The Journey
"It is God that girdeth me with strength and maketh my way perfect (blameless). He maketh my feet like hinds' feet and setting me upon my high places... Thou has enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip". Psalm 18:32-33, 36
As I read the above passage this morning I began thinking of Hannah Hunard's book called "Hind's Feet in High Places". If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. It is an allegory of the Christian walk. The story follows a young girl named "Much Afraid" as she journeys through hills and valleys. Eventually she is transformed into "Grace and Glory" as she learns to know and follow her Shepherd.
I so often long for this transformation, while at the same time resenting the very things that are being used by God to grow and change me. I've been struggling lately with impatience and fear. My struggles can often be found when waiting on God for answers, and then fearing what those answers will be. I often think I "need" to know the next step so that I can plan properly. If this was true then God would reveal the next step as He promises to supply all our need. (Philippians 4:19) All I truly need to know about the future is that it is securely in my Savior's hand. Only He can keep my feet from slipping as I journey along the way.
We are now at Kijabe and it is breathtakingly beautiful! Kijabe rests in a mountainside overlooking the Great Rift Valley (6,000 mile stretch from Jordan to Mozambique). Due to the high altitude here (between 7000 and 8000 ft), the weather is cool in the evenings and usually around 70s during the day. We have a very nice apartment all to ourselves for the week, located on the mission compound. The compound also contains other housing, the hospitals, a Bible college, and a nursing school.
I got to spend the morning with the principal of the nursing school after one of the doctors gave Jason and I a tour of the entire hospital. The principal was an incredible woman with a love for God and teaching. She told me that I would be able to work with them in nursing education if Jason and I get to come back for several months next year. I am very excited about the possibility of learning how to teach nursing well in a cross-cultural context. This would probably help me more than them, but she said they would be happy to have me and that I could still be of some help!
The nursing education I was supposed to be doing this week is turning out very different than expected. I was told by one of the doctors to prepare to teach every day, so I have over a week's worth of powerpoints I've been working on. It turns out that the only scheduled teaching time for their ICU nurses is on Thursday mornings from 8-9am. So... I will be teaching one lecture then and leaving the rest as resources. This is disappointing to me but is once again an opportunity for me to grow personally in my responses to circumstances. I'm not sure what I'll be doing all week as the ICU is already fully staffed with Kenyan nurses. I'm praying for wisdom in how to best use this time.
This past weekend was a wonderful time of getting to know many incredible people who live and work here. This is a place of amazing ministry where Christians are doing excellent work in medical, Bible, and life training. A majority of the hospital and schools are run by Kenyan Christians who are passionate about the Lord and His work. We met another group of amazing Kenyan Christians while at a couple of Masai villages on Sunday. The Masai are a tribe of people that are still very traditional and very poor as an overall majority. We had the privilege of worshiping with these vibrant people in one of their village churches, and also got to visit their homes and play with the children. What a great blessing! God is spreading His name and Word among the remote and poor, despite the many, many challenges they face.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this update and aren't too bored by the long novel. :) I'm getting ready to head to the local market to buy some vegetables which should be a lot of fun! For those of you who are continuing to pray for us, here are a couple of specifics...
Resting in my Great Redeemer,
Meridith
As I read the above passage this morning I began thinking of Hannah Hunard's book called "Hind's Feet in High Places". If you haven't read this book, I highly recommend it. It is an allegory of the Christian walk. The story follows a young girl named "Much Afraid" as she journeys through hills and valleys. Eventually she is transformed into "Grace and Glory" as she learns to know and follow her Shepherd.
I so often long for this transformation, while at the same time resenting the very things that are being used by God to grow and change me. I've been struggling lately with impatience and fear. My struggles can often be found when waiting on God for answers, and then fearing what those answers will be. I often think I "need" to know the next step so that I can plan properly. If this was true then God would reveal the next step as He promises to supply all our need. (Philippians 4:19) All I truly need to know about the future is that it is securely in my Savior's hand. Only He can keep my feet from slipping as I journey along the way.
We are now at Kijabe and it is breathtakingly beautiful! Kijabe rests in a mountainside overlooking the Great Rift Valley (6,000 mile stretch from Jordan to Mozambique). Due to the high altitude here (between 7000 and 8000 ft), the weather is cool in the evenings and usually around 70s during the day. We have a very nice apartment all to ourselves for the week, located on the mission compound. The compound also contains other housing, the hospitals, a Bible college, and a nursing school.
I got to spend the morning with the principal of the nursing school after one of the doctors gave Jason and I a tour of the entire hospital. The principal was an incredible woman with a love for God and teaching. She told me that I would be able to work with them in nursing education if Jason and I get to come back for several months next year. I am very excited about the possibility of learning how to teach nursing well in a cross-cultural context. This would probably help me more than them, but she said they would be happy to have me and that I could still be of some help!
The nursing education I was supposed to be doing this week is turning out very different than expected. I was told by one of the doctors to prepare to teach every day, so I have over a week's worth of powerpoints I've been working on. It turns out that the only scheduled teaching time for their ICU nurses is on Thursday mornings from 8-9am. So... I will be teaching one lecture then and leaving the rest as resources. This is disappointing to me but is once again an opportunity for me to grow personally in my responses to circumstances. I'm not sure what I'll be doing all week as the ICU is already fully staffed with Kenyan nurses. I'm praying for wisdom in how to best use this time.
This past weekend was a wonderful time of getting to know many incredible people who live and work here. This is a place of amazing ministry where Christians are doing excellent work in medical, Bible, and life training. A majority of the hospital and schools are run by Kenyan Christians who are passionate about the Lord and His work. We met another group of amazing Kenyan Christians while at a couple of Masai villages on Sunday. The Masai are a tribe of people that are still very traditional and very poor as an overall majority. We had the privilege of worshiping with these vibrant people in one of their village churches, and also got to visit their homes and play with the children. What a great blessing! God is spreading His name and Word among the remote and poor, despite the many, many challenges they face.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed this update and aren't too bored by the long novel. :) I'm getting ready to head to the local market to buy some vegetables which should be a lot of fun! For those of you who are continuing to pray for us, here are a couple of specifics...
- Please pray for continued health and energy. I've been really tired the past couple of days and the roasted goat we ate yesterday isn't setting so well with me today. :)
- Please pray for Jason as he needs continued wisdom and discernment in trying to figure out if this research project is going to be feasible with the resources here.
- Both of us are praying for conversations and interactions in which we can encourage and help others as we are encouraged and helped by them. Pray that God will show us how to best use our time each day.
Resting in my Great Redeemer,
Meridith
Goat is much better in Tennessee!
ReplyDeleteprayed for you today! :)
ReplyDelete- Abby D.
You are probably right Dad. :) Don't know that I've ever had it in TN to compare... It actually tasted really good although Jason was more fond of seeing them hanging pre-cooked than I was. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Abby!