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!

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. 

a whole lotta love

"He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart." Isaiah 40:11. God tenderly carries us close to His heart! How sweet are those words? He is the good shepherd. I am so thankful for how much He loves us. My quiet time today about this verse read, "Here is boundless affection. Would He put them close to His heart if He didn't love them very much? Here is tender nearness: so near are they, that they could not possibly be nearer. Here is hallowed familiarity: there are precious love passages between Christ and His weak ones. Here is perfect safety: in His bosom who can hurt them? They must hurt the Shepherd first. Here is perfect rest and sweetest comfort."

God carries us close to His heart because He loves us. He loves us so much because He created us, so much that He paid the ultimate price for us. Though we sin and give in to our flesh, His compassion draws us near through His grace. This week at the BCC, I've been reminded of how God has created each of His children through His craftsmanship. "Yet Lord, You are our Father, we are the clay, and You are our potter; we all are the work of Your hands" Isaiah 64:8. He created each of us uniquely and perfectly, God makes no mistakes. How intentional and sweet our God is. So this week, I wanted to capture how sweet and precious God's children are, not one fingerprint is alike. Not one soul is the same. How much God loves each of us, every single part of us! He not only loves us, He tenderly carries us close to His heart. I'm so thankful for that today. 

So here are some pictures that capture how sweet and intentional our God is:

I'm so thankful today. For who our God is, how much He loves us, and that "He has done for them based on His compassions, and the abundance of His faithful love" Isaiah 63:7. Feel so much love, friends!

crafty time

How comforting to know this truth! God has the whole world in His hands! I got to do crafts with the 2nd grade today and I loved getting the chance to spend time with these cute kids! We sang the song "He's got the whole world in His hands!" and painted their hands after they colored their papers! They loved it so much! This was the first time I got to hang out with this class, and there are still lots more kids I want to spend time with before we leave here!

While I was spending time with the 2nd grade class, I was a little overwhelmed again with the chaos and the amount of kids ratio to me, and I was reminded again of how sovereign and faithful our God is. I get overwhelmed with the need here, and I fear that I won't be able to serve 'enough'. "The Lord is my light and my salvation- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?" Psalm 27:1. With the need and poverty in Nairobi being overwhelming at times, I often ask myself, can I love all of these children WELL? Am I glorifying you, Father? Am I being a light for your Kingdom? God doesn't give light, He IS light. God doesn't give salvation, He IS salvation. He uses everything, every struggle and every dark moment in our lives to bring Him glory. If we accept His grace and love into our hearts, whom then shall we fear? Regardless of the large amount of need, He IS salvation He IS light. And I will rest in that.

This is sweet Edwin. He is in the second grade class I was with. I was so blessed to get to spend more time with him today and what a joy it was. Sweet Edwin has physical and learning disabilities, and at the BCC it's difficult for him to keep up with the rest of the kids. Edwin makes others smile more than anyone I've ever seen with his sweet spirit and bright smile. I was talking to Zipi about Edwin this afternoon and she said "Edwin worships the Lord with every part of his soul", and it was so cool how I felt like I already knew that because of the way he lived life with me today. 

JOY! We bought ten pairs of needles for each of the girls in the sewing room and yarn for the girls to start knitting more things. They were so excited to be able to all be knitting at the same time!

We're talking about starting a knitting club in Nairobi (Nairobi Knitting United!!!! we're working on it...) When we knit in the afternoon, the girls pull chairs up in a little circle next to us and we just stay like that for a couple hours. It's such a sweet time of laughter, fellowship, and knitting (duh).

Hellen finished her first ear warmers! I'm so proud!!! And Jane is finishing her beautiful scarf! I feel like a proud mama.

He doesn't just give light. He is light. He doesn't just give salvation, He is salvation. He has the whole world in His hands, every moment of chaos and fear- all for His Kingdom. I hope you find this truth as encouraging today as I have!!

Sweetheart

I'll start off by saying that I don't know how I'm going to be able to say goodbye to the staff and kids at the BCC in a week and a half! My time here has literally flown by, and I cannot believe that I'm already half way through my service here. It makes my heart hurt. We've been trying to change it up at the BCC by serving in new places so that we can get to know all of the staff and serve them! So this morning, Hannah and I served in the kitchen! We cut up eight huge cabbages and by the end both of us had red hands! It was really hard work, but so sweet knowing that we were able to serve the kids in a new way! I love getting to see the different ways that the staff at the BCC work. Each role is so essential in the running of this place, how often I forget the hard work of those done behind the scenes. We have two cooks who are there all the time, cutting, preparing, cooking, singing. They are so joyful though they are exhausted. The Lord provides them so much strength and joy, without them this place would not run! The cooks remind me so much of the kitchies at kamp and how hard these girls work behind the scenes. I'm thankful for the hearts who are so faithful in their service for the Lord, and for our two sweet cooks Agnis and Paul.

One of the precious cooks, Agnis, asked us to help her cut something up. We had just gotten done with some onions and carrots so we said yes (thinking it would be more cabbage or tomatoes)! Next thing we know, we are cutting up cow liver and cow heart for the stew!!! Y'all I'm not kidding, we literally cut up cow heart (that are humungous)! We couldn't stop laughing because it was so shocking (it was bleeding while we were chopping it up, Agnis says it's because the heart is so "fresh"...), and precious Agnis said "We love to eat cow heart! It is so sweet!!" And it was just too funny to not post a little something about the "sweet" cow heart we had to prepare. Pictures to come!

After we learned some more anatomy about the cow heart/liver (last week it was the cow intenstines!!), we went outside and met with the man that takes care of the cows at the BCC. He taught us how he milks the cows and he's going to let us try next week! Like what??? So crazy I'm so excited!!!

We went to church with our driver Victor yesterday for three hours! It was so amazing getting to see other people worship the same God that we do in a completely different language. The worship songs were so powerful and I had goosebumps! At times it was a little overwhelming but I am so thankful that I got to experience the Lord in a new setting, new language, new friends. Our God is so big and so good all the time.

We went shopping this afternoon and got 10 set of needles and more yarn for the sewing class! They will each have their own set of needles and yarn to begin making even more things! I was able to teach them how to make ear warmers today and we are finishing up our second scarf! God has blessed my time here so far and He has allowed me to continue to love these girls well. It is such an encouragement to hear that I am helping to empower these girls. A lot of them didn't go past primary school. They are all around my age (18-22) and just knowing that I am serving these girls well warms my heart. One of the girls, Helen, told me that she plans on teaching her mom and aunts/cousins how to knit! How neat it is to know that something that you picked up randomly (literally, I learned on youtube) is being used to change some of these girls lives! It is technically winter here, even though its 70s during the day and 60s at night. But the Kenyans think that this weather is miserably cold. You will see people in huge winter coats and hats, while we are wearing t shirts and skirts. It feels so wonderful outside, but the girls are working on knitting scarves because they are freezing!!! Zipi was so cold today that she wore socks with her sandals because "it is SO cold.... TOO cold today for me"

Sweet baby Victor came to hang in the kitchen with the girls. Note the hat and the sweater! 

Cabbage cabbage cabbage

All we do is cut cut cut no matter wut

How precious is she?!?! Sweet Agnis. "We love to eat how heart, it is so sweet!" Love her.

 Sweet babies. Always. Smiles, hearts, love em.

Tricia. That face. Precious.

Zipi, what a great lady. She really does rock. Today she asks me, "do you dance?" I said "yes!??" So she said "can you, teach me to two step? Can you teach me how to dougie?" She was being so serious. I couldn't stop laughing. She doesn't know how to dougie, she really just wanted to know. It was the greatest. She was freezing cold today. She has a sweater on, long skirt, a jacket over the sweater, that shawl thing, and socks with her sandals. Hey mom, remember when you let me where socks and sandals?! Haha love sweet Zipi!

So to my sweet supporters and friends, I want to thank you so much for your prayers and support! I would not be here if you had not supported me through prayer and financially and I thank you so much for your faithfulness in your support! My time here has not only given me the opportunity to love and serve the people of Kenya well, but God has been doing so much work in my heart as well! I thank you for time and generosity! With that being said, I still have $1,500 to raise for the rest of my trip. It seems like this will be a hard feat since I am in Kenya right now. But I believe God has me here for a reason and I see it in everyone's heart I meet here and at the BCC. I know that our God is faithful and He will provide. If you believe in this ministry that I'm doing and feel led to support my trip financially, please click on the "donate" button! You can also send a check to the Buckner office (5200 S. Buckner Blvd Dallas, TX), with it made out to "Buckner International"  and "Anna Marie Harris" in the memo blank to be tax deductible. More than anything, I ask for your continued prayers for myself, Hannah and Liz. Love each of you so so much!!!!