Life Full of Light

I felt like I was on a wooden roller coaster with the wind blowing in my hair, the never-ending bumps in the road and the crazy driving of our guide, “Big John.” He talked to other safari guides on a radio to find out where the animals where and as soon as he heard something he would race over there and get us the best view. Throughout our three days on safari we saw: giraffes, elephants, lions, cheetahs, water buffalos, jackals, hyenas, zebras and hippos. My favorite hands down was the giraffes because they are so elegant with their long necks. We saw a lot of elephants and even some little babies that were precious. The lions were really lazy which is not how I imagined they would be, but they were beautiful. I took a lot of pictures but unfortunately, I won’t be able to post them until we get back to the States because the internet is so slow here.

Hello to everyone from Kenya! We haven’t had internet access so I’ve been feeling very disconnected from everyone at home but I guess I’ll survive. 

It has been a great five days though. We got in around midnight on Tuesday and  as soon as I got off the plane, it hit me. I’m in Africa. My bag got lost and the whole process of filing a claim and picking it up was really unorganized but I finally got it on Thursday morning.

Since Wednesday, I have taught a class on “Maintaining a Christian Community”, tutored a few kids in English and mostly just played a lot. I’ve eaten a lot of rice and mandasi, which is like bread that’s kinda sweet. I have only had three cups of coffee since being in Kenya, but don’t worry I have a replacement. CHAI. I love chai tea in America, but like everything else in foreign countries, it’s just better here.

The electricity has been out the past few days which is just frustrating because that means cold showers, meals in the dark and no wi-fi. One of the interns, Grace, is supposed to be teaching a Zumba class but we had to cancel it because of the electricity. We should be getting a modem for our team, which will make getting on the internet a lot easier.

The schedule of MITS is super busy. We start with breakfast at 7:15 and we finish our day around 9 and immediately go to bed because we’re so tired.  At the same time, the Kenyan lifestyle is very laid-back and plans change a lot. If you know me, I’m a planner so this is a little frustrating for me. I need to learn to live by “hakuna matata” or “live easy, don’t worry.” Please continue to pray for our team as we adjust to life here.

There are two little boys in my room dancing to Rihanna at the moment. As the Kenyans say “God is good. All the time.”

I went to the airport this morning under the impression that my flight to Dallas was at 7:45 but when I got there I found out that it left at 6:30…They were able to get me on a later flight today, which is wonderful, but that means I’m flying alone now instead of meeting up with two of the other interns in Dallas. Lovely. I’ll be fine, it’s just a little nerve-racking. 

My new itinerary takes me to Chicago, then London and finally Nairobi. I’m getting in 2 hours after the rest of the group which is not bad, considering they originally told me I might have to wait until Wednesday to fly out. 

I’m praying and hoping that everything goes smoothly and my trip is extremely uneventful.

Well, I’m going to Kenya on Monday. This is actually happening. I’ve been talking, thinking, praying and preparing for this all semester but now it’s almost here and I don’t feel like I’m ready. But how could I ever be? How do you prepare yourself to interact with teenagers that have already experienced so much pain at the age of 13? How can you ever be ready to walk through a slum and see people that don’t even have access to a toilet?

I can’t prepare myself for this experience at all but I think that’s the point. That’s why I wanted this internship, right? I wanted to stretch myself. It just seems a little scary now that it’s so close. The only way to grow and transform is to be uncomfortable, to take that leap of faith. I know it will be incredible. I already feel so passionately about Made in the Streets and I haven’t even been there yet! I am so thrilled to see God’s transforming powers at work and meet all these wonderful people that are changing their lives because of MITS. 

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”

corycopeland:

Continue to do what you love, what makes you happy and the money will find you. Your passion and dedication will provide what you need.

exactly my thoughts (Taken with instagram)

Spending the weekend at Christeens with Made In The Streets. Can it just be May already? I’m ready to go to Kenya.

This is what I did today. I’m so excited. (Taken with instagram)

The average American lives on more than $90 per day, while approximately 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day and 2.6 billion (40 percent of the world’s population) live on less than $2 per day.

This is convicting. I need to remind myself of this more often and count my many blessings. Name them one by one. I need to take selfishness out of love.

I want to live like this:

“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 

-1 John 3:16-18