We had a full day today.........Nirdin (our driver) picked us up at 11:00 and we did a little sight-seeing. We went to the Market Place to exchange currency, traveling on the main highway (which is 2-lane). It's not only the main highway, but the ONLY highway. You can imagine the traffic. Buses, vans, motorcycles and pedestrians GALORE! We traveled at about 10 miles an hour!
The market place reminded Mitch of the city of Pontianak, and it reminded me of Tijuana... storefront shops, people pan handling, a huge "farmer's market" with every fruit and vegetable imaginable! The cars filled up the streets and you couldn't find a parking place anywhere. It's like everyone in the city was outside standing around, visiting with friends or selling their merchandise.
We had lunch at what we could call an "open air" café. Our order - chicken & chips (or what we would fondly call FRENCH FRIES). The exchange is 1,600 shillings to our 1.00. It was interesting.... Nirdin told us that the merchants would prefer the shillings over the American dollar because they don't understand the exchange rate.
When we got back to the hotel, we ALL crashed for a nap. We tried really hard to go without sleeping, but our travel finally caught up to us! dinner was at 6:00 in the Arabica Café where Mitch and Lee had pasta dishes. Mitch said he would order his dish again which says a lot! Anne had a burger and I had a club sandwich they both tasted interesting and we will leave it at that. :)
Every night we (Lee & Anne and Mitch and I) meet and debrief about our day and finish the evening with prayer. We have more questions than answers at this point - What are we dong here? What does God want us to do? How do we make sense of it all? How does God's Upper Story correlate with what we see in our Lower Story? Isaiah 55:8 - "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. That's always been a difficult passage to grasp......the "WHYS" of life. So we stand on Proverbs 3:5-7 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
We are all looking forward to tomorrow! Our day begins at 6:30 for breakfast and then it's off to Kenya to the medical clinic in Karero. We will cross the border and then ride off onto a dirt road for several hours. I'm not sure if I will have internet service for a few days, so just stay tuned. I will journal and then get you all caught up as soon as I can!
We have been praying specifically for our driver, Nirdin. We don't know where he stands with Jesus, but we are praying for an opportunity to share Christ with him! He has a sweet spirit and a great smile. His parents live in a small village with his sister and he helps them financially. He also has two kids, 5 and 1. Please join us in this prayer.
What a blessing to share this experience with Anne & Lee. We sense their great compassion
toward the environment and the living conditions of the people here. So little opportunity, so few good paying jobs. We both sense there is so much need and wonder, "What is our part?"
Well, time to pack our things up and hit the hay! Hope to write soon..........Love, Jami
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Based on the clock on your blog it's after 7am...that means Mitch should have been awake for about 3 hours already. Where's the update, my man??? In all seriousness, just want you to know that Kimberlee and I are going to pray for you right now and lift all of you up. We miss you already but so pleased God has put you there for this time. Our prayer will be that the Holy Spirit will guide your steps and your words during your visit and that you'll make the most of every opportunity to spread the Gospel throughout your journey. Can't imagine 4 better ambassadors for God than you all. God bless and know that you are thought of often back home! 4G...Josh and Kim
ReplyDeleteWell...the truth is we have been up for hours. This city is obviously Muslim. The prayer calls on the speaker started very early this morning...sometime after 4:30. We also heard other singing...I wondered if it was Christians gathering for early morning prayer and worship...oh yeah...then the pack of dogs howling...unbelievable! This is a learning experience. The people are warm, gracious and friendly. William told us last night he is "Protestant...Anglican. Anticipating another great day. Your prayers are a gift!
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