Well, I somehow made it under a month between blogs! We have opened the store and it has already been so successful. I have had great joy in being able to hand money to the ladies and orphans providing the goods. We had a “Grand Opening” celebration and sold over half the goods and within the first week, sold another quarter of them! So, I am trying to encourage them to keep bringing me their items! Word has also spread about the store’s success and almost daily, I have ladies bringing me items to sell. I am also training some ladies to make mosaic crosses (using their bean pots. They can’t really understand why we are breaking them and why people would want to buy broken bean pots, but I am promising them, that they will sell!!!) and hand embroidered dishtowels. Phase 2 of the store is teaching money management. Right now, we are funding most of the supplies. Once a sell is made, I keep the cost of the material and return to them the difference. I will be teaching them to save some for supplies and save some for the future. It is so hard to try and teach this as these people are in such need and can only think about the present, not the future.
John has been playing his guitar in the praise band at church and AnneMarie has now made it through 5 services. Yup, 5 in 5 months. Our statistics aren’t so good, but at least she is getting better! This last service was 2.5 hours long and she made it through so we have high hopes for this Sunday! We sure do miss childcare!
We have been fortunate enough to have been loaned a Land Cruiser by some missionaries who are on furlough. John is loving it and now wants to trade in my Pilot for one! He does a great job driving in Nairobi. No driving in any city is comparable as there are no stop signs or stop lights so you just weasel your way through the mass of cars. My blood pressure must go through the roof every time we are there. It is just best if I close my eyes and go to my happy place! I have also enjoyed driving the Land Cruiser, but not to the extent that John has! He has just informed me that I haven’t bragged enough on the Land Cruiser, but I feel I must move on.
We are planning a vacation to Malindi (near Mombasa) on the coast of Kenya next week. We can’t wait to relax on the beach! We are missing the fall season (OK, I am missing the fall season), but we know that our work here is contributing and is helping others. We are so blessed that God has put us in this place. We are thrilled at being tools for Him.
Here are a couple of things to lift up to the Lord:
That the store would continue to do well
John’s research will progress
The spiritual impact on the endoscopy patients
Our overall safety in traveling
