This month has been full of amazing experiences, amazing people, and amazing scenery (one of my favorite parts I will never get used to) all brought into my life by an AMAZING God! Here is October, thus far, in a short post:
THANKING God for bringing amazing people into my life. I have made SO many new friends here in Kenya! Some include the students at I Can Fly like Emma and Lewis, people that made saying "tutaonana (See You)" so very difficult. People like Naomi, that God sends into my life to confirm I am EXACTLY where He wants me to be and where He needs me. And then people like the Hemphill family that are a constant reminder of family and love. I am beyond thankful for the people I've met and reconnected with over the past few weeks, but sometimes say goodbye is very difficult.
2 MONTHS is how long I've lived in Kenya. Crazy right? Only 2 more months till I come home for Christmas. It feels like just yesterday I was at Jubala with my family and a few friends before heading to the church to load up the vans and head to RDU (forgetting my passport and not remembering till we got to the airport-but that's a whole other blog post).
ENJOYING life here in Kenya. If God tells you to pack up and go somewhere to serve Him you should take the time to enjoy His beauty and creation in another part of the world too. This is EXACTLY what I'm trying to do! With plans to hike a volcano (not active) and stay in a rural setting and enjoy the true "Farm Life" for a couple of days, all with good friends I've made along the way! I am super excited. Do not get me wrong I love teaching the kids here in Kenya but sometimes it is nice to get away to a beautiful place one-on-one with the Father!
LEARNING how life is being run at RVA! RVA is such a close and tight knit community and I am so excited to be spending a week here serving the Lord alongside the Hemphill family! Today is a national holiday in Kenya so the kids were out of school for a thing called Multicultural Day. It was AWESOME! Today the kids broke up into different groups and learned dances and did different activities from cultures represented at RVA. Also, after chai time (which I will be doing when I come back to Raleigh) the kids all met at the church on campus and had a flag ceremony where a kid from each country represented brings in their flag and says something in their language, really cool experience. The theme was all about being 1 in unity in the body of Christ.
READING alot!!! I love reading, especially here. Not having cable TV is really nice (I never thought I'd say that) but it gives you a lot more time to actually spend time with the people around you in conversation (and no, sorry to burst your bubble but watching a TV show as a family is NOT spending quality time together...). It also gives you a lot more time to read and spend time with the Lord! I am currently reading and studying rather deeply the book Multiply by Francis Chan and tackling 2 Psalms a day. I would love for you to question me about my quiet times whenever, I think its good to have conversation about things like that and hold each other accountable.
LOVING worship recently. I love worship whenever and learning new songs in the language here but sometimes it can be really hard when all the worship you're doing is in a foreign language. So, I am definitely happy to be at RVA where the worship and service are all in English and it doesn't take me twice as long trying to figure out what the worship leader or preacher is saying. I love worshiping and studying with the Kenyan people in their true church setting, but sometimes it can definitely be difficult.
EXCITED to say that I will be returning to Kenya in February 2015 for another long period of time. Most of you are probably confused as I say this because you probably thought this is what I was doing all along. But I really wanted God to confirm to me that this is where He wanted me to return in February. I truly believe I got a clear answer from God and it's hard to explain that, but when you know, you know. So I am excited for all God will do the rest of the time here in Kenya till the end of December. I'm excited for what God will do at Christmas time when I am home with my family and I am excited and looking forward to what God will do in February when I return.
E-MAIL is something I love getting and love replying to (most of the time (: ). I would love to receive an email from you and know how things are going with you wherever you maybe, how you are serving God where you are or how I can be praying for you.
See you soon, friend.
Tutaonana, rafiki.
THANKING God for bringing amazing people into my life. I have made SO many new friends here in Kenya! Some include the students at I Can Fly like Emma and Lewis, people that made saying "tutaonana (See You)" so very difficult. People like Naomi, that God sends into my life to confirm I am EXACTLY where He wants me to be and where He needs me. And then people like the Hemphill family that are a constant reminder of family and love. I am beyond thankful for the people I've met and reconnected with over the past few weeks, but sometimes say goodbye is very difficult.
2 MONTHS is how long I've lived in Kenya. Crazy right? Only 2 more months till I come home for Christmas. It feels like just yesterday I was at Jubala with my family and a few friends before heading to the church to load up the vans and head to RDU (forgetting my passport and not remembering till we got to the airport-but that's a whole other blog post).
ENJOYING life here in Kenya. If God tells you to pack up and go somewhere to serve Him you should take the time to enjoy His beauty and creation in another part of the world too. This is EXACTLY what I'm trying to do! With plans to hike a volcano (not active) and stay in a rural setting and enjoy the true "Farm Life" for a couple of days, all with good friends I've made along the way! I am super excited. Do not get me wrong I love teaching the kids here in Kenya but sometimes it is nice to get away to a beautiful place one-on-one with the Father!
LEARNING how life is being run at RVA! RVA is such a close and tight knit community and I am so excited to be spending a week here serving the Lord alongside the Hemphill family! Today is a national holiday in Kenya so the kids were out of school for a thing called Multicultural Day. It was AWESOME! Today the kids broke up into different groups and learned dances and did different activities from cultures represented at RVA. Also, after chai time (which I will be doing when I come back to Raleigh) the kids all met at the church on campus and had a flag ceremony where a kid from each country represented brings in their flag and says something in their language, really cool experience. The theme was all about being 1 in unity in the body of Christ.
READING alot!!! I love reading, especially here. Not having cable TV is really nice (I never thought I'd say that) but it gives you a lot more time to actually spend time with the people around you in conversation (and no, sorry to burst your bubble but watching a TV show as a family is NOT spending quality time together...). It also gives you a lot more time to read and spend time with the Lord! I am currently reading and studying rather deeply the book Multiply by Francis Chan and tackling 2 Psalms a day. I would love for you to question me about my quiet times whenever, I think its good to have conversation about things like that and hold each other accountable.
LOVING worship recently. I love worship whenever and learning new songs in the language here but sometimes it can be really hard when all the worship you're doing is in a foreign language. So, I am definitely happy to be at RVA where the worship and service are all in English and it doesn't take me twice as long trying to figure out what the worship leader or preacher is saying. I love worshiping and studying with the Kenyan people in their true church setting, but sometimes it can definitely be difficult.
EXCITED to say that I will be returning to Kenya in February 2015 for another long period of time. Most of you are probably confused as I say this because you probably thought this is what I was doing all along. But I really wanted God to confirm to me that this is where He wanted me to return in February. I truly believe I got a clear answer from God and it's hard to explain that, but when you know, you know. So I am excited for all God will do the rest of the time here in Kenya till the end of December. I'm excited for what God will do at Christmas time when I am home with my family and I am excited and looking forward to what God will do in February when I return.
E-MAIL is something I love getting and love replying to (most of the time (: ). I would love to receive an email from you and know how things are going with you wherever you maybe, how you are serving God where you are or how I can be praying for you.
See you soon, friend.
Tutaonana, rafiki.