cason & colleen: 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!