Happy Holidays! News from Kenya!

Missions During COVID-19

This has been a time like no other. I am amazed at the power of God. Who ever thought that the world could shut down like it did in April and May of this year? There has never been a time like this, when the entire world was affected by the same thing at the same time. Our God is a powerful God, and I wonder what we can learn through this. What is a Christian response to a pandemic? How do we respond differently? What this has meant for us is spending the last several months in the United States. We returned to Texas on a repatriation flight at the end of June. After settling in, we have resumed a relatively normal life in the US. Allison continues to teach at Rift Valley Academy online, and three of our kids are attending RVA online. One child opted for public school in Richardson, TX where we are based. Will is working as much as he can, trying to help pay for the extra expenses of living in the US. He enjoys his work, being able to get a taste again of practicing medicine in his own culture. Allison enjoys her teaching, but she looks forward to seeing her students face to face again. Hopefully we will be back in Kenya at the end of December. Tickets are purchased for the 28th of December to return to Kijabe. God willing, we will still be able to travel, and we can get back to where we want to be!

I Wish You Could Know . . .

. . . how glad we are to be in Kenya. The work is meaningful. Both Allison and I feel particularly well suited for what we are doing. We find Ephesians 2:10 "For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do the good works he created in advance for us to do," is very true. In fact I pray through that verse every time I walk to the hospital wondering what emergency or problem awaits me that day. It is a great promise that we rely on. However, it is not always easy. We struggle with living cross-culturally. We worry over our kids and their struggles. We pray for our relationships with them and the strain that living this life has caused them. We trust God through gritted, concerned teeth with our finances. It is really a mixed bag, and there is always the temptation, the little voice deep inside, whispering that if we went home everything would be better, as if all our worries would be over. God is good, and he carries us through our concerns and temptations, and he blesses us by allowing us to feel the goodness of what we are doing for his glory.
. . . how thankful we are for all of you who pray for us, remember us, support us financially, send us emails or post on out Facebook or Instagram accounts. It can be a bit lonely at times, and while our heart is in Kenya, it is also in the United States. We are glad to know we have friends back home! I wish COVID wasn't keeping us apart! Thank you.