My dear readers, I am sharing this prayer request from my friend Rev. Cyprien A. Afrika who is ministering in Kenya. Please join me in praying for his nephew Yves. If you know a young, godly woman who would make a good wife for him, answering this prayer well, let me know and I’ll pass it on to Brother Cyprien.

My family, I would like to request prayer on behalf of my nephew named:  YVES  TUMUKUNDE

He is my son because after his parent’s death, I took him when he was four years old, now he is a grownup with twenty five years old. He is well educated through college level and now he is a man, this morning he informed me to put him in prayers which will help him find a life partner (wife). More so a Christian lady of 22-26 year old and not from home continent (Africa).

Kindly I request for your prayers concerning my Nephew’s issue

All for His Glory Rev. Cyprien A.

Because I am part of a military family and also like to invite people to have dinner with us, my first library book borrowed since the Covid restrictions have eased is: Dinner with the Smileys by Sarah Smiley, subtitled: One Military Family, One Year of Heroes and Lessons for a Lifetime. Sarah’s husband Lt. Commander Dustin Smiley, Navy pilot, is sent to Africa for a thirteen month deployment as their sons Ford, Owen and Lindell are celebrating their 11th, 9th, and 4th birthdays and Sarah is finishing her Master’s thesis while teaching at the college and writing a weekly column for the local paper. This is the story of how a family copes with their service member gone for an extended time, which can also apply to any parent left with children at home to fend for themselves. Before he left, Dustin told Sarah to invite people to dinner to fill his place at the table. He challenged her to 52 dinners during his deployment to help the time go faster for them all, and so he could hear about what was happening and feel like he was still a part of the family.

Sarah shares a lot about Ford’s eleventh year angst; caught ‘tween childhood and teenage years, he’s childish, mature, sullen, withdrawn, or ecstatic. This reminded me of my own eleven year angst that must have been difficult for my mother as well, especially because my dad died suddenly when I was that age. I’m not sure I took to maturity as quickly as Ford does in this tale! Sarah also includes Lindell’s antics as the four-year-old who likes to moon their guests and has fun no matter what’s happening… mostly… and Owen’s typical middle-child tendencies who’s a budding artist and the mediator more often than his mother would like.

I also liked her sharing activities to do in the state of Maine. One thing is hiking Mt. Khatahdin in Baxter State Park. My brother lived in Maine and had an account at the Khatahdin credit union when he moved to New York State and I was glad to hear about life in Maine, where some of my family still lives and I hope to visit soon.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a handle on the happy, sad, overwhelming and exciting parts of being a military family, or any other case of interrupted wholeness of the family unit. When my children were young, my husband, as a Federal employee, would go TDY for training or conferences anywhere from five days – to a month at a time – a couple times a year. I also have friends whose husbands work in another state or drive truck for long periods of time who deal with things on their own often. Sarah gets very real in this book and I think it would be helpful for many people. Also, what a challenge to invite people to have dinner with your family! Creative inspiration abounds in this tale.

Just a reminder: He who began a good work in you shall be faithful to complete it to the day of Christ Jesus. Be encouraged; look up my friends, your salvation is near!