Glory to God, Glory to God in the Highest...

Christmas in Kenya…it’s a different experience for us! We’ve been trying to get into the Christmas spirit, and to feel like it’s only a couple weeks until December 25, and yet it’s been nearly impossible!! It’s just getting warmer with each passing day, the sun is getting more intense, and we are in a country not our own and away from all things familiar. But it is okay…it’s been interesting, and we are trying to really enjoy it and take it all in. We have borrowed some decorations to make our house feel more festive, and are listening to Christmas music any chance we get! We were also given a Nativity scene made out of banana leaves, which we LOVE!!
The kids at the AIC Ngong Church presented a Christmas program on Sunday morning…it was so cute! They did such a good job…and man can those kids sing! They were so dramatic and all dressed up in their costumes…we really enjoyed it!! The title of the blog “Glory to God, Glory to God, in the Highest, in the Highest…“ is from a song the kids were singing, and it has been in my head ever since I heard it on Sunday!!
Yesterday we had our AIM IS Christmas party at the Han Kook Korean BBQ restaurant…we ate Korean food outside under umbrellas, wore flip flops and short sleeves…it was the coolest Christmas party we’ve ever had! It was a very nice evening of fellowship with new friends and fellow missionaries, singing Christmas carols, and hearing from the Word of God. That was when things started to sink in for me a little, realizing that it doesn’t matter where we are, the story is the same. Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby to be our Saviour and Redeemer…that doesn’t change no matter where we are during this Christmas season!!

Trevor seems to just be continually busier at the shop these days!! There is so much work coming in, and not enough time to do it! But this is a real blessing, as he recently found out. Last week he went out for lunch with some of the guys from the hangar, and one of them told him that before he was here to run the shop, the shop was not doing very well…hardly anybody brought their vehicles in anymore, people had had bad experiences with bringing their vehicles to the TAM shop, there wasn’t enough work for the guys in the shop…and now there are line ups of vehicles waiting to get worked on, Trevor has to turn people down because their days are completely booked, all the guys are busy, and people are happy and satisfied with the work that is being done on their vehicles!! Wow!! It’s so encouraging to hear that…to see it from that point of view!
He constantly gets comments from other missionaries, telling him that we have to extend our stay, that we have to return for good, that he can’t leave the shop…he is in high demand!! :) Yesterday at the Christmas supper we won a door prize, and later, Allan Masters (he is the director of AIM IS), told both Trevor and I that winning a prize means we have to stay on for at least two more Christmas parties…he said “I’m already working on the paperwork, all you have to do is get your extension. That‘s how it works, anybody who wins a prize is meant to stay.!!” He was joking, of course, but the truth is that Trevor is needed here, and that is good to know!! God is using him in so many ways, and we give Him all the honour and glory for that.
Another way that God has been using Trevor here is to continually encourage his guys in the shop, especially Mark, the refugee from Sudan. As I mentioned awhile ago, Mark’s life has been so difficult…so many of his family was killed in the war in Darfur, he had to flee to Kenya, but life is not easy here either for him…he is not from the “right” tribe, and that means so much when you live in Africa. He has faced so much rejection and pain, and he struggles a lot. Awhile ago I mentioned that he was saving up to buy a bike…well he was able to finally get enough money to buy one, and not long after that it was stolen from him. This may seem like a small thing, but when that bike is something that you have saved up so long for, and you have already lost your family and home and country and it was one thing that was finally yours, well to lose it is a big, big thing. He came to Trevor with some questions the other day…deep, difficult questions about God, life, pain and struggles…and Trevor was able to sit and talk with him and try to encourage him. He has a real burden for Mark. Please pray for this young man.
Trevor has also had to deal with some conflict in the shop these last few weeks, and had to make use of his “conflict resolution” skills! Things worked out well, and we just praise God for that. It was definitely another learning experience for Trevor, as so many things have been!!

I have been going to New Life Home these last few weeks, and really, really enjoy it! God has really answered my prayers and given me new excitement and energy and passion to be here! I have been getting to know the other Kenyan ladies who also work at New Life, and have already learned so much about them and about Africa through them. I love getting to know them and becoming friends with them…being able to laugh and joke with them…sharing our hears with each other…it’s been so encouraging. And the babies and kids that live there fill my heart with joy, oh I love them so much already. Getting to know their different personalities, helping them when they’re sick, cuddling them and playing with them…it’s so fulfilling. So many babies are getting adopted, and at least 4 have already gone to their new homes since I’ve started there…4!!!! That’s so exciting! Last week the paid staff had Christmas party there, so I, along with a few other volunteers, held the fort down until their party was over. A new friend of mine, Shiro, and I were in the ICU nursery, and it was such a neat experience! Taking care of the smallest babies was so much fun! I am so thankful for the opportunity to work at NLH, and for the experiences I am having through being there.

So that’s a bit of an update…And life in Kenya goes on…