Greetings from Sunny Kenya!
Well I think this update might be slightly overdue, and for that I apologize. I am doing well here at RVA, but it has been a huge adjustment for me being out of a dorm. So I will use that as my excuse for needing time to process it all. :) That being said, this might be a long update so might want to grab a cup of coffee or tea.
Well I think this update might be slightly overdue, and for that I apologize. I am doing well here at RVA, but it has been a huge adjustment for me being out of a dorm. So I will use that as my excuse for needing time to process it all. :) That being said, this might be a long update so might want to grab a cup of coffee or tea.
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| Enjoying time with some of the older nieces and nephews as well as my sister, Beth. |
Thank you for praying for me as I was getting ready to leave Indiana the end of December. We had such a special Christmas this year with all of my family (except my twin and her family) together. It was really special that my brother, Tom, was able to join us for 2 days of family time. That is a huge deal considering his health. Please continue to pray for him and his family. His wife, Christine, is a faithful wife and such a blessing to all who she encounters as she shines with God’s light as they endure together this illness that my brother has had for almost 9 years. They both are a huge encouragement to me and I know others as they continue to trust the Lord and wait on Him for healing. Right now they are in the process of their insurance coverage
being switched. Please pray the new insurance company will continue to honor the previous one’s coverage. The Lord has faithfully orchestrated so many details of care for them that it is truly a blessing to watch what He will do next. God is our ever-present help, truly our shepherd!
being switched. Please pray the new insurance company will continue to honor the previous one’s coverage. The Lord has faithfully orchestrated so many details of care for them that it is truly a blessing to watch what He will do next. God is our ever-present help, truly our shepherd!
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| Tommy was my secret pal :) |
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| All the nieces and Nephews (except the 3 in Japan) |
My travel, though long, was fairly smooth to Kenya. I had no trouble with my bags and even my carry on bags that were a little too heavy for regulation on Qatar airlines were never questioned as they have been in the past when using that airline. When I checked in, in Indiana, there was a little confusion with my bags being checked through to Nairobi. They said I would have to pick them up in Qatar since I had a 21-hour layover. That was a little inconvenient but I figured, “oh well”. However when I got to Philadelphia, for my flight to Qatar, the agent giving me my boarding pass was looking through my ticket and said, “Why did they not check your bags through?” So I told her and she said that was not right! She made a call and someone came and got new luggage tags and got them squared away all the way to Nairobi! Thank you Lord. She was very helpful and even checked to make sure I had enough things in my carry on for the layover! I landed in Qatar at 6:00am and found my way out to the shuttles for my hotel I had booked through Expedia. The drive was about 15 min. Qatar looks to be a very modern place with palm trees and other tropical plants. But all that is surrounded by sand. It is quite interesting looking for sure! The hotel I stayed at was very grand. I was thankful once again for God’s grace during check-in. The man checking me in asked if I would like to purchase early-check in as normal time wasn’t until 2:00pm (keep in mind this is 8:30am). I was a little flustered because I told him that the expedia agent had assured me that they had already requested early-check in on my reservation, however he wasn’t finding it. After a couple minutes of checking the computer he said he would allow me early check-in on the house this time. I was so thankful! The hotel staff was very hospitable. Just in case you are ever planning a trip to Qatar, be ready to pay a ridiculous amount for anything you get! Haha. It was VERY expensive! Again, I am thankful for God’s provision since the layover became unavoidable for this trip. I got about 12 hours of very needed sleep there. I was able to get back to the airport with no troubles and made it to Nairobi around 9am (Kenya time) with no further issues. Was thankful to sail through immigration with my work-permit stamped in my passport, (remember that is an answer to prayer from last year that I had that finally!) see both bags come off the luggage carousel, and be greeted by two of my good friends from RVA. We were able to do some shopping and get lunch before making the trip up to Kijabe.
Settling in, well kinda. We had in-service the day after I arrived and I found out what my official duties would be the next 2 terms. I will be working in the main office for a few hours each morning, and then I have a Jr. High study hall and High school study hall coverage. Three afternoons a week I will help in PT (physical therapy). It is fun to use my Athletic Training degree again. :) Apart from the day-time responsibilities I will cover 2 dorms, 1 night a week each. I am sponsoring the 8th grade class (which means I will be apart of their weekend class activities), leading a 10th grade girl’s Sunday school class, and am joining a Bible study on Tuesday nights. So I am finding myself very busy. The hardest times to get used to are the quiet evenings. I miss having my girls in and out of my apartment and the spontaneous chats we had. It has been an added blessing to have my dad here! Right now we are in a small house/apartment while some construction finishes up for another family to move from my house where I will eventually end up and be able to really settle in. I am looking forward to being settled so I can start having people in my home and having my girls come over. The message on Sunday was very encouraging. He reminded us of the verse in Phil. 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” The word “think” there means to dwell and meditate. Whatever our mind is “obsessed with” then our actions and thoughts will come out in accordance with those thoughts. This was such a good reminder for me. I find that it can be easy to keep thinking on the fact that I am not settled in a house and not able to be in the dorm till next school year. When my thoughts are dwelling on those things, then my conversation often turns towards those things and I might start to complain or be discontent instead of being thankful for the different opportunities I will have these next 6 months being out of the dorm. So it was a good reminder to dwell on and remember that God is Sovereign and that He has the perfect plan and reasons for me to be where I am. He is faithful and will take care of the details while I wait on Him and trust Him.
Settling in, well kinda. We had in-service the day after I arrived and I found out what my official duties would be the next 2 terms. I will be working in the main office for a few hours each morning, and then I have a Jr. High study hall and High school study hall coverage. Three afternoons a week I will help in PT (physical therapy). It is fun to use my Athletic Training degree again. :) Apart from the day-time responsibilities I will cover 2 dorms, 1 night a week each. I am sponsoring the 8th grade class (which means I will be apart of their weekend class activities), leading a 10th grade girl’s Sunday school class, and am joining a Bible study on Tuesday nights. So I am finding myself very busy. The hardest times to get used to are the quiet evenings. I miss having my girls in and out of my apartment and the spontaneous chats we had. It has been an added blessing to have my dad here! Right now we are in a small house/apartment while some construction finishes up for another family to move from my house where I will eventually end up and be able to really settle in. I am looking forward to being settled so I can start having people in my home and having my girls come over. The message on Sunday was very encouraging. He reminded us of the verse in Phil. 4:8 “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is anything excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” The word “think” there means to dwell and meditate. Whatever our mind is “obsessed with” then our actions and thoughts will come out in accordance with those thoughts. This was such a good reminder for me. I find that it can be easy to keep thinking on the fact that I am not settled in a house and not able to be in the dorm till next school year. When my thoughts are dwelling on those things, then my conversation often turns towards those things and I might start to complain or be discontent instead of being thankful for the different opportunities I will have these next 6 months being out of the dorm. So it was a good reminder to dwell on and remember that God is Sovereign and that He has the perfect plan and reasons for me to be where I am. He is faithful and will take care of the details while I wait on Him and trust Him.
Outreach:
On Saturday I was able to go with another staff member and some 9thgrade girls to Beat the Drum
Orphanage. This is a home for true orphans (meaning they have no living relatives to care for them) that are also HIV+. I don’t know each child’s story but I can almost assuredly say that these kids have acquired this through no fault of their own. But because they are born with it, they also endure rejection from others who are afraid of them and do not want to take care of them. The caretakers of this home are loving and treat the children as if they were their own; they have been taking really good care of the children. They often get kids from all over Kenya because no one else will have them. You might expect there to be a lot of sad kids when you arrive, but instead they are joyfully waving and welcoming you to their home. We brought face paint and a guitar, which were two of the favorites. We also brought jump ropes and soccer balls to play with the kids. The girls ended up having a face-paint “war”. The kids, as well as everyone else, were quite colorful by the end of our time there. :) I really had a special time with 4 of the older girls. I played guitar and sang some songs with them. One song we sang was, “Blessed Assurance”. When we finished singing it, I asked them if they knew what it meant? I went through the lyrics and explained it to them and they also added their own understanding of it. After we finished talking about it, one of the girls asked if we could sing it again? It was so wonderful to sing it with them again as I could tell they really meant it and understood they were singing about their salvation and the joy they had of that promise. The Lord has not forgotten these little ones. They are loved and well cared for. What a joy to be apart of that day.
I will close in saying that my heart is thankful for the Lord and how He is writing each of our stories. There are good days and bad days in our life, but in every day, we have the joy of Salvation and we can praise Him for what He has done in our lives. Please continue to pray that my heart would continually be focused on Him and my life would reflect that joy. I would also ask that you pray for each of my family members and myself; the 6th year anniversary of my Mom’s home going to Heaven is on the 22nd of this month. It is always a hard anniversary. At Christmas, one of the best gifts my brother and sister-in-love gave us all was a 4 hour
interview with my Mom that they taped. Tom and Christine have been saving it for us and we all watched a few minutes of it together that day. I am looking forward to sitting with a box of Kleenexes and finishing it.
I pray you all are doing well and enjoying the New Year and the new opportunities God gives each of us to share His love with them. I thank God for all of you. Thank you for your partnership in ministry. I would love to pray for you specifically. If you have any specific prayer requests, please don’t hesitate to share.
Serving with you,
Amy
On Saturday I was able to go with another staff member and some 9thgrade girls to Beat the Drum
Orphanage. This is a home for true orphans (meaning they have no living relatives to care for them) that are also HIV+. I don’t know each child’s story but I can almost assuredly say that these kids have acquired this through no fault of their own. But because they are born with it, they also endure rejection from others who are afraid of them and do not want to take care of them. The caretakers of this home are loving and treat the children as if they were their own; they have been taking really good care of the children. They often get kids from all over Kenya because no one else will have them. You might expect there to be a lot of sad kids when you arrive, but instead they are joyfully waving and welcoming you to their home. We brought face paint and a guitar, which were two of the favorites. We also brought jump ropes and soccer balls to play with the kids. The girls ended up having a face-paint “war”. The kids, as well as everyone else, were quite colorful by the end of our time there. :) I really had a special time with 4 of the older girls. I played guitar and sang some songs with them. One song we sang was, “Blessed Assurance”. When we finished singing it, I asked them if they knew what it meant? I went through the lyrics and explained it to them and they also added their own understanding of it. After we finished talking about it, one of the girls asked if we could sing it again? It was so wonderful to sing it with them again as I could tell they really meant it and understood they were singing about their salvation and the joy they had of that promise. The Lord has not forgotten these little ones. They are loved and well cared for. What a joy to be apart of that day.
I will close in saying that my heart is thankful for the Lord and how He is writing each of our stories. There are good days and bad days in our life, but in every day, we have the joy of Salvation and we can praise Him for what He has done in our lives. Please continue to pray that my heart would continually be focused on Him and my life would reflect that joy. I would also ask that you pray for each of my family members and myself; the 6th year anniversary of my Mom’s home going to Heaven is on the 22nd of this month. It is always a hard anniversary. At Christmas, one of the best gifts my brother and sister-in-love gave us all was a 4 hour
interview with my Mom that they taped. Tom and Christine have been saving it for us and we all watched a few minutes of it together that day. I am looking forward to sitting with a box of Kleenexes and finishing it.
I pray you all are doing well and enjoying the New Year and the new opportunities God gives each of us to share His love with them. I thank God for all of you. Thank you for your partnership in ministry. I would love to pray for you specifically. If you have any specific prayer requests, please don’t hesitate to share.
Serving with you,
Amy
