Maybe it's Kenya,
maybe it's the beautiful white smiles of my students,
maybe it's my team,
maybe it's that my mom visited.
Whatever it was, this month was filled with joy, laughter, love, and fun.
I laughed more this month than I have on the whole Race combined. I hardly blogged because instead of shutting down the world, plugging in my headphones, and gluing my eyes to my laptop, I hung out with my team! We played cards, shared stories, sunbathed in the one hour a day the sun would come out, dreamed about after the Race, took over the kitchen to make tacos, fresh tortilla chips and guacamole for lunch, made a music video, and drank a lot of tea!
When I wasn't with my team I was at school teaching my students about the faith of Rahab or statistics through M&Ms. Other days we would enjoy a volleyball tournament, taking funny pictures on Photo-booth, or sitting in a circle talking about American government. I should have brushed up on my government before coming to Kenya, because their questions stumped me more than once.
And if that wasn't a good enough month already, my very own mother flew half way across the world to see me! I still can't even put into words all that that time together meant to me.
Since the Race began I had shared with my friends that I wasn't ready to come home, but I wished they could just come visit me for a little while. Who knew months later my mom would actually get that opportunity?!
My mom taught me so much while she was here. She loved me, my team, my squad, and the Kenyans SO well.
I couldn't have asked for more.
The biggest thing she taught me was to enjoy every moment of life, to not filter or contain the joy that the Lord gives me. My mom was oozing with joy while here! In the middle of any given activity, my mom would suddenly stop, look around and squeal, "We're in Africa!!!"
She helped remind me of how blessed I am to be on this incredible journey! She left me joy-filled, charged and ready to soak in these last three months.
So month NINE, get ready because the Sheila's are coming in with a bang loaded with joy!
