It's Just a Game

 We were getting into the bed. It was around 11pm and the lights were already off in our house, when we started to hear the sounds of yelling getting closer to our corner. After a bit, the yells were close and we heard crashes and thuds. A couple of the impacts were close enough for us to identify the sound as rocks being thrown onto tin roofs.

Clove Islanders playing on the beach

We didn’t bother to turn on our lights or open our front door to go onto the porch, but we gathered by a window to listen more intently to see if we could understand what was going on. One of our immediate neighbors had the same idea and with a clearer view of the street from her house started to call out to people she saw on the street, asking what was going on. But the continued yelling noise, meant that all we could pick up was that people were indeed throwing rocks and that someone may have been hurt. Nothing was clear but it wasn’t long before everything was quiet again, and we went to bed knowing we’d learn more in the morning.

Apparently, it was all because of a basketball game.  A team from another town lost the game at the local stadium and the fans were upset about it.  After the game a big fight broke out in the stadium, fists were flying.  It spilled out into the street and they started throwing rocks and destroyed property. Some people were injured, one man critically.

Car across way with broken window

In the morning we noticed that the car parked across the street from our house had its window smashed in, and walking down the road towards the stadium the next day, there were several cars with broken windshields,  as well as glass all over the road left behind from cars that had already been moved.  

As our neighbors were talking about it, I asked, “All because of a game?” They responded by saying that it seemed so, but that they couldn’t know for sure,  “It might be ‘political’ too.” Puzzled I asked them to explain. I couldn’t understand how someone angry over a lost basketball game could claim political motivations when they were randomly breaking car windows. It’s not like the cars belonged to politicians or even anyone they knew.

But as they explained, it wasn’t so much that the actions were political, but an expression of anger and frustration. The island youth already have so much anger and unrest in their hearts because of political and economic realities, that it just bursts out with the least bit of provocation.

This is the fruit of anger ruining hearts— it starts to destroy and tear down indiscriminately.

People are a little on edge about what the aftermath will be.  Will the youth of our town seek revenge on the other town? Could this be the beginning of a long-lasting feud? Older people are looking for solutions— there is already talk about collecting the funds from the offending town to fix all the car windows.

After spill as passenger on motorcyle

Others are thinking more personally and saying that they won’t go to sporting events anymore and won’t let their kids go either. Another suggested that you just have to leave in the middle before the losers are apparent and before people get angry.

I think we will pray. Pray for this lingering anger under the surface to find constructive and healthy ways to be released.  Pray for the youth to feel heard and to catalyze change in this country. Pray that in the future, sporting events can just be fun games.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Thankfully since we wrote this post, there were a couple days on tension, but then the situation has calmed down. We are thankful that Ma Imani who has been plagued by different illnesses since moving back to Clove Island last year has been healed. She was prayed for last weekend with a large group and Megan visited her this past week and she says she is completely well and not taking any of the medications anymore. We are thankful that our medical colleagues had a good first week working at the hospital on the plateau. We are thankful that Tom and his friend were not significantly hurt when the motorcycle they were on slid out on the way back home over the mountain this weekend.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Keep praying for the islands— the president held a big inauguration for his contested re-election this past weekend.  There continues to be a lot of tension under the surface and political opponents continue to be arrested. Also, continue to pray for our daughter— she’s having pain in more joints in her body now and has been referred to see a specialist. She has an appointment this coming weekend in the city. Pray for healing for her and for clarity moving forward. Pray for us as it is hard to be far from her— we have plans to be in Kenya in 2 weeks.  Pray for Tom’s friend Kwendzi who has been talking about studying with him for weeks, makes a plan then breaks it.  Pray that he would find the courage to actually meet.  Meanwhile, Muki still visits nearly everyday and his understanding and joy with the word grows daily.  Pray that he would find ways to start sharing the things he is learning.

Power of Prayer

I was reading this week the account of a worker in another nation of islands who wanted the people she worked amongst to understand the power of prayer and to really learn to pray with fervency. It ended up taking a tragedy of the worker herself being in a horrible accident for that lesson to be learnt, but she was able to look back and see the accident as bringing a great blessing to that people— because learning to pray is powerful.

May light shine on the islands!

One of our island brothers had a burden. He saw all the horrible things happening on the islands— cholera, a broken economy, political corruption, and severe weather destroying crops. He felt burdened to pray for this nation. But not just him, he wanted to see people gathered together to pray. So this past Sunday, we did just that.

A couple islanders led the time and they acknowledged that some people there had probably only prayed for 5-10 minutes at a time before. They acknowledged that usually we just pray for our personal problems or the problems of the people in our group. But this was a call to a new kind of prayer. This was a call to pray for people that they had never met— to pray for the government and politicians that they may not even trust— to pray for big problems even though they can’t even see how they could change. This was a call to ask God to give us new things to pray for. This was a call to become people of prayer— to see something on the news and immediately to pray for it, even if it is a situation that you don’t understand in a country far away.

Most of the time that we prayed— we were all praying at once as new topics were given to us. So I don’t know everyone else’s experience of it. I don’t know if those that had less experience praying were participating the whole time or just watching other people pray. But I know that powerful prayers were said, and I know that prayer is powerful in several ways. It is powerful in that God answers our prayers. It is powerful for the one saying the prayers— shaping our hearts towards what God wants and towards how He views the world. And it is powerful for those who are listening— seeing the evidence of faith, hope and love— and hopefully realizing that they too can become people of prayer.

I don’t know why the islands are having such a hard time. We see the suffering and wonder why?  But if these hard times awaken and produce people of prayer, we know that these islands will be blessed. Our brother reminded us, “We are meant to bless our nation. We are God’s children. We are the ones that need to pray for this place.”

May their prayers be answered with power!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
It seems like the number of cholera cases is finally starting to diminish.  It’s still a big problem, but we are encouraged that we might already be on the other side of the curve.  We are thankful that our newer medical people finally got their authorization to work in the hospital (it’s been 6 months).  They start work this week.  We’re happy to see that Muki is back and as eager to study as ever.  They had a great study this morning and he plans to come back tomorrow.  We’re thankful that our island brothers and sisters felt a great burden to pray for these islands.  The time  was very encouraging to see them praying in this way.  We both feel more or less back to full strength after what was a nasty virus.



Our kids share a meal in our daughter's dorm

PRAYERS REQUESTED

Pray that there would be many people of prayer among the islands brother and sisters and that they would see answers to their prayers.  Pray for healing for our daughter who continues to be troubled by intense shoulder pain.  She’s seeing a PT now, but healing has been slow in coming.  Pray for our medical people starting work.  May they find a good balance to work, family, language learning and community.  May they learn the ways of the hospital quickly as they serve with joy and shine brightly.  Continue to pray for our friends with new babies or babies on the way, for the health of mothers and babies and for doors to be opened thanks to the answers of our prayers for the births of these children.  Keep praying for our teammate and her difficult family health situations that have taken her away from the islands for a time.

Answered Prayers After a Long Wait

Uhaju has been around more lately.  He and his wife opened a stall on the main street where they sell clothes, shoes and various other goods.  A few times, when I’ve been passing I’ve found him there and been able to stop, take off my sandals and come inside the stall, sit next to him and chat.  I’ve known Uhaju for so long and seen his interest in things of truth rise and fall like a very slow tide.  Years ago, we would read together every week, but then he would lose interest, only to have him return a year later, ready to read again, only to have another year go by where he would stop coming and I would hardly see him.  But I know that when I do see him, he’s usually interested to sit and talk.  He loves to hear a story.  So the last few times I’ve seen him I’ve shared with him whatever story I had been reading that day.

Prayer walk for cholera

This week it happened to be about a man who found that his wife was pregnant and planned to divorce her in secret, only to have a dream in which he was told not to divorce her, but to trust God in this.  I told the story in my own words, and then I read it to him.  He enjoyed the story a lot.  In fact, he had some good news for me.  His wife is pregnant—3 months along!  Another story involving a pregnancy and the possibility of divorce.

Uhaju has been married for nearly six years but he and his wife were not able to get pregnant during that time.  In island culture it is quite shameful to not have children.  For some it is even seen as a sin or a judgment from God.  So as the years go by, the pressure mounts for a man to leave his barren wife, divorce her and/or take another wife in the hope that a new wife will be able to bear the wanted offspring.  Does it sound Old Testament?  Yes.  People here can relate well to the stories of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar or Jacob, Leah and Rachel.  Uhaju had no desire to take a second wife.  Nor did he want to divorce his first wife, but as time passes, pressure mounts.

Former teammate visited for couple days

In those times when Uhaju was interested in reading together, it was a regular prayer request.  And when we would read the stories of God providing barren women with children, he would take hope.  And when we stopped reading together, prayers continued for his wife to become pregnant, and that he would not give into the temptation to leave her and find another.  So when he told me that his wife was pregnant, it was no small thing.

“It’s a miracle,”  he said to me.  “God has answered your prayers.  Five and a half years—It’s a miracle.”

I take heart in the fact that Uhaju sees it as our prayers that have brought about this good news.  I hope, in the coming days to remind him, that it has nothing to do with us, but it is rather the one in whom we put our trust that makes all the difference.  Will this finally be the catalyst that brings an end to the ebb and flow of Uhaju’s long, slow, journey toward the truth?  Who is to say?  We can only pray.  Five and a half years and we have the expectation of a new birth. May this new child catalyze birth into new life for Uhaju and his wife as well!

Our 16 year old!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
In other answered prayers, another island couple for whom we have been praying for years that they’d have a child, just had a baby boy. The rains have abated near our kids’ school bringing much needed relief to the flooded areas. Our teammate made it home safely and has already been able to be a help. We were able to have a nice visit with our medical teammates on the plateau this past week. Our daughter had a nice dinner and dessert with her dorm for her 16th birthday this past week. Our timeline in the US during this coming summer is finally coming together.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
The number of daily cholera cases on Clove Island continues to be high— keep praying with us for an end to the epidemic. Pray for wisdom for our landlord as he evaluates our sagging roof and for us as we consider having to move out of most of our house. Our daughter has injured her shoulder— pray that it would respond to PT and that she would get pain relief. Pray for complete healing as both Tom and Megan have been sick in the past couple weeks. Muki is back on Clove Island— pray that he and Tom would get back into a good pattern of studying together and that Muki would be sharing with others.

Slow Growth

Progress on the islands can often feel slow.  Growth in our own lives can be slow.  But slow growth does not mean no growth.  It’s just harder to see.  This past week was one of those moments which reminds us that there has been growth, and though it has not always been dramatic, it continues.

The gathering

It started with a rainy morning.  A morning on which we were supposed to be gathering with our brothers and sisters for one of our quarterly fellowships inviting brothers and sisters from all across the island.  We knew, if the rain didn’t let up, this might never get off the ground.  We also knew, the whole thing might not get off the ground because the main organizer was away.  We had resisted stepping in and organizing it ourselves, or making sure certain details weren’t forgotten.  We weren’t in charge of this gathering, we would simple come and support.  Well, the rain did eventually stop and we headed off to the gathering.  And that was the first sign of growth—a large gathering organized by islanders, without our help, without the help of the one leader who always does it, was happening.  This is something that wouldn’t have been possible a few years ago.  Did it go off perfectly?  No, but it went off just fine and that is how we grow.

One of the ways it wasn’t so perfect—when we got there, one of the leaders said, “What’s the plan?”  And it was clear that the plan was not much of one.  “We’ll pray…and then we can sing…” one of the organizers said seemingly making it up on the spot. “And then Tom can share something.”   Megan and I looked at each other and winked.  It’s not only the island fellowship that’s grown but we’ve grown too.  Some years ago, this probably would have been highly stressful.  “Me, share something? But I haven’t prepared.  You didn’t asked me!  I don’t think I could.”  But after going through this surprise routine more often than I’d like to admit.  We were clued into the fact that there is an unwritten expectation that men of certain standing will be expected to share.  They don’t have to inform me because it is a given. 

Our son playing in the mud

So a few days before the gathering, Megan had most helpfully reminded me (because I’m still prone to forget), “You should be ready to say something.”  It’s a sign of my personal growth in the local language that sharing something is far less stressful than it used to be.  Does it go off perfectly?  No, but it went off just fine, and that is how I grow!  When they asked Megan without warning to lead a prayer, she wasn’t fazed a bit.  We’ve come a long way, and we’ve grown a lot in local language.

As I shared I held the book in my hand—a book that hadn’t existed for the first ten years of our work here.  That I could read and comment from a book in the local language still feels like a triumph—another sign of growth.  As I looked around the room, I saw among my friends, new faces—two young men I had only met that day, and the children of my island brothers and sisters I hardly recognize, the way they’re growing like weeds into adolescence and adulthood—another sign of growth!  

As we left the gathering the weather still held—a heavy downpour could have really hampered the event, making it hard to hear each other, making it dark and dreary.  Instead the weather had been clear and cool. As the van headed back toward town it started to rain.  The rain that had been predicted all day had held off till we were all headed home.  It felt like a confirmation—this is a good thing.  Keep going!

A crash-- not a bad as it could have been

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Across the islands there have several different crises impacting our group— a plane crash, nasty illnesses, a break-in, a cyclone coming near the islands, a sudden need to leave the islands— but we put this in the prayer answered because with each one we have seen God’s provision— with bad situations not being nearly as bad as they could have been and solutions opening up to various predicaments. God, as always, is good. We are thankful for this gathering and the growth it demonstrates! Praise that the daily cholera counts have been going down over the past several days— they are still high, but we are thankful for decrease.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
There have been several crises this week (as seen in the prayers answered). Pray that this week is calmer. Our teammate is traveling last minute back to her home country— pray for safe travels and for her to be a blessing and a light once home. Tomorrow is our daughter’s birthday off at boarding school— pray that she would feel loved and appreciated even while we are afar. Pray for healing from illness— Tom is still not fully up to strength after being sick this past week and Megan is now feeling bad. Pray for some of our medical colleagues as they return to the islands (with difficulty) after some vacation— pray for them as they transition back as a family,  and as they assess the cholera situation in their area and see if the authorization has come in for them to begin medical work. Pray for an end to the cholera epidemic. Pray for an end of the flooding and landslides in mainland Africa (around where are kids go to school).

Prayers in the Time of Cholera

 A few weeks ago I was talking to some friends about cholera.  I told them that I had read an article that cholera cases were on the rise in Clove Island and that people should start taking precautions.  One of the men laughed, “It’s all a scheme,” he said. “I don’t know anyone who has had it.  I haven’t heard of anyone having it.  Do you know anyone who has had it?”  I told him I hadn’t.  “It’s not real.  The government knows it can make a lot of money from aid organizations.  It’s not a real crisis.”  At the time I couldn’t say whether he was right or wrong.  There is little trust in the corrupt local government.  Who’s to say they weren’t creating a crisis out of the hopes of getting some kickbacks?

Buckets arrive for handwashing stations

Fast forward a few weeks and yesterday, I was sitting on my porch talking to a friend, when a procession started marching by.  It sounded like a funeral processions, but the people weren’t dressed for a funeral.  I asked my friend what was going on.  “It’s a prayer for God to stop cholera.  They are walking all around the city, praying that the cholera outbreak would stop.”

How attitudes have changed in just a few short weeks!  But with good reason.  The number of cases, ( a dozen a few weeks ago) have grown to more than a hundred new cases each day.  I imagine the man who spoke of not knowing anyone infected could name more than one person he knows, as can we.  We know of at least 4 acquaintances who have been hospitalized for treatment.  Most people have started taking more precautions—some wear face masks, others have hand washing stations outside their businesses, many have stopped shaking hands and give a fist-bump instead.  There is even talk of the government initiating curfews and bans on public gatherings like schools and weddings.

In case you are starting to freak out about cholera and our safety, let’s take a moment to look at the reality concerning cholera:

New flowers

The truth is cholera, though an extremely unpleasant and potentially dangerous illness is quite treatable and avoidable and is not normally life threatening if handled properly..  The CDC writes, “With proper treatment, even severely ill patients can be saved.”  Moreover, treatment is relatively simple and cheap through rehydration therapy and basic antibiotics.  In the US, cholera is nearly nonexistent, near “eliminated by modern water and sewage treatment systems.”

Clove Island does not have “modern water and sewage treatment systems.”  Cholera is very treatable if you address it quickly, but people here do not trust the government, the health system, the things they hear about cholera.  So sometimes patients come to the hospital after days of suffering, at which point it may be too late.  Others refuse to go the hospitals at all and quickly pass away at home.

Neither is there good understanding about how the illness is spread.  As the prayer procession went by, my friend said, “Prayer is good, but they need to be changing their actions.”  I agreed with him until he told me that cholera is spread through bad chicken and moldy rice.  I spent some time trying to correct him, but I’m not sure he believed me.

We felt encouraged by the prayer procession.  Our friend’s comment that prayer should be followed by action is a good one, too.  Yesterday’s prayer procession shows that islanders are now taking the situation seriously.  And they are right to call on God for mercy.  For He is full of mercy and love. “He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

A break in the rain, but more clouds forming

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Everyone was able to travel safely after our gathering, including some visitors from the US who left just before the bad weather arrived.  We are thankful for some cooler weather.  We are thankful for our kids back at school doing okay and getting back into the routines of their classes.  

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We pray with islanders for mercy and an end to this epidemic! Pray for those who are sick, that they would recover quickly.  Pray for those inclined to stay at home to get the help they need.  Pray for people to take action and proper precautions against this epidemic. Pray for wisdom for the leaders who must make difficult decisions during these days.  We are also experiencing lots of rain on the islands. Some areas are suffering with significant flooding, which can also precipitate the spread of this illness.  Flooding is also affecting the area where our kids go to school in Kenya. There was a landslide not far from campus where people lost their lives. The campus is secure but the community is suffering. Again, we pray for mercy and that the rains would abate. There is meant to be a gathering on Wednesday with brothers and sisters, pray that it would be an encouragement to all to be lights in dark times.  Pray for our house, which has some serious roof cracks and leaks that will probably require some significant repairs.  Pray for our relationship with our landlord, who we like a lot, to not be strained by this expensive repair issue.

Ideas Take Work

 “When would be a good date for the next big gathering?” This question was followed by various comments and some back and forth until a date was chosen.

Flowers by the coast on big island

“Now, who will be part of a small group to organize it?” This second question was followed by lots of silence, people looking down and not making eye contact.

Everyone was happy with the idea of a big gathering, but it didn’t seem that anyone was actually wanting to put in the work to make it happen. The woman who asked the question doubled down and said that it needed to be new people, not the same people who organized the last gathering. With that statement, she let some people (myself included), who may have been close to being guilted into volunteering, off the hook. At the same time, she was challenging people who don’t see themselves as ‘organizers’, perhaps simply because they have never done it before. Ultimately, there was no decisions made— she told everyone to go away and think about it.

It wasn’t long before I started to doubt whether the gathering would happen (or at least as soon as was suggested). People liked the idea, but ideas require someone to actually be passionate enough about it to work for it. Ideas need some passion to see them become a reality.

As we oversee teams over three islands, we see that there are different kinds of people. There are idea people— who have lots of big ideas. There are refiners— people that take other people’s ideas and make them better. There are implementers— people who figure out how to make ideas a reality. There are finishers— people who push the team to complete things.

Idea of clean porch meant lots of work scrubbing

There are more possible roles and different ways of talking about it (see various personality tests about how people work), but we see that we can’t always stay in our preferred roles.  On our first team we did a lot of personality tests to evaluate the different roles on our team and the gaps. It wasn’t a bad thing, but we learned to be wary of these tests.  They can be great tools for self-awareness, but also for excuses.  Sometimes hearing what their ‘preferred role’ was, meant team members would pigeon-hole themselves and refuse to do anything else.  They weren’t naturally inclined or gifted in such and such, so how could anyone expect them to do that?  But what if you’re on a team with no natural idea people or no implementers or no finishers? The danger is that your team will just stagnate because it doesn’t have the right combination of people to push things along.

Sometimes there are tasks that no one is particularly excited to do. There is the grunt work that just has to get done in order for the ideas that we like to happen. We have been trying to teach our youngest son this lesson more as we try to shepherd him towards more responsibility. We aren’t going to always do things for him. The things we did when he was young, he’ll need to do for himself if he really wants them to happen. He loves our family traditions— including our traditional day off with pancakes in the morning, a family movie with popcorn and maybe a dessert. But does he love them enough to do the work to make them happen?  What about the parts of family life that he doesn’t care about as much, is he wiling to serve the family to make things that someone else might love happen?

Some family time

Ideas take work to make them a reality. We can’t make them all happen. Some shouldn’t happen. So we pray that when there is an idea that should be done, we would be able to discern it and then have the passion and perseverance to put in the work to see it through from start to finish!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We made it safely to the big island and had some wonderful days connecting with our colleagues from the other islands during our annual gathering. We did something different with a lot more time in singing and the Word— it went well and seemed to be a blessing to our group. Our older two kids made it safely back to school and we had some good final time as a family before having to say goodbye. It sounds like people back on Clove Island are starting to take health precautions more seriously with businesses setting up handwashing stations and more education. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray that the lessons we learned during our annual gathering would stay with us and inspire us to live differently. We travel back to Clove Island tomorrow. Pray for us and our kids as we get used to being separated again. We had some good times catching up with our colleagues on the big island, but it is clear that this year is a year full of transitions— pray for God’s grace to abound to them all and protect them and the work as people come and go. The medical team are headed for some vacation— pray that it would be restorative and that on their return that the newer family would have the authorization finalized to begin working in the hospital on the plateau (they had a meeting with authorities on the big island, so hopefully it will finally go through).

The Bread of Life

 We recently read about the aftermath of 5000 people being fed miraculously on a hillside.  The story of that miracle is well known, but we don’t always read about the aftermath. 

Tom and friends on holiday

After the crowds  had had their fill, they wanted more, so they followed the provider of the food across a lake and when they found him they asked for more.  But instead of giving them food to eat, he gave them words.  And they didn’t like the words.  They were uncomfortable words.  Before long, many people went away grumbling.  No food.  Uncomfortable words.  So the teacher turned to his friends and asked, “Do you want to go away, too?”  Peter answered him, “…to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life…”

As so often happens, the words we study seem to speak to our situation. This time it is the situation we are experiencing now with three friends.

One friend comes by the house to sell us things.  A long time ago we created a habit of praying and reading together.  It was nice reading together.  He clearly liked the words.  And he’s always likes to pray—especially for the needs of his family—and they always have lots of needs.  The money we give him for the things he sells helps out with that.  It used to be a regular thing for us to read and pray.  But now, every time I ask, “Do you want to read?”  The answer is “Maybe next time.”

Another friend comes by with even greater needs.  I’ve made it a habit to feed him whenever he comes, because more often than not he tells me he hadn’t had anything to eat the night before.  He hardly ever leaves without asking for something—rice, oil, sugar, taxi money.  I give it to him.  But in between the food and the asking, we read.  He loves the reading.  When I ask, “Do you want to read to today?” More often than not, his answer is, “Yes. Of course!” We read and we discuss and we pray and I see genuine joy there.  He doesn’t always understand.  Sometimes I’m not even sure if he agrees, but he loves it.  He tells me he reads or listens every day.  I hope it’s true.

Before the month of fasting, I had wondered what the month would mean for our relationship.  I wouldn’t be able to feed him as I’d been doing—everyone is expected to be fasting.  Would he change his schedule and start coming late at night—when eating is permissible?  But unexpectedly, the situation changed completely as he traveled to the Big Island for the month of fasting!  He’s still there.  But he got in touch with one of my friends on the Big Island and they have been reading together regularly!  His hunger for the words of life continues.

Our kids and neighbor kids on holiday

I have one other friend.  A few years ago we read a lot together.  We read story after story until one day he got to a story he would not accept.  He told me so.  “I don’t agree with this,” he told me flat out.  Shortly after that we stopped reading together.  He was not invested in our friendship for what he could get out of it.  He simply wanted to hear the words.  But when the words got uncomfortable, he stopped listening.  I would see him now and then.  Lately, he would greet me with a fervency and intensity that made me wonder—has something changed for him?  He seemed to be hinting that something was different, but he was yet to tell me about it.

Then a few days after Easter he came over to my house.  His excuse was to ask for money!  (The big holiday was coming and we get lots of requests this time of year for a little help.)  But as he sat down with me, it became clear that he had really come to talk.  He asked me question after question.  And though he asked challenging questions, he seemed satisfied with the answers given him.  At one point he asked a question that I didn’t answer well and amazingly, he supplied a better answer as if perhaps he had been thinking these things through on his own.  At the end of the conversation he asked if we could start reading together again.  I’m convinced that that was the real purpose of his visit.  I don’t think he really wanted money at all.

I don’t begin to claim that I know the heart of any of these men.  I don’t know what’s going on with them deep down.  But I see similarities to the story.  Some are in it just for the food.  When the food runs out, they have no reason to stay.  Some are in it while the words are pleasing, but when they get challenging, they reject them.  But a few hear the words and know it gives life and hunger for more.  We pray for more with such a hunger.

Celebrating our daughter's dunking and new life

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The big holiday went well. Tom and the boys went and visited good friends and neighbors, sharing greetings and blessings, while Megan and our daughter greeted people at our house. The month of fasting is over and we were able to go to the river and cool off. This past weekend we were able to celebrate our daughter twice— first celebrating her 16th birthday early (she’ll be at boarding school on the actual day) and then celebrating the new life she is embracing with God with the traditional dunking in the water. We were blessed with a beautiful day and an uncrowded beach. We are so thankful for the beautiful woman of God she is becoming.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Cholera cases have picked up on Clove Island and we have personally known a family that had several members hospitalized. Pray that the spread of disease would stop and that islanders would take precautions seriously. This coming week, we will travel to the big island and the weekend will be spent with our colleagues who work on both the big and small islands. We hope to listen and sense how God might be moving us as a group— pray that we would be attentive listeners and ready vessels for Him. Our two older kids will leave from the big island to go back to school. Pray for all the logistics of packing up and traveling and for a smooth transition back to school for the last term of the year. There are several future possibilities for new workers to the islands at various points in the pipeline— pray for good discernment for all involved and that the right workers would come to the right teams with the right timing.