Finishing Strong

Exciting things are happening as of lately! As you know, Christine, Lydiah, and I have started a bible study for the pre-teen girls in Jikaze, the IDP camp Uhuru Child is involved and invested in. Most of the high school girls attend boarding schools and are not there during the term, so the younger girls are who we are mainly ministering too. Well, while the girls that attend Uhuru Academy from Jikaze were home on midterm break, they assisted Christine and I (Lydiah was not available that weekend) in translating the message. We were going over the story of Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac and the covenant God made with Abraham. We barely had to do a thing because our Uhuru girls took their bibles and ran with the story! They seemed to really enjoy being teachers to these young girls and applying their leadership skills learned at Uhuru Academy, in their community setting. So, after chapel one night at Uhuru Academy where I was giving a message on sharing the Gospel and the Great Commission, one of the girls that helped us that previous weekend, came up to me afterwards and offered herself to teach for us when this third term is over! Of course, I said we would love to have her plan with us and help lead this bible study! After all, aren't we trying to equip these girls to be leaders in their communities anyway?? Also, Christine and I will be in the states over Christmas break and would love to be able to pass on the responsibility to these Uhuru girls who are part of the community the pre-teens belong to. Being able to see the process we were implementing through this discipleship program come full circle where the girls now are equipped and ready to take their knowledge, leadership skills, and faith to their communities is so worth all the time and effort spent this past year!

One of the Uhuru girls teaching about the sacrifice of Isaac

Another one of Uhuru girls teaching about the covenant with Abraham

Worshipping after hearing God's word!

Dancing to songs of loud praise to our God!

We also had a community event at Uhuru Academy this past Saturday where everybody who was anybody was there! We had some important faces there from the community to promote our school and get our name out there for the upcoming school year. It was cool to see how far we had come from the beginning of the year and getting to take responsibilty for being part of such a great movement for girl's education and discipleship. We showed the attendees the school grounds, had a flag raising ceremony, face painting, science demonstrations, a BOUNCY CASTLE,  games, and the students performed some songs and skits. All of these activities were then followed by the Director of the Education Office who had nothing but good things to say about our school! It was quite a success and we will be praying for more students to see and hear about all our school has to offer inside the classroom as well as outside and that our attendance would grow by more than 400% !

Our banner!

The girls manning the face painting station

Christine and I serving pilau (rice with meat), mokimo (potatoes and maize), stew (veggies), and chapatti (flat bread)!!

One of the students giving me a flower tattoo

The bouncy castle was a huge success!

Me, Christine, and Lydiah representing Uhuru Academy with the rest of the staff in our polos!

One of our students doing her part as Hannah, mother of Samuel, in our skit about Women of Strength in the Bible!

The Form 1s performing "One Step At a Time" by Jordin Sparks

The girls performing a skit to promote Uhuru Academy!

As the school year is drawing to a close and we are wrapping up our last few clubs at Uhuru Academy, Kamandura Girl's High School, and Jikaze, I can't help but just sing praises of thanks to God for just how far out of the water He has blown my expectations of what this year would look like! And it's not even over yet! We have two winter teams coming before this year is over with as well as the social business to keep running so the load is only lightening so much. Also before the year ends, we will be inviting our 20 students at Uhuru Academy back for a little thing we like to call GLOW camp! It's a camp based on our life skills club called GLOW club (Girls Leading Our World) that we do at both Uhuru Academy and Kamandura High School. The girls will be inviting one of their friends to come with them and will board at the school for 3 days as we continue to teach and equip other girls with the life skills necessary to succeed and become leaders! The December volunteer trip as well as some of the Uhuru girls will be helping lead this camp, so we are really excited for the future endeavors before Christmas break! 

I would just ask that you continue to pray for these girls as they go home for the end of the year break and are faced with some decisions that will test their faith and their strength. We pray they would consistently choose to follow Jesus and all he has been teaching them this year and be able to impact their communities, families, friends, and ultimately their country is an uplifting and positive way!

"He who called you is faithful; He will surely do it" -1 Thess. 5:24

As you may or may not have heard, there was a terrorist attack in Nairobi a week and a half ago that killed over 60 people and injured around 175. Christine and I were lucky to not have been anywhere near the mall the terrorists attacked and even in the past we have only gone there 4 or 5 times since we have been here. Still, it was absolutely devastating hearing that so many men, women, and children were victims of this attack. All of Kenya is still in mourning over this terrible crime against humanity and my hope is that all of the culprits have been apprehended and justice will be brought to the victims, survivors, and their loved ones. What is comforting is that God is still on His throne and His promises are still true in Revelation 21:1-4.

Jikaze Pre-teen Bible Study

I first heard the news of the attack while were about 2 hrs from Nairobi in the opposite direction. Lydiah, one of our Kenyan staff members who is the Head Discipleship Coordinator, Christine and I were in the Great Rift Valley in Jikaze continuing our bible study we started about a month ago with the young girls. We were anticipating that we would continue our ministry with high school girls there, but most of them are in schools farther away and aren’t in Jikaze during the term. So, our dynamic has changed from high school girls to girls about 9-13 years old. We still rejoice though!! God has given us an opportunity to reach these girls at younger ages so that by the time they reach high school they will have a more solid foundation on where they stand with their faith and beliefs. Our hope is that we can influence this younger group of girls to become the leaders now and be prepared when they enter into high school just like our girls at Uhuru Academy. Our first two lessons with them were just to see how much  they know about the Bible so we started with Creation and then the Fall and will continue to work up to more challenging topics. I am really excited to see them open up more (because they seem to be pretty shy and intimidated right now) and really understand what the Gospel means to them personally. I want to see how the Spirit moves in their hearts and brings them into a deeper relationship or maybe a relationship for the first time with their Lord and Savior instead of just head knowledge or adapting what their parents believe! We wanna see girls come to know JESUS! Oh yeah, I get to practice my Swahili with them too since most of them have not had a lot of English classes yet!

Kamadura Girls' High School GLOW Club

Also, we have been trying to start our life skills club called GLOW club (Girls Leading Our World) in another girls’ secondary school in Limuru called Kamandura Girls High School. Over the past two weeks however, due to the teacher’s strike that happened earlier this year, their students are making up exams. BUT, on Monday, Christine and I went to their morning assembly and made an announcement to the students about GLOW Club to see if we got any interest. BOY DID WE! We showed up Tuesday for our first GLOW club at Kamandura, and literally, I think the whole school showed up. Now, that may have been because we are white and they were curious, but hey, what ever gets them there initially! GLOW club can finish the hooking and sinkering! If I had to estimate, I would say there were about 150 girls there. WE WERE OVERWHELMED! We had plans for nametag making and ice breaker games….NO. We had to improvise and think fast and just did a make shift self-esteem lesson on the fly! I think it went pretty well and the girls got a good idea of what our club is going to entail, I just think Christine and I need some advice on how to managethat many students! It’s definitely a change of pace from our 20 students at Uhuru Academy!

New Bible Study

BUT THE LORD WAS FAITHFUL! He got us into Kamandura and gave us more girls to impact than we could even hope for so we trust He will provide the means necessary to teach and equip them!

Christine and I have also joined a bible study at the church we attend in Nairobi! Its full of girls our age committed to Kenya for a year or more and they are all single! We had been praying for more friends since we live in a rural area, and God delivered through this group of young ladies. We are both so excited to develop deeper relationships with them, and not take for granted the gift of community that is easily looked over when we lived in the states.

Lastly, I am coming home to the North Carolina for about 10 days for a best friend’s wedding and just to visit! I would appreciate your prayers for a safe trip there and back, and good quality time with my loved ones  :)

Matthew 5:4

says "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted."

What a relief to know that we are promised comfort in times of mourning, even if we can not reverse the circumstances. This comfort is enough to allow us to see the hope beyond the mourning. The hope that if we are Christ Jesus, we WILL see Him face to face, our pain and suffering WILL subside, and we WILL see our brothers and sisters again one day. HOPE. 

As I mentioned in one of my previous blogs, my sweet grandfather, Poppy, has been sick and slowly declining for the past month and half. On August 25, sadly, he passed away.

I am sure he would like to be remembered as this handsome, young devil!

I got the news that he had 2 weeks to live on the 24th and then rapidly scrambled to find a last minute plane ticket (along with the funds) to get home in time to see him one more time. To no avail. He passed away as I was waiting to board my plane to America. I was so angry and filled with grief, but I was in a tent with about 200 other people waiting to board a plane (because the Nairobi airport international departures terminal caught on a fire about a month ago). That angered me even more because I could not even grief how I wanted to for fear of having all those people stare at me or worse, ask me what was wrong and avoid sharing this tragedy with a perfect stranger. I just wanted to be alone but I was about to spend  the 24 hours with 200 people so clearly that wish was not granted.

I made it home safely however, and was sooooooooo glad not only to recognize that RDU airport (minus the immense humidity I had forgotten about) but to see my cousin, Gray, who came to pick me up! It was such a surreal experience to be back in America where everything was familiar and yet different at the same time. On the way home, I was so excited. Even though I knew I was about to walk into a sad situation, I could not hold back my joy of anticipating seeing my family for the first time in 8 months! Not to mention I was blown away by just how clean America is and how pothole-less the streets are!

Squishing my Nana with my sister and cousin, Kennedy

We went to my Nana's first and my whole family was gathered there....what a sight it was too. My favorite times of the year have always been when my whole family gathers together at my Nana's house. I guess that's why I love being in big groups of people, it's what I am used to. The best part though was seeing my daddy! I swear he hugged me 20 times and wouldn't stop! But, I loved every minute of it even though I probably wouldn't admit that to his face :) And, when my sister arrived, she actually put aside her sassy comments long enough to express that she missed me and hugged me as we sat together on the couch. It was a glorious reunion, even under the saddest of circumstances. I also did not broadcast my brief return on social media because I wanted to have some quiet time with my loved ones.

I was home for a total of 9 days and was so thankful I had the opportunity to be with my family at that time. I feel it gave me more closure than remaining in Kenya would have because just being able to grieve with people who understood how much this person meant to you really does make all the difference. His funeral and internment were wonderful services and really did him justice. Poppy was a reverent man but so full of love and joy that he could make you smile without doing anything! I will miss him dearly, as I know my Nana and Daddy and his siblings will too, more than I can know (and I pray I don't have to experience that kind of grief any time in the next 50 years :) ). I was so encouraged by the welcoming I received from my family while I was home too. It was nice to just feel familiar in my old stomping grounds.

Taylor, cousins Haley and Gray, me

I will say, I took advantage of my time there by restocking on toiletries, filling my stomach with things like MCDonalds, Chikfila, and Mexican, and getting my fare share of pumpkin spice lattes! I will return in a month though, for my best friend, Rachel Lilley's wedding! I can not wait to celebrate this union and be with ALL of my friends just like old times :) I also get to see my wonderful boyfriend, DB, who I have been separated from for 5 months! So, I definitely don't hate that!

Anyway, I am safe and sound back in Kenya and our 3rd term officially started on Tuesday! We have already had our first clubs of the semester at Uhuru Academy as well as Jikaze, the IDP camp we partner with, and look forward to expanding into 2 schools nearby this term!

ALSO HUGE PRAISE!!!!!!!! ONE OF OUR STUDENTS BECAME A CHRISTIAN AT A YOUTH CAMP OVER HOLIDAY AND IS NOW ON FIRE FOR THE LORD! 

Jonah 2:9- "But I with the voice of thanksgiving will sacrifice to you; what I have vowed I will pay, SALVATION BELONGS TO THE LORD!"

Visitors, Puppies, and Vacation!

As usual, my life seems like a blur or for your Harry Potter fans, like the golden snitch that I can never quite get a grasp on. This year is so quickly fleeting that I have not had time to really sit down and think about what month it is or how it even got here until now. It’s August people, August! The 22^nd of this month will mark my 7^th month in Kenya and 6 weeks until I visit home for the first time since I came to Kenya. I can’t even comprehend how good the Lord has been to me in not only bringing me here, but giving me life-giving work that passes the time so quickly that I have to consciously remind myself to cherish every moment. Here is what has been going on recently…

The last week of our second term at Uhuru Academy mainly just consisted of exams but we took one day to take a field trip to the meteorology center in Nairobi where the girls had the opportunity to expand and apply their knowledge from geography class to real life data and weather forecasting! I had the privilege of being a chaperone on this field trip and I really don’t understand weather forecasting or cloud formations or any of that stuff so it was interesting to hear people who spend their careers researching and following weather patterns explain it. I think the girls really enjoyed their field trip and break from exams before they headed home for a month before 3^rd term starts! Here are some studious pictures of the girls from that field trip and just a few individuals with some of the students!

Ann Gathoni

Ann Wangui

Gladys Chege

Lynette Wanjiru

Gladys Mbuya

Margaret, Form 2

Margaret, Form 1

Last week, two pastors from the Summit Church where I attended when I was in school at NC State, J.D. Greear and Todd Unzecker, came to Kenya on their way back to the states from a conference in Turkey to check in on Uhuru Child! It was nice to get to meet and hang out with them outside of church and in our environment and be able to share with them what each member of Uhuru is doing to expand God’s kingdom. We got to share with them our testimonies and stories of how we made our decisions to come to Kenya over dinner at Tim and Jody’s house and through some front porch talk afterwards. It was relaxing getting to come together as a body of believers, sharing what God has done and is doing in each of our lives, as well as the places in which we live. We also got to go on a tea field with these two pastors, some Uhuru staff members, and some Kenyan friends from Tim and Jody’s church. It was a cloudy and rainy day as usual but we made the best of it with the ample amounts of conversation and laughter. Not to mention, I found a puppy and carried it for 2 hours as we walked through the tea fields! It was skinny and hungry when we found him and so I just decided I could not leave him there and took him home with me! Unfortunately, he cannot stay because of the compound in which we live, but Christine and I are fostering him and currently looking for potential homes for the little guy! Then, on the last night JD and Todd were here, we all went to Zen Garden, this super delicious sushi place in Nairobi, and had one last hoorah and meal with them before they headed back to the states. I really enjoyed their company and entertaining them while they were here (both in the hospitable sense and comedic) and really hope they come back soon to visit!

JD, William (Steve's friend), Steve (Tim and Jody's watchman), Todd, Christine, Tim, Me and Puppy, Dennis (Tigoni Fellowship Pastor) , and Samuel (Steve's friend)

 JD Greear thinking it's funny to pretend to love this puppy like I do!

He might actually think the puppy is cute in this picture.... I'll give it to him.

 I would say he is comfortable in his temporary home!

And wouldn’t you know that as soon as they left the airport in Nairobi, the next morning the international arrivals section went up in flames! So, a friend from the states who was supposed to arrive that day and come stay with us, ended up being delayed for about 3 days before she could enter the country. Her name is Ashton and we are really excited to host our first guest! Christine and I have worked hard on making our house, our home with decorations and furniture, and that we finally get to welcome someone into it for a 2 week stay J In addition to that Christine and I finally bought a pretty sweet coffee table the other day and it will be here on Wednesday! Pictures of that find coming soon! All in all, we are excited Ashton finally made it to Kenya and that we, yet again, get another opportunity to show someone our lives here and invite them in to what the Lord is doing in Kenya! Plus, it’s just nice to have new people around to interact with because being in the rural part of Kenya sometimes can make you miss the availability of driving 20 minutes to see friends you don’t work with or haven’t seen in a while! So, if anyone wants to come on over, we can get you a place to stay! 

August will be coming and going just as quickly as the past 6 months but I plan to continue to pursue that “snitch” that is my fleeting time here and appreciate it!

Speaking of quick, remember those kittens I helped birth on the 4^th of July? Well, they have grown up like weeds and here is an updated picture of them!

The Lost Get Found

The Summer hustle and bustle is coming to a close! We just parted ways with our last volunteer team until November and Uhuru Academy will be concluding its second successful term of the year August 8^th. Not to mention I have officially been in Kenya for 6 WHOLE MONTHS. Wow. I really do not know how that happened or understand how time can fly by so quickly. Literally, June and July were a blur!

To highlight the major events we did have the City Project team from The Summit Church in Durham come visit for two weeks and they certainly left an impression! They plowed some farm land we are going to use to grow more lettuce, did some manual beautification of the school as well as continued the ever prevalent struggle of paving the driveway to the school, held a worship service with the students and a church service, organized/participated in many field days and craft activities with the students, and had the most positive attitudes. J We really enjoyed their energy and enthusiasm and how they really bought into the vision of Uhuru Child and sought to love on not only the people of JIkaze and our students, but also the people living in Tigoni (where we live). In their spare time after a long day of physical labor, some of the students would venture out of the team compound to meet people in Tigoni who they could sit and listen to stories from and even share the word of God with. It was so encouraging just seeing the love of Christ exude from these college students and seeing their hearts for anyone and everyone to know Jesus. No one is exempt from the love of Christ through the gospel and I think I was reminded of that through them being here.  Here are a few pictures from them assisting the students in interpreting God’s Word in Bible Study one Saturday morning!

Also, I attempted my first visa run a week and a half ago and it was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life! Basically, I had only planned on staying in Ethiopia for a few hours and because of that, the visa office at the Ethiopian airport would not let me leave the airport. Apparently, there is a rule that you must be staying in the country for at least 24 hrs before you can exit the airport and get an Ethiopian visa. Long story short, I waited in two lines for an hr each, trying to figure out if someone could help me get a visa and get out of there….to no avail. I kept bouncing between two employees at two different desks, one of which was rude to me every time I tried to ask him a question. Then, the two employees started arguing with each other about the rules in Amharic (Ethiopian national language) while I stood there hoping the woman helping me would be able to get through to this guy. In the end, he remained a jerk. And the icing on the cake was that my plane ended up getting more and more delayed each hour as they gave us an update for 8 hours. I was supposed to arrive in Nairobi that same day at 12:45 pm but did not arrive until 8:45 pm. Needless to say, I will not be flying Ethiopian airlines anymore! It was a headache yes, but just terrifying being stuck in a foreign country, in an airport I had not previously flown to, with a language I did not understand (I wish every African country spoke Swahili), and I was by myself!

Recently, I have been doing a word study in the Bible with the word “lost.” Like, what does it mean when the Bible describes people as lost? How does God address these people and why does he “find” them? What makes them get lost in the first place? And I feel like this experience has given me a very real experience of what its like to be “lost.” I was left to fend for myself even though I didn’t know where I was supposed to go half the time or if I was ever going to find someone nice enough to help me. Then, I realized once I was safe at home in Kenya (yes, my home now), that that is what happens spiritually to us when we stray from God. We are desperately searching for truth or resolution in places that we aren’t even sure they exist. We are so far away from anything safe or comfortable that we don’t think we will ever return to our home, in God’s arms. BUT, we are never far enough that He cannot seek and save us. The parable of the lost sheep, which I am pretty sure everyone is familiar with, says that He will gladly leave the 99 on a mountain, to seek and save the dumb sheep that has left His side (my paraphrasing J ). What a promise! Why we ever go astray from the perfect love and security of God I don’t exactly know, but what I do know is that we are sinful. We want to follow our own way, no matter what the result is and when we finally realize we are lost and have no helper and are at a loss for what to do or where to go, we can ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS call on the Lord for rescue. That’s one of His identities! We have a loving Rescuer who will literally drop everything to come save His flock. What a Father. So, no I am not happy or excited about what happened last Monday, but I am thankful that God used that moment to give me a visual representation of what happens when we leave His side where we are safe. Not to say I left His side in going to Ethiopia because I had to do it, but being lost there and scared and alone made me realize this is what we do to ourselves when we choose to go our own ways and is always the result. Our desires and the worldly things we chase always over-promise and under-deliver.

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” –Psalm 84:11

P.S.  Tim and Jody’s cat, Toroak, that I helped to deliver her babies is doing very well and the kittens seem healthy and active. They are going to be 4 weeks old soon which also just seems impossible to me! But, here are a few pictures of the cuties!

How do you celebrate 4th of July outside of America??

Well, it seems to me that this question can be answered quite simply and the response I feel many Americans would agree with; BE AS PATRIOTIC AS POSSIBLE SO THAT IF THIS COUNTRY DIDN'T KNOW AMERICA WAS THE BEST IN THE WORLD THEY KNOW IT NOW! As patriotic as we Americans can be, I realized that not many other countries have songs about their country other than the national anthem. We so many like "America the beautiful", "God bless America", and "proud to be an American" just to name a few. Being outside of the country really solidified how much I love my country but also how much everyone in America loves our country! It's heartwarming knowing that I can call the United States my home and that even though i am far away, I can do my darnedest to let the people here know what all the hype is about! And no matter how much democrats and republicans differ, everyone can come together for a common interest which is AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL!

But seriously, our team along with our summer interns and some people from our church (one of which is British ironically) all celebrated (on a British compound) our independence from the British (which the Kenyans can totally relate to and appreciate) on the 4th. It was your traditional 4th of July celebration! We had great food, weather, and company!! I mean that's what your celebration always consists of on the 4th right? Food, outdoors, and family!! Oh yeah and FIREWORKS! Sadly, we did not have any of those but I think we made due without them. We got to enjoy sunshine, warm weather in the midst of our winter season, some games of badminton (further proof we were in a British compound), homemade greenbean casserole, scalloped potatoes, meat hot off the grill, and Fourth of July themed desserts and drinks! We topped the night off we being in a food coma and good conversation with some great people! I don't know what I expected out of a Fourth of July in Kenya but I will say it was a great way to celebrate away from home. And even though I did not get to see fireworks in person, I knew I could count on social media to post enough photos and videos to suit my fancy!

The British compound where joe and Caitlyn live and also where we celebrated!

 Our festive drinks !

The super delicious 4th of july cake:)

Our director of studies, Caitlyn, and one of our summer interns, Taylor holding up their festive 4th of July drinks!

Me, with our other summer intern Bailey, and our British friend from church, Anna

All of the girls :)

Also, when Christine and I returned to Tim and Jody Jackson's place that night (since we are still house sitting for them) we got ready for bed and turned in. Well, I have been sleeping with their cat every night who was pretty pregnant. And this particular night she was restless and meowing a lot and come to find out she decided to go into labor at midnight that night! So, Christine and I were by her side the whole time as she had to lick the baby to life, help it to nurse, while also pushing out the next one. I tell you God made his creatures to be some kind of tough because humans would never have the endurance or patience for all of that stress at once! But little toroak (the mother) had her 3 kittens in a span of 2 hours and they are all healthy and doing great! So is momma kitty! And I am excited to announce that I will be taking one as my own once she is old enough! And yes, she will be traveling back to the states with me when I leave Kenya as a permanent pet :)

As our time at Tim and Jody's is ending tomorrow, I will be sad to not be with momma and her kittens everyday but I know Tim and Jody will be so excited to spend ample amounts of time with their sweet girl and her babies! Not to mention we must be gearing up because Tim and Jody are arriving with our next and last team for the summer, the city project team from the summit, tomorrow so we all must get in our places! As we go into these next two weeks, I would ask that you would be praying with us for this team to come ready to share the love of Christ with these people and that not only would the people here be changed by their presence but that these city project students would be changed by seeing the gospel come alive among the nations!

June at a Glimpse....

June has been the busiest month in my opinion, so far. We have had two teams come through this month, both doing huge things with Uhuru Child to help our progress and growth both at the school and the farm! I have enjoyed getting to be part of their endeavors as well as helping lead these teams. Also, Christine and I have taken on the role of house sitter for the next 6 weeks as one of Tim and Jody Jackson's neighbors is gone. So, we have been going back and forth between our house and their house as well as taking on house sitting for the Jackson's as they left Saturday for their daughter's wedding! So even in our down time we are shuffling around and trying to get things done. It's good though and we do not complain that we get to stay in houses larger and nicer than ours for the next 6 weeks! (Not to mention one house has a dog and the other a cat so I am getting to hang out with some of my favorite animals!)

Leading teams after having been here for 5 MONTHS officially makes me feel like I have been here for even longer! We have just learned so much in this past 5 months about the culture, how things work within our organization, our roles, etc. that I feel fully comfortable answering questions that volunteers have. I also enjoy getting to know them and their reasons for being interested in our organization. It's one thing to here about Uhuru Child stateside but its definitely another world to come and experienc the chaos that is Uhuru Academy, Uhuru Shamba (farm), and Uhuru Lettuce Processing! I enjoy welcoming outsiders into our world and showing them the work God is allowing us to here! 

The first June team was specifically an Uhuru Child college group. There were about 18 of them and they stayed in a team house provided by Amali Safaris. Amali Safaris is owned and operated by one of our close friends Kelvin, so by partnering with him, we get a really nice house for our volunteers to stay at while also supporting his new business! While this team was here, they helped plow an acre of our new farm land for planting of more lettuce seeds! Our lettuce business is quickly growing and in order to keep up with the demand we are expanding our farms by 10 acres or more! So this work they did was start and huge help to this expansion project. Also, they did some beautification work at the school and assisted our groundskeeper in some projects! They helped dig up some of the bad soil to make room for new grass and helped pave more of our driveway at the school to make it look more presentable to visitors. In addition to working hard, they planned a Sunday church service at the school with the students where some of the volunteers shared their testimonies or a message with the girls. One of our students who became a Christian last term even joined in to share her story! Everyone was moved to tears by the end of hearing everyone speak and you could just tell the Spirit had been moving in that room! It was awesome! This group also cooked spaghetti with the students one night for a family dinner! And on one of their free days they came to the school for some outdoor fun involving soccer (of course), volleyball, and basketball to build closer relationships with the students. These girls love when we have visitors from the US come and making new friends so it was a pleasant experience for all! And possibly one of the most unique things we have experienced on a trip so far was the Massai dancing around the bonfire at the team house, provided by Amali Safaris! They some traditional fire dances and one of our volunteers even participated in a mock wedding! Needless to say, this trip had a unique and wonderful experience with us in Kenya and we enjoyed having them!

                                             Amali safaris team house!

      One of the greenhouses we visited in Jikaze where we employ 17 members of Jikaze!

                                       It's not a bonfire without the Maasai!

The weekend after that trip left, a few if Christine and my friends who are in Kenya for 6 weeks came to visit! They are a group of 10 students from UNC-Chapel Hill and NC State involved with the ministry Christine and I both were a part of in college called Campus Outreach. One of my very best friends, Emily, was the female leader of this trip so I was so thankful they could come and stay in the Amali Safaris team house for the weekend! They have apartments in Nairobi and are doing ministry on the University of Nairobi campuses so they took a break for the big city to come to rural Limuru! During their time here they also helped plow some of the farm land as well as visit Jikaze and one of our local Kenyan churches here in Limuru. Then, after that full of day of work they graciously came to the school to lay more cement and further that process of paving the driveway and then played soccer and volleyball with the students to get to know them! They even assisted with lettuce in their jam packed weekend! We tried to give them a true Kenyan experience apart of the hustle and bustle of the city and I think they enjoyed their time with Uhuru Child. I know I enjoyed getting to see them especially my best friend and plan on visiting them a few more times in Nairobi before they head back to the states! BUT, it won't be long until 2 of the boys from that group along with 3 more from Campus Outreach move to Nairobi in January for two years to do full time ministry on the campuses of Nairobi so I am excited to have more friends moving closer in the next 6 months!

Finally, we concluded June with the coming of a team of adults from the Summit Church in Durham. Some of them brought their children and some were still in college so it was a wide array of people which made it more interesting! One of the men on this trip also painted a mural on the wall of the dining hall and it is gorgeous! We could not be more satisfied with his work. Tim and Jody Jackson, our older married couple on staff here were the primary leaders of this group so I did not get to spend as much time with them but the time I did spend I enjoyed! They were a very caring and passionate group who I think really understood the vision of Uhuru Child and were excited about becoming more involved when they got back to the states. Some of the people on this trip were part of a bible study that sponsors two of our students and getting to meet them in person was more than they could have dreamed of. Getting to see their blessing in action, helping these girls receive an education made it all worth it and we are hoping and praying they would be advocates for more sponsorships after seeing the impact they have made in these girls lives. God is doing some amazing things both Kenya side and stateside !! Sadly, this team was only here for a week as opposed to the full 2 weeks the other trips are doing but I think they maximized their time efficiently and were able to grasp just the amount of work is put in here day in and day out from the school, to the shamba, to the lettuce processing.

AAANNNNDDDDDD they left behind 3 interns for the summer! So, Kenya staff has taken on 3 interns for the summer, two will be here for 6 weeks and one for just one more week. Their names are bailey, Taylor, and heather all from different walks of life so they are keeping it interesting for us! Bailey and Taylor are both here for six weeks and Heather for one, but both Taylor and Heather will be working with the teachers at the school trying to develop more learner centered activities instead of just trying to get the students to memorize facts for a test. We know their knowledge in these areas is going to be a huge help to not only help our students succeed more in class but also help our teachers to become more effective and set our school apart. Bailey, who is going on staff with Uhuru Child stateside is also going to be doing some exciting things both here and in the US. She will be handling and leading our future trips as well as better preparing them Pre-trip for Kenya! She will be the liaison between us and future trips and making our trips more effective by not only preparing future volunteers but helping give them more ownership over their trips. Her vision is to help them to really understand and buy into their mission while they are here as well as the mission of Uhuru Child in hopes that more people will become passionate and involved stateside! It's a great opportunity all around having these interns here to help things move along more quickly and efficiently for the organization as a whole, but they are also just some really cool people that I am excited to get to know and spend more time with.

That's a glimpse of what has been happening this month and I apologize for not posting sooner but things have just been so nonstop which is such a GOOD THING! I will try to do better in the coming weeks as July is fastly approaching and our last team of the summer will be arriving.

QUICK PRAYER REQUEST: my grandfather has cancer and has not been doing well lately and my grandmother has recently called in hospice to make him comfortable. I am sad that I am not getting to be there with my family at this time but my request is that you could pray for my grandfather to be peaceful and comfortable and surrounded by the people he loves and that God would comfort my family and be with them at this trying time in the instance that my grandfather would pass. My Poppy is a strong man of God and am thankful that he has lived such a glorifying life serving our Lord and I am proud to call him a fellow brother in Christ and loved Patriach of our family! I love you Popster!