December Email Update and Vision 2012

Krismasi Njama! (Merry Christmas!)

We hope you had a wonderful Christmas. George and I had a really nice day with his family. We had traditional Kenyan foods and I provided mashed potatoes, cookies, pies and cake. Needless to say, we had plenty of food and great fellowship. Here, no one exchanges presents. Christmas is about celebrating Jesus' birth with family and friends. Although, I think that is great, I did miss Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts! George did wrap up one thing for me... a giant Ugali spoon. Now I am truly a Kenyan wife!

Speaking of being a Kenyan wife.... George and I got married! We got legally married at the attorney general's office on Friday December 2, but had our real wedding on the 4th. We had a wonderful day. Other than the absence of our US family and friends, the day was perfect. Abraham, a pastor from Uganda who we worked with in Sudan, came to officiate our ceremony. It was really special. After the ceremony, we took pictures, ate yummy food, cut the cake, threw the bouquet and had speeches. Two days later, George and I went to Kembu Farms near Nakuru for our honeymoon. We stayed for five nights and had a great time. We want to, again, thank everyone who donated and prayed for us to make this all possible.

We were blessed Pastor Herbert from Tanzania came to celebrate our wedding. His wife, Emily, made a wedding cake for us which he transported on a bus all the way from Tanzania. It was beautiful. Sadly, a few days after he returned home, his oldest son Frankie passed away. Frankie was married with two children and had a huge heart for God. While we find solace that he is with the Lord, we still grieve for his family's loss. George and I (along with George's mom) went to Tanzania two days after we got back from our honeymoon to spend time with Herbert and his family. They were still in shock and deeply grieving, but still praised God and continued to trust Him.

Once we got back from Tanzania, we were busy preparing for Christmas and now we look forward to New Years. Our month was incredibly busy so I had to post pone my Swahili lessons. Since schools are on break, George and I had the month off from Trinity Fellowship. We'll resume going to schools once they start up again in January.

So... what's next for us? We aren't sure! That's not easy to say. I love having a plan and knowing what my future holds. God doesn't always work that way, though. So, George and I are here, ready to go and now are waiting on God's timing. We still have Tanzania and Africa Harvest of Hope on our hearts. We are working with their leaders and praying about our future involvement with their ministry. There is so much to be done that we are excited about, but we are waiting for God's lead and for Him to work out all the details. We are eager to spread God's love through Africa Harvest of Hope and are prayfully looking forward to it.

While we wait, we'll still be working with Trinity Fellowship which reaches out to high school students. They teach them about God and train them in discipleship. It also encourages them to live Godly lives and reject cultural and social pressures to compromise their beliefs. This ministry is close to George's heart because it was through this ministry he came to know Christ and began walking with Him. We received feedback from the camp we spoke at in November that many kids dedicated their lives to Christ and appreciated our practical advise. We'll be going to a few different schools each week and meeting with the Christian Unions on campus. In addition, I'll be continuing with Swahili lessons. We also have several logistical items to work on that will allow us to live and serve in East Africa. That includes submitting my residency paperwork, changing my name, getting George's drivers license, getting vaccinations and seeing doctors, and working on additional certification for George's lab tech license. There is a lot to do in order to establish a life here.

As we embark on a New Year, we would love your prayers in the following areas:

1. For continued guidance as we wait on God's timing for our future. For Africa Harvest of Hope as they seek to meet many needs in Tanzania and reach others for Christ. For their leaders and us as we pray about our involvement.
2. For our marriage and George as he leads our family. We want God to be at the center and make sure we set aside time for daily prayer and study of the Bible together.
3. For our financial needs – God has been so great to call people to provide for our daily needs. There are other things we have not been able to afford such as health insurance that we are asking God to help us with. After the last bus 24+ hour bus journey to Tanzania and encountering some danger, we realized ` we need a car. That seems so far out of our reach at this point, but God knows our needs and is faithful, so we are trusting him. If you feel called to join our financial sending team, you can visit our blog's front page for more details. http://www.thisisstaciesblog.blogspot.com/

Our blog is the best place to follow us. We try to do frequent posts about life here and prayer requests. We appreciate your prayers, emails, encouragement and support. We wish you a Happy New Year and pray God blesses you and keeps you safe in 2012.

Love,
George and Stacie Orwa

Jeremiah 1: 7,8 The LORD replied, "Don't say, 'I'm too young,' for you must go wherever I send you and say whatever I tell you. And don't be afraid of the people, for I will be with you and will protect you. I, the LORD, have spoken!"