The Cheesy Thanksgiving Post

I am not sure why I am constantly amazed at God’s provision; maybe it shows my lack of trust.  At every step of the way in my journey of life God has provided, exceedingly and abundantly.  Yet, whenever I get in a tight spot, I get worried (just like the disciples when the storm arose, Luke 8:22).  God consistently shows me, as He did with disciples, how little my faith can be, after everything I have seen I still doubt and fear.  Ever since I have arrived at Kenya, and even before in the process of getting to Kenya, God has been teaching me hope and trust and to fully rely on Him.  From raising funds, buying an airplane ticket, and going before our team was ready, He was already there. In each of these He provided His way and answered the little trust we were able to muster exceedingly and abundantly with His provision.  We raised almost all our yearly funds we needed just before we left, our trip went smoothly, and ever since we have arrived God has provided partners, friends, and opportunities, as we anticipate our teammates arrival and embark on the mission we originally had planned in Kimana. 

After being in Kenya a few days and adjusting a bit, we headed out to the only real place we knew of (besides where we will be long term, we decided to wait and go there until our teammates had arrived) where there were Maasai and we had some contacts and friends.  God used and blessed this time richly as we started our language, reconnected with old friends, and worked alongside the church.  During this time we made connections with four other missionary families that have each encouraged, enriched, and blessed our ministry in many different ways.  Towards the end of our time there we went back to Nairobi and spent a few days at a guest house, planning on leaving to go down to Olepishet (an area another missionary set up for us, completely a God thing, for we could have never found it on our own).  I came down with some food poisoning, but again God provided a place to stay with this missionary family and blessed us during the recovery, after which we headed down to Olepishet.  Here God again blessed us with a wonderful language helper who understood well the language and culture we were trying to learn, as well as a wonderful house, safety, and health over our month long stay there. 

Within the last couple of weeks, we began to feel our time there drawing to a close, both as we finished some of our language learning recordings and as we were starting to grow eager to visit with some other missionary families and begin the rigorous car search.  With Thanksgiving around the corner, we were again blessed by God’s hand and were invited to spend a few days with a medical missionary family and have an American Thanksgiving dinner.  In coming here to Bomet, we were blessed richly with new friends, reconnecting with old acquaintances, great food, hot showers, a toilet, and even cold drinks!  We have better Internet and phone reception and are able to make a few phone calls to friends and family, check our emails, talk with our organization, and also discover that almost all of the money for our car has been raised!  We are still not exactly sure how much is needed since we have not found a car in particular to buy.  But God has provided far more than we had planned to buy a sturdy vehicle.  To Him be the glory.  Continue to pray as we re-start the search for a car next week.  In the last week, we have been connected with some good contacts whose mission is to help find missionaries safe, sturdy, and affordable cars.  Again, he has answered our specific need.

Lastly, we are excited to report that the Strangs will soon be joining us in Kenya towards the end of December.  We are still trying to find some people and things to connect with until their arrival, but this morning were encouraged by a phone call of a missionary friend who invited us to stay with her for a couple weeks until our teammates arrived, leaving just a few days unaccounted for (yet only to us). God has already accounted and planned each of our footsteps, so we just wait for his guidance and vision (Psalms 37:23-24).  We are excited to see what he has for us next as we are overwhelmed by His provisions. We stand in awe as we look back at what he has done and are still struggling with our meager trust as we move forward with our tiny, childlike faiths.