Snowflakes and the New Year

You might think – “She’s in Kenya. How can she be writing about snow?” Maybe my Pagosa friends deliberate they had enough of that “four-letter word and skip reading this post. But, here it is anyway, my thoughts about snowflakes in Kenya – paper snowflakes that is.

During the Christmas season the WOW mamas enjoyed a simple party where we decorated some cookies, talked about cultural celebration traditions and the Nativity story.  As we read Luke 2 and considered the events surround Jesus birth, I snipped a tightly folded paper. When the mamas’ voices abated into a rare quiet moment, I unceremoniously unfolded the clipped paper revealing a beautifully detailed snowflake, (like many reading this probably made as children).

“Oh!” exclaimed Josephine with naive wonder. She stared at the intricate design. I scanned the other faces to see the same smiling delight at a simple paper snowflake.

“How did you do that out of a plain piece of paper?” quizzed Janet; grabbing up the scissors and paper, ready to have at it.  All the mamas gathered around and watched closely as I creased and bent and squeezed the sheet and then started cutting away.  They learned quickly and began creating beauty to share in their humble homes.

I’m writing this on New Year’s Day.  Some people quote, “January 1, 2016 is the first blank page of a 365 page book. Write a good one.”

But me, I’m thinking about that blank page being transformed into a lovely snowflake – something admired, valuable, wanted by women who had never seen a paper snowflake before. How it endured being twisted and bent, and pressed and cut and cut and cut and when it was finally unfolded, it took those mamas’ breath away.

So, if 2016 is anything like 2015, I’m believing the Lord will take the blank pages that life seems to write without concern – the cutting heartaches, the uncomfortable bending of plans, the twisting and turning, the raw shaved edges and painful snips, the unbearable squeezing and pressing, yet when it’s finally unfolded, something so beautiful appears, it takes the world’s breath away.

“And you shall fold them up like a cloak; they shall be changed, 

and you are as you are; your years shall not end.” Hebrews 1:12.

Happy New Year from some of the WOW mamas

and the Haugers!

Asante sana for your prayers, support and encouragement.

Working Hands

A huge ASANTE SANA (Thank You Much!) 

for those who gave towards our Christmas fundraiser! 
This is our last shameless plug for funds to complete the Resource Center 

and expand projects to serve more widowed/single mamas.
So, in case you're looking for a place to share...

Working hands come from sharing your gifts with Among the Least,Kenya.
Discipleship through Bible study and fellowship encourages

sustainable income generating so vulnerable children stay with their 

widowed/single moms who are blessed to be a blessing.

Any donation made during this Christmas season will help us transition
these meaningful projects to the local church Resource Center.

 

YOUR SHARING MAKES CHRISTMAS MERRY!

               Tax-deductible donations can be made by using paypal on the sidebar of this blog

 or  make checks out to Among the Least and mail to 

PO Box 3543, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147.

Asante sana for your prayers, support and encouragement.

hugs from the haugers Ooo0o

An Unexpected Advent

As we keep securing loose ends here in Kenya and preparing to head stateside for an extended furlough, the Christmas season finds us waiting - waiting on official documents, waiting for work to be completed on the Resource Center, waiting to travel… 

Waiting in the midst of transition feels awkward. Do we decorate a tree when our home is basically packed, and the living room hosts more boxes than furniture? Do we participate in gift exchanges when we’ll just need to package up whatever we give or receive? The “normal” activities surrounding Christmas are not normal anymore, especially when community around us doesn’t traditionally celebrate the way we expected to this year. To sum it up - we didn’t plan to be here now. We need to rethink Advent.

Advent means the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event. The Advent of Christmas is supposed to prepare us for meaningful commemoration of Christ’s birth. Giving gifts, decorating, eating special foods and being in the midst of family helps set the season apart, but they cannot be essential elements. Life’s many twists and turns force us to find Advent’s meaning without aesthetic props.

This unexpected Advent changes us. In the waiting for what we want, I see waiting’s power - its ability to destroy hope or build anticipation, its capacity to tempt worry or create childlike wonder. In the midst of disappointment, can we let our hearts become inflamed with Advent's joy? The choice is made by what we yearn for most.

This year, we’ll hang twinkling lights over our packed boxes and make paper snowflakes to hang in the African sun. We’ll play games with orphaned children and cook sweets with widowed mamas. Together, during this unexpected Advent we will eagerly wait for His Arrival …

The Birth of the Savior.

The Appearance of Eternal Life.

The Emergence of Redemption.

The Dawn of Liberation.

The Rise of Love’s Kingdom.

The Approach of Justice.

The Coming of the King.

Asante sana for your prayers, support and encouragement.

hugs from the haugers Ooo0o

Prayer Requests Please

We feel humbly grateful for friends and family to contact for prayer, especially during these timesof elevated unrest.

1.  Our local pastor's daughter, Mercy was kidnapped on Friday, Nov. 27th after her evening class at the local college not far from where we live. The kidnappers used Mercy's phone to threaten her parents and then turned the phone off so it can not be traced.  There has been no further communication.  An investigative team is involved and took  2 men for questioning but did not produce any leads. As you might imagine,the situation is a heart-felt crisis. Both Pastor George and Mary continue to stay strong in their faith and are encouraged by the many prayers and support. May Mercy be returned to her family unharmed. 
 
2.  There have been numerous "rumors" that terrorist groups are currently functioning in this area. Considering Kenya's geographical location, this is not surprising. We trust the Lord for wisdom, protection and provision. 

3.  We are in the final stages of transitioning the sustainable programs from our compound to the Resource Center. There is a "Grand Opening" tentatively planned for the beginning of January that will be a community event, inviting people from the surrounding slums to know they are not forgotten - God loves them.

4.  We are in the final stages of adoption "paper-chasing" - registering, receiving certificates, applying for a passport and visa. We will certainly keep you all posted on our pending  furlough schedule, but right now, timelines are too vague to even predict when we will travel. We are praying  - SOON! Please consider having us visit your church, Bible study, or group to share what the Lord is doing in Kisumu, Kenya. May we as a family prepare well, stay healthy and keep focused on Jesus.

Asante sana for your prayers, support and encouragement.
hugs from the haugers Ooo0o

Rock'in some silliness since a

joyful heart is good medicine!

Sharing Makes Merry

From its inception, the Resource Center has been a

gift of sharing that makes many merry...
 The gift of land.
Partnership with people.
Generous giving.
 Quality volunteer services.
Materials and resources.
We invite you to share in its continued progress -
Would you consider sharing a gift of any amount to seed-sponsor Resource Center programs
that equip and empower the victimized and vulnerable to become contributing community members?
Total Tutoring
Lending Library
Bible Basics 

DIGGS Training

 Bio-Sand Clean Water Project

Fruitful Catering Classes

 Sustainable Sewing, Sasa Crafts 

 SHARING MAKES MERRY!
THANKS FOR MAKING CHRISTMAS MERRY!

Donations can be made on paypal sidebar 

or make a check to Among the Least and mail to: 

PO Box 3543, Pagosa Springs, CO 81147

hugs from the haugers Ooo0o

Thanksgiving 2015: Thoughts While Waiting

(From Lisa's journal while we wait in Nairobi for adoption paperwork to be completed.)

It’s almost Thanksgiving Day in USA. Mark and I sit in Nairobi Art Café. Conversations in many different languages waft around us. It’s late. Christmas lights blur through the heavy rain, and we want to be home. We long to share this holiday with family and friends, but no. We won’t even be with our kids when Thanksgiving blooms. We’ll be driving across the country toward them to share whatever is available at the market to cook. 

In this, we give thanks.

Tonight, the congested traffic keeps us stalled because the Pope visits this international city. 
Tonight, we sit among Chinese, Arabs, Somalians, so many rural Kenyan dialects we can’t discern. 
We wait. We pray. 
We share with the young woman who sit by herself busy being alone on her phone. 
We watch the burka-covered girl leave with a group of men. 
We read the newspaper - Turkey shoots down a Russian Jet. Tunisia suicide bomb kills 12. 
Our hearts ache.  
But tonight we are thankful to share His truth with those searching.

Thanksgiving. 
What are we thankful for as the rains pour down on a country that currently forbids families to adopt orphans, that welcomes a religious dignitary while hiding corruption behind well manicured receptions, that ignores a call to take up their cross and follow Him…? 
The rain continues falling.  
 But we are thankful, 
as God will not let the pounding rain drown out the cry for justice, for mercy, for grace.

A song reverberates over the sound system…”Oh Africa…Africa… Africa… where are you?”… 

We wonder.  
 An old man sweet-talks a teenage girl over pink ice cream. 
A young wazunju guy plays games on his laptop ignorant to the sadness around him.
Hard rains do not relent; colors look hazy, images distort.  
Yet… God. He is not foggy or far. 
We sense His presence near. 
Ready to save. 
Ready to bring freedom to a place that knows only expensive loss for fake liberty. 
They cannot pay for the real. 
Only Jesus - He sacrificed for us all. 
We are thankful.

Blessed Thanksgiving friends and family.
Asante sana for your prayers, support and encouragement.
hugs from the haugers Ooo0o

Melodrama to Miracles

Yikes! This week the adversary of all that’s good played melodrama to an extreme, heaping relentless crisis to a fever pitch of tragic haplessness, trying to leave us emotional barren…  Melodrama worms it’s way in, tempting us to latch onto its nail-biting, anxiety-driven, whirlpool of sensationalism…

Melodrama 1: 

Henry’s adoption… unstable rules, months of delays, 15 times in court, lost files, absent judges, missing lawyers, neglected reports…

Packed court left us standing in the hall listening for our case to be called.

Melodrama 2: 

Unexplained sicknesses… 

reoccurring fevers, body aches, unreliable lab results, 

too much vomit…

Melodrama 3:

  Violent thugs… 

vandalize the church, welded shut the entrances, threatened those 

going for prayer, graffiti warning people to stay away...

  

Our Creator never intended us to be overcome by all the exaggerated predicaments 

authored by the enemy of our souls. No, God wants us to ignore the commotion, 

enjoy the story and trust Him to write the final scene.   

He changes melodrama to miracles.

Miracle 1:   

The judge declared we are FINALLY, LEGALLY, OFFICIALLY Henry family forever! 

Yippee Jesus! Psalm 68:6 - God sets the lonely in families. We are grateful to be 

Henry's family. God rescued an abandoned baby boy, placed him in a good orphanage till 

He joined us together. Such beautiful justice from His amazing grace - a son!

Henry sharing sweets at the orphanage where he lived for almost 4 years.

Rocking the family bliss, although Baba looks a bit confused.

Miracle 2:   

 The undiagnosed sickness is leaving just as abruptly as it came.The boys

consistently tested negative for typhoid and malaria. Thank God!

(Imagine smiling children and empty vomit buckets.)

  

Miracle 3:   

The authorities dealt with the thugs and the corrupt man who seeks evil. No one 

was hurt, and more people came to church to see what all the fuss was about. 

The leadership team worked well supporting one another and the church.

WE ARE THE CHURCH!  Beautiful, brave sisters proving the enemy wrong!

      Gates of the church open wide for all to enter and pray.

God provided security.

Freedom to worship without fear!

 Please keep praying with us as the Lord takes what the adversary means for 

bad and turns it around for good.

• Continued successful training as we move programs and projects to the church Resource Center (which was not vandalized at all!).  May the leadership team and staff keep communicating the vision to biblically help the poor by using viable, sustainable ministry tools.

• The mamas of the two accountability support groups remain faithful, to grow spiritually, and build wholesome relationships in serving others.  May they prosper to pay school fees. May their children develop well and seek the Lord.

• As we work on exiting this compound and make plans to travel stateside, we need paperwork completed – adoption order, certificate, passport, visa and plane tickets. We have to make a few trips to Nairobi offices to secure these documents. We also maintain a full schedule of ministry responsibilities. May our kids thrive and process their experiences well. May the Lord provide and protect us.

We are sincerely blessed by your kindness to remember us and those we love in Kenya.
Asante sana for your prayers, support and encouragement.

hugs from the haugers Ooo0o