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. :)