MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Jon Gill left to America last night. Let's pray he makes it through London before it snows again. our house is going to be very quiet and empty until mid-Jan when all of our new people arrive. Jon filled the house with music, silliness, laughter, and a big curly Jewish 'fro of hair. we'll miss him. although, we will be able to keep the fridge stocked a little longer without his voracious appetite around.

It's just Kim and I here for the holidays. We were invited to spend Christmas with the Conway family! And we have been invited to something at someone's house every night this week. Should be fun! I still miss my family. But the hospitality and love of these "surrogate" families here is a welcome solace. Plus, we get to make brunch on Christmas Eve, pumpkin pie for Christmas lunch, and maybe some other goodies if I have extra money while I'm at the store today! we were able to get a few small gifts for each of the conways. i wrapped them up and they're under our tree. i'm really excited for kim and the conways to unwrap what i got them. i love giving gifts! i'm sorry to my dad and brother who didn't make the cut on christmas gifts this year. i promise you'll get sweet valentines gifts when i'm in the States in Feb. LOVE YOU ALL SO MUCH!

I'm possibly climbing Mt. Kenya with some high school girls over the break! Fun bonding time with them! We're also trying to organize a camping trip for some kids who are back in town for the holidays! i hope these adventures work out.

i just discovered npr on the internet (i know, how behind am i!) so now i can listen while enjoying my coffee in the mornings. merry christmas to me!!!

i hope and pray everyone is enjoying this Christmas week! Merry Christmas to you all!!!

just wait

warning: this might be too personal.

why is waiting sometimes so difficult and painful?

Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary... those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength... Isaiah 40:28, 31

when i was in the States a few months ago i didn't have a phone for a few days. waiting to get one was excruciating. that makes me feel so selfish. in fact, the phone company told me it would take up to two weeks for the phone i wanted to be delivered. i couldn't wait; i got a different phone. yuck; i HATE admitting this. but i felt like i couldn't wait to talk to people.

i was chatting with a friend this morning about adoption. she said it could take several years to complete an international adoption. YEARS! that's a long wait for a baby. most people feel 9 months is too long.

as a child i can remember this Christmas season and waiting for Christmas morning. my little brother could hardly wait any longer, when he'd wake us all up at 4 a.m. to open presents. sometimes my mom would make us wait until my grandparents came over. oh, that was so hard. worse than waiting for a bathroom stop on a long road trip after two cups of coffee and a whole nalgene of water (something i am also very familiar with).

and now i find myself counting down the days and waiting (painfully, i admit) until i go 'home' and see my family and friends again. i would sometimes almost prefer to skip over these next 10 weeks completely if i could, ignoring Christmas altogether.

wait.

i wait.

i [try to be patient and] wait [often with a bad attitude and discouragement, trying everything i can find to distract myself].

i wait for news from those who are separated from me.

parents that i know are awaiting with eagerness, hope, and excitement the arrival of their children coming home for the holiday. for some of them it's been more than a year that they've seen their child.

a friend asks me to pray for her family when her organization is, once again, deciding if they can live here in Kenya or if they must go to the States. for 3 years they have been waiting, each year, on this decision to be made again and a again.

we give ourselves distractions, bring work along with us, have the internet on our phones to entertain us while we're waiting in traffic, waiting for an appointment, waiting to pick up the kids...

i have made signs, messages, and reminders to myself to wait. wait, i tell myself. wait on God to provide. don't try so hard to go after the things you think you want. you can't control everything anyway and you'll probably mess things up. wait for direction. wait for a sign. wait for His provision in everything. wait...

from my advent devotional:

"Advent is about waiting. Waiting, because it will always be with us, can be made a work of art, and the season of Advent invites us to underscore and understand with a new patience that very feminine state of being, waiting... Waiting is mysteriously necessary to all that is becoming. As in a pregnancy nothing of value comes into being without a period of quiet incubation: not a healthy baby, not a loving relationship, not reconciliation, a new understanding, a work of art, never a transformation. Brewing, simmering, fermenting, ripening, germinating, gestating are the feminine processes of becoming and they are symbolic states which belong in a life of value; necessary to transformation." (this is actually taken from another book, To Dance with God by Gertrude Meuller Nelson)

i don't know how to make waiting easier. i know that it is a part of life. i am learning that it is life. waiting is necessary and i'm not sure i'll ever be done waiting.

as we are celebrating this Advent season with parties, gatherings, food, friends, and family, let's remember we are celebrating a season of waiting. and waiting can be celebrated. remembering that, "nothing of value comes into being without a period of quiet incubation."

from today's Advent meditation, a poem by Vivian Stacey, South African poet:

No longer waiting to live

I wait in the secret dark with the rock spider who watches

through the light crack behind his lichen trap door

I watch the whole surround with the horny chameleon

who unlids his revolving eye, coil tongue tensed

I keep faith that warmth comes with the brown lizard

still as death, who trusts the sun will heat his blood

I am on full alert with the upright meerkat

sentry on the ridge who will bark the alarm

I find my moments of poise with the vulture stopped

in the vortex, who will drop in full surrender of flight

So do I keep a graced watch with creatures

and the waiting and the watch is life.

thank you

Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

Great are the works of the Lord

studied by all who delight in them.

Full of splendor and majesty is his work

and his righteousness endures forever.

He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;

the Lord is gracious and merciful.

He provides food for those who fear him,

he remembers his covenant forever.

He has shown his people the power of his works,

in giving them the inheritance of the nations.

The works of his hands are faithful and just;

all his precepts are trustworthy;

they are established forever and ever,

to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

He sent redemption to his people;

he has commanded his covenant forever.

Holy and awesome is his name!

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

All those who practice it have a good understanding.

His praise endures forever!

Psalm 111

the Sunday before thanksgiving we read and discussed this poem at youth group. we meditated on each section and went around a circle praising God for things. it was truly a sweet time. the kids praised Him for things like friends, family, provision of life, safety. we do have much to be thankful for. we looked back over our year and noted specific instances in which God protected or provided for us. there were many. just a few for me included: very successful and fun camp, safety during two break-ins, safety on roads and traveling with many camp staff, new friends, new interests, and God's constant provision financially, spiritually, emotionally, and relationally. and... YOU! thank you for reading about me, praying for me, and supporting me. i know thanksgiving was a few weeks ago, but i would like for us to go through these final weeks of 2010 with a spirit of gratefulness. let's take some time to be thankful.

kim and me stuffing the turkey

nick got to do the honors of carving, while i closely supervised.

our thanksgiving family dinner

everyone feeling stuffed and trying to look happy and comfortable

i LOVE maasai mara! what a sweet place to reflect during the holiday weekend

INTERNATIONAL!

one of the schools at which i spend a lot of time here in nairobi is an international school on the American system. i just love this school. the kids are mostly "western" in their culture, music, language, and dress. but they hale from richly diverse backgrounds. there are over 85 countries represented at this school. on any given day a visit to this school will feel like a private school in atlanta. you will fing them speaking english (mostly), listening to their ipods, studying calculus, or writing biology lab reports. they are also, however, involved in things like model United Nations where they actually spend a few days at the UN Africa headquarters proposing resolutions, or go on field trips to London study Shakespeare. they also go on an annual ski trip to Switzerland or Austria or somewhere like that. so i guess it is like a rich private school in atlanta. maybe i'm giving my georgia public school educated ignorance away here by showing how little i know about good private schools. but the school i went to is very different from this one :)

last week their cultural differences were illuminated and celebrated in international day. some people thought it a bit odd and non-unifying, but i thought it was beautiful. many (i'd probably say 60%) of these kids have been involved with our organization in some way, either through camp, the ropes course, or some form of student ministry. so i know many of them. if i don't know them by name i know them by face.

kim and i went to school just after lunch to watch their parade of countries, which was followed by some student speeches, songs, stories, and poetry. i think i was most impressed with the 6th grade Pakistani's poem about pluralism and our community. oh, and the prek/kindergarten/first grade song about being able to shake hands with the whole world. i'm pretty sure the kids were just making noise and moving their mouths instead of actually singing real words. it was awesome. one of them even randomly walked away during the performance before she was chased back into the line up.

after the program there was an international buffet. my FAVORITE part. there was food from nearly every continent! i paid 300/- (about 5 bucks) for a plate and went around to each table piling it high. i laughed at myself scooping up the Italian lasagna with the Irish potato bread after eating a Chinese spring roll and finishing that off with an Indian fudge thing. yeah, maybe i over-did it.

the whole afternoon reminded me of how diverse our international community here really is. maybe i already said it, but there are 85 COUNTRIES represented at this school! each country's flag was flying, all of it's citizens were dressed traditionally (or in their national football team's colors, as in the case of the orange-clad Dutch kids or hockey jerseys like most of the Canadians), and after marching onto the field, they all began playing and chattering together. a picture of the whole idea of the afternoon was captured in four little girls waiting in line at the Indian booth to get henna painted on their hands and feet: one was wearing a sarape and a sombrero, another a Boston Red Sox jersey and blue jean cut-offs, one with a blue tea-length, cap sleeve dress and a white apron and little yellow wooden clogs, and still another in a plaid skirt, knee sox, and a union jack tshirt.

this is a strange and beautiful little place where these children of world leaders in Africa can learn and play together and become life-long friends. i am so thankful to be a part of this place. i am also inspired to pursue unity with, acceptance of, and appreciation for other cultures. and i'm encouraged about the possibilities of our future in these children. and how blessed are we BlueSky people (that's what most of them call us) to be such an important part of their lives through camp and student ministry!

this is the Kenya delegation marching onto the festival field. those of you who are familiar with Kenya will be amused to know that they took the longest to march in. it was about 20 minutes total while every other country took only five. they walked very slowly and had to be continually prompted by the emcee to keep moving because they were stopping to talk with people from all the other countries lined up along the way. then they had a hard time sitting down so the rest of the program could start. the emcee kept shouting, "move along kenya! move along! no, don't stop there! keep walking! now sit down in your section. sit down! don't get back up! ok, everyone! just sit where you are!" haha! so typical. i love you, Kenya. also, please note the diversity even within the country of Kenya. first you've got your typical Nairobians there in front with jeans and t-shirts, then a lady wearing what looks like traditional kikuyu dress, then a lady in Maasai dress (maybe? hope no one's offended by my misidentification here), then the little baby Kenyan girl of South Asian descent wearing a khanga dress, followed by another different traditionally dressed lady, and then the cool South Asian high school students walking behind her. All Kenyan; very different.

i think these kids i'm hanging out with are shaping my heart and changing my worldview as much or more than i hope to be a part of God shaping and changing theirs.

a few updates

tomorrow is my 28th birthday. today some kids at school were shocked to hear how old i'm turning. ha! i'll take that. they had cake, flowers, coffee, balloons, and a few presents at our thursday morning breakfast meeting. love love LOVE these kids.

last weekend was the Indian festival of lights: Diwali. on Friday night jon, justine, and i picked up michael and drove into parklands looking for a party. we found one alright. loud music, crazy fireworks, expensive tacky souvenirs, and delicious food helped us catch the essence of the holiday with our Indian friends. i saw a few people i knew and a camper or two! always a treat to see campers in public outside of camp. they're too cute. they're totally surprised to see i exist away from camp bluesky. haha!

this week was the semi-final and final games for football, basketball, and tennis. to boost school spirit one school did a spirit week. today was nerd day! i LOVE nerds. you might know that about me. :) (and tomorrow's hippie day -- another of my favorite things) these are my thursday breakfast regulars dressed as nerds. they crack me up!

two weeks ago we had a pumpkin carving party at youth groups. these are the middle school jackolanterns. they are so middle school. one jackolantern is eating his own guts. awesome.

just some random updates. more students, holidays, life, and learnings coming soon!

'cause this is AFRICA!

it's been too long since i've written. i know. i'm sorry. i've got excuses, but they're no good. i could say i've been busy, which is true, but we're all busy. and writing is part of my job... anyway... enough of that. on to this update... :)

this summer at camp we celebrated every day the world cup soccer tournament that was held in South Africa. soccer, or football, as the rest of the non-american world calls it, is very important in most of Africa (you probably already know that) so it was very important to our campers. so important that we had shakira's "waka waka" song on every playlist every day at camp. and we danced. and danced. and one night i, along with a few other girls (names witheld to protect the innocent) stayed up, skipped dinner, and danced for like 4 hours straight memorizing both the "waka waka" and the "wavin' flag" songs and dances (links are to the videos we watched). if you don't know these songs you should definitely check out those links. we watched these countless times. find our world cup dance party here.

anyway, there's this one part in the waka waka song that goes, "'cause this is Africa!" each time we'd dance, we would all sing along. and at that one part, everyone would stop, raise their hands, look to the sky and shout, "'CAUSE THIS IS AFRICA!" maybe this is silly, but i loved that part so much. i felt such solidarity with everyone at camp. it was a beautiful picture to me. i know that most of the kids that come to camp don't look like typical "africans." granted, a lot of them do; you know, the dark skin and all. but i maintain that, on the whole, the kids that come to Camp BlueSky are a real part of africa. many of them were born here and will continue to live here for a long time, even though they hold passports from other countries. and, odds are, a lot of them will go on to live and works here as adults, working to make this a better country. so... when we were singing that song this summer each time i was reminded of how we are, at camp bluesky, having an impact on Africa. we are loving with the Love of God the future of Kenya. and it is good.

and...
lately i've been getting more and more involved with a new organization here in Kenya called African Christian Camping. African Christian Camping (ACC) recently became the 19th affiliation of Christian Camping International. and oh the celebration we had! a few months ago i was asked and elected to sit on the board for ACC and what an honor and blessing this has been. i feel vastly unqualified, but i've been able to help make decisions, work through the vision and mission, teach at a training conference, and be a friend to and learner from some pretty incredible people. you should all know that the future of camp programming in East Africa is looking pretty awesome. there are some very talented, passionate, and experienced people who love kids, camping, and Africa. each time we meet i feel more and more of that excitement i felt singing that crazy song this summer.

this is a pic from last year's training event held annually in september

an organization that helped us out with our most recent ACC training event says that summer camps are "using the most effective means to reach the most receptive hearts." and that is what we're doing. and it's not just Camp BlueSky. there are so many other great camps all over East Africa that are seeking to reach children and teenagers with the love of God. it's exciting to be involved. most recently i was able to host our strategic planning meeting at our house all morning. we're meeting again this week to conclude and plan for the year. you can please be praying about that.

so here are some other updates around here (and things you can pray for):

-since camp ended i went to the States to celebrate my mom's 50th birthday! what a treat those trips were! and how blessed i am to celebrate my beautiful mother's special day.

in the N. Georgia mountains with the fam for mom's birthday weekend celebration

the coosa valley fair: a favorite fall pastime

cute dad on his bike that i think he loves more than his children

-i was also blessed with a sweet time at the coast (twice!!!) fellowship with friends my age is somewhat rare so we feel like it's important to take any opportunity we get. thank God with me for sweet friends and good memories together.

-our team is growing!!! we're getting 5 new team members in january, and 3 more in May! incredible. i'm really looking forward to witnessing what God is doing with us.

-youth group is hopefully about to go through some cool changes. we're looking to find a service project to regularly plug the kids into. pray we'll find just the right one.

-we're still having a great turn out at middle school youth group and a pretty regular crowd at high school youth group. i'm continually amazed by the student leadership team. they don't even really need me anymore. :) right now we're learning about the importance of healthy friendships.

-a good friend of mine is leaving in a few short weeks and i'm pretty sad. pray that i will recognize and worship God for His steady faithfulness in surrounding me with community, even though it changes a lot and sometimes many dear friends are far away.

-i'm interviewing and hiring a whole lot of great college students for Camp BlueSky 2011. if you know of anyone who might be interested in joining our team send them to me now!!! point them to amanda@campbluesky.org

thanks for checking in with me. again, apologies for not updating you sooner! Love to you!

Amanda

let your memories grow stronger and stronger until they're before your eyes

summer is officially over here. well... i guess it's not officially over... i'm going to the beach tomorrow... and well... it's actually winter in kenya right now so it's not summer either. but, anyway, i think you get the point.

this morning at 4:30 a.m. i left Brackenhurst with what was left of the camp staff to the airport to send them off to America. it was bittersweet. i cried. i was tired. i'd had 3 hours of sleep before that. now i'm back at Lukenya (ironic, i know) and it's quiet. i'm staying in one of the camp rooms and it's just me and Kim. it's weird. we don't really have anywhere to go just yet. we're going on vacation tomorrow (long awaited) and after that we'll figure out where to live.

i want to say thank you so much for reading about our summer a, for keeping up with me on facebook, for praying and giving, and for loving me and thinking of us here at camp. this summer was amazing. God is so good. He meets all our needs. we were able to be a part of sharing life with more than 400 kids at camp. we were truly "all things to all people," as we camped out with the Maasai, stayed in homes and went to Church with the people of Western, we played games with street kids in the slums, and we partook in beautiful community, fellowship, worship, and love with each other. i am changed and blessed because of my summer experience.

here are some things i know:

-everything is better when you wear tights and face paint.

-dancing to Shakira is appropriate anytime, anywhere. dancing in general, for that matter.

-college students from America are LOUD (at all hours of the day and night).

-God's power is perfect in our weakness.

-you might think you're tired... then you stay up all night, spend 6 hours in the ER in nairobi, check 150 emails, do cabin assignments, answer a billion questions, eat a pizza, and then you have some idea of what tired really is. and then you wake up and meet 150 parents and campers with a smile. i absolutely LOVE my job. i'm serious. just when you think you can't take anymore, God stretches you out a little and adds some.

-each moment with friends ought to be savored and each opportunity to live and speak the Gospel ought to be taken.

-Kenya is beautiful. stunning. extraordinary. and it just keeps getting better.

-obnoxious 7th grade boys who fight with each other at youth group and make their youth leaders cry can sometimes grow up to be strong young men who follow Jesus. it is truly amazing. and those young men can be some of the best camp counselors i've ever met. and some of the best friends one can have.

-you really don't have to wash your hair more than once or twice a month. you only have to train it to look good dirty. or put mud in it. or not care.

i'm sure there's more... i'll keep it coming.