Update on my life.

I realize it has been quite a while since i've updated on my family, life and school. So here it goes..

I am absolutely amazed with how much God has transformed my life and my family in the past year. There is seriously a night and day difference compared to this time last year. A little over a year ago, I found out what a REAL relationship with God is supposed to be at Crooked Creek and my life since has not been the same. With my family, relationships that I never thought would EVER exist are starting to form. Mark and my mom are doing so so so good and it is amazing to see how the Lord is continuing to do work in their lives. This time last year, i was cussing him out and telling him how much I hate him. Now we sit together at church and at dinner, talking about everything. Yes it is still a little weird, but we're making progress. Building relationships takes time and I'm willing to be patient. My brother and I are still living with our grandparents and I will be starting my sophomore year of college in 2 weeks. It's really freaking me out how fast we're growing up. The thought of school really stresses me out, but I am so excited to get back and to see how the Lord is going to work through Young Life and another organization called Cure that I am apart of.

and that's about all in my life that would be remotely interesting..

Day 9 & 10

           This morning we watched the sunrise over Mount Kenya, which was incredible. I love seeing God’s beauty through the Earth He created. We then left Sweet Water and drove 4 hours to Nairobi. We stayed at the mall in Nairobi for a few hours and this is where I was able to meet Francis, the child I sponsor through Compassion. I was literally freaking out before I met him trying to figure out where he was and what was going on. He was very shy, but I really enjoyed meeting him. I gave him a soccer ball and some coloring books, which he absolutely loved and we were able to color together. When we left the mall, we headed straight to the airport. Another really tough part of the trip was having to tell Alfred goodbye. We all prayed over him before we left and then said our goodbye’s. Just another time I was able to break down. All week he referred to me as his “little sis”. I will never forget being able to have my first conversations in Swahili with him. It amazes me the love he has for the Lord. It shines from him and everyone around him is able to tell.

            We are now on the way home and I seriously cannot express how much this trip has meant to me. I now know that I am called to serve and that He has placed a special place in my heart for serving and for Kenya. I pray that things will work out so that I can return there very soon. This trip has taught me many different things and I know the Lord is going to continue to reveal different things to me as time goes on. One thing I had been praying before I went on the trip was for God to “break my heart for what breaks His.” God revealed to me in so many ways that His heart doesn’t break because these people don’t have a lot of possessions and that they don’t have a lot of money. His heart breaks for those that are lost. He wants to see salvation in Kenya, in America and through the whole world. No the Kenyans don’t have a lot of money and no they don’t have food sometimes, but they joy and passion they have for the Lord is so much greater than you could ever imagive. They possess so much more than we do because of the stronger faith that they have. Not all of the Kenyans are saved, actually very few of them are, but the ones who do know Jesus, let it shine. I hope and pray for the day the Lord brings me back to Africa, but until then I hope my life is never the same and that I will shine His light in every way possible. I am so thankful for the time I was able to spend in this country. 

Day 8

What a day it has been. We started the day off with our last morning devotion as a group. We discussed how we should plant seeds and whether or not we saw something immediately, we were still apart of something huge. We left the hotel and went to visit one primary and one secondary school to see the progress they had made. Soon after, we headed to Ereri to have our goodbye ceremony. When we got there, the children were all in class and the land was set up the same way as the welcome ceremony. The elders were still digging the trench. The kids sat in the center and we surrounded the outside of the circle. The ceremony consisted of the traditional dances, the same way the welcome ceremony began. Once the dancing ended, Crispo introduced the leaders of the school, the Pastor’s and our leader, Jason. We all introduced ourselves and then the head lady over all the schools stood to speak. She brought me straight to tears. She thanked us and explained to us the difference we were making at Ereri. She also told us how we weren’t helping Ereri by the amount of things we possessed or the money we had, but we were making a difference by our willingness to serve and to come across the country to make a change and spread the name of Jesus. It was overwhelming. She then released one of the teachers who started Ereri and introduced the new teacher that was going to take his place. Jason, Jermile and Trish spoke to tell them how much they impacted our lives and th chance it made in our hearts. We then sang Asante Sana Yesu for the people of Ereri. I could not contain myself, the tears came rolling. After Jason prayed, the ceremony ended and the people opened up the market for us. Eunice and Teresia both gave me necklaces as a present. I tried my hardest to shop as fast as I could so that I could see my kids. I found Esther as fast as I could and she immediately started crying because she did not want to leave me. Talk about heart breaking. She introduced me to her mother and it was such a pleasure getting to meet her. Then it was time to say goodbye. I definitely left my heart with those people and Esther is always going to have a special place in my heart. I did not start crying until we passed classes 1 and 2 and all the kids came running to the window yelling “Rafiki” which means friend. It was such a tough day to say goodbye to all of the people of Ereri. We then went to Sweet Water tented camps for the night, which was definitely a nice treat and a good way to bring us back to reality of how we really live. 

Day 7

2 salvation's yesterday and 2 today. God is good.
I am so sad that this is our last work day. I honestly feel like i am at home here and i do not want to leave. Today was SUCH a good day. we arrived at Ereri today and i was very excited about getting to work in the school again. Before we went into the classrooms, I went back to help in the trench for a while. Instead of working with the women, today i worked with the Masai men. I had no way to communicate with them because they did not speak swahili and they continued to laugh and talk about me the entire time i tried to work. but by the end of the digging, I met Moses and they taught me a few Masai words. I left to go to the school and today we taught the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 with 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread. The kids really had a hard time understanding this story but the coloring and the singing went well. When we left the school, we headed back to the trench to find out one of the women had been hit in the arm with a machete. The people told us that she simply tore part of her skirt, wrapped it around her arm and was ready to start back working, but when Trish saw her arm she refused to let her keep working. Trish proceeded to help her clean up her arm and Crispo gave her 25 shillings to go get stitches. The woman left the trench and walked 4-6 kilometers (between 3 or 4 miles) to go to the hospital. In America, we sprain an ankle and we're out of work for a week. Their work ethics and their determination are such an inspiration to me. We left the trench and went back to play with the kids, but today was a lot more calm than usual. Today instead of running around with the kids, we just walked and talked and sang. Worshiping with these kids is indescribable.

We left Ereri early that afternoon and took a tour of the other schools to see the way God has used 410Bridge and NewSpring in the communities. At Black Tank, one little girl Jacquelyn latched on to me as soon as we arrived and cried her eyes out as we left. Her crying her eyes out was not precious, but she was adorable. Just another child on my list to go back and see!

Day 6

Today was another work day at Ereri primary school. We started our morning with jamming to the lion king soundtrack on the bus ride, it fit perfectly. We arrived to the schools and Trish told us that only 3 people could go into each class and she was going to put one of the people who worked in the trench yesterday in my class, so she needed someone to volunteer somewhere else. Since no one else was volunteering, i reluctantly said i would help in the trench. It was obvious that i was not very happy and it broke my heart that i was not going to be with my girls that I had started becoming so close to. I had also promised the kids that i would see them the next day, but God made everything work out for His good and made me eat my words from earlier that day. I started out my day by sorting rice with the women who work in the kitchen. I then left the kitchen to start digging in the trench. In the trench, i met one of the older boys that i spoke with yesterday's mother. I was able to have a very solid conversation with her and all of the other women. not to mention, it was very cool to talk to all of the older people in swahili! They all asked me about my family and i was once again able to talk about God and how God has been a great father to me and that the best thing to do is trust in Him. All the women had great responses, they smiled and told me how much they loved me and wanted me to come back to Kenya and stay with them. I then helped start digging the trench, which was some HARD work. They would use a pick-ax to chop up the dirt and the ground and then another person would come behind them with a shover and clear out the dirt. After lunch, we all split up into 3 teams and went on house visits. We walked a good mile or two to a community close by and they showed us their huts. The hut is smaller than my room at home and sometimes up to 5 people can live in one. On the way back to Ereri, i turn around and Esther is running after me and all the others. She literally came out of the middle of no where and ran straight to me and grabbed my hand. We walked all the way back to Ereri holding hands, singing "Asante Sana Yesu" "Waka Waka and "Deep Down In My Heart" Moments like this are the ones that meant the most to me.

This little girl stole my heart. Not only did we connect with the fact that we dont have fathers, she has a very similar personality. She followed my every move. If i told one of the other kids to do something or if i had to tell them to stop she would quote me and act like another little teacher. The moments I spent with her, Annah, Ivan and Jacquelyn are moments that will be engrained in my memory. I cannot wait to return and see these children that have a very special place in my heart.

Day 5

God never ceases to amaze me. So many awesome things have taken place in the 3 days that we have been present in Ereri and the Tutu village. Today was the first of our work days at the school and when they say work, they mean work. Today has been both physically and emotionally exhausting. We started off on our our journey to Ereri and God was just really moving in my heart. It was awesome to sit and reflect on these days while listening to worship music and heading to go serve these people. We arrived at the school where hundreds of children were learning and many women and men were hard at work in the kitchen and the field. Our group was split into 3 teams. One to go into the school, one to help dig a trench and the last group were the pastors teaching a pastoral training class. Today, i was on the team working in the school and what a blessing it was. Our main topic for this week is trust and how we are to trust in God. Today's lesson was about Noah and the ark. I was placed with classes 1 and 2 (which would be like k4 and k5 in America) and we had about 80 students total. We taught our lesson showing pictures and telling the story, then proceeded to ask the children questions. Of course with the help of their teacher as our translator. The children were SO respectful and so well behaved. They listened very carefully and understood everything that we taught. After the story, we let the children color and then we taught them the song "Rise and shine and give god the glory glory..". After our tenth round of practicing the song, they stopped us and asked the teacher if they could sing for us. They sang us this:
           "I want to be like Jesus so deep down in my heart, I want to be like Jesus so deep down in my     heart, so deep deep so down down so deep down in my heart."

Seriously, it was so incredible to watch these kids sing to us. We ended with all singing the "Asante Sana Yesu" song once in English and once in Swahili. It is so moving to worship, in two languages, across the world with a completely different culture. When we returned for lunch, the kids were finishing up their lunch and we were able to spend the afternoon playing with them. There were times when i literally had a child hanging off every single one of my fingers. Annah and Esther stuck by my side ALL day long along and then one of the little boys i met the day before at our church service found me and held my hand all day! Brittany and I taught all the kids how to do the hokey-pokey, the chicken dance, and bananas unite chant. The kids loved our dances and taught us one of their own. They shake their hips back and forth and sing "Chiquita banana, chiquita banana.." over and over again. Later in the afternoon I met 4 of the older boys and we got to talking about what God's plan for me looks like and how im trying to be obedient to his calling. One of the boys was talking to me about his life and telling me how he wakes up everyday at 4 in the morning to walk to school! INSANE! i struggle with 8am's. I also was able to show them pictures of my family and introduce them to my friends. They all kept asking where is your dad and i told them that he had passed away. Well later that day, Esther pulled me to the side and told me "Baba yangu alipokufa." Her father had also passed away the week before we arrived in Kenya. This allowed me to really connect with her, I was able to share with her in swahili that we do not have earthly fathers but we do have a heavenly father who promises to take care of us and love us, but we have to trust in His plan for us. I have absolutely loved today. I cannot see what the Lord has in store for us in the next few days.