This week has been a whirlwind of traveling from place to place. I left our small village in Romania only a little over a week ago and I am currently at an orphanage in Kitale, Kenya. After 30 plus hours of traveling I finally made it to Africa! It is so exciting to be in a new country and continent. I have always wanted to go to Africa and I am so blessed to be able to be here spending all month at an orphanage loving on the 180 children that live here.
Last month in Romania it was difficult for me to find joy and purpose in the ministry we were doing as it was a lot of outside manual labor but this month is completely different. After a 9 hour bus ride from Nairobi to Kitale I was welcomed to the orphanage with all the children standing in a circle singing songs and greeting each one of us with hugs and smiles. I couldn’t contain my joy as my eyes filled with tears at the sight of all these beautiful children singing songs to the Lord. One of these songs go
"He is enough for me, He is enough for me, the Lord of Calvary, He is enough for me."
God is truly enough, he is enough no matter what my circumstance is.
This month we will be helping the children with their school work by tutoring them and teaching classes as well as working on social work to give the kids an opportunity to talk one on one about things that are on their heart. We will be playing games and sports and reading stories, and anything that we can do to help fill in the gap of the things they lack since they do not have parents to give them special attention.
These kids are so precious and all love Jesus so much. Their joy is so evident, they are so thankful for all the things they have even if they only own a couple outfits. We participated in their Bible study and church service and they sang praises to God at the top of their voices. They are so eager to learn more about Jesus and the Bible.
The orphanage I am at is called Great Mercy; it was started by Judith Muntage who is known around the orphanage as “mommy.” She started this place because she saw the need of the children who had no homes or who did not have parents who cared for them. These kids would come to her home to spend time with her during the day and she had a dream to have a home for these kids so they would have somewhere to sleep as well. She received enough support to build a place for these kids to live, go to school, and go to church. Her program runs by faith and God has provided for the needs of the orphanage and the needs of the children. I am so thankful to be here and to have the opportunity to love them the best I can.
After spending 3 months in Europe with many of the comforts of home being in Africa is a big change. I went from one day being in Romania at a nice hostel to staying the night in a hotel in Qatar- a country in the Middle East to sleeping in my tent and using a squatty potty in Africa the next night. I have gone through a lot of changes this past week but I am quickly adjusting to life in Africa. I now stick out like a sore thumb wherever I go and have to be extra careful about staying safe as it is much more dangerous here. On the bright side, the weather here in Africa is amazing! It is their winter here so I am enjoying 80 degree days with sunshine and cool nights. This is a really nice change from the relentless extreme heat I experienced throughout most of Europe.
Please pray for safety of my team and also for health. Malaria is a prevalent problem where I am living and even with bug spray, mosquito nets, and malaria medication I am still at risk. I am also still fundraising to meet my final deadline. I received a 1 month extension on the final deadline and only need to raise $1,300 more to be fully funded for the rest of the trip. If you feel led to give you can donate through my blog.
Thank you for all of your support and encouragement. This month is going to be awesome and I can’t wait to share stories about all the cool things God will do in this place.
