Considering it’s now been a month since I left the USA for Africa, I think I owe you an update!!!
After arriving in South Africa on the 19th of January I was blessed to traveled with my good buddy Gretchen to see MAMA RITA!!! We were so stoked because we actually got to fly to Mozambique this time, the flight was only two hours the bus ride is over 24 hours and pretty sketchy, God is so good and so are my parents for paying for that flight. When we arrived at her home our June squad was also there and they had felt moved to fund the repairs of her roof. Warren Cheely had woken up in the middle of the night to find rats crawling around and on top of children sleeping in the kitchen. He was so shaken by the situation he made it his person mission to eradicate all of the rats. The rats are just something that the children and Mama Rita have come to live with, they can’t afford to keep buying poison so they just live with the rats. The June Squad left and Gretchen and I stayed a bit longer and there were definitely less rats but a few still lingered. Fixing the roof is a good step but it is really just buying time, something still must be done to improve the quality of life for these orphans and Mama Rita. Gretchen and I had many talks with Peter and Mama Rita and we found out that it will cost $30,000 to build Mama Rita her new home. We made no promises to them but we are praying about how God is going to make something like this happen. In the mean time there are school fees, school uniforms and water bills to be paid, if you are interested in helping this cause please let me know and I will help you fulfill that. I can’t remember exactly who donated the money for the boys to go to English class when I was there previously but I want to report that one of the two boys is still learning English. The other boy was not able to stay in school so they allowed for Emmanuel to go to two years of English classes. Thank you SO much for investing in his life, he will significantly help this family with his improved English. It was amazing to be back in the home of Mama Rita for a week but we were anxious to move on to South Africa to the debrief of the June squad and to get to see Terri Cash (she was a racer with Gretchen and I on our first race who now serves in South Africa).
It was great to reunite with all of the June Squad in Nelspruit, South Africa. The squad has come so far from the place I left them almost 3 months ago. God threw us a curve ball for the debrief and the squad got to choose the teams they would operate in for the next few months. We as a leadership team entered the team changes wanting the squad to get an opportunity to listen to the Lord and allow him to form new teams. So one morning everyone gathered in a room together for a few hours and hashed through team formations. The process was very intriguing and the results were awesome. The squad showed so much maturity in the formation process and I know that God is using those teams to bring some much needed growth for them in Asia. I wasn’t with the squad for long before I caught another flight to Nairobi, Kenya.
I was excited and anxious to see what lie ahead for me in Kenya. A team of Real Life student and my co-leader Blair had already been together for a week at training camp in Georgia. A lot of bonding and growth had already taken place for them as a team that I missed out on but I knew that I wouldn’t be too far behind. When I arrived in Kijabe, Kenya I was warmly welcomed by my new family with incredible respect. I have no clue what the AIM staff had told them about me at training camp but whatever it was it must have been good because the amount of respect this team had for me without evening knowing me was incredibly humbling and honoring.
I have now been with this Real Life team for three weeks and nothing has changed, they still honor me with their respect and I try to do so in return. There is something AMAZING about this team, they are so enjoyable. They are all 18-23 but they are incredibly mature and willing to do just about anything especially stepping up and serving the Lord! I am INCREDIBLY blessed to be working with this group, God has brought us through some sicknesses and some trials thus far but it doesn’t seem to stop them from pressing on to serve.
Coming out of the June Squad debrief I was challenged by Tom Sipling with the question of whether we are Peace- Corp volunteers or we are missionaries. Both are great for the World but only one brings the TRUTH of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the HOPE of a Savior and life everlasting! I brought that to these Real Lifers and they have been hashing it out daily. We have had so many incredible opportunities to present the Gospel and many have come to know the Lord. I feel extremely blessed to have the opportunity to walk with this group for three months.
Thus far we were honored to spend a week with the Maasai tribe, where they are planting a church. We camped outside of a man named Amos’ house. He many years ago heard about Jesus from some other Western missionaries, it was so encouraging to hear that because so many times I get discouraged when I don’t see the fruit I am expecting. Now Amos is studying to be a pastor and he is doing an amazing job loving on the people around him. During our time there we went house to house and shared life with many people. So many times we felt like we were in the National Geographic magazine when we looked out and saw the beauty of the valley and the uniqueness of the people and their traditional wardrobe. It was even more amazing to see this group of Maasai turn their age old traditions into something that glorifies the Lord. Continually we were brought back into reality check of where we were and the opportunity that was in front of us. God reminded us often that these are our brothers and sisters even though they look and act nothing like us.
Other than visiting the Maasai tribe we have been doing something different every day; we have visited schools, hospitals, and many different villages. Everyday is something new around here and God is showing up in big ways. Thanks for your prayers and for your support of the crazy things God has me doing. Blessings to you all.
