As I drove the team home after a long day of ministry in Kipkaren and a moving time of fellowship at a colleague's house, I dreaded getting stuck. It had rained much of today, and we were in the rear-wheel-drive Nissan minivan. It's one of the worst vehicles to drive through the thick mud. On top of the challenge of the rear of the vehicle fishtailing every time you accelerate, the van is not nearly far enough from the ground to make it through the deep mud tracks, so you bottom out more than you'd like to!
All that to say that we did NOT get stuck, which was nothing short of a miracle. I cannot wait to get my Land Rover back tomorrow! It's been in automobile intensive care for a few weeks. Feels like months. Tomorrow, I get to pick it up from ICU and drive it to Nairobi.
I'm taking Karen to Nairobi. We'll meet my friend Laura (missionary in Mozambique) at the airport tomorrow night. We'll have a 4th of July celebration dinner at a restaurant in town, and on the 5th I'll take both girls around Nairobi to see the Giraffe Center, the elephant orphanage, and more. Then Karen flies home, and Laura and I will go on a short safari to celebrate her 40th birthday. And to rest.
This time away couldn't have come at a better time for me. I've been both haunted and driven by thoughts of my new friends. As much as their faces keep coming to my mind, I know things are already better for them.
Several of you responded yesterday, saying you'd like to help. Starting this morning, the kids have received a quart of milk. They'll continue getting milk every day. And every afternoon, they'll get porridge delivered to their home. In order to fight the infection in their hands and feet, we've got to get their immune systems stronger. They've got to eat.
I packed a bunch of bananas as I headed out with the team this morning, determined to check in on the kids. But we ran into Jepkemboi on the side of the road, so we gave her the bananas. She gave a little smile. She had milk stains on her face. It made me smile.
We got them socks today, plus underwear and deworming meds. And a blanket for their dad. Though I wish I could just shake him, I believe God is telling us to love this man, to allow him to see God's love, and that the love will be what turns his heart.
Next week, Ruth and I will take the children to a pediatrician so they can get antibiotics. It'll probably be the first time ever these kids have ridden in a car. They will have been in public transportation before, but never a private vehicle.
The journey continues.
I am thoroughly aware of how blessed I am. Muddy roads despite.
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