We received a wonderful answer to prayer today. Steven was accepted to Rift Valley Academy (RVA), the boarding school near Nairobi that we have been hoping he could attend for his last two years of high school. We are incredibly grateful to the Lord for meeting this need, as this was the last major hurdle for us to return to Kenya.
Our support has also been rising consistently as several more friends have committed to joining our support team for the next two years. We are within just a few hundred dollars a month to reaching our full support level.
I have wept a few tears of joy and thanksgiving today, and continue to marvel at how God is meeting our needs and confirming our calling to return to Kenya.
This week has been a fun time of R&R with the Chupp clan at Lake James, NC. We are seeing Mike's brothers, sister, mom and dad and their families for the last time before we leave the country. We are then heading to Chattanooga, TN to see my parents and brother's family until July 6th. We are flying from Chicago on July 9th at 5:15 p.m. and will arrive in Nairobi on the 11th. Please pray for the logistics of our travel, getting 24 pieces of luggage to airports, checked in, etc. and for traveling mercies for all of us!
Thanks again for your prayers. God is answering them. We'll write more soon.
Pam
The Chupp Family serving in Bristol, TN
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Transition Time
We have successfully moved out of our home in Michigan and after only two showings, have also rented the house to a family who moves in July 1st! Things are moving quickly, and after packing 20 trunks and 4 suitcases, we spent two nights in our good friend’s comfortable home (thanks Dave and Amy!). It is Saturday and we have just dropped off Mike’s work car to his brother Brian who bought it from us. We are all piled in our remaining vehicle, which is still for sale, and we will leave it with my dad for him to sell. We will spend the next few days visiting with extended family members before we head back to Michigan on July 7th.
“Letting go” of material possessions, especially the house for me, has been a lesson in holding things loosely. We moved into our home just 13 months ago, and it has been just the perfect house for our family. I have enjoyed it so much, and packing it up, taking things off the walls, and then cleaning it for our new renters was definitely sad for me. I can definitely say however, that I have felt overwhelming peace in this whole process, and have felt the Lord’s hand on my shoulder as I have packed boxes, trunks, and said good-bye to this home in America. It is not easy to leave what is familiar, begin living out of suitcases again, and saying good-bye to friends and family. Please pray for our family as the next two weeks will be full of making many memories with our families, but also saying good-bye to them for 2 years.
I feel maybe a little bit like Peter might have felt when he “stepped out of the boat”, as we have stepped out in faith, renting our home, selling our vehicles, and going to Kenya, while we are still waiting for a positive confirmation on Steven’s acceptance to RVA. The admissions director told us last week that she was “very hopeful” that a place would open up for him. We know that God is never late, seldom early, but always on time!
(From Mike)
I thought I would jump in and add some updates from Tenwek that impact me and my work at Tenwek Hospital. The Board of Management for the hospital asked me to take on the position of Medical Superintendent in early August shortly after our arrival next month. The current Med Sup, Dr. Russ White, leaves on home ministry assignment in late July so a doctor was needed to jump in the role in his absence. Since I have done the job for over four years in the past, the Board felt that I could best fill this vacancy in Russ' absence for nearly a year. The position is the equivalent of a Medical Director or Chief of Staff in US medical institutions. There are a wide variety of responsibilities and many meetings to attend on behalf of the medical staff which continues to grow at Tenwek yearly. The challenge for me in the past has always been balancing clinical responsibilities with administrative needs of the hospital. I am excited by the fact that we will have fairly balanced coverage in both general surgery AND orthopedic surgery for at least the first six months we return. There are to be two orthopedic surgeons and three general surgeons during those six months (not including me!) plus a urologist/general surgeon. I have had peace in my heart about saying "yes" to the Board's invitation given this kind of surgical coverage at Tenwek. I will definitely, however, request your prayers for wisdom, patience, grace, and a sense of humor as I take over Russ' responsibilities in early August. The CEO, Mr. Geoffrey Langat, has been a dear friend and co-worker in Tenwek administration for several years. His encouragement in years past has helped me get through some challenging times at the hospital. (another reason I said "yes"!)
A recent answer to prayer was the amazing way that God helped Tenwek orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Dan Galat, to find special parts for our essential C-arm xray unit at Tenwek. This xray machine provides real time, video type, xray images that make a huge difference in fixing fractures. The unit broke down in late May just before Dr. Galat came home to the US. This caused a great deal of stress for the orthopedic and GI service which both depend on the C-arm for many procedures. The C-arm had worked faithfully for over 5 years with very heavy, daily use by Mike, Dan, and many visiting orthopedic surgeons over those years. With contacts in the xray equipment industry Dan was able to obtain parts to replace the hard drive on the C-arm and get them to Tenwek with visiting doctors. Just yesterday an email came from Tenwek that the unit was operational again and within 20 minutes assisted in the care of a 12 year old girl who fell from a tree and broke her wrists, elbow, and femur! Praise the Lord for providing for such specialized equipment through the hard work of Dr. Galat and the generosity of Tenwek friends in the xray business!
Our prayer requests in summary:
1) Place for Steven at Rift Valley Academy for his junior year starting in late August. He is first on the waiting list at this time.
2) Sale of our mini-van within the next month
3) Reaching the support target that WGM has required us to reach before returning to Tenwek. We remain about $800/month short of the target.
“Letting go” of material possessions, especially the house for me, has been a lesson in holding things loosely. We moved into our home just 13 months ago, and it has been just the perfect house for our family. I have enjoyed it so much, and packing it up, taking things off the walls, and then cleaning it for our new renters was definitely sad for me. I can definitely say however, that I have felt overwhelming peace in this whole process, and have felt the Lord’s hand on my shoulder as I have packed boxes, trunks, and said good-bye to this home in America. It is not easy to leave what is familiar, begin living out of suitcases again, and saying good-bye to friends and family. Please pray for our family as the next two weeks will be full of making many memories with our families, but also saying good-bye to them for 2 years.
I feel maybe a little bit like Peter might have felt when he “stepped out of the boat”, as we have stepped out in faith, renting our home, selling our vehicles, and going to Kenya, while we are still waiting for a positive confirmation on Steven’s acceptance to RVA. The admissions director told us last week that she was “very hopeful” that a place would open up for him. We know that God is never late, seldom early, but always on time!
(From Mike)
I thought I would jump in and add some updates from Tenwek that impact me and my work at Tenwek Hospital. The Board of Management for the hospital asked me to take on the position of Medical Superintendent in early August shortly after our arrival next month. The current Med Sup, Dr. Russ White, leaves on home ministry assignment in late July so a doctor was needed to jump in the role in his absence. Since I have done the job for over four years in the past, the Board felt that I could best fill this vacancy in Russ' absence for nearly a year. The position is the equivalent of a Medical Director or Chief of Staff in US medical institutions. There are a wide variety of responsibilities and many meetings to attend on behalf of the medical staff which continues to grow at Tenwek yearly. The challenge for me in the past has always been balancing clinical responsibilities with administrative needs of the hospital. I am excited by the fact that we will have fairly balanced coverage in both general surgery AND orthopedic surgery for at least the first six months we return. There are to be two orthopedic surgeons and three general surgeons during those six months (not including me!) plus a urologist/general surgeon. I have had peace in my heart about saying "yes" to the Board's invitation given this kind of surgical coverage at Tenwek. I will definitely, however, request your prayers for wisdom, patience, grace, and a sense of humor as I take over Russ' responsibilities in early August. The CEO, Mr. Geoffrey Langat, has been a dear friend and co-worker in Tenwek administration for several years. His encouragement in years past has helped me get through some challenging times at the hospital. (another reason I said "yes"!)
A recent answer to prayer was the amazing way that God helped Tenwek orthopedic surgeon, Dr. Dan Galat, to find special parts for our essential C-arm xray unit at Tenwek. This xray machine provides real time, video type, xray images that make a huge difference in fixing fractures. The unit broke down in late May just before Dr. Galat came home to the US. This caused a great deal of stress for the orthopedic and GI service which both depend on the C-arm for many procedures. The C-arm had worked faithfully for over 5 years with very heavy, daily use by Mike, Dan, and many visiting orthopedic surgeons over those years. With contacts in the xray equipment industry Dan was able to obtain parts to replace the hard drive on the C-arm and get them to Tenwek with visiting doctors. Just yesterday an email came from Tenwek that the unit was operational again and within 20 minutes assisted in the care of a 12 year old girl who fell from a tree and broke her wrists, elbow, and femur! Praise the Lord for providing for such specialized equipment through the hard work of Dr. Galat and the generosity of Tenwek friends in the xray business!
Our prayer requests in summary:
1) Place for Steven at Rift Valley Academy for his junior year starting in late August. He is first on the waiting list at this time.
2) Sale of our mini-van within the next month
3) Reaching the support target that WGM has required us to reach before returning to Tenwek. We remain about $800/month short of the target.
Thanks for continuing to journey with us. We'll send another post before we leave the country.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Last two weeks in Michigan
It is Sunday evening, and before the work week starts in earnest and I begin sorting and packing again, I wanted to send out an update. First off, an answer to prayer from my last entry is that Melody was accepted to Rift Valley Academy and Steven is now #1 on the waiting list! We are hopeful that a spot will open up for him soon. Our support is coming in well, and we now only lack about $1,000/mo. in new support. We are also still in need of a renter for our home. God is good, and we know He will meet our needs at just the right time.
Last Sunday Mike was able to share with the children's program at First Church of God in St. Joseph, MI. This was a wonderful new opportunity, and they enjoyed Mike's pictures of Kenya and his gospel "illusions", which he really enjoys doing (see above picture). This Sunday (today) at Berrien Center Bible Church, where we have attended regularly, there was a special time of prayer for our family. Several friends gathered around us and prayed over us, for strength and protection over the coming days and months.
The kids finished up school this past week, and we are gradually saying our good-byes to friends at church and school. This next weekend (June 12-13) we will be in the Indianapolis area for a family reunion and to speak at Mike's home church in Mooresville. Then we head to Heritage Baptist Church in Coal City, IN for a Sunday evening service. Monday late morning we will return home to finish packing up the house, and will be moving out on Wednesday, June 16th. On Friday the 18th we will travel south to spend a couple of weeks with both sets of our parents and extended family before we leave the country.
The only thing keeping me sane right now is repeating the verse "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength", and continuing to remind myself to "just do the next thing", and not worry about what needs to happen a few days from now. I continue to methodically go through the rooms in our home and make three piles of things.....either pack for Kenya, pack for US storage, or send to the Grace Christian rummage sale! I'm definitely making headway, but still feel like there is so much to do. As I type this, Mike is going through the closet, packing up all his winter clothes. The kids have also gone through their rooms this weekend, and have made good progress on packing. Unfortunately, Kayla and Ashley have saved out a few too many stuffed animals for Kenya, and they are going to have to make another cut. You'd have thought I asked them to say good-bye to their best friends!
My devotional book, Jesus Calling, had an entry a couple of days ago that seemed to fit where I am right now. Welcome challenging times as opportunities to trust Me. You have Me beside you and My Spirit within you, so no set of circumstances is too much for you to handle. When the path before you is dotted with difficulties, beware of measuring your strength against those challenges. That calculation is certain to riddle you with anxiety. Without Me, you wouldn't make it past the first hurdle! Regardless of the day's problems, I can keep you in perfect peace as you stay close to Me.
As I continue to face these busy, stressful days, I can count on God's strength to see me through. Thanks to all of you who have prayed over us, encouraged us, and affirmed us during another big transition. We are blessed to have you in our lives!
Pam
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)