- Life at the hangar seems to be slowly getting back to “normal”, although it will never be the same as it was before the crash. AIM AIR voluntarily grounded all their planes after the crash on August 1st in an effort to be there for the Toews and Williams families and to be able to properly assess what needed to be done. Last week they started flying again, although the investigations about what happened are still on-going. Please pray for AIM AIR and all the things they have to deal with.
- The memorial service that we had for Ryan Williams on August 15th was another beautiful and God-honouring service. God has been giving so much grace and strength to Dawn and it has been so evident in her testimony. Dawn and her kids, and Tiffany and her kids really need your prayers as they work on plans for what they are going to do and make big decisions about their future. There will be long dark days ahead for them, but we know that God can and will sustain them. They have been such a testimony to us all.
- The weather here seems to be finally warming up some. I don’t even know if I mentioned it before, but July and August are the coldest months of the year in Kenya. We have been experiencing Kenyan winter! And you may laugh and say that surely it can’t get very cold, but I’m here to tell you that it does! Many days we left the house in the morning wearing thick sweaters, socks and shoes, scarf (for me!), and shivering like crazy! The houses here are not insulated and heated like the ones at home, which also makes a huge difference. But…I think that the air is finally warming up, which I am very thankful for!
- Kenya is still going through a severe drought. There has been an intense lack of rain, and Kenya’s people are suffering. Many areas have people are dying from starvation. Many animals have been dying. The ground is dying. Kenya is suffering. There is a severe food shortage in many parts of Kenya as well. Please pray for rain for Kenya. It is not the rainy season right now, but God can still make it rain!
- Oh…and we are also on a power rationing schedule. Yeah it’s great. Monday, Wednesday and Fridays the power goes off at 6:00 am and comes back on at 6:00 pm. The other half of the city is off on the other three days, and Sunday is a no-rationing day. It’s been something to get used to and quite frustrating at times…but the good thing is that at least we can prepare for it because of the schedule. The reason for this power rationing is because most, if not all, of the power for the city is produced by hydro-electric dams, and because of the lack of rain we’ve been having, the water levels in the river have been too low for the hydro-electric dams to produce enough power for everyone to have electricity at the same time. Add our water rationing to that, and we’ve been having to conserve and save and plan a whole lot more than we’re used to.
- Trevor’s work at the TAM shop is never ending, it seems. One of these days I want him to write a blog entry about his days at the shop and the things he deals with…so wait for that! =) There is only so much that I can write about that, as I am not there to see what actually goes on during his days. He does have someone now to help him with paperwork and the administration side of things, which has been really nice for him. The days that he actually gets to put on his coveralls and get his hands dirty are the days that he is happiest! =)
- The kids in Mitumba are on a school break right now. The school terms are different here than they are in Canada…the school year starts in January, with the first term being January, February and March. April is a break. Then the second term is May, June, and July. And August is a break. Then the third and last term is September, October and November, and December is a break. But during their breaks, they have what’s called “tuition” (for the higher classes). Tuition is basically just extra work, maybe kind of like summer school, or tutoring. These kids work so hard, I tell ya! It’s crazy sometimes to see how much pressure is put on them in school. So right now they have tuition. The days that I go to Mitumba, I still work in the clinic, but I’m not as busy there as there are less kids around. I’ve actually really enjoyed this slower time in Mitumba, as I have been able to spend a lot of time hanging out with them, having lots of time to talk about their lives, visiting them in their homes, having some of the young girls teach me how to make Kenyan food like ugali, playing crazy tag through the slum corridors with some of the older boys (dangerous, don’t try this at home!! Ha)…it actually is really fun, trying to avoid the sharp iron sheets that make up the walls for the houses, trying to not trip on the uneven ground, swerving around the crazy corners, trying to not slip on all the garbage and other “stuff” on the ground, attempting to not get lost in the maze of slum houses…it’s a riot! And all the while having the mamas and little babies watching this game, and I’m sure thinking “what a crazy mzungu!” It was so much fun! But seriously, though, I’ve had a lot of time for good conversation and meaningful encounters with the youth during this more relaxed time of holiday…something I’m so thankful for. They are continually teaching me so much about their lives and their hearts, and God has really been using them to change me.
- The Youth Bible Studies in Mitumba have also been going really well. I’ll give last week as an example. We split up the boys and the girls. Trevor and the guys talked about relationships, temptations in relationships and the different struggles that guys go through. He ended the study with telling them the story of our relationship, which they LOVED! I wish I could have been there! =) He said that they were so interested in hearing about it, and were so involved in the story. It was a time where they were really able to bond together as guys and so good for the youth to get to know Trevor better and connect with him on another level. Lately there had been some of the oldest youth boys that weren’t coming on a regular basis, but on Saturday most, of not all, were there! What an exciting time. Being able to help them, encourage them, be real and honest with them, and stand with them in the struggles and temptations they face every day.
- During this time, I met with the girls. We talked about the importance of bonding together and standing together as girls. We read the story of Jesus washing the disciples feet, and I used that illustration of Jesus serving His friends in this lowly way as an example to us to serve our friends. I brought out the bucket of water as the girls all looked at me with questions in their eyes! I told them that today, we would wash each others feet. We would serve each other. Then I brought out the yummy-smelling foot scrub and lotions and pink and purple nail polish and said that we would also make ourselves look and smell pretty! Their faces immediately lit up and they began to talk excitedly amongst themselves! It was such a nice time of “girly-ness” and having fun and bonding. After I had told them what we were going to do, immediately “my girl”, the girl in the previous blog entry, came to me and whispered in my ear “Andrea, I want to wash your feet.” My heart melted. What a girl. The funny thing was that after most of the girls were done and Trevor’s Bible study was finished too, the boys came to our classroom to see what we were doing. A few of them came in and sat down in the chair and wanted to wash their feet using the pretty foot scrub and lotion! It was so funny! But what took the cake was that they also wanted to paint their fingernails using the hot pink nail polish…I drew the line with painting ONE of their nails each…! We love our crazy fun youth!
So…that’s a bit of a glimpse of what our life consists of these days. We are doing well, for the most part, and trying to make the most of every opportunity, knowing that our time left in this beautiful country is quickly coming to an end. (for now!)
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, and to those of you who have left us notes of encouragement and let us know that you are thinking of us and praying for us. It means so much to us, more that I can even say. You have helped us through these past few months of difficulty and we thank God for you and pray that He will bless you abundantly for supporting us so faithfully. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Thank you so much for all your prayers and support, and to those of you who have left us notes of encouragement and let us know that you are thinking of us and praying for us. It means so much to us, more that I can even say. You have helped us through these past few months of difficulty and we thank God for you and pray that He will bless you abundantly for supporting us so faithfully. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
We love you!
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