• We are now Mzungu's legal guardians...this will help us with the adoption process greatly!
• We now have a judge who is fighting for us in the Kenyan gov't.
• We have hired a lawyer that will take us through the process...who just happens to be a trusted friend of the judge.
• We have established a wonderful relationship with Mzungu...he now feels comfortable around us and left us laughing and smiling.
• We both are so much more appreciative of the relationship we have with our other children.  No one can keep us from them...we have unlimited access to them...we have a trusting relationship with them...
• We gained and/or strengthened some wonderful friendships with fellow believers...our driver, George, drove 20 km to the hotel today just to check on us...Pam drove into the city to do the same.  They all have prayed with us, cried with us, laughed with us...we are so very blessed.
• Philip and Dorcus are going back to Kisii with our son and will take wonderful care of him until our return.

Kathryn and I were looking forward to a good night's sleep.  Unfortunately, I was unable to sleep.  I spent much time reading, watching the local television, and simply praying.  I found myself opening up to Christ and seeking his guidance.  I kept asking myself so many "what if" questions.  "Are we doing the right thing?"  "What if Mzungu doesn't want to go with us?"  "What if..."  The list of questions is long but, the answer Christ kept giving me was "remember what I said to you in the very beginning...this is your son.  This is your son!"

I immediately began to notice the Kenyan song birds, felt the coolness in the air, felt the breeze on my face and saw the sun coming up.  I was blessed with a peace that truly passes all understanding.  God is truly in control and I, out of love for Him, trust Him through obedience...simple obedience.  Not easy, but rather simple.

We spent Thursday traveling to Rongo.  This is where we will be staying while visiting with Mzungu's family and friends.  Phillip met us at the hotel and it was a great reunion.

We spent the whole day Friday with Phillip, his family, Mzungu's grandparents and their family.  The day was filled with a lot of coffee, tea, food and conversation.  Phillip is a soap stone carver (when he has time) and he, Mzungu, George (our driver) and I went for a 6 km walk to the soap stone quarry.  This was when Mzungu and I began to bond.  He is very shy, so the warm up was very slow.  As the day went on, however, he began to draw closer to me.  By the end of our return from the quarry, he was riding on my shoulders.  Dorcus (Phillip's wife), Zepheniah & Rucia (Mzungu's grandparents) and Kathryn spent the day talking and getting to know each other.  Kathryn also began to make her own Gusii-Swahili-English dictionary.    We have been adding to it several times each day.

Saturday was a lot of fun.  I was blessed to teach a class for the local pastors and Kathryn spoke with the ladies of the 5 churches represented.  They seemed to really enjoy what she had to say.  I taught again in the afternoon with the youth in attendance this time.  It was a lot of fun for me personally.  All throughout the day I kept noticing Mzungu out of the corner of my eye.  We would make eye contact and we would both smile.  He continued to draw closer to me until by the end of the day he was holding my hand...a small, but powerful step for me.

On Sunday, August 10, 2008, Kathryn and I spent the morning with the members of Phillip's church.  The praise music was awesome and the testimonies were great.  Rucia shared a small bit of her testimony and it was very moving.  She shared how she was very down after her daughter had died and just didn't want to go on...and 6-7 months later God brought her hope through me.  This was the time that God had led me to inquire about how to adopt Mzungu. This week she told Kathryn she was happy that Mzungu would have food to eat and be able to go to school.  Fear of death is still near to this family.  Since 2005 they have lost other children.  Zepheniah and Rucia have had 17 children, 3 of which are still living. 

After church this morning we loaded the van and headed for Nairobi.  Along the way we were fortunate to see a baby baboon, a herd of zebras and impalas and a flock of pink flamingoes. This wasn't only a first for Kathryn, but also for Mzungu.  He never slept on our 7 hour journey.  He was wide eyed and fascinated.  Kenya is incredible!  Monday morning we are scheduled to meet with Kenyan officials then we will go to the U.S. Embassy.  Please continue to pray for timing and favor.  Asante sana (thank you very much).

I apologize for the rushed version...I am frantically tying up loose ends before our departure...

It occurred to me today that many of you reading this blog may not know the story of the adoption of our son, Bonface Mzungu Osoro.

SO, without any further a due...

I left for Kenya (my second trip there) about 3 years ago seeking to co-lead a team of adults with my pastor and friend, Jim Holmes. Unlike our first trip over to Kenya (we left on 9/11/2001), which was obviously...and in some ways not so obvious, a very eventful trip...this trip was very peaceful and smooth. We arrived in Rongo, Kenya and began our time there by meeting our host pastors. My host pastor and now very good friend was/is Philip. He not only pastors a church, but also runs a deaf school and orphanage. We very quickly hit it off. He has a wonderful laugh and a huge heart. One day I asked him if he had any pictures of the children in his school/orphanage. With a big grin, like a proud father, he pulled out a stack of photos. As I began to flip through the pictures I began to say a quick prayer over each of the children. After looking /praying over 6 or 7 different children,  I looked at the next picture in the stack and I heard Christ say to me "this is you son." Well, I tried to blow that off as gas, or some other misunderstanding:) After an evening of good food and great laughs I went to bed. I could not, however, fall a sleep. I kept hearing the same voice saying over and over "this is your son." 

The next day Philip greeted me at the hotel where we were staying and we ate breakfast together. I again asked him if I could see his pictures. He graciously agreed and as I thumbed through them...my eyes fell upon the same boy. I began to inquire about the boy and discovered that his mother had died about 1 year prior and no one knew who the father was. I began to share with Philip what I thought Christ was telling me to do and he began to smile. I asked him if adopting Mzungu was even a possibility and Philip began to say "oh yes, most definitely...I will take care of it for you."

I called Kathryn that day and asked her for her thoughts and she began to cry...I knew right away they were tears of joy. My wife loves children and we both have grown to have a genuine heart for the "fatherless".

From that point forward...we have been pursuing the adoption of our son...His grandparents adopted me...what an HONOR!!!...Philip has made several trips to Nairobi, an 8 hour trip one way, to help us out...We've been sending Philip money to pay for Mzungu to attend a better school. The home study...the paperwork...have all lead to this!!! 

Sooooooo, HERE WE GO!!!!!

¨ 8/4: Thomi and Kathryn leave for Houston

¨ 8/5: first leg of the trip from Houston to London leaves at 4:25 pm

¨ 8/6: arrive in London at 7:35 am, depart for Nairobi at 10:35 am and arrive in Nairobi at 9:00 pm.

¨ 8/7: Leave Nairobi in the morning for Rongo (about an 8 hour drive)

¨ 8/7-8/10: spend time with Mzungu's grandparents and preach/teach at his home church.

¨ 8/10-leave for Nairobi around 12 noon and arrive around 8:00 pm

¨ 8/10-8/14: meet with the Kenyan government to finalize the adoption and afterwards meet with the U.S. Embassy to obtain Mzungu's visa.

¨ 8/15: leave for London at 11:45 pm

¨ 8/16: leave for Houston at 10:30 am

Some specific prayer needs are:

• The Kenyan Government will approve our adoption with no issues.
• The U.S. government will issue Mzungu’s visa quickly and smoothly.
• All of our flight connections and in-country travel are on time and everyone is where they need to be…when they need to be there.
• The acclimation process for Mzungu and our family goes well.
  
• That our last 2 weeks with our staff are wonderful!!!  (There will only be one more week of projects left when we leave...so our summer staff will be gone when we return with Mzungu.)
•  
• The Lord provides the funds needed to make this happen…our flights alone are 6300.00 U.S. and the in-country expenses will be at least 2000.00. (Ouch!... that’s a lot of 0’s).

CHURCH...what is it really supposed to look like?

Honestly...as I began to consider this topic for my "blog"...I was/am overwhelmed.  What a huge and controversial topic?!  My purpose in writing on this topic is to provoke thought and discussion. 

Over the last 13 or 14 years I have listened to so many people that are dissatisfied with the American Church.  The reasons are many…rejection, hypocrisy, watered down teaching, inappropriate expectations, bad role modeling, etc.  I am sure you all are familiar with the statistics and stories; the humorous but often accurate jokes of Baptists and their secret beer stash, a higher divorce rate with professed Christians than in the secular world, churches fighting over whether or not homosexuals should be allowed to hold leadership positions, church leaders sexually abusing children, racial hatred being spewed from pulpits (of all races), many churches acting more like country clubs rather than members of the body of Christ, "Christians" blowing up abortion clinics, "Christians" killing others in the name of "Christ"…

Man, is it just me or is this small list getting more and more depressing?

So, it seems to be obvious that some things do need to change. 

There are also examples of believers who seem to be getting it right; I have been listening to podcasts from a body of believers who are located in Las Angeles, CA.  They call their gathering "Mosaic".  The guy who I think "started" the idea was a man named Erwin McManus.  He's the author of several books…one of my favorites is The Barbarian Way.  There is another group of believers that gather in Grandville, Michigan that call themselves "Mars Hill".  Rob Bell is one of their pastors and the author of several books…I am presently reading Velvet Elvis. Bill Hybels is another guy who seems to get it. The list, praise God, is growing each day.  None of them look exactly alike…they shouldn't.  There are probably several thousand "churches" that "get it."  My point is not to promote these people, their "churches" or their books.  My point is to say many believers are waking up and seeing a need for change.  They refuse to quit, they refuse to give in…they keep seeking the Father, abiding in His Son and seeking the guidance of his Spirit.  I have been blessed to be a part of some pretty special groups of people who follow Christ.  Some have been in a more traditional setting…Sharon Baptist Church, Helen FBC, Harlingen FBC, but others have been a little further off of the traditional path…several first year missionary teams, some of our ambassador teams, last year's summer staff to name a few.

I am no expert.  I do not claim to have all of the answers.  I am a flawed human being.  I say and do things that I regret.  I am also a passionate follower of Christ Jesus who chooses each day to stay in the race!  When a relationship is broken do we just quit or throw it away.  Unfortunately the answer is often yes.  Christ has a better answer.  Reconciliation is His answer…love is His answer.  Endurance, excellence, patience, forgiveness, perseverance, finding joy in the suffering…are some of the answers Christ has for us.  All of which are intimately and earnestly attached to the one true answer…love!

When the body of believers looks like love…true love, then I think that body is heading in the right direction. 

What do you think?