Adventures WorldRace SethBarnes Sponsorship Giving

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I wished you Merry Christmas from Kenya before Christmas, but I must give you a recap of our festivities and experiences.  

Christmas Eve my teammate Steph and I went into town to find ingredients to make a birthday cake for Jesus to share with our team.  With much searching we found the things we needed, but not before I was run over by a big, metal cart.  The man who was pushing this cart must have either been drunk or completely not paying attention because he hit me full-force and before I knew it I was actually inside the cart.  I decided to be a big girl, walk it off, and not make a big deal about it; and I succeeded for a while.  The problem came after I walked to the open-air conference we had that night and couldn’t walk home.  So, this Christmas was a Tiny Tim Christmas for me.  

                          

           My leg a week after being hit by the cart (I still have a knot from it more than a month later!)
 
 

But as I sat down in the dirt at the open-air while my teammates were dancing, the Lord gave me a gift.  I saw two little girls pass who looked different from the others; I was later to find out they are Sudanese refugees.  I didn’t know why, but I knew the Lord wanted me to talk to them.  Finally I smiled at one enough to get her to approach me, and a friendship was formed.  The amazing thing was that as I formed a relationship with them, the rest of their family became my friends too.  Before I knew it, I had most of the cousins gathered around me.  The last cousin I met was the oldest whose name is Elizabeth.  This may all seem very ordinary to you, but I am also the oldest cousin in my family and knew the Lord was giving me these children to be my family in Kenya this Christmas.  

       
                                                                        Part of my Sudanese family in Kenya
 
       
                                                                 My cousins I was missing this Christmas
 
I saw them every day for a while, and every time I saw them in their poverty they gave me a small gift.  I could not speak their language, but such great fruit came from the love I was able to show them, the prayers I prayed over them, and the words and the Bible I was able to give Elizabeth.  She already had a relationship with the Lord, but I was able to give her some things that will help her grow into the godly woman I know God wants her to be, and I pray the younger ones will follow.
 
           

                              Hephzibah, Karis, and Judah on Christmas Eve with Santa
         (The top of Santa’s hat came from the lamb we were to eat on Christmas the next day!)

 

Christmas Eve we were able to watch Home Alone, sang Christmas carols to candlelight, and even had a visit from Santa!  It was warm and cozy as I slept by the fire, and the Lord answered my prayers to heal my leg enough so that I could walk on it and participate in ministry with my team on Christmas day.