It’s incredible to think that myself and my team are already 6 months into this. It feels like the last three months have flown by. I honestly wasn’t looking forward to Africa. I was originally signed up for route 1 which was almost the same but didn’t include Africa. Instead it was Europe. So, when I switched, I wasn’t looking forward to being in Africa. But it really took me by surprise when I got there. And it seems the further we went, the more I saw God in this continent. The last month we spent in Nakuru, Kenya. Kenya is pretty different from Uganda and Rwanda. In Rwanda, the city we were in was very developed, but outside the city wasn’t. Neither was Uganda. It felt to me like Kenya is a lot more developed outside of one or two cities.
The only thing I knew heading into our ministry was that we were sleeping in tents. I was not thrilled. When I think of sleeping in tents for a month, it’s usually accompanied with the thoughts of using the bathroom outside and showering with a bucket. I’m not fully against those things, I’d just choose a toilet and hot shower given the option. So, when I got there, I was pleasantly surprised. We did camp out. But it was in the front yard of our hosts’ compound. Our host ministry was a ministry based out of Georgia. “Glory Shiners” is the name. It’s headed up by Joel and Tara Beauchamp. Joel has an incredible story of brokenness and healing. He went to a program similar to No Longer Bound, where I went. While the programs are different in a lot of ways, the idea behind them are the same. The pain we all feel as humans is the same. And the way they go after that pain and open the door for God to come in and heal it are very much the same and after I found out about the ministry Joel was doing, I was hooked. I am going to write another blog about this ministry in the next few days.
Kenya was a truly incredible month. My teammates and I got faced with some hard truths. We were challenged spiritually and pushed to grow. God definitely showed me areas I can grow in. That’s what I’m going to be focusing on these next 5 months. Instead of focusing on what is going to be awaiting me when I am finished with this season, I am going to focus on how this season can prepare me for whatever is there.
Where am I right now?
My team and I just got to Malaysia a couple of days ago. We have spent the last couple days being together and refocusing. We are currently in Kuala Lumpur and the Chinese New Year was last night.
How can you pray for us?
We definitely appreciate prayers for safety and for people. We have no host this month so we will be going out to see what’s there for us. So connections, open hearts, and also free food and lodging never hurts!
Love Y’all.
