888"></span><span id="goog_2051415889"></span><br />
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PETA would be proud...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7zAEBdfHrf3X1NQpIS1x3A6YZYo_kySHfjBMmR0GdZDizQD-sjd8pWW4hAc1JEN0JUHYf7nI6kGMO3B3XpVNEcVW7Wlwdgq0Db1EZJ0uBEFFYVjBNREfPdE6QnPDn0atOc60QRF72HY/s1600/DSCF0428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7zAEBdfHrf3X1NQpIS1x3A6YZYo_kySHfjBMmR0GdZDizQD-sjd8pWW4hAc1JEN0JUHYf7nI6kGMO3B3XpVNEcVW7Wlwdgq0Db1EZJ0uBEFFYVjBNREfPdE6QnPDn0atOc60QRF72HY/s320/DSCF0428.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Our doggies get homemade dog food every evening. Complete with rice, oatmeal, eggs and dried fish. We learned they will eat just about anything.<br />
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Washing clothes....<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKix9BLdVKrp_tHwKHdfb95QsmqohoJ-m_u-ePf9itByzqax8huwwTFyA1bmWOCdmbhsS976njkd1_1PizooQpN2tFhkXN6zg2n15eTP1Tzgf2a9xeNzSGmx3SCmiYh_zkUn_9jcysYCA/s1600/washer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKix9BLdVKrp_tHwKHdfb95QsmqohoJ-m_u-ePf9itByzqax8huwwTFyA1bmWOCdmbhsS976njkd1_1PizooQpN2tFhkXN6zg2n15eTP1Tzgf2a9xeNzSGmx3SCmiYh_zkUn_9jcysYCA/s320/washer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
While spoiled with a washing machine, we currently have had no gas to run it. So, the washer makes for a good table for now, while I've gotten use to this modern marvel pictured above. I've learned there is no need to waste the time or energy wringing out the clothes, they will be dry within no time once you hang them outside.<br />
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Language learning....<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3bMrG6LmFQFN7FSrEQhZ10gA2GFwySPno5AvGPjIzVvpUvJVTjUl0xbA9VySNH7hgTLFxjcEi1wR48Wjr7lOPeKQlRVNgLr1QnFSnvM32-6stSalp_F3wz_4O_rUvG6SO01c_Wrv-gQ/s1600/DSCF0437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiK3bMrG6LmFQFN7FSrEQhZ10gA2GFwySPno5AvGPjIzVvpUvJVTjUl0xbA9VySNH7hgTLFxjcEi1wR48Wjr7lOPeKQlRVNgLr1QnFSnvM32-6stSalp_F3wz_4O_rUvG6SO01c_Wrv-gQ/s320/DSCF0437.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Knowing the tone of a word as well as the pronunciation is key. Jonathan found that out when he was trying to ask how someone was, but instead asked where their boyfriend was. Our language teacher, Francis, has a lot of patience with us.<br />
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As we settle in, temporarily, here in Loki (sounds like an oxymoron), we see so many blessings from God. Jonathan has been asked by a few local men to start a Bible study since they are hungry for knowing God's Word. God is just laying before us opportunity after opportunity. While our focus is language and culture learning for the next year, we need to make sure we are balancing that with ministry. Next year, we face another transition as we head north and say goodbye to the 'town life' and hello to isolation and the bush.The Lesleyshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579375715773359469noreply@blogger.com2