Martyns in Africa
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Our old home on HGTV House Hunters
Posted: December 31, 2011, 11:44 pm by Taylor
This show gives a little insight into life in and around Nairobi. The first apartment the couple looks at is actually the same place we lived when we first moved to Nairobi.
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January 15!
Posted: December 31, 2011, 5:00 pm by Taylor
We are about halfway packed, have our seats assigned and are counting down the days until we get on a plane and head back home. We would love your prayers as we finish up the packing, say another round of see you laters and good-byes and try to remember all that we have to do before then. We would also love your prayers for travel mercies during the 22+ hours of travel time. We should be seasoned pros by now, but we are a bit intimidated to be confined on a plane with little ones for two long flights. Prayer for patience of our fellow passengers is also much appreciated
p.s. we love British Airways and highly recommend them for international travel. They have a special fare we can use that allows us flexibility in flight changes, extra bag allowances and their staff have been wonderful with our kiddos. And, no we were not paid to say that we really do think they are one of the best choices…when they are not on strike that is.
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Thankful Thursday
Posted: December 29, 2011, 11:31 pm by Taylor
While stopping by a Sonic to get a lemon slush (which I am also sooo thankful for ) I saw on a marquee across the street, “Joy to the World Our Saviour Reigns!” What a privilege to be able to live in a country where we can freely express our faith and freely share our hope and light.
We are also extremely thankful for our little guy, Larson. He turned one on the 21st. We are so thankful for the joy he has brought to our family. His laughs, smiles, getting to share his excitement as he learns new skills has enriched our lives. We are so blessed to have him in our family. We are enjoying this gift of raising him and praying that he becomes a man after God’s own heart.
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This and that…
Posted: December 29, 2011, 11:26 pm by Taylor
Hope you all have had a wonderful Christmas time with family and friends. We have really been enjoying this special time of remember our Saviour’s birth and his ultimate sacrifice.
Just a few items of interest to try and catch up. A few days before Christmas brought some shocking news that George Athor was killed near Juba. Sudan Tribune reported,
“Athor has been leading a rebellion against the government of South Sudan since he defected from the SPLA in 2010 after he was announced to be the loser of gubernatorial elections in Jonglei State, where he stood as an independent candidate. His rebellion has been one of the biggest security threats that faced South Sudan since it became an independent country this year.Hundreds of people have been killed this year in clashes between Athor’s men and the SPLA.”
Today CNN reported on what has been happening in South Sudan. The ever increasing in size village of Doro made headline news! It is a bit of a relief that it has shown up in the news, but sad that it has to be because of this. You can check out the link here.
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Thankful Thursday
Posted: December 15, 2011, 4:00 pm by Taylor
Allison has recently had to have some dental work done. Like many others she is a bit apprehensive about going to the dentist. We are grateful for many good dentists to choose from. We are also thankful to have the ability to make the short drive to Kijabe and have a great dentist while in Kenya too.
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Happy Jamhuri Day!
Posted: December 12, 2011, 3:00 pm by Taylor
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Thankful Thursday
Posted: December 8, 2011, 4:00 pm by Taylor
I, Allison, recently burned my hand pretty badly while making some chai. This has made me extremely thankful to not have had a horrible burn over the majority of my body. Burns from accidents due to cooking fires are very common around many parts of the world. I am thankful that SIM’s little clinic in Doro was able to have a burn unit of sorts to help the communities around. If anyone out there would like the opportunity to use some of their medical training in a field like Sudan for a few months or years please let us know. The need for staff is always great.
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Sudan captured S. Sudan town over weekend
Posted: December 7, 2011, 5:44 am by Taylor
This is big folks. Northern Sudan forces took control over the South Sudan town of Jau over this past weekend. From an article on the Sudan Tribune website, they mentioned some of the reasoning behind the attack. “One of the reasons why they are fighting the Jau Payam was because they want to take over the areas which are under [control] of South Sudan and [housing] the Sudanese refugees from the north. They are attacking Jau because they believe it is the base of SPLM/A north hideout that they use to fight them in the South Kordofan State”, said Bilkuey.
Yesterday, Salva Kiir, the president of South Sudan, requested the US Army impose a no-fly zone along the North/South boarder of the Sudans. You can read more about that here.
This looks like things are really heating up quickly, but yet a bit of good news is that some of SIM Sudan workers have been allowed to go back into the Doro area next week. Their small village has grown tremendously due to incoming refugee population and ministry changes will happen to help serve those fleeing attacks.
Please keep both Sudans in your prayers, for leadership to seek other ways besides war to resolve conflict if possible, for protection of innocent civilians and for our missionaries and national staff as they try to access the situation and seek out wisdom on what tasks to take on.
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Sunday fun day
Posted: December 5, 2011, 6:52 am by Taylor
Today was a fun day for the Martyns. Taylor and Avery came out to support Allison as she ran the whiterock half marathon in the cold rain. Thanks to her running buddy, Cat, they made it!
We also received a sneak peak at some recent family pictures we had taken. Check out our college buddy, Janae’s website to view them! Can’t wait to have some recent pictures of our whole family to use to update our blog!
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Update on situation in Sudan
Posted: December 3, 2011, 5:00 pm by Taylor
We will try to summarize the many happenings from the situation in Sudan/South Sudan. There has been a lot of flip flop in talk from the North about if they will continue to refine and export the South’s oil. The ICC prosecutor, Luis Moreno-Ocampo, requested an issue of a warrant to arrest Sudan’s defense minister, Abdul Rahim Mohamed Hussein, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur. There have been pictures coming out of the Blue Nile area that show the destruction that the North has caused to civilians. To quote an article on the Sudan Tribune’s website, “John Bradshaw, the executive director of the Enough Project, an advocacy group, said that the imagery is “consistent with reports from on the ground that the SAF has intentionally destroyed civilian communities in clear violation of the laws of war.” It looks like things are rapidly leaning towards another war of some sort. Please keep praying.
If you would like a recap of the happenings in the last month or so, you can find a good one here.
And as always, for articles that might not make it to major news sources we suggest checking out sudantribune.com
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Super supporters
Posted: December 3, 2011, 6:09 am by Taylor
We have really been encouraged by getting to visit with most of our supporters these last few months. We can’t say enough how much all of your support (support= prayers, cards, emails, financial, care packages, Skype…) means to us. We really appreciate being together in this. A few of our financial supporters have generously increased their giving and some new financial supporters have come on board. Though we still need to make a final count things look well for us to indeed head back to Kenya on 15 January. It is such an honor to be able to “go” and for that we say THANK YOU!!!
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Thankful Thursday
Posted: December 1, 2011, 4:00 pm by Taylor
We have begun the packing process and this reminded me how thankful I am for the 3 bag per person allowance for missionary/ngo fare with British Airways!
Blah blah blah
Fish cakes
Alas a fish cake.
Yet more fish cakes
Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.
The end of the fish cakes
