Kisumu Yoder's: A New Normal...

Another week has gone by and I wonder... have we made a difference in anyone's life? My constant prayer is that we could be a blessing to the church at Lela where we have been asked to serve, as well as in the compound here where we live. It feels like we have been in Kenya now for a long time and I think we are actually beginning to feel like this is normal life... a new normal. The new normal includes many interesting and unusual sights, smells, and sounds. I wonder if I will ever be able to go down the road without being amazed by something I see. This morning as I was sitting in church there was the cutest lil mother hen with 6 lil chicks that came close to where I was sitting. They were pecking away for anything they could find to eat and I marveled again at the huge difference in the church setting here compared to at home. No one here acted like it was unusual to have chickens at church but at home that would make quite a scene! :) I'll admit that it is a bit distracting not to have walls in our church. Sometimes we can see men herding cows, or trying to push a big cart out of a ditch. People walk along the road a lot and I always feel sorry for the ones who appear to be crippled. Last Sun. Rachel saw 2 men fighting... I didn't see that but it would've been kind of interesting to watch. Wayne found a big lizard in the "cho" this morning... at least it wasn't a snake!!! We are beginning to remember names better and recognize those who regularly attend Lela. Wayne taught the Instruction class this morning for the first time. On Tues. of this past week Wayne went with Jasons to Lena's house to do an Instruction class interview. Lena is a nice looking lady with an adorable lil girl.. maybe a yr. old, named Josephine. Lena was born in 1974. She is a widow... her husband died last yr. of HIV. She has had 10 children I think, and 4 have died (miscarriages or still births I think.wy) Our hearts go out to her so much. She has a hard time finding work in the rice fields sometimes and its very hard to support her family. We simply can't imagine a life like that. Makes me wonder why I was born to an American family who always provided well for us and who loved us so much. I should never complain about anything!!!!!!!!!!

On Wed. and Thurs. Wayne spent 2 long days with Jim Harries learning language and culture. Jim is British. He is single, and has lived in Kenya for over 20 years. He cares for orphans and is a very educated man who cares for the Luo people and lives like they do. He is very concerned about bringing Western (or American) influence to these people. Wayne said he could've easily driven the Patrol up to the house or church that they visited but Jim didn't want to because he doesn't want that "image". In other words.. he didn't want to take an expensive vehicle in there since those people could never afford one. By the way... it is a strange feeling to go to church and the only vehicles there are mission vehicles. Everyone else walks... and some from long distances! We are just so blessed! And so Wayne and Jim walked a LONG ways in the direct sun. Bradlyn and I had plans to go with them on Thurs. but when Wayne saw how much walking they did he knew it would be too much for me so we stayed home. I have still been studying Luo some every day and I think this week now we will be doing Luo classes with Rosemary, who is a member of the CBF church here. It felt so wonderful to have a break from classes all week!! I felt like celebrating!! I wanted to do what Fannie Peachey (Aarons) said she wanted to do after their language was over!! Marjie told me Fannie said she wanted to stand on the roof of the house and holler!! :) Fannie you must be a woman after my own heart! I'd like to dance a lil jig up there too. :) Janice and Carolyn would like to join me too!!

I spent my days getting caught up on baking, making pizza sauce, and some of those things that get neglected when we're in class. On Wed. I made Vanessa's birthday cake and then since the children have a half day of school that day, Clarissa nicely decorated the cake that afternoon. On Fri. Wayne and I went to school for Nessa's party. LaRay Stoltzfus (Marlins) also had a birthday so Marlin and Lavina were there as well. It was fun to see where our girls spend their days. Charity and Carolyn are doing a great job and have the rooms decorated nicely. Charity has a Dr. Seuss theme with lots of interesting sayings... :) Rachel and I also spent a bit of time one afternoon helping Judith clean her house. Judith is going above and beyond what she would have to do to get her house clean and decluttering "junk" that has collected there over the years with people coming and going and just letting things there for the next person. I sure don't know what we will do without Tonys! And we will miss Jamie and Ayla so much too! But we're just SO glad that they were here to help us through these first weeks of huge adjustments. We had an interesting day yesterday. In the morning all the compound ladies went to Java House to have brunch with Judith as a farewell. After a nice meal Janice, her mother Lois, Charity, Marjie, and I went to Ochumi's... the grocery store in the lower level of the same building. They have a nice amount of stuff, but not as much selection as Nakumatt has. I'm slowly learning how to cook around here I think, and how to substitute ingredients. We're all learning to be content with less than the best too, which doesn't hurt us at all!! After getting home from Java House I had to rush around and get ready to go to Mark and Mary Ellen Beachys house. Tonys, Joseph and Becky, and our familly were all invited to their house for supper. We were really glad for the privilege of seeing where they live. They're the only Mennonite family who live in a compound much closer to the church where they minister. It took us close to an hour and a half to get there and as usual we saw many interesting sights along the way. We saw the road where you go back to where Obama's grandmother lives. In a village close to Marks there is a sign that says "The village where Obama's father was born." We took a pic of the sign but it didn't turn out well. Marks have fixed there house up very nicely with plenty of African decor. Its very livable in spite of concrete floors, etc. Mary Ellen has a special touch and one thing I really liked was all the scripture and nice sayings on the walls. I would describe Mary Ellen as an "encourager". She reminds me a lot of Mary King. She has certainly blessed me often already. We were served a delicious meal of ricardo chicken, rice and beans! Our favorite! Also a nice pineapple coffee cake for dessert. Thanks SOO much to those of you who take time to write. We always eagerly check our email during the day and love to hear from HOME SWEET HOME! God bless you! Clara