I ate my first bowl of fried grasshoppers yesterday. A missionary sister from Uganda, who runs the Catholic bookstore, and befriended us, offered them to me. It is an insult not to take food from a local, so that's the story on that! They are available 2X/year in May and October. The locals were selling big bags of them in town on the street.
Can't say I am looking forward to October.
Plan to move into a house this Saturday May 12th – at least Saturday looks like move in day. The landlord is finishing a few minor fixes and the house should be ok. It is small, 2 bedrooms, but 3 baths in the house and new. The rent is a little more than we were expecting to pay, but we will not need night guards or dog/s, and the rent includes utilities, so it is a push on total costs. We are close to town and in a safe area. There is a marine police station 1 block away and the walls/security gates around the house are really good.
We had our eye on another place outside of town which was not finished yet. We took Regina out to see it and she said we might have a security issue because it was an open area and the walls were not completed. We liked it because of the open area and it was next to a retreat/seminar house owned by The Sisters of St. Teresa. But, they were not living there and had no plans to move soon. There was also a brand new (unoccupied, not finished hospital) on the grounds.
We are happy that we took Regina's advice.
Karen and I have given a lot of thought to why we have been given so many blessings and good fortune on our journey over the past 30 months. Even the association with IWM Program came out of the blue one day and was one of the many blessings. Finding a good Christian couple to care for our business at the last minute (the original couple quit 3 weeks before we departed for Africa) was a major item. The list is very long. Thinking back to our original decision to move to Africa and do Mission work, we knew nobody who could help us or give guidance, but made the decision and faced each issue with confidence that God will direct & protect us.
Some may say this is God’s Providence yet for us it is that we feel God's presence and guidance in our decisions. Both of us pray a lot that we are doing His will and accept His will no matter what the outcome. When we face a difficult issue, we don't hesitate in moving into the unknown and place our trust in Him.
Daily mass, daily rosary, bible study, religious readings, and other religious practices were significant for us, yet remained add-ons to our lives. Then something happened about 3 years ago in our relationship with God. We have always been practicing Catholics but the richness of our Church and Faith was revealed to us for unknown reasons. This change has brought us a sense of real peace and love of others. In this we find God’s presence – the Incarnation of Jesus in our lives and all whom we meet.
Some examples are:
· I was president of our local chamber for 12 years and could not find a replacement who would take the job for 8 of those years. We knew this had to be done and prayed very hard about it. One day it struck me who to ask and he agreed.
· Language school issues, housing issues, visa issues, financial issues, vehicle issues, health issues, family issues etc. the list is long but we feel His presence in each outcome.
· Oh, I just thought of another example. The man who has really helped us here sort of fell into our lap because of asking around about housing. He is a very devout Muslim, but respects all religious affiliations and has treated us like family in giving us advice and translating the negotiations with the landlord who is a devout Catholic but speaks very little English. Only one reason for this and it is His presence again!
Yesterday, we met the committee chairpersons (about 25) of BUWEA at their meeting in town with Regina. Karen gave a really nice talk in Kisawili. I was very proud of her. She got much applause from the women.
We are busy getting stuff we need for the house like linens, kitchen supplies, blah, blah...
A few days ago we drove up to where the new soy flour manufacturing building is going up. The road (not really a road, more of a path) to it is a nightmare but Regina says the govt. will work on it when the rain stops. By the way it has rained every day. Anyway, the building is large and about 60% completed. Regina and her organization should be really proud of it.
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