Nearing the End of Our Journey -- or the Beginning

It's always a bit dangerous to speak on behalf of ONE other person, let alone SIX, but I'm going to do it anyway.  We will leave Africa early Sunday morning, but the Kenyan people, and the missionaries from across the continent, will NEVER leave our hearts.  This trip has forever changed us, and we are so very grateful for that change.

I am certain that the others will begin posting their reactions SOON (at least that is what they keep telling me) but in general we truly want you all to know how much we appreciate all the love, support and prayers you have extended to us.  As we gathered for prayer tonight we thanked the Lord over and over for you.  In fact, the Apostle Paul expresses our feelings for you very well in his letter to the Philippians:

"We thank our God every time we remember you.  In all our prayers for all of you, we always pray with joy because of your partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you (and us, and the people of Africa) will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." (Phil. 1:3-6, with slight adaptations:))

The Pastors' Conference concluded this evening.  I literally took hundreds of pictures (it may be to the point that people are getting a bit annoyed with me!) Pictures are taking forever to load onto the blog tonight, so I'll try again in the morning. It is almost overwhelming to hear of the obstacles these men and women face in their ministries, yet we are reminded that we serve a limitless God!  We trust that seeing more of their faces will help you as you continue to pray for them.

After the conference we enjoyed the BEST pizza in Nairobi (and that's not just our opinion!) Jill Parsons invited us to her apartment where she treated us to her homemade pizza and cake made from scratch.  Jill was at the Missionary Retreat at Turtle Bay, and it's been such a joy to get to know her. Vickie Reynen is taking us to a baby elephant park tomorrow morning, and then we'll enjoy lunch at the Myers' home, another missionary family we met at Turtle Bay.  The Myers (Ken and Letty) serve in Nairobi with their two children, Nathan and Nasya.  What wonderful relationships we have made in such a short amount of time!  

We will leave for the Nairobi airport at 1 a.m. on Sunday to catch a 3:40 a.m. flight.  Once again, we'll travel on Turkish Airlines, through Istanbul, Chicago, and finally St. Louis.  Dan will stay behind in Nairobi for a few extra days to enjoy time with his niece and her family (we also had the opportunity to share supper with them last night, which was a real blessing!)

We love you all, and look forward to connecting with you either face-to-face, on the phone, email, text, etc., very soon!!