Greetings all, the Gable clan in Ivory Coast is doing well and have enjoyed being together again this past week after my full week away in Kenya. 8 days is a long time to be away, more for my wife than anybody. But both Stephanie and all five children survived the week (I was more worried about all the children making it). A part of me wishes I could say I suffered through the week, but the weather and landscape in and around Nairobi, Kenya were beautiful. The days were nice and comfortable and the evenings cool. I let David Giles, CMF’s Director of Church Planting and my “boss”, know that if he took potential recruits for West Africa to Nairobi first, I might have to hunt him down and shoot him. (Feeling called to Africa? How about hot West Africa where they speak French or beautiful Nairobi, Kenya where most speak English? Hmm... Tough choice.)
Anyway, it was nice to be around the other CMF field team leaders from around the globe. Many of them we have met previously, but a few were new to me. They truly were a joy and encouragement to be around. I learned a lot in both our formal and informal discussions. We also were able to visit one of the slums of Nairobi where CMF is involved in a GREAT work among the urban poor. In the slum of Mathare Valley, about 800,000 people live in one square-mile. As difficult and heart wrenching it could be to see the vast and utter poverty it was equally encouraging to see the tremendous work being done through CMF’s HOPE partnership. It was a wonderful reminder that the Church shines brightest in the bleakest of situations, void of hope. Not only was it encouraging, but I learned a few things about their CHE program, church planting methods among the poor, child sponsorship program, and many other helpful things as well.
We also took one afternoon to go to the Nairobi Game Park. Even though we live in Africa, the extent of the wildlife that we see in Ivory Coast is mostly lizards, snakes, various rodents and occasionally a pet monkey. We have hippos in country, but they are rarely seen. I was looking forward to it, and we did get to see a lot of things, but missed out on the lions, elephants, rhinos and hippos.
Just before leaving, Clay put a picture of Superman that we drew and painted together in my backpack as a surprise. It was a wonderful gift, so I made sure that Superman followed along on the journey with me during the trip. Check out the “Superman in Kenya” pictures to see where we went.
This past week I have just been running errands around town and working on a paper for my Master’s degree course. So there isn’t much to talk about. It has been good to be home, even if it’s stinkin’ hot. Thanks for your prayers and support. I truly believe that your prayers are the foundation and pillars for the work going on here in Abengourou. Please continue to lift up the work of the Kingdom here to our loving heavenly Father. Blessings and peace to you all.
