Cocooning from the World!

Hello All,

We had a wonderful week in Naivasha just cocooning from the world!  Jim and I are so grateful that the kids are of an age that they can all cocoon with us and enjoy it (just reading, playing games and eating).  As we were packing up, Rose saw us packing all the large action packers full of food.  She said, "You are going to eat."  She was right on that account!  We brought enough stuff so that we would not want for anything!  Good thing we have a rack on the top of the car.  Here are a few pictures of our stay:

Timothy and Calvin

The things you see on the road here!

A wedding party we saw at a local swimming pool - these kids were so cute!

Beautiful!

Relaxing

The front porch

Sallie and a buffalo head

Hawk we saw in the yard.

Jim even read a whole book that was not a text book!  On that note, he is finished with his Masters Degree in Information Systems!  What an accomplishment.  He is so glad that is done.  We are very proud of him.  Too bad we don't have a real graduation ceremony but I think there is chocolate pudding and cream in his future to celebrate!

We heard a sermon in the last month or so talking about how we are not just God's toolkit to get things done.  He wants to love us and not just use us to accomplish his work. In the next passage Paul says,

2 Cor 12:7-10
7 To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 
The thorn in Paul's side is a blessing to him.  If Paul were superman, we would look to him (or others like him) and not to God as our savior.  Before we can learn the sufficiency of God's grace we need to see the insufficiency of ourselves.

The Art Center project up at RVA is having its challenges.  We are laying the form work for the the upper ground floor (what westerners call the second floor) and things are a bit shaky. My partner in crime for the building who really knows rebar and concrete is not happy with what he is seeing.  All will tell in the coming 2 weeks as to what we will do.

standing on the new deck (Trevor is running - the white dot in the right in the distance).

The upper ground floor formwork.

I have been working on things like doors (fire, security, etc) and floors and a bit of building design.  These days are about 1/2 at work since everybody is gone now.  It is pretty lonely up at the office with just Darrell and I!

The Lala Salama - 100 Quilts Project is going well.  I think a lot of people who signed up will get started in Jan, but several have gotten moving already.  We are up to about 80 promised quilts!  Here is a picture of one in progress by Jen, Eliana, Noah and Katy - thanks so much!

Collins, the engineer here at the hospital, is leaving for a new job this next week.  He is going to go and work for the new Kenyan railway project.  The Chinese are supporting the building of a new railway to replace the one built around 1900 that runs from Mombassa to Nairobi.  Then, they are going to connect the surrounding countries.  This is a long range project but one that will greatly change many aspects of this part of the world.  He is happy to be going to be a part of this but we will surely miss him and his ability to lead this Engineering and Facilities Department.  We wish him and his wife blessings as they start a new chapter in their lives!

Francis the electrical dept head is also leaving

A farewell tea at our place

accepting a gift

The whole team!

Sallie and the kids had a fun time decorating a ginger bread house.  It was fun and very tasty!

The Bethany Kids wing is doing well this week.  The contractor is still working hard and throwing a lot of resources at our project. Our architect is even saying that it might be done by June or July when before he was saying Jan of 2015!   Here is a current picture.

We have sure seen God working in our lives this past year and hope you can look back and see the same.  Miss you and hope you have a great Christmas celebration as we remember His coming to earth to be with us as we are.

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

One more picture of the kinds of things you see on the road here!