Things I will miss

As we prepare to leave Kenya, here is a random list of thing I will miss.

1. I will miss all the wonderful people. Saying good-by to those we have come to love is difficult. For many, we are the church are intertwined. We are the face of the church and they wonder if they will be able to go on without us. Of course they will. They are strong. They have faith. They will do fine. But our hearts will always be with our friends here.

2. Seeing people’s lives change. It is so awesome to see a person looking into the church and see them begin to understand God’s love for them and his plan of happiness. As they take hold of it, they are INVARIABLY blessed both spiritually and temporally.

3. Doing something that really matters. It’s hard to think of anything else that we could do that would make such an impact on others. Lives change! People say: “I used to be angry and my family was afraid of me. Now we sit down and talk and my children love to come and tell me things.” Or “I was very bad off back then. Now I can hold my head up. I can pay my rent and my children’s school fees.” Or. “I was so sick. I couldn’t do anything. Then the missionaries gave me a blessing and I have not been sick like that ever again.” Or. “I did not know I was a child of God. Now I know I matter to God.” The prophet said, “The Gospel makes bad men [and women] good and good men better.” I have seen it.

4. Talking to random strangers about Jesus Christ. People walk up to you on the street, read your name tag and say, “I love Jesus, too.” Or “I have been saved,” or “What is this church?” It’s so easy to tell people about the Savior and his love for them and how they can have a happier more peaceful life.

5. Eternal summer. I love the trees always being green, the flowers ever-blooming. The bougainvillea just blooms it heart out in a spectacle of red, fuscia, pink, yellow, white, orange and rust. The vine on the fence and gate periodically sports a bright yellow overcoat of blooms. It’s a beautiful country. I think it’s the garden of Eden. Want cassava? Push a stick of it into the ground and it will grow. Want sugarcane? Cut a cane into pieces and plant them. They’ll grow!

6. The skyscape. We have spectacular sunsets and sun rises. I love it when the afternoon storm blows in with tumbling clouds and rumbling thunder. There are times when the thunder grumbles continuously for 10 minutes or more as lightening flashes from cloud to cloud.

7. The animals. We have seen amazing animals here in all their varieties—giraffes, zebras, lions, elephants, monkeys—both on game preserves and often by the side of the road.

8. Cooked Cabbage. I’ve never been a cabbage lover, but this is so sweet and tasty!

9. Sunrise at 6-6:30 and sunset at 6:45-7:15. I didn’t need an alarm, the daylight woke me up. I loved the consistency.

10. Having a fixed purpose. Politics, finances, World events were not the focus. The purpose each day was to serve the Lord the way we were directed by Him to do. There was variety, excitement… sometimes apprehension, joy, duty, satisfaction, and the sweet influence of the spirit directing us.

11. The wonderful variety of accented syllables and the unique use of words. “If they are late for the meeting, they miss the preamble to the meeting.” “You are supposed to discuss things in your presidency meetings and come to branch counsel to digest them.” And of course, the all time favorite: “This area is infested with Quakers.” April is Ah-preelle. Wednesday is Wed-ness-day… just like it’s spelled. It’s just that each letter is pronounced.

12. The wonderful singing of the African saints! Even a small number make a grand sound. I love the harmonies they create. Every time I sing Redeemer of Israel I will remember being in Marcelus' house around his small table with the cement walls echoing back the sound. It was his favorite song and we sang it each time we visited.

13. The diversity of people, landscape, clothing, housing, etc. Just such a variety of all kinds of things. I love the brown skin in all it's varieties, the different eye shapes and cheek bones. The shapes of the chins. Since we can't quickly identify people by hair color or style, we needed to really look at the face shapes.

14. COLOR!!! I love the bold colors of the clothes and the large scale prints. Tye-dies, batik, patterned lessas and getangas. the elegant lace work and cut work of many dresses. the ruffles and tucked sleeves of the dresses. Really these are a well dressed people and I have enjoyed the vivid colors they wear.

Things I won’t miss:

1. Opening and closing and locking the gate every time we go in or out.

2. Ants. Tiny black ones that wander singularly and sparsely on any surface including shirt front or arm or neck. However, they congregate enthusiastically when there’s a knife with a speck of peanut butter left on the counter.

3. Heat. Sticky, sweaty heat. And no place to go for relief. Well… actually the truck has A/C… but we’ve never been tempted to ride in it just to cool off. No. Really. We haven’t done that. And hello! What kind of heat do we have in Arkansas in the summer? Maybe it will feel more comfortable to me now.

4. The lapse of utilities. * Electric power fluctuations, blinks, and the all too frequent stoppage. It’s tough when you suddenly drop into pitch black as you were working on dinner. *Water tanks nearly empty where you wait anxiously for the music of the trickle of city water dropping into the tank and splattering on the puddle at the bottom. *Internet connection interruptions. Now that we have a wireless, we can go from an okay speed to a crawl (read: we cannot open this website or this email… try again.) However, when the electricity goes out, there’s not much time left to use the computer before it, too, conks.

5. Cold water. Okay. I’ve learned to wash my face in cold water if I have to. I have not yet mastered showering in the chill. But we managed with the electric shower head and an electric tea kettle… with the exceptions of utility failures noted in #4.

6. Being away from family. I know, I know, we don’t live near family anyway. And Skype was great (excepting lapses noted in #4). But it was hard to miss babies being born and seeing children grow up for this long. We were so blessed with good health for all our family and with employment and the tender mercies of the Lord on them while we were gone.

7. Bleching black clouds of exhaust. I won't miss that. Or the dust that swirls around when you walk.

8. Wearing a dress every day-- seven days a week. I will be glad to go casual. I think I'm sloppy at heart.