Far From Home Families

There is an American couple who
live here in Mbita, JP and Jesse, and JP works here at the base and Jesse works
at a local school.  They have a son
Abram and a little daughter Merci. 
Jesse is expecting and Erin, our host Paul’s wife and a friend of Jesse,
asked us if we could throw a baby shower for her… which was met with giggling
and excited yes’s from all of us girls. 

We spent time on market day going
through garage sale like stacks of clothing trying to find baby clothes and kanghas
and anything else that we could come up with that a mom might need here in
Africa.  We all love Jesse and her
family and were really excited to get to bring a little piece of the American
baby celebration to her here in Kenya and to do our best to bless this young
missionary mom. 

On the day of the party Alison and
myself stayed back from church to help Erin bake brownies on the coal fire and
to help set up the dining hall for the special day. 

To be honest, there was a part of
me so incredibly home sick that day… thinking about my cousin April being
pregnant and all the aunts and cousins recently getting together to have a baby
shower.

I decided to go take a walk.  I had found during one of our early
visits to the hospital in town these tiny little bottles that used to hold
medicine but were now just left in piles around the grounds.  I had collected them and had intended
on finding flowers some day to fill them with but instead the bottles remained
covered in dirt outside of our dorm room as flowers didn’t seem easy to come
by.  But that day as I walked, the
grounds came alive to me… at first glance the base is simply covered in green
and tall grasses but that day I could see all the tiny little flowers bringing
specks of color to this place.  Pinks.
Reds. Blues. Oranges. Whites. Yellows. Purples. Tiny wildflowers everywhere! I
couldn’t collect them fast enough and didn’t seem to have enough hands to hold
them all.  I dug my little
treasured bottles out from the dirt and cleaned them up and sat down the picnic
bench outside of the cabin to turn the little flowers and little bottles into
centerpieces for the party. At first look the wildflowers may not have seemed
like much… but when bunched all together they became something. 

As I worked I kept thinking about
April.  April is so creative and
each flower just reminded me of her. 
I really look up to her and wish that I had spent much more time with
her over the years.  As I put the
tiny bouquets together I prayed for my cousin and her growing baby and thanked
God that even though I am so far away he keeps families close together in
heart. 

That afternoon the shower was
wonderful! We dressed all up, played baby shower games and Ooo’ed and Ahhh’ed
as she opened gifts.  I went with
KC to help Jesse walk all of her things back to her house and found JP at the
house just waiting for his wife and children to come home.  Family. 

It’s hard to be missing family here
knowing that life goes on back at home… In my family there have been babies
born since I have been away, little babies growing into little children,
cousins getting married, cousins getting new boyfriends, cousins finishing up
their first years of college, and cousins and sisters learning to drive. I
think about Jesse and how she hasn’t seen family in years. Her and JP adopted
Merci 2 years ago and her mother hasn’t even met her yet and here another baby
is almost here.  Her mom was coming
out for 3 weeks… only to leave again. 
I know that my Aunt Gaylynn misses Jennifer and Tony and the kids so much…
I couldn’t imagine her not even knowing one of her grandchildren. 

I know that families can be messy
and each one has its quirks but I think each one is so beautiful.  Families are made up of so many
different types of people simply bound together… but isn’t that what makes them
so beautiful? Like the wildflowers when all bunched up together they become
something bigger than they were all by themselves.

I loved seeing JP’s face as his
wife and children arrived back home. 
He was just waiting and so happy to see their arrival. The shower was on
a Sunday and Sundays are usually their family day.  He started talking with his son and his wife began telling
him about the day and how they better get going to their Sunday evening
plans.  He made sure that she was
feeling ok and that they had the things they needed before locking up the house
and leading them down the street. 
They have a simple little life here in Mbita… a life defined by standing
together as a family. 

I just want to say thank you to my
family… Mom, Dad, Snook, and brother, cousins, cousin in laws and cousins
babies, aunts and uncles, grandmas and grandpas… My heart is tied to each one
of you and you are very often on my mind. 
I look forward to spending good time with you in May before heading to
the lake for the summer! I love you all and even though it can be messy in
moments I am thankful that we are all bound together as one family like a
beautiful mess of wildflowers.