Hi Everybody!

june 17

juan:

today we visited another slum called Kibera. these are supposed to be the worst slums in Kenya, but I found the people to be quite nice. There was one man who was carrying around a bottle of glue. They sniff glue to get high or to suppress their appetite. He wanted to be part of the sharing, but Abouna was firm and told him to give him the glue or else he could not join us. It was a bit scary because the man was quite large, but Abouna has no fear. In the end, the man could not part with his glue, but he still wanted to take part (I think mostly because there is a meal involved), and Abouna got up played the heavy and threw him out! Abouna............you so crazy. Abouna shared today, but next week it's my turn! I look forward to it :)

Abouna is a very gifted man. He has a unique charm that appeals to young and old. He is amazing.

Another wonderful thing about the Kenyans is how they love to sing and clap. They love to sing to God and clap their hands, as if they mean what they are saying. It's an awesome example for us.

june 18

juan:

There are two kenyan guys here, David and Brian, who are hilariuos. They've known each other for some years now and both play a key role in the service. They are servants like us, but don't live in the compound. They have to take two busses to get here, and yet they are here early every day and leave very late at night. they are fun to hang out with and we are beginning to be good friends. I told them I went to the store today and bought tea and coffee and would like them to come over to have some with me. They didn't seem too interested, until I told them I also bought cookies...their eyes lit up!

One of our lead servants, Lucy, has contracted typhoid so we'll pray for her. Another guy, Mina, got malaria, and he's just getting over it now, so we'll pray for him as well.

Bible study was awesome today. I love it when someone reads the Bible, but is able to extract the meaning out of every line. Christine and I tried it this evening, and it was awesome! EVERY LINE in that sweet book has so much wisdom. It's like, if God wanted to write down everything word for word, the Bible would be a huge set of books, so instead He made it 'from concentrate'.
We think about our family and friends back home all the time. We miss you all. THANK YOU to all who write comments on the blog!!! We really love reading your comments. It makes us feel like we are not so far away.

Mom and Dad, why have you not called me? To call here: +254 733 814 712

june 19:

juan:

Today was really cool. We did a 'Medical Camp'. This is where we load up the minivan with all sort of medical equipment and visit people, like a travelling hopsital. We had two doctors, a nurse, two pharmacists and 5 servants. The place we went to was high in the mountains and the roads were crazy - they reminded me of mountain biking trails - dirt roads with huge ruts and ditches. That little minivan has heart. It was bobbling back and forth and the kids were singing and I was praying :) While the doctors did their thing, the servants shared the Word of God. This was the first time I shared with such a large group - about 50. I prayed to God to help me. I told Him that I am lazy and useless and that it would be cool if I just opened my mouth and He did all the talking. Well, I think He was listening, because they seemed to enjoy it and asked me to keep going! That was lots of fun actually.

We met the bishop today. He is a really nice and cute old man. He says we will pray about where God wants us. He says he will send us to a place called Maseno, which is the other mission here that is less 'administration' and more serving. We are looking forward to this. The mission here in Nairobi has a need for IT people. They need a network put in place, so Vinny, if you are reading this, please tell me what to do! We are hoping not to be pulled in to the administrative stuff. The bishop says that our work here may be a combination of serving and admin stuff. What we care about most is that we grow spiritually. The bishop today told us about a 'shortcut' to get to know God. It's called Quiet Time. this is where every morning, you spend time alone with God, with the sole purpose of meeting Him every morning. We are quite lazy so we will pray to God to make us less lazy so we can do this.

We are getting more comfortable in our flat. our stove works well now. In general, the place is not as cold as before, so this has helped tremendously. For a while there, we were so uncomfortable that we were complaining a lot about it and didn't feel happy. Then we remembered all the miracles that God did for us to get us here and chuckled that all it took was a few uncomfortable days to forget that. But, we're back on track now.

Again, I thank you for putting comments on the blog. Please keep them coming. We love them. God Bless you all.