Deception and Heresy the reason for Titus and his Wife's Death

    This week week one of the men that we had worked with in Bokole passed away. He was one of the first men to welcome us to Bokole. Juma, Moses, and I had drank coconuts with him under the palm trees on our first trip out to Bokole. He and his future wife both were members of the church in Bokole. His future wife was one of the charter members of the church. Once Titus and his wife were married and they had their first baby his wife decided to go back to a church that she had attended before she joined the Bokole church. She had family members in the church so they convinced her to return.

    The problem with the church she returned to was and is that it is a cult. They have mixed the Bible with witch doctor practices and have formed a cult. One of their teachings is that you can not go to a doctor or hospital, the only treatment that you can receive is prayer from the pastor of the church. The church even has a little room built beside the church for the really sick they are praying for. It is basically a death house. Titus’ wife and eventually Titus both were caught up in this cult. Titus was not just a church member but he also was Juma’s friend and Juma’s wife’s  Brother/cousin. Cousins here are called brothers.
    Juma and I visited Titus’ family several times especially when his wife got sick and had a huge boil on one of her breasts. The baby could not nurse and his wife was in pretty bad shape but she refused any medical care. When she eventually passed out from infection and dehydration some of the church members from Bokole took her to the hospital but as soon as she came to and realized where she was she ran from the hospital back home. She continued to get sick from the witch doctor treatments that the church was telling. They were having her put dirt and water “blessed” by the pastor in the open wound that she had from the boil. In the end she died as a result of a boil. A very treatable illness but because of the teachings of this crazy church she died.

    This past week Titus also succumb to illness. He refused to seek medical treatment as well until he was so sick that even medical care would not help him. He passed away on Saturday night. It was heart breaking because they were a sweet couple with a cute little one but they were sucked into false teaching. There are so many false teachers.  It is a wake up call and reminder of our call to preach the Gospel and Make disciples.

Struggling to get to Singuaya

May 24

I wanted to share our Singuaya trip on Saturday the 24 as a separate post because it was a pretty epic day. It was one of those days that you thought would never end and you wish you could just say “time out” or “do over” so you can gain your bearings or just scrap the day. 
    The morning started with me realizing that there was no fuel in the Land Rover.  While everyone else ate breakfast I ran to town to get some diesel so we could make the trip. No big deal I could eat along the way… I wish that was all the hiccups we had for the day.  Once we got off the main road and into the interior we came to a barrier in the road and as we went under the barrier the Land Rover just died. Now keep in mind I JUST got the Land Rover back after  an 800 dollar ring job and fuel pump replacement and now it is dead. Smack dab in the middle of the road under the barrier bar.
    I turned the key a few more times and nothing but clicking. At that point I was pretty steamed inside. Kenya, Sadie, and the kids were in the car and we had people waiting in Singuaya for teachings. We also were caring the food with us for fifty people that we were afraid was going to spoil already. My immediate response was I dropped my coffee and the chapati I had been eating in the floor and tossed my keys to Kenya and told her I would be back with the van. Thankfully we broke down at the barrier because there are like 15 motorcycles sitting there waiting for customers. When I got out to hop on a motor cycle the men that run the barrier check point asked me if I wanted them to push the car out of the way and I said no but then I said they could talk to mama who I was leaving with the car.

    Two motor cycles came flying over trying to be the first to get to me. I hopped on one and told him not to wreck he said no worries I will go slow I told him no don’t go slow my family is stuck just don’t wreck and go fast. Then we were off. Really I was pretty flustered inside again since the Land Rover was just worked on. About ten minutes down the road I started to think clearly and thought I should have checked the battery or under the hood but in my frustration I thought the best thing to do was go and now that these logical thoughts were coming to me I was a pretty good ways into the trip and decided to go on to Malindi knowing that if I went back and was defeated, my emotional state would really be compromised. Ok I would blow a fuse…anyhow.
    As we were riding I reminded the motorcycle driver that there was a check point at the bridge and he said it was no problem. I wanted to give him a chance to drop me off before the check point if he did not have his license or insurance which is common with the motorcycle taxis. When we got to the police check point at the bridge the police officer stopped us and sure enough the driver had no license or insurance and the police officer was giving him a hard time all in Swahili. I spoke to the guard in English when he spoke to me, asking me where I was going. I told him about the car breaking down and that I was going to get my van so I could pick up my family. He said something about the situation to me and I said I just caught the motorcycle and that I did not know. The officer arrested the motor cycle dude and I got off the motorcycle paid the guy and said,  “pole sana uko na shida sasa” “Very sorry you have a problem now”. 
    I took off walking on foot across the bridge and still about 3 miles from home. Thankfully a Tuk Tuk passed by and picked me up on the other side of the bridge. I was contemplating taking my shirt off and jogging but thankfully the Lord sent a ride. The tuk tuk dropped me off at our road and I walked the rest of the way to the house and got the van. When I went through the police checkpoint again my motor cycle guy flagged me down and said they wanted 1000 shillings and I told him sorry but that was not my problem. I had warned him and he should have his license and issurance. I reminded him that I did pay him well  and that they would likely get tired of him and eventually let him go but I had to go on to get my family. He accepted that I had paid him well and that it was really his fault. I told him I would tell his buddies he was stuck. I felt bad for the guy but again I did warn him and he should have license and insurance.
    When I got back to the Land Rover an hour later everyone was happy I was back. I decided to try and fire up the Rover again and it fired right up. I was still unsure of the problem and reasoned in my mind that it was a connection issue or something with the battery and I would have been able to fix if I had not left so quickly. I spent a few minutes going back and forth from the van to the car because I wasn’t sure if I should send Kenya and Sadie out to Singuaya alone and take the kids on home or if we should all go. Finally we decided to all go on to Singuaya but about five minutes into the trip Kenya called from the van and said that it only had a quarter tank of gas which was not enough to make the trip so once again we switched vehicles. I turned around and took the kids to Malindi while Kenya and Sadie went on to Singuaya to teach the ladies.
    When I went through the police check point this time at the bridge the same police officer that had stopped us on the motor bike stopped the van and he recognized me. This time I spoke to him in Swahili and told him I made it to Malindi and that I picked up my children from the broken down vehicle. He was shocked that I knew Swahili and very quickly let me go on through knowing that I heard him giving my motorcycle guy a hard time and hinting around about a bribe.
    We got to the house and I checked on our water situation and threw the foot ball with Josiah then was about to sit down in the house when Kenya called and said that the Land Rover had quit…again and they were still not to the church. They were close but not quite there. I left the kids at the house and got in the van with some tools and chains in case I needed to pull the Land Rover home. I grabbed by Bible and notes thinking we might still make it to the church for teaching even though we would be a few hours late.

    Before I got to Kenya and Sadie in the Land Rover they called and said that they got it started and were at the church. I was almost there when Kenya called so I told her I would come on and we would leave together after the teachings. With all the delays and everything, the food we had carried out was starting to spoil. It was edible but we paid for it for the next few days after eating it and there is no need to go into details. After we all ate the men and women split. Our main focus for coming was for Kenya to teach the ladies on marriage as they requested her. I met with the men that came and we did some planning then I answered several questions from the Bible. It was a great time of fellowship and teaching.
    Kenya said the ladies class went great. She felt like the Lord spoke through her. She left very burdened for the ladies and some of their situations but also very encouraged at the fellowship and hunger for teachings. The men and I had a great meeting so it was well worth the rough morning to get to Singuaya but our day was not over yet we still had to get home.

    I went in front of the ladies in the Land Rover so they could help me if I broke down again. Also Kenya was driving slow in the new van because the roads were terrible. We hated to take the van out to Singuaya but we did not have a choice. I did break down again, well technically I stopped when I noticed that the heat gauge was in the red. I popped the hood and realized the problem when I saw steam coming out of the top  the engine. When the Land Rover was repaired there was a plastic cap that had gotten broken and it was fixed with “super glue”. The fundi told me about it and I even saw it but I thought when he said “super glue” it was just another way of saying some type of sealer. No…he used super glue and of course when the engine got hot, not to mention the pressure built up, the super glue was gone and all the Engine coolant went with it. I added water and had a miniature Old Faithful coming out of my engine.

    It explained why the engine, once cooled off, kept restarting but anyhow I had to plug up the hole and get home. Kenya and Sadie pulled up as I was working on making a cork out of a stick to hammer into the hole. I used my lucky machete and whittled out a cork,  filled the Land Rover up with water, and tried to fire it up only to have nothing happened. The battery apparently was not charged by the alternator because of all the heat the engine was generating. I had Kenya pull the van over beside the Land Rover so I could jump it. We got it all hooked up and the Land Rover fired up. I backed up so Kenya could get the van back on the road but she was unable to… I asked her very calmly, “are you stuck?” and she said yes very calmly. I hung my head in disbelief then got out of the Land Rover and tried myself to get the van out but to no avail. Then a guy passing by helped push us out with three teen boys that had been watching the entire scenario in silence.
    I gave the guy a ride that helped us out and we were back on the road. By this time it was nearly dark. Then it started to rain. I made it to the gate of the house when Kenya called to confirm if they were going the right direction. She said it was so dark and raining buckets of rain that it was difficult to tell if she was on the right road. Then as I was talking to her she said they spun a 180 in the road but were not stuck. To which in my mind I said AMEN! Once she got turned back around they were at the main road. Thankfully by 8pm we were all back to the house after a crazy day. But we got the teachings to Singuaya and it was so good! Bad news was there was still no water… and the bad food we ate was working hard on some of us….

Wow it stinks!

May 15-27

    It has been a very productive and cool week and a half. The rains have come and it has cooled things down although we still have some hot and humid afternoons. When it is raining it feels like a spring day in the states. The rains make everything green and everywhere muddy. Since many of our roads are muddy it makes it a little messy but we will take the cool temps for a little while. Everywhere people are planting and weeding crops.
    Last time I wrote an update we had experienced loss of electricity for several days this time it is water. We went three days with no water in our tanks which makes it really stink around here…I mean literally stink! With no water you can not flush but that’s enough of that. We did not notice that the water pressure was too low to push the water to our tanks in the roof so when it went completely out on the city side we were also completely out in our tanks also. We made it though and now we keep pumping it up to the roof as soon as it comes on and we are monitoring the situation. Thankfully we had the water filled up on the day of our scheduled power outage it may have been an unspiritual day if we had no water and no electricity…sewage and sweat may have put us over the edge : ) 
    We sold our old van last week to the lady at the insurance company. She had the money and we did everything in the bank parking lot. It is a good thing because the Land Rover is eating our lunch right now with expenses. We got the ring job done but it also needed a new fuel pump which was about 500 bucks. BLAH! However it took care of the black smoke issue and the ring job took care of oil shooting everywhere. I decided with all the repairs under the Land Rover and the engine work it was time to get some other much needed repairs on the inside of the Land Rover. Currently it is being worked over. It would take around thirty-five to Forty thousand dollars to get a newer Land Rover so for now an overhaul is the best we can do. The new van is doing great!
    The church in Malindi had Juma preach on the 18th and Nicholas on the 25 as they consider calling a pastor. This coming Sunday Ricklynn will be preaching. Lord willing the church will make a decision next week also as to who they will call. Juma did a great job preaching, he has grown so much over the past several years. For those who do not know or remember, Juma was our first convert here on the coast. So to see him preaching is just awesome. Nicholas did ok on Sunday. He has a good presence in the pulpit but his messages lack flow and continuity. He just needs a little more time studying to help him channel his Biblical knowledge and communicate it better. Ricklynn again will be preaching this week but I am certain he will have a good message.  I hope he is able to communicate it well.
    All three of these men have various talents and abilities that would be great for the Malindi church. Pray for the church as they make their decision soon. I will be glad to see them take this step in maturity and I really feel they are ready. Immediately their decision will free me up to work with all the other churches who really need help. Not only will I have liberty to work among the churches but also to look at new areas for new works. I have loved this past year in Malindi and I needed the time with them as much as they needed it with me but now I am ready for the next evolution of this work.
    I spent a couple days preparing for Bible Institute classes that we had on the 22-23. We watched videos of John Wanyoni missionary to Sudan on the 22 then I taught on Friday the 23rd. Our topic was on Missions. John did a great job with Dub and ABA Media filming this class not to mention his material was great. I followed up on Friday with lessons on the Pauline Cycle of Church planting. I was able to introduce the topic and explaining and overview of the Cycle . We will continue the class next month. Reviewing this material and sharing what I did gave me a zeal and excitement myself for what is ahead. I feel like I have been going through a transition time over the past few months and teaching gave me some clarity to some of the chaos and confusion that I have felt.

    We had a good turn out for the classes  with ten students. I was glad to see Karate, Musa, and Geofrey with us for classes. They are all getting serious about their studies and I am eager to see how the Lord uses them in the future. Geoffrey is teaching adult Sunday school currently in Malindi and so far is really doing well.

    Kenya and I also celebrated our anniversary on the 23rd. We have been married 16 years. I am so blessed to have Kenya as my wife, she truly is a help meet and my best friend. We continue to face new phases of life together and each one continues to deepen our relationship. Every month I read through the proverbs and I see Kenya as a real life example of a proverbs 31 kinda gal. I am a blessed man that’s for sure!

April Monthly Report

  “Our vision is to be a ministry of eternal significance that impacts the cause of Christ through the advancement and multiplication of His churches.”

 

 April 2014

TEAM MINISTRY

     It has been our desire from the beginning that East Kenya Missions be a team ministry.  Over the past six years indeed it has been a team effort. God has brought many short-term teams, interns, and individuals to invest in the work He is doing. I can say with confidence that the Lord has used this ministry to impact eternity both locally and globally. We cast the vision to our church from the start to pray for five families to be sent to the coast to preach the gospel. We now are seeing God beginning to bring that vision to a reality.

     We want in this month’s report to introduce and promote those God has called to serve alongside us. We believe God has great things in store for all these missionaries and for the expansion of the Gospel on the Coast of Kenya and beyond. Lord willing by the summer and by the end of this year we will have a tremendous team on the ground ministering.

     We do not want to neglect to recognize the national leaders that we are working with and training.  It is a great privilege to serve along side some great men who love Jesus and are eager to learn. We are on the verge of not just addition but multiplication as God continues to grow this work. 

 

Ashley Johnston

Home School Teacher

     Ashley Johnston will be arriving in July to begin a one-year commitment to home schooling our children and ministering with us. Ashley has served as an intern for the past two years and is well acquainted with the work here. Please pray for Ashley as she seeks the Lord’s will for her future even beyond her one year with us. Her sending church is Greenacres MBC, 4802 Benton Rd, Bossier City, LA 71111. 

 

The Strader Family Final Survey

     This month we were blessed to have John, Amber, and Ellanora Strader with us for their final survey trip. This was a chance for the Straders to come as a family to visit the field as well as collect valuable information as they prepare for their arrival in November this year. We had a lot of great conversations and dream sessions that only excited us more about what God has planned for Brother John and his family. The Straders are continuing to do deputation work and are in need of prayers and support as they get closer to their departure. The Straders sending church is Creekmont BC, P.O. Box 506, La Porte TX 77571.

 

The Howells

 Farming God’s Way

     In June Missionary Clayton Howell will be here on the field with his new wife Lindsey. Please pray for the Howells as they make the transition here on the field and begin language school in the fall.

We are super excited to see how the Lord uses the Farming God’s Way ministry to continue discipleship among the existing work and to expand into new areas. Clayton and Lindsey are going to be an amazing addition to the team. The Howells’ and Farming God’s Way Ministry’s sending church is Pauline BC, P.O. Box 299, Monticello, AR 71657.

The Vickers Family

Internship/Survey

At the end of June the Vickers Family will be on the ground with us serving as interns until November.

The purpose of this internship is to confirm their family’s calling as missionaries to Kenya as well as laboring with us. The Vickers are continuing to raise funds for this internship and need your prayers that the Lord will make His will clear as they do this internship. The Vickers’ sending church is Flatwoods MBC, 2709 E Main St, Mountain View, AR 72560.

 

James Taylor PO Box 811 Malindi, Kenya 80200

Phone 011-254-713289014 missionarytaylor@gmail.com

Taylor Tribe   

 

     This month was a bit of a trying month for my family back in the states and I was able to go home for a week to be with them.  First my dad was rushed to the ER with internal bleeding.  Then my grandpa who had been sick for over a year battling throat cancer passed away.  Then the very next day after he was buried my brother-in-law, only 35 years old, passed away unexpectedly of a massive heart attack.  When my grandpa passed away, my dad was on the mend, and I decided not to go home; but when my brother-in-law passed away, I knew that I needed to be there for my family.  Sometimes we aren’t able to be with our families for deaths, weddings, births, graduations and so forth.  It’s part of the sacrifice we knew came with serving the Lord on a foreign field.  But I am so grateful that the Lord provided, and I was able to go home to comfort my sister.  One of the reasons that I decided not to go when my grandpa passed away is because John and Amber Strader were coming, and I wanted to be here for Amber to be able to show her around and answer her questions.  The Lord worked it out though, because I had never left James and the kids, so Amber just jumped right in helping Sadie with the kids, cooking, and even laundry.  I was able to return 3 days before they left, so it was nice to get a few days to visit with Amber.  I am super excited that she and John are coming.  I think the Lord is going to use them in a great way and I look forward to our friendship together in this ministry. 

I was only gone for 7 days, but a lot happened while I was gone.  Of course John and Amber’s arrival, which was quite a mess. With my quick exit from the country, their rooms didn’t get cleaned in the vacant guesthouse.  I don’t even want to think about the amount of lizard poop that may or may not have been on their bed and in their bathroom.  Bless Amber’s heart, she just took the sheets James managed to find and it didn’t phase her.  Once I got over the mortification I felt, I decided if she can handle lizard poop on her bed, she will do just fine living here.  Then I was supposed to make a 1^st birthday cake for Sarah, Mama Cedrik’s baby, so Sadie managed to make a very nice one and they had a small party for her.  Also the Wests left, so I didn’t see them off since they were still in Nairobi when I left.  And in the midst of all that, James brought out his inner chef and made the kids some gourmet breakfast dishes such as root beer flavored oatmeal and left over hotdogs turned sausage. When I Face Timed the kids from the states and they told me of their delicacies, I was proud that they were definitely making some memories.

The kids are still doing great with school.  This has been a really good year.  I think they will get completely through their books this year.  That may be a first for us.  Sadie has been awesome.  And we are sad that her time with us is coming to a close. 

I would like to thank everyone who filled my email and facebook messages with encouraging words and thoughtful prayers this month.  Thank you to those who sent offerings to help with my ticket, especially Dorcas Circle.  You ladies are so very kind to me.  I love you all. 

Thanks for reading and praying.

Where is the Electricity?

May 7-14
Where is the Electricity?
    Really there is not much to talk about for this week. We have been busy getting things back in order around the house and caught up on ministry things. It is kind of weird because the Wests and the Straders are gone so it is just our family and Sadie. We count Sadie as part of our family now so we really have no one here but us. We love all our guests but when everyone is gone we are able to have a little more routine.
    Immediately after getting back from Nairobi on Wednesday we had to turn around and go back to Mombasa for dentist appointments for everyone. We really did not want to go but they blocked off the morning for all seven of us to get in at once so we felt bad about canceling. We did not have any cavities and we got to have Java House for lunch so the trip was not too bad.
    When we left for Nairobi I had left the Land Rover in the shop for some suspension issues and so they could check the engine because I have been losing power and throwing black smoke. Well the news was not good. The shop said I needed an Engine overhaul… that was after they gave me a bill for $750 bucks for the suspension work and injector work they did. Blah! The engine overhaul and new turbo charger estimate they gave me was “only” 275,000 shillings or $3200. I decided to take the vehicle to another mechanic to get another opinion. Bottom line is the Land Rover is in another shop now getting a ring job and several other things. We will see what the end result is with it.
    The vehicles are killing us as far as expenses are concerned. However we do drive them pretty hard. Oh and I had to put new tires on the new van, but I knew that when we bought it. With new tires, seats, and paper work we spent about $18,000 on the new van, and another $800 on insurance for the year. Good news is that this week we have had several people look at the old van and we have an offer of $6000 on the table already we are planning to accept it today and collect the money if all goes well.
    Juma and Mercy had their baby this week! They had a another little girl and they named her Fatuma after Juma’s mama. We went down on Saturday, saw them, and took some lunch. It was a good time to visit with Juma and the baby is so cute. Juma preached for me in Malindi on the Sunday we were in Nairobi. Everyone said he did a great job.

    On Sunday we had a great service. There were quite a few out but it was still really good. After church we had a pretty big business meeting. We had all our normal reports then we selected new teachers for this quarter. The big things we talked about was selecting a pastor. I told the church I would like of them to select a pastor and assistant next month if possible. I recommended they consider Ricklynn, Nicholas, and Juma. The church asked me to talk to the three of them to see if they would be willing if the church called them and for me to arrange for them to preach over the next few weeks. Then next month we will have them in our business meeting to ask questions and go from there. Pray pray pray for this situation I really need to visit the other churches but I want to be sure Malindi is moving forward.
    I really need to get my monthly report written for April, put together the itineraries for the summer groups, and talk to the Vickers and their pastor about their internship plans. There are about five or six really pressing matters that I need to tend to. I am trying to prioritize and get what I can done.
    I think we are finally through our electricity woes. We went nearly 5 days without power. I think we called the power company 19 times (not an exaggeration) until finally our issue was resolved. We had like 20 loads of laundry once we did finally get power. Oh and it is rain season so our living room and dining room became our drying area since our dryer died. Kenya hung 2 clothes lines all the way across the house.  Thankfully our generator was working so we could keep food from spoiling. During the nights without power I think we donated mass amounts of blood to the mosquito population that invaded our house with all the windows open.  Lydia woke up looking like she had chicken pox she had so many bites. Thankfully it is cooler out but it is still muggy.  

Naitobi Trip and The New Vehicle

April 28-May 6   
Nairobi Trip  and The New Vehicle
    The Straders headed out on Sunday night and Monday morning we were up and out the door at 4am headed for Nairobi. We also took Mama Cedrik and baby Sarah with us so they could continue on to Western to visit family. When it comes to going to Nairobi I am not a fan. I could never go to Nairobi and be very happy. It is a big city and you are constantly looking over your shoulder because crime is so bad. There are constant carjackings and hold ups so I think it is legitimate to not look forward to a place like that. One visit we made we were hit three times in one day while in the city and no one ever stopped to even check on the damage or to even acknowledge that it happened.
    During our drive in we had a small accident that involved us and a huge bus. Thankfully the accident was not too bad but it had the potential to be much worse. We were forced to go off the highway to pass trucks that were waiting to pass through a weigh station so that means it is everyone for himself. We were driving along getting ready to get back up on the highway when a bus decided to try and cut us off. Well he did not cut us off he cut into us! It was on the passengers side of the van midways back right where Sadie was napping. The bus hit us and Sadie got a 3D view of it! Thank the Lord the impact did not break the glass where Sadie’s head was! It did leave a nice scuff that you can see in the pictures.

    I had to get out and deal with the bus driver who was clearly in the wrong. The only problem was that we were both off the main road so in my mind we would both be considered out of line when and or if the police ever came. We went back and forth for a few minutes all in Swahili so it showed the driver that I was not a tourist. Finally the driver asked how much to fix the vehicle then shoved a thousand shillings in my pocket. I mean literally a pushed a one thousand shilling note ($12) in my pocket…as if that was going to really cover the damage. However I did not want to sit on the side of the road for half the day nor did I want to deal with the police messing with us so I accepted the admission of guilt and token of defeat and we continued on our journey with a little more character in the side of our van.

Picture from inside the vehicle note the paint smear from the bus on the window and the thousand Shillings int he dudes hand that went in my pocket

    The little excitement gave us something to talk and laugh about. You had to laugh and wag your heard at the interaction and the end result. The rest of the trip was thankfully uneventful except for waiting on the side of the road for Mama Cedrik’s sister. Mama Cedrik does not know Nairobi at all and being by herself with her baby was a bit frightening for her. We missed the place to drop her at her sisters on our way in and we could not just leave her although I must admit I wanted to…not because I was trying to be mean or insensitive. We had 1.5million shillings or $17,000 dollars cash with us and five children and we were sitting on the side of the road completely exposed to thieves, thugs, and car jackers. So I was a bit nervous to say the least. We did stay with Mama Cedrik until her sister arrived like an hour and a half later. I am glad we waited with her and it was a the right thing to do but it was eating me up on the inside. Yes I know…me of little faith…but I am not used to 17 grande in my possession!
    The reasons we were going to Nairobi was to renew Lydia’s passport that was about to expire, visit the Hoppers before they left for furlough, and to look for a van to replace our beat up van(thus the reason for the 17G’s). While we were in town we also wanted to show Sadie a few of the sites as her time with us is coming to a close.
    We were able to get the passport renewal taken care of on Tuesday morning and we met up with the Hoppers in the evening to visit. Granny (Cissy Hopper) had been planning a special evening for the kids for the past few months. There was a new place put in a mall near the Hoppers that is basically like Chuck E Cheese and Granny wanted to take the kids there. Our kids have been saving up their allowance and Granny gave them Easter money so they had quite a bit to play games and ride rides. It is so amazing all the development in Nairobi like the Chuck E Cheese place! Our kids had a awesome time! Granny and Babu had a good time watching the kids bask in pure joy of playing. After all the fun ran out and we turned in our tickets for some ultra cheap toys we had dinner together.

    On Wednesday I spent the day looking at vehicles at several dealerships and online. I was able to locate two vehicles that I wanted Kenya to come and take a look at so she could help make the final decision. We test drove one van that was petrol and the other was diesel and as soon as Kenya hit the throttle pedal on the diesel and felt the power her decision was made. We went with a 2006 Nissan Caravan. I worked with the the salesman on some things we wanted done and about getting seats put in then we agreed on the price.
    We met the Hoppers for supper again at one of our favorite Indian places called Little India. We also wanted Sadie to experience the waiters attacking us with menus and wanting you to order from them. It is funny to see the response of folks who we take there. We also wanted Sadie to have Pan (pronounces PAWN). It is a bunch of seeds, spices, and syrup all rolled up in a leaf that you eat. There are Pan that are not good that cause you to “see things” but we stay clear of those and go with the sweet pan. After we ate Sadie and I both ate a pan. I actually like the sweet pan but usually others do not…Sadie got it in her mouth and chewed a little until it grew in her mouth and she could not swallow it and she spit it out. Oh good times! I love the pictures. Some may think of this as torture or laughing at others expense we just call it “giving people a cultural experience” BWAHAAAHHH!

    We did not put this in our plan but May 1 was a national holiday so it threw a kink in our plans to get our new van all finished up and ready to roll out by the weekend. With everything closed for holiday we decided to take the day to take Sadie to a couple of the the sites in Nairobi. First we went outside of town to the Elephant orphanage to see baby elephants and pet them. It is a pretty cool place to see elephants up close and learn about them. After the elephant orphanage we had some Kentucky Fried Chicken… oh yes there are now several KFC restaurants around Nairobi. It is not exactly the same but pretty close. That is one big benefit about Nairobi you can get Western type things…at a price of course.

    After the amazing KFC we made our way out to the Rift Valley which is a must to see if you ever get a chance. We passed through Karen and by the Ngong Hills which is a nice drive. The Rift was beautiful as always and we got some pretty sweet pictures.

    Friday I went in and put 1million shillings down on the van and got the ball rolling on everything with it. Kenya and Sadie spent the day with Cissy in Limuru at a tea farm. They went to the first tea farm in Kenya and learned all about tea and took a tour of the farm. They had a great time with Cissy having a girls day out. The kids and I hung out at our room then took a 45 minute walk to the mall for lunch and a movie. We had some KFC again and watched Rio 2.

    Saturday we really just kind of took it easy around the room. I ran to town and got two of our tires fixed and had the van washed. The rest of day I worked on some finances and things, then we had an early supper with Ernie and Cissy. We got word from the embassy and from some missionaries on the coast of two explosions one on a bus and the other near a mall in Mombasa. This is becoming very common here in Kenya. It seems every month there is another IED (Improvised Explosive Device) going off somewhere. Usually it is in Nairobi or Mombasa because they are the two largest cities and of the most influence. The attacks are continually traced to Al-Shabab a terrorist group with links to Al-Qaeda that Kenya has been at war with in Samalia.
    We went to the Kibera slums for services at Silanaga LBC. Julius Ayugu is the pastor of the church and a good friend. He was with us in March on the coast teaching class for the ABA media project. We try to visit with Julius and his family when we come to Nairobi. We were very close to Julius when we worked in Western Kenya. He even named his twins James and Kenya after us so his family has a special place in our heart, not to mention he is a very Godly man. We met up with Julius at the entrance of the slum and left our van at one of our other churches Makina LBC then walked 30minutes through the slums to the church. The walk itself was a cultural experience as we stepped over raw sewage and trash everywhere.

    We had a great service and even had one lady saved. Julius asked me to teach and preach. We really had a great time worshiping with the church and Julius is doing a great job. The Silanga church has gone through a lot and God has used Julius to bring stability and strength to the congregation. We had a good time visiting with Julius and his family walking in and out of the slum.
    We had an early dinner/ late lunch with the Hoppers. When we got where we were staying we heard of two more IED going off this time in Nairobi. One was near the mall we had gone to with the Hoppers our first night in town. We called Ernie and Cissy because they were heading in the direction of where one of the explosions took place. They were fine but stuck in bad traffic. It took them a while but they finally made it home. They said that another missionary they knew had gotten robbed at gun point while stuck in the same traffic they were stuck in. Again one of the reasons I do not like Nairobi, traffic and gun point robberies, but anyhow.
    Monday was a big day for us. We got to pick up our new Van and it is nice. Kenya, Sadie, and the kids went back to our room while I finished up the details on getting the vehicle to load up all our stuff into “the old van”. Cissy had given us like eight boxes full of magazines, spices, syrups, chocolate chips, and all sorts of goodies. She cleaned out her pantry and gave us the things that she thought we would like. The Hoppers are leaving for furlough for a year and they had to pack up their entire house and move so that is why we only met up with them for meals because they were working on packing and storing things. We got to have one last meal with Granny and Babu and show them our new van. We said our goodbyes then headed to our rooms so we could get some rest before our long drive back to the coast.

    Kenya, Sadie, and all the kids except Josiah rode in the new van while Josiah and I drove the old van. The drive was long and rainy. We had to stop twice because the windshield wipers on the old van quit working. I had to disconnect the rear wiper because it was shorting out the front wipers. I kept thinking, “just get this van to Malindi and you can sell.”  We saw several terrible accidents along the way and even a dead body laying out along the side of the road. We say this, and it is true, the most dangerous thing we do is drive the highways in this country. I do not worry about the IED explosions as much as getting hit head on by a van, bus, or Semi. The worst would be by a semi tanker loaded with petrol…I can not tell you the number of times we have been head to head with one of those,but anyways…
    The Nairobi trip was a complete success and we did not get robbed or killed! Bonus! Seriously we are grateful the Lord protected us and gave us time with Ernie and Cissy. It was also nice to have a break from the heat. Our new van did great all the way home. We are confident it will be a blessing for several years, I have even promised Kenya not to take it deep into the bush so that should help.