Jambo! family and friends!
We and our luggage arrived safely in Nairobi Kenyatta International Airport close to midnight Thursday. We were met by seven or eight (everything’s a little fuzzy after two days of traveling with no sleep) of our smiling StoneHouse friends. Although it took us till three a.m. to finally arrive at our house in Nakuru we made it safely. Thanks for all the prayers raised up for a good trip because they were abundantly answered.
Here is the short but promised second part of our American trip. It’s more personal than most of our updates, but we wanted to share all of our wonderful experiences with all of our friends who prayed so diligently for our trip to be a great one. Because it really was.
Being at the ‘Ingathering’ with all our Rose Creek friends was truly a joyful and inspiring experience. It was a blessing that we will remember throughout the coming New Year.
Yet, rivaling the excitement of the Ingathering was the overwhelming joy of seeing and being with our families. Staying with Chris, Renee, Kaitlyn, Brina, Vivian, and Ethny gave us a chance to relax and feel very much taken care of. Every need we had was met through their wonderful generosity and hospitality. We felt very taken care of.
A week or so after the Ingathering, Cynthia and I flew to Orlando, Florida to visit our families and friends there. We had almost ten days to spend with our mothers, siblings and their children.
About half way through our Florida visit our son Caleb drove down to Orlando from Gainesville for a short but wonderful visit.
When we returned to Tennessee, our daughter Nichole and her children, Cruz, Cadence and Leandra flew in from California and stayed with us at Renee’s house. Her husband Dean stayed behind in California to work so they could afford the trip. Sorry we missed you but thank you Dean!!
The next few days there was plenty of fellowship, fun and food. I actually gained 10 pounds during our American trip!
Another one of the highlights in our trip was the time spent with our daughter Hannah Jerusha and her four precious children. They are all doing very well and it was so delightful to see and spend time with our precious grandchildren; Blue, Luna, Cedar and Rylynn.
Lastly; to our delight, Caleb, his daughter Sarah, Kristina and her son… drove all the way up from Florida to spend three more days with all of us in Tennessee.
It was delightful being with him and his friend Kristina.
We have already grown to love her and her son
We had a lot of time for ‘Fall fun’ with the grandchildren and a lot of great talks with our children. Not being sure when we will be able return to the States due to the ever-rising cost of travel we made the most of our time with them.
Soooo… We had Thanksgiving early…
We watched the Christmas story Scrooge early…
For Cynthia and I, our time with everyone was both sweet and memorable.
Lastly, and this is a request to all our friends and family both in the States and Kenya, … please pray for our children and grandchildren back home in the States. They too have been asked to sacrifice their fathers, grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers for the Kingdom of God. It’s not easy and though we feel their support and encouragement … we also are aware of the personal cost they too must pay for us to live in Kenya. Please hold them up to the only One who can meet those needs and encourage their hearts.
Thanks to all who helped make our trip possible…With much love… Your missionaries … Dave and Cynthia
