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.

working at home

CAmp BlueSky staff 2010

my time in america is flying by too quickly!

it's so good though. my first two weeks were filled with family, friends, and driving around the State and region. i visited berry, shorter, covenant, belmont, samford, atlanta christian college, a church in TN, and a home in Birmingham. and there are probably other places that i've already forgotten about. i have talked to so many beautiful students who are in love with Jesus and have a passion for serving children. we can't take them all to kenya this summer unfortunately, but praise God we have a great team of female counselors! here are some names so you can be praying: Laura, Jenny, Jenny, Lauren, Leah, Kaelyn, Daley, Emily, Chelsea, Abbie, Keeler, Nicole, Amanda, Shanna, and April. And our guys team is being formed even though we don't know who most of them are. So far we've got, Zach, Zac, Johnny, Devon, Drew, and Rob. And our leadership team, Eric, Brittany, Greg, Sarah, Isaac, and me are already blending so well and will do a great job leading and serving. All of my university visits have really encouraged me about college students and their passion for Jesus and their desire to serve. There are so many young women, especially, who are in love with our God and want to follow Him anywhere. Pray that God would raise up some men to serve Him specifically in Kenya this summer and to lead all of these beautiful and passionate young women in the Church in America today.

driving to Nashville

cass and me on the way to ATL

outside the coke museum, ATL.

snow day at home

This past weekend we had our staff retreat in Rome, GA. We had a great time staying up late, eating candy, playing games, and learning to trust each other and work as a team.

as for spending time enjoying Georgia and my family and friends i have celebrated a birthday with warm chili and good friends, visited the Coke museum with my family, eaten at all my favorite restaurants, shopped with my sister for boots and skinny jeans (i'm so lost when it comes to dressing fashionably), played with all the babies in rome, and watched much of the olympics as my sister haley and i compared our wii fit skiing and snowboarding to shaun white and lindsey vonn. i have two more weeks here and i hope i squeeze in as many memory-making events as i can. today i plan to go to chattanooga with my triplets and this weekend visit the bodies exhibit with haley and my cousin emily.

and this weekend (fri-mon) i will be traveling to Chicago for the Simply Youth Ministry Conference!!! i am pumped. i have a sweet roommate and i'm really looking forward to learning more about serving teenagers and being refreshed and renewed by worshipping our wonderful savior with parts of the Church who are like me.

on my way back to Georgia!

our second trip to Laikipia with megan and hannah. we rode camels and camped in the bush!

i'm getting ready to be Stateside for a while. right now there are sticky notes with to-do lists and to-buy lists all over my desk, there are two half-stuffed suitcases in the floor, my clothes from this morning and yesterday are lying between the floor and the bed, and i am halfway perched on the chair at my desk frantically trying to finish things up. and the scene is a perfect illustration of how i feel right now on the inside. it's pretty crazy. and this is no excuse for not updated you all, i know, but life has been pretty busy here lately. but it has been so good. so good.

we had our kick-off parties for both middle school and high school youth groups. it was so fun. we bowled with the middle schoolers and did the water slides with the high schoolers. we had more kids at both parties than we expected! and yesterday we picked back up with middle school youth group while the high schoolers are on their week-long cultural field studies trips. i had the middle school youth group all to myself! we talked about friendships and i am so thankful and blessed to have some beautiful friendships to draw from as i teach these young believers. friends, thank you for loving and serving Jesus first and then me as a friend. and i've been working so hard to get everything ready for me to be gone. i'm pretty anxious about leaving everything here for 6 weeks. but i know i don't control things.

middle school youth group at bowling alley

high school youth group (part of them) at water slides. it was cold!

the cheerleaders with whom i've been working are doing so well. they were so sad to hear that i'm headed to the States. we made firm plans to continue working together when i return. they are getting so good! and they are so cute! we have practice two days a week now and have had two all day saturday practices. i'm learning how old and out of shape i am. i was sore yesterday from dancing all day saturday. :)

most of my time right now is spent getting ready for camp and recruiting. i'll be in the States for 6 weeks, but that doesn't mean i'll be in ONE states. my 6 weeks are almost booked full of traveling to recruit, go to a conference, and see another camp. thank you all so much for praying for my trip. things are working out really well. please pray that plans continue to be ironed out and that i will rest in the Lord.

i am so excited about being the home! i can't wait to see all of you, spend time with my family, go to my home church, see friends, and meet our camp staff! thank you all so much for keeping up with me and for the love and prayers. hopefully we can catch up face to face soon and i will work hard to keep you updated here!

lingering holidays

so i promised to give more details of my Christmas and my mom's visit, but i've been trying to figure out my thoughts on the whole thing and a clever way to present it to you. my head is spinning with thoughts AND i'm sitting at a busy coffee shop in the middle of an even busier mall on a sunday afternoon. there are more than 200 people rushing around me, a little girl singing over my right shoulder and another one laughing on my left, and i swear there's a band playing nearby and a telephone that won't stop ringing. this isn't the nice quiet spot where i'd love to sit and write a quick update.

and now some kind of kids concert has begun on the floor below us. i can't tell what the guy is saying, but the kids are responding with wild screams! it's a great day in nairobi! haha! AND santa is still sauntering around the mall. the holidays linger on around here. i think we strictly follow the Christian calendar and Epiphany isn't for a few more days. until then, we're still wishing each other a "Happy Christmas!" and "Blessed New Year!" it's like what happens before Christmas in the States happens after Christmas here!

so momma and cass left on tuesday night. it was so sad saying goodbye. but i'll see them again in a few weeks so it wasn't terrible. we decided to celebrate Christmas again together at the end of January. we're going to bake cookies and exchange gifts. something small. it was just too weird not doing our normal routine. i took them to Maasai Mara, Naivasha, lukenya, bracken, and around nairobi. we went to church, had a small party at our house, celebrated Christmas, shopped, got pedicures (thanks mom!), and toured Nairobi. it doesn't matter how old i get i still want my mom to be proud of me and watch me. i LOVED showing her my life here. oh, and she kissed a giraffe and petted some baby elephants. AND we went to an orphanage where we exhausted ourselves playing with toddlers all afternoon. it was a packed week. THANK YOU to everyone who prayed for us during her visit. God is faithful. and now they are back to "normal" life for them.

after they left we went camping with some guys who used to be in our youth group, but are now in college. it was wonderful to spend time with them. some of them i hadn't seen in years. we picked up where we left off except now we're talking about potential mates and careers instead of homework and prom. i am truly blessed to still be a part of their lives. God is good. as a youth worker, you always wonder what will happen in students lives when they leave your ministry and start to "grow up." what a blessing to see them again and hear about their joys and struggles!

after the camping trip we had a small new years eve party. many people are still traveling for the holidays and many spent time with family, but some students were able to celebrate with us. we spent the night playing rock band and sitting around a fire on the back porch talking. it was a great ending to '09 and a sweet beginning to 2010. i stayed up 'till 3 a.m. (way late for me) playing and dancing in the dining room.

since then i've been recovering from all the festivities. and i plan to get back to work tomorrow, even though school doesn't start for another week. most of the students i usually spend time with are traveling this week with their families. i plan to use this week to prepare for my Stateside time. please pray with me that i will be able to speak to many college students about our summer opportunity. please also pray with me that God will give me wisdom and discernment in support raising. and, maybe it's a little selfish, but i am really really really looking forward to reconnecting with some friends. please pray that i will have sweet stress-free time to spend with those dear to my heart.

i'm also preparing to be away from youth group for about 6 weeks. i'm already missing them like crazy since we've canceled youth group during the holidays. let's pray together about that too. :)

it's true! that is, in fact, a pic of mom in the Mara!

forgive me for the silence. my mom and sister are here and i am spending ALL of my time enjoying them! we've been to the Maasai Mara, elephant orphanage, giraffe center, baby orphanage, Church, celebrated Christmas, and they've met tons of lovely people. they leave on Tuesday. it's gone by too quickly. sad...

here are some pictures until i can add words to this crazy wonderful whirlwind of holiday celebrations month!

sunset on the mara

cass and me in the van on a game drive.

mom in the van on the way to the mara. she loved the crazy fast bumpy drive.

so we're having a great time. it's so good to have family here. this has definitely made my first christmas away from home much easier.

i am also really enjoying celebrating Christ in my community on this side of the world right now. today at Church one of my youth group kids was baptized. it was beautiful. beautiful! it is truly an honor to walk alongside these young men and women. most of the time i think they teach me more than i am teaching them.

i hope your Christmas has been filled with love, joy, and the Peace of Christ.

taking it a little slower

this is part of the ropes course. it has actually started to rain out there and it's turning from brown to green!!!

i'm at home alone right now with the back door open and it's raining outside. it's pretty nice: kind of cold, hard rain falling, a little windy. this has been the first weekend in a while that i haven't been crazy busy. i don't quite know what to do with myself. there's no youth group this tomorrow (finals week), i'm not teaching sunday school, and everyone is at home studying this weekend... or that's what they say they're doing. so i've spent today catching up on some reading, had lunch with one student, and laying around the house talking with the teammates. and tomorrow i will actually go to Church and sit inside the auditorium and be a part of the worship experience. and after that i may go out to lunch and maybe, just maybe take a Sunday nap or read some more. unbelievable, i know! this is not my usual weekend. it's weird.

i read some wonderful blogs about youth ministry and how many organizations are slowing things down this holiday season. one youth pastor suggested that we take some time to personally celebrate and enjoy this advent season. i totally plan to do that. i'll also be ordering cheer uniforms, planning the next semester of youth group, preparing for a trip to America, recruiting camp counselors, planning a staff retreat, choreographing a cheerleading routine, making up cheers, working on the ropes course, and entertaining my FAMILY! i will probably find some time for personal advent celebration. and thankfully there are sweet things like podcasts of my home church where i can listen to the advent sermons.

i'm coming to America!!!

a few weeks after Christmas, sometime in January or the first of February, i'm planning a trip Stateside. this is mainly for the summer camp staff retreat in Rome, GA. i'm also going to try to do some recruiting of camp counselors, personal support fundraising, attend a conference or two, and see family and friends. here's how you can help: i would LOVE to talk to any college students you may have an audience with. we really need quality camp counselors for summer 2010 who love God, love kids, and want to see Africa. do you know anyone like this? would they be interested in serving with us this summer? let me know and i'll be there!

also, i still need to raise some significant personal financial support. do you have a church gathering or small group or sunday school that might be interested in hearing about this ministry and how they can help? again, I will be there! :)

i'm also thinking of attending a youth ministry conference in Chicago. know anyone in Chicago who'd like to house me for a few days? ;)

and i would LOVE to spend time with YOU. so as soon as i know my official travel plans i will let you know and we can get some time together.

i'm looking forward to being in Georgia and seeing family and friends and enjoying the Southeast. i can almost taste chick-fil-a sweat tea now...

AND THE COUNTDOWN IS ON for Rhonda's trip to Africa. that's right, folks, my mom and sister arrive on SUNDAY night. unbelievable. i'm wayyyy excited, but trying to have an "i'll believe it when i see it" attitude in case something crazy happens and she doesn't make it. i will have pictures and updates. Kenya isn't ready for my family. it's gonna be awesome. haha! this is us right before i left Georgia on Easter this year. looks like i was really happy.

'tis the season...

... to stuff your face! :)

We had our youth group Christmas parties this past weekend. The high school youth group party was on saturday night at our house. Not our most fun party ever, but it was good. it was a little more chill than usual and a good opportunity to hang out with the kids. the leaders came over early to decorate our house and make cookies for the party. again, LOVE watching their leadership develop. they amaze me. sometimes i wish i was as wise as they are when i was a teenager.

decorating cookies around the table at the high school youth group party

the spread

eric and me at the party

middle school party white elephant

decorating cookies at the middle school party

the middle schoolers got all hyped up on sugar and went crazy. it was awesome! they stuffed their faces and then ran around the yard screaming and playing. i've never seen them like that. parents reported fast talking and hard crashing in the car on the way home. i call that success. :)

youth group meetings are over for 2009. it's a little hard to look back and consider if you've taught them everything you were meant to teach them. it is exciting to look forward, though, and think about the next year. each semester is different out here. some families leave and others return and some are new altogether. i've said goodbye to a few students and am looking forward to seeing others again. and there are some older siblings returning for the holidays that i'm really looking forward to seeing. some i haven't seen in years. it's just another reminder to make every day count.

i'm also looking forward to camp bluesky 2010. i'm headed back to the States in a month or so to recruit counselors and have a staff retreat. our camp staff team isn't very big as of yet. please pray that God would bring the right people to serve at camp this summer. and if you know of any cool college students, send them my way!

i'm still working on my Stateside schedule and will let you all know very soon!

thanks for reading about me!