Joy and Sorrow

Wet and dry. Hot and cold. Happy and sad. Joy and sorrow. Opposites. For the most part, opposites can not coincide. You’re either wet or dry, hot or cold, happy or sad. So why can joy and sorrow meet and dance in my heart at the same time?

I’m not sure I’ll ever quite understand this, nor will I ever be able to adequately describe my heart and head when joy and sorrow meet.

Most days are joyful. Most of the time I can choose joy rather easily. I do have a lot to be thankful for. I have a million reasons to praise my God and Father. However, there are days when a fresh wave of grief overtakes this joy…at least, it really tries to do so.

Being at language school has been great. I’m enjoying the classes and learning process much more than I expected. Plus, I’m actually succeeding in learning! (Let’s be honest, success is always helpful in making me enjoy something.) I have been cooking and cleaning every day so I feel a little more like myself. I’m able to exercise. Our little community is wonderful, and the environment is absolutely beautiful. Overall, it’s been a pleasant summer.

About 4 weeks ago, though, another wave of grief hit me. While Aaron and the boys enjoyed a sleepover in the living room by the fire, I sat in bed alone, missing Hannah so badly and sobbing. I guess their boy time tends to trigger my grief. Usually, at this point in the grieving journey, I’m able to process these kind of waves in about 3 days. I can write in Hannah’s journal, cry really hard for a while and throw a pity party for the next day or so. Then, I’m back to joy, joy, joy! It’s different here though.

Here, at this beautiful place full of wonderful people, I just can’t get through this wave. Like I said, it’s been weeks, not days. I’ve written in Hannah’s journal. I’ve sobbed on several different occasions. I’ve allowed myself time for self-pity, but I know I can’t stay here. I’ve prayed and asked for prayer. I’ve yelled at God. I’ve read Scriptures and devotionals and other books that usually help me gain a right perspective. I even wrote the post about the humorous side of pregnancy in effort to remind myself of the joy I’m able to find in every day life!

And honestly, this wave is different. It isn’t constant. In the past month, I’ve had mostly good days. It’s just that I have at least one bad day a week. That hasn’t been typical in the past 6 months. I guess I could blame it on the hormones, but I don’t think that’s the root of the issue.

The root is that I’m unhappy with God’s answers lately. I hated it when He said ‘no’ to healing Hannah. Now, he’s told us ‘no’ to having another girl. Those ‘no’ answers aren’t just ‘NO!’ For Hannah, the answer was more like the Father saying, “I’m not going to heal her (temporarily) on earth. No, I’m going to do much more. I’m going to make her perfect, complete and whole!” And with this pregnancy, God’s answer is probably a ‘not yet,’ but it doesn’t make it easier. I want a girl now. Actually, I don’t. I want Hannah back. I’m fighting this desire to hold onto her, to resist moving on with God’s plan for us. Having a fifth child wasn’t an easy decision. In fact, we wouldn’t be having this child unless we really believed it was in God’s will for our family.

Aaron and I have been called to have a large family. God hasn’t told us exactly how many kids will end up in our family. We don’t need to know the specifics. We just know how to take it one child at a time and to keep our ears open to God’s voice. When He says to have another baby, we obey. It’s simple, but it’s not always easy. This has been the hardest baby-conceiving decision, but we knew we heard God’s voice. There are risks to having a baby here in Kenya. But more than that, having another baby is a HUGE step OUT of the valley. I know I need to make this leap of faith. I want to want to trust God in this. I’m just having a time of temptation and questioning. While I know God’s plan is best and perfect, I just don’t understand. And frankly, I don’t like this next step.

It’s hard. Most of the time, my mind is on nursery planning, making sure I have everything Joshua will need, keeping my body healthy, and anticipating the lovely feeling of holding a newborn again. But then there are those days when I don’t want any of that. I’d be perfectly happy to sacrifice all of it in order to have Hannah back in our lives. In fact, I’ve even confessed to God that I’d like to have Hannah over 10 more daughters. It’s not logical, I know. It’s just that I know Hannah. There’s still a void from her absence. Future children will be awesome, but I don’t know them yet. I don’t even know Joshua yet. It’s easier to sacrifice something you never really had.

I guess it’s too late now, huh? My heart is so full of sorrow over the absence of Hannah. And yet, it’s overflowing with joy over this crazy-active boy growing in my womb. The joy and sorrow take turns leading the dance. Fortunately, the joy tends to win when the two opposing emotions fight for dominance. Sorrow does take a turn every now and then. Lately, it’s been a little more frequently than I like, but it’s part of the process.

As I continue to walk out of the valley, I’ll keep choosing joy. I’ll continue to trust and obey my God, because where else can I go? He is the omnipotent, holy, perfect God. No matter how much I don’t like something, I need to remember that I don’t see the big picture. He does. I don’t know what’s best for me, or my family. He does. I can’t see the end from the beginning. He can. He is able to restore and provide and bless unlike any other person or god. I trust that He will fulfill all of the promises He has made to us. In HIS timing, not mine. In HIS perfect way, not mine.

The Holy Spirit spoke so clearly to me though Pastor Petero during devotions on Monday. He spoke on Romans 12:1-2, “Therefore, I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice – alive, holy, and pleasing to God – which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God – what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.”

And that sums it up. It’s not about me. Or Hannah. I need to resist the temptation to make her an idol, to make happiness an idol, to make myself an idol. If it’s not in God’s will, then I don’t want it. Lord, may your perfect will be done!

Thank you for praying me through this pregnancy. I covet your prayers so much. Thank you for following our journey. It’s messy and unpredictable. It’s real and raw. Thank you for always uplifting us in prayer.

Praises and Prayer Requests:

1. Praise God, for He loves us unconditionally. I’m so thankful that I can vent to Him, and He’ll still love me.
2. Praise God for His provision. I stand amazed at the ways He is providing for our every need here on the mission field.
3. Praise God for His loyalty and trustworthiness.
4. Praise God for children. They (even boys) are a blessing!
5. I praise God for you! May God bless you for all the time and energy you spend praying for me, my mission, and my family.

 

“Where Joy And Sorrow Meet”

Avalon
There’s a place of quiet stillness ‘tween the light and shadows reach
Where the hurting and the hopeless seek everlasting peace
Words of men and songs of angels whisper comfort bittersweet
Mending grief and life eternal where joy and sorrow meet

There is a place where hope remains
In crowns of thorns and crimson stains
And tears that fall on Jesus’ feet
Where joy and sorrow meet

There’s a place the lost surrender and the weary will retreat
Full of grace and mercy tender in times of unbelief
For the wounded there is healing, strength is given to the weak
Broken hearts find love redeeming where joy and sorrow meet

There’s a place of thirst and hunger where the roots of faith grow deep
And there is rain and rolling thunder when the road is rough and steep
There is hope in desperation there is victory in defeat
At the cross of restoration where joy and sorrow meet

One Month Down, One Month To Go!

Another week has flown by here in Kenya. We are so thankful for your ongoing prayers, notes and gifts! Here is a little update of the last week.

Last Friday, we skipped class to do our weekly shopping, try our hand at bartering in Swahili at the Masai Market, and meet some friends for lunch. It was a cold, rainy day. I was successful at finding two more pairs of stretchy, but not maternity, pants at the mall. We stocked up on nonperishable food at the supermarket. Then, we purchased some really cute nursery supplies for Joshua. I wasn’t planning to do anything too fancy if we were having another boy, but I changed my mind. (I already had a beautiful, fun girl nursery all planned out in my head…I guess those plans will have to wait!) I found orange, brown and ivory fabric for sheets and pillows and whatever else I decide to create. We got a cute giraffe and hippo for décor. I still have some things to find and/or make, but I think the nursery will be one of my favorite rooms when it’s finished.

Joshua’s nursery will be orange, brown and ivory. (I just can’t do blue or green anymore!)

Once we finished bargaining for matching Kenyan soccer outfits for the boys, we called the driver to pick us up. He didn’t understand my request, so we ended up standing in the rain for quite some time. Finally, we were on our way across town to eat at an amazing brick oven pizza restaurant with our friends, which was the main purpose for missing the entire day of class!

Aaron and the boys in their Kenyan soccer jerseys.

Although we were late (everything takes longer in Kenya!), we thoroughly enjoyed our time with our friends. They are visiting Tenwek and actually living in our house for 3 ½ weeks. While we’re sorry that Aaron and Allan won’t get to work side-by-side at Tenwek, we are so privileged to share our home with them. It was delightful to meet their daughters. I wonder if they’re sleeping in the boys’ triple bunk…

The Sawyer Family and us after filling ourselves with pizza.

We are also grateful to meet them because they filled two huge trunks for us! Baby clothes, blankets, cloth diapers, toys, birthday party supplies, medical supplies, school books, etc. were overflowing the action packers. What a blessing!

The boys LOVE whoopie cushions! Thanks, Sawyer family!!

Our weekend was quiet and restful. We enjoyed corn-on-the-cob for the first time since moving here. (I’m talking real sweet corn, not maize!) We visited the same church and enjoyed their kick-off celebration for 50 years of making disciples and teaching the Word. It’s so encouraging to be a part of such a Bible-teaching church that actually walks the talk. Although we couldn’t understand all the testimonies since they were primarily in Swahili, we were blessed by how many people could so easily share how the church had impacted their lives and their walks with God. God is doing great things here in Kenya! Praise God!

Monday and Tuesday were full days. We finished lessons 19 and 20, which meant we needed to take the first exam. Giving us much grace, the teachers gave us a day and a half to study. After an hour of test-prep on Wednesday, we started our self-study time. We spent Thursday studying. Then, on Friday we took the test!

Me, my 23-week baby bump, and my test

I think we all did very well. Monday begins a new week. We’ve been told that we’ll learn the ‘yellow chart.’ I guess that’s a good thing, but I’m not sure. Before that, though, we’ll enjoy another quiet weekend. Hopefully, the sun will stay out and we’ll have some special family time. We are taking advantage of the cafe to celebrate Noah’s half-birthday. Since both Jacob and Levi will celebrate birthdays here at language school and will therefore be treated to Mommy-Daddy-dates, we thought we’d treat Noah to his date on his 8 1/2 birthday. We’re considering giving him half of a Lego set, but we think that would be torture for his personality type!

Psalm 146

1 Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord, my soul.

2 I will praise the Lord all my life;
    I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.
3 Do not put your trust in princes,
    in human beings, who cannot save.
4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground;
    on that very day their plans come to nothing.
5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob,
    whose hope is in the Lord their God.

6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth,
    the sea, and everything in them—
    he remains faithful forever.
7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed
    and gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets prisoners free,
8     the Lord gives sight to the blind,
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down,
    the Lord loves the righteous.
9 The Lord watches over the foreigner
    and sustains the fatherless and the widow,
    but he frustrates the ways of the wicked.

10 The Lord reigns forever,
    your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord.

Praise and Prayer Requests:

1. Praise God for the work He is doing in Kenya! Pray that discipleship will become a main priority in all churches across this country.
2. Praise God for our successful assessments. We are doing our best to learn as much Swahili as possible in 2 months, so it’s encouraging to get good feedback. Please continue to pray for us. We’re half way done, and we have SO much more to learn!
3. Pray for Tenwek.
4. Pray for wisdom in answering the boys’ questions concerning the baby and Hannah. Pray for their hearts, and ours. Aaron and I have been grieving deeply again. It’s hard to know how to answer the boys’ questions. It’s hard to process things away from home, away from our normal, away from our main emotional supporters.
5. Pray blessings upon those people at Tenwek who have sacrificially supported us the past year and a half. We are so far from our American support system, so we appreciate our Tenwek family so much. They walked the journey of losing Hannah with us, and they haven’t forgotten. Now that we are absent from that support system, we are made more aware of how special it is. We love you all! May God bless you for your emotional and spiritual support!!
6. Pray blessings upon Levi and Aaron this week as they celebrate their birthdays! Levi will turn 4 on Thursday, and Aaron will be another year older on Friday.

Take 5

This will be the humorous side of being pregnant for the fifth time…I have another more serious blog in the works, but this one came together more quickly. Read it with much sarcasm in mind. J

As many of you know from Aaron’s last blog post, we are having another boy. Yes, you read that correctly. ANOTHER BOY! His name is Joshua Hunt Baraka Kelley. And we all love him so much already. However, this keeps running through my mind:

Really? Another boy? Really? Everyone else in the world (at least that’s what it seems like right now) gets to have a girl AND keep her. Not us…At least not right now.

Rather than be bitter about this, I’m choosing to join the “Mom of 4 Boys” Club with pride and look at the humorous side of this pregnancy. Hope you get a few laughs (at my expense) while reading my current thoughts on being pregnant with my fifth child, my fourth boy.

Being pregnant 5 times in less than 10 years has some clear disadvantages. Here are just a few:

1. Your stomach muscles go on vacation really early! This time around, I was finally, after months and month of ab workouts, getting my stomach to tighten up. Then, less than 8 weeks into the pregnancy, they just gave up. If they could talk, they’d say, “Why bother?” All of the sudden, I looked 20 weeks pregnant at 8 weeks! I don’t want to think about what they’ll look like after delivering Joshua.
2. Your older kids have more and more questions and comments with each pregnancy. Levi loves to touch my belly and ask, “Is this fat or is it the baby?” While Jacob and Noah haven’t asked the “Where do babies come from?” question yet this time around, I know it’s coming. And I guess we’ll have to have some serious discussions since they’re old enough for some real answers. We were able to skip around those talks with them when I was pregnant with Hannah because they weren’t quite ready to hear facts…Unfortunately, that’s not the case anymore.
3. Maternity clothes have lost all appeal. I still remember going shopping for my first maternity wardrobe. It was so fun. Aaron and I went to Old Navy and Motherhood Maternity, and I got all kinds of cute clothes. I think I was barely 12 weeks pregnant with Noah at that point. I didn’t need to wear them until after 20 weeks, but I did anyway. I was so excited to be ‘showing’ that I wore those clothes much earlier than necessary. (And by ‘showing’ I mean that my belly had an ever-so-slight bump that was only noticeable to me.) This time, however, I still haven’t embraced maternity clothes. I’ve bought some jeggings and leggings here in Nairobi, and I had some cute dresses sent over from the States. BUT none of them are actually maternity. I’m not sure why, but I’m hanging onto any and all clothing in my wardrobe that can stretch over my belly before turning to the preggo clothes. I have worn maternity shirts on occasion, but I don’t even own maternity pants or skirts. I guess there will come a point when this insanity will have to end, but I’m not submitting easily.
4. I’m older. Obvious, right? Well, I didn’t really notice that I was over 30 until I got pregnant. I thought that since I didn’t have a 1- or 2-year old still in diapers this time that I’d have more energy and an easier pregnancy. Not so much. I was sicker and more exhausted this time than ever. The first trimester kicked my bum. Fortunately, I’m enjoying the second trimester as much as the previous 4 pregnancies!
5. In all seriousness, though, the biggest disadvantage is that I have a greater chance of delivering early. I had Noah at 36 weeks, Jacob at 35 weeks, Levi at 37 weeks and Hannah at 34 weeks. Statistically, I will go into pre-term labor with Joshua. In an effort to carry him as long as possible, we have begun progesterone shots. We have steroid shots ready for Joshua so that they can be administered at the first sign of labor. Most importantly, we have an army of prayer warriors asking God to perform a miracle and allow me to carry to full term (at least 37 weeks). I know HE is able. Please keep Joshua and I in your prayers!

On the flip side of the coin, there are also some clear advantages to being pregnant so many times:

1. The best advantage is that I don’t have to listen to much advice, for there aren’t too many mommas (at least not in America) who have done this more than me. Of course, people still give advice, but I can now better distinguish between good and bad suggestions. All babies are different. Each one of my children is different. Each pregnancy is different. Which leads me to my next points…
2. I know my body better. Because of this, I think I become a worse patient each pregnancy. (Sorry to my OB here in Kenya!) I guess I’ve seen trends in my pregnancies that are just normal to me. They probably concern the doctors around me, but they don’t worry me as much. For example, gestational diabetes is always a big deal. I had it with Noah, and I’ve been border line with all the others. I’ve never had major problems, and none of my children have had any issues concerning it. For me, it’s just part of being pregnant. I eat healthily and everything seems to be ok. I pray this remains true for this pregnancy.
3. I’m more confident in my ability to know my baby and what’s best for him and our family. I’m confident that while Joshua will be someone created uniquely and beautifully so that I won’t know him instantaneously, I will figure it out. God has ordained me to be his momma. He has ordained Joshua to be in our family. Everything will work out. It might not be easy, but it will be beautiful.
4. Aaron knows his role quite well by now. His childcare responsibilities increase with the size of my belly, and they don’t get any easier after the baby is born. He knows what to expect from labor and delivery. He knows to be quiet and let me do my thing. He knows that he needs to be prepared to deliver the baby any time after 32 weeks, for I deliver quickly and early. He knows how territorial I get with my newborns. He knows how hormonal I get after delivery and how to handle it. It’s great to know that he has my back, that he will support me even in my craziness, and that we’ll survive both pregnancy and life with a newborn.
5. I don’t have to read any more pregnancy or newborn books. I devoured books with Noah, especially after he was born and would NEVER sleep. I reviewed the same book after Jacob was born. Levi was the perfect sleeper, so I didn’t even think about books. Then, with Hannah I didn’t care about books. I still used the principles but I didn’t feel like I needed a step-by-step guide to survive her first months. I’m assuming that I’ll be as relaxed and confident with Joshua. While I’m hoping that he loves sleep as much as Levi did (and still does), I know that he’ll eventually sleep through the night, sit up and eat normal food and even potty train! Having so many babies just gives you better perspective, and I’m so thankful for that advantage!
6. The kids are older and more independent! Yahoo! All 3 boys are potty trained, able to dress and undress themselves, feed themselves, and entertain themselves relatively well. They even do chores and clean up after themselves! It’ll be interesting to see how they step up to the plate once Joshua is born.
7. Since I’ll be at Tenwek, I’ll have Joyce to help with all the housework and meals. I can’t even begin to express how thankful I am for Joyce. She can run my home without much direction. What a blessing! In addition, I’ll have a neighborhood of aunties, uncles and cousins to hold and spoil Joshua and entertain and watch the older boys.
8. Life here is simpler. No daily car rides, which means no car seats to buckle and unbuckle. There’s no where to go. School, friends, church, work, etc. are all within walking distance. It’s great, especially when you’re sleep deprived and nursing and caring for older children. I think it will help me enjoy babyhood more.
9. I LOVE watching the older children with their younger siblings. It’s wonderful to see their love for Joshua grow as they feel him kick and see him via ultrasound. Hearing them pray for their unborn brother (and their sister in heaven) is the sweetest thing ever. I can’t wait to see how they include him in their lives once he’s here. Joshua is one lucky little guy!
10. Having another boy will be easier. I’ve become quite good at being a ‘boy mom.’ I rarely jump at the first cry. I’m laid back about their crazy stunts. I enjoy their shenanigans…at least most of the time. I already have lots and lots of boy gear. Joshua will fit right in with this crazy crew. Plus, him being a boy will eliminate most of the comparisons we will make to Hannah. It’s inevitable that comparing and contrasting will take place, but it will surely be less since he is a boy. Having a baby at this point in the journey is a big leap of faith. I’m thankful that God has given us a little more time to hold onto our daughter’s memory, that she’s our only daughter for a little longer. While my heart desires to raise a daughter to adulthood, I’m willing to wait on God’s timing. He knows what is best for our family. We can’t wait to welcome Joshua into the Kelley clan.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. Psalm 3:4-5

Praises and Prayer Requests:

1. Praise God for His perfect provision, timing and plan.
2. Praise God that language school is going well. Please keep us in your prayers, especially on Friday. We have our first test Friday morning!
3. Praise God for a new niece! Aaron’s sister just had her first baby, and we are so excited for them. We hope to meet her before she turns 1!
4. Praise God for an awesome faculty here at language school. Please pray that they will prosper, that more students will come, and that they’ll be able to pay their bills each month. Shade Language School is a partner of Kenya Baptist Seminary. The schools are running on tiny budgets. If you’d like more information about how to help these ministries grow, please contact us.

Furahini katika Bwana sikuzote; tena nasema, Furahini. Wafilipi 4:4

Happy 4th!

After the whirlwind of the first two weeks of language school, things settled down quite a bit this week. It was eventful but not as mentally exhausting. Plus, we have today off school. J

I spent the entire day shopping with two friends on Saturday. It was great fun to browse the women’s clothing stores, shoe stores and home decorating boutiques. Then, we sat down to a nice lunch. Following this leisure, we raced through Nakumatt, the giant supermarket, for all our necessities for the week. The plan was to be finished in an hour or two so that we could drop our stuff at our houses before I had to pick up Colleen, our teenage friend from the States, from the airport. Well, as usual, things took a lot longer than expected. “Everything takes longer in Kenya,” rang through my mind. As it turned out, we literally crammed everything into our SUV and headed to the airport from the mall. There was no way Colleen’s luggage was going to fit inside the vehicle!

Traffic wasn’t as bad as I expected but we did pass one accident. As far as we could tell, a pedestrian was hit and killed, for we saw no damaged cars. Fortunately, there is an ambulance system in place in the city. As we passed the body, the ambulance crew was getting ready to remove the body from the road. My stomach was in knots already from the standard swerving and stopping and going. Now, my heart sunk from this sad event.

After we arrived at the busy airport, we waited for quite a while until we saw Colleen exit the arrival gate. We were getting worried that something was wrong or that her luggage hadn’t made it. All worry was in vain. She just looked for her luggage at the wrong baggage claim! As soon as we found her, we strapped her suitcases to the roof and loaded ourselves into the car to make the long trip home. Although there was no more traffic, we didn’t get home until after 11pm. What a day! It took us all day Sunday to recover.

Monday, the beginning of a new week of classes, was the start of the “Big Black Book.” We knew that it was coming and that our first exam would follow the 20^th unit. What we didn’t know was that we were skipping the first 7 lessons! Fortunately, that was the only bad news we got Monday morning. Our teachers gave us two pieces of good news: 1.) We were going to the market for our first field trip and 2.) We would be recognizing American Independence Day by not having school! The week seemed much more manageable all of the sudden. J

The Big Black Book isn’t as scary as we thought it would be. In fact, most of it has been review. We skipped the first 7 lessons because we already know how to greet people properly. In lessons 8 through 12, we learned how to order food at a restaurant, which is an important skill here in Nairobi.

Colleen is doing awesome with the kids while we are in class. She attends their morning class and then takes the 4 littlest ones on ‘safari’ while the older kids and the parents are in class. In the afternoons, she stays at home with the boys. Levi naps, and Noah and Jacob do their English school with her assistance. By the time we get home at 3pm, there usually is a mess of Legos in the living room and the boys are complaining of severe hungry. After a snack, they do their chores and then there is more play time. (It’s such a hard life!)

On Thursday, we practiced for our market outing. Then, after chai, we loaded into 3 vehicles to drive to Limuru. Aaron and I successfully purchased mangoes, apples, oranges, bananas, onions, a pineapple and a watermelon at the market. More importantly, we practiced our Swahili with strangers. (It’s much easier to converse with our teachers who know what we’ve learned…and who speak slowly!) After the market, we visited a little supermarket to buy more bread.

And then, we were off to the restaurant. We both ordered in Swahili and got what we intended to order! I ordered “kuku na mukimo.” It was good, and cheap.

When we got back home, which was around 2pm, we started our long, holiday weekend. Wahoo!

Today, the 4^th of July, we celebrated in true American fashion. The sun was shining so we set up a little picnic area in the front yard. We ate watermelon, hot dogs and sausages with all the fixings (except rolls…they’re just hard to find and not quite the same when they are found, so we used sandwich bread), macaroni and cheese, pickles, breaded cauliflower, and brownies for lunch. We washed it all down with lemonade. It was a nice little taste of Americana.

Hope you’re having a blessed, beautiful 4^th of July! God bless America!

 

Praises and Prayer Requests:

1. Praise God for our freedom, both in America and in Kenya!
2. Praise God for all the men and women who sacrificed (and are sacrificing) so much so that we can enjoy our freedoms.
3. Praise God for our great week! We’re learning and using our new language skills. We’re all healthy. And we’re all having a great time!
4. Please pray for the family of the person killed on the highway to the airport. May God use this tragedy to draw them all closer to Himself.
5. Please continue to pray for our minds to learn as much Swahili as possible, for Tenwek Hospital and all the people serving there, and for our precious unborn baby.

Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. Psalm 33:12