Monday, March 31, 2008

Fun in Nairobi



We've had an amazing, jam-packed last 2 days! We visited our first African church. It was a sweet and refreshing time with beautiful Kenyan voices singing loudly to the Lord. The pastor spoke frankly regarding the recent crisis and the church's responsibility. We prayed for the nation of Kenya. Please pray for them as well. The Kenyan people were so hospitable. Hudson threw up all his breakfast in the back of the church and they were there right away to help us clean it up. He still perservered and attended children's church and had a blast! Even though he is frowning in the picture. We were then invited for some Kenyan tea in a shed behind the church. Kyle and I are growing and learning new things from the Lord each and everyday. We are challenged by the missionaries we meet to serve selflessly and be good stewards of our time and money. We proceeded to have some authentic Ethiopian food that we had to eat with our fingers! Today we did all sorts of touristy things. Visited the swanky mall, the giraffe conservation park, the safari walk and a local bead factory store. We were exhausted. I'm continually amazed at how God has given us such flexible kids. Jude still struggles in the evenings-keep praying for him. Tomorrow we head out to Tenwek by plane. We are so excited to begin serving. We may not be able to post the next couple of days. Until then we are praying for you all too!

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Day at Kijabe


Today we drove to the edge of the great Rift Valley to visit the Kijabe Hospital and Rift Valley Acadamy. I was able to meet 2 of the missionary doctors that work there and I was so encouraged to see the incredible work that they are doing there. Of course they mentioned that they will be running short on family physicians with 2 of them leaving later this year. Hudson made friends right away with Joanna, a 3 year old little African girl adopted by 1 of the doctors. Jude was very content and happy the whole trip, much better than last night when he decided to not go to sleep until about 5am. We would appreciate prayers for jet lag. Thanks and God bless.




Friday, March 28, 2008

We Made It!


Praise God we arrived safe in Kenya with all our bags and everything. Hudson and Jude were great world travellers. We will spend these first few days with my Uncle Marv and Aunt Jan, missionaries here with Africa Inland Mission, and head out to Tenwek on Tuesday. We plan to visit the Kijabe Hospital tomorrow and hopefully see some real animals as well here in Nairobi. Please pray for our time with the local missionaries to be an encouragement to them and us. God bless.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Up and Away!

A quick update from Kelly(Kyle's sister)...

Some of you may have seen on the news that American Airlines cancelled 200 of their flights this morning. The first flight of the trip to Kenya was one of them. Kyle, Vanessa and the boys along with Travis and Marlene (mom and dad) were supposed to leave at 12:45 this afternoon on a flight to Chicago. When they found out the flight was cancelled, they quickly scrambled to find another flight to Chicago. The only flight they could get on left at 10:35 this morning. They quickly packed everything in the car and rushed to the airport to make the flight and they did! The rest of their itinerary should be the same. I just talked to them on the phone and it looks like the flight to London will not be a full one, so they should have a little room to stretch out. Hudson and Jude both did great on the flight from Tulsa to Chicago. Pray that they do just as well on the rest of the flights. Pray also that none of their luggage gets lost since they had to do all the last minute shuffling around with flights. Here is a picture of them before they left the Tulsa Airport this morning...

Kenya or Bust!

As we furiously pack our belongings to set up home in a distant land, our hearts race with excitement to see what the Lord has in store for our family on this trip to Kenya! Hudson said, "Mommy, maybe we can see heaven and Jesus from the airplane." And I thought, I sure hope we take every moment to see Jesus each and every step of the way. We pray He will use us to further His kingdom in a mighty way! Please continue to pray for us as we travel. Here is our itenerary:

Leave Tulsa: 12:45pm (March 26)
Arrive in Chicago: 2:35pm
Depart Chicago: 6:25pm
Arrive in London: 7:20am (March 27)
Depart London:10:05am
Arrive in Nairobi: 9:30pm

Praise the Lord that He provided financially for our entire trip! Thank you to all who generously gave to this mission trip. Thank you all who faithfully prayed for us! Words are not enough to express our gratitude. We love you and will keep you posted as often as we can.

Here is our address in Kenya:
Tenwek Hospital
P.O. Box 39
Bomet, Kenya
East Africa