A day that changed my life

Today is the one year anniversary of my friend Ryan's plane crash in Kenya. It's hard to believe that it has been one year. This year time has not gone by quickly, it has seemed long. It doesn't seem like yesterday that the accident happened it seems like a long time indeed. August 1st last year was a day I will never forget and one that changed me as a person.

One year ago today I was in Minnesota staying with our in laws packing up our bags to return from furlough. I got on email and someone had posted something about a crash with pilots involved. It's one of those moments when you say "It's probably someone I don't know", isn't that the way it usually is. A day later I got a reply as to who had been involved and was just shocked. That whole week I desperately tried to get in touch with my good friend Dawn to find out how badly her husband had been injured. During that week Ryan continued to go down hill and eventually was airlifted to a burn hospital in South Africa. It was there that he succumbed to his injuries on August 7th. We tried to get back earlier but it was just too expensive to change flights. We got delayed in Chicago overnight and I ran down to a Starbucks to connect on the internet and I had a feeling of dread. I learned then that Ryan had died and now I had 16hrs of being on a plane back to Kenya to think about it all. I was so angry I couldn't have gotten there sooner for my friend but it was just the beginning of realizing God's bigger plan for me and how he wanted to use me in my friend's life last year.

We arrived Monday night and Tuesday morning I went over to my friend's house. I can remember not wanting to go, being afraid of what I would encounter, and mostly not having any experience with this type of situation I had no idea how to be. Isn't that how it is with God and our journey with Him. Him calling us to do life with others and seeking Him in the midst of it. Being open to what he has to teach us through difficult things in life and letting Him work through us. And so my year with my friend began with many tears and deep felt anguish. I can't remember crying so much in life as I did at Ryan's funeral as I'm sure as many of us in those situations realize that this is how life would be for us if we lost someone near and dear.

My life will be forever changed for knowing Ryan. From his death I have only just begun to learn about a new side of God. One of compassion and provision. A God who mercifully takes those who are suffering to be with Him. A God who provides for those that are left behind, one who leads and protects the widows/widowers, and one who calls us to Him in the midst of our deepest anguish. Romans 5:3-5 has come to me a lot this year. We rejoice in suffering, not because we like pain or deny its tragedy , but because we know God is using life's difficulties and Satan's attacks to build our character. Thank you Dawn for showing me how to continue walking with God in the midst of severe anguish and for Ryan's example of a Godly man pursuing God on the missions field. Ryan you are still missed one year later and you would be proud of your wife.

Living Simply

Hi everyone

As always it’s been an eventful several months since we last posted. In April we had an awesome time with our seniors down at the coast of Kenya. After 5 years of raising money we took off on an hour long airplane ride to a town called Malindi. We stayed at a great resort called Turtle Bay. We left the kids in Nairobi so this trip was also an anniversary celebration time for Eric and I as we celebrated 13 yrs of marriage. Our seniors had a great time hanging out by the pool, boating in the ocean and snorkeling. Eric and I had a much needed rest and it was the longest we had ever been away from the girls so we soaked up our time sleeping in and laying on the beach. Our last night there we had a special poolside dinner for the Seniors . It was a trip we will never forget!

May found us frantically finishing last minute details for graduation as well as packing up our house to move in June. As many of you remember we have had many problems with our last house in regards to the water. In April our landlord tore up the backyard and left a huge mess for three months without fixing anything. On top of that she wanted to raise the rent again so we said to ourselves that we would rejoice for the blessing of that house the Lord provided for us for three years but it was time to be finished living there. After a lot of searching we finally decided that we would move into a brand new three bedroom apartment. We are continuing to learn that sometimes in life God has another plan for you and we might not understand it but it’s His best for us right now. We didn’t really want to be moving in the summer but this past month living here has really cut down on our daily stress of living here.

We are no longer constantly worried about when we will run out of water , how long of a shower we can take, and if we have enough water to do laundry. We feel like God has given us a new theme for our lives this year and that is “living simply”.

At the end of May Kara’s mom was able to come out for three weeks and help us with preparations for Graduation and to pack up our house. It was fun having family here to celebrate Graduation with us. Graduation day came and it felt like we were graduating our own kids. We were proud to see 18 of our seniors walk down the aisle in their cap and gowns. Many of those students we have had since 8^th grade. Eric delivered an address on “Greatness” and what it means to be great in the world and then in the kingdom of God. It was a special time for us as we have been working hard towards this for 5 years. Afterwards we shared a nice meal together at an Italian restaurant with the students and their families. At the end of May I also said goodbye to my good friend Dawn and her family as they head back to the states for a year long furlough. We have become like sisters this year through all that we have been through and I will miss her dearly. I have come to realize in this missionary life that you don’t always live close to your dear friends but it sure is wonderful when you can.

June found us packing up and getting ready to move. In Kenya you have to paint the entire inside of your house before you move so that was a new experience for us as we were scrambling to paint and get painters to help us finish before we moved. We can now add varnishing wood floors to our resume of skills. We have been excited to be in a new place it smells great and everything is brand new. There is a sand playground for the girls, a pool, and best of all lots of water for us to use and not have to worry about. Moving helped us to pare down on some of our stuff and ultimately funded our summer fun this year. The beginning of June we also celebrated Kayla’s 7^th birthday.

The middle of June we got away for a Kenyan adventure to a place in Kenya we haven’t been before, the Aberdares National Park area. We stayed at a unique hotel called the Tree tops hotel . It is an old and rustic place built into the park in trees. Queen Elizabeth II stayed there and it was there that she found out she had just become queen. The hotel is near a watering hole so animals wander in and out throughout your stay. At dinner time we had a big herd of elephants come to the hole and they stayed in front of the hotel for at least 4 hours. Soon after they came they were joined by a rhino. The hotel had 3 levels of viewing the animals, ground level, mid level, and outside on the top deck. After our hotel stay we drove through the park, we didn’t see many animals but found 3 great waterfalls and a cave.

The month of July we are getting ready for our new teachers to arrive. We will be having 8 new single ladies coming. We have been looking for housing for them, getting furniture moved into their new places, organizing orientation materials for the sessions, and meeting with the principal to plan logistics. It’s been a quiet summer as many of our close friends have left for the states for awhile. So we have had lots of time to just be together as a family. The other day we found a compound near us that is a gated community with smooth roads. We loaded the girls and their bikes in the car and had our first family bike ride.

We pray this finds you doing well and that your summer is spent being with family and enjoying a little down time from the normal hectic school year.

A very full life

Our First graduating Class, our students

since 8th Grade.

Hey everyone

It's been since November that we have updated our blog but our life has been so full this year and all consuming. The thought of trying to put everything down on text was at many times overwhelming the past few months but here goes.

In November my friends Dawn and Tiffany returned from their bereavement leave. It was a busy time of helping them get settled back into life here along with getting their kids enrolled in a school for the first time.

In December I hosted an event for them and I called it a "Blessing Fellowship". Back in October I really felt the Lord calling me to plan something for these ladies that would be a good time of everyone coming together and just heaping blessings on them. So on a Saturday morning we had about 40 missionary ladies come together for food and fellowship in our home. We bought the ladies bags and each lady who came brought a little gift to put inside, they had the opportunity to speak a blessing over them or just give them a little gift. I do not have the gifts of teaching so this totally stretched me as I felt God leading me to give these two ladies and the other missionary ladies who came a message. It was an intense and vulnerable morning but how awesome to be apart of their lives in this way. My friend Dawn walked away saying she felt like she had just had her feet washed by 40 ladies.

Ahhhg the Lord has taught me so much about grief this year and seeking Him in the midst of it. The biggest lessons I have learned and will continue to learn is just how to listen. How to be in the moment with someone and just feel their pain with them. Not to fix it but just to experience their life with them. Being a nurse this is so hard for me to do because I just want to fix things. Every Thursday night I go over to Dawn's house and just be with her as we put the kids to bed it's gotten easier to just go and be a part of her life in this way over the past 6 months.

January our family was able to get away to South Africa for a special trip to the very tip of Africa in Cape Town and also to Jo'Burg to visit our other team of OCI missionaries. It was a much needed trip for our family and we really enjoyed the beach as well as connecting with old friends. The highlight of our trip was swimming with penguins in the wild on a beach in Cape Town. Never thought I would do that. The end of January brought tragedy again as Kayla's teacher's husband was found dead at home. This whole situation just tipped the bucket for us as we had been feeling more and more burned out and tired. I had a hard time saying goodbye to her teacher as grief just continued to be a part of our lives. Kayla loved her teacher and Mrs.Key was great with Kayla. I think it took about a month for our spirit's to recover and some of our strength to return. Mr. Key was the athletic director at our school. The loss of his presence was felt by many.

In February I became head of the graduation committee and we started planning for our school's first graduation. We had to figure out many graduation firsts for our school as we had to come up with graduation gowns, hats, how to get diploma covers and tassels. It's taken quite a bit of leg work on our part but the graduation ceremony is coming together.

In March our family traveled the farthest we have been out of Nairobi with the kids. Kayla has had issues with the bumpy roads but we decided she might be old enough to try a longer trip. Nakuru town is about 3 1/2 hours outside of Nairobi and we were able to stay at a missionary retreat center. We travelled with friends and had a fun time just relaxing. The kids loved playing on the cement tree house in the rain, having an Easter egg hunt , and finding out how to milk cows. At the end of our time there our family traveled to the local national park and had a great time seeing tons of rhinos, a huge lake full of flamingos, and many giraffe. Also in March I had a good time getting away with my friend Dawn to a local hotel in the country. It was her first birthday without Ryan and I think we had a good time. My life and hers were full of many firsts this year but I felt God with us. He has been a comfort this year and I have seen him provide in so many ways.

April finds us this week continuing to make plans for graduation as we decide how our ceremony will happen as well as packing and getting ready for our Senior trip down to the coast of Kenya. Eric and I are so excited for this time. We are not taking the girls and are really looking forward to resting and reconnecting with the Senior class. We are saying this is our anniversary trip as we celebrate 13 yrs of marriage in May. Eric is going to do some scuba diving and I might just take a nap on the beach :) I hope and pray it will be a great time for us and the Seniors as this is our last big event with them.

We thank you for your constant support of our ministry this year we have felt your prayers in the midst of this difficult year.

Prayer requests

1/ Pray for this Saturday-Wednesday as we leave on a plane with 20 seniors to the coast, pray our girls will be safe in Nairobi and nothing eventful will happen in each situation.

2/ Pray for strength to finish the year strong we have many events left we are in charge of (Graduation, baccalaureate, grad night and helping my friend Dawn pack up and leave)