Welcome

June 18, 2011

Welcome to the 2011 Kenya Team Blog!

When Pastor Ron asked me to write an opening post for our blog, I was excited.  Until I thought about the fact that I seldom read blogs (two in total) and that I have never written one. As I thought about it,  I kept coming back around to the idea of counting the days and making the days count, but evidently those are the lyrics to a song and not to be found in scripture.  But as I looked for those words, I found the verse below instead and it captured what is in my heart as I prepare.  

Teach us to number our days,

that we may gain a heart of wisdom.  Ps. 90:12. 

As our departure for Kenya rapidly approaches, I find myself counting (numbering) many things…

• 12 Days until we step on the plane (9 days until I am done with school,  and only 6 days left with students
• 2 Days traveling and 12 days in Kenya.  It will go too fast, even though there will be moments that each one of longs to be home.
• 145 Days since our first meeting.  Although warned, little did we know how quickly June 30^th, 2011 would arrive.
• 24 People traveling half way around the world.  We are teachers, principals, pastors, accountants, students, engineers, scientist, musicians, managers, photographers,  business men and women, husbands and wives, mothers and daughters, and we have become a team.  As we go to serve the people of Kenya, we will learn a lot about loving and serving one another.
• So many people at home praying and wondering (and sometimes worrying), eagerly awaiting our return and the pictures and stories we will bring.   Family and friends have given generously so that we can be part of what God is doing in Kenya and so He can work mightily in us.
• 48 bags to be packed (not to mention carry-ons).  As I recently looked over the list again, I wondered what I really need and what will just get in the way.  I keep thinking of things at random times and I have to accept that I will forget something (a belt, or maybe the charger for my iPod or my favorite hoodie that would have been perfect) but that in the long run, it won’t really matter.  My mind is also busy with what we will bring to the people of Kenya.  Collections have taken place and preparations have been made…we have worked hard to get ready, yet we know that there will be more surprises than disappointments and that we just have to be open to each day and what it brings.
• 1 million people living in a 3 mile slum where poverty, sickness and illiteracy run rampant.
• 4000 students attending Hope Partnerships schools, whose lives are being transformed and who are being given a hope and a future.

In the midst of counting and organizing and just trying to keep up with life, it is easy to lose track of the things that really matter.   I am excited and life is full, yet I can’t let the second half of the verse escape my attention.  I need to regularly set aside the business of life and quiet my heart so that I can hear the soft whisper of the Holy Spirit.  I need to remember that more important than what we will “do”, is our choice to “be” present…in the time we share with the teachers and students, community members and our own team, in the moments of beauty that could be missed but should be captured, in the quiet places when our hearts are breaking and God is moving in us as we cannot forget what we have seen and how it will change us (if we let it).

As we prepare to embark on this journey, please be praying with us that:

 We will be healthy and safe

Our team and hearts will be filled with peace and grace

God will continue to prepare the hearts of those we will meet

God will work in and through us

 We will use our time and opportunities well

 We will see His hand at work and marvel at His ways

We would be changed

And, that because we went, our hearts will grow in wisdom.

Thank you for being part of our trip and for your prayers, support and encouragement!

Sarah