here are some pictures of things i've written about already, but now have pictures to go along! enjoy!!!

middle school youth group:

this is cow appreciation day. it was during the summer at camp. it was one of those days when everyone was out of the office except me, brittany, and brittany's camera. i was missing america and chick fil al this day.

this is the chair the ladies in western gave me. on the way to the bus station in uganda they had to tie it to the back of the matatu.

lament

ok, ok. this is a lot of complaining, i know. i want you to know that right now i'm sitting at java house with lindsay drinking coffee and just finished a delicious spanish omelette. i have absolutely nothing to complain about. later today i will go to a soccer tournament and hang out with some kids. then i will relax in my comfy house with friends and go to a sweet worship service with my loving community in the morning. no complaints. life is good. anyone who has been to or lived in kenya will find my experience yesterday very typical. and i want to share it with you.

so, yesterday:

the difficulty of living in africa comes in waves. today was one of those days.

i took a cold shower out of a jeri can this morning. this means that i dragged a big bottle of cold water from downstairs and lifted it above my head in the shower and poured it over me. i haven't had a real shower since monday when i paid 500 shillings to go to the country club. i haven't showered in my own bathroom since may. i do, however, drink more than 2 litres of clean water every day. and i can flush my toilet at least once a day. so no complaints about water since we have neighbors in kenya who have to walk miles for any kind of water and it mostly isn't ever clean.

i got a package from my mom!!! this was awesome. picking up the package at the post office wasn't awesome, however. i thought it was going to be at village market so i worked on children's ministry curriculum stuff all morning and put the post office off until the afternoon. i shouldn't have done that because everyone knows that friday afternoons at village are a nightmare in and of itself, not to mention going to the post office. they always require i.d. to pick up packages and you never know which i.d. you'll have to present. sometimes your driver's license will do other times you need a passport. just to be safe i brought 4 different picture i.d.'s. the lady behind the counter laughed at me. then she said i needed to go to city centre and pick up my package. i almost burst into tears right there. she felt sorry for me. so i got back into the defender (the beast) and drove downtown.

ONE HOUR later i text kim to ask about where in the world to park at the downtown post office. after 20 min of driving slowly on the four lane road i parked on the street. after getting hassled by the "security" on the street and refusing his "services" i walked two blocks, up the stairs and across the road. i then waited in line at the counter where i was told to go to the second floor to collect my parcel. i waited in the queue for the lift (in the line for the elevator) because that's what the sign by the lift told me to do. when the elevator door opened before all of its riders could exit three people pushed past me and onto the elevator. i rushed in before the door closed. i started to get out on what i thought was the 2nd floor but was pulled back by a woman who explained that is the 2M floor and i need to wait for the 2 floor. who knew there were two second floors?! so i got out on the 2nd floor and went to the counter. i waited for the guy to go in the back and get my package. this was, of course, after he looked at my package slip, said my name aloud a few times, asked where i'm from, and smiled at me for extended periods of time all throughout. he gave me my parcel and sent me to another lady behind the same counter. this lady gave me a really large knife and instructed me to open my package while she watched. after asking me about everything and what kind of sweets i had she wrote some notes on my package slip and sent me out in the hall to room 113, keeping my package with her! i went in room 113 and after the same "where are you from," "how long you been here?" and saying my name aloud several times the fellow behind the desk wrote something on my paper and sent me to another desk in the same room i was before! i talk to a lady behind some bars who looked at my paper, laughed at me, and told me i have to go outside, across the highway, and down two blocks to the bank to pay duty on the contents of my package. i asked for clarification because i couldn't believe what i was hearing. so i went. drenched in sweat. i passed the defender parked in the street on my way to the bank and the sketchy character who wanted to protect my car for a small fee was lazily leaning against my car. i didn't let him see me looking. i didn't want any more attention. i probably heard the word "mzungu" 5 times in my short walk to the bank. i had to fill out three forms and pay $10 at the bank. i got back to the post office where i had to go back into room 113 and get my paper stamped. then i spoke again to the lady behind the bars who commented that i looked tired. almost 3 hours had passed since i left my house to pick up the package. i told her that. she laughed.

the lady behind the bars stamped my papers too and sent me back to the counter across the room. that lady charged me another 70 shillings ($1), but didn't have change so i really payed more like $1.30. she took her time writing my receipt. i took that receipt to the original guy who went back again to the same room and got my package again. he said, "ok, fine." and i walked away.

as i sat in traffic on the highway on the way home i read the letters my mom had written. i cried. she sent me a picture of herself. i cried a little in the post office too when i saw her handwriting on the envelope. and i felt heartbroken for a second when they took my package away from me after watching me open it. the collection of that package was an emotional experience for me.

here i'm reading the card and then excited about the hair dye that mom sent:

i've been a little homesick lately. don't get me wrong, I LOVE LIVING IN KENYA. and this is exactly where i'm supposed to be. it's just a little sharp pain sometimes because just as much as i love being here and love following my Jesus, i love my family too and a little bit of me (ok a big bit of me) wants to be near them. i miss fall. i would love to go to the fair with my sister. i'd love to go to the mountains with my friends.

sometimes i feel like it's easy to live here. people say they're so proud of me and they admire me and that i'm brave, but i don't see what they see. this is fun. i love the kids here. i love kenya. i love my team, my house, driving our cars. i love camp. but there are times when i vividly remember the sacrifice of being away from family, friends, comfort, and familiarity. being away from things that "make sense."

BUT, in this memory and little taste of suffering, i praise God. he is constantly and consistently providing for me. i have a great church, a sweet small group, an amazing ministry, food to eat, a bed to sleep in, and right now i'm sitting at westgate (a mall my sister haley compared to perimeter in atlanta) drinking yummy coffee and using high speed internet.

and last night when i got home i made myself sick off of candy corn (from the package) and watched grey's anatomy that i downloaded with that high speed internet. and living here was a little easier again.

reaching the most receptive hearts using the most effective means

i was a camper last week. it was hard. i learned a lot about myself.

i'm "that" camper. you know, the one who asks a million questions about what i should wear and what to expect. it drove me completely crazy that i never got a schedule and i had to ask my counselor, that's right, i had a counselor, what was coming up next. j-mo, if you're reading this, i will never pick on you again. ok, i probably will, but i understand a little more now. also, i get pretty mad when other people break the rules. i'm also that camper. all of my friends probably already knew this about me. it's not the rules that i love so much, it's just that if i'm following them everyone else must follow too. i could probably talk more about this...

so anyway, i went to what i thought was a conference about Christian camping in Africa, but it was actually CAMP for grownups. i complained and laughed, but it was really good. i learned a lot about myself and got psyched for camp in Kenya. i was a participant (the only mzungu btw) in heaps of team-building activities. i was in a cabin with some beautiful African women (three from Kenya and one from Ethiopia). and i made some good contacts. there are so many people in Kenya doing camp! AND none of us are doing the same thing! there were some guys there from Christian camping international who talked with us about camp's all around the world. it was so encouraging to hear about other people who's lives are sold out to Jesus and dedicated to camp. i love it.

one of the cci guys talked about how camp is using the most effective means to reach the most receptive hearts. we've all heard the stats about how less likely you are to become a believer after your teen years and anyone who's ever been to camp knows how unique that camp community is and what a special place it is. i'm already getting excited about next summer!

Sock War session 5 this is what i mean by "special":

at the end of "camp" last week we took the youth group camping at the Tana river. it was a really chill weekend, but so much fun with those guys. please pray that more kids will come to the youth group and that we will make the most of our time with them on Sundays and other youth group events.

our camping trip:

it feels like i am just now getting started with "normal" nairobi life here. Haley visited for a few weeks, then i went away for a week to take a wilderness first aid course, then i had the camp conference, and this is the first week i've actually been able to go to the office and put some things in order. i guess you could call it order. i bought a file cabinet, a notebook, and some folders and started to get camp bluesky organized. we'll see how that goes.

here's the famous yellow folder exploding onto the floor:

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.