God's provision

July 6th,  Time to catch up on what has been happening here.

6/19 - Esther, Ray and I drove to Kisumu to take Enos to the airport and then be on our way to Nairobi. After we dropped him off, we continued to Java, a Kenyan coffee house. before starting our journey back to Nairobi. As we made our turn after a roundabout, the road was closed. Next, I observed a government vehicle with a military person standing on the running board with a rifle style gun in his hand and heard a loud bang. Tear gas had been shot. We had our window half open, and our eyes began to burn. We quickly closed the windows and proceeded. What we witnessed was a continued protest between the police and Kenya’s Gen Z due to a recent death of a blogger that was in police custody.

Once at Java, located in a mall, we used the restrooms. Many places require payment. (pic)

As we drove from the village to Nairobi, I saw some green rolling hills. They were Tea fields that can be harvested 2-3x yr. (pic) A couple of years ago the farmers automated the harvesting process and many people were laid off. Our current groundskeeper at the house in the village was one of them.

Imagine driving down the main highway at 110km and you must stop to allow the animals to cross the road! (pic) It began to rain very hard as we were in the mountains, driving a two-lane road. Only one lane up and one lane down. We shared the road with every kind of vehicle. At one point, we were stopped, not knowing why and just waited about 30 minutes before moving again. Soon we saw why. Two semi-trucks were overturned on the side of the road, on the mountain! (pic) God protected us and we made it back to Enos’s home in Nairobi.

On Saturday, Ray attended several election meetings with Enos, and I stayed at home with the girls. Here Esther, Tanya and Bella are eating lunch together, I am the photographer. (pic) One of Esther’s sisters came to stay a few days. Due to the soccer chairmanship race that Enos was contending for, many of his family members came to stay at his home for support. (pic)

One of the things Ray thought important was to obtain a Kenyon phone number and a Mpesa account. This way he can pay for items and services without issue.

6/21 - around 11pm Ray was driving home by himself on a divided 6-lane highway when all traffic stopped for an overturned car. He rolled the window down and called me. The next thing, his phone was being ripped from his hand. Several men in a car next to him saw what happened and tried to pursue the thief. They couldn't catch him. Ray was frustrated, but okay. Once he arrived home after midnight, finding home without the aid of navigation, he used his laptop to suspend service, lock and factory reset the phone so no one could access his information. The next day we had to go to a mall to get a new phone. Much more challenging than if we were in the states.

6/25 - the anniversary of the Gen Z rioting last year. More rioting happened across the country. The city of Nairobi closed streets early in the morning and there was a police presence. Tear gas was being used to control the crowd and again death and injury occurred. Fortunately, we did grocery shopping the day before and did not have to go out.

6/29 - AFC Leopards soccer Chairman vote was today. We were up at 5am after a late night. As I was reading my scriptures, I could hear the snapping of oil being heated on the stovetop. When I went downstairs, I found that mandazi was being made, yummy! Then we left for the polling place. This was another tricky situation. How do we get in? The place was secured with police and security. We finally made it in. When all was complete, we found that our friend had not won his race. Despite his loss, we gave all praise to God for He knows what is best.

7/1 – we went to downtown Nairobi to visit music stores in search of a keyboard. We made the arrangements with Enos and his cousin, Gilbert. We found what we thought was needed and took our request to God. We were also getting a variety of necessary car repairs done. The next day God prompted us to purchase the one we had seen, so we did. From the last blog we had mentioned this request and God prompted someone who read it to meet it. Praise God! We are obedient and God comes though.

7/4 – we traveled back to the village. We took Esther back to her place and settled in. Ray contacted Pastor Simon and told him of God’s provision of the keyboard and that we would like to bring it to him. An appointment for the next day was set.

7/5 – we were able to deliver the keyboard and stand to the church. They were singing praise to a miracle God while receiving this gift from Him (pic & video). Later that day, we were able to bless them with a ride to the stores they needed to go to get some groceries. When we arrived back at their home, we were presented with a live chicken to have prepared for our dinner. This is a custom. (pic) I had to be shown how to hold the chicken for the picture!

7/6 – we attended the Salvation Army Church service today and were asked to pray for the keyboard and thank God for his provision. (pic & video)