Deanna Doss Shrodes

There was no more room in the church at Mathare Valley A/G when I took this photo...these children along with this little baby were looking through the bars of the window to see what was going on inside. I could only think... what would it take for American churches to be full and have people looking through the windows to see what is going on? *** Probably persecution, famine, desperation...without a doubt, prayer. God help us. *** In America we are so abundantly blessed and it takes a tragedy most times for us to turn to God and surrender completely to him. For anybody reading this who has not totally surrendered their life to the Lord...please do not let it take a tragedy for you to come to Jesus.

and I'm still getting things ready! So much to do, and so little time. I have a lot of catching up to do since I was gone for 9 days. I will be doing it right up til' the time everyone gets here tomorrow. I want to get all of this done and then relax and enjoy my husband, children and friends on Thanksgiving Day once the festivities begin. We have a wedding on Friday, however with the rest of the time this Thurs-Sat, I would really like to enjoy some time off with my family. Larry had the wedding rehearsal today for Cathy and David and normally I would have gone but since I had an overwhelming amount to do I stayed home and worked on everything. By the way, guess what Cathy and David gave Larry and I as a gift? A cruise! Yes, can you believe that?! I must say, that's the nicest gift we've ever received from any couple for doing counseling/wedding ceremony. WOW-EE and double WOW-EE. I have to check out all the details of this but looks like it's a short Carribean cru...

The first two days at the conference I had the privilege of speaking to the nation's women's leaders. I just adore these women. I made so many friends and can't wait to see them again! The national women's director, Mama Taifa (pronounced "Tie-eee-fa") prepares to introduce Barb Kuert who will introduce me to the women's leaders. The women I spoke to were national leaders, sectional leaders, presbyter's wives, and pastor's wives. The women that you see to my right are the national executives' wives, as well as Mama Taifa - the national women's director. The ladies listened with rapt attention to every word I had to say. (Um, can we bring them to America?! ha ha No seriously 98% of my ladies here listen too and are just incredible, and for the 2% who don't, they are just do-do heads anyway...) Waiting for the interpreter to finish so I could continue with my point... I absolutely loved teaching these women and getting to know them...

"Was there anything I could have done for you?" Several friends have asked me since reading my blog the other day about the difficulties that I faced upon returning from Africa. No. Please rest easy. The issue is between my husband and I. Are we having problems? No. Allow me to explain. Being gone in Africa 9 days, the issue was not that I could have had his clothes lined up better (they were perfectly lined up) or that I could have had more things squared away at the office (it was all done) or that I could have reminded him of things better (I left him about 50 AOL pre-scheduled reminders.) It's not a matter of working hard enough. The issue is one of "presence". By saying, "I keep our world on track", I don't just mean that I make sure clothes are ready or that I have meals on the table, or the weekly orders of service lined up. That is relatively inconsequential in comparison to just being a steady presence in his life. What's most importan...

These are photos from Mathare Valley - the slum I toured with Pastor Jane Nuthu. The Mathare slum is three kilometers from the center of Nairobi, and it is home to half a million people. It is the largest and worst slum in Africa. Mathare is notoriously the most dangerous and filthy of the many slums in Nairobi and most people who live in Nairobi have only seen it from around the perimeter. Few dare to go inside the slum. The woman you see washing the clothes in basin with the little boys is doing her "clothes washing" business. She washes some clothing items each day in this water (which isn't real clean - but the best available) and she gets paid a few pennies per piece from others who live there. She was glad to have me take a photo of her with her children, doing her clothes business. There is no electricity, running water or sewers in the slums. Water by the jug, is purchased from those who have illegally tapped the city water main. The rate of HIV infection is diff...

(Picture at left is from one of the services I preached at Mathare Valley A/G on the first Sunday I was there...you can see me on the front row there, by the pastors, Peter & Jane Nuthu. This is from the 2nd morning service.) I have cleaned up my Kenya Chronicles posts a little bit (didn't have time to correct my typos when I was on the trip as my computer time was so limited!) and I added a photo to each post. I will post more pictures tonight as I have time and do a second photo album. I am busy playing "catch up" as you can imagine. Lots to do this week to catch up with church work, and, this week is Thanksgiving and we are having 15 people here at the house. :-)

Me with the national leaders ~ from left - Mama Jane Tembu (Gen. Secretary of Kenya's wife), Asst. Gen Superintedent's wife, Assistant Women's Director of Kenya, Me, Mama Taifa, Mama Supt (General Superintendent's wife, Naomi Ngiri) On the last night after they presented me with the outfit and their wonderful words... Mama Superintendent (national supt.'s wife) to the left, Mama Jane Tembu in blue suit, with arm around me, and the asst. general superintendent's wife, to the right. The executives on the last night...placing the headpiece on me... Me with the Mathare A/G "Big Boys" as well as one of the "Big Girls"...pictured here Me with the national executives and the regional leaders (I spoke to them on Monday and Tuesday before the conference and developed great relationships with them.) during one of the powerful altar services... The altar time during the first service when I spoke on God's healing for sexual abuse, rape, domest...