Going, Going...

In just a few short days we will be in Kenya! Just think, we get to fly 30 hours (give or take a few), pass through three airports, go through customs and spend two weeks in a strange land among a strange people (strange in that they are culturally different from us not strange as in weird). We will get to eat exotic delicacies like cabbage, githeri, mukimo, sukuma wiki, ugi, chapaties and everyone’s favorite ugali (if you’re wondering what ugali is remember Google is your friend). We will have chai tea for breakfast lunch and dinner (where kind I find a good cup of coffee??). We will learn new phrases like jambo, hodi, hbari yako, mzuri sana, kuribu and asante. And have you checked the weather? It is hot where we are going. Daytime highs are in the mid to upper 90’s and night time lows are in the mid 70’s (and it is winter??).

We will also get to meet and work with an amazing group of people. People who will adopt us into their families, make us feel welcome and take us into their hearts. People who demonstrate the love of God in the way they reach out to us and everyone they encounter. We will have a chance to build relationships with people who desperately need to know God and feel the Father’s love. God will take us on this incredible journey and allow us to be part of the amazing work He is doing with and through our brothers and sisters in Christ. This truly is the opportunity of a lifetime. Whether you are going on the trip or supporting the team with your prayers know that you are in fact going to be in Kenya, doing the Father’s work and making a difference in the lives of people in ways we may never know or understand. We are all connected as one body. Some of us are the hands and feet while others are the heart and eyes. Wherever one part of the body goes, the entire body must also go because we are all connected. We will all have a connection to Kenya as a result of this trip just as we are all connected through our love of the King and our Living Hope Family.

Speaking of connected, did you know that the area of Kenya we will be working in is populated predominately by Somalis? Did you know the largest population of Somali people in the US is located in Minneapolis? Did you know that there are Somalis living right here in Green Bay? Many of the Somalis in our area come from, or have families in, the same area we will be working in. It is very possible that someone we meet in Kenya next week could turn up in our community in the future. As I thought about this possibility I was reminded that we are all connected through God the creator, and by serving and following Him we can make an impact on our community and the world no matter where we go. I am constantly amazed that God chooses to work out His plan through us (well me anyway, the rest of the team is very capable) in ways we could never have imagined. It truly is amazing what our God can do and he invites us be a part of it all.

We will be updating the blog while we are on the trip as often as we can. If you want to keep tabs on what “you” are up to in Kenya follow the blog. It will be an awesome story!