Two weeks in . . . .

It’s been an exciting first two weeks back!  In a nutshell:

·     My trip to Nairobi was uneventful and my back is holding up well!

·     Friends have taken me in while I have looked for an apartment to base out of in Nairobi.  I found an apartment amazingly fast and am ‘even now’ in the process of cleaning and moving in. 

·     I was able to attend the WGM Kenya Field Retreat and re-connect with my colleagues working in Kenya.

·     I’ve talked to Reuben Kirui (Mango Ministries recruit) on the phone and we have two days of planning and prayer lined up for next week.

·     I’ve talked to Billy Coppedge (Mango Ministries missionary living in Arua, Uganda) and will be visiting he and Joanna in a week and a half so we can plan and pray about the start of Mango Ministries.

·     I’ve also talked to several of the Bible Distribution Team from last year.  They are finishing up several of the hard-to-get-to places.  Jonathan Siaga reported that people are most appreciative of the Bibles and the training they are receiving.  Last year there was heavy conflict with North Sudan and their town was burnt and pillaged destroying their Bibles in the process.

·     I’ve talked to people working with the two mission hospitals WGM will be helping in Sudan and they are ready for WGM’s assistance.

All in all it’s been a very productive two weeks.  The next two weeks will be busy with moving and meetings.  My prayer is that they will be equally as productive as my colleagues and I listen for God’s still small voice to lead us in the way forward with Mango Ministries and as I set up my apartment, cum office/think-tank, guest room, retreat & home base. 

Will you continue praying that/for

* I'll have a listening ear and compassionate heart

* Spirit led discussions, strategizing, and decision making

* Safety in travel and good health, including healing of my back and discipline in exercise

* Recruits for Mango Ministries

I want to be about “bearing fruit” all the time!  Not a very realistic goal.  I was reminded this past week at our Field Retreat when re-reading Psalms 1 that fruit has seasons ~ nothing new but a helpful reminder.  As the Mango Ministry Team invests in preparing the soil in the coming days and weeks it is my heartfelt prayer that God will use us to produce a big harvest – transformed men, women, and children living in communities that are coming a little  closer to resembling the Kingdom of Heaven here on earth.  

“He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.  Whatever he does prospers.”  Psalms 1:3

 PS – I’m enjoying the mango’s that are in season now!!  Looking towards the next harvest.

A budding anticipation

The tree limbs are pregnant with new life.  A few leaves are peaking out of their cocoons.  The forsythia, daffodils, tulips, and hyacinth have burst forth with color and the grass has greened up ~ all signaling that spring is here!!

I had a good Doctor's appointment on Thursday and he says I'm good-to-go.  I will be returning to my home base in Nairobi on Thursday, less than a week away.  I would love to see the trees dressed in their crisp, clean, new foliage in the next five days but that might be a stretch.  Spring doesn't happen overnight.  It's a process - profound, eh?

In the same way it's a stretch for me to consider taking a two-mile hike or taking a nice bike ride along the bay in the next five days.  I've had a good recuperation from back surgery but that doesn't mean a full recovery happens quickly either.

I'm being reminded of the need to pace myself.  If I push myself too far one day, I pay for it the next day with increased pain.  Have you ever decided to start an exercise program and overdid it the first day and paid dearly with sore muscles the next day?  I've done that all too often.  Pray with me that I'll gladly do less now, so that I can do more later.

I think there are similar lessons to be learned in the birthing of a project like Mango Ministries.  Despite the incredible needs of the Sudanese I don't want to make rash decisions or do too much too quickly and suffer adverse consequences.

Please continue praying for the start of Mango Ministries in South Sudan.  We need God's wisdom

in finding the right team members, choosing the right strategy, finding the right location, and doing this all in God's right and perfect time.   

You are an incredible support team!  I appreciate your faithful and fervent prayers, your generous financial giving, and the love you have showered on me while I've been on Homeland Ministry Assignment. Especially during my extended medical leave.  The cards, calls, and emails have been a great encouragement.  Thanks so much.

Specific prayer requests:

• Travel next Thursday & Friday from Philadelphia to Nairobi, Kenya
• Finding a bungalow or apartment to rent in Nairobi where I will be based
• Pray that Reuben Kirui, Billy and Joanna Coppedge and I will have the mind of Christ as we get Mango Ministries birthed
• Two Mission Hospitals in Sudan that WGM will be working with:
• Memorial Christian Hospital is having a dedication tomorrow, April 5th.  Pray that God will be honored in all activities and for the logistics of this big event.
• A group of interested people will be visiting Akot Medical Mission next week.  On Monday before traveling to Sudan they will visit Tenwek Hospital.  Pray their visit is an encouragement and they will gather relevant ideas and contacts to help at Akot. 

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz --

I wonder where them flowers is?   (old rhyme)

Anticipating the fullness of summer,

joy

Cracked Pots

Sometime ago I acquired an asparagus fern while I was at Tenwek.  I loved this fern because it reminded me of my Grandmom Smith.  My Grandmom lived in the Detroit suburbs in a house my Grandfather built and it had a sunroom where no less than a dozen asparagus ferns resided ~ it was all light and green and airy and I loved it.  When I moved from Tenwek I left the fern with a girlfriend in Nairobi.  I happened to move into her house a year later and loved sitting on the porch watching my fern grow and remembering my Grandmom Smith.  One day last year I looked over and the fern's pot was broken into several pieces that were still clinging to the wedge of soil and roots inside.  I hadn't been taking very good care of this fern because when I really got a good look-see I noticed that inside the pot it was all roots and very little soil.  The growing roots had broken apart the pot.  I split the plant in 2, bought 2 more big pots and repotted the plants, glad for the opportunity to now have 2 asparagus fern plants.  

The last 2 months have been hard on me.  My head is telling me I'm like those brand new pots I brought home from the hardware store down at the Karen Shopping Center.  Strong, solid, and able to withstand any combination of dirt and roots placed inside.  As I've had to lessen my activities, mainly no heavy lifting, in recent weeks I'm slowly, oh so slowly, coming to the conclusion that I may not be that pot.  To be honest I've been a little disappointed that my body has let me down.  Can anyone relate to that?  Don't get me wrong, I'm not ready to check into assisted living quite yet.  As I stand over a heavy piece of luggage and want to weigh it and realize I better not pick it up I realize I'm mad.  I used to be able to do this.  You mean I have to rely on someone else to do it for me, when it's convenient for them, and I get to watch?  Yea, I think that's what I mean. 

I realize that my pot is slightly cracked.  I may not be able to lift 50 pound duffle bags anymore. I may need to ask for help when moving potted plants, furniture, and boxes.  I will need to respect the limits my body is setting.  I also need to come to terms that God can use me despite limitations that come along.  

 

As I anticipate returning to Kenya and Sudan next month please pray for continued healing after my surgery which went successfully.  I continue to have some pain which I am told is expected after surgery.  I'm a little impatient to be on-the-go again!  Also pray that I will come to terms with my current pot! Scripture tells us, "we are all the work of the potter's hands." (Isaiah 64:8b)    Despite the cracks that I have, and that you have, Jesus still has jobs for us to do - and the plant, or responsibilities He has given each of us, fits the pot.  My desire is to help the people of Sudan realize the hope of the Kingdom of God in their lives, and communities, and nation.  I continue to be in contact with two mission hospitals in South Sudan who are asking for WGM's assistance.  Reuben Kirui, from Tenwek Community Health & Development is also waiting for my return so we can begin planning and implementing a community based health & development outreach into South Sudan.  The needs in Sudan are more real now than ever before.  The Sudanese desperately need the hope that Jesus brings!  Pray with us as we recruit a team, choose a location to work in, and begin building relationships.  

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."  2 Corinthians 4:7

With the all surpassing power of Him who saved us,

joy

 

  

Good News ~ Bad News

The bad news first.  The International Criminal Court brought charges against the President of Sudan last Wednesday on counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  On the same day a dozen aid and relief organizations working in Darfur were expelled from Sudan.  This will leave over a million people in a very precarious situation.  Life saving services such as provision of food, water, and medical care will vanish and lives will hang in the balance.  It is still to be seen if the Sudanese government's response to the ICC's charges will affect security and ministry in South Sudan.  Please join me in praying for an invasion in Sudan - an invasion of God's angels to keep watch over His children.  To feed them, ensure that they have enough water, and that they stay healthy and safe from those who intend to cause harm.  Let's pray for a miracle!  Let's pray for all Sudanese and aid and missionary workers - that they will be safe and that peace will prevail.  Let's pray for the President of Sudan and the country's leaders.  

Andrae Crouch's song, "Jesus is the Answer," keeps coming to mind as I think of the Sudanese in these these trying times.  Let's pray that the 250,000 Bibles that were distributed last year will point people to Jesus. 

Now, the good news.  I had a good doctor's appointment yesterday and am scheduled to have surgery for my herniated disk this Friday at Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.  My Doctor predicts a quick recovery which I will spend in Cape May, NJ with my sister, Linda.  Thank you for your prayers for my healing, for the medical team at Pennsylvania Hospital, and for an incident free recovery.    

As I walked the halls of the hospital waiting for my pre-surgery testing I learned a lot about health care in the US in a photo exhibit hung along the corridors.  Pennsylvania Hospital is our Nation's first hospital started in 1751 by Benjamin Franklin and Dr. Thomas Bond.  I know I'd rather be dressed in nursing whites and standing by a hospital bed rather than lying in the bed but I'm thankful for the miracle of, and access to, modern medicine.  Considering the loss of such basic livelihood necessities by so many Sudanese this past week I don't take this for granted.  

Giving thanks to Jesus for He is good, His love endures forever!  (paraphrase Psalm 107:1)

Glass half full

Two weeks ago I was having quite a bit of hip and leg pain and did not get on my scheduled British Airways flight to return to Kenya.  That was definitely a glass half empty day.  My nature usually sees the glass half empty but I know it's always better to look at it half full.  Let's see ~ glass half full.  I can see it if I squint.

• Since I've limited my activity while waiting for Doctor's appointments my pain has decreased!
• It's better to know about this herniated disk now rather than after getting back to Kenya and Sudan with the rough road situation and a potentially painful return trip for medical care
• I've had a chance to get some paperwork done that might have been hard to squeeze in during my transition back
• I have seen the bottom of my inbox!
• Time to rest, pray, and prepare for Mango Ministries
• A big snow in Cape May, New Jersey!!

I'm trying to make the best of this unexpected down time.  Because I love schedules this undefined time space has been a little hard to handle.  What I do know is that one Neurosurgeon has recommended surgery.  I have an appointment with a local Neurosurgeon in Philadelphia next Monday, March 9th.  It is my prayer that he and I can come up with a plan of action to relieve my pain, get me active again, and back to Kenya and Sudan.  That may possibly mean surgery.  If so, you'll all be the first, or second, to know when and where.  You have been a terrific support team and I've appreciated your many expressions of interest, concern and love.  Thank you so much for your prayers!  This all may mean that I will have to rely on others to carry my luggage on my many travels in the future but I may be able to get used to that!

This is my first attempt at blogging to share more information about my life and ministry for those inquiring minds who want to know more than what is in my Monthly Memo's - which will continue.  I will try to blog roughly once a week.  I have included:  several links to websites of interest, books I've recently read and recommend, and up-to-date prayer praises and requests.  I'll be updating all of this information regularly besides writing and adding pictures so bookmark this site and check back frequently.  Feel free to share this blog with other inquiring minds.  

Your missionary in waiting . . . . with a cup half full of Kenya coffee!