Spit A Blessing: Remembrances of Kenya-The Sotik Years - Softcover

Bates, Laurie Wall

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1449949932 ISBN 13: 9781449949938

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2010

Synopsis

Since Kenya was a developing nation, I expected it to be 'behind' in many things. But there were numerous ways I found Africans to be more advanced than Americans. The gracious way they treated others and the way clocks did not rule over people, are a couple of examples. Tasks were set aside; watches (when worn at all) were ignored for the chance to talk with a visitor. Tea or whatever food was available was brought out and shared in order to make you feel accepted and welcome (even if it meant the host would later have to go hungry). Among the members of our team, I felt the least prepared for the journey upon which we were about to embark. But I was soon to learn many lessons that I never would have learned any other way; lessons I still hold dear to my heart today! Even though some of our time in Kenya was very challenging, it was so life altering for me that I would not trade it for anything. It was there that my faith in God truly became my own. I hope to share with you some of the experiences and lessons I learned. Believe me there is nothing particularly complex or miraculous in them; just a young woman trying her best to fit into a culture that was not her own. If you will, put yourself in the stories. Think about how you would react in the same situation. Hopefully, you'll take away a better understanding of yourself and God's sovereignty like I was able to do. I'm doing my part by telling the stories. I hope you will do your part by listening and then remembering.

About this title

About the Author:

Laurie Wall Bates grew up outside of Thibodaux, a Cajun area of southern Louisiana. Growing up in that diverse culture helped to better prepare her for Africa and for missions. Laurie met her husband, Daryl, at Harding University in Searcy, AR. During their last semester there, they joined a mission team to work in East Africa. She claims she was naïvely bold when they began their life in Africa. She and her husband had been married for four years when they set off on their African adventure at the ripe old age of twenty-six. They wanted to make a difference in the world, not realizing what a difference this journey would make in their own lives. After almost six years in Sotik, Kenya, they moved into Nairobi, Kenya where they lived an additional six years. All three of their children, Lydia, Steven, and Lee were born at Kijabe Medical Centre, an American mission hospital located in the Great Rift Valley of Kenya. Upon returning to the States, questions from her children, family, and friends about their time in Africa prompted the writing, "Spit A Blessing, Remembrances of Kenya-The Sotik Years." She now resides in Virginia with her family.

About this edition

• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 1449949932
• ISBN 13: 9781449949938
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 292