Illness and God’s Provision or Toilet Tales:)

     I've gotten malaria twice in 3 weeks in Kenya, But I only experienced discomfort and missed two meals, but felt really great after a good night's sleep and taking leftover malaria medicine from the last episode. I had great stomach pain as we traveled back from Masai Land Tuesday the 7th, but on the bright side, the apparent gas pains distracted me from feeling nauseated bouncing along on the really horrible roads. We got back at our host's house in Kisii just in time to relieve myself at a better

Better Toilets & African Showers at New Building

squatty toilet than the one you could not even stand up in in Masai

Gravel Squatty Potty too short to Stand!

Land. Fortunately, I carried a roll of toilet paper in the big pocket of my African shirt. But everyone in this fairly nice house was so helpful, last night. When I felt a fever coming on I figured it was malaria (experience), so I took a daily dose of malaria medicine, put on my Walmart jacket that I don't usually have in warm Africa and supervised from the nice couch making bread in my bread maker that I had left with Patrick in Nairobi from a previous trip. Then I skipped supper and went to sleep in the best bed I've had on this trip with two blankets to keep me warm and the ragged pillow I brought from America. I got the best night of sleep since I arrived 12 December and felt great as I waited eight more minutes for the bread to finish cooking a second time, as the generator power was interrupted, I suppose, as I slept. At my request Patrick brought peanut butter and honey since they usually eat unhealthy white bread for breakfast, so I will get a good meal after skipping supper last night.
    I actually have about six bread-makers with two in two African countries, but being frugal, I buy them used at Goodwill for an average of seven to eight dollars each on sale. Everyone likes my whole wheat bread recipe everywhere I go. Ironically, you need the extra fiber of whole wheat bread in Africa, of all places, because their main staple starchy foods, root or corn flour dough or white rice have little fiber & I've never eaten good spicy beans in Kenya. But that comes in handy, because in many places you only have leaves to use for toilet paper or paper may be hard to find because most people only stock one roll at most.
    In less than one day, I am back in good health and working with Patrick and Paul, my host, on legal documents to rent a very nice newly built building

New School Buildings

for our school at a low cost in an area where students will be easier to find then where we were building in the country. We still have shared ownership of the building site so we can finish the building and have it for future rent or business or school purposes.

Tearful Travel To Africa, but Expecting & Finding Good!

    I cried for the first time when flying TO Africa. I remember crying for 40+ minutes the first time I flew away from Africa . But this time I left the best of Africa in Indiana, and cried.  I am inexpressibly blessed with my African born family that I left in my home.
    We are SO HAPPY in our family!  But my wonderful wife supported my travel plan to build an unusual Christian high school with a 2nd level home for us in rural Kenya  despite the tearful time of parting for near 6 weeks.
    It's hard to leave a God provided, wonderful marriage & children you enjoy so much to build a good size building & a huge project for a man of my current small means to build a private Christian school  in rural  Kenya

 
 (School building site above both sides), far from the comforts of a wonderful family, established business, quick access to normal needs, and community of helpful Christian renters in our own home! But I find comfort in two lines of thought:

1. I know our wonderful marriage will be even more blessed after our
joyful reuniting with greater mutual appreciation for the great contributions we each give to raising our children & to happy married life after the long time apart.
2. The great confirming provision of a Kenya high school lead founder, director, chairman of the Education Centre board, principal, and head teacher of a long standing & successful high school who also already had government approval to start another Kenya diploma issuing school & had property with his brother to build a new high school (my teaching preference) as a working partner, is clear confirmation that our project was ordained by the Lord. He also managed to        Patrick W. Wanyama  get agreement from the other board members to resign and forfeit their corporate shares to meet my concern that my financial building investment would not be split many ways & the profit   of our new kind of tuition collecting school, could support my family  travel and living expenses, as I want to be actively involved in teaching  and directing the Comenius foundational methods that make this type        of school so radically Kingdom successful!
3. Since the above comforts for the sacrifice of close family time, something even more exciting & providential has taken place. Our building break week host that I knew before Patrick, owns an 11 room complex of two buildings, one new & one renovated in 2012 empty & ready for use
      New buildings below

in a city with more available students for a start up project & willing to rent it for a very low price compared to starting target income!

     The good I expected has more than come to pass this trip with a 5 year lease signed in an attorney's office today as well as agreement by him to pay for a new security fence, out of our rent that we have not yet paid!

      After the first 3, difficult for me, weeks (arrival headache, malaria, lousy roads, beds, food, toilets) I have been so blessed on this excursion to Kisii area, with short teaching trips nearby & to nearby Masai Land to find that the old anointing for teaching that I remember fondly is still in me. Everywhere I teach about the Kingdom of God, the people beg me to come to teach again, even though I turn down their requests for money to pay for the food they served us:)! Even my capable teaching partner Patrick, has said, "I am amazed that you lecture so well that you could be an in demand lecturer in Kenya, in a short time." I really teach by alternating questions for discussion, but lecturer is what they call teachers.

    Between Patrick & I is a Masai village elder who gave me his bracelet & said I was Masai, now. When God gave me nothing to teach, I asked them for questions. He said, "We are not born again, so how can we understand this Kingdom?" So that explained why God gave me nothing, but Patrick & the others said I did an excellent explanation of the Gospel of the Kingdom, which is what mature servants of God should do!

    Though I miss my family, and our developed nation & home benefits, when I teach, I feel at home in Africa!