So much to tell you!

Wowza! I should not have waited two days to blog because too much stuff has happened in the past two days to possibly type it all. So you know Melissa and I were a little disappointed with the school last week. The pastor failed to tell our contact that the students would be testing, meaning that there was pretty much nothing we could do. We didn't even go to the school Thursday, because we could be of more help in the kitchen here on the station. For some reason, I figured God had this all in His plans...go figure, God having it all figured out! As soon as our Bible study began Friday afternoon, I knew that we were right were we needed to be. Melissa and I lead a Bible study to about 35 5th -8th grade girls. We chose the topics value and purity. As Melissa was speaking, the Lord totally changed my part from purity to purpose. It was just one of those times when the Lord was completely clear in His directing. We did have time to come back to purity at the end and it was all I could to do to keep my emotions together. Here we were sharing with a group of girls who have been sexually assaulted and abused and told there were nothing more than property, who were we to tell them about sexual purity and keeping our hearts pure when some of them were probably going to be assaulted on the way home from school. All I know is that the Holy Spirit moved and you could tell by the looks in the girls' eyes. I know that the Lord just used Melissa and I as His tool yesterday afternoon. Those girls took notes on everything that came out of our mouths and it had nothing to do with our ability to lead a Bible study. At the end of our time together the head teacher asked the girls to share what they had learned. Over and over again the girls kept saying that they knew they had value, that the Lord can renew them, that they can keep their hearts pure, and that they can make a difference now. At the end, they sang a song for us that moved Melissa and I both. The words were "I have a Father who will never, ever fail me!" To hear those girls sing those words with their whole hearts knowing what they had to go home to changed my perspective on life.

Today we loaded up on a matatu with our friends Rosalyn and Ann to head to a slum to begin a teenagers' Bible club. What we thought would be a 45 minute drive took 2 hours because traffic was so bad! We ended up having only 2 hours in the slum because of traffic. But, what little time time we did have in the slum today was amazing. The kids never fail to surprise me with how happy they are. The kids in Kenya are the most respectful kids I have ever met. When an adult enters a room they all stand up and say "Good Morning Teacher, Madam, Pastor, or Sir" and wait to be told to sit down. We introduced ourselves, Melissa did a small Bible story, and then kids entertained us! They kids did round-offs, flips, hand-stands, and showed off all kinds of talents. They recited Bible studies and sang songs for us. I was very surprised to hear a song that I have heard many times before, some of you may know it. The words go like this: "Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory! Rise and shine and give God the glory, glory! Rise! And! Shine! And give God the glory, glory! Children of the Lord!" When they started singing that song I looked at Melissa and said "You have got to kidding me! I hate this song!" My Momma always used to wake me and Mark up singing that song! It does not have positive emotions tied to it for me! I will say that it was much sweeter coming out of their mouths than it ever was coming out of my Momma's!

Melissa and I got a surprise this afternoon! We are heading up to Kitale tomorrow morning by shuttle with Greg and Bev Wootton. Kitale is in the Western Province of Kenya near the Uganda border. Greg and Bev teach Bible courses and they want to show us around their town. They are going to take us to an orphanage that also has a feeding center for kids in the slums. We will be with them until Thursday morning when we take another shuttle to meet the Tayloe's to go to Rift Valley for the weekend. A little family road trip! I told my Momma that I am going to be a Kenyan public transportation professional by the time we leave!

Please continue praying for us! The Lord has shown Himself in so many ways and I have you to thank!

Well our plans ended up changing a little bit since I last blogged. When Melissa and I got to the school Wednesday we soon found out that by proctoring exams, they meant sitting in the classrooms and watching the students test. So we decided to change things up for today and tomorrow morning. Today we worked in the kitchen here on the DIGUNA compound. We helped make chapati for supper. Chapati is a traditional Kenyan bread, it is a little like a thick flour tortilla. The dough is oil, water, and flour. You mix it and section it off into balls then come back later and roll it out in to a circle to be fried. After rolling out several, the chef told us that we passed and that our chapatis were perfect. Later at dinner at the Tayloe's house, some missionaries told us that rolling out chapatis is an old Kenyan test to see if you are ready for marriage! Melissa and I had no idea when we went to the kitchen this morning that we would be tested to see if were ready for marriage...at least we passed the test!

Tomorrow morning we are going to the elephant orphanage. I am not sure what this excursion consists of yet, but I will be excited to tell you I am sure. Maybe I can even get the internet to cooperate long enough to get one picture to upload to the blog! Tomorrow afternoon we are going back to the slum to lead the girls' Bible study. We are very excited about getting the chance to lead this study. We are praying that the girls will be open to conversation and to hear what the Lord gives us.

I don't know how many of you are praying for me but I can honestly tell you that it is being felt. The Lord is revealing things to me that I didn't think He would reveal so soon. Things about my future and the ministry that I need to be involved in. I am so grateful that He has given me such a peace and excitement about the upcoming year as I finish grad school. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sorry two days have gone by without a blog! We have been busy volunteering at a school in Nairobi. We are working with the REM (Rural Evangelism Mission) School which is located on the outskirts of the Mitumba Slum. In the slum there are 20,000 families on about 12 acres. It is mind-blowing to see. When you drive up all you can see is tin. There are small walk-ways between some of the houses for people to walk through. Everyday a child is born in the slum. It is a dire situation for children. Many children, especially girls are taken advantage of sexually. Children are used to beg for food for their families and to help brew cheap liquor. Education is limited and the slum seems to be a generational cycle, people rarely break free of the slum.

The REM School was started by a pastor and his wife after they started a Saturday Bible Club in the slum and realized that the one day a week was not enough. Mrs. Violet (the pastor's wife) told us that after seeing children eat mud, they knew they had to provide food more than one day a week. The school was started in 2002. The REM School is not a very large building but holds almost 400 students. The school has to wait for homes to move around them so they can grow their building. They are locked in by the back wall of the slum and homes around them. The school goes up to 8th grade and then they look for sponsors to send their students to high school. Melissa and I talked to Mrs. Violet yesterday about sponsoring high students and when she told us the cost of a one year tuition we just sat shocked. Especially, when we found out that some kids are not able to go to high school because they cannot find anyone to sponsor them. A one year tuition is around $375. That is it, literally a dollar a day! A dollar a day is keeping students from going to high school and giving them a chance to get out of the slum. If any of you are interested in sponsorship or getting more information, please let me know and I will direct you to the proper contacts.

The students are starting government exams today so Melissa and I will just be proctoring exams until Friday morning. We are getting to lead a girls' Bible Study Friday afternoon on the topic of purity and self-confidence. We are both excited about that. Please pray for us throughout this week that the Lord would open doors with the students. I will be sure and blog more tonight or tomorrow morning! Thanks for your prayers!

A couple of new things...

Today was a much needed day of down time! I think I am finally over the jet lag. I was confident that last night would be the first night I slept through. All was going well until 5:22 when I woke up to a German couple and a Kenyan having a conversation about how to get inside a locked door! You know how the mind thinks when it is half awake. Laying in the bed, of course as still as possible so they could see no movement with their x-ray vision, I was trying so hard to interpret what was going on just 3 feet away! When things finally got quite, Melissa got up to go to the bathroom (I am still laying as still as possible, just in case!). While Melissa was in the bathroom, someone started having a conversation with her at the window! Come to find out, it was a missionary couple who had just flown in and a key was not left for them to get into their locked apartment! Many laughs came later this afternoon when the four of us were talking about Melissa having a conversation at the bathroom window and me, being the chicken I am, laying as still possible for ten minutes!

After going to an English/Swahili church service this morning, we went to an Ethiopian restaurant. The meal is served on a big platter with no plates or silverware. You use a tortilla/pancake type of bread to grab your food and then eat it. On the platter was a mixture of vegetable concoctions: potatoes, carrots, cabbage, salsa, and several bean mixtures. The meat of choice, prepare yourself...goat! It was delicious! After lunch we visited a Masai Market to scout out possible souvenirs. It was like a Guatemalan Market on steroids! People follow you around and have to beg you to look at their blanket of items, they are not separated by any type of partitions. The people selling items just kept shouting "Sister, sister look at my things! I will give you a cheap price! Sister, sister!"

Tomorrow afternoon, Melissa and I start our work at one of the schools in the slum. Please pray that the Lord would use us and that the students would see Him through us. Before I finish this post I want to share with you a Bible verse that the pastor gave us this morning. "For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything!" Hebrews 3:4

Thanks for all you do!

Warning! This post may make you want to buy a plane ticket to Kenya.

Where do I begin? I feel like so much has happened in the past week! I spent the last five days at the DIGUNA station in Ngechek. At this station they have three completed homes for children with HIV/AIDS. I wanted to go to Ngechek to see how they run this ministry because it is something that I am very interested in for my future. I underestimated the effect that the people at Ngechek would have on my life. I think the easiest way to tell about my trip is day-by-day!

Monday: Wow, wow, wow! I had NO idea the journey that I would have to take to get to Ngechek! It all started at 8:30 going into the city to catch a matatu (9 to 15 passenger van) to Ngechek with my new friend and escort Guchu. An hour later we were finally settled on a matatu ready to go. Six hours and a lunch stop later we finally arrived in Eldorat where I was being passed onto another escort, Amos. Amos is the station leader at Ngechek and met us after he finished class for another hour of traveling. We drove for thirty minutes in a very small 15 passenger van that ended up holding over 20 people! We got out of the van at the end of a dirt road with nothing but motorcycles sitting around...for several seconds I was very confused. Amos cleared things up very quickly, we were taking motorcycles for the last thirty minute leg of the journey. At that point in time I started breathing faster and I could feel my chest tightening up...I think you can call that a mini panic attack! The driver tied my luggage to his motorcycle/taxi and we took off. To make matters worse the dirt road was crowded with people shouting "mzungu" (white person) and pointing. It was all I could do to smile and attempt a wave!

Tuesday: On Tuesday morning I was introduced to the home parents at Royal Totos. After two hours of talking and chai, I was overwhelmed with their faithfulness to God and their willingness to give of themselves. I was overwhelmed with the planning that has to go into any ministry with people who are dealing with HIV. Mainly the fact that the subject of death has to be handled in a very honest and upfront manner, even with children. The Royal Toto Children's Home is only five years old and in their five short years they have already seen the death of two of their children.

Wednesday and Thursday: I was quickly put to work in the kitchen when the "kitchen mama" found out I was there. I learned how to add carrots into every dish you cook...I think I am turning orange from all of the carrots I ate in the last five days! I also realized that Kenyans have the art of comfortable silence figured out. They can sit for ten minutes and not say anything, then someone will talk, and then back to silence. They value fellowship though, when you walk somewhere together they walk slow so you can talk more. I did have quite an experience Wednesday night. Germany played Ghana in the World Cup and I was lucky enough to get asked to watch the game. There was plenty of competitiveness to go around being that half of the missionaries at DIGUNA are German and the other half are Kenyan. Fifteen minutes into the game I made the mistake of asking how much time was left! They thought it was funny when they told me games are 90 minutes long! After 90 very long minutes, only one goal was scored by Germany! One goal...that was it! I was invited to Kids' Fellowship Wednesday afternoon and I was blown away at the amount of joy that the kids have. They sang songs and worshipped the Lord with everything they have. I just kept thinking to myself that these kids are going to die from a disease that they did nothing to get and they know it, yet they worship the Lord with everything they have. And then I have the nerve to be temperamental in my walk with God when things in my spoiled life go wrong according to me. A lesson that I will surely remember forever.

Friday: I was able to visit the school on property Friday. They took exams every other day of the week so they wanted me to wait until they were done testing. I got asked to teach a social studies class which turned into a question/answer time. One of the first questions was "Why is America in a war with Iraq" and I thought well okay then, here we go! They asked a lot of hard questions about America and our politics. Later that day I got to sit with the teachers and compare Kenya's education system to America's. It was interesting to learn that teachers in Kenya have not been paid in months. The government is holding the money and this is nothing unusual.

Saturday: I am glad to say that today was much less eventful than my journey to Ngechek. I actually was able to take a plane back to Nairobi. What took nine hours Monday took fifty minutes today! I am thankful for the exciting journey Monday, it did make for a good story!

Something that the Lord has been showing me this last week is that He does nothing in vain. He doesn't send us on vain trips or ask us to do vain tasks. I was reminded of this through Esther's life and her wise Uncle Mordecai (Also with a little help from my friend Beth Moore!). Mordecai told Esther "And who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this!" (Esther 4:14). We may not have to face a challenge of saving a people group like Esther or be in a royal position, but God has you where you are "for such a time as this". As I learned from the kids at Royal Toto, no matter what is involved in your time, there is always time to love the Lord. Thank you for your prayers! Trust me, I saw the results of them in the past five days as the Lord was revealing things to me. I cannot wait to see what else happens in the next two weeks!

Happy Father's Day

First off, Happy Father's Day to my Daddy! We went to Parklands Baptist Church this morning. It was really neat to worship with them. They sang songs in Swahili and English, the sermon was in English. After church we went to a tea plantation, where I became a certified teaologist...at least I think so anyways! We also got to take a small hike through an indigenous forrest. Upon entering the covered and very think forrest our tour guide promised there were no snakes in the forrest! I took him at his word and followed the group in. I later figured out how he made such a confident promise. He showed us at the end that his walking stick had a hidden knife in the lower portion of the stick! I was glad to know he could have done something if a cobra would have come out!

Tomorrow morning at 8:00 am my journey begins to Ngechek to the AIDS orphanage. My escort and myself will meet my ride, who is also the director of the orphanage, at 3:00 pm. It is going to be a long morning/afternoon! I will be at the orphanage until Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Can anybody say flexibility!? I doubt that I will get a chance to blog this week. I can't wait to tell you what God does!

Alright, I am going to give you a small education about Kenya...get ready!

1. There are NO tigers in Kenya!

2. Kenya is the leading tea producing country.

3. Vehicles must yield to wart hogs.

4. Hakuna Mutata is a real Swahili phrase...it means no worries!

5. Gas costs about $4.50 a gallon. That means no more complaining for what you pay!

I am sure there will be more educating to come as the next three weeks go by! Thanks for your prayers!

New places, faces, and animals...

For those of you who haven't heard, I am in Kenya for a month this summer. A teacher friend and myself are going to be staying with Bob and Ann Tayloe at DIGUNA (a mission association and living compound) outside of Nairobi. We will be working with several different ministries while we are here.

Melissa and I finally arrived in Kenya at 6:00 this morning...we may still be dragging a bit but we are here! After a quick Visa purchase and luggage pick-up, Mr. Bob and Mrs. Ann Tayloe got us to the car to head to breakfast. We weren't even off the airport property when we spotted a family of giraffes on a wild life conservation that connects to the airport! Maybe Africa is like the movies! After a westernized breakfast...taking it easy guys. We headed to DIGUNA where the Tayloe's live. Once we turned on the last road we spotted baboons sitting on fence posts and a wart hog. The Tayloe's also have monkeys that frequent trees in their front yard, which we met not too long after we got settled.

My first adventure begins Monday when I will take a four hour bus/van ride to an orphanage that only takes children with HIV/AIDS. Nobody panic, I will be escorted! I will be there until Friday or Saturday. I have a feeling that this is going to be the high-light of my trip!

I don't know how often I will be able to blog because of unreliable internet, but I will try to do my best to blog often. Please be in prayer with me that the Lord would use me!

Thanks for all you do!