Sorry again for the lack of posts...It was the first week of school so I have not had much free time for blogging.

Maureen Fletcher was one of the people who came on the trip and she is a very talented photographer. She took some incredible pictures and put together this sweet slideshow of a few of her favorites. I hope you enjoy taking a glimpse at our time in Kenya!

Friday, July 17th

Jambo! So, I am still getting over jet lag and by body is waking up WAY too early since it thinks I am 7 hours ahead of what time it actually is today I have been awake since about 2:30 a.m.) but I will do my best to start from day one just to get going and get some pictures and videos up. For now I will stick to the facts and try not to fall asleep so don't expect anything too witty or deep...

Our flight landed in Nairobi, Kenya early Friday morning the 17th. We loaded up on a big bus with all of our luggage (minus one bag which belonged to Jessica) and headed for the new building. They kids still live in the old orphanage but we were staying in the new building. We all laughed and thought the ride was a little wild and bumpy...that changed once we drove around the area more AND went on safari...little did we know!!! :)

Here it is! Our Home Sweet Home for 2 weeks:

As you can see, the building is not finished. It will eventually have 4 stories plus a useful flat rooftop area. In Kenya, people save up money and buy land, then save up money and lay a foundation, then save up more money and start builing, then as they have the money they do what they can afford until its finished. What a novel concept...only spending the money that you have and patiently waiting...we are not familiar with either of these here in the U.S...

The building is beautiful inside with large tile floors throughout and brightly painted walls. Here are a few pics. more to come:

Jambo! (Hello, in kiswahilli) We made it home safely yesterday afternoon. Filthy, stinky, and exhausted, I could not have been more thrilled to be home! Since I was not able to update my blog as I had hoped while I was in Kenya, I plan to start from the beginning and post info, pictures, and videos now that I am home. This will be a great way for me to process and remember everything while also sharing my experience with the cyber-world. Asante Sana (Thank you so much) for your patience and especially for your prayers. :)

Here are a few pictures my beautiful wife sent from Africa!

chewsday.

today we have a guest blogger!

melanie from live to love

chewsday.

the name of this post could mean so many things.

for instance, I was given the choice of chewing a goat.

but, I learned how to say "vegetarian" in Swahili and it's mla mboga.

the Kenyans look at me with very confused faces saying, "you eat vegetables?"

they can't believe it's a choice!

it's also the way George (the head of our group from Kenya who now lives in NC)

says "Tuesday"

we all had a great laugh at this, and we think he has it down now.

and it's Tuesday!

we have been so blessed while we've been here.

we came to serve, yet we have been served.

we came to give joy, yet we have been given joy.

we came to love, yet we've been given love.

this experience has been extremely overwhelming,

and we aren't even half-way through yet!

saturday was our first day to the orphanage!

and I passed out the mustaches!

it was so much fun to see the kids come in swarms in search of one.

they erupted in laughter upon seeing someone else with one on.

it was incredible to see the joy that these little ones experienced with

something so simple.

best $5 purchase ever

on Sunday, we went to two churches

one that reminded me of church back home!

they had:

life groups

teams for ushering

& amazing praise & worship!

and they sang

"Mighty to Save" as their second song!

we went crazy!

the second service we went to was at the orphanage.

we were greeted as we walked in with choreographed dancing and singing.

there were little Ushers and Chris Browns in the group

it was unbelievable.

I got a video of the kids singing, but it won't upload with the internet here.

I'll have to post it when I get back

we are going on safari in two days and we are all so excited.

it's a 5 hour drive from here to Masai Mara,

so we are scheduled to leave at 6am.

however...time here is not as big of a priority as it is in the US.

which is 100% ok with me.

when we hear "our ride will be here in 15 minutes,"

we know that it could be anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours.

so we have been saying "our ride will be here soon."

we've heard that we should NOT bring food with us because

the baboons will stampede us!

this is NOT a joke!

they are apparently extremely mean and maniacal, and will grab anything they see

that hangs off your body!

we've had an incredible experience so far,

and we know that our trip has only just begun.

we have been thrown curveballs in this journey so far,

but by the grace of God,

we are blessed to be healthy, safe, and right where He wants us to be.

Love you all!

We have arrived

WE have arrived in Kenya! flights were all safe and on time. We are resting and recovering from jet lag today. :)

It's here

It's midnight Tuesday June 14...we leave tomorrow and I am blogging instead of sleeping!



Too excited and can not wait to see what God has in store over the next 14 days...keep praying and keep reading ;)



~em

Countdown!!!

We are getting on a plane and flying to Africa on WEDNESDAY!!! After 6 months of praying, planning, and fund-raising I can't believe it's only a few days away...

Please pray for:

-Unity among our team (There are 16 of us now!!!)
-Smooth travel (that all of us and all of our luggage makes it with no complications)
-Our hearts/spiritual prep (that each member of our team would be spending quality time with God and keeping our eyes and ears open to hear and see His vision for this trip)
-Health (NO negative side effects from the anti-malaria meds we have to take...there are some crazy ones! Also to stay healthy/not get sick while we are there)

I *HOPE* I am going to be able to keep my blog updated with posts, pictures, and videos WHILE we are in Africa so stay tuned to see what we are up to. :)

Sorry about the long time without a post...It has been a VERY busy month or so....


We ended up making about $300 through the Chick-Fil-A spirit night and the Mission Market rasied about $800-YAY!!!

With just over 5 weeks until we depart, we are still hopeful that God has big things in store!

The Home is in need of 48 "Double-Decker" (bunk) beds in order for the children to move into the new building. Each bed cost $200.

If you would like to purchase a bed (or help contribute towards the cost of a bed) please let me know!!! The children can not move into the new building until they have beds to sleep in. The new building has been complete and empty since September...Help us get beds for these children so they can move into their new home!!!

Chick-Fil-A!!!

Come eat at Chick-Fil-A (at Waverly Place in Cary) next Thursday, March 31st between 5 and 8pm. They will donate 15% of all sales that night from people who say they are there to support the Kenya Mission. We will have a PRIZE wheel, which you can spin when you give a $1 donation. EVERY spin is guaranteed a coupon for a FREE menu item!!! 100% of the money donated to spin the wheel will go directly to our mission. Can't wait to see you there! :)

FUNDS

Our Thirty-One fundraiser was a huge success! Our sales total was $1,336 which means Marla wrote us a check for $334!!! Awesome!

Our next fundraiser is on March 31 at the Chick-Fil-A in Waverly Place in Cary. They will donate 15% of all sales between 5 and 8 pm that night from anyone who says they are there to suppot the Kenya Mission. Please come out and eat some delicious chicken for a good cause! :) We will also have a prize wheel which you can spin for $1. Every dime of the money donated to spin the wheel will go towards our mission and EVERY spin is gauranteed to win a coupon for a free menu item from Chick-Fil-A.

Finally our Mission Market is really taking off! Parking spaces are still available so please contact me if you would like more information or a form to fill out to be a vendor. We also need SHOPPERS to come out and buy the items for sale at the market. If you don't have anything to sell then this may be the perfect way for you to help. Who doesn't like shopping for a good cause?

PLEASE spread the word about our 2 upcoming fundraisers. They are very simple, fun, and easy ways for you to make a difference! Thanks for you rsupport! :)

Mission Market

In December when I was thinking about going to Africa, I prayed about whether or not I was supposed to go. I felt like God's response was "Of course! Why WOULDN'T I want you to go?". My response was "OK, then how?". Minutes later I was overwhelmed by this vision of a market. It was taking place in a parking lot and I felt like it was God's way of telling me how to raise the money for this cause. I can only give Him all the credit b/c never in my life have I ever attempted to raise this much money for any one cause, nor have I ever planned a fundraiser of any kind, much less on this large of a scale. This idea was clearly not mine.

SO, 3 months later it is becoming a reality! On April 9th (rain date April 16) we will have our "MISSION MARKET"!
Our goal is to "sell" 60 parking spaces for a minimum donation of $20 (You are welcome to give MORE than $20 for a space ;) Anyone can buy a parking space and sell whatever they want: yard sale items-furniture, clothes, sports equipment, bikes, household items, ART-paintings, photography, drawings, pottery, jewelry, blown glass, Products-Pampered Chef, Tupperware, Mary Kay, Thirty-One, Stampin' Up, etc.

Location: The "With Love From Jesus Ministries" parking on in the shopping center on the corner of Tryon Rd. and Wilmington Street

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PURCHASE A PARKING SPACE TO USE TO SELL ITEMS AT THE MARKET please let me know as soon as possible. The spots will be given to the first 60 people to PAY for them.

Don't have anything to sell? Tell someone else about it who might and COME SHOP at the Market! Ask your friends, co-workers, neighbors, family...whoever you can think of!

Updates!

WE HAVE PLANE TICKETS!!! Praise the Lord!

We also have new team members-Mary and Melanie who are two amazing women in my bible study. SO excited that God called them to join us!

The Thirty-One fundraiser was a HUGE success! I will post the total sales and amount that will go towards our mission when I get that info.

3 people have purchased books from the Scholastic website-YAY!

We found a site for the Mission Market. It will be held on April 9 with a raindate of April 16. See a few posts back for more info. I will post more details as I have them.

God is so faithful and works everything out in His perfect time :)

Faith like a child

When I have my students read chapter books, I give them sticky tabs with different symbols on them to stick in their books as they are reading so that when we meet for reading groups, we can discuss the book. (One tab has an exclamation mark which they stick on a part they thought was exciting, one has a question mark to put on a part that was confusing or they have a question about, one has a star to put on something new they learned, etc.) One sticky tab has a check mark on it which I tell them to stick on the page when they read something they already knew. Today I asked the group I was meeting with if anyone used their check mark tab this week and wanted to share something they read that they already knew. One little girl said "I did!" She grabbed her check mark tab and opened her book and said "Right here, on page 36 when the characters are saying the blessing it says "God is good, God is great". I already knew that." Warmed my heart...praise the Lord :)

Thirty-One

A very thoughtful and generous local 3rd grade teacher (who is also a consultant for 'thirty-one') has offered to donate 100% of her commission (25% of all sales) to our Kenya fund to buy books for the kids at the Heritage of Faith school! We will host a public event at Aversboro Coffee (http://www.aversborocoffee.com/) on Sunday February 27 from 2:00-4:00 pm BUT you can also ORDER ONLINE NOW by following this link: http://www.mythirtyone.com/marla

*Make sure you place your order under the Event called "Kenya Mission Benefit".

Thirty-One is a christian based company, founded on the principles from Proverbs 31. They sell adorable bags, lunch boxes, kid stuff, stationary, and much more! Most of their products can be embroidered for only $6! Orders close on February 27th so go ahead and place yours now before its too late. Spread the word and stock up on birthday or even early Christmas presents for friends and family. Great products for a GREAT cause!

Thanks for your support!!! :)

Books!

I am SO EXCITED about this!

YOU can buy books for the kids at the Heritage of Faith Christian School!

So, the Heritage of Faith school currently does not have any books...none! Not picture books, not text books...NO books! Can you IMAGINE a school without books? This is why our mission is to start a library for them. Here is how you can help: I have a Scholastic account and have created a "Parent" log-in name and password. You can log in, view my wish list of books I have selected, and purchase as many as you'd like.

-The books range in price from $1.00 to sets that are 80 books for $64. Scroll through the list and choose books that are favorites from your childhood or perhaps ones you read to your own kids.
-The books will be shipped to me FREE
-I earn a $3.00 gift certificate for every order that is placed online

HOW:
1. Click this link: http://pcool.scholastic.com/parentordering/login.jsp?ESP=SBC/ib//acq/pcool_slimnav_Parents///nav/txtl////

2: Enter the username "books for africa"

3: Enter the password "kenya"

4: Click on "View Classroom Wishlist"

5: SHOP! Scroll thorugh the list of books I have picked out and add them to your cart. At the end click "Submit order to teacher". Your card will not be charged until I place the order.

PLEASE pass the link, username, and password along to anyone you think may want to purchase books. Thanks for your support! :)

PRAISE!

GREAT NEWS: Our church, Hope Community Church, approved our request to pay for our plane tickets and allow us to pay back the Kenya account they have set up for us until about a month before our trip. This is awesome because we have found some good group rates on tickets that will most likely get more expensive as we get closer to our departure date. We hope to buy our tickets within the next week.

And the verdict is...

NO! That's right, I got the official "We're very sorry BUT..." phone call from Hope today letting me know that we can NOT use their parking lot for our Market fundraiser. I was not totally surprised and God immediately gave me a sense of peace and EXCITEMENT that if we thought this would be the perfect location and it did not work out, then I can't WAIT to see what bigger and better plan he has in store!

Next possibility: Leesville High School. Pray for the paperwork (which has to be approved through the County) goes through quickly so that we at least have an answer ASAP and are able to move forward or pursue Plan...C? Actually more like "Plan G" by now, but who is counting? ;)

Waiting...semi-patiently :)

I know that God is going to work out every little detail of this awesome trip...I just wish he would go ahead and e-mail me the itinerary. :)

I have not written lately because I don't have much new news. I feel like God has given me an incredible vision for a fundraiser but I had no idea it would be so difficult to find a location willing to let us use their property.

We want to hold a Market (I don't like the word "flea"). We plan to "sell" parking spots to vendors who would use the space to set up and sell goods. I would love to have local artists sell paintings, jewelry, pottery, blown glass, photography, etc. Independent consultants could display/raffle/sell/demonstrate their products such as TupperWare, Mary Kay, Thirty-One, Pampered Chef. Anyone could sell yard sale items-clothing, furniture, sports equipment, bikes, or baked goods. We would also have a table set up with information about our mission and opportunities to donate through raffles or a silent auction.

I have submitted a formal request to use the parking lot at the CrossRoads Campus of Grace Christian School/Hope Community Church's Student Ministries Building. Please pray that this request will be approved as we feel this is an ideal location. As soon as someone gives us permission to use their parking lot, we will start promoting our event and selling spaces. I know that this is going to work out so please be thinking about items you may want to sell or donate for a raffle or auction OR others you may know who would be interested in buying a space to sell something. Thank you for your continued support, encouragement, and prayers! :)

Amen

Today when I was reading Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire By Jim Cymbala I could not believe how perfectly this quote described how I am feeling today.

(In reference to David in his battle with Goliath) "David's weaponry was rediculous: a sling shot and five stones. It didn't matter. God still uses foolish tools in the hands of weak people to build his kingdom. Backed by prayer and his power, we can accomplish the unthinkable."

I am not equiped for this journey. I do not have several thousand dollars just laying around that I can't figure out how to spend. I alone am weak. Yet, God has been faithful once again by accomplishing the unthinkable and providing me people who support and encourage me and have provided me with the financial means to go and "build his kingdom".

A few words that start to touch the tip of the ice burg of how I felt when I opened the cards in my mailbox today are: humbled, blessed, grateful, undeserving, shocked, loved, thankful, excited.

thank you...

too excited

I can not sleep. Every night when I lay down, all I can think about is this trip. My mind has been flooded with ideas for fundraisers, questions about what to expect (Will we have running water? With there be electricity? Will they be moved into the new building yet?), things I need to do (make an appointment to get shots, take medicine to prevent malaria, buy an electrical adapter, which I may or may not need depending on whether or not we have electricity...) See what I mean? :)

All that I know for sure is that God will work out every detail. I want to thank each of you for your e-mails, prayers, and words of encouragement so far. I will need them more and more as our depature date gets closer!

Answered prayers!!!

God is SO faithful!

Before I clicked the final button to send my little blog out into cyber space, I prayed that God would use it to bring people that would be able to help us make the biggest impact possible for God's kingdom.

Yesterday I recieved a facebook message from a friend and co-worker named Ashli who read my blog and told me abot her desire to go to Africa one day as well. (Exciting for us to find out that we have this in common!) She also told me about a friend of hers who establishes libraries in Africa. (www.librariesoflove.org) They have been successfully building libraries for several years and their website is filled with incredbly helpful information that others can use to do the same. I thanked God for answering my prayers and for using Ashli to get this useful info to me...

Later that day as I was continuing to think about how awesome this connection was and how helpful the info on their website was it occured to me that I had not yet even mentoned our mission for this trip to Africa on the blog....our mission is to establish a library at the Heritage of Faith and Hope Center!

That is when I REALLY got chills! How incredible that not only did Ashli provide me with the perfect connection and useful info, she had no idea it was even what I was looking for! God is so good! :)

Where I am going: Heritage of Faith & Hope Children Rehabilitation Centre in Nairobi, Kenya

This is a video of Teresia explaining how they started the center. Awesome story!

More background info

I have been a greeter at my church for a few years. We have "teams" and serve once a month. It is not surprising that I quickly formed a bond with another 2nd grade teacher on my greeter team named Anne. Last summer Anne took a huge leap of Faith and was obedient to God's call to go on her first mission trip to Belize. She went and her heart has been changed. She has since been eager to go wherever God wanted her to go next. She had no idea what perfect opportunity was about to fall in her lap...

One of Anne's 2nd grade students named Judith is from Kenya. Judith was born there but she and her family moved to America about 5 years ago. Judith's Aunt Teresia and Uncle Joseph still live in Nairobi, Kenya. Teresia came to America to visit Judith's family and wanted to visit Judith's school and meet her teacher-Anne. As Anne talked to Teresia she found out that she and her husband started an orphanage and school in Nairobi, Kenya. Judith and her family (Mom-Winnie who is Teresia's sister, Dad-George, and little sister Jessica) travel back to Kenya every summer. They invited Anne to go with them this summer.

In November, it was our greeter team's weekend to serve. We meet before going to our "posts" and have "huddle"-a group devotion and a time to pray together. Our awesome team leader, Troy asked if anyone had any prayer requests. Anne spoke up and shared about the opportunity she had to go to Kenya this summer. She was excited but also nervous. Without a second thought, I told her that I wanted to go with her. At the time I don't know if either of us knew how serious the other one was but over the next few weeks I could not stop thinking about it.

Anne started telling other people about the trip and some of them wanted to go, too! The next to jump on board whole heartedly was Angela, whom Anne had met on her trip to Belize last summer. Then Katie said she was "in". Katie and I have been in the same small group/bible study for a few years and have also served as greeters together. She just happens to be another teacher! One of Anne's co-workers, Laura is also coming. Over Christmas Anne's sister talked to her husband and 3 sons and their entire family is also on board...we hope to have a final decision from the others who have expessed interest by January 30th. Once we know how many people we have going we will start looking for plane tickets.

Anne, Angela, and I met for lunch on December 12th. We looked at our calendars and started talking about dates that we would be able to go. This has been a challenge for me in the past as other trips I had wanted to go on were not during my "track-out" dates. As a teacher, I am not able to just take off work. I do not have vacation days because our vacation days are already determined for us on days when the students are not there. Even though Anne teaches in a Traditional Calendar school and I teach in a Year-Round Calendar school, somehow our last days of school are the exact same day this year. For now, all we know is that we will leave no earlier than June 15 and come back no later than June 30.