Since today is a day of R&R for our team, I wanted to use some time to give a few updates to all my readers! Hmm, where to begin…
First off, the World Race blog site is not kept up to date. I have not been on Team GRANOLA since India. Our current name is Team Change. We chose this name partly as a joke because teams are always changing when you least expect it on the Race, but also because life is always changing, and you never know how God can bless the outcome of those changes. My team currently consists of Raj (our leader), a fellow Texan and product of Texas A&M (who is considering seminary upon his return to the States), Kaleena from Michigan, Aubrie from Georgia, Anna from Maine, and Leanne from Massachusetts. I enjoy this team, and we experience growth in a variety of ways on a weekly basis. We've finally escaped the sense of feeling like co-workers and now feel like we're operating in a family type unit.
Now here's an update for those of you who are personally invested in my life: the wedding planning is coming right along! Michelle surpasses all my expectations in terms of productivity and efficiency and deal-finding, all while keeping a calm disposition (attributed to regular Sabbaths and the grace of God). How blessed am I that I get to do God's work in 11 countries, then go home to marry the woman of my dreams?!
About Kitale: this is the agricultural hub of Kenya. This is where most of the produce for the country is derived. We are just a short walk from the Agricultural Research Institute. The most abundantly grown crops are maize and beans, while avocados and bananas grow naturally. There is national distribution program by which the farmland here produces crops that the government distributes to the poorer regions of the country. And on a fun side-note, monkeys can be seen hanging out in the trees near the community.
Spiritually, I'm doing well. I've been reading through the Old Testament, now finishing up 2 Kings. The past few months have been perhaps the most beneficial in all my life, spiritually speaking. I have come to know God the Father much more intimately by understanding His character through the Old Testament. We know the Israelites are God's chosen people, and through scripture we can see how they continually messed up and rejected God, but for reasons we can't fully comprehend, God still pursued them and offered them salvation. And we know God pursues us the same way, even if we're not Israelites, because Isaiah 56:1-8 describes salvation for foreigners (that's you and me). That same steadfast love and grace is extended to us! Paul reiterates this by claiming no difference among Jews and Gentiles/Greeks (Romans 1:16).
Just being in Kenya is good for my soul. I have met men who follow God every hour of the day, men named after saints such as Moses, Esther, David, Abraham, and Isaac. To meet a God loving man named Abraham with a 2-month son named Isaac has got to stir your heart at least just a little. It's refreshing to see people not trying to name their child some new unique name that hasn't been discovered, but naming them after some of the most righteous people who ever lived.
Lastly, I'm beginning to upload new pictures, but not all of them will make it onto posts, so feel free to browse the photos link to the left. Thanks so much for your prayers and comments! Please please please send me your prayer requests, because I'm seeing the power of prayer firsthand, and we can help you! (most recent answer of prayer… 3 people on my team had malaria 4 days ago. Now, none of them have malaria!) Hallelujah!
