Gearing Up to Be Changed and Stretched and Thrilled!

I am just about to leave for Kenya. Still completely surreal to me – I think it’ll actually hit home when I am on the plane for longer than 2 hours. :)

This is the phase that I have been praying for for nearly 3 months! If you didn’t know, I was quite reluctant to even venture out to Kenya! There are big bugs, intense humidity, different foods, and there is a lot of dirt! I always told God that I would rather do ministry elsewhere. BUT, I am pleased to tell you that I have no worries at this point. That, my friends, is the grace of God – meeting me right where I needed Him. I have been vaccinated, trained, and instructed on what to pack. :) I am not probably as prepared as one might think, but I am prepared to be unprepared and that may be the best training I could have.

Our goal and vision for this trip is to work with the kids and youth within the communities that the 410 Bridge already has a partnership. Our theme for our time with them is: Trust in the Love of God. We are looking at our identity in Him and how God has called us to love others. Cultural and social issues cause these two topics to be difficult for these African friends to live out. Our strategy: relationships relationships relationships!! We just want to be with the kids and youth, to empower them, and to serve them. We are going to have experiential stations and initiatives, art projects, worship songs, Bible stories, a memory verse and plenty of things to experience together! :) The question we have been praying about is: how can we help them see that God wants to do something in them and through them? We pray that each individual we meet will be better off after we leave than they were before they met us. And we pray that for ourselves as well!

I invite you to commit to prayer for our team: Bill, Betsy, their 3 young sons, Jennifer (our 410 Bridge staffer), Nathanael (our Invest team leader), Kristin, Jenny, and myself --
**I ask you to pray for our health: no car sickness, no malaria, no water bacteria issues, no headaches, backaches, or other illnesses.
**I ask you to pray for our team's sense of solidarity, kindness, respect, patience, mercy, and friendship as we get involved and weary in Kenya.
**I ask you to pray for the experiences and relationships that will be built between us, the 410 staff, and the Kenyans.
**I ask you to pray for our families who will remain curious on this side of the ocean.
**I ask you to pray that each of us Americans would come to see God in a different and more profound way.
**I ask you to pray for wisdom when things go awry, when brisk changes need to be made, and how we can document the successes for repeated use with our Kenyan friends!

**I ask you to pray for the Kenyan church leaders, women, children, men, and families. For their health, leadership, economic success and growth. 

I am humbled and thrilled that God would allow ME to experience HIM in this global way. I am thrilled that my horizons will expand, my heart will shred and become emboldened, and that I will be able to give glory to God. I am not afraid and am loving the adventure that God and I are going on!

I thank you for committing us to prayer NOVEMBER 11-22.

“...For Christ’s Love compels us...” 2 Corinthians 5:14

Enthusiastically and Prayerfully!