The Next Adventure…Shifting… (About our Move)

Let me try and explain the when, where and whys concerning our up and coming move (called our ‘the next adventure’ by my lovely wife on StoneHouse Facebook).

It is true we are shifting (Kenyan for moving) April 1st… and it’s no April Fool’s Day joke.

We are selling some of our furniture and moving to a guest house (servant’s quarters) behind the main house of some missionary friends of ours from South Africa. The area is called Pipeline and it’s approximately 10 miles from where we currently live. It’s only ten minutes more travel time to our church and school than where we currently reside.

We began having questions about the current house we live in for three main reasons. First… because it’s too big for just two people. Secondly… because it cost more than what we want to pay. And lastly… because it projects an image to those we work with that we don’t particularly like.

When we first moved to this house in Milimani, we so needed what it would provide. Amma and I were both somewhat traumatized by the trouble and concurrent persecution from two local pastors. It seemed all our sacrifices to establish God’s family had gone up in smoke. We felt majorly alone. We desperately needed some place to at least feel safe and secure. When we moved to Milimani, there were flowers to take care of and real grass in the front yard. It was like a heavenly sanctuary from the terrible storm we were experiencing.

Furthermore, when we moved into this house, Doug and the two girls (Nikki and Suzie) were with us and we needed a place for them to stay as well. We also were able to bring Patrick's family out of the slum and the terrible dangers it presented to their children. They would live in the guest house (servants quarters) out back and help take care of us and the compound. It was a win, win situation.

Even after Doug left, there was the thought that Doug and his family might be coming here soon, so we continued thinking we would need the extra rooms. We even thought that more people might come to visit from the Village, but neither of those things panned out.

Knowing how our supporters back home sacrifice for us to be here in Kenya we wanted to find a way we could help contribute to the ministry. We are already using every available source of income (social security etc.) we have, so this seemed to be the only thing we could actually do.  Our bank account goes down to zero each week. Not complaining… we live by faith and not by the numbers. :-)

The two of the biggest hindrances to this plan were… One; … where to go?  And two; …what to do with Patrick and his family? Within a week of our praying some South African missionary friends (Lydia and Wilco) approached us and asked us to come and live with them. They had seen the ‘It Takes a Village’ DVD and loved it. They told us they have 5 adopted African children that desperately needed grandparents.

They told us they had a two bedroom servant's quarters back of their house and that we would be welcome to come and live there. Well… we went to check it out and seeing it was very adequate for Amma and me, we said… “Yes!” Their kids seemed ecstatic that we would come and live with them, so it seemed to be the answer we had been praying for.

Yet, there still remained the issue of where Patrick and his family could go. We were not open to just leaving them and they’re winding up back in the slums … so again we prayed. Within a couple of weeks we met some wonderful missionaries that were moving to Nakuru named Jess and Janet from Texas.

It seems that they needed to move into a big house to accommodate visiting church members from America (they are part of a mega church back in the States). They told us about needing someone to take care of the house and compound but didn’t know anyone they could really trust.

When we told them about Patrick and they asked us if he and his family could come live with them to help maintain their house and compound. It was nothing short of a miraculous answer to our prayer. Patrick and family are now there and living in a much bigger house than when they lived with us and closer to the children’s schools.  Actually, it’s much bigger than where we are moving to, and they are very happy. For 

Patrick’s moving pictures click Patricks Move. So that was answer number two.

The last troubling issue was, when we told our current landlord we were moving he almost cried. He said he didn’t want us to move and said we were the best tenants he ever had. He then asked if we could please find some Mzungus (white folks) like us to take our place. He was a dear old man and a good landlord. We prayed and again our Father heard our prayers.

Our South African missionary friends called us two weeks later and said they had just met another young missionary family moving to Nakuru and they needed a place to live. To make a long story short we corresponded with them and they are moving into this house when we move out. They said this was an answer to their prayers. Needless to say our dear landlord was very grateful.

So on April first we will be shifting (Kenyan term for moving) to a place called Pipeline just outside Nakuru with our South African friends. It will free up some of our money to be put toward our schools and the new churches that are beginning.

Though we are fully aware that there will certainly be adjustments along the way, we are looking forward to being with our friends and using our considerable Grand-parenting skills. ;-)

Please continue to keep us in your prayers. There are still details that must fall in place even yet.