One Year in the Bag

Well, we are no longer Missionary Rookies or Missionary Freshman. We are in our second year. Hopefully it won't be a Sophomore Jinx!

We celebrated our one year anniversary by going camping over the weekend. It was fun. It was a tribute to the "camping" we did last year for two months in our house while we were waiting on our container to arrive.

As I think about the way our week is going it is amazing what a difference a year makes. For instance, Monday, I spent the morning in Kibera with another Kenyan doctor seeing some kids in a clinic. I felt comfortable leading the way to the school. I wasn't overwhelmed by the sights and smells.

Later that night, I realized that the internet wasn't working right. The hot water heater broke. The oven quit working. The dryer was acting weird. I didn't panic. I just called the "fundi" who would come to make the repairs. I had to wait another day for him to show up. It was no big deal.

Tuesday, I got up early and rode the matatu to St. Mary's Hospital. I saw patients from 9am to 7pm. I admitted patients with HIV. I talked to three patients and gave the bad news that they had HIV. I saw a variety of medical conditions including malaria. I understood a lot of the conversations in Swahili. I could give simple directions in Swahili. I felt fairly comfortable doing so.

And so, I guess, we are adjusting. We still have our frustrations, disappointments, questions, failures, and so on. But we realize that we are where God wants us to be right now. We see things and understand them better. We don't panic.

So we look forward to seeing what God has in store for this year.

Comments

[chewymom]

Congrats on a year! Keep blogging about it--it is so encouraging!

CM

GO BRAVES! :)

[Eric Wenger]

I can't believe it's been a year already! Thank you for your blog - it has helped to keep me informed so that I can be praying intelligently about your ministry in Kenya. May God continue to bless you!

[Jon & Susanna]

yes we love reading your blog too! It's been so encouraging & fun...we finish our first year on tuesday - oct.11 and can't believe how fast it's gone!

[Anne Wenger]

Go Rhinos!