Reflecting over the past month, we are overwhelmed by God’s goodness. It all started on October 29 as we were celebrating Joshua’s second spiritual birthday. We like to honor that day in a BIG way! One of our dorm guys questioned us about what a spiritual birthday was. We relished the opportunity to share that with him. When asked if he knew of the day that he had asked Christ into his heart and life, his reply was no. As you can imagine, our hearts were racing. As we gently probed a little more, it appeared that he had not made that decision at all yet.

In our devotional time at night over the next week, we could sense the Holy Spirit making our dorm boy’s heart tender toward the Lord. It was amazing the different tacks the boys could get going onto. Our conversations often centered around heaven or salvation. Unexpectedly, on the 9th of November, as Patti was tucking our boys (Joshua & Levi) in for the night and praying with them, Joshua made a comment about Jesus living not only in his heart, but in his whole body. Levi said that he wanted to pray to have Jesus live in his heart and body as well. So he prayed (as only an almost 5 year old can!) and the angels had a huge, joyful party in heaven that night! Upon hearing the news, our dorm boys, right on cue, erupted in a celebration that “Levi is going to heaven!” In our hearts, we were all praying for our dorm boy who was not as certain of his salvation.

Over the course of the remaining week and through the next, we shared our testimonies. First Travis shared, then Patti, then one by one our guys volunteered to share how they came to the Lord. We were so proud of them. And as we each shared, the Spirit continued to work on our dorm boy.

It only seemed appropriate the night one of our tangents came to be about the rapture and end times (the tribulation, mark of the beast, etc.). We could see our guy squirming on the couch. He wanted no part of that–we could tell. He was full of questions and as we dismissed the guys for “brush & flush” and quiet time, he refused to go. He sat and asked more questions and each one was answered. We knew that he wanted peace–needed peace actually. So we eventually asked if he wanted to pray and his reply was yes!

So our precious dorm guy accepted Christ as his Savior that night on the 16th of November, one week after Levi, and again, the angels rejoiced in heaven! God’s peace engulfed that young boy’s life and he exudes a joy that we have not seen previously. Our hearts are so full! We openly weep as we read in scripture, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (I Cor. 15:58) Thank you, Lord, that we could see fruit so quickly!

The next blessing came in the form of the parents of one of our dorm boys. The dad knows tons about vehicles and during visits to see their boys at RVA, he and his wife would often ask if we had purchased a vehicle yet (Please set aside any preconceived notions you may have of obtaining a reliable vehicle in the States!). Our answer was always no for many reasons: getting a ride into Nairobi, getting coverage for Travis’ classes, having someone keep an eye on our dorm so that we could go in together, and for the obvious reason of not having any knowledge of the reliability of vehicles and the process of purchasing one in Kenya (We’ve never done that before!).

Out of the blue we received a phone call from our dorm boy’s dad asking us to come into Nairobi and check out a vehicle he had found for us. We managed to pull it together (thanks to those who were willing to step in on short notice!) and met up with him and his family in town. After driving the car, we realized that it had some problems we weren’t willing to fix. There happened to be another one that had just come in so we took that one for a drive also. Our friend checked it all out and it passed his scrutiny. We whispered what we could pay to our friend and, in his wheeling and dealing, he was able to get it for much less.

Two weeks later and after many prayers concerning finding the original logbook (a crucial piece of paper identifying the rightful owner of the vehicle), we got the go ahead to come and pick up our vehicle! We were thrilled! After getting our responsibilities covered once again, we left RVA at 10:00 am.  All things considered (including the fact that we live in a third world country), it shouldn’t surprise us that we didn’t get home until 9:00 pm–and that’s ALL we did–pick up our car (other than grab a few groceries heading out of town). Maybe 6 or more hours of that time we were either driving or stuck in traffic (driving in Nairobi mid-day is unbelievable!). The other hours were spent waiting in offices. We’ve declared Levi the most patient boy in the world! Bless his heart! Driving home in our “new” car at night (driving at night is extremely dangerous!) was both frightening and exhilarating! How wonderful to have “wheels” after three months!! Praise the Lord with us and pray that this car will be a useful tool in helping us minister to those around us (even most police in Kenya don’t have vehicles!).

You were in our thoughts on Thanksgiving day as we reflected on God’s MANY blessings in our lives! Thank YOU for your prayers, encouragement, and giving! We are grateful that the Lord has chosen you to help fulfill His purposes in us!