Hearts Full

August 26, 2022August 26, 2022 by Jonathan In Faith-Filled Friday 2 Comments

After a busy five weeks in the U.S. we arrived back “home” to Kenya last Monday night. Despite the sometimes exhausting nature of traveling, living out of a suitcase in nine different places that don’t belong to us, meetings and a conference, our hearts are full – of gratefulness to God and of love for you.

Rather than give you a detailed schedule of our time, here are some words that describe our trip:

We must briefly share our experience of God’s faithfulness on our trip back to Kenya. Due to circumstances beyond our control, Lilli has been unable to get her Kenyan work permit/visa renewed, which has required doing some extra work to leave and reenter the country. Just a couple days before leaving, Jonathan realized he had forgotten to apply for Lilli’s temporary visa. After submitting the application, he couldn’t get the system to accept payment, no matter what he tried. As a last ditch effort he went through a third party app the evening before we flew.

As some of you know, airlines don’t let you board planes bound for foreign countries without a valid visa. And yet, even after looking at and questioning her expired visa, we were able to board the plane both in Minneapolis and in Paris. She was questioned extensively in Paris, but ultimately was allowed on. But we still had to go through customs in Nairobi. Again, arriving into a country without a valid visa is kind of a big deal. Not recommended. But as soon as we stepped off the plane in Nairobi and connected to Wifi, Jonathan received the notification on his phone, “Congratulations, your visa application has been approved!” Not only did Lilli make it through customs with no issues, but the agent extended the validity of her visa to three months, instead of just one!

We don’t share this story with you to point to our faith or get you to believe that missionaries are free to just “wing it” when it comes to government requirements or that God will rescue us out of every pinch we find ourselves in. We share it with you as a reminder that God does answer the prayers of many so that he gets the glory as his people are helped. We see it as evidence of his undeserved mercy, even in our bumbling mistakes. We see it as God’s gracious provision, and reminder that he is with us, that he has called us, and that he has chosen to use us for his kingdom purposes.

Thankfully Pray

• Praise God for a fruitful trip to the US and returning us safely to Kenya
• Today we welcomed the families of 64 new RVA students for Orientation. Pray for them as they adjust to life here and many being apart from their parents for the first time
• Pray for the 400+ students arriving tomorrow (Saturday) as families say goodbye and all the logistical travel details
• Please pray for Josh’s visa for Sweden to be approved soon, and for his minor surgery scheduled for Monday. He is with us until starting at Holsby Bible College September 15.
• Jonathan begins a new role in the elementary school on Monday that will make it possible for one of our staff families with a special needs student to remain on the field. Pray that he would learn quickly and develop a good relationship with this student. He will still teach at Moffat in the afternoons, beginning Wednesday.
• Pray for each of us as we continue to get over jet lag, adjust to new schedules, and get to know new staff and students – that we would know more and more how wide, how long, how high, and how deep is the love of God and that we would be filled with all the fullness of God, that we may live out of that love in the smallest detail of our daily lives here.

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