July 2, Wednesday
About 25 AGC urban pastors were having a retreat in Nakuru, and Jim was asked to speak to them about how to make worship more effective in their churches. We arrived late morning and shared for about 1 1/2 hours about creating services after which people will say "were not our hearts burning within us?", a reference to the disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus after He was resurrected.
After lunch with the pastors, we traveled on to Tenwek in time for a Crisis Management meeting. Since the opposition party in Kenya was planning a big rally on Monday, July 7, we discussed plans for minimizing travel by our missionaries on that day and how to evaluate and strategize for other security issues we face in Kenya.
July 3, Thursday
Every 6 - 8 weeks, our Kenya Field Executive Finance Committee meets to discuss issues, evaluate progress, and make decisions. Jim leads the meeting and I take the minutes. This meeting ended a bit earlier than usual - only 7 hours long with lunch in between!
After supper, we met with one of our families who are heading for the US the following week for 6 months. They tell us their plans and challenges, and we have prayer for them. They have a son graduating from RVA, another son returning to Kenya in August to continue at RVA, and another son getting married in January.
July 4 - 6, Friday - Sunday
We traveled from Tenwek to Kericho Friday morning since I had a meeting with the TEE Council. We heard about the progress and challenges in Theological Education by Extension, made plans for fundraising and celebration meetings in several church regions, reviewed the new 5-year Strategic Plan, and dedicated a new computer purchased by WGM.
We got home about 45 minutes before 2 new missionary families arrived for the weekend. Heath & Angela Many with 2 girls, and Jim & Martha Ritchie with 3 children are currently studying Kiswahili near Nairobi, and came for the weekend for some WGM orientation, shopping, eating, and warming up. Their language school is at a higher altitude with temps in the 40's - 60's these days, much rain, and little sun!
July 7, Monday
We had issued a travel warning to our missionaries due to a major opposition rally in Nairobi. Thankfully the day was peaceful, and we got a lot done at home.
July 8, Tuesday
We decided on the spur of the moment to travel to a nearby tourist campsite to celebrate our anniversary. It was only about 25 minutes from our house. For several years we had wanted to see what it was like, and were not disappointed. We stayed in one of their rustic "luxury tents" complete with electricity and comfortable furniture.
The rustic part was that it was hidden from the other nearby tents by bushes and trees, and the adjoining bathroom had a bucket for a toilet into which we poured sawdust after every visit. It also had an open-to-the-elements shower for which we arranged the time that the local workers would bring the hot water. The food was excellent, and we enjoyed watching and listening to the many birds surrounding the tent.July 9, Wednesday
Our actual 37th anniversary! After lunch we traveled home.
That evening our Bible study group visited a local family who had an 8 year old boy with cerebral palsy. Our group sang, shared encouraging words, spoke a lesson from the Bible, shared gifts of food purchased by our group, and prayed for the family to keep their faith in God as He helped them in raising this child.Our typical-untypical week brought many opportunities of teaching, encouraging others, meeting in committees, orienting new staff, traveling, eating together, celebrating marriage milestones, and ministering to those in need. So now you know why we sometimes have a hard time telling you what would be a "typical" week!
