This is me and Neonuna. I have loved this baby for like 3 years. I can remember when she was first at Rehema, didn't have pants, and fell asleep as soon as I picked her up. Now she's in school and speaks English! Beautiful!

This was a post that I began after my time in Western. I’m finishing it now, but I don’t really remember what I was going to talk about. But, reading the first two paragraphs reminds me of the summer and I think I can finish the thoughts.

“ ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord.’ Then he rolled up the scroll and said, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ “ Luke 4:18-21

I cannot read this scripture passage without being affected. This is amazing! Can you imagine being in the temple when Jesus said this! Some of people in the audience probably thought Jesus was nuts. But there is something inside me that stirs and recognizes this speaker as the same who gives me life. Life to the full. Abudndant life. Brothers and sisters, our God is good. Be thankful today for Jesus and that you have heard this Good News He was anointed to bring. Give thanks to him for delivering you from captivity, recovering your sight, and setting you free.

I am falling in love with Kenya. But it’s not because I love giraffes and zebras, or because I love being away from home or adventure. It’s because I am living abundantly in my Lord. He has called me and I am following and there is so much blessing in that. It isn’t easy. I literally ache sometimes for my friends and family: to have a cup of coffee with my old roommate, to be held by my mom, to ride to the store with my sister. But, most of the time, here in Kenya, He is opening my eyes to His beauty in so many things.

In Western I stayed at a small house connected to Bishop Edwin’s house. It was so nice because it was only Eric and I occasionally joined by Edwin’s son Godwin and his nephew Stanley for meals and tea. I was able to debrief things with Eric and relax a bit in the afternoons without being “in charge” of anything. I spent evenings in the kitchen out behind the house with some Kenyan ladies who were my age. They were actually a few years younger than me, but our lives are drastically different. These ladies were married with at least one child and helping Edwin’s wife Winrose in the women’s ministry in the Church. They had come to stay at Edwin’s to help prepare meals, clean, and do laundry for the guests…that’s me. So I sat in the kitchen with them at night while they made food for me and everyone else in the home. They thought it was kind of funny that I sat in the kitchen with them. Each night we exchanged in what little common language we had about America, children, Church, marriage, food, cooking, etc. It was beautiful. They would ask me one or two questions, wait for my answer, and then giggle and talk to each other in a very quick Swahili. I sat each night in a short wooden homemade chair that was close enough to the ground to easily roll chapatti and stir ugali. They showed me how to roll and fry chapatti and the following nights I commenced to making as much as my arms and back would let me. (African women are so strong! I’d make like 20 chapattis and ask for a break.) I commented about how I loved that short little chair, and the day I left one of the sweet young women presented me with a chair of my own. I went on and on about how kind they were to give me a chair and how much I loved it, to which Nabuela replied, “it’s only sticks,” laughing at how much I loved such a simple little chair. As long as I live here and as much as I immerse myself in the culture, there will still be funny little differences. I thought it was wonderful that they’d go to so much trouble to give me a chair! They thought it was a simple little chair that wasn’t a big deal at all. So I carried the chair to Uganda and back to Nairobi, storing it under the bus and in the hostel, and getting it out whenever I felt like sitting down. Like, I got it out in the bar at the Nile and all kinds of people stared at me. Who brings their own chair to a bar? A really happy white lady with a new chair; that’s who brings a chair to a bar. Beautiful.

The last three sessions of camp were also beautiful. One of my favorite parts of camp is Friday. Anyone who’s worked at Camp Brackenhurst or BlueSky probably loves Fridays too. Friday begins with the last day of skills (which this year I instituted an awards and performance ceremony, which was awesome. Imagine, drama skill, karate skills, jr girls dance skill all doing performances…I love it!), then there’s sock war, weighing gold rocks, painting faces, early dinner assembly, Summit Fires, and Lion’s Pride. Now, in my previous camp involvement I have been a counselor and then on leadership team, but have had little involvement in the big Friday events. I attended Sock War, Summit Fires, and Lion’s Pride, but have never even helped lead them. I’m way into tradition and ceremony and Fridays at camp are steeped in tradition so taking Kim’s place in many of the traditions this year was a very big deal to me. Before first session’s Summit Fires I had an upset stomach (we talk about stomach issues constantly among our staff at camp so the phrase ‘upset stomach’ is a nicer phrase. Your welcome.). It was completely nerve related though because after the program was over I was fine. You see, at Summit Fires I have to give the “talk” at the end and then lead Lion’s Prade, a challenge for the oldest campers where they build a fire, keep it burning all night, complete a challenging run, memorize Bible verses, write an essay and do this all without talking. I was so nervous at first, but as the summer went on I began to love this role. Every Friday night of camp I stayed outside with the campers and stayed awake all night while they keep their fires burning. It’s beautiful. It is such a spiritual experience for them as they push themselves to do something they are unable to do on their own. So many campers go into it not sure of what they believe about God and so many come out with a different perspective. Over and over I hear them say things like, ‘there has to be a God after this experience.’ One camper who wasn’t convinced of God’s existence reported that he prayed, “help me,” and just then another camper came over and added wood to his fire. So I sit out there on Friday nights. The kids are completely silent, tending their fires, sometimes each other’s, there are hyenas calling in the distance, sometimes close, though, and we have to chase them away. The sky is full, I mean, FULL of stars, and there are always shooting stars. I can’t describe it, not even with these run-on sentences. It’s beautiful and I’m in love.

While it sometimes seems like I’m just cooking chapatti, sitting in a wooden chair, singing camp songs, or building fires, I’m following my Savior “bringing good news…preaching deliverance…proclaiming the year of our Lord…”

Amanda

counting blessings and looking forward

Haley and me at Hell's Gate

I cannot believe that I have come to this place and time! This time last year I was only dreaming of living in Kenya again. And that it has come to pass still amazes me. Camp has ended and the last of our counselors left to the States only a few nights ago. I was filled with emotions as I waved goodbye in the airport. I am so blessed, grateful and amazed at God’s faithfulness in this ministry this summer. We saw over 400 children at Camp BlueSky. There were around 30 college students in and out of camp preaching and living the Gospel all the time every day. It was beautiful! I’ve said it before and I’ll likely say it again, but the men and women God brought to Kenya this summer to work with us are amazing. I am still praising God for their lives and for intertwining them with mine.

So now camp is over for this year and I’m currently sitting at a lodge in the rift valley on a planning retreat with our full time staff. We’ve debriefed the summer and have started making plans for the coming months. I have had different students on my mind throughout the summer and have seen many of them at camp. I’m looking forward to doing life here again. School starts on Tuesday, which means hanging out over the weekend and youth group on Sunday. I’m planning on leading a girls’ small group at high school youth group. There are some girls I’ve been thinking about and I’m really looking forward to spending time with them. I’m also hoping to become involved with the middle school youth group that I helped start a few years ago. Since I left in 2007 it became completely led by high school students. I attended before camp and was really impressed at how well they were doing. Many of them have graduated, though, and the new leaders are inexperienced. I’m looking forward to serving with them as they lead.

I’m also looking forward to really working on the camp program. It’s already time to book dates for next summer and I’m starting to get emails from potential staff for next year! This summer’s barely over and I’m already excited about the next one. God is so good. He keeps giving me abundance and it is “more than I could ask or imagine.”

How can I have forgotten to mention that MY SISTER IS HERE! This is like the most incredible thing! Haley is the first family member to ever visit Kenya! I have loved having her here. We haven’t done anything particularly incredible; just hanging out is amazing for me. I have missed her so much. We went on safari with the camp staff, hung out in town, kissed giraffes, and now we’re at this retreat. I’ve been in meetings a lot and she’s read an entire book or two, but for the next week its hanging out all the time for us! Pray that we’ll have blessed time together.

in the middle of the middle

well, we are in the middle of our "in between"  time. every time i interview a potential camp staffer or tell someone about camp i talk about the weeks "in between" camp. we are currently experiencing those weeks. it's good. 

last week (Sunday through Thursday) we stayed with the Calvert family in Ngong. they work with the masai people group doing church planting and discipleship. praise God for the faithfulness of the Calvert family. they let us take over their lives for a few days and partnered with us in ministry. it was amazing. they have four children, all of whom have been at camp their whole lives. zac, the youngest, is a senior at rosslyn this fall and is working as a junior counselor with us right now. so they were pretty great parents to us. nancy cooked AMAZING food for all of us each night and then we crowded around the table and made lunch for the next day before eating brownies with ice cream or jello poke cake. Bob told us tons of stories about years of ministry and the faithfulness of the Lord. they poured into our lives and it was overwhelming. we went into the rift valley with Bob each day to help with different projects. Monday we helped pass out food and encouraged some children at a school. Tuesday we cut grass and took it to a village where even their cows are starving for food and water. and when i say cut grass i mean we used pangas and slashers. and we  gathered the grass with walking sticks. not gonna lie, it was pretty sweet. it turns out i'm pretty skilled at cutting grass with a panga and could get quite a few cows in a dowry. :) mr calvert assured me he could find me a good husband. i cannot describe to you the look of surprise and joy the pastor had when we brought that grass to him. we ended tuesday with a bit of bouldering. wednesday we hiked the entire Ngong hills, something i've always wanted to do. it started out a bit rainy (which we'd been praying for) but then we could see clear to tanzania. it was stunning. God loved us so hard those three days, through hospitality, testimonies of ministry, encouragement of loving parents, the example of a beautiful 27 year marriage, his beautiful creation of the masai people and their wonderful homeland, and i was in awe of the effect of all of this on the camp staff. i love witnessing people being changed by the Gospel. God is indeed so good. 

now we're back in nairobi and preparing for a week in western. 24 of us have been staying at our house in nairobi. it's a bit cramped, but there are some sweet times in there. we have, however, been without water almost the entire time. so yesterday i took everyone to hampton house (baptist guest house) for showers. never saw such happy and good smelling people. after church today we've been lazing around. 

tuesday we will hop on a bus early in the morning and head to western where we'll meet eric. the plan is to stay in people's homes there, plant trees, play with orphans, encourage churches. if you know anything about kenya, though, you know that plans are just that: plans. they never really go how you expect them to. i am confident in God's sovereignty and am excited about what he has for us. 

please pray for all of us over the next week. after being in western for a week we'll head to Jinja, Uganda to raft the NILE! this is a highlight for some. the river is so large and powerful and such an illustration of so many characteristics of God. all creation sings His praises! 

so pray for our safe travel, for God to speak to and through us, and for the Gospel to go forth in everything we do. 

thank you for all your support! i love you with the love of Christ.

so i'm sitting in a straight back chair with about 50 misquotes buzzing around me, my shirt is wet and has been all day, and i'm exhausted in every way. there's nowhere else i'd rather be than right where i'm at. 

i just finished partying it up with junior campers at the disco. it was almost a disaster. well, you'll laugh at my idea of a disco disaster because it wasn't really all that bad. it's just that the music didn't work (ok that's a major disco ruiner), the one light wasn't bright enough to light the field, they had served us dinner rolls instead of doughnuts and no popcorn or hot chocolate. i was slightly panicked. after about 20 minutes of amazing counselors doing their camp counselor thing and creating fun even when the situation is struggling, the music started working, the doughnuts and popcorn came out, and stu and clayton got some tiki torches lit. we all danced the night away. 

I cannot stop thanking God for letting me be here and be a part of camp and be a part of these lives. we have some incredible counselors and amazing kids. 

thanks for being a part of it too.

Blue Sky Let's Go!!!

I. Am. Amazed. 

God is so faithful. My heart is so full and it's been wayyyy too long since I've written a post that there's no way this post will suffice to update you. 

Camp has begun. Our counselors have been here over two weeks now and I can't believe how wonderful they all are. God is faithful! Staff week was great. Everything was, for the most part, smooth and everyone had a great time. We talked A LOT about camp, planned for some of the programs and took a sweet camping trip across the street to a game ranch. It rained all night, but as we stood around the bonfire picking ticks off of ourselves and each other no one cared about the rain. We sang hymns a cappella and burst into spontaneous prayer. Then it quit raining and we went to bed while the lions were roaring in the distance. I haven't even mentioned the hotdogs, beans, and s'mores yet! It was incredible.

I need to back up and tell you, too, that the Preston's and Stoever's came out to help us with our leadership retreat, staff week and a marriage retreat. During the marriage retreat I took the kids camping at Hell's Gate. We drove all around looking for animals and saw giraffe, wildebeest, wart hogs, baboons, gazelles, zebras, and a dic dic which Wesley and Charlie were really stoked about. We saw a half-eaten zebra which was really cool to the kids and a buffalo skulls. Dead things were awesome. Then we had a huge dance party around the bonfire as we ate hotdogs and s'mores. I never dreamed I'd be doing the cupid shuffle at the overlook at Hell's Gate, but it was incredible. Those kids are too much fun!! After a beautiful Kenyan night we hiked the gorge the next day. It was beautiful and enlightening and we bought spears and bracelets to remember our trip. 

Then the leadership retreat was so great for all of us. We learned more about each other and how to work together this summer. Shawn, Dave, and Tammy are amazing. What incredible leaders to learn under! We stayed at Naivasha Country Club which was beautiful. It was very colonial and i kind of liked it. Except the desserts were gross. Nothing new there though.

So, like I said, staff week was great and now we're in Wednesday of the first session of camp. There are a lot of adjustments and I'm pretty exhausted from all the confirming and instruction i'm giving to everyone. I get to teach Lukenya Getaway staff things like how to serve meals on time and make biscuits and tacos. And then almost all of our counselors are new so they get to learn a lot too. I've not really been in a leadership position quite like this before and God is so faithful at giving me what I need. I'm a witness to my own growth and change. It's very different and as I process all that's happening in me I will definitely write more about it. 

Right now, I'm tired from dancing at the junior camp disco, and am about to get ready for sports day and commandante. I LOVE CAMP!!! I might take a little break and swim during rest time with Lauren and Graham. 

It's amazing to do what you are called to do. There's nothing else that feels quite like it. 

Thank you for being a part! 

Amanda

scouting

today is friday. i'm at java junction. it's kind of cold this morning which is odd because it's been really hot. i've been in kenya a whole week now. things have calmed down a bit since my first few days. seriously, i barely slept or rested at all until wednesday. i arrived on thursday night, had a full day of seeing old friends on friday, a ballet friday night (i'm so sorry Belarussian ballet, but you put me to sleep a little. it was warm and dark and there was nice music and i had jet-lag), Rosslyn spring fling on saturday and a party saturday night, church and two youth groups on sunday, a scouting trip on monday, and checking out lukenya getaway on tuesday. so wednesday i slept in a little bit before all day meetings about camp. yesterday was a little more chill and here i am today, just made a camp announcement at an elementary school chapel and am having coffee at java house. 

i'm fighting feeling overwhelmed because i know there is much to do before camp happens. and that it about one month. all of us are working on the various camp projects so i know it will all get done and camp will be great. please pray that everything will come together and that i and our team will trust the Lord with all of it. pray that children will sign up for camp and that we'll get all the counselors we need. we still need guys. i feel like needing guys is the story of my life lately. for camp staff, not personally. :)

so on monday i went with clayton and eric to mt satima in the aberdare national park. it was beautiful! and quite an adventure. we wanted to check it out to know whether we could take our high school adventure program there during camp. that is yet to be known because after driving for 5 hours and paying too much to get into the park, we got stuck in a ditch and didn't have time to make it to the mountain. this was nice welcome back to africa. i got to lay on my belly and dig dirt out from under the van, stack big rocks in the ditch and under the tires, hang off the side of the van while rocking it and weighing that side down, and then changed the tire. this is all to save us from going to the ranger station on foot past the buffalo and elephants. i was scared. i'm not gonna lie. but God is faithful even when it's hard to trust him. it took us a few hours to get out of the ditch. we didn't talk much during those few hours. we were all thinking about the lack of cell service, the buffaloes, and the impossible car situation we were facing. i was so happy to return to nairobi monday night and eat lasagna at lauren and stu's house. 

well, i'm in kenya, i'm safe, and i'm getting ready for camp. thank you all so much for praying. 

                          Mt. Kenya is in the background, but the clouds were covering her. Clay is                                                                    scouting a good spot for our kids.

goodbye America!

i wrote this a few days ago while traveling. I was unable to post it then bc my plane was boarding while writing. i've been in kenya for a week and have just now been able to procure good internet. i'm in the bluesky adventures office!!! woo!! 

Well…I’m almost there. I’m on the plane from London to Nairobi with 3 and a half hours to go. I still can’t really believe it. Even the travel has gone by so quickly. It seems like just a second ago I was kissing Cass and my mom goodbye in Atlanta. As we stood near the security checkpoint hugging and crying passersby kept asking if we were ok and if we needed some help.  Then before we could answer they would look at us and say, “oh,…oh I’m sorry.” Here is something beautiful and interesting that I’ve come to notice more lately: I am deeply passionate about people and relationships. I think I’ve known that for some time, but I’ve become acutely aware of it recently. I guess it’s the leaving I’ve just done. And it has only opened my eyes more to the beauty of God. The beauty of God in who He made me to be. There have, however, been times in my life in which I have prayed begging God to harden my heart and not let me care deeply for anyone anymore. See, I pour myself into relationships. I love people. Love them. And I want to know them and make them feel valued. But when that relationship turns around and the person I’ve poured so much into hurts me, it hurts.  I mean, it really hurts. And so that has happened a time or two in my short history and has caused me to wish not to care so much. The beautiful thing about God is that when I pray prayers like that He give me just what I need, “more than all I could ask or imagine:” He gives me the capability to love deeper and harder. And he gives me the sweetest friendships that I couldn’t have imagined. It is this I have seen over the past few days while saying goodbye to my friends and family. I know I will see them again. I know I’m embarking on an exciting adventure and I know it is the Lord’s will. Because I care so much about the people around me, my heart is broken when I have to say goodbye. I want so much to convey how important these people are to me.  So saying goodbye to everyone in Rome and to my family was extremely painful. Painful yet beautiful. I know that the reason I’m going back to Kenya is because I care so much about people and relationships and at the same time the reason it’s so hard to leave is again because I care so much about the people around me. I think that maybe, and I don’t really want to say it because I want to be humble, but I think this part of my character is a reflection of my creator. This is why it’s so beautiful to me: as deeply as I love people, He loves us so much more. Unfathomable.