As we come up to the end of July, I have now been here for almost 6 months. One that I look back on and I amazed of what has been happening in my life in such a short amount of time. I think my mustard seed of faith has been watered a lot! In fact it may be sprouting leaves. This has been a time to look back on and see the change and growth God has done here as He has worked in my life and the children's lives at St Catherine School.
I have been forming bonds with many of the children, since they first set their eyes on the South African umzungu in February. Their excitement as I come into the classroom is quite a boost for me, and it is something that means so much to me. Just being in their lives is so special, being able to speak into their lives and for them just to keep me young and still funky. This week I have been mainly with Class 5 due to timetable movements, and this has been really fulfilling. It is my favourite class, although I love all the classes! Today we had a challenge between the boys and the girls, with questions based on what we had studied up til now. The prize was a lollipop to each person in the group (the boys or the girls) and by the end of the competition, it was sounding like a travelling circus with the shouts and the jumping around, all the students wanting to win those prized lollipops. The boys managed to take right at the end (go boys) and I think the excitement of winning was more about beating the girls and ensuring they knew it :) So tomorrow, the 6 boys (there are more but they were absent) will be getting their "bom boms" aka lollipop. They cost around R1.25 and the joy that one of those causes makes me realise that life is actually not so bad if we look for the small things in life that we can find joy in, and thank God for them.
I promised to keep you up to date with my permit application, and due to the reasons in my previous email I sent at the beginning of the month, my permit has been denied. I have tried twice to get it through, and the final answer was that they saw me as "church hopping" and not having the right education (they wanted theology or something close.) A quick recap regarding the "church hopping": This is due to someone I had paid to organise my permit in 2012/2013 - when I applied for this Missionary Permit (after waiting 3 months til I was told I could come and see if it is ready) I was told someone had already applied for me a year ago and I was given 3 years to stay in Kenya. It had not been paid for by the person, and due to this it had been closed. I was shocked to say the least. This was the first time I had ever heard of that, and because of this, I was seen as someone who was moving from church to church, with reasons they could only understand. I told them the whole story about the previous person etc. etc. but they did not want to hear. So in basic terms, I am now not allowed to apply for a missionary permit anymore, and I can apply for another 90 days before they ask me politely to leave.This means I will have to come back to South Africa by the end of October. Somehow I would have managed to legally stay in Kenya for 9 months, which is great. The bad news ofcourse is that I cannot come back as a Missionary, that door is closed.
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| How not to do a 3 point turn in a bus. In Kibera. :) Kinda like I am feeling, a bit confused. |
So what does this all mean? Most importantly it means this needs a lot of prayer, I need a lot of prayer. I am not sure as of yet what this all means, and what the future holds for me from next year. As you all know, I have an amazing girlfriend and best friend here in Kenya, Millicent, and we have been speaking about getting married for awhile now. Coming back to South Africa will obviously make things a lot harder, as I will not be able to see her and her 2 beautiful children for quite some time. It will also be extremely hard for Millicent and family, as we have bonded so well together and we love each other so much. I am hoping to bring her over to visit for November when I leave Kenya, and meet my family and all of you lovely people. This of course is up to how much money I can save for a ticket, but I am holding thumbs. And Kenyan shillings.
Please pray too that I will know what to do next year, as I do not know what God is saying in all of this. I am very confused, unsure of what is coming, and I cannot seem to hear what He is saying. Could you please pray into this, and if you have any verses or words or pictures, please email them to me. I am slightly struggling, (I do still have a hand on what I am doing and loving the kids and Kenya :) and in this time I really need your prayers and asking God what He is saying.
I pray you are all keeping well, keeping a mixture of sanity and insanity and a huge love for jellytots (cos I cant get them here)
Love you all!!
Gareth
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