Hanging out with friends

"Friendship takes time. There's simply no substitute for the expenditure of large amounts of time in the making of friends. You can't always be accomplishing something, especially friend-making, in the time spent. Considerable time needs to be spent without any other agenda than to spend time together."

- Mike Flynn, Making Disciples

Celebrating Carol and Jeremiah's anniversary with lunch

Jasmine 'talking' on the phone :)

Celebrating Joy's 6th birthday with brownie sundaes

Milk "ATM" dispenser

Happy girls after a yummy chicken lunch

Jim really loves his two sisters!

Carol, with her nephew, Joshua

Jacky and Cliff

"True bonding of a missionary and another people doesn't take place at first sight. Becoming bi-cultural takes years. Jesus envisioned discipleship as a lifetime of building into the lives of others. The work of missions takes weeks, months, and years - an entire lifetime."

- Forget the Pith Helmet, various authors

Deng and Mawien were recently in Nairobi on
their mid-term break. After they had lunch at my
house, Deng read John 3:16 in English

Mawien read the same verse in Dinka.

Can you find John 3:16 in the Dinka language of South Sudan?

Mawien and Deng strike a typical African pose

"It is a beautiful thing when folks in poverty are no longer just a missions project, but become genuine friends and family, with whom we laugh, cry, dream, and struggle." 

-Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revolution 

Another lunch, this time with only Deng, when
he was in Nairobi for the start of his August
holiday from school.

"Christians are called to infect the world with a radical biblical faith. They must be willing to take the time and personal energy necessary." 

- Forget the Pith Helmet, various authors

Masudi serving Margaret at a conference where he was the chef

"I think what our world is desperately in need of is lovers. Lovers are people who are building deep, genuine relationships with fellow strugglers along the way, and who actually know the faces of the people behind the issues they are concerned about. Lovers are people who have fallen desperately in love with God and with suffering people, and who allow those relationships to disturb and transform them." 

-Shane Claiborne, Irresistible Revolution 

Nyama choma (goat and pork) with good friends - Sam, Emily, and Kim

It's great we still get together socially, even after our homegroup disbanded.

This fellow entertained us with Kikuyu songs :)

"Jesus took time to see people in the shadows - the wallflowers, the lepers. He lived with the little guys - the common folk, the fisherman."
-Laurie Beth Jones, Jesus CEO

Sammy treated me to breakfast recently!

"Establishing a spirit of hospitality creates an atmosphere of safety and security whereby deep, meaningful conversation can blossom. In doing so, we affirm people as human beings and speak peace to their inner being."
-Duane Elmer, Cross-Cultural Servanthood 

Margaret and Carol, two wonderful friends!

Some recent moments with my friends

Rose and Sammy spent Christmas Eve with me and stayed the night. We had a good time together... eating a lot of fun food! We also played two games of Scrabble :)

Since my return to Kenya in late May, I hadn't yet seen my friend, Robert, who lives in Tanzania. However, recently he was in Nairobi to escort his son, Avoga, to secondary school. We were able to meet briefly and I gave him a copy of my latest book. In fact... he's the one that wrote the forward in it!

Joy (4 years old) and her sister, Jasmine (6 weeks old)

The month of November

Here are a few random photos of my activities during the month of November.

One of my favorite things to do in Kenya is help my friends celebrate their birthdays. These first two photos are David (first-born child of Veronica and Ben, who live in Kijabe). He's a delightful child!

I also had the opportunity to visit Joe at his place in Kayole.

Moses was surprised - and pleased - that I had remembered his birthday!

Linet, Derrick, Jeremy, and I had a great time at Mamba Village!

Masudi and I cycled part way up Ngong Hills. It's quite a climb! We especially enjoyed a nice bowl of ice cream at Harvestors Fruit and Coffee Shop in Ngong Town. We shared our lunch with Syeimita and bought a few sweets from him, as well.

A great sign (near Greenfield "shopping center")!

Rose and I helped Sammy celebrate his birthday. We had a great lunch at Galito's and then headed over to Sno Cream afterward. You can see by his big smile that Sammy enjoyed himself!

Carol and Jeremiah's new little one - Jasmine!

Celebrating Rose's birthday

Masudi, Jim, and Sammy

Me and Rose

Walking near the Donholm Caltex

A fun weekend with friends

Sammy and Rose

An intense Scrabble game with Julie (a friend from Omaha)

Rose and I enjoy baking when we're together

On Sunday, we attended the Israel Houghton concert in downtown Nairobi

December Prayer Letter

Worship time at my church retreat in October

“The Christian should never worry about tomorrow or give sparingly because of a possible future need. Only the present moment is ours to serve the Lord, and tomorrow may never come. Money is really worth no more than as it can be used to accomplish the Lord’s work. Life is worth as much as it is spent for the Lord’s service.”

- George Muller

Thank you for praying for my many friends here in Kenya!

• Masudi just finished high school. Join me in praying that he might find a way to seek further education or to find employment.
• Collins enters his final year of high school in January.

• Mark Deng Deng finished high school this year. He has the opportunity to travel to his home area in Sudan for the 1^st time since he fled as a young child ten years ago. Pray for his safety and emotional well-being. He expects to return to Kenya in three months.
• Sammy Wefwafwa has one year remaining at the two-year college he’s been attending. He was recently invited to join the national 15-a-side rugby team. He very much desires to find a job.
• Rose is happy to have received a sponsorship to attend a college business course.
• Joe continues to improve health-wise.
• George and Linet continue to trust the Lord to meet their family’s daily needs. Derrick and Jeremy are their sons.
• Karo and Jeremiah still pastor their church and attend a Bible college. Please also remember their children, Jim and Joy.
• Agnes is attending a tailoring and dress-making course and is also starting up a knitting business. Please pray for her health to improve. Charles continues to search for daily work to provide for their family. Tony, Pope, Adu, Duane, and Zach are their sons.
• Robert is looking for a new job in Dar es Salaam.
• William Deng Madit, Emmanuel Mawien, Mawien Mawien Dut, and William Madut Tier were recently chosen by the Rehema Team to be sponsored in school by my church. Please pray for them as they begin class in January. They all strongly desire to get their education.
• There’s also Ben, Nathan, Masha, Ruth, Vera, Martin and his family, Bishop and Margaret, Liz and Stu… and the list goes on and on.

Please pray for me

· as I minister to and encourage the folks I’ve listed above

· as I head up the Rehema Team at my church

· as I open up my home for my homegroup – Sam, Mike, Kim, Moses, Justo, Emily, Annie

· that my health will stay steady and strong (I’ve been rather fatigued lately)

· that I will stay sensitive to the Lord’s voice and only engage in the activities He has for me

· safety on the roads

… and the list goes on and on.

I Attended My First Sporting Event in Kenya

I finally got to watch Sammy play rugby recently! None of these pictures are of him, though. Kenya has been hosting the Tusker Safari Sevens international tournament now for about 13 years. Most teams come from Africa, but there were also teams from Japan, Fuji, the UK, and France. It was a huge 3-day event! The teams are all what's called "seven-a-side" and the games only last for 14 minutes.

Kenya's main team won the tournament. Sammy played on Kenya's 2nd team - Shujaa. It means "hero" in Swahili. They got 5th place. He played well. He was quite pleased that I came to see him.

Rose Wefwafwa

Rose recently spent a couple of days at my house.
She's fun to hang out with.

Please remember to pray for her and Sammy!
They're really struggling financially
since their Mom died in December.

Two more of Rose and Sammy

Sammy enjoyed riding my bike around the neighborhood. This is Rose - with a rose.