sweet blessings...

"Sweet blessings" is just about the only term that can appropriately describe my African adventure and this time that has followed. Here i am, two months out of my journey to africa and still processing everything that happened! I am back in Norman, Oklahoma living in a cute little house with one of my greatest friends and enjoying each blessing the Lord has given me. I am now an official registered nurse and love the position I am working in the Children's ER! I have been completely humbled and amazed at the impact my trip has had on my life and in the lives of others. I continuously have people writing me, explaining that they had read my blog and it somehow made a difference in the way they live. PRAISE THE LORD! It excites me so much to see the Lord use this journey for His glory and to further His kingdom!

I have some really really exciting news! The clinic will be receiving a doppler machine within the next week! This was perhaps one of the most humbling times of the entire experience as precious people in my life gave so generously to be able to send not only a doppler but other much needed supplies all the way to Saikeri Village in Kenya, Africa. I wish I could be there as Maggie opens the package and discovers the great surprise! I hope that she feels so loved and blessed and she is encouraged to continue to support and provide healthcare to the community. I know that she will see the doppler as an answer to prayers and will be use it as a testimony of the Lord's faithfulness! Thank you Jesus for always always providing and taking care of your children!

I consistantly think about pieces of my time in the Maasai Land and how the Lord was present every step of the way. He stretched me further than I thought possible and blessed me beyond belief. I count it all as joy.

"Kwaherie (goodbye) Kenya!"

Today is my very last day in Africa and I have just a short time before i take a bus to Nairobi to meet up with some other volunteers before my flight! It was so strange taking the motorbike into town today for the last time. As I was saying goodbye to my friends there I was able to give my Bible to one of my favorite girls! She is from Canada and has such a HUGE heart for serving others. She told me that she is currently researching religions and searching for something and I told her that I just broke in the Bible for her. I gave her a few good places to begin and I'm really proud of her for wanting to research and study religions on her own! She is very very bright but i gave her my email in case she had some questions! The Lord has blessed my friendships here in multiple ways!!! I am so sad to leave Saikeri and the people here but am just about ready to come back home! :)

Last weekend we went into Nairobi and got to spend a little time in the market! lets just say... i can bargain! I think the trick was to start out by saying, "before you give me a price I want you to know that I am here as a volunteer in the Maasai land and that beautiful painting of the Maasai women just caught my eye! I am working for free and that is such a nice painting I dont think i would be able to afford it..." Then they will offer you a deal and you only pull out the 400 shillings that you conveniently placed in your pocket and explain this is all you can offer but you know its worth so much more. They usually will thrown in the deal and ask for just a little something extra like a ball-point pen. I love it! It was so fun to collect gifts and fun things to take home! That night we all sat around after dinner and Maggie asked me to sing some American songs for her... so i managed to pull out "Oklahoma" and "Deep in the Heart of Texas"! the other volunteers were just cracking up the entire time and I barely managed to finish my performance while giggling.

I also experienced my first church service last Sunday in the Maasai land. It took one our to get there and the actual service neared 6 hours long! This sunday they were having a "music extravaganza" as Maggie called it and they had girls from every age group go up and perform their song. It was so interesting to watch but probably would have meant a lot more if I could have understood one word that they were saying but i was totally following along in spirit! :) The actual church took place in a small hut that they crammed about 300 people into and everyone was so lively the entire time! Now let me explain the getting to church part. A small pick-up truck pulled in front of our house already "full" of women. Little did i know that wasnt even close to the meaning of full. We managed to pile in the bed of the truck and picked a some straglers along the way. I'll paint a picture for you... 28 Maasai women all gettin their gospel on while we are flying off our bums and their beads are flapping everywhere! it was quiet the site to see! there is ALWAYS room for one more in Kenya. For one of the girls it was her very first church experience and im concerned she may be scarred for life, but I assured her they were very different at home!

One of the coolest things happened the other day! I have been thinking about what Maggie will do when I head home because one one was signed up to take my place here and its so hard for her to do clinic alone. So I prayed for someone to sign up for a medical placement here at the clinic soon and would stay for an extended time. I even wrote it down that specifically in my journal. Literally one hour later Maggie walks into the clinic and tells me that she just got a call that she is getting a medical volunteer next week who will be staying for 6 months!!! I immediately replied "Praise the Lord, Maggie!!! i prayed for that this morning!" Her eyes filled with tears as I showed her in my journal those exact words! She looked up and said, "Mayana, I think you have a good connection with God." :) It is SO wonderful how the Lord answers prayers and will always provide! I was able to share this will the other volunteers at lunch and everyone was just blown away! Thanks, Jesus!

There have been some really neat things going on at the clinic that I have been able to have a hand in. Last week we did a mass malnutrition screening for 300 women and children around Saikeri. Maggie set up a program to have the ones that qualified as "malnourished" given food on a weekly basis and monitored. Out of the 300 we had a little over 10% that were malnourished and just a handful that were severely malnourished, which Maggie was absolutely thrilled about! That still seems like so much to me but I guess its better than 20%! We also have had two days of immunizations for the young babies. It was quite the site to see all of the Maasai women lined up on the benches with their screaming babies while we ran around with shots! I couldnt help but laugh because most of the babies cried harder at the site of a white person than the actual shot! i had no idea i was so terrifying!

As most people know the world cup is going on right now in South Africa and all of Africa is just going crazy with excitement. There are soccer games going on at all the schools with goals made out of giant sticks and mounted together. Its really fun to see! Anyways, the other day we decided to make a trip down the road to the Saikeri pub to watch a game in the middle of the afternoon. They had gotten a generator and fuel and a microscopic TV that they set up in the corner of the wooden room. We could barely make out the team names but sipping a Fanta orange drink and watching "football" was so great.

We have had a few interesting patients recently with a crazy fungus or mumps or chicken pox. One boy in particular had the chicken pox and after I sent him on his way he pouted outside my clinic for another hour because I wouldn't give him an injection! Everyone wants shots here! These people are crazy! haha!

I had a really heartbreaking patient come in the other day that made me so upset. She was about 9 weeks pregnant and came in to the clinic with abdominal pain and heavy, heavy bleeding. I had to explain to her that she was having a miscarriage and was losing her baby. It was so so hard to send her on her long walk home with just some Advil for the pain. I felt terribly helpless knowing nothing could be done and taking her to a hospital would be impossible because she couldnt afford to be seen. Here you have to pay before you see the physician which makes it completely out of the question for most Maasai to go. Maggie explained to me that some of the women can even bleed to death in their home. I cannot imagine. I wish that there was some way to extend maternal care out here. I know that getting a doppler will not solve any problems but perhaps that can be a small start. Now i am determined more than ever before to make that happen for the clinic.

Last night was my last dinner with the volunteers and family so i decided we should have something halfway American that i would make for everyone... I ended up choosing tacos. Far from American food I realize but it just sounded so good! we made chipate which is like a tortilla and I made guacamole and beans and rice! The other volunteers loved it but i think the family was totally bewildered by the fact everything was NOT mushed together and soaking in butter and spices. I wasn't fooled by their attempt at complementing the cook! :) ha!

Well, Its time for me to head off to the city and say goodbye! i cant believe that my time here is finished, but I hope to continue my contact with Maggie and the clinic and send them resources.
Thank you, Lord for this incredible experience!

"...it means no worries for the rest of your days!"

I LOVE AFRICA! My heart is growing more and more each day for this village and for the people of Saikeri. As I am building relationships and learning about the community and pouring more and more time and effort into the clinic I am wondering how I will ever be able to leave! This past Thursday I headed into Nairobi so that I would be ready to head out on safari early the next morning. Since I was going to be in town for a few hours with nothing on my schedule I decided to give Amanda a call just to see if by chance we could meet up and have dinner and see each other for the first time in SIX months! To my great surprise she was able to take off the rest of the afternoon and meet up with me! We planned on meeting at this little mall in the middle of town that is pretty well known. I got there first and had to wait for a few hours because naturally it's a little difficult to meet someone half way around the world at an exact time. I have never been so anxious and excited in my entire life! When she called to tell me she was there I automatically started crying before I even saw her! So by the time she turned the corner and we saw each other I was an absolute mess! We both just started running to each other and I caught her in my arms and held her so tight as we sat there and cried and just made a huge scene in the middle of this mall. After I finally collected myself and both of us were able to pull away we just started dying laughing and kept looking at each other and saying “I cant believe you are here!” The guy from Amanda’s team that rode with her to the mall said that that was the best thing he has ever seen and it was literally from a movie or something! What a sweet sweet time! The rest of the night we just spent laughing and eating and skyping our family and just being sisters. We also we and ordered ice cream which ended up being so incredible that I ordered two, yes two, cones!  I treasure our time together so much!

The next day we headed off on our 4 day safari! Let me just begin by saying that it was one of my favorite things I have ever experienced! I was in a van full of 9 girls and our guide, who was every bit of what you would picture a safari guide looking like. He was one of the most enthusiastic people I have ever met and had a huge passion for all of the animals and was dressed in tan from head to toe. It was like he just jumped out of Animal Planet. The tents that we stayed were absolutely amazing. I called it an African resort- hot showers, great food, beautiful scenery, a bed! It was awesome! We saw SOOO much- giraffes, elephants, cheetas, hippos, wildebeests, zebra… everything!!! I will spare you the details of describing everything that we saw because I could go on for hours and I would never be able to accurately describe every detail. There are just no words! The second day was a full game reserve day (6:30 am to 6:30 pm)! Lets just say that I am pretty sure I never sat down the entire time we were driving around! I was always on the look out and wanting to be the first to spot something… not too surprising. The first few days we were at Maasai Mark game reserve which is basically thousands and thousands of acres of beautiful land and hillside with some dirt roads for “suggested” driving paths. The last day we went to lake Nakuru National Park. Many of you know that I hold a special place in my heart for national parks considering that I am a Junior Ranger at nearly every national park in the U.S. thanks to my mom’s dedication to the program and consistency in making each of us kids fill out the booklets and participate in a very embarrassing ceremony at the end of the park tour that everyone in the information center would watch. Thanks mom. So, I HAD to ask if they had a Junior Ranger program at this national park because the thought of adding a KENYAN badge to my collection was just unimaginable. Unfortunately, they had no clue what I was talking about. Despite that one shortcoming the park was incredible. It was much more of a jungle feel than Maasai Mara. There was a huge lake in the middle of the park that was filled with pink flamingos and surrounded by zebras, water buffalos, monkeys, giraffes, little pumbas, hyenas, and so much more somehow all living together in harmony!

Never in my life have I felt more like I was living in the lion king that this past weekend. Everything constantly reminds me of the songs, the characters, the scenery… its crazy! So, naturally I automatically think of my sisters and I performing a dance to “I just cant wait to be king” for Papoo and Grandma Anne when we made our big road trip out to California one year. I couldn't help but sing the opening circle of life song at least 7 times each day, usually just in my head.

This week I had been planning to head out to a slums sight about an hour outside of Nairobi to set up a medical camp there with some girls that I met on the trip. It was one of those things that I nearly felt obligated to do it because I wanted to “make the most” of this African adventure but I realized on my way home from safari that making the most of a trip doesn't necessarily mean going to the most places. I prayed about the decision most of the way home from the safari and really felt like the Lord was calling me to go back to Saikeri, my little village in the middle of no where, and finish all of my stay there. It was such a strange feeling but I almost felt homesick for Saikeri and the family that I have formed here. Maggie, our host mom, and I have gotten so close just over the past few weeks and I feel like I have so much more to learn from her and so much more that I want to pour into the community. I have built some wonderful friendships with the other volunteers that are here and really feel like this is where the Lord wants me to continue my mission! He has given me unbelievable favor so far and a huge heart for the people! So… here I am! Back in business at the Saikeri health clinic, seeing patients and makin friends! When the other volunteers saw me ride up on the motor bike yesterday that all came and welcomed me and just made me feel so appreciated and at home. One of them later told me, “you have no idea how happy I am to see you!” SO sweet! Thanks Jesus for placing that so clearly on my heart!

One of the best parts of the entire weekend was Monday night cause I was able to spend Amanda’s birthday with her! Another time that I will treasure forever. It was just too cool to see all of her team love her so well as they threw her a giant party with cake and everything! After her birthday party we just crawled into bed together and talked the night away until we both completely passed out. As much as I cried when I saw her, I cried about 10 times more when she dropped me off at the Matatu station and I had to say goodbye. It was so hard to know that I wont be seeing her for so much longer but incredible to spend just that short amount of time with her this weekend! Praise the Lord for bringing us together and providing favor with our schedules! He is doing such mighty things here and I feel like I have been blessed beyond measure!

ok now for a few medical updates! im still absolutely lovin runnin the clinic and seeing patients! Unfortunately the baby that I was "supposed" to deliver came while i was on my safari! bum deal! But i still have one more week so maybe we will have a surprise delivery! ha! The other night I had just gone to sleep when suddenly i heard banging on my door and someone yelling "mayana! mayana! wake up! someone is bleeding all over the place from his head and cant breathe and just is laying on the ground outside!" I jumped out of bed and put on my headlight and calmly walked down towards the clinic, reviewing my CPR training in my head the entire way down. I reached the patient and Maggie told me that he got in a fight at the bar and there were machettes involved and this man was stabbed in his hand and the top of his head was sliced and he was completely drunk so dont even bother doing a neural assessment. I someone laughed to myself as my instincts kicked into high gear! After completely assessing him and examining the wounds I turned to Maggie and said that he for sure needed stitches across his finger and some butterfly bandaids would work for the rest of the wounds. Her response was "what size sutures do you need?" WHAT?! me? I casually responded and added i needed sterile gloves and instruments and before long i was stitching away! just to clear the air... no, new graduate nurses are not taught how to suture at all. I figured if i could sew then I could certainly suture and i had seen it done before so... no big deal! :) I absolutely loved it! He was a very easy first patient considering he passed out on the table before i even started. He left the clinic that night with bandages across his hand and a huge turban bandage around his head. I had no doubt he would be back very early in the morning and i was so right! He actually strolled in around 8 to piece together the night before and brought his friend, another victim from the big fight, to have his hand looked at. Unfortunately, he needed a set of stitches too!!! yes! I was not at all hesitant to call out the size i needed and off i went, sewing away! they were laughing after and said that they would have to get in another fight so that they could come back! ha! oh goodness. only in kenya. I had another young girl the other day come in with stomach pains and surprise surprise... pregnant. I didnt think you could be 4 months pregnant and have no idea but its a common trend around here! I am really hoping to get a dopplar out here soon! Well... one more week. Im so excited to see what the Lord has in store for me!

african adventure...

i have so much to say and so little time to say it so try to keep up as im typing as fast as i can! The clinic has been running so well! i have loved the autonomy of assessing and diagnosing and prescribing meds, doing minor procedures, making decisions... and every day i feel a little more confident with it! our host mom was gone last week for a nutrition conference for developing countries and just got back this weekend! I didnt know this at first but she is actually a nurse too and runs the clinic year round! she is one of the hardest workers i have ever met with the biggest heart in the world! i have loved talking to her about her work our here and we have had wonderful conversation about the Lord and how incredible He is! She told me that when she met me she could tell something was different about my heart. she said that it was "juvulant" and she knew that i have a deep joy and was different other volunteers she had met! praise the Lord! i love knowing that He is shining through me even all the way out here in Maasai land! She told me that my name, Mayana, means the blessed one. I completely agree that this is perfect for me because i have never felt so blanketed in protection and love and just full of the Lord's peace!

ok now time for the adventure. on saturday two of the other volunteers and i decided to head into ngang which is the closest city to here. it is about an hour away and you have to call a motorcycle to come and get you because normal cars dont make it down the road very well out here! my friend Valarie and i hopped on one bike and Diogo hopped on the other and off we went! on the way out here it was pitch black so i have no idea what surrounded us but after a few minutes on the motorbike i found out that i am in the middle of the most beautiful mountains and countryside!!! oh my goodness! it literally took my breath away and I could not get over the feeling of "oh my goodness. im in africa." So about half way through our ride our driver turns back to me and says "see the giraffes??" my heart completely stopped because i have a crazy love for giraffes and seeing one in the wild was definitely on my list of things to do. He pointed to a few tiny specs that were peaking over the treetops. I was beyond excited just knowing that i was looking at giraffes even though i could barely see the little heads. he pulled over the bike and asked if i wanted a picture. I told him of course even though i was trying to figure out if anyone would believe me that there were giraffes in the picture and i looked up to see him walking into the trees. He motioned for us to follow him and said, "come. we will find them." AHHHHH!!!! i had so many butterflies in my stomach and i was literally jumping up and down and just completely freaking out that we were going to find them! after walking for a little ways and running into some huge thorn bushes, we found them! i was mesmerized. i was giggly as ever and just kept walking closer as they just stared at me straight in the eyes. they were beautiful. let me emphasize... beautiful. they were even larger that i expected them to be and when they ran it was this great long-legged awkward run that absolutely killed me. We took so many pictures and counted about 35 in the whole heard! we would get a little closer and they would just gently step back, so cautious but at the same time completely confident. right before we turned back to go to the motorbikes we had a crazy idea that we wanted to just run to them! Diogo and i were completely up for it and the bike drivers were probably thinking we were nuts, so.... we went for it!!! i attached the video for proof that yes, i actually chased a heard of giraffe in africa. thank you. what a perfect adventure! we finished out the wonderful day by having a BBQ at our host house with the meat we got in town. SO good!



I never knew the meaning of a "day of rest"until i spent a sunday afternoon in africa. The only thing on their agenda is "rest". literally. Im pretty sure that we did not lift a finger all day and we sat and talked the day away. it was so great to just get to know everyone a little better and to sit with maggie and hear her heart for her people. So neat! I decided i am going to try an raise a little money for a Doppler machine out here in the clinic. they dont have any way of knowing that they are pregnant until they are a few months along and they definitely dont have a way of monitoring the baby along the way. please let me know if you would be interested in donating just a couple dollars! Maggie, the host mom, said that she would LOVE it! She has lived here in maasai her whole life, besides the few years she went to nursing school, and she is the glue of the community.

The maasai are such a beautiful people group. they have a great since of community and are so great about sharing things and helping one another out selflessly. Something that is so fun for me to see is all of the women carrying the babies on their back. they just tie em up their with one of their sheets and walk around with them all day like that. I love it! today at the clinic we gave immunizations for all of the babies here in the area and it was just a taste of heaven for me. there were babies EVERYWHERE!!! it was so funny to see all of these maasai women lined up with their babies just chatting away and waiting for their turn. One thing that has been a little difficult to swallow is "kenyan time". They have very little concept of time and are always running late and just not in a hurry one bit. Today we had so many patients waiting outside for their turn and when lunch time came we were instructed to just drop what we were doing and come eat. I had a huge desire to just work through lunch and while we were enjoying our hour long lunch with a short nap time i was just dying to get back there! but... im learning. :)

We are still expecting a delivery and i am just on edge with excitement! I am so happy that Maggie is hear now and we can work together although she has promised me that i will be catching the baby when it comes and she will just be watching! :) i love it!

I wish i had time for more stories... i love hearing from each of you! Please continue to pray for safety and protection and continued joy from the Lord!

(great news! i talked to amanda and will be able to meet up with her on her birthday!!! ahhH! i cant wait to see my precious little cutie!)

Jambo!

I cant believe that i am writing this from my little maasai village in kenya, africa! i am really not even sure where to begin describing the incredible journey i have had so far and the provision the Lord has had over me! I arrived in Nairobi on monday night after a very very long trip! I absolutely loved the traveling on the way there and met some really neat people and felt like i was in a movie when i got to London and heard everyone speaking! I got to Nairobi safely and after grabbing my bags went to search for my name in a sea of African men holding up signs with names on them. I was thrilled to find my name and was greeted by Antony and quickly told him that we had just one more thing to do before leaving the airport- find the note Amanda left me! I pulled out my little list of clues she sent me and after walking around for about 10 minutes in found it!!! i couldnt believe it at all and Antony was just so confused the whole time and im sure he thought i was nuts! It was so fun to read amanda's handwriting and just have that greeting into africa! As we got into the car and started driving to the house i was going to be spending the first night at, i had such a great peace about my safety and really trusted that the Lord was protecting me and going to get me exactly where i needed to be! We arrived at the house and i was quickly greeted by two girls who lived there and served the volunteers and they came in and out. I was thrilled to meet a few of the volunteers that were just starting out and also a few that had been there for a few weeks! We had some Githeri for dinner and i was suddenly reminded that i was a picky eater. on tuesday we went to the Fadelhi offices for a day of orientation. i got to meet all of the other volunteers that were starting out and learned so much about kenya and all of the different projects that Fadelhi organizes. just in those couple of hours my heart for africa and kenya grew tremendously! we all received our assignments during this time and i found out that i was the only new volunteer at the Saikari village in the maasai lands. we also had the opportunity to sign up for safaris and extra volunteer projects for the weekends. Next weekend i will be going on a 4 day 3 night safari all over kenya with some of the girls i met and i am so pumped! ah! i cant wait to explore and see absolutely everything! the next weekend i will be doing an extra outreach project in the slums (where amanda is working now!) and will find out more about that later! After orientation they sent us on our way in the vans. It was a very long and very very bumpy road all the way out to my village. I kept thinking to myself... no wonder they dont have clean water and food supplies and other resources, there is no way to get it out here! That may be on my list of things i want to do in kenya- build a road! we finally arrived around 10 at night and i stepped out of the car into pitch blackness... they werent kidding with the whole no electricity thing. A maasai warrior greeted me at the van followed by another maasai woman carrying a lantern. They took me inside where i was introduced to the other volunteers who had already been at the site. there are six of us here... three teachers, one is helping out in the pharmacy in the clinic, me and one other nurse. I was completely surprised to find out that it was only going to be me and this one other nurse running the entire clinic but i was SHOCKED when i found out she was only going to be there for one more day!!! yes. that is correct. i am running a clinic by myself. assessing, diagnosing, prescribing, distributing shots, cleaning wounds, and possibly delivering a baby this weekend! what in the world?!? I seriously an so thankful that the Lord placed me here to work with this incredible people group! I feel very appreciated and needed despite my limited experience. Just to paint a picture for you... there is a small "designated area" called a toilet, a small building with some couches and a "kitchen"that resembled a cabin and a small area for the volunteers to sleep. The school is just down the dirt road and I can hear the kids playing outside during recess. My clinic is just right next to where i live and it actually a decent size with an exam room and little pharmacy area and a waiting area outside with some benches. The maasai people travel miles and miles to be seen at the clinic or to bring their children. so far i have seen a huge variety of illness and disease. There have been several cases of malaria, lots of wounds and infections from running around with bare feet, and some basic upper respiratory stuff. Sarah, the other nurse, sat down with me before she left and went over the basic meds they carry and the dose for adults and children which was so helpful! i feel much more confident in being the doctor/nurse/pharmacist here now! she also reviewed with me how i would deliver this baby that is due this weekend. I have a strange feeling that she is just going to deliver at home even though they are encouraged to come into the clinic to give birth just in case there are complications. I surprisingly am not too nervous about this because i know i can only help. They normally do deliver in their house with no trained medical professional so having me there is almost like a tiny bonus. We'll just have to see what happens! Yesterday after we spent a long day at the clinic I found out that it was a regular routine to head to the pub down the street and spend time with the locals. I was so surprised to hear that but definitely wanted to see what a maasai pub looked like! It was this tiny wooden building with a few chairs in it and a pool table. since there was obviously no electricity it was lit with candles everywhere and i was cracking watching everyone play pool by waving the candle across the table and trying to see where all the balls were going! too funny! i love experiencing these new things and learning all about the culture here! The women are beautiful and dressing in fabrics of elaborate colors and covered in beaded jewelry! the men always carry a sword on their belt and a stick in hand and seriously look like they are always ready to hunt. Yesterday I was able to meet one of the biggest and most well-know man of the tribe. He is a legend for killing a lion with his hands and daggar and after taking one look at him i had no doubt it was true! :) I havent seen much wildlife yet but I believe we are going on a giraffe search on saturday! so great cause i LOVE giraffes!!! I have started to pick up on just a little bit of the language but its so hard to understand! we had a women come in today with abdominal pain and after assessing her i decided she was actually pregnant! I measured her and everything and she is 4 months along! try telling someone they are pregnant in a different language... not easy but very entertaining to watch! Ok... I feel like i have written a novel but i just have so much to say! i will have to write more later but until then... JAMBO!!!!

oh and i now have a maasai name... mayana! I was named by a little girl so that is what they call me now! so fun! :)

from one journey to the next...

For the past 10 days I have been enjoying life in Durango, Colorado! I came back to camp to volunteer as the camp nurse during staff week and to set up the Health Center and it has been surprisingly eventful! I have spent time with great friends from last summer, made new great friends, and have re-encountered my love for Colorado once more! Although I am absolutely heart broken to be leaving camp tomorrow morning I have been more than blessed by the people here and the love they have shown me! It brings me such joy to be here and I know that the Lord will be working here in incredible ways this summer.

Today I recieved an email from Amanda (my sister) saying that she arived in Kenya safely! She has been traveling the world doing missions and has actually been assigned to be in Kenya during the month of June which just happens to be the exact place I will be at the exact time! We haven't figured out details yet about how we are going to meet up but we know that the Lord will provide favor in our travels and schedules to make it work. In her email, Amanda left me a scavanger hunt to do in the airport in Kenya for a note that she had hidden for me. It bring me tears to think that I will find a note with her cute handwritting on it that was placed specifically by her for me! I cant explain the feeling but just knowing that we will be in the same country gives me a great peace and happiness. I love knowing that I will be so close to her!

At this point I really am praying for safety with traveling. I know that I rest in the Lord's hands and He will protect me and take care of me!!! It seems a little weird when I think about traveling on my own for such a long time but I suppose its all part of this adventure! I cant wait to meet new people and encounter people that I can share Christ's love with. A few weeks ago some of my closest friends were praying over me at church for my trip to Africa! I have never felt so blessed and truely COVERED in prayer! Today I recieved a booklet of letters from other counselors here at camp and I can't begin to explain the emotions that came with it! What a sweet sweet blessing from the staff! Thank you for your encouragement and prayers!!!

Thank you, Lord for a strong community that supports me so well!

So... here I go from one journey to the next, ready to serve the Lord in a completely new way!

...and the journey continues!

I am so sad to say that the two explorers are now only down to one. Keelie had an incredible opportunity to begin a nursing residency program at Cook Children's in Fort Worth and she has accepted the position! She begins June 5th, therefore will not be able to go to Africa but will definitely be there at heart! I am SO excited for her to start her nursing career at such a wonderful hospital but will definitely miss her when I am eating bugs in Africa! :) When Keelie told me about this position and that she could no longer go on the trip, I was surprised by my reaction. I feel like normally I would jump right on it to find a way to cancel our tickets and just assume that this was something I had to "fix"... instead the Lord gave me such a supernatural peace about the entire situation and I simply took a step back and turned to the Lord saying "what next?" After several days of praying and contacting the organization about safety concerns with going alone, I feel like now more than ever the Lord is saying "go!" Its such an incredible feeling to know that I am growing in my relationship with the Lord and have learned to TRUST Him in a whole new way. I pray that I can continue to learn how to listen and respond to His word! So, here we go! I have placed every ounce of control out of my hands and into the Lord's because I know that His plans are far greater than my own! Please pray for safety and that the Lord will fully prepare my heart for what is ahead. Im so thankful that I stand on a ROCK that can not be shaken!

more to come on trip details soon!