NEWSLETTER: September 2015 - Nairobi

Thank you for supporting not only me but also Amani Primary School!

Thank you for all your support!
Support of all kinds.....prayers, emails, notes, texts, everything!!!

During this unplanned chapter of my journey in Africa so many of you have been so kind to offer support in all kinds of ways.

I am thankful for all the prayers that each of you lift up on my behalf.
I am thankful for the emails full of personal stories, scripture, and encouragement.
I am thankful for those of you in Africa that listen to me talk about every angle of this situation.
I am thankful for those of you that have generously given material things or finances to help me during this time.
I am thankful for the new people that God has brought into my life.
I am thankful for some of the unique opportunities that I have had in Nairobi.

One of these unique opportunities was serving in Kibera over the last two weeks with SPUR Afrika. This organization is completely orchestrated by nationals. They work toward equipping children and young adults in Kibera through facilitating literacy, life skills, and leadership. Kibera is an area of Nairobi that is possibly Africa's largest slum. It is noted by overcrowding, poverty, and sanitation problems. Over the two weeks I joined the team of SPUR Afrika to do home visits, pass out clothes to children, help with bookkeeping, and other activities.

Top photo: Standing on the second floor of a school in Kibera, I was looking out over the vastness of it.



Some of us pausing for a photo after delivering a bag of new clothes to one of the sponsored kids in the program of SPUR Afrika.

I also want to take a moment to thank you for helping me celebrate my birthday last month. The numbers came in and I am thrilled to report that $1,858 was donated toward Amani Primary School. That is such a blessing for Amani during this time. Thank you for giving so generously! Please keep Amani's staff and students in your prayers this week. They will be having their first graduation for the Standard 7 class and everyone is very excited!!

NEWSLETTER: September 2015 - Flexibility

Many changes surprising me but not God.

Blessed are the Flexible

.....for they shall not be broken.

This is one of the lesser known beatitudes. It is also the first thing I learned from my unit leader once I arrived in Tanzania earlier this year. From a small handful of short term mission trips, I knew that flexibility is key, but to have it stated this way really exemplifies the importance. Flexibility has been crucial throughout but its need has increased lately.

The best laid plans...[of anyone]....often don't go in the expected way. Our Savior is the only one that has the best plans. Right now, His plans are not my plans. A few weeks ago, I left the village and came to Nairobi. Please read my blog titled "Iceberg Missions" for more detail as I want to share more than what would fit here.

I will continue to stay in Nairobi for now. As of last week, Melody has joined a team in Kwale, Kenya and will continue to be with them while I am in Nairobi. She will travel to Pande as needed to continue to help with administration at the school and fulfill our commitments there.

Please continue to keep the staff and students of Amani School in your thoughts and prayers.

One afternoon I took a break with some friends and went to visit some of Nairobi's tallest residents.

Be Flexible, Keep Calm, Love Africa. This might need to be my new motto.

For my visual friends....it feels like this:
Melody and I were playing a game of bananagrams and dutch blitz at the same time. It was a little crazy but we were still having fun. A few minutes in, someone sets up an industrial fan, two muddy goats walk in and start eating cards, and three chickens are all over the place pecking at the letter tiles. It reached a point that we could not clean it up on our own.

Right now it takes continual conscious effort to even just "be ok" with the situation. I expected to serve with Melody for two years in Pande and just shy of three months we left abruptly. I can read and know scripture and know His ways are better, know this will work for the good. But for that to continually make the journey from my mind to my heart takes great effort at times.

I often cling to Romans 8:26 "Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words." (ESV) If you would like to join me on a few more specific areas, please pray for:
-Amani school as they work through financial needs and shortage of teachers
-Melody has she settles into Kwale and finds her way during this time
-financial wisdom as the finances of Nairobi vary a bit from that of the village
-Wisdom for leaders and doctors as they make decisions
-Acceptance and patience for myself during this time
-that I may be able to identify and rebuke lies from the enemy

With love from Nairobi,
Katherine

[Top picture: After crossing into Kenya, I was blessed to pause at the coast and get my feet wet in the Indian Ocean before coming inland to Nairobi.]

Iceberg Missions

Let’s look at missions like an iceberg.

The top of an iceberg is beautiful from planes or ships. It provides great photography opportunities and a mystique that captures the attention of so many. The visible part of missions includes cute kids, exciting adventures, new friends, and success [defined differently and individually]. Beneath all of this, is so much more. The iceberg has jagged edges, sharp corners, great depth, and unpredictable weaknesses in structure. The unseen part of the mission field includes: language difficulties, cultural barriers, medical challenges, spiritual warfare/intimidation, sleepless nights, unwanted responsibilities, missing important events with friends and family, doubts, criticism, risks, failures, disappointments, and hard work.

History and Hollywood showed us how dangerous the bottom of the iceberg can be.

At the beginning of August, the bottom of my iceberg started to weigh me down. With Melody’s help, prayer, and great effort I kept my head above the surface. With time, it became clear that I needed to get out of the ocean. A few weeks ago we left the village and made our way to Nairobi. While here, I am gaining the rest, medical help, and knowledge I need to help me stay focused on the top of the iceberg.

While in Nairobi God is showing me the following:

-He is my comforter

-He is always with me = I’m not alone.

-the importance of joyful trusting throughout turbulent times

-His ways are better than mine [Although, this is quite difficult to grasp beyond head knowledge during this time. I think this is much easier to believe with hindsight.]

-He has not forgotten about me and still has a plan for me, it just isn’t what I thought it was

The future is not known from my view. From God's view, everything is working out exactly as He planned, exactly as He knew it would. This is very hard to accept. As with any twist and turn in our plans, we usually don't appreciate them until afterwards and we realize the amazing opportunity that we would have missed had we gone straight. Some days it takes frequent intentionality to accept all of this. Life in the village may have had its challenges but it was my home. Being in Kenya has definitely taught me that my heart is there in Pande and I have longed to go back. 

Some decisions will be made at the end of this week and beginning of next week. Right now I am not sure what to hope or expect regarding these. I can only pray for wisdom for my leaders and acceptance for myself.

Please join me in praying for the following:

-Amani school as they work through financial needs and shortage of teachers

-Melody has she settles into Kwale and finds her way during this time

-financial wisdom as the finances of Nairobi vary a bit from that of the village

-Wisdom for leaders and doctors as they make decisions 

-Acceptance and patience for myself during this time

-that I may be able to identify and rebuke lies from the enemy

One weekend in Nairobi, we stayed with friends. 

I was able to get some much needed dog therapy.

NEWSLETTER: July 2015

Much has happened in the first half of July.

One wing of the "L" shaped school.

This is the classroom for Standard II.

School, Settling, and Sights 

Teaching
School started again two weeks ago. The school year follows the monthly calendar so this is the beginning of the second term. Most students had one month off and some studied through the break to prepare for national exams. The students returned to two new teachers this term, Melody and myself.

However, one change did happen at the school recently. The sponsorship program for the children switched to another organization. All involved are very excited about this and the willingness of the new organization to continue this program. Throughout the transition, God has made it clear that He is going to do great things with this. Although, some holes have developed.

The major hole now is financially. Amani Primary School is struggling financially as donations have dropped throughout this transition. The school is behind in paying salaries for the teachers. Those are the first priority. With funds short for this main cause, other areas are suffering financially as well.

I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider giving toward this need. It would be a huge blessing to the teachers and students! You can do this through this direct AIM link and it will be tax deductible just like other financial support. If you would like more specific details about the financial needs of the school, please contact me and I'll gladly provide you with more information about specific needs.

Home
We have continued to settle into our home. Most recently we were able to get a day bed (used as a couch) and a kitchen table. The small table will now be in my room for use as a desk. Chui (our lovely kitten) loves the new furniture and takes daily naps on it. Slowly we have acquired the unique things for our kitchen. We have our very own mini charcoal stove. Other recent additions include another bed and a bookshelf.

It has also been interesting to see the children get more comfortable with us. We bought Swahili Bibles to keep under the couch because they often ask for a book to read. They also enjoy playing cards while we work on our own tasks. Although, their fist priority is to probably just watch and see how the white people do everything.

Morogoro
We traveled back to Morogoro this past Wednesday for a board meeting for Amani. It was a full day but it was followed by a few relaxing days at the home of our leaders. It has been wonderful to be back in a familiar area. The "old" sights of Morogoro such as the mountains [see above] and the familiarity of walking around town to our favorite shops were a wonderful break from village life. We have enjoyed a solid internet signal and connecting with friends and family in the states as well as cold food from a fridge.

You can check out my blog for current prayer requests.

If you continue reading below that you will also find 10 reasons why you should respond to this message.

May your summer be blissful and amazing! I will continue to enjoy the "cold season" here and look forward to hearing from you.

Katherine

Chui (pronounced "chewy") enjoying a nap on the day bed.

Leaving the village in style as we ride to town to start our journey to Morogoro.

Current Prayer Requests

Things that are continually valid....
-physical health: when this goes down, it seems near impossible to do anything else
-rest: we have been blessed to get some time away the last couple days. Rest is also essential as we are continually learning new things and processing cultural differences.
-intentionality: Immersion into a new culture means lots of intentionality with making friends, trying new things, learning language, and every other area of life.

A few things for this current phase......
-to have a teacher's heart: we have been asked to do some teaching at the school. Teaching is not necessarily our calling and it takes some intentionality and effort to do be excited about it. It is a great way to get to know children and then their families, but we need help being excited about this new aspect.
-continued ability to feel at home: we left the states 6 months ago. [Crazy!!! How did that happen?] I am confident that God has called me to be here but in 6 months time, the events that I was absent for back "home" are starting to pile up.
-Digo people to be patient with us as we learn language and culture
-patience for ourselves
-willingness to be humble: .....because we will make mistakes

10 Reasons Why You Should Write Back

Most months I send out a newsletter through the fantastic method of communication known as email. Usually I don’t look forward to it because it means a time of testing my patience with the internet and using up the seemingly precious battery power. One thing always happens when I write a newsletter. I always hear through some people that many others are praying for me and they are excited to hear from me. I want each of you to know that it is completely acceptable to write to me directly whether a reply to a newsletter or just a note of its own. And these are some reasons why…..

1. I want to hear from you!!

2. It brings me great joy to know what is going on in your life.

3. Knowing what is going on with you makes me feel connected to life in the states.

4. It gives me motivation to write more knowing that I might hear from you.

5. God is doing great and amazing things where you are and I want to know about it.

6. I really do want to hear from you!!!

7. It is easier to know how I can be praying for you if I know what is going on in your life just like you want to support me through prayer.

8. Sometimes life on the other side of the ocean is hard and difficult and it is so refreshing to hear from you and even see pictures of you and your beautiful families.

9. Sometimes I just miss you and a note really helps to fill that void.

10. You are not insignificant. God called me to Africa. He called you to where you are. [Although, if He is calling you somewhere where you are not, then you might want to work on that situation.] The life you are living is a missionary life to those in your circle of influence. My people just happen to be Tanzanians. Your people are coworkers and friends.

NEWSLETTER: June 2015

Five Weeks Complete

A new life has definitely started in all aspects.

About five weeks ago we arrived at the village. So much has happened in such a short time that I don't even really know where to begin.

Our home is slowly coming together. We were able to get a few more pieces of furniture last week and get a couple things up on the walls. We very blessed to have running water and solar power.

Right now our main goals are to continue language learning and also to learn more about the culture. We did a homestay this month. For this, Melody and I each stayed with a different family for five nights. We did everything that the mom did. I was amazed at all the cooking we did. The family did everything from corn flour for me and we even made two different types of bread over a fire.

Most days we go for a walk around the village to greet people and try to start friendships. We have spent a couple days each week in town getting things for the house and taking care of business items.

About 15 km down this road you will find a little yellow house...

That little yellow house is my new home. It comes complete with running water, one solar panel, and promises of a journey packed with moments to remember.

This is what I look like on a typical day.

This month my brother, Jon, graduated from basic training for the Army. He has previously served 6 years with the Navy and has returned to Monterey, CA for more training.

The time is starting to pass by quicker than I ever thought it would. We often tell people we will be here for two years but the truth is that we have been gone almost six months already. Events are happening at home in America and we aren't there. Little kids that are dear to us are having birthdays, weddings are happening, and babies are being born. In all of that we aren't there. I bet know you are think that this is leading to the phrase "home sick". But the truth is that I do feel at home here. I saw something a long time ago that said...

"You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place."

This is becoming more and more true each day. The little girl next door that will run and give me a hug as we sit down in the front yard for dinner brings back memories of other kids in my life that did the same. Meeting people in town is just like randomly seeing a friend while running errands on an average Saturday in the states. 

I am blessed to call many places home.