We are settling into our school routine and I am beginning to know what to expect from each day, but there are still so many “little things” that take me by surprise. I guess when you’ve grown up in the safety and comfort of middle class America in a stable, loving family that is just going to happen over here.

Grace, who works for us, was sick with a bad cold last week. She worked in spite of it, but I asked her on Friday if she could take it easy on Sat. and not make samosas which she sells on Saturdays. She laughed at me and said, “No I cannot take a day off! If I take a day off then we don’t eat, because there is no food in the shambas (gardens) because there is no rain.” I was struck with the seriousness of the drought here. Yes, we are rationing water. But that just means short showers and save your dish and bath water to water your plants. We are not about to go without food…yet. We missionaries go without some things, but not the important ones like food and water. Please pray with us that the drought will end, because it’s very serious. I previously thought it was affecting the valley only, but it is also affecting the Kenyans that live right around us, our friends.

Another thing that has recently struck me is that I can get just as narrow a view of my world over here in Africa as I did in the States. It’s so easy for me to see My dorm and My family and My job at the library and all that I need to do, and totally lose sight of the big picture. The picture that God always sees with happiness for some, grief for some, anger for some, frustration for some, food for some, hunger for others, war and peace, births and deaths, and on and on. I was struggling with some of MY little world’s issues recently and went for a walk. Our home is situated among trees so that you don’t see the valley. I walked down to the rugby field, which has a panoramic view of the valley, and hills beyond and I just started to laugh. It was if God was showing me in 3-d panorama what He had been trying to tell me. There is a huge world out there, and I can’t get so caught up in MY world that I miss it. I need to always seek to see things as God sees them and trust His sovereignty. He is big enough and wise enough to hold it all together. He sees both the big picture and everyone’s details. What a comfort-God knows what’s going on in MY world and everyone’s world, and He is in charge. Even when I don’t understand why things are happening, I can trust my all-knowing, all loving God.

And we will get to see some more of what God is doing in Kenya this weekend. It’s midterm break (which means a long weekend). We are going with some friends to Kitale, which is north and west of Kijabe. We will visit some other missionaries that our home church supports who work at a Bible School there. We are looking forward to a break in the routine, an opportunity to encourage fellow missionaries, and some great sightseeing too. We hope to go to Mt. Elgon National Park, which is supposed to be the most beautiful of the parks and also has lots of elephants! Please pray for us and all of the students who will be traveling home. Travel is one of the biggest dangers we face here; roads are unsafe, drivers are even more unsafe, and you never know when you will encounter animals in the road!

Thanks for your continued support. Email was down for a week and that’s why we haven’t written lately. We are in Africa and things you take for granted don’t always function well here. The Kenyan news reported that email was down all over the country and they didn’t know why. Since they didn’t know why, they had no idea how long it would take to get it fixed! (This is a true anecdote; news over here is very different from the states.)

Answered prayers include: Steve is sleeping again!, our family has been very healthy, and we all are just enjoying it here.

Prayer requests include: Joseph and GunWoo (2 of our dorm boys) are struggling with their English. Please pray that God will anoint their minds to learn, and show us how to help and encourage them. 2 or 3 of our boys cannot go home at midterm. Please pray for them as they deal with this very big disappointment.

Thanks again. We love you all and pray for you too.

Nancy