Update 1 & 2

I thought I would post the emails that I am sending out to family and supporters while we are in Kenya. Hope you enjoy keeping up with us!

UPDATE 1:

Hi there. My name is Amber, and I am going to be the communicator for our Kenya 2011 team. I look forward to sharing with you what is going on with us while we are away. We do not know the frequency of our internet access while we are overseas, but I will send out updates as often as I can!

I did want to share with everyone our final itinerary so that, if you like, you can pray specifically for us each day:

Thursday, 6/9: We depart from ATL at 7:45 a.m. We will be in flight all day, night, and half-day on Friday.

Friday, 6/10: We should arrive in Nairobi mid-afternoon. We will be visiting theHavilla Orphanage. 

Saturday, 6/11: Our team will be serving in Kibera Slum. We will be doing a painting project with around 80 children at the WEEP Centre. (This link will take you to a slideshow. It is well worth your time, I promise.) We will also be spending relational time with the WEEP women.

Sunday, 6/12: We will depart for Ngaamba. We will be visiting two churches, and we will have a welcome lunch with the leaders of the village. Afterwards, those of us with sponsor children will meet with our sponsored child. This should be a very special, and very emotional, time for all of us involved. Following these visits, our team will walk through the community to view the worksite and prepare supplies.

Monday, 6/13: We will start on the Gabion construction project; we will spend the entire day working.

Tuesday, 6/14: We will continue working on the Gabion project for the entire day.

Wednesday, 6/15: We will wrap up our project work before noon. Afterwards, our team will facilitate activities for K-5 year old students in Ngaamba. We will be making crosses and doing face painting for the children. Should be fun! This will be our first evening to camp within the community.

Thursday, 6/16: Team members will be paired up, and we will do "A Day in the Life" with people in the village. We will assist with daily activities and chores. In the evening we will host a campsite prayer meeting for Ngaamba. We will again camp within the community.

Friday, 6/17: We will break down camp and depart for Nairobi. We will be showering in day rooms - much needed, and much appreciated by everyone who will be on our flights coming home!

Saturday, 6/18: We are scheduled to arrive back to ATL at 2:02 p.m.

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As you think of us while we are away, we would all greatly appreciate your prayers. Specific prayer requests are for safety, health, team unity, flexibility among team members, and for comfort and safety for those we have left at home. 

We can not thank you enough for your support. We trust that God has His hands on each of us and on our paths ahead. 

Until the next update (hopefully!), God bless!

Amber

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UPDATE 2

Hello from Kenya!

We arrived safely to Nairobi this afternoon around 1 p.m. Our flights were a bit long, but we were all thankful to make it here safely and stretch our legs!

Once we arrived in Nairobi, we went straight to the Havilla Orphanage. What a treat that was! We were able to take a tour of their new complex, and we are just amazed at how God has blessed Joseph and his wife to run the orphanage. They have become a fully self-sustaining house; they have cows for milk, goats for meat, chickens for eggs, and a lovely garden for vegetables. They have also been able to successfully create a method to use bio-fuel. They are using "cow poop" (as Joseph calls the manure) as a source of fuel in their kitchen. And, you'll be very surprised to know that it doesn't stink! They now have a reliable way to heat their water to make it safe to drink, and they are able to consistently and thoroughly cook their food. Such a blessing to the orphanage.

Before we left, the children put on a wonderful concert for us. They sang and dance for us. A few team members even got involved and had a wonderful time. This was definitely a very special way to begin our trip in Kenya. The people here are so uninhibited in their worship, and the first thing that the children will say when they tell you about themselves is, "I love God." They fully delight in their relationship with God, and it is humbling to all of us. Here the children are surrounded by poverty and harsh living conditions, yet they put God first and thank Him for everything that they do have. What a great perspective to start our journey!

Tomorrow we serve in Kibera with children and WEEP women. We are looking forward to bonding with the children with crafts and spending time serving the women, working along side of them doing whatever needs to be done.

Thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement. We feel it! 

Until the next update,

Amber

"We may not be able to give much, but we can always give the joy that springs from a heart that is in love with God." ~Mother Theresa 

Kenya Bound

It's the leaving that is so hard. I don't know how many tears I have shed just thinking about leaving, and now the day has arrived.

I tossed and turned too much last night to have gotten any rest. I have second guessed my decision to leave because of all of the fears that I have. All of my fears have to do with Scott and Ella Beth and Landon. Will they be safe? What if something happens while I'm gone? I want so badly to push these thoughts aside because I know they are from Satan. But it's hard.

I cling to 2 Timothy 1:7 "For the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and sound mind." I reminded Satan over and over again that he does not have the power over me to drive me crazy - unless I give it to him. And, it's been hard not to. When those fearful thoughts come up of the "what ifs" while I'm away, I can easily allow myself to go crazy.

But I stop and pray. And I simply must choose to give my children over to the One who made them, who loves them, and who has already directed their paths.

It's hard because I love them so. And I hate to say bye-bye.

I ask that as often as you think of me being gone or think of Scott and the kiddos that you would take a minute to pray for them. Please pray hard for their safety and their health. Please pray for Scott's work schedule that it won't be difficult while I am away (but that he will still have work to bring in the money that we need). Please pray for Ella Beth who is already having a hard time and I have not left yet. Today is going to be especially difficult because she knows that I am leaving the family this evening. There will be many tears shed by both of us, and it is going to be so hard to pry her arms away as I have to turn and leave. And I hate that.

But I know that God is in this. And I am Kenya bound.

Thank you, friends.

Kenya Bound

It's the leaving that is so hard. I don't know how many tears I have shed just thinking about leaving, and now the day has arrived.

I tossed and turned too much last night to have gotten any rest. I have second guessed my decision to leave because of all of the fears that I have. All of my fears have to do with Scott and Ella Beth and Landon. Will they be safe? What if something happens while I'm gone? I want so badly to push these thoughts aside because I know they are from Satan. But it's hard.

I cling to 2 Timothy 1:7 "For the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and sound mind." I reminded Satan over and over again that he does not have the power over me to drive me crazy - unless I give it to him. And, it's been hard not to. When those fearful thoughts come up of the "what ifs" while I'm away, I can easily allow myself to go crazy.

But I stop and pray. And I simply must choose to give my children over to the One who made them, who loves them, and who has already directed their paths.

It's hard because I love them so. And I hate to say bye-bye.

I ask that as often as you think of me being gone or think of Scott and the kiddos that you would take a minute to pray for them. Please pray hard for their safety and their health. Please pray for Scott's work schedule that it won't be difficult while I am away (but that he will still have work to bring in the money that we need). Please pray for Ella Beth who is already having a hard time and I have not left yet. Today is going to be especially difficult because she knows that I am leaving the family this evening. There will be many tears shed by both of us, and it is going to be so hard to pry her arms away as I have to turn and leave. And I hate that.

But I know that God is in this. And I am Kenya bound.

Thank you, friends.

Multitudes on Mondays

289. friends with camping equipment to borrow

290. having enough supplies from previous trips that I don't have to buy anything to go to Kenya

291. team mates who are equally excited about arriving in Ngaamba

292. friends who have promised to pray for me while I am in Kenya

293. friends who have promised to pray for Scott and Ella Beth and Landon while I am in Kenya

294. safety

295. freedom to worship God and to bring my children up to worship Him, too

296. sweet birthday cards

297. thoughtful birthday gifts

2 Corinthians 4:14-16 "Because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you to himself. All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

Welcome to 32

As much as I hate to admit this, I really am glad to be turning 32. Year 31 was a year of "learning," and, frankly, sometimes learning is just plain hard. Not every lesson I learned throughout the last year was a bad experience but sometimes, well, I'd just rather be the teacher. ;)

* I learned that at 31 my metabolism really came to a halt, and I had to start eating better. Guess it had to come sometime, but I will always blame Year 31.

* I learned that good things don't always come to good people. Remember Moses? Yeah, he never saw the promised land.

* I learned that children imitate everything - good and bad. But mostly bad. Those 4 year olds, yeah, they seem to only pay attention to the things I'd rather them not learn (from others, from me, from the TV - and we are very selective).

* I learned that obedience is hard. (No wonder the aforementioned 4 year old has a hard time!) But, I also learned that when you submit fully to God, He will always provide. It may not be in excess, and it may not be exactly what you had in mind, but He is always faithful.

* I learned that discipline and growth go hand in hand. God can't teach me if I'm not studying His word. I won't get in better shape by exercising once in a blue moon. I won't have patient and self-controlled children if I am not practicing (and praying very hard for!) patience and self-control myself.

* I learned that stepping out of the "cool" and "normal" isn't always easy. But, when God calls you He will equip you.

* I have learned that sometimes friends come, and sometimes friends go. Sometimes it's good, and sometimes it's sad.

* I have learned that homeschooling is hard and rewarding and challenging and amazing all at the same time.

* I have learned that being content is a choice. Often it's not an easy choice. But I've also learned that choosing to be content is much better for my soul than allowing myself to be miserable. (I could write a book about this lesson!)

* I have learned that if you want something (REALLY want something), every sacrifice is worth it.

So not everything I learned was bad. In fact, most of the lessons I learned are good lessons that I will be able to look back on and continue learning from. But learning is still learning - full of growing and stretching - and sometimes it comes with those darn growing pains.

Happy 32!

This is what it's ALL about!!!

The Daraja Children's Choir 2011 is made up of children from Ngaamba, Kenya. 

"Worship is not about what you have. It's not about what God has done. It's really about who God is. And that's what they have realized. That God is God regardless of what I have and what I don't have. He still remains to be God, and that's what gives them joy every time they come to worship."



Daraja from Silly Monster Media, llc on Vimeo.
The Daraja Children's Choir of Africa is a group of kids from rural Kenya who comes to America to worship and perform at churches and events around the country.  This teaser introduces the choir their heartwarming and inspiring story.

June 1, 2011

Home from the library. For the first time, we arrived with a stack of books just for Ella Beth. How did we get here so fast?

Let our first official Summer Reading begin!