Dear friends and family,

   Thank you so much for your prayers over the last few months. I have so appreciate them. It is always so encouraging to hear from you in response to emails or posts I have sent out. Can you believe it? We are leaving for Japan next Sunday!! I have been able to talk to Laura often on Facetime and we are SO excited to spend 3 weeks together. Its hard to believe our time at Tenwek is drawing to a close. (Mine at least, Dad and Rachel will return for about 5 more weeks)

 

   Last weekend I was able to go to RVA again. I am so thankful that each time I have returned there it feels more and more like home. I am so excited to start ministry there as of December 23rd. I was able to meet with my dorm girls for about 20 minutes after their study hall while I was there on Thursday night. They asked me a few questions and we visited some. It is such a blessing that out of the 17 girls I will have, I have met or know all but 3 of them. That is so helpful since I will be starting late into the school year with them. (Missed term 1) The first part of the school year is always a big step in building relationships with the girls so I am thankful that even though I didn't get that time with them we aren't totally starting from scratch. I met with the dorm mom who was taking my place just for this first term and she was able to share some concerns as well as encouragement she has experienced this term. She shared how many of the girls have not connected or tried to connect well with her. Being a TCK (third culture kid) comes with its own challenges. Often as a mode of defense and self preservation TCKs will avoid short-term relationships because their life is filled with so many it is hard to commit to one knowing there will be another good-bye. There are usually two different coping methods. One, is to totally avoid any commitment and the other is to do the opposite and go very deep quickly because you know your time is short. (I usually tend towards the 2nd response, though understand the 1st as well because goodbyes are so painful. It is easier to just keep things shallow so it won't leave too big a mark) Please be praying for the dorm mom that she would leave RVA being encouraged in the little things and knowing that God is sovereign over His design to have her there for those 3 short months. He knows exactly who needed her there. Please pray also for wisdom for me and open hearts for the girls and myself as we prepare to build up relationships and learn to live and work together as they adjust to a new dorm parent. Pray for their month at home too that they would have a wonderful time with their family and come back to school refreshed and ready to go for a new term.

   I am excited to be setting up house soon, however this also brings up another prayer request. One of the most important areas in any home has to be the family room in my opinion. J For a dorm, it seems even more important. It represents comfort, home, and family when these girls are away from all of those in a boarding school. I realized this in my last apartment/dorm and was blessed to have needs such as couches and pillows covered since I was able to furniture sit for a lady on home assignment. However, this time I will be responsible for purchasing these things with my work-funds that come from my supporters (all of you) to set up my home. There are some things you can get and have made at a very reasonable price here. However, that does NOT include couches. Kenyan's are not known for their comfortable seats. (As I am writing this I have a pillow propped against my back to help support my back from the terribly hard couch I am sitting on. ;-)) Also, they are VERY expensive. Most couches I have looked at are over 1,000$ alone. And that is just for ONE! (remember I will have 17 teenage girls) Will you please join me in praying for finding just the right -and hopefully a little cheaper- couches? (I know.. never thought you would be praying for a couch did ya? haha) Some experienced missionaries have pointed me to 2 different online communities that sell second-hand things in Nairobi so I have been keeping an eye on those sites. I know God cares about all these details so am trusting Him to direct me in this. If you ever feel led to give a one-time gift for a situation like this or for other ministry costs that come up for me as a dorm parent, you can do so on the AIM website.  I have a work-fund account that these usually come out of rather than the monthly pledges. ( http://www.aimint.org/usa/give  After you click on the link, it will give you an option for giving online and a link to click on called "GIVE" Then once you click on that 2nd link it will take you to a site where you can find my name and click on the Amy Jarrett link . Then it will keep asking you to fill out the information and should direct you in the next steps. You would choose the SUPPORT section rather than the home assignment box.)

Thank you for joining me in prayer for these things! ONE MORE and then I will close. J My niece, Elissa, and her husband, Blake, are expecting their first child any day. Please be praying for Elissa and a safe delivery. It is so hard to be so far away from family at times like these! We are eagerly awaiting any word from family that Baby Dias is here.

Serving with you dear friends,

-Amy 

Dear friends,

 It is hard to believe that it is already October and we have been here in Kenya for over a month. It has been raining often, bringing a chill to the air which often feels like a crisp, fall day. The only things missing are the changing leaves, orange pumpkins, and pumpkin-spiced everything. (although the other night, someone brought Pumkin-spiced scones to a baby shower.. so I guess that part isn't completely true ;) ) Rachel and I have maintained much of the same schedule with plenty of opportunities to serve alongside the missionaries here. For the next 3-5 weeks I will take over teaching preschool 3 days a week full-time while the mom whom I was co-teaching with goes to the states for an educational trip for her husband.

  

   About two weeks ago I was able to visit RVA and see my old dorm girls as well as many friends. It was so special to see them again. We loved catching up throughout the weekend and it made me even more excited to be joining them in January. J Will be so wonderful to be around for their senior year. We were already planning for fun get-togethers since I won't be their dorm mom. I also got to meet my new dorm girls and see where I will be living for the remainder of this school year. The dorm is so nice and big! I think I might get used to it. ;) The girls were all sweet and we had fun chatting! Really gave me a taste for being back at school and a little bit of an "itch" to get back there soon. J

    

   I have been reading a book by Paul D. Tripp called "War of Words" with my devotions. I got this book to use for dorm devos each week because I read a chapter with my fellowship group at home and was encouraged by that particular chapter and thought the layout would work great for the devo time with my girls. Well I am reading it ahead of time so I can be better prepared to lead it and God has faithfully been convicting me of my own war with words daily! Living with my sister ,Rachel, can be a challenge. (though often a joy too J ) I feel like this book keeps laying into me each day like the author is talking with me personally! I so often react in impatience just because my agenda isn't matching up with Rachel's. James says that no man can tame the tongue, but Tripp reminds us that in the Gospel we have hope! He says, "In Him the impossible becomes possible. The war becomes winnable. The tongue becomes tameable, no longer an instrument of evil, but a producer of good." God has given us every thing we need with the Holy Spirit within us to combat the desires for control and our own selfish wants when we give Him the control. I am very thankful for His loving patience as He teaches me each day.

   Yesterday I was given the opportunity to join a visiting work-team with a building project up at Kenduiwo orphanage. I enjoyed getting to serve alongside the team, even if they were Patriots fans from Boston, MA. ;) We were able to set aside our differences and have fun while working hard. They are building a school-room for the children at the orphanage. Most of the students go to boarding school (a typical scenario for children in Kenya) except the younger children who are in grade 3 or younger. Usually they have to walk very far to school, and it is not very safe for them to walk so far on their own. This building will allow them to walk to school without even having to go on the road, but just walk down the hill through the cow's pasture about 400 yards down. I now have a greater appreciation for all the work that the Kenyans do to build a house. (I always respected them for their hard work, but after experiencing it, appreciate just how hard they really do work) We had to dig out a ditch around the perimeter of the house so the mud doesn't rot the wood when there is heavy rain.. We used short handled hoes to dig and thankfully had a wheelbarrow, the team bought for the project, to haul the dirt farther away. I was glad to switch off chores after a little while with that job! We also had to break the large stones into smaller pieces for the first layer of floor before the cement. Thankfully someone loaned me their safety glasses! We would sit all around on the ground with a huge pile of rocks and chip away with the hammer. Rocks flew everywhere and we all agreed to just say sorry at the beginning and then keep working! J After our chai break (wouldn't be a Kenyan project without 2 chai breaks of course) I switched to the team that was painting the inside of an existing building on the work-site that will function as one of the Kindergarten class-rooms. My clothes and whole front side bore testament to the fact that I used the roller-brush. The village kids who came to watch what we were doing got a kick out of watching me and pointing to my speckled arms. J Towards the end of the day some of the ladies and I went up to the orphanage and sang Bible songs and a read a Bible story. Since the village children joined us, we had somewhere around 100 kids all crowding around and vying for a seat next to the Wazungus. (white person in Swahili) It was fun to have that time with the kiddos! I was so thankful to have this chance!

  

    I want to share some exciting news! I am praising the Lord that He has faithfully provided (through many of you!) 90% of my monthly support for when I start at RVA the end of December. I was so encouraged and thankful to hear how He has been working this last month. Please pray with me for the remaining 10% ($232.00 monthly need) as well as still needing about $5,000.00 for  the combined start up home and dorm ministry costs and ongoing work-fund account. It is always such a blessing for me to see just how the Lord provides each time. I am thankful for the body of Christ and team of supporters that are praying for me and loving me from afar. I am praying for you all and would love to hear from you if you get time.

  

   Will you also be praying for my work permit (and re-entry visa) to come through before December 1st if possible? We will leave for Japan on the 1st, so would be great to have it before hand so I don't have to pay for another visa upon my return. God knows these things and I trust He will work them out in His timing! As news comes from around the world of so many uncertain events and more and more stories of Ebola fever in West Africa, I am always grateful to know of the Rock on which I stand. God our Father is sovereign and faithful. He does not leave us to walk in this world alone. I am confident in His plan and love for me.

Serving with you,

 Amy

the baby chameleon I found recently. :) One of many little pets. 

start of the day.. big rocks to be broken up

getting the foundation ready for the rocks 

supports starting to go up 

making progress :) 

finished 2 walls for the day 

beautiful day at Kenduiwo 

orphans and the village kids ready for a story 

they like to see themselves on the camera :) 

 

Greetings to you from across the pond!

Mt. Longonot from the valley floor 

favorite wheat field with Acacia trees on the way to Tenwek

our water tank that collects the rainwater 

one of the many perks of living in a tropical climate, banana trees above and
avocado tree below

our front porch

view of the valley floor from the escarpment

can see the side of the road on the right side of the picture.
The road curves all along the hills

moon rising over the hills at Tenwek

   I was so thankful and encouraged by my friends and family before leaving for Kenya. It is so hard to say goodbye to so many people I love so much, but what a sweet time I was able to have the last couple weeks before I left. Friends threw me a surprise farewell party and I had several groups of friends pray over me the last few days. So thankful for the support of these dear friends and family. I was also thankful to be able to connect and do face-time with every single family member before leaving since we weren't sure how the internet would be once we were here at Tenwek.

            I wanted to take a few moments to update you about our travel and settling in to life at Tenwek.  Dad, Rachel, and I left Indiana on Thursday Sept, 4th around 9:30am and headed up to Chicago. Our friends, Rusty Neeley, and Danelle Bancroft caravanned with us carrying the 11, 50lb and 1, 70lb bags in their van while Dad drove the Buick up so that Blake and Elissa Dias (my niece and her husband) could use the vehicle over the next few months. They are expecting their 1st child (my first great-niece or nephew!!) in November so we are thankful it worked out for them to have a mode of transportation.

We made it to the airport with plenty of time and were thankful to arrive when there was no line to speak of. The ticket agent was very friendly and helpful. BA's server was down the day before for us to register our 3 extra pieces of luggage at the 30% discount price if you do that ahead of time. However, she helped us by dropping the price of the over-weight bag so that we didn't end up paying more than we would have with that discount. Praise the Lord!

Our flights and connections went very smoothly and we were thankful to arrive in Nairobi on September 5th around 10pm -Kenya time- and see all our 12 pieces coming out on the carousel albeit very slowly. J

            We spent the weekend in Nairobi at a favorite guest house or ours while waiting for Dad and Rachel's paperwork appointment on Monday. On Saturday we went out shopping for groceries and needed supplies for Tenwek. On Sunday two of my good friends from RVA picked me up and took me to lunch. What a treat! It was so wonderful to catch up with them and makes me very excited for getting back to RVA in January. On Monday we couldn’t have wished for a better day of traveling the 4hrs to Tenwek. Our driver with Samaritan's Purse picked us up and took us to the immigration house (house of pain and suffering) for Dad and Rachel's successful appointment. We got there early enough that I think it was more like "the house with a bit of wait and not too much suffering" for this visit. J We then picked up our frozen meat and fresh veggies as well as some lunch to-go and were on our way! We enjoyed the view driving down the Escarpment into the valley. We arrived safely to Tenwek in good time which is something you can never take for granted. Just last week a visitor was coming to see a long-term missionary here at Tenwek and was in a road accident about 30 minutes away from Tenwek. She had to have surgery and is thankfully recovering, but just serves as a reminder of the danger whenever you drive anywhere here in Kenya. 

            We got to Tenwek shortly before 4 and got to work immediately unpacking and boiling water. We have a house-helper named Sarah whom we have known for many years. We are thankful for all her help around the house! We have made a good team over the last couple days doing food prep and other kitchen chores. Because the water is not safe to drink here you have to collect the rain water and then boil it before filtering it. Also, any fresh foods have to be washed in a bleach or vinegar solution to make it safe for eating. So there is a lot of extra work that goes into normal cooking. It has been great to catch up with many friends and familiar faces here at Tenwek. There are many new families too that I haven't met yet. One full-time family that is here now came 14 years ago as med-students and we were reminiscing about our safari trip we took together then. Hard to believe that was so long ago! 

            God has been preparing the way for many ministry opportunities for Rachel and I while at Tenwek. Some of them I knew about ahead of time, and others have been dropped into my lap that I didn’t. We had our first preschool session today and we will have that M-W-F each week. I will also teach some PE classes on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons. An extra project I have been given was to grade some nursing school tests. They had a lot given at once so were behind on their grading. Another extra opportunity  that has come up has been to stay over at one of the long-term missionary homes with 2 of their daughters. The parents and their three, 4yr-old adopted children were suddenly having to travel to the US for their citizenship appointments. The 2 oldest are at RVA in highschool and this left their 8th and 3rd grader home at Tenwek. So for the next couple weeks I will be staying with them at night to help them through their night routine and homework helper. There are lots of aunties and uncles on the compound that are taking the girls under their wings so this will be my part. J

  A few other things I may be involved in are teaching guitar as a special class for their homeschool co-op and possibly tutoring a 4th grader in Math.. (anyone who knows me should stop and laugh at this point) I told the mom that math was not my strong point, but I could do my best. So you can see that there is never a shortage of things to do on the compound. I will keep you updated as best I can. AIM has reported some of my updated support needs. Thank you for your continued prayers in that regard. I still have a ways to go before I am fully supported by December for my term at RVA. I am so very thankful for your prayer support which is so important for all that we do over here in Kenya. It is wonderful to know I have a team of people praying for me and my family. I don't know if I can say enough about the encouragement that brings me. I will sign off for now as this has quickly become 2 pages. I am going to do my best to upload a few images along with this, but won't be surprised if they are too big for the internet.

serving with you,

Amy 

prayer requests

Hello my dear friends and family, I hope this post finds you well.

I have been hoping to get a letter out to you for a month or so, but with my work schedule and life being busy, I haven't been able to make the time to do so.. However, the other hiccup in getting one out has more to do with not knowing what to tell you! God has again been graciously leading me through a time of uncertainty and it seems like I have more to learn each day. I am very thankful for His love and faithfulness to care for me.

I can't remember what I last communicated to you as far as a departure date for Kenya, but wanted to update you with what I know.. (which has changed about 4 times)

 I am still Lord willing, going to Tenwek with my Dad and Rachel in September until December.. The plan, based off of RVA's need for me in April was going to be coming home in December then going to Japan to spend time with my twin and her family,  then leaving for Kenya once again in April. However, the date was then switched to July, and NOW looks like a possibility of going to RVA in January for the start of term 2..  All these switches seem crazy, but with the way that RVA is run based off volunteers who are dependent on support to be there, staffing is constantly changing especially when people aren't able to raise their support to return, which is then why the need keeps changing.

In the midst of all the uncertainty and confusion, I am clinging to God who is unchanging and all-knowing.. He knows when He wants me to be there and I am trusting that in His perfect timing I will get there.

There are several things to be praying for and I would so appreciate you joining with me in these.

1. God's clear direction and provision for the time He wants me to return to RVA (with that, for financial support to be raised in time for me to go)

2. Peace and patience for me as I wait and that I would continually have a soft heart for what the Lord may want to do in these situations and that it would help me grow in my walk with Him.

With this, that I would make the most of the time He has me here in Indianapolis, not just looking ahead, but the here and now that He has given me to serve Him and the people around me.

3. for the unrest that is often happening in Kenya. They have experienced several terrorist attacks from the Somali's Al Shabaab group in the coastal towns of Lamu and Mombasa as well as a few bombings in Kenya's capital of Nairobi.. please pray for protection for the Kenyan people and the many missionaries who travel through Nairobi...

Thank you so much for your friendship and partnership in prayer.

in Him,

Amy Jarrett

New Happenings

Greetings to you! I wanted to post a quick update and let you know how God has been working in my life since coming back home to Indiana.

When I came home from Kenya, I thought that I was supposed to be stateside for a time (had no idea for how long); reconnecting with family, possibly nursing school, ministry in my church, etc... Well, He certainly has given me plenty of opportunity for all of that and I have been so grateful for that. I took a job with a hospital here in Indianapolis as a tech in the ICU to see if I really did want to go back to school. As much as I have learned and still enjoy lots of aspects of the Medical field, I have decided that nursing is not where I feel God leading me. Through different means, God has grown my desire to return back to the mission field in Kenya! I contacted RVA as I was praying through this to see what their need was or if they would even have me back. I received a very encouraging email back from the dean of Women that I had worked closely with while I was there. They were so excited to hear from me and after some uncertainty about when, it was decided that they need me to come April of 2015 to cover a Senior dorm for a family so they can go on a needed home assignment during the 3rd term. I am so excited because I will get to have some of my previous girls in this dorm AND get to see my girls graduate!!! The plan would then be for me to start with my own new dorm for the following school year (2015-2016) and do another 2 year term from that point.

 As of May 1st I was reinstated to AIM as an active missionary. I will now begin the process of building up my support team again and Lord willing, be able to go to Kenya in April of next year! I am blessed with the chance to actually return to Kenya with my Dad and sister, Rachel this fall for a few months and then will spend some concentrated family time in the winter/spring before heading out sometime early April.

I will be sending out an official letter to all of you in the next month I hope! I wanted to send an email first so I could catch you up quickly on all these changes and then go from there. Also, if you have a change of address or email address you would prefer I use, just let me know! 

If you no longer wish to receive emails or letters from me, please let me know. I won't be offended in the least. I am forever grateful for you, my team and partners in ministry. God has blessed me incredibly through you all.

I will be in touch unless I hear otherwise from you!

God bless you!!!! Serving with you,

Amy