So, as you have already seen, today was an extra long day. We got to the school at 8:00 a.m. in order to do a devotional lesson with two of the classes at 8:30. Vickie did the actual lesson and Cynthia and I led some songs after she was done. The lesson was on the story of three trees who all had dreams of what they wanted to become. One wanted to be a treasure chest so it could hold something of great value, which eventually became the manger that held baby Jesus. Another wanted to become a huge ship so he could see the whole world and learn a lot of things, which actually became the small fishing boat that held Jesus as he was talking to the large crowd. The third one wanted to grow tall and simply point to his creator, that one became the cross that Christ was nailed to. It was a great lesson that the kids really responded to. I teared up quite a few times :)
Our next few classes were PE. Today we taught them how to play Red Rover. They caught on pretty quickly and had a lot of fun with it! But after a few games it gets old, so we played a few of their games. Today I learned a new hand game and a foot game...I'll try to remember them so I can show you when I get home :).
Next we had another devotional, only this time all of the upper primary (which is grades 4-8). Again Vickie did the lesson and then we did all the songs that we had taught them throughout the week. It was a great time of worship! At one point the chaplain had the kids take a few minutes to pray by themselves. They were all kind of whispering their prayers out loud, so at one point it was like this quite mumbling throughout the hall. Probably one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard! That got over at 2:50, so instead of teaching another lesson, which we were planning on doing at 2:30, we just left so we could get to our next location.
Our next spot was at the Karen Church. We were asked when we were there last week at the worship practice, to stop by sometime during the week for an hour "class" on guitar and piano. So we got there for this "class" and had two "pupils" :). I'm kind of glad it wasn't more, cause this way we could do more one on one. All I really did was teach him some basic chords (or the only chords I know:)..ha...just kidding), and then we would play through a song a few times. We haven't gotten to strumming yet because he's still trying to smoothly change chords in the middle of a song. All in all, it was ok...I'm not really that awesome at guitar anyway, and I'd never taught it before so somethings that I just automatically do, he had to ask me about. But it was good.
Tonight we are having a sleep over with three little girls from the Karen church! We're having pizza, popcorn, and watching only my favorite cartoon...DESPICABLE ME!!! While we were waiting for Vickie I was showing them some of my pictures of Lilly, Owen, Stella, and the rest of the fam, and they just ate it up! They kept repeating the names so they would remember, and saying about the kiddos "oh they look like little dolls!" It was so precious!
So now it is time for sleep...finally! Tomorrow is just a chillax day for me, so I'm planning on doing laundry and watching movies...love it!
I love you all so much! Thank you for all of your support in prayer throughout this crazy adventure!
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Another day at school!
Today we went into Kibera at 10:00 to begin our day with PE at 10:25. We decided to do something different for PE today...a relay race! Good thinking Cynthia (she came up with the whole idea) :) We had them start the race with two of them doing wheelbarrow. When they would finish their leg they tagged one of the "egg" people. These people held the handle of a spoon in their mouth and in the bowl of the spoon there was an egg they had to balance while they walked their leg of the race. We've all seen it done ;). After them, there was a three legged pair that ran to the end and then back to where they started where they would tag the other egg person, that egg person would tag the wheelbarrow people, who now did a piggy back dash to the finish. (Quick reminder: the "playground" is quite small and entirely on a hill...yeah) (Also, there are pics on facebook now)
Now that sounds like a lot all typed out like that, but the 8th graders caught on right away and had quite a bit of fun with it! I will say it was pretty fun to watch :). The only problem came with the 4th graders. They were quite a bit slower on the uptake for a few reasons; 1) The main reason I think is that their english wasn't as well developed as the 8th graders, so they didn't get some of the concepts. 2) I also think the relay race in general was foreign to them. They just hadn't had that experience yet, where the 8th graders did.
Between the two PE classes we had a bit of time to dawdle, so Cynthia was asked to teach the 8th grade class one of her dances. There are pics of that on FB too, it was quite enjoyable! She started teaching them the waltz, so...girls and boys dancing together. Like any other teenagers in the world, they were giggly and shy about dancing together. Especially because just about the entire school was out watching them :). Martin (the chaplain I mentioned before) said that dancing together like that was something that they see, but mostly on TV and only with older people. So them learning this was a bit of a deal.
There was also some time between the PE classes and the Creative Art class, so firstly, Martin took me to see where they were adding on along the backside of the school. They are going to make it so they can have a bigger assembly hall, more class rooms, and a more level and bigger play yard. After that we just hung outside with the kids while they were on their lunch break. I mainly just took pictures, learned names, and talked about what they were learning in school that day. It was a beautiful time!
Our last class was the CA class with the 8th grade. We brought with us the song "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", however, they already knew this song! So, we did sing it together, and tried to teach them some of the harmony on it to make it some what of a lesson. Then we asked them to sing us a song and they sang, I believe, Trading My Sorrows. I knew the song, I just can't remember what one it was now...but I think that was it. After that we still had some time left, so Cynthia continued her dance lesson with them and taught them the basic steps of the Cha Cha. It was cute :) They were a little more willing this time because they were in their classroom, and no one was watching them but Cynthia and I.
We took a bus home today, because Vickie wasn't with us this time. It was a bit of a walk from the school to the next bus stop and I was still a little shaky/weak from being sick yesterday, but it wasn't too bad. I survived, and I will survive again :)!
That's it for today, just getting ready for bed...we've got an early start tomorrow :-p.
Thank you all for praying! Again, it was very much needed. I know I don't need to ask, but please keep praying.
I love you all dearly!
(also I just noticed today I end all my blogs pretty much the same way...it must make it true :)
Now that sounds like a lot all typed out like that, but the 8th graders caught on right away and had quite a bit of fun with it! I will say it was pretty fun to watch :). The only problem came with the 4th graders. They were quite a bit slower on the uptake for a few reasons; 1) The main reason I think is that their english wasn't as well developed as the 8th graders, so they didn't get some of the concepts. 2) I also think the relay race in general was foreign to them. They just hadn't had that experience yet, where the 8th graders did.
Between the two PE classes we had a bit of time to dawdle, so Cynthia was asked to teach the 8th grade class one of her dances. There are pics of that on FB too, it was quite enjoyable! She started teaching them the waltz, so...girls and boys dancing together. Like any other teenagers in the world, they were giggly and shy about dancing together. Especially because just about the entire school was out watching them :). Martin (the chaplain I mentioned before) said that dancing together like that was something that they see, but mostly on TV and only with older people. So them learning this was a bit of a deal.
There was also some time between the PE classes and the Creative Art class, so firstly, Martin took me to see where they were adding on along the backside of the school. They are going to make it so they can have a bigger assembly hall, more class rooms, and a more level and bigger play yard. After that we just hung outside with the kids while they were on their lunch break. I mainly just took pictures, learned names, and talked about what they were learning in school that day. It was a beautiful time!
Our last class was the CA class with the 8th grade. We brought with us the song "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", however, they already knew this song! So, we did sing it together, and tried to teach them some of the harmony on it to make it some what of a lesson. Then we asked them to sing us a song and they sang, I believe, Trading My Sorrows. I knew the song, I just can't remember what one it was now...but I think that was it. After that we still had some time left, so Cynthia continued her dance lesson with them and taught them the basic steps of the Cha Cha. It was cute :) They were a little more willing this time because they were in their classroom, and no one was watching them but Cynthia and I.
We took a bus home today, because Vickie wasn't with us this time. It was a bit of a walk from the school to the next bus stop and I was still a little shaky/weak from being sick yesterday, but it wasn't too bad. I survived, and I will survive again :)!
That's it for today, just getting ready for bed...we've got an early start tomorrow :-p.
Thank you all for praying! Again, it was very much needed. I know I don't need to ask, but please keep praying.
I love you all dearly!
(also I just noticed today I end all my blogs pretty much the same way...it must make it true :)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sick.
So today was an awful day. I woke up at 4:30 a.m. sicker than sick. Between then and about 7 I threw up about 4 times. The rest of the day I had a headache and threw up another 4 times. Vickie and I talked and we've figured it's probably because of heat poisoning or something.
The worst part about this day however, was that every time I started getting sick I just wanted to be home...and knew I wouldn't be for another 5 weeks (which right now, to me, seems like an eternity). I know I'm mostly feeling that way right now because I'm sick and I haven't thought about anything else. But every once in a while, besides today, I've still been having a real hard time with that. I can't figure it out. It's not like I'm by myself in the middle of nowhere or even gone for a longer period of time than normal. I would've been gone from home longer than what it's been to this point and probably wouldn't have thought twice about being home sick. So please, PLEASE keep me in your prayers. I really just need to focus on what God has me here for and how he wants to use me and nothing else.
So tonight, while I'm asleep, you will be wide awake; please be praying that I will sleep peacefully, that my health will be restored, and really that my spirit will be refreshed and excited to go. That is solely what I desire for prayer tonight.
I love you all dearly!
The worst part about this day however, was that every time I started getting sick I just wanted to be home...and knew I wouldn't be for another 5 weeks (which right now, to me, seems like an eternity). I know I'm mostly feeling that way right now because I'm sick and I haven't thought about anything else. But every once in a while, besides today, I've still been having a real hard time with that. I can't figure it out. It's not like I'm by myself in the middle of nowhere or even gone for a longer period of time than normal. I would've been gone from home longer than what it's been to this point and probably wouldn't have thought twice about being home sick. So please, PLEASE keep me in your prayers. I really just need to focus on what God has me here for and how he wants to use me and nothing else.
So tonight, while I'm asleep, you will be wide awake; please be praying that I will sleep peacefully, that my health will be restored, and really that my spirit will be refreshed and excited to go. That is solely what I desire for prayer tonight.
I love you all dearly!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
And so it begins...
Well my friends, today we started at the school in Kibera. We were in charge of two PE classes and three creative arts classes so we got to the police station at 9:45 ish and then walked in to the school to get there at 10:05 ish :) (everything seems to be an "ish" in Africa, no matter where in Africa you are). Our first class was a PE class at 10:25 for 35 minutes. We taught them how to throw and catch a frisbee and then played monkey in the middle so they could use they new skillssss :)
And now I have to explain something. The school in Kibera has but one small "yard" on a rocky hill where they can have their recess. This "yard" is completely boxed in with the school on one side and the metal wall of the buildings next door. So, frisbee was interesting :). For real, it went fine. They just got carried away sometimes and would throw it over the wall to have to go in through a tiny hole in the wall to retrieve it. It was pretty comical (especially when my group lost all but one of theirs at the same time...ha). Anyways, we did the same thing for the other PE class and again it went swimmingly!
For the CA classes we taught them the song that goes "The name of the Lord is * * a strong tower...". I played the guitar and sang and wrote on the chalk board, Cynthia taught them the words and motions and sang, and Vickie taught a lesson to help relate the song to them. It was beautiful :)! The kids loved the motions and sang wonderfully! All three classes had fun.
The Chaplain at Kibera is Martin and he came around with us to the different classes to introduce us and then say everything we'd say during the lesson...again :). For reals, it was fine...he just would reword somethings for the kids. I honestly think they probably got at least the gist of it the first time, but we have to remember (and Vickie told us this later) that english is their second language and so they might not have the same meanings to some words that we do, or they don't understand a concept of other words, so it was interesting to see how he would change up a bit of what we said.
In between two of the lessons we had some down time. So, part of that we spent with the littler kids--beautiful and adorable! They taught us some of their games and mainly just held our hands :)--and the other part of it Vickie and I spent talking to Martin. We talked about the politics of Kenya and the world and, what I thought was more interesting, we talked about this movement to have women speak up about rape. It was really interesting to hear him talk about that. I honestly didn't even think that they would have a program like that. I don't know if I thought they didn't care that much, or didn't think of it as that important, or what...I was just really impressed by it.
After school, we just came home and relaxed (the walk out was flaming hot!). I actually got situated in my own room today. That was nice, because up until this point I was pretty much living out of a suitcase. At around 6:30 we went to eat at the Prestige, which is a mall, and we had dinner at their food court. That was different. It looked like your everyday food court in the US, but here one person from each restaurant would come up to you after you sat down, and handed you their menu. Then they would leave you alone so you could pick what you want from one of them, hold up that menu, and they would come over and take your order. So weird, but fun!
Well it is time for the night and sleep. I thank you all for your prayers and I ask that you would continue them.
I love you all so so dearly!
And now I have to explain something. The school in Kibera has but one small "yard" on a rocky hill where they can have their recess. This "yard" is completely boxed in with the school on one side and the metal wall of the buildings next door. So, frisbee was interesting :). For real, it went fine. They just got carried away sometimes and would throw it over the wall to have to go in through a tiny hole in the wall to retrieve it. It was pretty comical (especially when my group lost all but one of theirs at the same time...ha). Anyways, we did the same thing for the other PE class and again it went swimmingly!
For the CA classes we taught them the song that goes "The name of the Lord is * * a strong tower...". I played the guitar and sang and wrote on the chalk board, Cynthia taught them the words and motions and sang, and Vickie taught a lesson to help relate the song to them. It was beautiful :)! The kids loved the motions and sang wonderfully! All three classes had fun.
The Chaplain at Kibera is Martin and he came around with us to the different classes to introduce us and then say everything we'd say during the lesson...again :). For reals, it was fine...he just would reword somethings for the kids. I honestly think they probably got at least the gist of it the first time, but we have to remember (and Vickie told us this later) that english is their second language and so they might not have the same meanings to some words that we do, or they don't understand a concept of other words, so it was interesting to see how he would change up a bit of what we said.
In between two of the lessons we had some down time. So, part of that we spent with the littler kids--beautiful and adorable! They taught us some of their games and mainly just held our hands :)--and the other part of it Vickie and I spent talking to Martin. We talked about the politics of Kenya and the world and, what I thought was more interesting, we talked about this movement to have women speak up about rape. It was really interesting to hear him talk about that. I honestly didn't even think that they would have a program like that. I don't know if I thought they didn't care that much, or didn't think of it as that important, or what...I was just really impressed by it.
After school, we just came home and relaxed (the walk out was flaming hot!). I actually got situated in my own room today. That was nice, because up until this point I was pretty much living out of a suitcase. At around 6:30 we went to eat at the Prestige, which is a mall, and we had dinner at their food court. That was different. It looked like your everyday food court in the US, but here one person from each restaurant would come up to you after you sat down, and handed you their menu. Then they would leave you alone so you could pick what you want from one of them, hold up that menu, and they would come over and take your order. So weird, but fun!
Well it is time for the night and sleep. I thank you all for your prayers and I ask that you would continue them.
I love you all so so dearly!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Kibera
Today (as in Monday), we went for the first time (since I've been here) to Kibera, the biggest slum in Nairobi if not Africa. We parked our car at the police station right at one of the entrances to the slum, and walked in to the school. It was so cute, cause the littlest kids, who don't go to school yet, shout "how are you" repeatedly at us until we are out of hearing range. If we answer them with "good, how are you" they just keep asking "how are you?"
It was quite the walk. Looking at the "buildings" immediately on either side of us wasn't that much different from what I've seen at Togo/Ghana, however still upsetting. But when you'd get to a high place and look around in any direction you could see it going on for miles and miles. A slum this big I had not yet witnessed. It was so curious to see women and men dressed very nicely walking through there on their way to work in the city, through the muddy/rocky terrain.
Once we reached the school we came in to the principle's office to go over what it was that he would have us do. We settled on doing PE and Creative Arts for the upper levels, 4th or 5th through 8th, this week, and when we come back to Kibera in two weeks we'll do the same classes for the lower levels.
After we were done at the school we walked back out and went to a few of the malls in Nairobi to exchange money and do a little grocery shopping. Oh, and when I say malls, I really mean malls. Three plus stories with lots of overpriced shops on every floor. It was very "American" if you will. Quite the interesting contrast from the Slums that we just walked through!
Our last ho-rah tonight was a going away party for Wendy and Peter. It was just a beautiful time of fellowship with a few of their closest friends from Kenya and we had a lot of fun. We ate lots of food and played pictionary. They said their thankyous and told us a little bit of their testimony. They are beautiful people who greatly love the Lord, and I know that Kenya will truly miss them!
So tomorrow (Tuesday) is our first day at the schools, please be praying!
I love you all do much!
It was quite the walk. Looking at the "buildings" immediately on either side of us wasn't that much different from what I've seen at Togo/Ghana, however still upsetting. But when you'd get to a high place and look around in any direction you could see it going on for miles and miles. A slum this big I had not yet witnessed. It was so curious to see women and men dressed very nicely walking through there on their way to work in the city, through the muddy/rocky terrain.
Once we reached the school we came in to the principle's office to go over what it was that he would have us do. We settled on doing PE and Creative Arts for the upper levels, 4th or 5th through 8th, this week, and when we come back to Kibera in two weeks we'll do the same classes for the lower levels.
After we were done at the school we walked back out and went to a few of the malls in Nairobi to exchange money and do a little grocery shopping. Oh, and when I say malls, I really mean malls. Three plus stories with lots of overpriced shops on every floor. It was very "American" if you will. Quite the interesting contrast from the Slums that we just walked through!
Our last ho-rah tonight was a going away party for Wendy and Peter. It was just a beautiful time of fellowship with a few of their closest friends from Kenya and we had a lot of fun. We ate lots of food and played pictionary. They said their thankyous and told us a little bit of their testimony. They are beautiful people who greatly love the Lord, and I know that Kenya will truly miss them!
So tomorrow (Tuesday) is our first day at the schools, please be praying!
I love you all do much!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Karen Church
We got to Church early today so we could practice with the worship team before the service. Turns out we didn't practice really (maybe once through right before the service) but we stood in a circle at the front of the church and sang and prayed for the service, the congregation, the pastor, and the community. It was a beautiful time of worship as we held hands and lifted our voices together!
The service itself was beautiful, an energetic spirit-filled time of worship. We played for the offertory, which went well, and then the pastor went up to do the message. It was about unity in the church and the scripture was from 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. It was a brilliant message and I believe God really spoke through him!
After that we went to lunch with Peter and Wendy as it was there last Sunday before they returned to the UK. We went to a restaurant called the Mediterranean I believe. It's an Italian place and it was kind of weird because there were a lot, A LOT, of white people there. Compared to Togo and Ghana, I've seen a lot more white people here.
That's pretty much all we did today, but those two things practically took all day because we didn't leave church until probably 1:30 or 2 and then we didn't get home until 4:30 and the sun sets at 6:30. So, we just hung out at the apartment the rest of the day.
Thank you for your prayers, they are greatly appreciated. I'm still a little out of it, but it's getting better.
I love you all so very much, and I miss you dearly!
The service itself was beautiful, an energetic spirit-filled time of worship. We played for the offertory, which went well, and then the pastor went up to do the message. It was about unity in the church and the scripture was from 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. It was a brilliant message and I believe God really spoke through him!
After that we went to lunch with Peter and Wendy as it was there last Sunday before they returned to the UK. We went to a restaurant called the Mediterranean I believe. It's an Italian place and it was kind of weird because there were a lot, A LOT, of white people there. Compared to Togo and Ghana, I've seen a lot more white people here.
That's pretty much all we did today, but those two things practically took all day because we didn't leave church until probably 1:30 or 2 and then we didn't get home until 4:30 and the sun sets at 6:30. So, we just hung out at the apartment the rest of the day.
Thank you for your prayers, they are greatly appreciated. I'm still a little out of it, but it's getting better.
I love you all so very much, and I miss you dearly!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Worship Practice!
In the end today was a good day. However, I had a rough start. I was going through the homesick blues. I know...only three days and you're already homesick? But I think it's because we haven't been super busy quite yet. I haven't had anything to really process except the fact that I was in a different country, house (however beautiful it is), and not with my family. But I read my bible, talked it out a little with Cynthia, prayed, took a shower, and cried a lot, so by the time it was time to go out I was feeling a bit better.
So we were invited to participate in the Worship practice at Karen Church today. It was a wonderful time! First, they had Cynthia and I play a song for them, so they could see how "good" we were. Then they picked out a few songs that they knew and had us teach them to them. As Cynthia would say, it was a good "jam" session! They picked one of the songs ("Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord") and decided to have us do the special/offertory music with it. Lastly they just taught us the other songs they were singing in Swahili so we could sing along during the service on Sunday.
It was a great time of fellowship as, in between songs, we talked to them about music, our backgrounds, worship, etc. It was so fun to watch them dance and worship as they were practicing their other songs, and I can't wait to be there as part of the congregation tomorrow!
Here are some things you can keep in your prayers:
-We are starting this next week at the school in Kibera. Please pray that I will have the confidence, wisdom, and peace that I need in order to teach and show them the love that Christ has to offer them.
-Every once in a while I still have an overwhelming feeling of being homesick...and it's kind of a lost feeling right in my gut. Like I said, I'm assuming it will dissipate once we start getting busy, but it's still hard at times. So please pray for peace, and again confidence. I know this is where I'm supposed to be, God has solidified that in my mind, but there are still those moments of insecurity where I need my backup team praying for me at home. (Which I know you are!)
-Finally, continued safety while I'm here...I know my mom would appreciate that :) And I would too!
I love you all so dearly!
So we were invited to participate in the Worship practice at Karen Church today. It was a wonderful time! First, they had Cynthia and I play a song for them, so they could see how "good" we were. Then they picked out a few songs that they knew and had us teach them to them. As Cynthia would say, it was a good "jam" session! They picked one of the songs ("Open the Eyes of My Heart Lord") and decided to have us do the special/offertory music with it. Lastly they just taught us the other songs they were singing in Swahili so we could sing along during the service on Sunday.
It was a great time of fellowship as, in between songs, we talked to them about music, our backgrounds, worship, etc. It was so fun to watch them dance and worship as they were practicing their other songs, and I can't wait to be there as part of the congregation tomorrow!
Here are some things you can keep in your prayers:
-We are starting this next week at the school in Kibera. Please pray that I will have the confidence, wisdom, and peace that I need in order to teach and show them the love that Christ has to offer them.
-Every once in a while I still have an overwhelming feeling of being homesick...and it's kind of a lost feeling right in my gut. Like I said, I'm assuming it will dissipate once we start getting busy, but it's still hard at times. So please pray for peace, and again confidence. I know this is where I'm supposed to be, God has solidified that in my mind, but there are still those moments of insecurity where I need my backup team praying for me at home. (Which I know you are!)
-Finally, continued safety while I'm here...I know my mom would appreciate that :) And I would too!
I love you all so dearly!
Friday, February 18, 2011
Well hello there Kenya!
Hello my friends and family!
I arrived safe and sound in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday, February 16th at 8:40 p.m. Other than the trip being extremely long, and sitting in between two large men that I obviously don't know, it was a good...and safe :) trip!
I walked out the door of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to meet the two beautiful women that I have been communicating with since I started thinking about coming here! Unfortunately we were driving through the city at night on the way to the apartment, but apparently we were driving right past the national parks with all the zebras and giraffes and whatnot...Crazy!
The morning after I arrived, which was yesterday, I didn't get out of bed until about 11:00 or 12:00. I was feeling pretty sick and really tired after not sleeping for at least 24 hours. I won't give you all the details, but it was not fun! Once I got up I pretty much just got organized and situated cause there wasn't anyone else home until like 2:00. I spent the rest of the day getting to know Cynthia (who is wonderful...we're pretty much the same person). Cynthia is the other woman who is staying at the Reynen's and is volunteering her time with the children's ministry here.
The apartment is beautiful. I'm gonna be honest, it's pretty much a resort :)! There's a balcony that looks over the beautiful court yard in the middle of all the apartments and there is a pool with lounge chairs and wonderfulness! As of right now Cynthia and I are sharing a room because Wendy and Peter, a couple from the UK, are staying here as well. They leave (very unfortunately) on Tuesday of next week, and when they do I will be taking over their room.
Today we started off the day at 5:00 a.m. Yes, mom and dad...5:00 AM. And I didn't even have to, we just got up to walk. I almost died, but it was ok :). The main thing we did today was go out and visit the school in Kawangware that we will be "teaching" at. We mainly just went over what it is we will be doing there. We talked about us teaching PE, teaching them little games and such, and doing a few lessons in music and bible stories. I'm a little overwhelmed by everything we went over, but when we plan it out I know it will be wonderful!
Well that's about it! Just sitting down to eat and to watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers!
I love you all!!
I arrived safe and sound in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday, February 16th at 8:40 p.m. Other than the trip being extremely long, and sitting in between two large men that I obviously don't know, it was a good...and safe :) trip!
I walked out the door of the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport to meet the two beautiful women that I have been communicating with since I started thinking about coming here! Unfortunately we were driving through the city at night on the way to the apartment, but apparently we were driving right past the national parks with all the zebras and giraffes and whatnot...Crazy!
The morning after I arrived, which was yesterday, I didn't get out of bed until about 11:00 or 12:00. I was feeling pretty sick and really tired after not sleeping for at least 24 hours. I won't give you all the details, but it was not fun! Once I got up I pretty much just got organized and situated cause there wasn't anyone else home until like 2:00. I spent the rest of the day getting to know Cynthia (who is wonderful...we're pretty much the same person). Cynthia is the other woman who is staying at the Reynen's and is volunteering her time with the children's ministry here.
The apartment is beautiful. I'm gonna be honest, it's pretty much a resort :)! There's a balcony that looks over the beautiful court yard in the middle of all the apartments and there is a pool with lounge chairs and wonderfulness! As of right now Cynthia and I are sharing a room because Wendy and Peter, a couple from the UK, are staying here as well. They leave (very unfortunately) on Tuesday of next week, and when they do I will be taking over their room.
Today we started off the day at 5:00 a.m. Yes, mom and dad...5:00 AM. And I didn't even have to, we just got up to walk. I almost died, but it was ok :). The main thing we did today was go out and visit the school in Kawangware that we will be "teaching" at. We mainly just went over what it is we will be doing there. We talked about us teaching PE, teaching them little games and such, and doing a few lessons in music and bible stories. I'm a little overwhelmed by everything we went over, but when we plan it out I know it will be wonderful!
Well that's about it! Just sitting down to eat and to watch Seven Brides for Seven Brothers!
I love you all!!
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
In the Airport!
Well, I'm just sitting here in the airport waiting to board the plane to Amsterdam, then from there, off to Nairobi! I am a little anxious, but my excitement definitely surpasses that anxiety! As soon as I am able I will let you all know when I arrive in Kenya safely.
In the meantime would you please be praying for:
-My safety in travel.
-My anxiety about the travel.
-That I will find rest sometime in the next 24 hours of traveling.
I love you all dearly!
In the meantime would you please be praying for:
-My safety in travel.
-My anxiety about the travel.
-That I will find rest sometime in the next 24 hours of traveling.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Intro to Kenya!
Hey guys! For those of you who don't know, I will be taking off for Nairobi, Kenya on February 15th to start my internship with Vickie Reynen. She is the head of ICCM (International Child Care Ministries) and I will be shadowing her pretty much wherever she goes. I'll help out in classes, at church, with short term mission teams, and really anywhere they need me. I am very excited for this amazing opportunity the Lord has put in my path. I hope that you will follow me in my adventures through this blog, and that you will keep me in your prayers throughout this adventure!
Prayer Concerns:
-Travel safety...I'll be alone for the whole time on my way there and back, so I could use prayer for peace of mind that God has it all in his hands and so I have nothing to worry about.
-That I will be able to have everything I need done and ready for when February 15th comes...ONLY TWO WEEKS!!!
-Vickie Reynen...She will have two of us interning with her at the same time. Pray that we won't stress her out too much and that we will be able to bless her in our time there.
-That God will prepare me for what plans he has for me in this crazy cool experience!
Prayer Concerns:
-Travel safety...I'll be alone for the whole time on my way there and back, so I could use prayer for peace of mind that God has it all in his hands and so I have nothing to worry about.
-That I will be able to have everything I need done and ready for when February 15th comes...ONLY TWO WEEKS!!!
-Vickie Reynen...She will have two of us interning with her at the same time. Pray that we won't stress her out too much and that we will be able to bless her in our time there.
-That God will prepare me for what plans he has for me in this crazy cool experience!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)