Please Pray

In 2006 I was blessed to be able to travel to Kenya as part of a short-term mission team from my church. One of my main responsibilities was to organize and run a VBS-style program for the children of The Compass School. This school has been close to my heart ever since, and I've kept in contact with some of the faculty. You may remember I mentioned a Kenyan visitor back in November--that was David, the headmaster of Compass School. He was in the U.S. raising funds and awareness for the work they do with the children of Kikuyu.

Last night I received an email letting me know that two of the boys from the school drowned while swimming in a nearby swamp. Their names were James and Enock. They were in the fourth and fifth grades.

If you're not the praying type, I understand. If you are, however, please pray for the families of James and Enock, as well as the faculty, staff, and children of the Compass School and the community as a whole.

My heart hurts today.

Busy, Busy, Busy!

I'm totally blogging as a means of procrastination. And I like it!

Hubba Hubba and I need to spend today getting some of our stuff packed up. Where are we moving, you ask? Nowhere. At least, not yet. If you've been following my blog for a while, you know that we've been trying to get approval for a 2 year mission in Kenya. That is still mucked up in who-knows-what kind of political/cultural/denominational mess.

The short version of our life is that we share our house with my sister-in-law. So all of our stuff that wasn't needed in our house (kitchen appliances, dishes, furniture) is in another building that will shortly be put to better use. So we must pack.

All the work of packing without any of the excitement of a new place. Ah, well.

If you're new to my blog, and want to be praying for us--we'll take all the prayers we can get! We'd love to know where God is directing our family. If the mission field is not His plan for us right now, there is also the possibility of pastoral ministry in the U.S.

I suppose I should quit procrastinating, and get to filling boxes.

For real. Here I go.

Well, We All Know What Robert Frost Would Do

Have you ever been at that point in your life where, frankly, two roads did indeed diverge? Perhaps not in a yellow wood, but there was diverging, all right. *Is diverging a word? Help me out, English majors.*

I wish it were as simple as choosing the road less traveled by.



I know what you're thinking. That looks like a well traveled road, at least for an unpaved road. But for our family, this definitely represents the road less traveled by.

Or, do we go with something a little more familiar?


Well, we've taken the decision out of our hands, and put it firmly in The Hands of Someone Who knows (much better than we could) the direction our family should take.

We still have no answers, but we're trusting hard in the guidance of The One Who has loved us since the foundations of time.

And that's comforting.

Number Eighty

In case you were expecting something profound having to do with the number 80, I'll let you know right now--this is my 80th post. When I first started blogging, I couldn't imagine that I'd have enough things to say to warrant that much writing. It turns out Wiggle Man always has plenty of new material.

Like how the other day, as I was getting ready to play in a recital. I'm a flutist, and I find that I need a good hour warming up on the instrument before I sound ok enough to perform. (This is my post-college warm-up. Back in the days of playing all day every day, I naturally required much less warm-up time.)

About half-way through my marathon warm up, Hubba Hubba walked in the room, carrying our son. He looked at me and said, "I think he's doing you." I didn't get what he was saying at first, until I realised Wiggle Man had a rubber stick in his mouth transversely, like you'd hold a flute. Apparently he'd been walking around like that, holding it like I hold my flute, and humming.

I'm a strong advocate for boys playing the flute. It's a great way for them to meet girls. Although, I still want him to learn the cello. Or at least go to enough Suzuki classes when he's 3 so that I can get adorable pictures of him playing his mini-cello.

***********

This morning I'm off for a dress fitting. Nothing like someone else measuring and analysing your body to lift the spirits.

***********

We're still waiting for paperwork from Kenya. The only new thing to report is that now they're saying they've emailed it. We still don't have it, of course. At least, not that anyone's told us.

***********

Since I can smell my son from where I sit, it's probably time to go change him.

All quiet on the western front...

Nothing new has happened lately, in terms of our proposed work in Kenya. We're still waiting on paperwork to be sent to our church from Kenya. So we wait. I hate waiting. I had this conversation with a good friend last night...waiting sucks.

I am, however, learning things as we wait. I'm learning that I have much to learn. I tend to think I have a pretty open mind, and a good understanding of other cultures, but all it takes is a visit from a Kenyan friend to remind me that I'm still stuck in my own upbringing.

I'm learning to focus on what God has given me to do now instead of planning all the things I'll do for Him later. Surely He has more in mind for our family right now than just twiddling our thumbs waiting for Kenya. So, I look into the adorable face of my "mission field" these days--Wiggle Man--and teach him the things he needs to learn to grow into the man God has planned for him.

If we're living in the past, or waiting for the future, we can miss out on what God has for us today!

Today

Well, all things considered, today went fairly well. I was able to sing, for the most part. (Although I did give our Fabulous Sound Woman free reign to turn me down if I sounded horrible, and just turn up the rest of the team. Perhaps she did.)

Our meeting with our church went about as expected. Unfortunately, the church in Kenya hasn't sent the proposed contract to our church yet, so there was nothing for them to officially decide upon. We presented our ideas, answered their questions, and now we wait. Again.

Hopefully by the time our church meets next, they'll have the contract in hand, and maybe we'll know a little more. We'd appreciate any prayers you may want to send up for us!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow should be interesting.

Hubba Hubba, Wiggle Man and I have all been sick for the past couple of days. (Although, not so sick that I didn't go see Twilight last night...)

But back to the point. Tomorrow, of course, will be jam packed. Because isn't that the way it always is when you're sick? Not only do I get to lead worship tomorrow (which always sounds great when you can't actually breathe through your nose) but we have a pretty important meeting after church about our proposed work in Kenya.

It's kinda the most important meeting we'll have. It's The One. The One where All Things will be decided. When we'll find out Those Decisions is still a mystery to me, but I do know that tomorrow is important.

Hopefully by then I won't be breathing solely through my mouth.

Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet...

That's what I felt like this afternoon as we headed up to get more vaccinations. Thankfully, most of mine were still good from my previous trip to Kenya, so I only needed to complete my Heb B and start Hep A. Hubba Hubba got his Heps, and we're holding off on Wiggle Man until it's definite that we're going. No sense injecting him with live viruses until we know we have to!

It's been raining pretty hard here in South Jersey, and Philly--but if you've been following the World Series, you already knew that. Don't get me started on last night's game. What did catch me off guard was the giant snow flakes as we headed toward Princeton. It got pretty hairy there, for awhile, but we made it!

After the needling (with no fainting on my part, thank you very much!) we stopped to talk with the missions coordinator at a local church to talk turkey, in terms of funding for Kenya. We were invited to come talk to their missions committee in two weeks--anyone want to pray about that? Feel free!

I Can See You...

Once upon a time, there was a lovely girl named Jenn. Jenn went on an African adventure one day, to visit some people who loved Jesus. She got really loved on by the people who loved Jesus. They invited her into their homes, shared their food, laughed, cried, sang and prayed with her. They did all the things Jesus said to do to show love.

Just before it was time to come home, Jenn and her friends went on safari to see the animals. After a long morning, they stopped for breakfast by the river. Because they were in the middle of the African grasslands, her friends told her the only potty was a bush off to the side. She really needed to use the potty, so she went. But not by herself. This was the African wilderness, after all.

When Jenn and her friends were done, they noticed some of the boys pointing off in the distance in front of their potty bush. When they looked, this is what they saw:

No wonder Jenn didn't feel alone when she was using the potty bush.

World Vision Experience

This morning we went to the local World Vision exhibit profiling the struggle of children in AIDS stricken areas of Africa. The exhibit, called World Vision Experience: AIDS Step into Africa was very moving. At the beginning, we were given iPods and headphones. The recording walked us through the exhibit. Each one of us got to 'experience' the life of a child affected by AIDS. The ripple effects of this disease are profound. Many children become the head of their households, trying to provide for younger siblings. Check out the link to see if they're coming to a city near you!

While I'm in my african frame of mind, I've been trying to tie Wiggle Man into a kanga I picked up in Kenya. He's so darn squirmy, though! I've got a Sasha Wrap that we use, but I like the idea of using a more traditional wrap. That is, if I can get him into it! The nice thing about the hold I use with the Sasha wrap is that I can tie it on me first, then put him in it. Any hold where I have to literally tie him on to me is a little tough because he won't stay put! If there are any seasoned baby wearers out there with tips for me, I'd love to hear them!

Out of Africa

Tonight I really miss Africa. Actually, that's not the most accurate statement. I've been missing Africa for a while now. It's been two years since I went to Kenya, and I'd go back tomorrow if I could. It's amazing how that continent grabs people.

I think it's the children I miss the most. Never, in all my musical experience, have I heard such joyful singing. Some of the children we worked with only ate when they were at school. That meal of oatmealy mush was it for them, but they sang with an exuberance I have never seen in the most well fed North American child. There is something amazing about leading 300 children in "Father Abraham", all of them singing at the top of their lungs and laughing hysterically by the end.

Then there were the Maasai children who waited hours for us to arrive at their village of mud and dung huts. They lined up to receive a 'blessing' from us--if only they knew that their songs have blessed me so much more. I can still see them dancing, still hear them singing. I'm wearing the necklace the Maasai women gave me, but it no longer smells of fire and roasted goat--just my soap.

Ah, Father Abraham, you did indeed have many 'sons.' We're scattered across the globe in cities and villages, in brick homes and mud huts. Lord, bind us together in love.