Change in the Air

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
    but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."
Prov. 19:21

This is the verse that popped in my mind as I thought how to start this letter. I and the administration of RVA had planned for me to stay at RVA for a 2 year term, but it seems the Lord has made it clear that I am to return home instead after only a 6month term at RVA. I am thankful for His leading and the encouragement from many of you and fellow staff at RVA as well. The Lord is GOOD and Faithful. I know that I can trust in Him to show me what His will is and that it will be for my good and His glory.
The Lord also brought this verse to mind as I have been processing all the emotions of what is happening.
 "You keep him in perfect peace
    whose mind is stayed on you,
    because he trusts in you.
⁴ Trust in the Lord forever,
    for the Lord God is an everlasting rock." 
Isaiah 26:3-4
I have no doubt the Lord had a purpose for me being here these last 6 months. While I don't completely understand the Lord's timing in this, He has given me peace about it all. He has shown me in His word many times over the last month that I do not have to worry; but that He is Sovereign and knows what He has for me. My hope and prayer is that, Lord willing, I will be able to return to RVA in January to continue on with the girls I have had in my dorm for their Senior year. I told the girls that sometimes we don't know why the Lord works the way He does, but that we can trust Him because we know who HE is! I also said that even though I hope to come back, I also want to be open for His leading if it is in a different direction!!

Ok, I should probably back up here. :) I wrote to you all in June asking you to pray specifically for my monthly support situation. After working with AIM and the leadership of RVA we set a deadline for July 8th to see if there would be an answer to that prayer. God seems to have answered very clearly that, at this time, I need to return to the States to raise support. I do want to thank so many of you who gave extra gifts this last month, that was such a blessing to receive so that I could have just what I needed to finish out this month here. Thank you!
 As I said before, our goal is that I might be able to raise enough support for me to return to the field by January of 2016. I would ask that you would be praying for God's direction and provision if that is what He would have me do! Also, please pray for my girls who will be going through a lot of transition at the start of their Senior year. This was really hard (emotionally) on us all. I am praying that the Lord would use this in their lives to draw them to Himself; to learn to trust Him even in the uncertain times.  Pray for RVA to find a dorm cover for the time that I am away and for all those details to come together.

So, what now? By God's grace and strength I will get through a very busy end of the term, one day at a time :). I have many travel responsibilities to get our students on their way to their parents by July 15th. I have dorm-party on Monday the 13th. That will be a ton of fun and very special but also a lot of work. Graduation is on the 16th, and somewhere in there I turn 30!!!! YIKES! :)
Thankfully I was able to change my ticket date from November when I was hoping to come for a visit. The ticket change was very expensive, but cheaper than eating the cost of that previous ticket so I am very thankful that worked out! I will have a few days to pack up before I leave Kenya on July 20th. I will fly into Charlotte, NC and spend some time with my brother, Jon and his family before going back to Indiana sometime before August.

Since I have this unexpected time in the States, I will want to make connections with as many of you as possible. Also, if you think your church or maybe a small-group of some kind; Sunday school, fellowship group, etc would be interested in hearing more about the ministry that happens at RVA, please let me know! Would be so wonderful to connect with you.  We could also grab a cup of coffee :).

Work-permit. Starting to cringe at the mention of that word. haha. We still have not been able to get my permit though it has been approved and paid for. I am not sure what the hold-up is, but God knows! Thankfully I was able to get another extension in my passport so I am legal in the country at least! It would be great if I can still get the permit before I leave so I don't have to mail my passport back to Kenya to get the permit stamped in the passport from the States!

I will try to have more information for you about the time at home as I learn more. This is all pretty sudden so haven't had a chance to make plans with AIM yet.

In all this, I know that the Lord is with me. He has also surrounded me with such a strong support group at RVA, my family, and my friends (you)! The body of Christ is a wonderful thing. Clinging to Him as my Rock!

serving with you,
Amy

just a little bit of review.. :)

Hi friends, 
 As many of you already know, I am serving at Rift Valley Academy as a dorm mom to high school girls. I love the ministry of discipleship the Lord has placed me in here. I have girls from all different back-grounds and it is such a unique place to be. A big part of our ministry is being here to serve Missionary families. RVA allows the children of missionaries to have a great education while their parents continue their ministries and the building up of the church all over Africa without having to leave the field because their kids are now in high school. We are all a part of the bigger picture of reaching the unreached people groups of this world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a humbling and wonderful thing to be apart of this ministry "on the field".  That being said, I am not here by my own strength or abilities. Nor am I able to be without the grace of the Lord and the body of believers that support me and send me. "We know that He gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty." -Elizabeth Ann Seton
That partnership in ministry is key and so vital to all missionaries. We need your partnership in prayer! 

"Mighty prayer- that is the one great spiritual force that will enable the Lord Jesus Christ to enter into full possession of His Kingdom, and secure for Him the uttermost part of the earth for His possession... A person who can pray is the mightiest instrument Christ has in this World." -E.M. Bounds

James 5:16 " The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."

    One other aspect of that partnering in missions is the financial side. RVA's staff are all here as volunteers and missionaries with African Inland Mission. We depend on the Lord's provision for our finances. The Lord is faithful and has shown me over and over again that my trust should be in Him and him alone. The Lord often uses the church (the body of Christ) at home to be the senders. We are all a part of the team though, without each other there would be no missions or missionaries. I am so thankful for the prayers and notes of encouragement that my supports send me. 

  Since I am a dorm mom, there are a lot of fun ways to get involved with this particular ministry. I have 17 teenage girls in my dorm, so you can imagine how these girls love treats! :)  If you are interested in hearing more about ways you can get involved in the ministry here at RVA from your part of the world, let me know! I would be happy to give some ideas. Also, if you feel led to support me and to give by financial support, I can give you the information for either monthly or a one-time gift. Just message me with your email address, or if you already have my email you can do that. I wouldn't usually post this on Facebook, or by email, but since I am already over in Kenya it makes it a little more difficult to post by mail! If you are still reading this, then THANKS for your care and interest in the ministry here at RVA. :) 
asante (thank you) 

serving with you, 

Amy 

Rainy Days Ahead

 I am almost overwhelmed by my own tardiness and the overload of information I could share since I last sent out an update.. (And whose fault is that but my own?? :) ) I will try to organize my thoughts without bombarding you with a HUGE letter.
I should update you on a few prayer items as well!
Work Permit- STILL WAITING on news.. I was able to update my visitor Visa one more time, so I now have until June 23rd to get my permit.. This would be so helpful to have!! Please pray for favor in the eyes of the Kenyan government.
Support: I am continually humbled and grateful for the Lord's provision.. He uses so many of you to come behind me and provide for the financial needs that it takes to live here in Kenya. In March, I received the whole monthly amount, Praise the Lord!
Rain: If you noticed the heading, you can see that God has brought the rains to Kijabe (and most of Kenya really). Everything is so green again and I have heard from several of my Kenyan friends that their Shambas (gardens) are growing again. We are truly thankful for these rains. (even if it does bring cold weather and hoards of bugs. :P hehe)

Term 2 (My first term back)
I believe I shared before that during term 2 my girls (Juniors) were putting on the Jr/Sr. Banquet (BQ here) and that pretty much consumed them last term. It ended up being  a lot of fun for them. In their words, "The most fun I never want to have again". :) They worked soo hard to put on a beautiful BQ. The theme was Narnia. I have a few pictures of my beautiful girls I will share. All gussied up for BQ
Already love these girls so much. :)
Got to do lots of hair! :)

Because this was my first term with the girls in their Junior year, it took awhile to settle in and get to know the girls. With the girl's school commitments, Sports, and BQ it left little time for extra relationships. However, the Lord was good and did provide little windows of time here and there that were so special to be able to really start getting to know these sweet girls. I try to do coffee dates some afternoons. I also have the birthday dinners with whichever girl has a birthday. They get to invite any siblings here at RVA and usually a friend or two to join them. I love these times with the girls! A favorite request is PIZZA. No surprise there. :)
   A couple of other activities I was/am involved in recently are getting to lead worship at church sometimes, helping coordinate the student Interim trips (Week-long field trips around Kenya and neighboring countries to study culture and experiences unique to that area), hosting a ladies' Bible-study group at my house, and I will occasionally help with the JV Volleyball team this term (3rd term).

Dorm Party fun: played Knock-Out and a few other games
They said they were the "losers" since they got out first.. silly girls
ready to eat some desserts and play more games.. we finished off the night with watching "Newsies"
 

New Responsibilities 

  In March, I took over the travel job for one of my fellow staff members whose load was especially heavy. This is a huge job!! It is not so bad during the course of the term, but since I took it over with just a month left in the term I was bombarded with just how great the details of this job were. Imagine coordinating travel to countries all over Africa for 250+ students and you get the picture of what my job might look like..Yep..madness. :)
 On departure day I was up at 4:00am to start getting our kids ready and on the road by 5am.. Just some of the headaches were having a bus not start (realizing this after we had 44 students loaded with luggage) and having to suddenly shuffle vehicles and students around, vehicles not being usable(broken down) after planning on them being available, last-minute visa troubles, traffic that caused our bus driver to sit for 6hours on the way home from the airport, airlines overbooking their plane by 12 PASSENGERS and telling our kids they would have to be the ones to stay behind, and a host of other minor problems that when added up caused me to be very thankful when departure day was behind us. :) All that set me up for ARRIVAL day being a whole lot less stressful even though we had kids showing up at the airport without communicating ahead of time when they were coming and would need a ride. I am glad to start the term with a better idea of how I want to plan for this next term so I can get a leg-up for 12 weeks from now and another departure day. :P

VAC (how students call it anyway.. :) shortened from Vacation)
I went to Tenwek for a week immediately after school was out.. I was able to spend time with Dad and other friends at Tenwek. I then spent 4 days with a couple friends leading the Children's VBS program for the WGM (Tenwek family) annual retreat. We really enjoyed the time with the kids.. always nice for a change of pace from teens to kids ;). We did the Agency D3 VBS program from last year.. it was so good! Discovering God's truths about who Jesus is, Did he die and rise again. Deciding if you believe it to be true, and Defending the Gospel.. So many important truths and it was right after Easter which really seemed to impact the kids.
    Emily and Cassandra, my 2 friends and fellow HS dorm moms, and I then went to Turtle Bay Beach club in Malindi for 5 days.. It was such a wonderful time of relaxing and spending time together with these sweet friends! The last week of Vac I was back at RVA preparing for Term 3 in the Dorm and the travel responsibilities with Arrival day. 

Looking ahead
 I have one more girl coming on Saturday. She had passport trouble so was delayed in her return.. Please pray for her safety as she travels from Lesotho (said, Lasutu) and then has to play catch-up for a week's worth of school.
 I am looking forward to this term! Always good to start another term with the same group of girls.. I think this is the time you really start growing deeper with each other. Please be praying for continual wisdom for me to guide the girls and speak truth into their lives when I am able. Pray that the Lord would work in their hearts to continue seeking Him. At chapel today, the speaker challenged us to live our lives "Biblically". Referencing the verse from 2. Timothy 3:16,17 " All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work." That if we TRULY believe this verse to be true, than it should be influencing the way we live.. I am praying my girls, and I, will really take this challenge to heart. That His Word would be precious to us, that we would seek out His truths and that it would affect every part of our lives.
    The girls will start pursuing college decisions a little more seriously this term. I also have at least one girl who will not be returning next year for her senior year. This is such a hard thing for her, but her family is moving back to the states so she will go with them and really face a lot of transition. We will miss her so much next year!

I am so thankful for each one of you..
    Serving with you,
 Amy Jarrett 

January, 2015

Dear Friends and Family,      

            Greetings to you! Well just like that, we are about 3 weeks into the term. Just a warning, this may be one of my longer letters, so I apologize in advance. :-P The girls and I are day-by-day getting to know each other and strengthening our relationship. (some more than others) At first it was really hard to start over with new girls. I was getting sad that they spent so much time in their dorm lounge and didn't know what else to do to make them feel more welcome to come into my apartment. I had to remind myself that my previous dorm girls and I didn't start out as being close right off the bat, relationships take time! Something that was so encouraging to me at the beginning was our superintendent of RVA challenged us as staff to make personal and corporate prayer a priority. We so often say that we are depending on God to work, but then we keep doing everything possible in our own strength to make things happen that we often don't have much time in prayer in all the busy things that we take upon ourselves. One of my big challenges is my tendency to be a "Night owl" which works great for a dorm parent of high school students except that then I want to sleep in. I have been challenging myself to wake up early with the girls and to spend that time in prayer. This continues to be a challenge for me since I don't get to bed until midnight most nights, but God has graciously given me strength for each day. I am enjoying the unhurried time in prayer and scripture each morning. I'm terrible at keeping a journal, but am keeping a prayer journal and have been so blessed to see so many answers to prayer recorded as I keep it up to date. It has been such a good reminder that the Lord is the one who works in hearts and to get to see all these answers where I can see Him working!

            The girls in my dorm are Juniors this year and are very busy with academic and extracurricular responsibilities. It is funny to me how different two groups of teenage girls can be from each other, you certainly can't compare them to one another! One of the big focuses this term is the Jr/Sr. Banquet. (known here as "BQ") The Junior class is responsible for putting this event on. They have spent all year planning and coordinating the details. There is a secret theme each year and when I say this is a big deal, that is an understatement! They will spend their whole mid-term break setting up the BQ hall where they will build a set and everything for the following weekend. All of this is for one night of fun. To me its overwhelming and a little crazy watching all the work they put in for this one night, so I can't imagine what its like for them. :-) Other activities happening this term are Field Hockey and Soccer for some of my girls, SATs, Interims (a week-long destination trip to study African Cultures and other unique African experiences), and oh yeah, SCHOOL. ;-)

New Dorm, New decor :) 

            One burden I have for the girls is to see them grow in their walks with the Lord and to put Him above all these things. It is easy to get caught up in their schedules and their truly busy lives. However, I pray for them to grow in their desire for knowledge of Him and His truth in scripture. Please join me in praying for the girls! We are going to work through the book, "War of Words" that I mentioned before in a letter. We meet each Tuesday night at 8:30pm so if you think of it, please pray for us during your Tuesday morning that we would humble ourselves and be open to what God would teach us through this book.

1st Dorm Party! Love the huge space for entertaining. :) 

Notice I have a set of twins in my dorm? appropriate I would say. :)
(the girl on the 2nd right is also a twin! she has a brother) 

plenty of room to spread out! 

            I shared with some of you an answer to prayer about getting a couch for my living room! I praise God for His provision of a really nice, comfortable sectional sofa. I bought it second hand from a person in Nairobi for a very reasonable price. The girls love it and it's often difficult for me to find a seat on it each night as they come in to study. ;-) (LOVE THAT)

new couch! 

A big ol' pile of girls on the new couch :) 

            Please continue to pray for provision of my monthly support. Overall I am about $300 short a month. It can be very difficult to maintain life here being that short each month because things are so expensive and I usually need every bit of monthly support I get to be a dorm mom and all the expenses that go into that. God knows these things and I am trusting Him to provide for my daily needs. I am so thankful for each one you and your support, financially and by prayer!  If you feel led to support me monthly or with a one-time gift, Checks can be sent to AIM at: (Africa Inland Mission, P.O. Box 3611, Peachtree City, GA 30269-7611) with AIM in the subject and Amy Jarrett in the memo on the check. You can also give online at: http://aimint.org/usa/ (Under "Give")

            Please join me in praying that God would continue to grow me into His likeness more and more each day. I am praying through this scripture each day trying to be intentional in every interaction with my dorm girls and fellow staff:

"Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Colossians 3:12-17 ESV)

            As always, I would love to pray for you.  If there is anything specific will you please send me an email and let me know? I pray that God would continue to bless you and to work in your hearts a love for Him and His work that He has for each one of you this year.

Serving with you,

 Amy 

         

The sunsets never get old here!! New view this year. :) 

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