Peace that Surpasses Understanding

Philippians 4:4-7 says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.  The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (ESV).  Over the past few days I’ve been given opportunities to live out these verses.  Despite crying over the initial loss of my hard drive, my friends and family have helped me make known my requests to God—begging earnestly and humbly, and while my hard drive has not been returned, I am experiencing peace;  A peace that does not mesh with the circumstances.  My situation hasn’t changed, but my heart is being kept safe, and I’m at ease.

Thursday a few of us went into Kitale for a women’s bible study that meets once a week.  We had some time to spend at The Coffee Shop—a hotspot among the mzungu (white people) because of free Wifi and coffee.  With all four of us trying to connect to the internet plus a few who were already in the shop, the connection speed was horrible.  Luckily for you, I was able to post a blog yesterday!  Wouldn’t want to keep you hanging!  So we stayed at the shop for about an hour and then headed to one of the women’s houses where we would meet and talk about the bible.  This group is comprised of other missionary women in the area, and they are starting a new 8-week study next week, so I’ll be here for the whole thing.  I’m excited at the prospect of being part of a small group while I’m here in Kenya—certainly not something I had in Mexico or even back home in Washington State.

I also started working with some of the kids—stretches with the CP boys, walking with Wanjiko, and iPad drawing with Teddy.  I will devote the next few blogs to each of the kids to give you an idea of the population of special needs here.  For now, here’s a quick overview. 

Teddy: Many of you know he’s the reason I returned.  He has pretty severe retardation, is non-verbal, and not toilet trained.

Wanjiku: She is about six years old, cannot walk, and is also non-verbal and not toilet trained.

Joel and Anton: The boys are about the same age, four-five years old, and they have Cerebral Palsy.  Both are non-verbal, but Joel is really trying to speak.

John: He also has Cerebral Palsy, but his muscles are much looser than Joel and Anton.  There seems to be some mental retardation, but I’m not sure to what extent.

More to come on these kiddos!