2 weeks in one

So here are my last 2 weeks reports in one post...sorry I keep doing it this way! Time is just so limited!

Hello all!
Good morning! Hope your week is off to a good start. I’m sure it’s getting cold and maybe even snowy in some places there by now! I’m hoping to find a place to swim today and relax in the warm sun J Unfortunately, there aren’t too many places like that around here, and not too much time available for it!
This week has flown by quickly. I had a rough day at New Life Home on Saturday! Solomon, the sweetest little baby that I love so much it feels like he should be my own, left to go home with his new parents. I cried bittersweet tears—excited that he has a loving family, but hurting to know that I would never see him again. It was a Kenyan family who adopted him, so it will be good for him to stay here in his own country, and I will send them some pictures that I took of them and Solomon on the big day. Still, it will be sad to go back to work and not see that smile that comes on his face as soon as I walk through the door.
School is also going well. They begin their exams this Friday, and the school year ends on November 26. So my days of teaching this semester are soon coming to an end! In January, they start a new school year in their new grades. Continue to pray for God’s leading as we are we are using the new workbooks that I got (with New Testaments coming as soon as they finish the book) and teaching the salvation message IN CLASSROOMS! It’s so amazing to be able to stand up and tell the students how to be saved. What a privilege.
We’ve been waking up to pray for the Muslims with their call to prayer at 4:45am for the past month now. And already, we can see God flooding opportunities to build friendships with Muslim people. A couple people have started a Bible/Koran discussion group with 5 or 6 guys, we have some boys playing on a soccer team that’s completely Muslim, we have several Muslim students in school, we were invited by our neighborhood to their nighttime Ramadan feast, and like I’ve mentioned before we have great discussions with our landlord next door about American politics and faith. We are in the middle of so much and can see God working in every direction.
As I’ve written all these ways I see God at work, I can understand why satan would not be happy and would start attacking in other ways. Especially this morning as I write this, I’m just having one of those days where nothing seems to go right and everyone and everything seems against you. I know I’ve asked for prayer with our close living spaces before, but it is really getting difficult to share everything with 11 other people in one house. I am a person who likes to have a schedule and a plan, and everyday, someone inevitably crosses into my plan and disrupts my little world. And I’m sure I do the same thing to everyone else’s territory as well. At first it’s not to hard to put up with since you’re being polite to people you don’t know that well, but the more we get to know each other, the easier it is to let your festering anger loose. Tempers are running short and we snap easily. Naturally, this can be expected in a group, but we need God’s supernatural strength and grace! We can’t be using up all of our energy to deal with things at home, and be drained before we even head outside the door. I am blessed to have so many amazing brothers and sisters here. Patience…patience…patience J Well, I guess I did pray and ask God for it! And of course, He will answer!
On a more positive note, I am feeling closer to God every day. An hour and a half a day is just not long enough to sit in his presence! I am learning to fully accept his grace, and instead of covering my wretched humanness, allow him to break it open, expose my worst flaws, and continue to use me despite the fact that I am only a small human, struggling to even hear what God has to say to me. He’s taking me to new challenges and commitments in my life that are difficult but rewarding. I am reassured constantly that I’m exactly where God wants me right now, and that’s the best feeling in the world.
Lastly, here is more information about the Bibles and workbooks for school situation as I’ve gotten such an encouraging response from those of you who feel led by God to help. I bought workbooks and New Testaments for the whole school this week. It was only $20. The rough estimate of how much more I’ll need to get full Bibles and workbooks is $540. I will not get them until next semester, so by then the class numbers will change slightly, changing the amount of Bibles that I need and therefore slightly adjusting the total amount needed. Right now the options for sending support would be:
1) Mail a check to my parents written to “Ken Ediger” which he will deposit in my account that I can access here and put it to use immediately.
2) Or, if you want it to be tax deductible, you can write the check out to Adventures In Missions, send it to my parents, and they’ll send them in all together specifying to AIM what the money is for, assuring that it will go directly to the school’s Bibles.
I appreciate the response I’ve had in a desire to help with Bibles! You are all such a big part of my life through your continuous encouragement and support. I thank God for you every day.

May you all have a wonderful week and grow closer to our Savior. I pray that your longing for heaven will increase as you know God more and more.

In Jesus,
Nicole

Good morning!
It’s a bright, sunny, beautiful day here in Kenya. It’s been rainy all week, but today the sun finally decided to come out and dry our clothes! The week has been wonderful, with relationships getting deeper and chances to share Christ abounding. The team is also doing much better as a whole. We had a good talk one morning, and everyone is really coming together to care for each other. I haven’t really gotten frustrated with anyone this week, and we all seem to be having fun together! Thanks for your prayers in that.
We are invited to a big feast to celebrate the end of Ramadan at our neighbor’s house tonight. And last night a large group of men with drums came into our house singing and celebrating. It felt kind of weird to have them in our home singing praises to Allah, but they were our neighbors, and they know where we stand. It was just a chance to show respect and kindness to them in slowly growing friendships.
Internships at the New Life Home and school are still going well—getting better every day in fact! I know many people are beginning to get burnt out from our busy schedule, myself included. The work at the school is very draining, but I know we’re making a huge difference. Some girls from the school came over this week to hang out and have Kool-Aid after class! It was fun to talk to them in a different setting. Kids have started just dropping by the house regularly, which I’m really excited about.
Here’s a delightful story that happened a couple of weeks ago and I forgot to share it, but I hope that it will give you some insight into our life here. During rainy season, the paths in Kibera turn into a mixture of mud and the sewage running along the side. It looks like giants rivers of brownie batter squishing against thousands of tiny house-islands. Those who live here have some trouble walking in it, but have become fairly accustomed to the trek after years of experience. Us new white folks however, find it quite difficult to maneuver through the muck without slipping—myself included. My 20 minute walk to school includes traversing roads just like those above, and there are many hilly, inconsistent parts which are very easy to slip in. And slip and fall I did. And so have several others. I got to be covered in it all day at school! Luckily the entire town was friendly, helping me up and saying “pole” (sorry) everywhere I went! So I really got a chance to interact with our environment. J
Mucky roads, dozens of marriage proposals, and kids that can never say “howayoo” enough keep every day in Kibera exciting and entertaining. Each day brings some kind of new experience that at home we can only see on TV or in National Geographic. I love this life of adventure!
One last thing to add to your answered prayer/prayer request list is about my involvement in the Coptic Church. Every time I go, I get more and more excited about what they are doing. The youth are growing like crazy! This weekend I got to travel with them to a small village outside of Nakuru to do ministry with kids and youth there while the doctors from the Coptic Hospital did a medical campaign. I had some great bonding times on the bus, with them singing African songs along with an accordion for 3 hours, people getting sick out the windows, and tons of chances to talk and laugh. I am also going to go a on a 2-day retreat with them in December. I never pictured myself loving this kind of church so much, with Egyptian-style liturgies and the smell of incense everywhere. But it’s so obvious that to them it is not just ritual or something that must be done, they enter into it in worship with all of their hearts, and take Bible study and fellowship very seriously. I know there are some doctrinal things that I don’t completely agree with, but it is obvious from their lives that they are born again Christians serving the Lord with all their hearts. I have not seen any church in this area do as much as they are to reach out and give from the little they have. They are making a huge difference in the community and surrounding villages. I’m excited to be a part of it. And this week we’re starting an accountability group with some of the girls. We’ll meet weekly and share our hearts and problems. I am excited for all God will teach me through them, and hope that He can continue to use me to deepen their knowledge of the Bible and help prepare them to build into the lives of people around them. Man, life in Africa is so cool! J
So my main prayer request this week are for depth in relationships, and for energy to function with short nights of sleep and long days of work. This semester is nearing a close, and I don’t want to be looking forward to the break coming up, but rather staying focused and excited about all that’s going on here. I also haven’t learned nearly as much Swahili as I would like, so pray for some more study time! The growth in my relationship with God has been incredible. I just want to go even deeper and learn more, letting go of old habits and entering into a new life full of grace and transformation!
Have an awesome week! Thanks for all the snail mail and emails I’ve been getting. It’s been great!

In Jesus,
Nicole