Monday, October 26, 2009

IT'S REAL!

Kenya Journal 2009

October 25, 2009

IT’S REAL!

As we’ve been heading to long-term service on the mission field, I’ve off and on said to Alene, “It’s getting REAL!” but she is quick to remind me that “IT’S ALL REAL!” Nevertheless, as I look back on this transition to mission service during this past year there were steps along the way that made it seem “even more real.”

It’s real when…

…You resign from your employment.

…People start referring to you as a “missionary.”

…You say good-byes to family and friends not knowing if you’ll see them next in

this world or in the world to come.

…People keep asking, “Aren’t you gone yet?”

…Your church commissions you for service.

…You sell your only remaining car.

…You give a good-bye pat to a dear friend’s dog.

…You say tearful good-byes to fish in your pond and birds in your yard.

…You throw away old shoes, jeans, and shirts barely suitable for yard work

anymore.

…You pack up belongings to the point of “echoing emptiness” in your home.

…You permanently change your address for mail delivery and throw away your

mailbox key.

…You sleep in your bed for the last time.

…You disable your home phone and internet access.

…You take your first dose of anti-malaria prophylaxis medication.

….There is nothing left to pack.

…The doors close to your prior home and friends drive you to the airport.

…Dear friends give hugs and wave good-bye at the airport.

…The plane takes off from Denver as you head to London and soon to Kenya.

It’s real when…

…Tears too many are shed for relationships stretched by miles and by time and are

shed in the anticipation of new relationships to come.

It’s real when…

…You know that you are held in the Lord’s hands every day.

May we always remember Dr. Ernie Steury, the first Tenwek Hospital physician 50 years ago, and his contentment to know: “The safest place to be is always in the center of God’s will.”

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Delivery Date: October 25th! It's a........

We have likened these past months since concluding our employment positions to a pregnancy as we have been shaped and developed into missionary servants. Well, the gestation period is almost completed and we are ready to be "born" into long-term mission service in Kenya! On Sunday, October 25th, our plane leaves Denver for Nairobi, Kenya!
The First United Methodist Church community is with us in spirit after a special commissioning celebration on Sunday, October 18th. Please note the link to photos from that celebration in the column on the right.
We look forward to sharing more as this adventure unfolds!

Friday, October 2, 2009

A meaningful song in our transition: "I don't want to go through the motions"

Here is a link to a song on “YouTube” that has been very meaningful to us as we re-focus our lives:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qaHmiFaX_pk

I don’t want to go through the motions!

I don’t want to go through the motions.

I don’t want to go one more day without Your all-consuming passion inside of me!

I don’t want to spend my whole life asking:

“What if I had given everything instead of going through the motions?”

Our return to Kenya - 2009!!

We are very excited to return to Tenwek Hospital in Kenya on October 25th for a 3-year commitment for service. It will be a delight to once again share our observations and prayers with others on this blog, which has been dormant since our return from Kenya in February 2008. Even though it was a trying time to be in Kenya in 2008, it was immediately after our service at Tenwek Hospital that we recognized the Lord's calling us to serve there long term. The situation in Kenya then was very tense in 2008 with the post-election turmoil and we are very thankful that all is much more quiet at this time. Nevertheless, we give thanks for the assurance of the Lord's presence with us always during "Our Coming and Going."
We are completing preparation training for missionary service in Colorado and we want to share a key verse from yesterday's session:
"The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8
May the Lord be with you on each step of your journey!
Thank you for sharing in our journey.
Steve & Alene Burgert