RAIN!!!!

On a visit to a nearby village today, Carrie Lewis, her mom, and I got soaking wet and muddy walking through the river and were drenched by the pouring rain!  Praise the Lord!

That's us on the compound, the view from the front of the Lewis' house.

Joy.

my new home.

finally home.

After...

flying 7 flights
being in 13 cities in a row
moving through 4 countries
sleeping in 10 different beds
and packing 11 different times

I am finally home in the village of Paringa, Sudan.

God is so faithful.

PRAISE HIS GLORIOUS NAME!!!

preview.

Hello folks!
I am back in Nairobi until Monday morning, and I have internet!
I plan on sharing stories from my incredible experience with God in training in Zambia, and I thought I would post one picture here as a little preview of what is to come!

This is my teammate for the day and I with our precious Zambian helper, Rose, walking down the road in Lusaka.  Holding hands is a sign of genuine friendship.  :)

Thanks for all your prayers!

fun at the market.

Before I tell of my adventure today, I wanted to mention one I had last week.  I needed more visa pages added to my passport.  I had only three left, and without more, I might get stuck in southern Sudan with no way out (until I could get a new passport, and right now they are only beginning the process of building a new US embassy in S. Sudan).  This called for an appointment at the embassy here in Nairobi.  I was told, after going through security and filling out the form, that it would only take thirty minutes to print and then add the pages to my passport.

It ended up taking nearly five hours.  Turns out the updated computer system was not working.  They had to fix the problem first.  I waited until an hour after the embassy closed with three other American citizens for our extra visa pages.  Mine was the very last one to come out.  Thanks be to God for helping me be patient.

Today I went to Toy Market with Carrie and Benton Lewis and the entire Terrazas family (they are the family from training).  Toy Market is not a market that sells toys.  It is a market that sells everything!  It is composed of stand after stand of shoes and dresses and fruits and vegetables and bags and movies and everything else you could imagine.  The happy Kenyan stand owners called out to us as we walked by, "Come, my friend.  How are you today?  Fine, thank you.  You need some jeans.  Look at this shirt.  Here are some very nice hats!"

And I loved it.  And I usually don't like markets like this.  It usually stresses me out to be called this way and that by venders and to bargain for things and to be in small spaces.  But this time it was wonderful!  I was able to bargain and to shop peacefully.  And I even bought some clothes for Sudan!

Here's me in the changing room...trying some new capris!  

 The gang looking at hats.

 A view of the side road!

It's raining right now.  The smell is sweet.  Imagine the smell of thick air, filled with spices and dirt and charcoal, being drenched in water.  Picture the red dirt becoming more red.  And the sound?  It's like powerful waves crashing against rocks.  The wind must really be blowing the pouring rain!

But the lights are flickering, so I better close out this post.

Answered prayer requests:
I have been sleeping better.  Praise God!  Keep praying for rest as I am getting ready for another month of training.  Thanks!
Take every victory:
I checked everything off of my "for three months in Sudan" shopping list!!
I successfully made rice for six people.  And it was really delicious!
Today I learned:
Chicken Inn, a fast food chicken restaurant here, does not serve chicken tenders.  Just chicken on the bone.  (The tenders are my fav.  But the chicken breast I had with my meal today was still delicious!)

And I will leave you with a verse I read this morning that made me pause and praise my God.

"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich."  2 Corinthians 8:9

shopping.

If you know me, you know that I am NOT a shopper.  But these past days, I have had great need to be one.  And not for fru-fru stuff.  For necessities!

Here are pictures of me and the Lewis boys (Benton and Davis) in Uchumi shopping center:

 Love the little shopping carts.  

They have big ones too of course, but the boys have fun pushing around the lil' ones.  

Walker is the one with his back to you.  He is really eyeing the candy.  :)

And today we got to visit the homeschooling resource center for East Africa.  It was so cool.  If you know me well, you also know that I LOVE books.  I think, no I know, that I could have spent all day long looking at the books in the center.  Instead, I chose several art books for homeschooling and checked out other fun books for me to read!  And I also grabbed two report cards to fill out for Davis!  Eeek!!!!  I am getting really excited to teach.

And I said no fru-fru stuff, but we did stop on the side of the road to buy the lovely basket you see below.  This lady was sitting there handmaking these colorful baskets.  I had to get one!  Now, I have a place for all my borrowed books when I get to Sudan!!!

Take every victory:
I also got to see some of my furniture today at the Baptist Mission of Kenya (BMOK) office.  I am so anxious to be home in Sudan.  To see it all in place, and be there with it!
Today I learned:
The Toposa people read goat entrails to see when it is going to rain.  And it's legitimate!  They really look at it scientifically!  They can tell by what the goats eat (because plants can sense when rain is coming) and by the goat blood, I think, when rain is coming.  Crazy, huh?

Come to Me.

A song God gave me.  The chorus came while packing for two years.  The verses on the plane to Chicago.

"Come to Me"

Don't carry this burden
It's not yours to hold.
Come to Me, weary and burdened,
For light and easy is My yoke.

'Cause I am near to you
This is My plan
Yes I am near to you
I am holding your hand.
I will never leave your side
I choose you, child
You are mine.

So, don't carry this burden
It's not yours to hold.
Come to Me, weary and burdened,
For light and easy is My yoke.

'Cause with Me all things
Do them you can
Against you with Me
Nothing can stand.
I'm your victory in this fight
I am close by
I'm your guide.

So, don't carry this burden
It's not yours to hold.
Come to Me, weary and burdened,
For light and easy is My yoke.

'Cause I can handle it
I'm stronger than man
And I can carry it
While you dance.
In the darkness I'm your light
Lift up your eyes
Here am I.

So, my child...

Don't carry this burden
It's not yours to hold.
Come to Me, weary and burdened,
For light and easy is My yoke.

~Matthew 11:28-30~