speaking the same language

we have arrived safely in Kenya! and actually have been here an entire week. however the internet is not as available as it migth be at home so i apologize for the delayed update.

Although the trip was extensive, there were no delays. all our baggage arrived, we passed customs, and were even met by our dear friend rachel (whom we had met in the states and drove 8 hours to greet us). That itself was an answered prayer.

The people here have been very warm and welcoming. We were dinner guest every night for the first week in order to meet some new people. And despite the fact that we were made to eat way too much, the food was very good and familiar. there goes my philosophy of eating as much food as i could before i left because i wasnt going to eat well here. (even though i do, and probably always will, miss taco bell) Our first meal was at an italian restaurant where we had pizza. A pleasant surprise :)

Our apt. (or flat) is amazing as well. we have a kitchen with a "cooker" and a mini fridge, a nice living room, a bedroom with twin beds (hopefully getting a double soon), and a bathroom (with a washmachine next to the toilet). so all the basics you would have at home with just a little alterations. we have running water on most days, but we have a trash can filled with water for extra supply. We also have electricity.... almost all day. but it usually doesnt go out long enough to spoil our food because the compound where we stay just bought a generator. We plan on getting internet soon and have been waiting for the installation since friday. but kenyan time is different from american time so friday really means whenever they get to it. it is now wednesday and still no one has shown up :)




The first week has been pretty relaxed, mostly getting settled in apt, buying what we need, and playing with the children that live in the home on the compound. We brought a frisbee with us which they enjoyed! Although it made me miss my students back home and our church youth.
We have been doing rosetta stone swahili every night since we have arrived and suprising know a lot..... a lot of words that is. not nearly enough to form sentences yet, besides the usually greetings (habari yako, habari zanu, asante).

The best part for me so far was my experience at church on sunday. it is very easy to feel isolated when going into a totally new country and culture. Especially when you know upfront you are going to be there for a while. Most things are completely foreign, and the things that seem familiar are still a far stretch from what you have at home. And the biggest problem is the language barrier. and while it is fun for me to pick out a word or two that i recognize, i am far from understanding what is being said. yet as i sat and listened to a sermon (translated into english) i instantly felt like i understood and spoke the same language for that breif amount of time. for some ignorant reason i had imagined that their concept and understanding of christianity would be different. but i couldnt have been more wrong. he knew and understood the same God i do. and his message was one i needed to hear. it is true that the bible's message has no language barrier!

More pictures soon to come.... kenyan time :)

so we are half way to our destination and i feel like i could throw up. im not sure if it was the eggs they fed us on the plane or the fact that i just left everything i know and love on the other side of the world! its funny cuz when matt and i started this adventure to kenya , it felt like we had planned the timing just right. yet now my best friend is getting married, my brother is having his first baby and certain things are unsettled! a part of me selfishly wishes i was still at home. but since when has serving god been about me?!? as difficult as it is to leave, i cant express how excited i am to be following the lords call. i cant wait to see what awaits us in kenya and see how my faith is stretched in leaving my anxieties back home to God.

while packing up your belongings you often come across things you have kept yet have forgotten all about.  this happened to me as i was going through an old box of service corps trinkets and notes.  and what a good reminder it was as we head out to do God's work

1 corintians 13  missionary version

i may be able to speak fluently the language of my chosen field and even understand its culture, but if i have no love, the impact of my speech is no more for Christ than that of a businessman who comes to exploit the people.

i may have the gift of contextualizing God's word when i deliver it to my hearers.  i may have all the knowledge about their customs.  i may have the faith needed to combat witchcraft, but if i have no love, i am nothing

i may give everything i have to the poor, to the hungry on the fields.  i may even give my life for them, but if i have no love this does no good.

love is thinking in thought patterns, caring enough to understand worldview, listening to questions, respecting them, feeling their burdens, identifying with them in need, belonging to them.

Love is eternal.  Culture passes away.  dynamic equivalents will change because culture changes.  patterns of worship and church administration will need revision.  languages will be altered over time.  institutions will be replaced.

since i am finite, i am able to do this only in a limited way, but i pray the spirit will use my life to show Christ to those with whom i work.

meanwhile these remain....

identification,

contextualization,

and love.

but the greatest of these is love

-jean mccracken

okay, so ive never blogged before and actually am very bad at journaling all together! but i am going to give it my best try while matt and i venture out to the unknown... unknown to us at least.

after a nice christmas vacation we came back to arizona and began the drawn out job of ending our lives in america and moving across the world. weve had to cancel bank accounts and open new ones, sell matts first car, give away our kitty, and box up all our junk. in fact, we just finished loading all our furniture into the big van (im typing this entry from the floor in my empty apt).

its crazy to think that in a matter of days we will be in kenya. its been such a desire of mine for so long to minister overseas and when i stop to rest for just a second the thought is somewhat overwhelming. What a blessing it is, that God has allowed matt and i to serve him. and the way things have fallen into place is just amazing. i guess thats the way God likes to do things.... amazingly!

im excited to start this new journey, and especially excited to share it with you! thank you for your prayers and support.