Greetings from Kenya

I will not be able to fully explain all that God is/has been doing throughout the first week here.  The peace that I have cannot be explained in mere words.  God is certainly at work and I am thankful to be a part of what He is already doing.   I have been blessed with so many new experiences.  We started language school, met with the head master and teachers at the school where we will be working, fellowshipped with a young adult Bible study group, and experienced Sunday morning worship at Ridgeways Baptist Church, just to name a few.  There have been many lessons as well as challenges and I am thankful for both.

 

1 John 3:17 (NIV) states: “If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion- how can God’s love be in that person?”  What does it mean to ‘live well’?  My understanding of what it means to ‘live well’ is definitely changing with each experience that I have here.   My first lesson in determining the difference between need and want and developing a better understanding of what it means to ‘live well’ came immediately after getting off the plane in Nairobi.  After watching everyone else’s luggage come and go we realized that our luggage was not in Nairobi with us.   It would take a few days for our luggage to arrive and we had only what was in our carry-on.  It was here that we realized that we had more than enough.  We had a change of clothes, soap, and a toothbrush and toothpaste.  We learned to wash our clothes out in the sink and keep it moving.  If the truth is told, we had more in our carry-ons than many of the natives have as their life possessions. 

 

We also have had many cross-cultural experiences.  I would not have ever imagined how challenging a trip to the grocery store could be.  There were so many factors that played into this cross-cultural experience.   First of all, we did not know what foods we liked and which ones would not sit well with us, we had to try to convert shillings to dollars so we had an idea of how much we were spending, and we were unfamiliar with the lay-out of the store and what was ‘safe’ to eat and what was not.   In the midst of our shopping experience the electricity went out in the store. (This is common in Kenya.   Electricity is a want and not a need….. It has been out several times this week, both at home and in public places.)   A trip that would normally take us less than twenty minutes in the States took over three hours here. 

 

The fellowship with the ladies from Ridgeways was amazing.  It was interesting to watch Kenyan’s interact with each other and with us in such a natural manner.  Their testimonies, choices of conversation and their personal relationship and devotion to God blew me away.     They have over-come obstacles that many of us could not fathom and persevere with resilience and determination in a manner that would be uncommon at best in the States.  These ladies are wise beyond their years and it was apparent that God is working in their lives.

 

The collective experiences of the week have certainly stretched me in many ways and are working to reshape my worldview.   I am thankful to be able to see a glimpse of how God is working in this culture.   I am just starting to understand the importance of not putting God in a box.  God is so much bigger than our minds can begin to fathom. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kenya Bound!

The time has come....  I cannot believe that after over a year and a half of prayer, planning, and non-stop talking about Kenya, the time has come to actually go.  I want to thank all of you who have supported me in any way.  I cannot express how grateful I am for all of your prayers, love, support, hugs, and financial contributions.  All of you have made a tremendous impact and have contributed in meaningful ways throughout this process.  I cannot tell you how many times God used each of you to encourage me at just the right time.  Many of you will never truly know how God used you to bless me throughout this process.  A dear friend often says, “Everything counts and everything matters.”  It is so true.  Everything does count and everything does matter.  Thank you for being such an intricate part of my life and journey.

 

This process has been filled with many blessings, as well as challenges.  I am thankful for both as it all has worked together to strengthen my faith in God and has helped me to trust Him more. With only five days before departure, I am filled with many emotions.  The dominant emotion is that of excitement. I am excited to see, feel, and experience God's presence in ways that I have yet to experience.  I pray that God will truly use me as a vessel so others may come to know Him for themselves and they too will be able to see and experience His presence in new ways.  It is my prayer that God will remove my desires, my will, and my plans so that I will be sensitive to hear His will, His desires, and His plan.   I pray that I will go as a servant leader and remember that I have as much to learn from the people in Kenya as they can learn from me.  I pray that authentic relationships will be formed and true ministry will take place.  I pray that lives will be changed and transformed through the power of the Holy Spirit.  Essentially, I pray that we will see God be God and do what only He can do.

 

I can honestly say that I have no idea what God has in store for the next two months, but I am confident that He will move in big ways and we will see miracles that we cannot even fathom right now.  I ask that you continue to pray for me, Nakisha (the missionary that I will be traveling with), Rev. Crawley and Rev Pass (our host missionaries) and all those that we will come in contact with throughout this journey.  I have listed below some prayer request, but I ask that you continually keep us covered and allow the Holy Spirit to guide you as I cannot predict all of our specific needs throughout the duration of the summer.  Thank you in advance for your prayers and continued love and support.  May God Bless you abundantly.  Love you!

 

Some prayer requests:

-Traveling mercies/ Safety/ Protection/ Favor

-Heightened discernment and sensitivity to the voice of God

-Wisdom and understanding

-Forming Authentic relationships with the people in Kenya (I pray we will see/understand Kenyan people and their culture through their eyes, not through the eyes of an American.)

-I pray that our eyes will be open to what God is doing and opportunities that we are presented with.

-Peace and comfort for family and friends in America (I pray they will experience the peace of God and be able to trust Him as we travel to a foreign land and will have limited contact with most of them.)

-Smooth transitions

-Protection from dangers seen and unseen (spiritual warfare)

-The Park Church youth mission team that will be coming in July