Thursday, September 16, 2010

Doubts

Lately, I have been having doubts.  I've doubted whether or not I could really do this.  I'm not exactly the adventuring type - I don't even like to go on vacation.  Why would I go to Kenya?  I'm not really good with people - there are days that I don't even like people.  How am I going to do life and ministry with people from a different culture?  After 35 years of practice I've still not completely mastered English - how will I be able to learn Swahili?  Life here is comfortable and we are happy - why are we packing up our family and moving to Africa?  The list of doubts goes on and on and the journey ahead seems really hard and a little bit crazy.

Today at Bible study the teacher talked about how Lazarus had been dead and in a tomb for four days when Jesus finally came and instructed him to "Come forth" and Lazarus got up and came forth!  Our Bible study teacher pointed out that since Lazarus was dead he had no power of his own to come forth.  Lazarus didn't do anything special nor did he possess special skills that allowed him to conquer death.  Lazarus rose from the dead because his Lord called him and told him to do it.  It was the power of Jesus' call to Lazarus that allowed him to rise from the dead.

I've known that I need Christ in me to do what God has called me to do, but in my mind I thought it was Jesus + me.  Christ alone gave Lazarus life!  It wasn't Jesus + Lazarus.  It was Jesus alone.

Right now I'm feeling a lot like dead man Lazarus.  I don't have much to offer and don't really know what I'm doing or how I'm going to do it.  But today I'm leaning hard on the God who has called us to Kenya and trusting that the very same God who breathed life into ordinary Lazarus' dead corpse will accomplish His purposes in and through our ordinary lives.  I'm trusting that with God's call comes His provision and His power!

I may need some of you to remind me of this a few months down the road when I'm in the throes of culture shock and wondering how I will survive. 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Frequently Asked Questions - Part 3

Most of the questions we get are predictable and we were prepared to answer them, but we were initially caught off guard by what is probably the most common question we are asked.  The conversation is usually with someone who does not know us well and it follows a predictable series of questions that goes something like this:

"You're moving to Africa?"

"You have four kids?"

"Are you taking them with you?"

I'm pretty sure the people asking these questions think it is crazier to take four kids to Africa than it would be to go without them.

So just to make sure we are perfectly clear...



4.  Are you taking your kids with you?

yes

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Frequently Asked Questions - Part 2

2.  How long are you staying?

We are moving to Africa indefinitely.  Our initial two years will be through World Medical Mission's "Post Residency Program" (a branch of Samaritan's Purse).  WMM helps us establish ourselves in Kijabe over the course of a 2-year period just after the completion of Erik's formal training.  We then have the opportunity to transition to a long-term mission sending organization.  We are very grateful to have the chance to to work with Serving In Mission (SIM) which has allowed us to begin making plans for continuing with them after our time with WMM is completed.  We plan to make Kenya home.

3.  What will the kids do for school?

We are so excited that the kids will be able to attend Rift Valley Academy.  RVA is a boarding school that serves missionary families throughout Africa.  It is located just up the hill from the hospital and our children will be able to attend as a day school.  We are so thankful that they will be in a Christ-centered school with a diverse student population.

Monday, September 6, 2010

Frequently Asked Questions - Part 1

We are going to be using the next few blog posts to answer some of the many questions we've been asked about our move to Kenya.  Feel free to add your questions in the comments section as well!

1. What will your housing be like?

Our housing will not be very different from what we are used to in the US.  The housing is quite modern and we will have running water and electricity (most of the time).  We do not know exactly where we will be living, but all of the physicians' housing is within a very short walk to the hospital.  We will likely be in a duplex or an apartment of some type.

Here is a picture of the apartment Erik and I stayed in when we visited last year.