Settled and Safe

Greetings from the beautiful coast of Kenya in the village of Vuga. Since our last post, we have successfully started to get settled in our new home. We have been able to rent a local car and make several runs to the supermarket for basic household items and to stock up on basic food items. In the village, fresh fruits and vegetables are available daily which is nice. We have started a few lessons with our language helpers. We are fully immersed in trying to learn 2 languages now. Our time at language school was good and has already given us a head start on Swahili. We have found part-time house help to wash clothes, clean and cook a traditional meal twice a week for us. This will especially be important once Baby Girl Hazel arrives in October. Everything is new again but we are slowly getting adjusted. Please keep praying as we encounter these new things and make decisions every day.

This coming Tuesday is the national election for Kenya where everyone will vote on local to national governmental positions. You might hear or see things in the news. Yes, Kenya does have some history of post-election violence in the large cities. Rest assured we are fine and safe here in the small village of Vuga. For our safety, AIM has put a travel ban on us for about a week to make sure we stay away from the big cities. People are actually moving back to the safety of the villages. Please do join us in prayer for a peaceful election like Kenya experienced in 2013.

Recently, I have been reminded of Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God.” Being in a new culture has forced me to make a lot of decisions lately. Some important to our future here and some not.  Some that set precedent and some that won’t. No matter the importance or impact, I’ve been reminded to continue to seek God first when making decisions. Many time we seek other’s opinions first and then go to God with options. I believe the Bible clearly says we should seek God first. The past 2 weeks, I’ve been trying to put this into practice. Let Him guide you and then let Him use others to confirm what your hearing from Him.

Jeremy