Kenya Plans

The big thing going on right now is an issue concerning my time here in Kenya. As some of you know, the Medlin’s will be going back to the states in November when their visa expires and have no plan on returning back to Kenya per God’s leading. Obviously this affects me in many ways.

The Medlin’s came here on God’s calling to work with this children’s home as a middle man until David and Laurel (the founders) would be able to move here in summer of 2013, which is a life long decision. David is a native Kenyan who met his wife in the states. After being here for a year the Medlin family feels they have done all they can ministry wise for this home, and for these children for the time being. They feel God is calling them to go back home, possibly to a new state, and do ministry in the states.

My family, and the pastor body at church, understandably does not feel completely comfortable with me being over here for 6 months by myself. When I say by myself I mean with no other westerners present, being in charge of the money for the home and several other responsibilities I may have. This is a valid concern obviously.

While I still feel called to do a full year of international missions I am praying for how to complete this last 6 months. I have several options that I would like to lay out (some are not concrete) and ask you to pray individually for each of these. For me to have wisdom and guidance in this situation as I work to find God’s will in the new year.

First, there is the possibility that I can go to another children’s home about an hour to an hour and a half away from here and work. I’m currently working through the application process for this home, and communicating via email with the founders. Their response was not an immediate no to the request of me working with them, but they still have to go through the application with me and see if they have ways, based on my interests and abilities, where I would be useful to their ministry. This home is very established, about 30 years old, and is run by older western missionaries. This place has anywhere from 70-100 children.

Second, there is the possibility of when I come home in December in staying home until David and Laurel move to Kenya and then finishing my other 6 months out with them present. This could be around June to December of the next year. I’m still working at getting in contact with them to see if this is a valid option.

Lastly, my other option is to continue praying and see if God is only wanting me to do July to December 2012 mission work at this season in my life, and coming home and trying to find ways to be involved in missions state-side, or possibly working with one of our international contacts through church to work in their missions.

If it was my decision I would find a way to do one of these options of work in Kenya. I love this place, I love these people, I love these children. I feel like I am supposed to be here, I feel a call to do missions. That much is rooted in my heart and mind and I have no desire to turn away from missions. The biggest thing I am praying for is clarity in God’s desire for me.

Please pray with me about this.

Other Prayer Requests:

• Eluid prayed to accept Christ into his life yesterday. We are pretty certain that this is legit. We are still talking to him and seeing what we think, so please continue to pray about him and this new salvation.
• Pray for staff and leadership to come together for the interim time at the home (from November to June-ish.)
• Pray for David and Laurel who are planning on being here by June and possibly earlier. They have 2 small children and will be moving here permenantely. David is a native Kenyan but his wife is from the states. Pray as they are getting ready for such a big transition.
• Please pray for the children’s hearts to be open and receptive as the Medlin’s plan on telling them of their leaving in the next week. Please pray that they will handle the news in a good way.
• From Nati: For future plans after December. Please begin praying for her now, for safety as she leaves to go back home on October 16th.
• Please pray for me as I will be the only girl here after Nati leaves, and a few weeks after that will be the only Westerner here from November 4th until I leave to come home on December 10th.

a bunch of THANK YOU’S

I need to take a small space of blog to gush and say a good many thank you’s to some people in my life.

First, thank you to everyone who reads this blog, whether I know you personally or not. Thank you for reading, for praying about the things I put on the www. Thank you for covering this mission with prayer, encouragement and truth daily. I know I would not be here without you and without the encouragement you give me to get through the day.

To every one of my prayer warriors, THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. To know you are praying for us daily keeps me going some days. I can feel God working through the prayers you send up. He has given me such encouragement through you. I think it is absolutely beautiful to have so many people in Christ praying for His mission and His people by name. Please keep praying, you are helping even though you have not stepped a foot in Kenya.

Thank you to my best friend Jacky for being my advocate at home when I am not there. Thank you so much for telling people my prayer requests, for getting together small things for mom to send me in a box. I cannot tell you how much it means to me to log onto facebook and 90% of the time have a small message or prayer from you. You, I’m sure, understand how much that can mean on a hard day, a gloomy day or even the jolt of energy it can give you on an already great day. I’m so thankful to have people like you in my life that support what I’m doing in my life right now and help to spur me on in every circumstance.

I want to say a giant thank you to everyone who has donated ANYTHING to my mom that she sends to me. You don’t understand what it means to get lotion, candy, cards or shampoo. Even that small gesture is so appreciated. I’m sure there are so many of you that have done this that I would never be able to say thank you to you individually, but please know I am so grateful for everything you have done for me these past 2 and a half months.

Thank you to the SS class and people who helped donate money so we could buy animals for the children’s home. The fact that we will be able to buy a cow ALONG with several sheep/goats is phenomenal. You truly are amazing.

I want to give a special thank you to 3 little girls. Kathryn, Sarah and Lily – your cards, and chicken magazine brought the biggest smile to my face this week. I am so humbled and honored to know that you pray for me daily, and think of me enough to make such sweet cards for me! Kathryn, of course I would like more chicken magazines! Please keep sending them to me! I love them, as did my roommate Nati. You girls are precious and I’m so thankful to know you and have you in my life.

To my brother Joey, you have been such an encouragement to me since I’ve been here. You reminded me that missions is not about leaving behind everything and focusing on something new. You have shown me that God can have a massive impact on the people we live behind, as well as the people we are going to minister to. Thank you for believing in me, and loving me, and sending me little notes of encouragement on facebook when I’ve been sick, ill attitudes and homesick. You are so amazing and I’m so excited about seeing you again in December.

To my parents, I would not be here without your support and guidance. Thank you for not laughing at me when I sat you down years ago and told you I wanted to move to Kenya at some point in my life. Thank you for praying for me and with me as I got ready for this move. Thank you for all your financial advice, help, support and all the little things you have done. Thank you for the text messages of encouragement, for listening to me cry until I got settled in, and for listening to my anger over many situations. God really has worked in our family since that first trip to Kenya in 2008 and it has been an amazing journey to see where we have all been since June 28th this year. I’m so proud to have parents who follow God’s will and push me to do the same, to push through my fears and insecurities. I cannot imagine what else He has in store for us.

Lastly, the biggest thank you I can muster up goes to every single one of you saints at Morningview Baptist. The decade of biblical teaching, friendships, discipleship and prayer that I have experienced in your rooms is overwhelming. I am so blessed to be part of a church that is obedient in preaching and teaching all the scripture, no matter what issues it may bring it up. I cannot express the change I have had these last few years under the teachings of our amazing pastors. I truly have family with every one of you people. I miss you all more than words can express, but am so thankful to know that your heart bleeds to send people out to share Christ with the whole world, and I’m so blessed to be able to experience this. Thank you for your sermons, your prayers, your gifts, and YOU. Thank you for loving Christ and following His commands and will.

blog topics!

I feel like I tend to blog about the same things over and over, or I don’t really have much to blog about so what I do type are just general observances. Are there specific things you want to know about my time here? About the children? About XYZ? Please comment or FB so I will know what to blog about more often. There may be things you want to know but I don’t think about really so I haven’t put it on the blog. Please let me know!

we caught some chickens

This week was kind of sad. Nicole and Danielle left for home on Monday. I had a good friendship with Nicole since the first week I was here. For 2 weeks the two of us lived together in the boys room by ourself. After the 4 girls left in July Nicole and I moved into the room with Nicole and Danielle. As most of you recall the first half of my stay here was not so smooth with Nati and Danielle. Mainly Danielle. Neither one of us seem to open up to people very easily, it takes some time. By the last few weeks of my time with Danielle she was like a completely different person. She had opened up, included me, and I wanted to spend time with her.

Because of that I was rather sad when the girls left on Monday. I look forward to keeping up with them through Facebook and email. Especially with Nicole as she is praying and trying to find God’s will at this point in her life by possibly extended mission in South Africa. I have no doubt that the two of us will see each other and fellowship together again on African soil.

Nati and I have however sprung up a fast friendship this week (rather we just built on what we had developed over the last 2 months) and it has been amazing. I’m so thankful to have a friend here for another month until she goes home. We both have a similar sense of humor. We like going into town together and just taking our time while being there. We have spent the last few nights watching movies before bed – which thankfully it easy since we seem to like the same movies. We like to make fun of certain actresses together (mainly Kristen Stewart). We have even exercised together every day this week. Nati comes from a reformed background as well so she has shared some of her sermons with me from her computer. People like Jenny Salt, Louie Giglio, John Piper, Andy Stanley and some other sermons from Passion 2011 and 2012. I’m thankful that I have fellowship in Christ as well as a friendship with the same basis to help sustain me. I cannot wait to see what the next month brings.

The rest of this week was pretty smooth. We spent more time with the kids since school still has not started back up yet. Wednesday Nati and I spent the day in town doing some shopping, eating good food and hacking into wifi in a certain shopping center. Thursday we took a little over half of the kids into Flax for market day. Some of the kids still had some money from what they got when they recited their 30 memory verses a couple weeks ago, but the kids with no money still enjoyed getting to go and look around. I finally got my first piece of mail since July 20th. I keep hoping that the people I’ve written to will write me back but no luck so far. Today Kellie slaughtered the chicken we had for supper (her first time, so it was fun to watch that. I took video so look forward to that in December.) and I even caught 2 chickens by myself. I’m sure I looked like a fool trying to catch them but it sure was fun!

Life is normal, at least normal for Kenya. I feel so much at home. I’m looking forward to a visit home in December but I’m sure by the last week that I will be chomping at the bit to get back here.

Prayer Requests:

• Levi (one of the workers) has been really sick. They think he has legit Malaria. He has been running a fever for a couple days and is extremely weak. Please pray for healing.
• We have completed our second week of the teacher strike. And there does not look like a good bit of hope that school will be starting this week either.
• From Nati: please pray for clarity concerning her future plans.

same ole same ole

It seems that I run out of things to blog about the longer I’m here. I think because I’m more or less here and settled in there is not a big chunk of new things happening to report about.

Monday we had a girls day in town as a last thing before the girls leave. Kellie, Nicole, Danielle, Nati and I ate lunch, did some shopping, and just enjoyed being together. It was also Danielle’s birthday so we all sort of chipped in for lunch and a small gift for her. Danielle made an appointment to come back on Wed. to town to get a tattoo (which I was interested in but didn’t really want to chance hygiene while in another country) which she ended up going through and doing. It was an interesting thing to watch. We went to our movie man and got some new movies to watch, which has been great. We’ve been having movie nights in our room most of this week.

Friday we had some visitors come to the kids home. They came from a church that is run by missionaries, who lives here in Eldoret, father. That is kind of confusing so let me see if I can explain it a little bit. Josh and Kelsey are here for an undetermined amount of time planting a bible believing, teaching and doctrinally sound church. They have been here for about a year and half and do not have a return date. Kelsey’s father is a pastor of a church in the north and this team came to help Josh and Kelsey out. The women came to the home to visit the kids, see what we do and meet new people. The team has been doing medical missions as well as working in some churches.

We also enjoyed one more week with the kids before they go back to school on Monday, at least I think that is the plan. The teachers here are horrible, they barely show up to teach, and when they do come they do not really teach them much of anything – I mean Kellie and Nati teach and do better than the teachers, and Nati is only 18 with no degree. The teachers nationwide (in public schools) went on strike this week in hopes for more money. Teachers here already get paid a good amount for the fact that they do not work half the time. The kids are ready to go back to school bad, but it has been nice to spend more free time with them.

Fred went home last Saturday for a visit and was supposed to be back on Sunday sometime. It is now a week later and Fred still has not shown up at the kids home. He very rarely answers his phone when anyone calls and we have no real information as to why he is not coming home or if and when he is planning on coming back at all. Please pray for this situation. It is kind of crazy and I’m not sure what all is going on. Rumor has it that he may be getting replaced soon but I’m not sure what the plan is on that front either. UPDATE: Fred has been let go and replaced, although no one is sure why he never came back to get his things.

I’m so thankful to be given such an awesome family to live with while here in Kenya. Kellie has really invested in us girls daily, and speaks the truth to us (both gently and harshly when the need arises). She is so supportive and loving. One of those women who always see the good in people, who speaks kind words all the time. Who lives with the gospel on her heart and mind. I am so blessed to be surrounded by her. I’m still praying about some things going on in my life and in my missions opportunities.

I’m trying to keep an objective mind and prayer life about this situation and it is proving to be harder than I imagined.

Prayer Requests:

• Nicole and Danielle fly out from Nairobi on Tuesday to return home to the states. They are leaving on separate flights; Nicole at 4:30pm and Danielle at 11pm. Please pray for safety, no delays and quick return back to their families.
• Levi (one of the nice workers) fell and injured an old foot injury. He has a fracture where his toes meet his foot. Pray for no pain, for quick healing.
• Continued unspoken prayer for me. I may possibly have the opportunity to express the details of this prayer request very soon. Be on the lookout for a detailed blog post about this soon.
• From Nati: For the Lord to open opportunities to come back to Kenya next year to visit everyone. And for a job to open up when she goes back home in October.
• From the Medlins: Pray for continued progress on construction of the home. Praise: All the children have one sponsor who is helping pay some of the funds needed and are praying for them! Pray for continued sponsors for the children.

memory verses

In my own personal quiet time, and with the bible study I’m doing with mom I’ve been trying to memorize scripture each week. Sadly, this is not something I was doing at home because I’m lazy. Point blank, that is the simple of it. I’m working on verse number 6 right now and it has been amazing. I wish I had been doing this for years. I feel great when I think about the verses. Already, there have been times when God has put these on my mind when I’ve been in a foul mood, or am feeling sad and pitiful. I wanted to share the first 5 with you as an encouragement, and suggest if you are NOT memorizing scripture weekly to maybe look at these and try them!

Psalm 19:14 – Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in your sight Oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

Proverbs 3:3 – Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you. Bind them around your neck, and write them on the tablet of your heart.

2 Corinthians 10:5 – We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.

James 3:17 – But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy, and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Matthew 26:41 – Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. For indeed the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

birthday in kenya & bible study

This past week has been amazing. We spent 4 days in Kipkelion (Monica’s home town) for 2 days of VBS with the local children, as well as a time of felowship with Monica’s parents.

Tuesday was a travel day. We got there safely, without injury or accident.

Wed. and Thursday were VBS days. The Vbs turned out amazing. On Wed. we had 85 children show up, and on Thursday we had 115. I can almost gaurantee if we had gone another day we would have been knocking at 150 children easily. We did a time of games, crafts, bible stories and skits and bible trivia, which was a huge hit. The kids knew things about the bible that even I had not the faintest idea about. It was awesome to know they have the knowledge, just have to pray that they will have the heart to go along with it. We even had one of our own children pray to accept Christ – Eunice. I think she is 13 or 14 and it seems incredibly genuine.

The people here are so welcoming. Monica’s parents cooked breakfast and dinner for us. A lady from the local church, Rose, had 20 something of us over after VBS on Wed. and fed us an amazing lunch! I haven’t been that full in so long. She reminds me so much of Lynette, she just exuded the gift of hospitality. Later that day we also went to a goodbye party for people who did not know us! They invited us all in, let us roam and look around their house and even gave us chai and tea. The woman’s daughters, Faith and Mercy, were leaving home to go to university. It was a time of prayer, encouragement and wisdom from fellow believers. It was precious. I’m so thankful we were able to go.

I also had an amazing birthday. Spent it at vbs, then when we got back to the house I was able to hold a baby goat for the first time. I also had my first Kenyan splash bath (standing in a small room with a bar of soap, and warm water in a small bucket) which turned out to be great. I felt cleaner doing that than I do most days with the shower here at our hotel.The people around me really did a lot to make me feel welcome and have a good day. Everyone told me happy birthday all day. The kenyans and the rest of our people sang to me twice. Kellie and Danielle gave me cards, and Danielle even gave me a bracelet. We even had brownies after supper (and I had been holding on to my package of reese’s cups for a whole week) which was a huge delight to everyone present! It truly was an amazing birthday. So different from home, yet so much more fulfilling. I think as long as I live it will be a birthday I will not forget.

Friday we had to say goodbye and most of us were sad about that. Nicole, Monica and Christina decided to stay until Monday. Monica and I plan on coming another time so I can stay and spend time with her family for a couple days again. We went to market on our way out and it was crazy to see how different the markets are. This one was double the size of Flax easily. Monica’s parents also gave the Medlin’s a hen and a cock so we rode had 4 hours with them in the floor of the truck with us. It was surely a new experience for me.

I’m happy to be back home in Kaptagat. This is where I feel at home, with the people I love. Things with Danielle have even become a lot better. She told me she liked me, bought me a birthday present and today even, spent the whole day hanging with me at the hotel and having fun. I don’t know if we got off on the wrong foot, or if she just had to warm up to me. But I wish this would have happened 2 months ago instead of 10 days before she leaves. She is a nice person.

Prayer Requests:

• Continued prayer for the other 13 children at the home who do not have Christ as their personal Lord. Pray that we will be faithful to share the gospel with them daily, and that they will see the Glory of Christ in all of us.
• Continued prayer for me, for guidance and wisdom.
• From Nati: pray that she will not waste the time she has left here in Kenya. Pray that she will give her all these last 2 months for the Lord. Also, her family is considering moving overseas to become missonaries. Please pray for them as they are discerning God’s will in these circumstances.
• From Danielle: Megan, her sister, starts treatment on Tuesday. Both Megan and mom are nervous, pray for peace and healing through treatments. For her brother to move out of the house (apparently it is something that needs to happen). And continued prayer for her father, who cannot find consistent work. Danielle says he is prideful about this situation and will not accept help when it is being offered to him. Pray his pride will be broken and that he will accept help when it is being offered.
• From the Medlins: the kids will be starting back to school on Monday unless the teacher strike holds out. Continued prayer for Gabe. He has pneumonia and possibly another infection. Pray for the medicine to continue to work and for him to feel better fully soon. And continued prayer for the house to be finished quickly.

On to the next week of bible study!

Week 2: Filling your thought closet with Truth

Memory verse: We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ. -2 Corinthians 10:5

Day 1: Label makers

• Some levels of self-condimnation are damaging. Instruction brings life; condemnation brings destruction.
• Labels can cut to the core. (Boy do I know all about labels. Lots of my baggage comes from some pretty particular labels I had thrust on me at 15)
• We all have labels in our closets that we wish were not there. Some we give ourself and some are given to us. Think about where your labels come from. You? Parent? Sibling?
• Satan is the father of lies, and each lie is his offspring. Ephesians 6:12
• The ultimate battle is against the Enemy of your soul.
• A label becomes yours ONLY if you let it in.
• 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 teach us how to destroy these labels. Crush the lie. Capture the thought. Concur with truth.

Day 2: Unchangeable labels: Fact and Faith

• Some labels are just fact. (sister, daughter)
• Labels mark us by someone else’s perception. They impose a barrier that keep us from connecting with others in an authentic way – if we let them.
• Sometimes WE self-impose a disconnet. We assign a meeting to our unchaneable label that is far worse than the label itself. We assign a fate rather than a faith to our fact. We sometimes assign a fate to our label that is worse than the fact itself.
• For example (I am about to get very personal here) my fact label is that I was abused. I assign the fate label of worthless to myself.
• We are to wear faith labels and to speak statements of faith (truth) to our soul NO MATTER OUR CIRCUMSTANCE, no matter the fact.
• Fact: abuse Faith: worthless Faith: saved by Christ, made a totally new creation.

Day 3: It’s a woman’s prerogative to change her mind.

• We must continue to crush wrong thoughts, capture our lying words, and make each word and label concur with truth because we are to have a particular mind. Philippians 2:5
• Let’s renew our minds. Let’s think with the mind of Christ. Let’s not conform our thinking to the world’s thinking but transform our thoughts by infusing them with the truths of Scripture so they will resemble the mind of Christ.
• Ephesians 4:32, Luke 17:3-4, Colossians 3:12, Matthew 5:41-42, 2 Peter 1:5-8, Philippians 2:13, 1 Corinthians 6:20 and Revelation 4:11
• If we don’t have the mind of Christ, any lying label will stick.
• It is critical that we guard the sanctity of our minds and maintain clean and pure thought closets so that we will be protected from the trap of polluted thought closets.
• God purifies you.
• Celebrate the source of your purification. Titus 2:14
• God will purify your conscience.
• Hebrews 9:14

Day 4: Faulty Assumptions

• All of our thoughts are based on our assumptions, our beliefs. That is why we must have truthful assumptions.
• Assume: suppose to be the case, without proof. Presume: suppose that something is the case on the basis of probability. Scripture warns against acting with presumption.
• Only God’s way, view, and opinion are worthy of becoming the foundation of our thought closet.

Day 5: Roots and fruits

• Fruit reveals the nature, the life and the root of a tree.
• Faulty assumptions are roots, wrong thinking is a fruit.
• Let scriptural principles guide you as you examine your assumptions and thoughts.
• Principle 1: Fruit exposes roots -if you invite bitterness into your thought closet, you will wardrobe yourself with troublesome thoughts and destructive emotions. Defensive thinking and hypersensitive emotions are fruit.
• Principle 2: Changing the fruit is impossible without changing the root -roots are powerful and they seem to evidence themselves even when we don’t want them to. Rather than growing frustrated over the disguraging nature of our fruit, we can be encouraged to recognize that our fruit will die if the root dies.
• Principle 3: Bad fruit doesn’t grow from good roots – unbelief feeds faulty assumptions. Not believing God fertilizes that root leads you to further presumption. The weapon of the Word kills bad roots.
• Our ultimate weapon is God’s truth. Our good fruit is ultimately from the root of Christ and His Spirit in us.

Man that was good. One of the most convicting weeks I’ve ever had I think. It surely has helped me to work through some of the baggage I seem to keep carrying in my life regarding being abused. How comforting to know that I don’t have to see myself that way if I cover myself in God and His truth!