July Prayer Letter

This month I have many things for which to praise the Lord! June seems to have been an eventful month.

• Jess and Jason had their baby! Cadence Jaylee was born on Saturday, the 28^th of June. That makes five grandkids for me now. Be sure to go to their website by clicking on the link on the right.
• I’m feeling much better emotionally. The heaviness of depression seems to have lifted!
• I am continuing to renew my mind regarding the fact that I am an alien in a foreign country. Just call me “Gershom”.

• Kim and I took a day out of our normal routine and climbed Mt. Longonot. What an exhilarating experience that was! Here I am at the rim of the volcano.

• I was greatly blessed to be invited to the rural home of a couple from church. They feel like God has given them a ministry of offering their home in this way to refresh missionaries. I had an absolutely wonderful two-and-a-half day retreat. The above photo is the view I had from the sitting room of the guesthouse.
• I got a ride with Claire (another friend from church) to Matunda. It was a pleasant change of pace to be able to travel in a private car. We stopped at a few places that I’m unable to when traveling in a public service vehicle, including two scenic viewpoints. Kenya is such a beautiful country!

• While I was at my house at Matunda, I spent some time with Charles and Agnes. I was happy to see her doing much better. She’s not 100% yet, but Sunday (the day I went to visit them) she had walked 30 minutes (one way) to church. They asked me to thank all of you that prayed for her. Please continue to uphold them in prayer.
  
• Joe is continuing to do ok; he’s still quite weak and thin. However, he’s putting his hope in the Lord for his complete recovery.
• I got my work permit, re-entry pass, and alien card renewed for another year. The hassles of Kenyan-style bureaucracy completely defy description! The best (and actually only) approach is to just patiently and politely go through each and every step, jumping through the hoops one at a time.

• I had a great birthday! I heard from many of you in the States, plus some of my Kenyan friends. Kim and I went for a long walk through a really neat hilly area. We carried a simple lunch and flew a kite. Here I am flying it. The sun was out for much of our day, which was an extra blessing during this chilly, gray "winter" season Kenya is experiencing.
  
• I took Jeremiah and Karo out for their 4^th wedding anniversary.
• I got to see Sammy play rugby at the Safari Sevens international tournament. In fact, it was my first time to attend a sporting event in Kenya. He’s a good player.
• I moved into a different house on the same compound where I’ve been living. This one has only one bedroom, so it will save me some money every month. I like it. Somehow it seems to be more cozy and homey than the other one.
• I started the long and tedious process of editing more of my stories for another book.

Please continue to pray for:

• Agnes to find out what exactly has been causing her pain. Also, pray that they would find a different house. The one they’ve just recently rented has to be knocked down for a new road.
• Joe to be able to eat nutritionally and continue to heal from TB.
• Sammy to find a job in the tourism industry. He’s almost finished with his first year of college.

“Many little people in many small places undertaking many modest actions can transform the world.”
- African proverb