love feast

It has been a busy week, but soooo good. We spent a considerable amount of time this week preparing for what is called a Love Feast, held once a month on the last Friday. In the past year, most of the love feasts have been just a special meal, but for this month, one of the leaders really felt like we needed to make it more special. Therefore, we began preparing for this special time a lot earlier, and then reaped the benefits on the actual night. One of the things that we needed to make sure happened was for everyone to prepare their hearts well. There were some issues between the two schools with a few people, and God did some work through reconciliation. It was good to see some walls (not big ones) come down in people's hearts and for peace to reign.

The night itself was so beautiful. Yes, people, I cried. haha. I don't think anyone will be surprised. But at one point I just sat back and thought about how surreal I felt like it was. I will describe the night, but similar to any big occasion back home, there was a lot of preparation that went into the night on all levels, so keep that in mind. :)
Let's see.. where to begin. Maybe with the decorating, since we started with that around 1:30. Dinner was supposed to start at 5. We pitched in and got some really nice fabric for a tablecloth earlier in the week. We put out candles and flowers and had numerous comments about how it looked like a wedding. haha. I will have to get pictures from Janelle to show you. We decided to have it outside and prayed that the rain would wait until after dinner to come (we never stop praying for rain here, we just wanted it to hold off til later). So we set the tables with nicer plates (borrowed from some of the staff who live off base) and namecards that we wrote encouragements on. Did I mention that you can see the beach from the backyard? That is where we put the tables, and it was a magnificent view. And then we have these amazing flowers that seemed to come out of nowhere that we got to use too. The boys also helped get some sand and shells from their trip to the beach. It was so beautiful.
Meanwhile, people were cooking and preparing some awesome food. Fresh juice, SALAD!! (I haven't had fresh salad since I was home), CHICKEN! (chicken is super expensive here, so we have only had it one other time), fish, and ugali (ugali is this cornmeal thing. Lisa and Janelle said it was kind of like a super thick cream of wheat. I guess I can agree with them - but that it is really thick.). Oh, and we also had french fries, which took forever to make. ha.
Anyway, people sat down, and I thought it was even more beautiful with the people sitting there than it was just decorated. :) We had people dress up, and I wore my hair down. haha. Even though I felt like a lion, some other people thought it was great. I suppose it was similar to another special time in late June of last year. :)
As soon as the last person got food and sat down, it began to rain. haha. So everyone picked up everything and rushed inside to our plan B place. It was beautiful to see everyone helping each other. And, when we were all crowded inside the classroom and eating together again, that is when I sat back and marveled at how surreal the situation was, how beautiful it was, how perfectly God had planned the night. It could not have been any better, and I just felt like that fellowship was worship itself. Karen, the base leader, gave a short message about the theme verse (Proverbs 27:17) and then the PCYM speakers led us in some fun worship songs. We praised God for the rain and for His love. We also had previously put people in pairs and sat them together. We had each person write an encouragement on their partner's namecard and then we shared and prayed with our partners. I was with Karen, and her words for me were so encouraging. She is such a woman of God. We also had communion together.
Finally, as if the night could not have been even better, God decided to give a personal treat. We had ice cream and fresh fruit for dessert, and I decided to eat it all, including the ice cream. I have not eaten ice cream in 6 years due to lactose intolerance problems, but the leaders have been praying specifically for me about this, and I have been able to have the milk tea we have every morning. So, I decided to eat in faith that I was healed. And, miraculously, I ate the ice cream and had no issues. Yesterday I also had some of Lisa's milkshake and also did not have any problems. YAY!!!

So, Friday night made the entire week worth all the preparations. The only thing that could have made it even better for me is if you were all there with me. :) I read this quote yesterday that helps though:
"You can kiss your family and friends good bye and put miles between you, but at the same time you carry them with you in your heart and your mind, because you do not just live in a world but a world lives in you." Frederick Buechner

I got a wonderful package from my beautiful parents yesterday, and included were some chopsticks. I must say, it was HILARIOUS trying to explain and show how to use them last night at dinner. We had ugali and scuma (which is kind of like spinach) and we laughed so hard. I am looking forward to trying them out with them tonight too. John also could not believe me this morning when he overheard me saying good night to my parents. It was hysterical for him that it is night time for people when it is our morning here.

Today was also a blessed time. We did some ministry with a nearby church on both Wednesday and Thursday (Thursday's was kind of fun because we went even though it was raining in the beginning. I wore a jacket for the first time that I've been here). Anyway, today was exciting because not only was the church time great (and they also served us a full lunch including our favorite chapati!), but two of the guys we met on Wednesday came and made a commitment to Jesus. It was so exciting to see them!

All in all, I was in awe a lot this week. :) I was really overcome with the love of God multiple times this week. The rain brought more mosquitos and bites, and Christine got malaria in the beginning of the week (she was better by the love feast), but these did not stop us from praising God and dwelling in His love for us. I hope you know how much God loves you. It's not just for us and not just for this time in Kenya. Oh, how He loves you, dear one.