Dear Loved Ones,

Tumefika salama! We have arrived well! Wow! What an amazing trip. We woke up this morning in Nairobi Kenya with the African dawn to the sounds of familiar African bird songs. Jon and I commented that our trip could not have gone any more smoothly. Thank you all for your prayers on our behalf! All our luggage made it and we met my mom at the airport in Nairobi. Also, praise the Lord, our Tanzania work permit was renewed!

Here’s a synopsis of our last week:

After arriving in London a week ago an hour ahead of schedule (at 5:00 A.M. having lost 5 hours of time), we picked up our luggage and met our new friend Ken who took it off our hands for us so we could travel light around England. We took our time getting the rental car but were on the road heading up to Liverpool by 8:30 A.M. It was a 4 hour drive and we were very tired. We stopped for a meal but other than that, the kids slept the whole way. But what a wonderful feeling to arrive at Devi Road. After visiting with our hosts for a while, we found our beds and all konked out. Jon and Josh managed to get up for dinner (or tea, as they call it in that part of the country) but the rest of us slept right through. I woke up for a couple of hours later on but slept through until 9:00 A.M. We love those English duvets.

Jon preached on Sunday morning and we got to spend some time catching up with our friends from the fellowship. On Monday, we were tourists in Liverpool and we shared our work on Monday evening. We left Liverpool on Tuesday morning feeling refreshed and blessed. We had such a special time with our friends there and it certainly didn’t feel like 5 years had gone by. Of course, it was a highlight for us to introduce Rachel.

After another 4. 5 hour drive to Epsom (yes, famous for it’s healing salts) just south of London, we arrived at the home of our good friends who had moved from Liverpool a couple of years ago. They have 3 children close to the ages of our kids, 2 boys and a girl so it was a delight for us parents to watch our kids all playing together. We did some fun things (trip to Wisley Gardens and the huge science museum in London) in the couple of days we were there and it was hard to leave. All of the other kids kept telling us that they didn’t want us to leave.

A shorter drive up to Harrow brought us to the home of friends we know from Tanzania and back to our luggage. We spent a wonderful Friday afternoon and evening with them and were up early Saturday morning the 14th to return the car and get to the airport. Again, Ken helped us out with luggage and everything went so smoothly. The timing was just right and we didn’t have to spend hours in the lounges trying to kill time before boarding the plane. We were a little late taking off but the flight went well and the kids traveled well. Of course, where else do they get to watch movie after movie, each with a private screen, for almost 8 hours straight.

What a joy to arrive “home” again. For me, it brought some tears as it was a fresh reminder that my dad, who certainly would have been at the airport with my mom to meet us, is no longer with us. But it was a poignant reminder that no matter how many good byes we say here on earth, within the family of God, it is never permanent. Praise Him! We slept soundly and this morning, Sunday, we enjoyed breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants here in Kenya with my cousin and his family. It was nice to be able to say a “hello” instead” of a “farewell”.

Some thoughts on our time in England: they really do speak a different language than we Americans, they drink A LOT of tea, they are much better at eating less and walking more, there is a great public transportation system and it can be chilly and rainy even in the middle of August. We had such a wonderful time and are so glad we took the time to visit. A special thanks to Pete and Sue and all our friends at Devi Road, to Scott and Abi and family and to Eddie and Kathy and Ken. We came away blessed and refreshed.

Saying good bye to all of our loved ones in the U.S. was difficult as always but as I thought about the sacrifice we have been asked to make, I thought about the other side of the coin as well. In four Sundays in a row, we will be in 4 different countries, worshiping with believers from all over the world. What an amazing privilege to serve our Lord as we do and to get to meet and fellowship with His people from many tribes and in many languages. A foretaste of what is to come! Hallelujah!

So we thank the Lord that our Work Permit has been renewed! Please pray for wisdom as to how to get it from Tanzania to us here in Kenya before we can get back into Tanzania. This is the third time around for us and each time it has been different. It might require Jon to go to TZ without the family to take care of this business or we might need to wait here in Kenya for a couple of weeks. We are still hoping to get home by Saturday but it will take the Lord orchestrating things just so. Please ask him to do this for us. But we rest in knowledge that He will get us there in His time and way.

Thanks for all your love and prayers. We love you and thank the Lord for you.

Blessings,
Melissa for the Eagers

Our time is quickly winding down in the States. These days have been full of packing, re-packing, cleaning, weighing luggage, re-packing again, AND wonderful visits with many friends and family members! Next Friday (August 6th) we’ll fly to England, spend a week visiting a church and some dear friends, and then arrive in Nairobi, Kenya August 14th. After that we’ll make our way down to Tanzania. Thank you so much for praying for us. Please pray for safe travels and connections, and that we would be a blessing to those we spend time with.
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On August 4th there is an important referendum vote coming up on the Kenyan constitution. Please read the summary below and pray along those lines with us as well. Thank you for praying for our safety and Kenya’s as we head in to next week.

Serving our Lord together,

Jon

Dear Praying Friends of AIM,

From time to time significant issues face a people that merit special attention and prayer focus. Kenya is heading into such a time on the 4^th of August and the days following, as citizens of Kenya vote in a referendum on a long anticipated new constitution.

However the debate over this constitution has been vigorous and differing views abound. While there is potential for unrest there is great potential for good as well. We ask that you join us in prayer for Kenya:

o That God’s glory would be evidenced as the Church speaks to the issues.

o That wise decisions would be made in voting.

o That constructive dissenting perspectives might be raised.

o That the voting would be fair, and results of the referendum be accepted.

In another development the recent tragic bombing in Kampala, Uganda has raised concerns here in Kenya as the source of this terrorist act comes from a close neighboring country. Again pray that destruction of lives would be stifled here and that it would not distract people from prayerfully considering the issues at stake for Kenya’s future.

Thank you for praying with us in the days surrounding the referendum on Aug 4^th 2010.

The Leadership of Africa Inland Mission International in Kenya

WE’VE BEEN CLEARED TO RETURN TO TANZANIA! Praise the Lord we’ve reached 100% support and have gotten the all clear from AIM to return to Magambua, Tanzania. We will fly to England on August 6th, spend a week visiting friends and a church there, and then reach Nairobi Kenya August 14th and make our way back to Tanzania by the third week in August.

PRAISE FOR A TEACHER! We thank for the Lord for a young woman who has started the application process with AIM to serve as a teaching assistant for homeschooling for Melissa. Pray for the process for her and support raising. She’ll be coming for a 9-12 month assignment.

CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR OUR RESIDENCE PERMITS. Please continue to pray for our permits to be renewed so that we can return easily to Tanzania, so far I haven’t heard much more from the African side of things.

This is a bittersweet time for us as we say farewell again to so many friends and family. We’re excited to be getting back to Africa, but it has been a wonderful Home Assignment for us and so we feel both the joy of following the Lord back to His fields and the sadness of parting that is so common in the missionary life.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support!

A few times a year our mission headquarters in NY holds a “Candidate Week”, an orientation and final application stage for new US missionaries applying to Africa Inland Mission. We had the privilege of being the ‘missionaries in residence’ for the week at the end of June. It was so encouraging to see so many sensing the Lord’s call to serve Him in Africa, people from such a variety of backgrounds! It’s likely we’ll get to see some of these new missionaries in Tanzania some day. Our kids enjoyed the children’s program, we enjoyed leading devotions each day, sharing our experience with the candidates, and hosting an African meal that Melissa cooked for 60+ people! Another highlight was staying with Melissa’s aunt and uncle (technically first cousins once removed) Ted and Martha Barnett and seeing her cousin Jen and her kids.

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Part III 6-12-10
While we were in Port au Prince, Ben had arranged two meetings with other organizations to see if they could be partners with the development work in Pestel. One was with an NGO that’s developed a ready to eat fortified rescue food (fancy peanut butter) to give to moderately or severely malnourished children in an 8-12 week program that would rescue them from acute malnutrition. After traversing many bumpy side streets and cell phone calls for directions, Ezai deftly maneuvered his little beat up RAV4 to the NGO’s non-descript gate (like so many other gates set in concrete walls fixed with spiraling barbed wire or broken glass). There we picked up samples of the food (240 pounds of it!) to use in a pilot program in Pestel. The second meeting was with Water Missions, to check out their filter system that is able to provide clean drinking water for 3,000 people at a rate of 10 gallons a minute! We were encouraged by some of the principles embedded in their program, things like community training and ownership, sustainability, and microfinance opportunity. Their motivation for providing this life giving water flows from a love in their hearts that comes from their faith in Jesus, who said “whoever drinks of the water that I give shall never thirst; but the water I give him will become a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

We weren’t sure if we’d be able to make it to both meetings, if both organizations would be open, if our plane would arrive on time, if our luggage would arrive, if the car would run. We feel so certain of things here in the States, so planned out, so organized, so scheduled. But anyone who has worked in a developing country knows that things don’t always go as planned. Ben has a refreshing optimism and flexibility that serves him well in Haiti. I admire him for the way he’s always looking forward, brainstorming and networking, tackling problems in stride and able to shift gears without getting side tracked from the big picture. The day after arriving in PAP, we took off in the little MAF Cessna 206 single prop to head to Jeremie, on time and as scheduled. Fifteen minutes in to the flight the pilot shook his head as a wall of storm clouds and rain spread out in front of us, forcing us to turn back. We arrived back at PAP, and then sat for hours in the terminal as the rain poured down, behind schedule, with somewhere to go, but no way of knowing if we’d make it there that day. More cell phone calls were made, contingency plans started, and Ben redeemed the time at the airport by having Anderson translate the health survey he was going to teach to the village health workers. MAF had to cancel all their flights that afternoon due to the weather, so we spent another night in PAP. But it was evident that in spite of apparent set backs, God was still in control, leading and directing, tying up loose ends, and giving us time to accomplish things even when it wasn’t as we had scheduled. Patience, flexibility, creative problem-solving, and a humble dependence on the Lord; things often learned on trips like these if we’re open to Him.