happy Easter!

i've been enjoying this guy casually walking around the mall/coffee shop where i use internet, have meetings, and work. he's got a little cotton ball in the back.

i'm headed to a nice little easter break with a dear friend. so i'll not be posting for a week. enjoy our Savior and fellowship with His Church and you celebrate His resurrection together this week!

upset fruit baskets and Palm Sunday

this is my job:

it's natural to be jealous of my awesome job.

my favorite part is that the game is called "fruit basket upset." i just think that's an awkward phrase. kids were asking why the fruit basket was so upset. haha!

and then right after this we talked about Palm Sunday. we had some really good conversations about how if Jesus came today in our neighborhood like he rode into Jerusalem he'd probably be riding a donkey cart or a bicycle and would be greeted by street kids, people from the slum, prostitutes and beggars. we talked about the humility of the whole scene.

and one 6th grade girl said, "yeah, i think that if Jesus came today a lot of people wouldn't even know who he is because people have turned away from believing in Him and they have turned to other things... like... um... kissing people of the same gender."

we had a great time at middle school youth group yesterday.

humping dolphins

on Sunday when we drove to Church someone said, "you guys seen the new humping dolphins statue?" as we drove past this.

this is just a taste of some of the funny and random things that we get to enjoy around here. this beautiful new statue is just on the side of one of the roads we frequent. it's between our house and rosslyn. so i get the pleasure of driving past this every day more than once!

it's in the parking lot of a building that's been empty as long as i've lived in Kenya. a few months ago they installed a little grocery store there. and upon further investigation yesterday i noted that there is also a little indian restaurant next door to the grocery store. both establishments have names i can't remember. but i will try the restaurant soon, i'm sure. when i drove into the parking lot i was stopped by the guards. they only wanted to smile a lot and say hello. so friendly. :)

on Saturday both dolphins were spitting water and there was also water coming from the top dolphins back! i guess that's a special saturday thing. i won't talk about the fact that there's water coming out of a dolphin statue, but there hasn't been water coming from my shower in months. or how we're back on water rationing for the entire city. that's another post.

too bad i couldn't get a picture when the fountain was turned on.

outback

a trail marker

last year at Thanksgiving i was invited (thanks to one of our favorite camp BlueSky families) to be a part of a weekend family camp program by Outback America held at Brackenhurst. Outback is an outreach of JH Ranch. these are both incredible programs that i recommend. being a part of Outback in Kenya was a wonderful blessing in many ways. one, of which, was that almost all of the outback team was from the south. it really blessed my heart to be around those southern families during thanksgiving. and i was stoked to be a part of a family camp program because we have always wanted to do this and i was looking for new ideas.

while i was with the outback team in kenya they invited me to join them for Outback Mobile in Mobile, Alabama if my stateside schedule would allow.

so...

last month i made the 5-hour drive way down south where the spanish moss hangs thick, the tea is so sweet, and the hospitality is rich to Camp Grace in Mobile, Alabama for Outback Mobile. there are so many things through which God spoke during my one-night stay in Mobile.

the big top

teams meeting in their huddle groups after a talk

the "odyssey course"

under the big top for a talk

i also met some missionaries who work in Tanzania! they were on the volunteer staff for the weekend as intercessors. it was so sweet to stand around and talk about Africa together. it was much like when i spent time with the southern women in Kenya over thanksgiving, but the exact opposite. i love my two homes and the small comforts i get when i'm away from them.

i picked up a lot of great tips about family camp. one day (hopefully soon) camp bluesky will again attempt a family camp. and now we're a little bit better prepared.

the wearin' o' the green

happy st. patrick's day!

this is my favorite holiday. here are my reasons:

1. i'm irish. right, i know, it's like being cherokee, isn't it. everyone's irish. but i really think i am. i always argue, "my grandmother's family name is o'neal! i have to be irish!" Nana says we're Irish, so Irish we are. one day soon i will return to the motherland (i've never been there before).

2. i like beer. I KNOW they don't celebrate this day in ireland by drinking beer like we do in america (i think they celebrate every day in ireland by drinking beer), but i think it's fun that beer is associated with this holiday. don't get carried away, i'm not getting drunk. let's be mature.

3. green is a really nice color.

4. i like rainbows and so do leprechauns.

5. i REALLY like celtic music and irish step dancing a-la micheal flatley and lord of the dance.

i could go on.

last year on st. patrick's day my pastor Mitch gave a sermon about the life of st. patrick and i learned why i really like him and his day. i was talking with lauren about this earlier today and i remembered why i identified so much with patrick's story. when i first heard this story last year i was preparing to move back to kenya after more than a year in the States. i remember feeling lonely and crazy. crazy because i had just quit a decent job to be a volunteer and raise support. and lonely because i was going alone. and i was fairly alone in my perspective (though not alone herding pigs for 6 years like st. patrick).

patrick was captured from his home in england and sold as a slave when he was 16 years old. he was a pig herding slave and totally and completely alone until age 24 when he heard a voice telling him to go to the sea where his ship to go home was waiting. while he was alone in the irish countryside with the pigs he prayed to God day and night, waking by sunrise to worship. when he heard the voice telling him to go home, he marched 200 miles to the sea and was miraculously protected by God. of this journey patrick said, "i came in God's strength and had nothing to fear." when he got there the ship's captain refused him, but as he turned around to go back to his hut and prayed, some sailors called to him offering him passage. there is much more to the story and my friend Lauren tells more here (must read!). when he finally returned to his home in england he could not stay there. he had to go back to ireland and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus where it had not been heard.

i remember feeling so comforted and encouraged when i heard this. i was feeling alone. and i was feeling like i could not stay at home. God was calling me back to Kenya and i had to get back there and share the love of Christ. i wanted to believe that i was going back in "God's strength and had nothing to fear."

st. patrick's faith in God had an impact on the people who met him. people knew he followed Christ. people even made fun of him for it. but people also came to faith in Jesus because of his faithfulness and intense belief.

i am encouraged again today.

and i'm really enjoying wearing my shamrock shirt from mcguire's irish pub in destin, florida.

today when you are wearing your green and pinching people and drinking guiness, remember the faithfulness of st. patrick and be encouraged, comforted, convicted, and challenged. God has a plan for His children. we can trust Him. may you and i say of our journeys, "I came in God's strength and had nothing to fear."

there's a restless feelin' knocking at my door today

home

i hate saying goodbye! i start feeling anxious a few days before i fly nearly every time i leave america... and when i leave kenya...

but, alas, my Stateside hours are drawing to a close. i've been here for 6 brilliant and busy weeks. i've visited family and friends, gone to a youth ministry conference, worked at a family camp, conducted a staff retreat, visited colleges and churches to recruit staff, and done a little clothes and shoes shopping. :) it's been good. i'm returning to kenya tonight ready to jump back into things. there aren't too many weeks now until camp staff arrives. this means a fast push to the end of the school year. that will look like rugby season, more cheerleading, lots of youth group, spring break, spring banquets and proms, AND getting everything ready for camp. i'm excited!

today i finished up changing banks. i'm switching to a bank with lesser international fees (at least, i hope it will be). so i went to my old bank to close my account. when i'm in the States i spend a whole lot of time explaining what i do and why i'm living in kenya. the lady at the bank, of course, in asking why i'm changing banks, asked me what i do in Kenya. she'd never met a missionary before! her perception was that missionaries have no possessions and move around frequently. she was surprised that a missionary would need the services of a bank. :) i thought that was funny. i mean, i have very little possessions, but actually probably wayyyy more than i need. she was laughing that i needed to use a bank, but some people laugh at how financially "poor" i am. (like the guy at the investment company i went to. he said my account was very small and there weren't many services he could offer me). anyway, the lady at the bank was pleasantly surprised to learn that i work at summer camp. then she explained that she grew up as a military kid and lived in lots of different countries and never had the opportunity to go to summer camp or anything like that. she explained that when her family was living in florida some missionaries there started a Christian camp and she and her 11 brothers and sisters got to go for free. she described the experience as life changing. she's a Christian now because of hearing the Gospel at camp! HA! she and her husband don't have any children yet (they're having their first next month), but they regularly donate to a nearby camp to pay for one child each summer because camp is so important to her. would you believe that my sister goes to that very camp and each summer she receives a scholarship probably from a family just like this lady's? small beautiful world.

God continues to show me little love stories like this just when i need encouragement. in all my goodbye saying and "business" doing over the past few days, He loves me so much He gave me a sweet reminder about why He's called me to camp and Kenya. He is good.

i'm not really looking forward to this. :)

one voice

"This is the sound of all of us

Singing with love and the will to trust

Leave the rest behind it will turn to dust

This is the sound of all of us"

-The Wailin' Jennys (go listen to this song now)

i have the best friends ever. really. have you met them?

if you know me, you might feel like you've met them. i constantly talk about them. sometimes i feel like every other sentence starts out, "this one time, monnie and sarah and i..."

well, i'm adding another one: last night the above pictured ladies threw me a surprise st. patrick's day party! who does that?!! only the best friends ever. they know st paddy's is my favorite holiday. they know i wanted everyone together at least once before i leave. they know i love surprises. and they totally got me! they are wonderful. THANK YOU for planning, cooking, decoration, and opening your home (anna lauren).

in my own faith journey, God really used each of these women to show Himself to my heart. it was working at camp winshape with ginny and AL and experiencing real community for the first time that helped me really live in the skin of who God created me to be. and i can't remember who actually told me to do it, but that summer working with them was when i decided to be more of a part of winshape and apply for the scholarship. i met monnie on my first day of orientation at berry and we were nearly inseparable for the next two years. and no one will forget the triple. oh! and the quipple! ha! we all worked at wilderness together, went to school, lived in the same dorm, played and did lots of crazy unmentionable things together, prayed together, and i've been in kenya with each of them. they are still my sisters.

so last night we gathered for our "traditional" irish celebration with shepherd's pie, funfetti cupcakes, and irish step dancing. only this time we were dancing with a few pretty little girl babies. and the sound of the party was all of us "singing with love and the will to trust."

thank you my sisters, my friends, my support. i love you.

friends in cold places

As we warily stepped out of the sliding glass doors outside of baggage claim shocked by the bitter Chicago air, ladies shoving their hands in their pockets, and guys adjusting their baseball caps, we looked around at each other and laughed. If we’d ever seen each other before we’d all be good friends. Everyone was wearing jeans, tennis shoes, and a fleece, while the ladies were cute with highlighted hair and the men had either shaggy hair or no hair, but each man had some form of facial hair. Youth workers. We laughed to ourselves and bounced onto the airport shuttle. On our way to the conference hotel we shared where we were from: Minnesota, Nashville, Mississippi, Ohio… Kenya (uh, yeah, that was only me). Arriving at the hotel, after talking about how each of our youth groups would “love this kind of bus for the next winter retreat” (except mine, of course, we don’t really have winter ski trips in Kenya), we were greeting by volunteers, teachers, and pastors for youth pastors who literally yelled and cheered in welcome. This weekend’s youth workers conference was a new and exciting experience for me.

I went to the conference unaccompanied, but God is good and His beautiful Church is all over the world. I was not without friends. It is a truly beautiful thing when you can meet “strangers” who belong to the family of God and feel such kinship with them. It was warming and encouraging to talk with people with a similar passion for teenagers and children. And, as unique as our student ministry here in Kenya is, I have many common experiences with my American counterparts. We could all relate to those junior high boys who manage to break toilets and windows everywhere we take them.

sweet roommate karensa whom i met on the conference website. such a gem! she works with youth in D.C. she's beautiful. i don't know why i think it's cool to make that face. :/

There were sessions and activities planned each day (Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) from 7:30 a.m. to midnight. And we youth workers wonder why we’re so tired all the time. I was able to attend sessions like Understanding Youth Culture, Speaking to Teenagers, Thriving as a Woman in Youth Ministry, Effective Small Groups, and Ministering from Rhythms of Grace. The conference theme was “Surprising Legacy.” We took part in worship experiences each evening where youth ministry legends (Doug Fields, Duffy Robbins, Jeanne Mayo, and more) reminded us that we are leaving a legacy with the youth God has put under our influence. They spoke to us about focusing on the important, being spiritually healthy, remembering and thanking the people in our lives who left their legacy in our lives. God spoke to my heart about many things over the past few days including strengthening my confidence in His call on my life to love teenagers in Kenya and encouraging me to live a life that at all times points to Jesus. One of the final things we final things we did together at the conference was to explore what we really want. What we really really really want. It is my desire and hope that I will, wherever I go and with whomever God surrounds me, bring Heaven to Earth; be the hands and feet of Jesus. Right now, for me, that looks like leading youth groups, directing summer camp, coaching cheerleading, organizing children’s church, but mostly simply loving on kids. And, friends, it is good.

i did manage to eat some yummy chi-town deep dish pizza

Now, on to a family camp program in Alabama this weekend (details about that to come) and I’ll be back in Kenya hanging out with the AMAZING kids God has placed in our student ministry.