Building Boys

This post is mainly for the grandparents, uncles and aunties.  There is no deep philosophical thought or update from the ministry here today. Just a few pictures for the family.

After four very full days of school work, various daily chores, baby sitting and a morning French lesson, the boys settled into building their own unique creations. Toby went for the "Dangerous Book for Boys" as his inspiration, while Kevin got to work on some "Chima" Legos pieces.

Toby: making sure he fixes the electric connection just right

Taping up his creation. He took a metal math set container and transformed it into an enclosed "pocket flashlight box" 

Kevin watches intently as Toby puts on the finishing touches.

Then Kevin pulled his legos onto the couch and finished constructing what he'd started this morning.

He finished all the figures required for the story and has enjoyed setting them up for adventure throughout the afternoon.

Another Ketty update

Dear Friends,

This is the quickest follow-up to an "Aunt Ketty Update" I have written since we started this journey!  At last writing I stated that she would have two more chemotherapy treatments and CT scans. However, upon completion of her most recent chemotherapy on January 23rd, her oncologist informed her that there would not be another chemotherapy treatment mid-February, but instead there would be three CT scans (brain, chest, abdomen) completed next Friday, February 6th.

We are considering this good news and spurs another specific prayer request. Please pray that there would be no sign of cancer on any of the scans. With clear scans, her chemotherapy treatment will be considered finished and she will enter the cancer-free stage. Of course, there will be periodic scans and blood work to check that her status remains cancer-free, but the difficult portion of the journey will be complete. So, I sincerely request that you remember her this week in your prayers. 

We have requested from the doctor some clarity on whether or not all three scans can be completed in one day or if we might need to begin a day or two earlier than the 6th. Last time Ketty was told by the techs that she could not undergo more than one scan a day due to the toxic levels of contrast material required for more than one scan. 

Your prayers are appreciated!! Again, we'll keep you up to date. 

Ketty has weathered this recent round very well and will be getting some blood drawn on Friday to check her progress. She continues to be overwhelmed by the support you have given her.

At this point I do not know exactly what we will need financially. When I have more specifics I will inform you.

THANK YOU,

Mary Britton

Latest Update on Aunt Ketty

DEAR PATIENT FRIENDS,

You are our friends that are not “patients” but friends that have patience!!!!! At least I hope you have been waiting patiently for this Ketty Okoth update! Please forgive us for the great delay!

Our nurse Kimberly and Ketty spent almost three weeks in Nairobi, Kenya, late November and early December where Ketty received cranial radiation treatments followed by chemotherapy. Our original plan was to send Ketty’s husband, Okoth, and their daughter Millie to Nairobi at some point in the treatment. However, the treatment duration was short enough that by the time they could travel, there were only a few days left of her treatment course. She responded very well physically to these treatments. Signs and symptoms from the tumors were mostly non-existent upon return from Nairobi, and with a steady rise in strength, she continues without external signs or symptoms of brain cancer activity. A follow-up CT has not yet been performed, though a complete bone scan was completed in Nairobi showing her bones to be free of disease.

The week before Christmas she suffered from a serious respiratory infection, but recovered completely enough to have a second round of post-radiation chemo on January 2nd. She is currently slated to have a 3rd round of chemotherapy next Friday (January 23rd) and a 4th somewhere around February 13th followed by a CT scan.

Her faith has remained strong and she continues to be an encouragement to others. Because Kimberly is currently in the United States, and our clinic staff has reduced by two nurses this year, I personally have been making the daily rounds to obtain her vital signs and check on her progress. So, I have first hand knowledge of the great encourager she is!!! No visit goes by without a mention of the goodness of God. No visit is completed before she has expressed her faith in His hand on her life. And frequently we read His word together and pray before I take my leave from her each day.

Please continue praying with us for her healing. She has proven over and over that the miracle healing of God is reality, and we continue to hope and pray for her complete healing. 

Up to this point in our journey, finances have consistently been enough. This is significant as her total care to this point has cost more than $20,000! Thank you to those of you who have given to the Ketty Cancer Fund. Each chemotherapy round requires roughly $1000 for everything: accommodation, transportation, medicines, hospital fees and follow-up care. In her cancer care fund we currently have about $2000 with two more treatments due and a CT scan. I am not sure of the exact nature of the CT evaluation, whether or not it will be just of the head or also of other parts of the body, so I am unable to give an expected cost at this point. We hope to know more in a few weeks.

I am hopeful that she will completely recover. Her dream is to be able to share her miracle story throughout Uganda. She is passionate about others hearing of the great love, compassion and power of our God. Please pray with us that she would be able to realize this dream.

Also, please continue to pray for her family. The children will be starting school in two weeks. They have enjoyed being on holiday while having their mom around all day every day and are hopeful for her healing. Uncle Okoth remains hopeful for his wife’s healing, but is even more encouraged when receiving messages of your prayers and faith. 

Thank you for standing with the Okoth family! 

Most sincerely and with thankfulness,

Mary Britton

Life, the Great Transition

I have been reflecting this morning on a recent conversation  with a friend. There was a tension, a fear, a worry expressed over the possibility of finding oneself in a prolonged state of transition. An observance made of others who are seemingly in a never-ending state of transitory situations stirred an uneasy platform from which to view life's current and uncertain future environments.

As I prayed for my friend this morning God reminded me that all of life is transition. The magnificent transition from life to death to life and again to death--physical birth accompanied by spiritual death to spiritual life everlasting for those who believe in and call on His name to physical death accompanied by eternal spiritual life. It is all transition. How do we label the path we trod? Does the term "transition" lend itself to a bad, depressing outlook or is it one that produces a deeper faith, trust, hope and contentment?

Often the grand transition is played out in the tension created when two Kingdoms collide and we cannot decipher which pieces to pick up nor which King to take instruction from; the Kingdom of our Lord and Christ or the Kingdoms born of this world. Who dictates the paradigm by which we live and move and have our being?

Actual, real peace is only found in a vibrant relationship with God. Indeed, we are only ever truly settled in Him. No matter the events of life or the places we reside, be they at the moment a place of suffering or not, the truth remains, "The God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, will perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you."

If you are at this moment in the continuum of time where you thought you would or should be, give thanks to God. But, if you are not living your dream, whatever that is, yield yourself to "Him who strengthens, establishes and settles you."

Whatever life's circumstances are and how we term such circumstances don't define us, but will contribute either positively or negatively to how we weather life's events. The perfect or second choice academic pursuit; the perfect or stepping-stone career; the perfect mate having arrived or how we find ourselves still waiting; childless or a full house; full nest or empty; city or remote county; etc. Do we demand perfection according to our own narrow-minded definition or are we able to trust fully in Him as we walk the path? And where is our path located? Firmly rooted in His Kingdom or our own?

Proverbs 3:5-6 encourages us to "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." There is an unsettled, restless state we find ourselves in when we fail to recognize God as the loving, pursuing Father. "He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" Hebrews 13:5.

When we allow ourselves to glean encouragement from His word, His ways and His Kingdom purposes we gain strength in Christ. Philippians 4:13 speaks truth in the powerful words, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Paul's immediate context was in regard to whether or not he had much or little with which to live life, but if he could manage to live with very little or live with very much materially, certainly he also could live contentedly in circumstances that were "less than" or "more than" his expectation. In fact, the beginning part of the verse above in which God promises to never leave us states that we are to "let our conduct be without covetousness, but to be content with such things as we have." Putting these two together we see that because God is always with us we have no needs unmet, therefore there is no place for craving what we don't have, both materially and in regard to the stages of life through which we pass. Here is more encouragement from Him, "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not sweep you away; when you walk through the fire, will not be burned, and the flame will not scorch you." Isaiah 43:2
   
What is our perceived perfect scenario? Is that more god to us than God Himself? All of us are susceptible to worshiping life and the stuff of it rather than the One who gave it. Forgive us Lord, and HELP us.

Beloved, we are already IN GOD'S PLAN, not waiting for it. Trust Him especially when it doesn't match up to what we think it should be or when it should be or where it should be.

Transition implies I am not where I am supposed to be. In God's Kingdom we live in constant assurance that we are where we were destined to be. Destined by His right hand. There is no transition. No "less than" moment or stepping stone to the "real" arrival. We are always in Him, living and moving and having our being in His Kingdom, for His purposes. Secure, assured, confident, blessed. Regardless of how our eyes, mind or heart interpret our situation, Kingdom truth is that we are written in the palm of His hand and all our days were planned before they came to be. He has known us since before the foundation of the world. Surely we are in the right place!

January and The Promises of a New Year

The hot, dry January winds have begun. Brown is the grass and brittle the maize stalks, all fuel for the scattered fires cropping up here and there. Gardens are threatened, some of them have already incurred destruction, and in the dryness we make a concentrated effort to avoid being parched while the dust plumes rise. However, this is only the physical description of our environment and should not be equated with the spiritual fervor with which we approach this first month of the new year.

The annual calendar turn to January brings staff and children back to New Hope who have been away visiting family and friends over the Christmas holidays. Their return heightens our hope for the new year ahead: a fresh school year, assorted new staff members joining the team, another class of eager students in our Institute of Childcare and Family, promise of God’s Kingdom advancing in our hearts and changing the tenor of the community, and the encouraging and empowering five days of our Envisioning meetings which bring us together as we seek to glorify God in this place.

It is a time of fullness and abundance, propelling us with hope and anticipation as we desire to be a faithful part of God’s plans. And yes, as we focus on Him and His word, His Kingdom and His love this time is also an effort to prepare ourselves for the tasks ahead--that we may not become spiritually parched. We spend this time of “Envisioning” each January that we may live from a place of rest in Him, to recognize that all we do must come from a state of being in Him. May the dust plumes which result from a deficiency of the “water” of the Word not be allowed to gather and swirl, but may the wellspring of true life fill us, bringing spiritual health and abundance to those to whom God sends us.

The holidays were restful and a blessing. Now we turn our gaze to all that the new year and our God holds for the future.

Amidst welcoming back those who’ve been away and spending the bulk of the past few days in our Envisioning meetings, we managed to snap a few photos of some other activities that have been a part of our days. 

The TikTak Academy started school last Monday (our homeschool), a new meeting structure is being erected in the back of our compound, Geoff leaves the office each day sometime between 5 and 6, but continues to meet people up to and often after supper, the kids are cooling off with frequent water fights, and longtime friends are returning for visits.  

L to R Little Mary, Kate, Me and Alison Fletcher. Alison worked at a physiotherapist at Kiwoko hospital for  about 8 years and is visiting this week! We enjoyed catching up and sharing some cold juice together in this HOT weather!

Sunday afternoons bring many to our humble abode. This past Sunday blessed us with a couple of the McFarland kids as their parents were off to the airport to pick up new Institute students; Nabukeera and Sam ate lunch with us, and Perez--seen here in the red shirt--came to touch base with Geoff and to say good-bye as he left for university.

Uncle Shylock measures wood for the roof of our new meeting structure.

Geoff sent one of our boys down to cut a eucalyptus tree for the center support of our structure. But, he ran into trouble trying to bring it up from the valley on a bicycle. Geoff finally took the van and the boys to the tree which they tied onto the bumper and slowly dragged up the hill and into our compound.

Shylock explains to Geoff how the roof will fit on the center support pole.

Edongu gathers, ties and cuts the grass for the thatched roof.

It may not look like much, but it took him two days to finish preparing the grass bundles.

The Tik Tak Academy opened its doors again last Monday after having closed up well before Thanksgiving 2014. The kids and I are enjoying being together again as we take a massive sweep through world history and take on a critical, scientific comparison of evolution and creation. New to our curriculum this year is French, Bonjour!

Kevin focuses on his reading comprehension selection.

Toby chooses his answers carefully.

Acacia may not look like she's enjoying her reading selection, but the McCall-Crabbs reading comprehension exercise seems to be one of her favorite things each day.

Our school day begins at 7:30 and ends around 4 or 4:30 p.m. So, a break mid-morning and lunch are very welcomed. Here, the boys visit with Toby's best friend Abraham when he stopped by to pump up his bike tire.

Aunt Ketty is doing very well. ( I REALLY NEED TO POST AN UPDATE!!--Please be patient and I'll get it done soon!)  I found her, mask intact, directing the kids in preparing the maize for milling. 

And yesterday, the heat just got to be too much so water fights filled the afternoon!

After a good dousing, these girls cooled off on the tire swing.

And after Envisioning finished around 5 p.m., in another corner of the compound, Geoff had one of the many meetings that filled his early evening.

Thanks for taking the time to catch up with us! Bless you all and we'll "see" you here again soon!