HINDRANCES ALONG THE WAY

THINGS THAT HINDER OUR PROGRESS DOWN THE    ROAD OF LIFE!

YOU GET THE FEELING YOU NEED TO TRY ANOTHER DIRECTION

....... A SLOWER PACE

SOMETIMES YOU NEED TO CONSULT WITH OTHERS1 

SOMETIMES, FORWARD PROGRESS IS BLOCKED BY THE STRANGEST THINGS.

AND SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO WAIT IT OUT, 

Hope your progress forward is greater than any hindrances  that come along to slow you down! 

On your journey to Heaven, we hope you can laugh at the things that get in your way, so the journey, no matter how long or slow, is just a whole lot of JOY in the process! 

Big hugs to all, Paulette and Bob

MEMORIES AND REFLECTIONS

Hello!

We have been travelling! Uganda, Kenya,Canada, U.S.A. !

As we go through the days, weeks, and months, we are busy, but never too busy to stop and reflect on all the wonderful things God has given us to enjoy.......

Like family ! As our children have grown , got their educations, jobs, families, we are  blessed at how well they manage their lives! 

We feel like, yes, after all, we did make the right choices in how we raised them! In spite of our shortcomings,they are doing fine!

As we have had a time of sorting out old photos, the memories are overwhelming! Holidays, birthdays, major event days at school!

At one time, I had all these photos in very organized albums, then into a box, without the albums, and now, onto my computer: but always, always, in our hearts. 

Going through them all, a lifetime passed before my eyes. It went so fast, the days ,the months, the years! 

Now it is the grandchildren speeding by! 

Some learning to walk, to read ! Some in university! ! Plans for future careers! We are thankful for any days we have together, and don't regret the events we have missed, we are just enjoying the moments to the full! 

The secret to not being over whelmed by nostalgia: enjoy the moment, the day, the year! 

This is a skill we learned early, and have it fine-tuned! 

So as I write this, our oldest son and his wife are cleaning living room windows, I listen to their conversation, and enjoy the pragmatic moment! The vacuum cleaner hums, the moment is homey! 

I love it, and will tuck it away, for when we are far away, Canada, Kenya, Uganda!!!

We pack the memories very carefully into our hearts! They don't crease if you fold them right! 

 Living the moments makes the following statement soooo true:

ANYWHERE YOU HANG YOUR HANG YOUR HAT IS HOME!

HAVE A MEMORABLE MOMENT, DAY, WEEK, YEAR, 

HUGS AND BLESSINGS FROM US, 

              Bob and Paulette

  

GOOD BYE HELLO!

   

THIS IS ALL ABOUT SAYING HELLO AND GOODBYE!


The missionary heartbreak is so many good friends and co-workers in so many places! We have to say good bye soooooo often! 
This is a little mini album of the friends we had to say good bye to! Just a few of those who work in the fields of people God loves. 

I have literally thousands of photos of our other friends, the national Kenyans, Ugandans, and Tanzanians who are the fruit of the ministries of those who choose to "GO!"    


But this note today is just about the ones we labor together with, who have given up home country , families, and cultural comforts to work somewhere else, because Bob and I are so thankful to them all. 


These are just a few of the friends who have prayed us through hard times,(stolen vehicles,compuers, and funds, )  rejoiced with us over victories, (3 heart attacks and cancer) and laughed uproariously along with us as we  make blunders and mis-communications. 
We commiserate over things we could have done better, times we could have tried harder, and times when we feel like we are getting nowhere! 


These are some of our  family of the field! 
We see each other sporadically, Kyle and Laura work in northern Uganda, Dennis and Darlene work in Uganda and Canada, Phil and Starlene work in Kenya,(Nairobi to Garissa to Orma) , Donnie and Hughena work in Kenya (Lake Victoria) and Canada, and the McNeals? Well, you know about us, a little Tanzania, a bit more Uganda, and mostly Kenya. 


We are thankful God has given us co labourers, and such dear ones! We help each other with natural stuff, like meals together, shared homes, airport carting and hauling, running errands, and so much more. 


So, for anyone taking the time to look at this page, just know that we really need one another out here. And the good byes are never easy, even though the hellos! to our families in Canada and the States are awesome, we also have to say good bye to them. 

GOODBYE, HELLO!  this is the echo in our hearts, and it never gets easier, but it is little enough to pay for the awesome privilege of sharing God's message to a hurting world! 


Come out sometime, and see the needs, they are vast and varied! 


Who knows, you too might be called into the world of
       Goodbye! -Hello!


Love and Blessings, Paulette and Bob






                                                        

MONDAY JUNE 4TH 2012 

There is such a difference between sounds we love, and sounds we deem as noise! 

"....the reason dogs hesitate to go out into the rain
 is not because they are afraid to get wet, 
but because rain amplifies sounds, and their hearing is so sensitive it can be too intense for them." 
 a post from PINTEREST


When I read this the other day, I really began to think about it. 


We are here on a hillside in Uganda and one thing that we have noticed: NOISE! INTENSE NOISE! 


 +++Dogs barking at night, sometimes all night! 


+++A local kiosk that has set itself up as an outdoor  radio station, broadcasting so loudly  we can hear every word ,every song, including the good morning and goodnight playing of the Bugandan National 
Anthem!


+++Many churches that feel the need to crank their amps up to ROAR! 


+++ The Muslim Man doing his amplified prayer call


+++ The sirens on the road that accompany anyone important going to and from the airport!


But then, in all of that, (which often occurs all at the same time) 
 there comes a moment in the early morning,
 just before sunrise, 
the whole world becomes  hushed,  silent,still:
Then the birds begin their early morning song of praise that another day is almost here, 
and as the sun comes up,
 they sing to bless the day! 


I realize why the Word of God tells us, Peace, BE STILL! 
Be Still and KNOW that I am God! 


We have to go out into the intensity of the noise of the world, not just man made noise, but the noise of all the wars and chaos and strife and sadness around us, the unhappy, un-peaceful world.
The noise of mind and emotions that swirl around, out there! 


If we   just take a little time of stillness,
 a little praising of God, we are fortified.
Like the dog pausing in the doorway, 
or the stillness of time  before the birds sing to the sunrise, 
We can then   step into our day with  

"Peace of mind and peace of heart,
Like a gift of God. " John 14:27
We can learn to carry "the sound of silence", that is: the stillness of peace, in the world of noise around us. 


Trusting you will all find some stillness in the noise of your life today, 


Blessings to all, Paulette and Bob

PRECIOUS PEOPLE

Gladys Chacha , my dearest friend! She has worked with us since 1988, her son used to slash grass after school and now works for the U.N. Peacekeepers. 

We always tease her about being a queen, she looks me sqare in the eye and says "I am."

Gladys speaks five languages well, and is a gifted interpreter, it's not just the words, you have to interpret the heart. 

Gladys can do that. Although she no longer comes to work in the house, she has taken on the guardianship of two orphan girls. We rescued them from an abusive situation, and Gladys offered to take them. 

She now lives at home and cares for "our" girls. The change in the girls is amazing. They were in despair, downcast, and hopeless. They had never known love. 

Now, they are happy, cheerful, helpful, and hopeful! Gladys showered them with love and prayer. 

I just wanted to put this little tribute to Gladys on paper, or cyberspace, to acknowledge that if I came to Africa for no other reason than for Gladys to take me into her heart and make me her friend, then it was a good thing to come. 

She loves Bob and treats him like a king. She is a totally awesome lady, I am so glad to be her friend. 

I am going to post more stories of the "people in our neighbourhood' just to give you a little taste of the good, funny, and sad folks out here! 

Have a good day, and may a good friend grace your life too! 

Paulette and Bob

WILD NEW YEAR'S EVE!

"WILDEST NEW YEAR'S  EVER"     Bob's word for the year- "GetGod's word off the shelf, in 2012!"  so we expect to do a lot of teaching!  Happy New Year to one and all. We had such an adventure!      Okay, here it is, a crazy story! Don, Hughena, Sheri, Bob, and I went into the Masai Mara. Sheri is only here a few weeks and you CAN'T  come to Kenya and not see a game reserve. They came from the lake and stayed over and we left at 6 am. We were able to get across the first bridge which has been under water for some months, but is now bare. We had checked on this detail a few days earlier. .  After about 2 1/2 hours of rough road, as in deep mud holes, huge boulders, and overflowing bridges, the under part of the car was making a noise,so we stopped, and Bob got under and fixed a bent bracket.  However, another noise erupted, and it didnt sound good. Hmmmm. We called our mechanic in Kehancha, thank God for cell phones, and he got a motor bike taxi and came in. This took about 2 hours, and we just sat at the side of the road.  We were joined by all sorts of people, as we were "the only show in town! "  Kids, youths, adults, all stopped to greet. Two girls tried to sell us some plain old rocks they insisted were gold! They are all Masai people, and my Swahili is not the best, but we conversed as some spoke English. One man went to his home to find a hammer for the mechanic and another man full Masai traditional dress of red plaid blankets and earrings and stick,  decided he was our protector.  He said he was the "Peace Co Ordinator, and not a child. " He chased anyone that came too close, tried to buy milk for all of us from a passing lady, and then shook my hand, and kissed it! I had a fit, and he just laughed.He informed us he had to leave, that we would be safe, and pointing to a bush, said "there is your toilet!"He left on a motor bike taxi, his blanket flying in the wind.   Another man came along who proceeded to tell us he will be the next General Commander of Kenya. Anyway, we were highly entertained as our mechanic pulled out all the bearings and re-greased them. The sun got hottter and hotter! we gave some  bracelets and New Testaments to some girls, and by 4:00 we were on our way!  Oh, Oh! The road got worse, the  mud got deeper, we all had to get out and walk, up to our ankles in mud!  Some wonderful motor bike taxi fellows led the way, showing Bob where to get off the road and go through the grasslandand how to navigate small bridges that were underwater,and where the deepest mud holes were.   One young man finally got in with us, and as we squeezed into a tight ball to let him in, he cheerily announced, " This is Africa!"  " because they really do crowd in hicles.  He guided us the last of the way, which was many diversions from diversions!  We got to the Gate of the Reserve with 5 minutes to spare before it closed, and to the hotel by 7:30. Because of the wonderful cell phones, we had been in touch with the hotel. They had informed us that "No one is using that way this year because of the heavy rains!  DAY TWO  After a great dinner, showers, good sleep , and grand breakfast, we were ready for the great animal adventure.  Within 5 minutes from the hotel, a very large, blackmaned male lion started a slow walk in front of the car, and then his three wives followed, stopping to drink from a puddle right beside us! It was so thrilling, we never tire of seeing them!   Then shortly after that, we saw a huge rhino! elephants! hyenas! buffalo! topi! gazelles! giraffe!  The time just flew!   Back to the hotel for lunch, and the PR lady told us that we could go home another way! On a good road! We were ecstatic! We had lunch, and set out on the new route by 4:00.  Well, 85 km and 4(yes, 4!!) hours later, we were at a town called Kilgoris. It was pitch black, and we still had a long way to go.  It got later, and darker. There were people now and then, a few rabbits and huge rats on the road, but mostly, just darkness, and thick brush right up to the edges of the road! Midnight saw us driving into 2012!  That is a first! We had done a lot of praying, and a lot of hymn singing, as we were really in a pickle. We found out that the road to the town we had to get to in order to reach the highway had disintigated !  No one could get through! We had to turn back, and got sidetracked down a road, into a mud bog, and then were faced with a large pond! No one remembered seeing it, so we had to turn back. At this point, we stopped completely and had a major prayer event! At this point we got out of the car in the pitch dark to assess how Bob could turn around. We were bedazzled with an amazing sight: the Milky Way, The Southern Cross, and billions of stars were shining down on us! Just the most wonderful sight! Spectacular New Year's Light Show, just for us, lost deep in the African bush!  There was nothing to do but try to navigate the mud bog again, and we got through!!!!  Bob is the most amazing driver! We know angels got behind us and pushed.  Shortly, we were back on the road to Kilgoris, again, got there at 3 in the morning! We parked and sort of dozed, sitting up, until 5, then got gas, and found out we could go another way. hmmmmm ????  it turned out to be an amazing paved road to Kisii, and so we got home by 8;30 am! What an adventure! We weren't robbed, attacked, or hijacked! God truly kept us safe, and it will live on in our memories as the wildest New Year's Ever.  HAVE AND AMAZING NEW YEAR, WONTCHA!  AND DON'T FORGET WHEN YOU'RE STUCK IN A MUD BOG, IN UTTER DARKNESS,  LOOK UP CAUSE THESTARS ARE SHINING BRIGHTER THAN EVER!				12:06:00 AM	by PJMCNeal	Delete
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