Thursday we left for Nairobi, the primary purpose of our trip was to get my work permit. Before any trip, the Vanderhoofs always have someone say a prayer asking for protection. On this particular occasion, Alice prayed specifically for “no adventures.” Well, sometimes what we ask for is not what God has in mind for us…
In Kenya, most “highways” are not much wider than a two-lane country road in the US, except typically quite busy, hilly, and full of people making all kinds of questionable passes. We were in our lane in the Vanderhoofs Subaru when a Land Rover whipped out going the opposite direction and tried to pass a line of trucks. The driver noticed us, started to pull back in, but then decided to gun it and go for the pass…
But unfortunately, it was never going to make it. So for a brief (terrifying) second, we found ourselves heading straight for the Land Rover at 50 mph. Jim quickly swerved off the highway, we skidded sideways on the dust and rocks, and ended up back on the road facing the wrong direction. After collecting ourselves, Jim pulled off the road even though all traffic going both ways had stopped. And then an amazing thing happened… people started pouring out of their cars, matatus, etc. to come make sure we were ok (and congratulate Jim on his amazing driving skills). People were praising the Lord and everyone wanted to shake our hands. It was surreal, but a really incredible thing to witness.
We are so thankful that the Lord protected us, even though we got the adventure we had prayed not to have – we truly believe that God works all things for His good, so we know that he will use this experience for His glory. Maybe having our lives flash before our eyes was a good reminder of how precious our time on earth is. Or maybe He allowed something drastic to happen so that we could praise Him with some Kenyans.
The rest of our trip was uneventful (by Kenyan standards) and we had a great evening with our host, Robyn Moore, a pediatric nurse who has been in Kenya for years and works in orphanages all over Nairobi (see picture of Wittigs & Vanderhoofs with Robyn). She has some great stories to tell! Friday we went to the immigration office, or as it is known in WGM circles, the “house of pain and suffering.” Again, prayer helped us to get through quickly, so I received my work permit and Colleen applied for her dependency pass. We have been eagerly awaiting this permits, because it means we can get into the National Parks for resident rates! Friday afternoon we did some shopping since Nairobi has items that can’t be found anywhere else in Kenya, and a few stores that are essentially Wal-Marts. Colleen found some fruit roll-ups and won’t share them with me!
I’ll let Colleen tell you about the rest of the weekend, since it was more up her alley, so look for another post coming soon.
One scripture that we’ve been thinking out lately is from Galatians 6:9&10 which says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let s do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
First thought: it is amazing that the reaping of the harvest depends completely on us... it will come, as long as we do not give up in doing good. What a promise! Second thought: "as we have opportunity" is such a subjective phrase, but I think we all know in our hearts when we have opportunity to do good. I would encourage us all to plan ahead so we are prepared when those opportunities present themselves - we usually don't have to look very hard if we are thinking about.
Thanks for reading, and for your prayers.
Scary story... I'm glad everyone is okay. I think I need to pray a little bit more dilligently for you guys! :)
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