The Simpson Kenya Blog

Rainy season is in full effect here in Kenya – everything is beautifully green and the once still river behind the house rages from the pounding rains that come each night. Though with all of the rain comes mud…lots of it. Here in Kenya, the black cotton soil is more slippery than snow and stickier than peanut butter. We have gotten stuck several times (one day we got stuck 3 times) in our rented vehicle. This most recent incident took us 2 hours to get out with the help of 8 men as well as a few women and children. Here are some pictures:

Here I am jacking up the car so that we could get some stones under the tire.  Unfortunately, the stones that I put under the jack just kept sinking further in the mud.
Some of the neighbors came to help push.  We needed to recruit some bigger men to get the car moving though.
So close, yet so far …

Since we are now staying in Kenya longer, we have decided to sell our 2004 Toyota Sienna at home (know anyone looking for a minivan?) and purchase a 4×4 vehicle here.

We have been advised to purchase a Toyota Landcruiser because of its reliability.  Here are some pictures of a 1989 one we are considering(unfortunately, vehicles here are rather expensive, so we have to stick with older ones. We are assured by friends and our mechanic that it is a great deal and will be a great car.)

Ok, most of the women just said to themselves, “That’s not a good trade!”  and most of the men said “Awesome!”

So, if you have an interest in 4 wheeling and missions work, consider visiting us in March or April during the rainy season.  We just might need your help to push us out of a big mud hole.  ;-)

Here is a video of some of our Potter’s Field kids club children sharing how they benefit from coming on Saturdays.  We thought you might be encouraged as we were:

Almost every day after kids club and Sunday school, Dennis, Ian, David, and Harmaton, four teen boys in my class, gather around me and begin asking a whole host of questions about the Bible. “What did Abraham do to make him righteous?” “What consequences did David face when he slept with another man’s wife?” “Does God ever free us from these consequences?” “Are we always forgiven?” “Tell me the story of Gideon.” I have to say that these times discussing the Word of God with these teens is a highlight of my week. Why? Because these boys are so interested in the Word of God, they stand out. They lean in as they listen and hang onto every word I am telling them. They want more and more knowledge and understanding. They are also helpful in ministry, caring toward others big and small, showing great leadership qualities, are kind and respectful in class, participate in all we do, and are thankful for whatever you give or do for them. One can see the great fruit that comes from their study of God’s Word and interest in it. The Word of God changes people, and they are a great demonstration of that transformation. These boys are an incredible joy to be around. I am supposed to be ministering to them, but they minister to me every time I see them. When a little child is hurt, they bring him to me for help. If someone is mistreating another, they intervene and stand up for the innocent. When kids club is over, they help gather the 200 plus kids together for dismissal and then are found sweeping and mopping the floors and cleaning the church compound from the mess we have all made. They are an incredible example of what it means to follow Christ…to love God and to love others. I am so blessed by these teens’ yearning for more in their lives. I wish you could have seen their faces when we gave them their very own Bible since their family doesn’t own one….utter joy….priceless.

Lucy, Nice, and Alex are three kids from our Potter’s Field kids club program who we’ve been caring for.  They have been diagnosed with scabies, their mom had left the family about a year ago, they are living in a run-down shack with a dirt floor that is not fit for anyone to live in, let alone a family with three young children.  It seemed hopeless for this family in some ways, especially when we got the scabies diagnosis and learned from the doctor it would not be effective to treat it if they weren’t living in a clean environment and getting warm baths every night during treatment. How does that happen with only a dad who is working and away from home often and 3 kids on their own living in a very dirty environment?

But we have a God who can do immeasurably more than all that we can ask or imagine!

In the last 2 weeks, their dad came to meet with our Kenyan pastor, us, and some other leaders in the church.  They encouraged the dad, found out more of his situation, and shared that the mother should be involved with the kids’ lives if at all possible.  It’s actually Kenyan law.

That evening, their mom returned to the family and began living with them again.  She loved her children but needed to leave because her husband used to drink a lot and was physically abusing her.  She was missing a tooth to prove it.  Over time, their dad stopped drinking.  God was preparing this family for something special…After meeting with some church leaders last Sunday, the mom and dad accepted that they had both wronged each other and were ready to forgive and start over.

Today we met with the family again to search for a more suitable living situation and then to start treating the scabies.  After looking at a few homes that were too expensive and poorly constructed, one of our Kenyan church members found a home for the same rent that they had been paying at their previous home, 1000Ksh/month(or $12).  We went to visit the one-room home, and it was clean and much more fit for the family – cement floor, better location, wooden slat walls covered with cardboard to keep the wind and the bugs from coming in between the cracks, and clean outhouses.  The landlord also wants to hire the dad to do some work around the compound which will help him earn some extra money.  This was an answer to prayer.  The family was very happy with this place and wanted to move in right away.  We paid the rent and the deposit, and now the place is theirs.

We then returned to church so the family could try on some clothes that had been donated by church members.  After trying on the clothes, Steven and Terry, two Kenyans from church, started to share about Christ’s love for them.  The father of this family decided he wants to start to follow Jesus.  He said, “For years I have tried many things, and all of them have caused much suffering in my life.  I realize now that all of those things were from the devil.  I can see God in all that is happening now – my wife returned and people are caring for me and my children.”  For the first time since we have known this man, he had a joyful face.  He wasn’t shy or downcast.  He smiled and responded to us.  He was even playing with his younger daughter and laughing alongside his wife.  That was an encouraging, promising sight.

Tomorrow we will purchase bed frames and mattresses for the family thanks to support that has come in for us – the only one they have needs to be thrown out because of the scabies.

The road ahead continues to hold some challenges for this family, but with their trust in God, things are looking brighter.  And God has promised, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, and “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.”  Though everything may not be easy, it is so much better with Christ in your life.  We see that clearly with this family.

Who knew that God would use scabies on these three children to save a marriage, provide a good home, and to rescue a man and woman from darkness and bring them into His glorious light?  God can use everything for good.

Here are some photos of Lucy, 7 and Nice, 4.