Life in Kenya - Rats

I'm sure you all have had your trials with rats too, but something happened this morning that was just a little interesting.
This morning I got up before the sun. Mom had a class this morning so she was up too. We were drinking our coffee in the Kitchen when we noticed something strange. I noticed that Kelele (our dog) was looking up and I mean up. He was looking towards the roof and not towards me... I was so offended. Being curious I turned on an outside light to see what he was looking at. Mom said he must be looking at a lizard on the wall. He wasn't... as I looked I realized there was a rat on a gate outside just out of Kelele's reach. A Rat!!! Mom and I were astonished, shocked, and disgusted all at the same time. This posed a problem Mom wanted to start the laundry but she didn't want to pass the rat. I personally wanted to close all the doors and windows and prevent the rat from coming into the house. When Dad woke up he went out to investigate. By that time the rat had disappeared and even though we had both man and dog on the case nothing could be found.


I couldn't find a camera so I had to use my computer. In the black circle is the rat. Just so you get an idea of where it was. 

By Emily Swain

P.S. There is a new picture in "Only in Africa". Check it out!

Count Your Blessings

   This has been a terrible, yet awesome, and an always to be remembered week! Terrible because my mom has had to spend most of it in the hospital. Awesome, because through it my faith and dependence on God has been strengthened, my prayer life, and more of an appreciation for the blessings I do have...for each one of my  family members, especially.

    I have a tendency  to go through life not focusing on my blessings but everything that's going "wrong." I see it as wrong but really, God sees it as perfect, for His way is perfect. I have to remind myself over and over of Romans 8:28 -"...all things work together for good to them that love God..." More often then I want to admit do I fail to put my trust in this truth and that's when I start going down the path of worrying and focusing on the bad...but that's where this week has made me go back to 2 Cor 12:9, over and over again -  "...My grace IS sufficient for thee..."
 Relying on this truth has made it come alive for me.

Mom is back home now!!! :-) She still has a ways to go to be completely recovered, so please, keep praying for her! That's another thing, thanks so much to all who have been praying! It helps so much to know their are others holding us up in prayers...and that we have a God who never ceases to hear and answer those prayers as He sees fit!

By - Ashlyn Elaine

 

"Make Me to be feeble, Lord"

Finding me enchanted now
By all this worldly dust
Seeing that I'm striving, Lord
For things that only rust,
Captivate my scattered thoughts
Transfix my gaze on thee,
Cause me to be poorer, Lord
That Thine the glory be.


Trembling for the future's store
Not trusting in Thy grace,
Fearing what Thy will might be
I dare not seek Thy face,
Drown my fears within the depths
Of love Thou hast for me,
Cause me to be trusting, Lord
That Thine the glory be.


Serving Thee by my own might 
When I'm to weak to stand,
Trusting still in all my strength
And not Thy mighty hand,
Empty me of all my pow'r
And fill the void with Thee,
Make me to be feeble, Lord
That Thine the glory be.


Ev'ry time Thou givest strength
I claim the praise as mine,
Stealing glory for myself
When honor should be Thine,
Mortify my prideful heart
To give all praise to Thee,
Make me to be humble, Lord
That Thine the glory be.


This poem is one of my favorites to read over and over, because it often describes my life and way of thinking. All the verses have something I need to work on, but If I had to pick a verse that convicts me the most it would be the first.
 "Captivate my scattered thoughts, Transfix my gaze on Thee."
  So often my thoughts scatter all over the place and what I need is a good transfixing. To get them back to where they need to be...on God.
Then the phrases  "worldly dust" and "things that only rust" to think these are the descriptions of what I so often scatter my thoughts on and seek after. 

I know God gave us this world to live in and enjoy but it's when I'm enchanted in the creation more than in the creator that my thoughts need some transfixing. 

By - Ashlyn Elaine (writing this as I eat one of my -many-  favorite things...oreos! Maybe, I need my mind transfixed back to vegetables;-)

Our Mother's day photo