It’s so cold here!

Hi Friends!

We are still enjoying being in the US, even with all the cold weather!  Cason has been working hard continuing his treasurer duties and I have been in puppyland here in Wooster with all the golden doodles.   It has been really good for us to be in one place and "settle down" a bit with all of the traveling we did after arriving from Kenya.  Being able to live in Ohio with my parents has been such a huge blessing, especially since we’ve been able to spend  time to begin thinking and praying about our future without the stress of needing to find jobs or begin raising support right away.  We love being here, but are also missing everyone in Kenya so much!  Not a day goes by without thinking of the children at the AGC Baby Centre and all the friendships we have back in Kenya.

After Christmas in Berea (see previous post) we went and stayed in Indy for 10 days to celebrate the holidays with Cason’s side of the family. We had a great time catching up  with some friends and having some quality family time. We also got to go through all of our winter clothes that were in boxes in the Wittigs’ garage… it was really like Christmas all over again finding our old things!  The highlight of the week for me was getting to go see the musical Wicked with Cason’s sister, Corinn. It was fantastic!  Cason also got to go to a Colts game with his dad. 

While in Indy, we were able to see many other friends.  On New Year’s Day, we got to watch futbol and football with the Vanburens (our friends who donated so much of the soccer gear to Ngata United) and Dereck Kamwesa, which was a blast. Dereck is from Kenya, so we had a great time trying out a little Swahili on him and discussing our experience there.

We also traveled up to Chicago to see my sister Adrienne and her husband Matt a bit more, as well as to spend time with a bunch of our close friends from College. I have always had a close group of girl friends and our Chicago time was the first time in years that we have been able to get together.  Almost all of the friends we saw in Chicago were ones we met our sophomore year of college while studying in Ireland… over 6 years ago!  We’re getting old fast!

Since mid-January, we have been settled back in Wooster at my parents’, though  we are preparing to head off on another road trip to Texas, to see our friends, the Mostads, and their baby, Jeremiah. On the way we’ll get to stop at a get together with Cason’s extended family, as well as spending a few days with our friends, the Haires. We are so incredibly happy that in the last few weeks and the weeks to come, we have been able to reconnect with SO many people. It has been such a blessing to have people that we love and cherish all around us.

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We have been reading the Bible and working through a study book about seeking God.  Both of those things have helped us to shift our focus.  We are trying to move away from asking God questions like "why did that happen?," "what did we do wrong?,”  "what is Your plan for us?," and "how do we know Your will for our life?"  Those thoughts are self focused and really only seeking a one-time answer. 

We need to be seeking God and asking him to show us His purpose and larger will, and then ask how we can be a part of His plan.  Our focus should be on what God is trying to do in the world and how we can be a part of that.  We would greatly appreciate prayers as we are trying to just seek God, instead of seeking answers to what happened and what we are supposed to do.  

Of course, none of that changes the fact that we’re in our mid twenties, living in my parents’ house, with no real plan for the future.  It can be frustrating and a bit scary. 

A decision needs to be made soon about whether or not we will return to continue our ministry in Kenya or if we will stay in the US .  It is very hard to not just focus all our prayers asking for answers, but we do not want to make a decision without seeking God first and foremost.  It has been very difficult working to get to that point and we are still struggling through it.  We appreciate all of the support we've received from so many people.  It has been a wonderful encouragement to us and has helped have peace in this period of transition.

We love all of you!  Thanks for reading!

Colleen

P.S.  Several people who were giving monthly to us while we were in Kenya have asked what happens now that we are back.  All automatic transfers to our account have been stopped as of the end of December.  Our account can still accept one-time gifts to help clear our remaining expenses for getting home, and we’re very grateful for those.  Thanks!

 

Click on any of the photos to see a larger verions.  Click HERE or HERE to see our most recent facebook albums.  Here’s a few more pictures from our last few weeks… there’s more cute puppy ones at the bottom of the post!:

 

While in Indy, I got my haircut short for the first time in 13 years!  I really like it!  Cason was a bit shocked at first, but I think he’s come around now :  )

 

While staying in Greenwood with the Wittigs’, we took a trip down to southern Indiana to visit Cason’s Nana and Papa.  His Nana just turned 91, but is just as spry and sassy as ever.  It was wonderful getting to visit with them.

My sister, Adrienne, and me!

Here’s a picture of the boys from our Chicago trip… they’re weird.  

Like I said above in the post, while we’re here in Wooster, Cason is continuing to work for World Gospel Mission as the Treasurer, and my primary responsibility is to take care of the puppies that the family dog, Rosie, just had.  Needless to say, I love it! 

 

To see more of the puppies or for more information about them, check out doodlesbyrosie.blogspot.com.  Thanks for much for reading our blog! 

Back in the frigid US of A

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! It is hard to believe that we’ve already been in the US for two weeks already!

We were supposed to fly out of Nairobi on December 19^th, but all of the flights through London were cancelled because of the weather. People were getting pushed back 5+ days, so we weren’t even sure that we’d be scheduled to make it back by Christmas… so I decided to just pay the extra money and get different tickets so we could make it  home to be with family for Christmas. We flew out at 3:40am on the 20^th on Turkish Air, went through Istanbul, and after a delay in Chicago, finally made it to Wooster (via Columbus) around 2am on the 21^st. I am so glad that we bought the Turkish Air tickets, because we were able to have almost two whole days at the Ramsays’ with all of the siblings and spouses together.

Since Colleen’s sister, Adrienne, and her husband, Matt, were leaving on the 23^rd, we celebrated Colleen’s birthday and Christmas Eve two days early on the 22^nd, and Christmas on the 23^rd. It was so wonderful being in Wooster with everyone, though the cold was quite a shock to our systems. It is amazing how quickly we got used to no Midwest winters after missing two of them! Here’s a link to an album of photos from Christmas in Wooster with the Ramsays.

On Christmas day, we headed to Kentucky to see Colleen’s extended family (on both sides). We had a great Christmas dinner with the Ambrose clan at Aunt Kathy and Uncle Tom’s. There was so much snow in Berea! Here’s a link to an album of pictures from our time in Berea with the Ambroses.

 

Then on Boxing Day (the 26^th), we had a get together with the Ramsay side at Happiness Hills, the retreat center that is owned and operated by Colleen’s grandparents (for more info see the Facebook page or website). It was a combination Christmas party, welcome home for us, and baby shower for Brian and Michelle (Colleen’s brother and sister-in-law), who are due in early March. It was so great to see so much of the family all at once, and we really enjoyed catching up with people we hadn’t seen since Adrienne’s wedding last summer. We’ll put up some pictures of our time with the Ramsays soon.

After Kentucky, we met our friends the Mostads in Lexington, including their little boy, Jeremiah, who was born while we were in Kenya!  Here's a few pictures of us with the Mostads, and one of Jeremiah.

We made it to my parents’ house in Greenwood, IN, on the 27^th, and celebrated Christmas the next day. We’ve enjoyed being in the Indianapolis area, spending time with my family and seeing old friends. We’ll be in Indy until this Friday (the 7^th), before heading to Chicago for the weekend to spend more time with Colleen’s sister, Adrienne (and her husband, Matt), and other friends.

Eventually we’ll land in Wooster, since we are living with Colleen’s parents for the next few months while we figure out what is next for us. I am going to continue to work remotely for WGM Kenya for a few months, and Colleen is going to help take care of the Ramsay’s dog’s puppies. (See more info about the Golden Doodle puppies at doodlesbyrosie.blogspot.com.)

 

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The holidays have been tough on us emotionally… we had imagined and dreamed about having the triplets with us for Christmas, so, while it has been so wonderful celebrating with our friends and family, it has been very bitter sweet. We were both struggling to hold back tears Christmas morning and during the Christmas Eve service in Wooster. It is difficult to be here, not knowing what it next for us, and knowing that the triplets are back at the Baby Centre, but we are slowly learning to trust the Lord again and rely on Him even though we don’t understand the “whys.”

We don’t know what is next for us… we’re supposed to take the next few months to visit friends and family and try to sort through that, but honestly, it is hard to know where to start. Do we go back to Kenya, or stay in the US? If we stay, where should we live and what should we do?  We would appreciate your prayers as we try to seek the Lord above all, instead of seeking answers for what happened and what we should do next.

Other than the weather, it has been nice to be home, but we really miss Kenya, especially our friends at Ngata AGC, at the Baby Centre, and in the WGM family. 

We want to say a special thanks to those who have supported us the last year and a half. It has been an incredible journey, and we’ve learned so much – it has been such an encouragement to get messages letting us know that people are invested in what we are doing and are praying for us.

We’d love to see as many of you as possible, so please call or email us if you can.

Happy 2011!

Cason

 

Our last few weeks in Kenya were quite busy packing up and saying goodbyes, so we didn’t get to update much on the blog of facebook.  Here’s an attempt at catching up and sharing all that we were doing in late November and December (in addition to budget meetings and office work… neither of which photograph particularly well…).   

Here’s a link to some of our last ones from the Baby Centre.

The Ngata United Football Club that I had helped start back in September 2009 hosted a December football tournament before I left.  Click Here for the link to the album.

      We really miss our youth group at Ngata AGC, and were fortunate to have a few last events and get-togethers with them before we came back to the US.  Here’s a link to an album of pictures from our last weekend with the youth in Ngata.

 

And finally, here’s a few more from our times in Wooster and Berea…

   

Thanks so much for reading.  We’re going to continue to update the blog over the next few months as we seek the Lord about what is next for us.  Thanks so much for your prayers and support!