April 2008 - Posts

• Kendall Update #132

  Glenn and Kathy Kendall Update #132 of April 26, 2008, Goree Island, Senegal SWEET…ten year old grandson, Luke, snuggling with his twenty month old brother, Zack, reading to him early in the morning. SECURE…Zack playing ‘cozy’ with ten year old Joel as they lie sandwiched between stacks of couch cushions. STUPENDOUS…a thirty minute ferry ride between Goree Island and Dakar with the whole upper deck to ourselves except for the three member crew.  What fun for little boys to run from side to side, to hang over the railings to watch the flow of the Atlantic Ocean, for big men to take pictures from all angles, and for all of us to enjoy the stupendous view of the ocean, sky, city, container ships in the port with the wind blowing through our hair. SILLY…the old definition of silly from the ‘New Shorter Oxford’ dictionary; ‘deserving of pity, compassion….especially of a woman, child--- helpless, defenseless”.  Goree Island was the location to which many African slaves were taken and housed (euphemistic)  until they were loaded onto the ships to take them east across the ocean, many to Brazil, the Caribian, Arab countries, some to the US.  One cannot begin to imagine the capture from home and family, the journey to the island, the suffocating storing of people in cramped hot quarters, the waiting, the exit through the small door leading to the ships which would take them to a land and life of…… People deserving pity, compassion, helpless, defenseless….not sweet, not secure, not stupendous…simply silly. Praise for another good week of discussions.  We focused on education last week, training leaders for the church and training children for their future.  We also discussed future plans for an individual, future ministry and plans for US churches to start churches in villages in Senegal. Pray for our interaction this week, more on education and more on church partnerships. We are on recent radio broadcasts.  Go to www.worldventure.com.  On the home page in the lower right hand corner click on learn more just below Frontline.  Then go to recent shows: March 5, titled International Ministry in Africa, Hans Finzel interviews Glenn. March 12, titled Glenn and Kathy Kendall, Hans interviews both of us. Programs can be either listened to on line or downloaded to an I-pod. Posted Apr 26 2008, 08:44 PM by admin with no comments

• Kendall Update #131

  Glenn and Kathy Kendall Update #131 of April 19, 2008, Ngaparou, Senegal Isn't life delightful when one can combine work and play?    This Saturday that happened for us in several ways. The first way is that for several weeks we get to stay with our daughter, Esther, and her family, a most delightful treat, while we visit our missionaries in Senegal. This Friday, our son-in-law, Dan, had work to do at the beach camp which the mission owns.  So all of us packed up Friday morning.  After the boys finished their tests at school we headed to the beach camp an hour and half away when traffic is moving orderly....cars, buses, horse carts, motorcycles, foot traffic, goats and taxis. Saturday morning found Grandpa waiting on the beach for everyone to finish applying sunscreen.  There were some 50 plus middle school students at the camp for a weekend retreat cavorting on the beach.    There were also 258 white birds skimming the tops of the waves of the Atlantic Ocean migrating north.    A walk on the beach turned into a walk along the road just up from the beach as a new and different place to explore especially as the tide was high making walking on the beach problematic for short legs.  The road was drifts of sand between high walls painted in shades of oranges, greens, blues, whites, pinks to match the houses hidden behind them.  Bougainvillea tumbled over the walls in a profusion of colors.  Large baobabs caste their strange shadows across the road.  A herd of cows ambled past, two tiny kittens lazed in the sun on top of a wall, and we strolled the road enjoying sights, sounds, and quiet away from the roar of the ocean. Later in the afternoon, the middle Schoolers finished a water balloon fight with sand fights down on the beach.  Sitting by quiet tide pools as the tide ebbed; our grandsons played with nudibranches, baby sea urchins, built sand castles, and peacefully enjoyed the calm of a beach at ebb tide. A group of youths walked past.  Watching the eyes of our grandsons who were facing inland, we became aware that all was not peaceful behind us.  The dozen youths had a young boy in hand, rolling him in the sand, tossing him into the ocean, rolling him again in the sand.    After intervening on the boy's behalf we were again reminded how vastly different life can be within the same milieu....peaceful little boys playing in tide pools versus youths in turmoil, a quiet sandy lane versus a sandy beach beside the roaring ocean, migrating birds intent on a remote destination versus middle Schoolers occupied with the present time and location. All is life...not so silly...all to be lived. Praise God with us for significant discussions already that could eventually result in: -    A church being planted. -    A language learned with more joy. -    A more informed life decision and -    Leadership events being processed. We are in Senegal for three more weeks.  Pray for more good interaction. We are on recent radio broadcasts.  Go to www.worldventure.com.  On the home page in the lower right hand corner click on learn more just below Frontline.  Then go to recent shows: March 5, titled International Ministry in Africa, Hans Finzel interviews Glenn. March 12, titled Glenn and Kathy Kendall, Hans interviews both of us. Programs can be either listened to on line or downloaded to an I-pod. Posted Apr 19 2008, 03:39 AM by chriswynn with no comments

• Glenn and Kathy Kendall Update #130

  Glenn and Kathy Kendall Update #130 of April 12, 2008, Dakar, Senegal It's silly how tired one can get and how long one can sleep.  Glenn slept over 12 hours Friday night and Saturday morning.  It is probably good for healing for his eye.  But more likely it is because Thursday morning we got up at 3 AM to catch our bus to the airport and flight to Africa.  We left Denver at 8:45 AM, an hour late, in a snow storm and landed in Dakar, Senegal, the next morning at 4:30 AM, to a balmy breeze blowing off the Atlantic. Oh yes we did sleep some on the planes but obviously not enough.  We are staying with Dan and Esther, our daughter, and their four boys as we meet with WorldVenture Senegal missionaries.  And good thing we didn't plan on meeting with anyone on Saturday because that really would have been silly with all the sleep. One of the last things Dan and Esther do with their boys before they go to bed each night is to read to them from the Bible.  Saturday night's reading was from Nehemiah 10, where the people after rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem promise: - To obey God - To only marry spouses who believe in God (aren't foreign) - To honor the Lord on His day of worship - To take care of God's place of worship, the temple and - To give God the first of their new children, cattle and crops. - ..... Most nights after "Bible Time" and good nights, Grandpa Glenn tells a story.  Saturday's story was from 70 years ago, family history.  Glenn's mom and dad, before they were married broke up for a couple of years until Glenn's dad became a person who was trusting in Jesus Christ for his salvation. Glenn pointed out how different our lives, and theirs might have been if Glenn's mom hadn't followed that teaching, similar to Nehemiah.  We might not have married.  We might not have lived in Africa, (which they love) and they might not have even been born. We Praise God for Parents who followed God's teaching and taught us. We Pray that we will be good parents and grandparents and teach our children and grandchildren well. We Praise God that Glenn only needed laser surgery in his eye last Monday and was cleared to travel on Wednesday.  We also praise God because the surgery spot in Glenn's eye has continued to improve since arriving in Africa.  Pray that Glenn will have no more retina tears.  Pray for the next four weeks of almost daily meeting with missionaries and hearing their stories.  We are already hearing good news from the missionary retreat the previous weekend where a number of missionaries took steps in their transformation process and in turn will be better able to share God's grace in Senegal. Posted Apr 12 2008, 08:27 PM by admin with no comments

• Kendall Update #129

  Glenn and Kathy Kendall Update #129 of April 5, 2008, Littleton, Colorado Earlier this week it seemed silly, like a waste of time and money, to be flying back to the States for nine days just so that Glenn could see his eye doctor.  And why should Kathy come along too?  She has lots of family and friends and places she could stay in Africa. We arrived home Tuesday night with Glenn seeing problems in his eye, light flashes and shadows.  We moved Glenn’s appointment up to first thing Wednesday morning and learned that his eye problems are continuing.  He has a new detachment.  Hopefully the oil put in his eye will push the fluid out of the detachment as he spends hours each day  lying and sleeping at night on his right side.  Monday we may know if it worked and can then be repaired by laser surgery or if he will have another in the eye surgery. As the doctor said each year he has a couple of patients that get to know him a bit better than they would like.  This year it is us. So then this Saturday morning it could seem silly that we even went to Africa for just two and a half weeks even with the doctor’s blessing.  The locations, a resort on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa and another in a marine reserve on Kenya’s Indian Ocean, were wonderful: great food, beaches, swimming (with goggles for Glenn), great people, presentations and lots of really good side conversations. But still, was it worth it?  And we receive a general email update from one of the lovely couples with whom we talked.  They describe their first days back in their adopted country and doing some of the things we had talked about as their next steps in their unfolding plan…and they worked.  They are making progress. For them and many others we continue to thank God for the influence and impact God allows us to have in the lives and ministry of many in Africa.  And Glenn is using the phone now more than the computer, easier on his right side.  Not so silly. Praise God for two great retreats, significant conversations, good Bible teaching all in the ongoing saga of our and our colleagues’ personal and spiritual growth. Praise for good medical care.   Praise for God’s timing in allowing us to be in Africa yet to be back to see the doctor.  We regularly ask God to allow us to make good travel decisions, to be in the right place at the right time.  God has again answered that prayer. Pray for wisdom on Monday.  We will determine then what procedures are needed for Glenn’s eye and based on that decision whether we go, delay, or cancel our trip to Senegal scheduled for a month beginning Thursday, April 10. Posted Apr 07 2008, 05:26 PM by chriswynn with no comments Filed under: Medical

• Kendall Update #128

  Glenn and Kathy Kendall Update #128 of Saturday, March 29, 2008, Watamu, Kenya  Silly Saturdays The Indian Ocean in vivid shades of turquoise and blue…tall mountains of white clouds reaching from the ocean to the heavens…palm trees swaying in the ocean breeze…purple, white, red bougainvillea….darting weaver birds…red, white, pink hibiscus….fine white sandy beaches…. Unseen…unheard…untouched…invisible….tropical fish by the scores.  Standing on the beach, swimming in the water, floating in a boat, one doesn’t interact with their existence.  But with a snorkel mask or with scuba gear…there they are in a phenomenal array of colors and shapes and sizes darting among the coral, swimming singly, some in the dark hidden places, some flashing in the light, swimming  in a school….unseen…unheard… untouched…invisible.  A world of action, of life and death, of eating and being eaten, of motion, of beauty, of danger…a world alive and yet unseen…unheard…untouched…invisible except to those who choose to enter in that underwater world. Saturday was the third day of a conference for our folks who work in Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya, and South Africa.   These folks touch lives of people through teaching the Bible, mentoring, HIV/AIDS care, university level medical instruction, nurturing grieving children and widows in war areas, teaching children, walking alongside church leaders, and numerous acts of compassion and kindness.  Unseen…unheard…untouched…invisible…God.  Daily these folks express His reality to the people with whom they live.  People who live with hunger, famine, war, plague, illiteracy, disease….people who receive the gift of hope, love, kindness, food, literacy, life.  Unseen…unheard…untouched…invisible…God….revealed in Jesus who chose to enter our world.  Silly the things I take for granted….silly the things I ignore…silly the things I doubt…silly the worlds I miss because I have not chosen to enter.  Unseen…unheard…untouched….invisible ….worlds alive.  Praise for a great East Africa Spiritual Life Conference.  Brent Slater, former Uganda missionary, spoke on the Old Testament book of Jeremiah the prophet.  Repeatedly through the week we saw how God was at work behind the scenes accomplishing His purposes and often in great difficulty for Jeremiah who was beaten and put in stocks for being God’s spokes person.  Glenn sees his eye doctor on Wednesday in Colorado (yes he can still see with one eye). Posted Apr 01 2008, 02:51 PM by chriswynn with no comments