Saturday, June 30, 2012

safaring

Safari means adventure in swahili. Which is so appropriate that we just got back from safaring in Masai Mara. It was BEAUTIFUL. We are packing all day today and saying goodbyes so this post will just be some pictures from the beautiful safari we just got back from!
Giraffes. Fave animal.

We showed up to a bunch of lions eating a wildebeest. It was a little gross but so cool.  

Cuddling. This looks straight out of lion king

Liz and the elephants!

If you watch real housewives then you will appreciate this. WE WENT GLAMPING. (Glamorous camping) it was fun/kinda scary


These are some impalas, like the car. They were real cute.

Love em.


The sky seems like it never ends. We can see for miles and miles and miles. It was beautiful and everything made me feel so small.

Just hangin with my girl enjoying the sunset

Sunrise. Equally as beautiful.


SAR-FAR IN MASAI MAR

More elephants. Love em.


Hippos. They're really scary. And huge. And cool.

Our drivers name is Ken. Dad, if you're reading this, I told him your name is Ken. He told me to tell you "Hello" from Ken in Kenya.

Our set of wheels we adventured in. The coolest safari jeep.

And then we got on the plane. And it was 16 passengers, with only ten of us in there. It was so cool. So scary.

THIS MORNING WE FOUND OUT HANNAH GOT INTO NURSING SCHOOL AT AUBS. We are so excited for her and it was the perfect way to end the trip.

We're packing up and leaving today. Next time I post I'll be at home!

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

belly laughin kinda joy

Laughter. The kind that makes your stomach hurt aka belly laughin'. Smiles. The ones that show all your teeth and leave your cheeks sore. Joy. The type that radiates out of your heart and pours onto others. Tears. The good ones because you know that your heart is so full. Happiness. That is so pure that it can only be from the Father. Fellowship. The community that surrounds you that is so encouraging and divinely put together by God. Love. The kind of treasure you only find in Jesus, and what a sweet day it is when you do. Peace. The calmness that God supplies your heart after you leave half of it somewhere.  

The past couple days, God has provided so much laughter, smiles, joy, tears, love, happiness, fellowship and peace. I am overwhelmed by the joy and peace I've received through all of this and so thankful for how faithful our Father is. 









Tuesday, June 26, 2012

see ya later

You know when you love a place a whole lot that you can't even think about the possibility of not being able to come back? That's how I've been feeling about leaving Nairobi. While we were saying our goodbyes to the staff and children at the BCC, I had to tell myself it's more of a "see you later!" than a goodbye! Mostly because I pray that God allows me to return here and also because the idea of not being able to return hurts my heart too much!



The joy. The pure, sweet joy from the Lord that the children and staff has been such an encouragement to me. 




Today was my last day with my sweet knitting girls. Yesterday, the girls shared their testimonies with me. Many of them were similar, that they have gone through times in their lives where people put them down, told them they weren't worth it, that they wouldn't succeed. Two of the girls were formerly street girls. Some of the girls struggled with drugs. One of the girls is currently orphaned. Learning these hardships about my knitting girls, my sisters, was hard. I could feel their pain as they were sharing their stories. A verse came to mind when I was listening to their testimonies, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God" Acts 14:22. I don't know how to begin to justify or explain why the girls went through what they did, but provide hope. Our God is faithful. We aren't put through hardships for no reason. Quoting my quiet time reading:

"But although hardship is thus the path of God's children, they have the comfort of knowing that their Master has traversed it before them; they have His presence and sympathy to cheer them, His grace to support them, and His example to teach them how to endure; and when they reach 'the kingdom' it will more than make amends for the 'many hardships' through which they passed to enter."

Some of the things my knitting girls have gone through I will never be able to explain. I'm so thankful that God is faithful and that He has already paid the price. These hardships aren't in vain. Being able to look into the eyes of my sweet knitting girls and watching them begin to water as I tell them how LOVED and VALUED and TREASURED and PRECIOUS they are to God, makes these hard moments so worth it. Lots of these girls have been told their whole lives that they don't deserve the things they have received or that they aren't going to make anything of themselves, that they are worthless. Today, I got to tell them how their hardships won't go in vain. Today, I got to tell them how much those hardships are worth it when we will be in heaven one day. Today, I got to tell them how valued they are, how they were bought at a high price through Jesus.

Today was hard. But it was so good. God is so good, all the time.

We made about 450 bracelets to give to each of the children/staff before we left. When I brought the bracelets to my babies class, my eyes were already watering. I hugged each baby extra long and told them they are so loved one more time. I told them "see you later!" because my heart knows this isn't goodbye.

My sweet babies class. How thankful I am for each one of these 28 all over the place babies. How special they are to me. We played a game yesterday after our craft that talked about how Jesus loves the little children. Everytime I asked them "WHO'S LOVED?!!?" They would tap their hearts and yell "ME!". How special they are. 

Sweet Monica and Mary, two of the girls who are at the orphanage at the BCC. I wish that I could take these two home with me!

And my precious Edwin. Saying "see you later!" today to Edwin was hard. Partially because he has such a sweet smile and heart that makes you want to stay at the BCC forever, and partially because he has so much joy that I had to run up and down to snap one final picture with him. I'm going to miss this sweet boy.

Today was so draining. I couldn't imagine saying goodbye, so we settled for "see ya later!" for now, and I pray that the Lord allows me to return to this place that I left my heart at! Tomorrow we will be going to an HIV/AIDS baby orphanage and the next day it is SAFARI TIME!






Sunday, June 24, 2012

kazuri

Kazuri means "small and beautiful" in swahili. This week, I have gotten to spend so much time enjoying the small and beautiful things here in Kenya as I've been trying to soak up my last few moments here. It's hard to believe that we have only two more days left at the BCC, on Wednesday we will be at an HIV/AIDS baby clinic, Thursday we leave for the safari! So I'm already getting all sad and sentimental just thinking about how we will be saying goodbye to all of our sweet friends real soon.

Here's a few pictures of the sweet and beautiful things from this week!

Class seven girls hangin out being sweet


Those precious faces


If this isn't a BCC girls clique, I don't know what is. I love this picture, it looks straight out of the movie "mean girls" or something. Divas. Love em.

We went to the animal orphanage but decided not to go in. On our way out we ran into BABOONS. They were hopping the fence and acting crazy. Baboons are not as cute as they seem. Rafiki from Lion King is WAY cuter than what these guys look like in real life.

My sweet girl Mary. If only I could take her home with me.

I got braids/dreads/I'm not really sure, this week. It was great. At kamp we have this expression "For the kids" aka YOLO aka carpe diem. This was 100% without a doubt a "for the kids" moment.

Zipi. Words can't express how much I'm going to miss my favorite sewing diva girl. And please look at those dreads. 

Thought of Robyn, Laura, and Ashlyn yesterday! They loved "The Face"so so much

We got our nails done the other day. I painted Mary's so it was only fair that she painted mine right (in super fly lime green nail polish)? It was another "For the Kids" moment for sure and AH I'm going to miss this precious girl so much.
They said "Strike a pose" and this happened. And I loved it. 

Precious babies and precious Liz. Love em.

I'm so impressed by this farm and all of the sustainable living they practice here. I'm going to miss having fresh veggies from the back yard.



The cool outdoor markets where you can BARGAIN. It was so cool, I traded a pen and two dollars and hand sanitizer for a drum. IT WAS THE GREATEST.

Having the greatest personal alarm roomie. But really, Hannah and I sleep through our alarms every morning and we have this preshie come wake us up. Love the no teeth smile. Love the headband. Love this girl.

Getting to skype with my sweet family while they are all at the beach. So sad I'm not with y'all but hope you have some fun in the sun!!!


Tomorrow and tuesday are our last two days at the BCC. Prayers would be so wonderful.