Going Home.....

I know it's been a while since my last post mostly still recovering and lots of prayer.....The follow up xray went well and the Dr was very pleased with how my bone is healing although I had to make the decision not to return to Sudan on this trip....I am feeling very disappointed but I am also really looking forward to returning in the near future. My decision was based on prayer and that I would not be able to keep up with the team coming next week and do not want to slow them down or be a burden. I want to be as effective as possible and to do that I must take care of my body so that I can be very strong again. Please continue to pray for healing, physical as well as dealing with the emotional that comes with the challenges of feeling so limited and the disappointment of not being able to the mission field for now.....I will be returning to the states just after New Year. I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends but I am also feeling very sad about leaving Africa and Not seeing Rose and Gloria and David before I leave. I will post more once I have more time to process all that is happening....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.....to All of you

So it's been a while...

....Not a lot to report. Just resting and healing. The plan is still to go back for a follow up X-ray on the 23rd of this month at Kijabe Hospital. As long as the Dr approves and is happy with how I am healing then I will get a medical release which means I will head back to Kampala,Uganda from Nairobi,Kenya via the bus. I will then get back to Kajo Keji,Sudan from there....Please continue to keep all of this journey in your prayers.
I am still in prayer and study daily. Some days are better than others as far as healing goes.
I want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! And as always I look forward to getting your emails and reading your post.....

Another Day in the Life of....

Well I just wanted to let you know that Margaret the lady I meet at the craft show last week came to see me today and we spent most of the day practicing and learning how to make paper beads I hope to be able to post a few photos soon of our end result and learning process....Since I am still recovering from a broken femur it was quite a bit to sit at the table most of the day so now I am resting but feel confident that I have absorbed enough information to be able to teach the skill in Sudan when I go back to help give the women there a way of making something with mostly local and very inexpensive materials....I will practice some more over the few weeks and hope to have some great tings to share:)
I did also attend The Vineyard Church in Nairobi on Sunday which I enjoyed very much! Mostly local missionaries and some other local people it was a great time of fellowship and worship of which I have missed. It happen to also be the birthday of one of the missionaries that I am staying with and so we went out for a nice lunch it was really a very good day. I managed on crutches to this point but became very tired and so for our next stop purchasing supplies for today I needed the wheelchair. I actually think I am doing pretty well since it's only 1 week today from my surgery. I am having some cabin fever and I am really looking forward to having more energy and being able to get around much better! I hope that when I get back to Sudan I will be a good asset to the team coming at the end of December and not an extra weight....So for now I am just trying to make use of my recovery through prayer, study, and learning as much as I can and just resting as I promised the doctor I would:)
Please continue to pray for quick and complete healing and blessings for all the people that have helped me along the way.
That the Lord will continue to work on me in every way to make me what he wants that I will be open and sensitive to His leading on everything!

As Always in His Service-
MJ

Answered Prayer!

Ok I had a bit of an adventure today:) Maureen and Joe borrowed a wheelchair for me and off to the craft fair we went.... in Nairobi which only happens a couple of times a year from what Joe told me. I found a few fun things and the BEADS! Paper beads just what I had been looking for to learn how to make! I bought some and also made arrangements to have one of the ladies come this Sunday evening after the fair is over and stay the night with me and then I will spend the day Monday learning how to make them so when I go back to Sudan at the end of the year I will be able to teach the ladies how to make them! I am so beyond excited! I also found out that the vision for these beads came from a lady from Sudan was in a Uganda refugee camp teaching this art and then came to Kenya so I pray that God will help me take it full circle back to Sudan! How amazing is that! I can not wait to show the ladies in my Sunday school class what we are doing....

Ok I also promised to give the info for my amazing Dr!
www.mendonsamissions.com
www.helpCUREnow.org

My mom has sent me a care package and I am looking forward to receiving that too! My sister has promised a really good letter to me is included:)

The past several days I have had some pretty severe headaches that is much better today not gone but better.....Pauline said is was because of the spinal block during the surgery and it should be getting better very soon.....
I am still getting tired easily but doing well....
I am so grateful for all your prayers please continue the good work all my prayer warriors!

In His Service Always-
MJ

The Next Step

Well I guess everything happens just one step at a time even though sometimes I try to take three....So my surgery went well on Monday and I am now out of the hospital and resting well in Nairobi. I will be here for at least four weeks while I recover and get around on crutches until December 23rd and then I will have to go back to Kjiabe Hospital for a follow up x-ray and then hope to get a medical release to go back to Sudan at that point! So I now have three screws in my femur right at the hip joint the fracture was along the front and back of the collar or neck of the femur bone of course the smallest section of the bone so the screws will give me the stability I will need once I get walking on it again! As one comment said from Charlie and Patti - I can't wait to be running the race again but am trying to not get to far ahead of myself. I know that God's timing is perfect! The Doctor that actually did my surgery was Dr Bob Mendonza from TEXAS! Can you believe it! The day after his beautiful wife and two of the sweetest kids you'd ever want to meet came to visit me:) I can not get up right now to go get their web address but I will add it later they are living and working at Kjiabe Hospital through THE CURE. One thing about this change of plans it has given me the opportunity to meet some truly wonderful people and the doctors and nurses have been very good to me. The worst and scariest part of the whole thing was the day of surgery it was just really hard to be alone that day! But it's amazing how close I felt my Jesus with me as if he were sitting right there holding my hand....i must admit that through tears that day I was certainly calling out to my protector and comforter! Other than that day I've done a pretty good job of holding myself together and I want my family to know that I really am doing very well:) I am really looking forward to going to church this coming Sunday! Just to be able to enjoy that precious gift of being able to come together with others and worship the Lord for how GOOD HE has been to me and how much He has provided for me....I certainly have a whole new appreciation for having the ability to be able to attend church whenever I want to and see how difficult it must be for those that this is not so easy for them to do this....I think about those that walk great distances for the privilege and those who can not because of lack of freedom to do so or war or hunger or sickness and many other reasons . I was also thinking of how in the States we can simply go to a book store and purchase any book we want for a new bible study or to help with our relationships and marriages......do we appreciate this as much as we should???
I am also looking forward to visiting with another lady named Pauline who is living where I am right now and she is working with codependency and alcoholism with lower income women here in Nairobi and how I might be able to use some of her knowledge in Sudan because this is a big problem there as you can imagine there is also a lot of post traumatic stress syndrome too. Another thing is I am hoping to learn how to make these beautiful paper beads that I might be able to teach the women in Sudan how to make these for selling......I had originally thought this was only happening in Uganda but have found that they have these beads in many places so I am still working on figuring out how this might work....so prayers on the Lord's leading and my openness to Him on this project that is on my heart. Ok well I am getting a bit tired and will sign off for now but will post More later! Thank you so much for all your prayers and comments!
Blessings-
MJ

A look back....

I have been reflecting back on some of the encounters and relationships that have brought me growth and encouragement. One of the ladies I have had on my heart is named Alice she lives in Kapoeta and has been attending a church in the market place in the town of Kapoeta. Pastor Francis and I made two visits to her home that week. She is the only christian in her family the rest are Muslim. I had an opportunity to visit her mother in law and share the gospel with her .I came to discover that this woman has been struggling in her heart about her faith and longing to learn more. Her husband and sons are Muslim and she is forbidden from attending any church other than a mosque. She is also currently separated from her husband and is not a practicing Muslim. After a long conversation with her she revealed that she would like to have Jesus in her heart although there are many problems including that her village already knows her as a Muslim. We talked about this some more and she has not yet come to a place that she is ready to invite Jesus into her heart. I truly believe that God is speaking to her through dreams and visions and through her daughter in law Alice. She asked that I continue to pray for her and her family and I will continue to petition God on her behalf and hope that you will join me in this prayer. Her name is Lucia....
Upon my second visit to Alice and Lucia I had the opportunity to spend some very sweet time together to encourage one another and read God's word together. I discovered that Alice could not only speak English very well she could also read English very well. She did not have a Bible so I gave her the one I had in my backpack. I learned that she has a heart to do ministry in her community so she and I prayed about that as well. Materials had already been given to a couple of her church leaders so I introduced her to to them so that they would be able to follow up with her and disciple her so that she could reach more women. Alice is very soft spoken and has a sweet and gentle spirit in spite of all she has been through. It's obvious that she finds comfort in the Lord and wants to share that with others please pray that she will continue to press into God to find ways to minister to her mother in law and that she will grow even more bold for Christ in her own community!

Quick Update...

Received second opinion from an American doctor in Kajibe Hospital surgery will be required and I may be moving to the other hospital ...Insurance providing is the prayer for now and quick recovery....I will stay and heal in Nairobi until I can travel again. Lots of wonderful missionaries helping out and visiting me PRAISE GOD!