Random thoughts

Kenya. Really no words to describe my feelings/emotions. These past two days have been wonderful. We went into two villages and handed out water filters. But for yesterday’s village God had a little something different in mind! We got there and people swarmed the vehicle and us when we got out. So the Kenyan preacher we were with decided to take advantage of the opportunity and share the gospel. So we sat everyone down on a hill & he began sharing the gospel in Swahili (Kenyan language). It was amazing to see how the Lord took our plans and made them His as soon as we pulled into the village.

This lesson is actually what the Lord has been teaching me personally. If you know me at all I am a planner. So I tend to plan my future a little. Okay, actually alot!! But the lord has rocked my world these past few weeks in Africa. I can plan all I want to. But obviously His plan will ultimately play out. For example I am so ready to be done with college. And so the idea of taking a semester off sounded great at first but now I am sitting back and thinking how many more semesters I have and how I wanna load my self down with hours to make up for this semester off. But this semester in Africa is clearly His plan not mine.

A few things I have learned so far.
1.) I better get used to bumpy roads. As most of you don’t know Kenyans LOVE speed bumps. And when I say love I mean love. Every 500 feet be prepared to slam on brakes and be knocked around.
2.) I better get used to terribleeee drivers. I fear for my life daily when riding somewhere.
3.) No electricity is a common thing. It will be working just like an American home then bam. It’s off. For example I’m sitting in the dark now and the power has been off for 5 or 6 hours. So I’m typing this on my note app then I will copy and paste it 😉
4.) I have to get used to lizards. They are everywhere in our house. Even in the shower. Creepy yes I know!
5.) I have to get used to red feet. Even with my chacos on everyday my feet still manage to turn red from the clay. I mean seriously Africa?
6.) I have learned that as an American in college I have SO much to be thankful for! But yet I complain sometimes that I don’t have this or that. Hello Kayla the world doesn’t revolve around you.

But enough for now. This is just a few thoughts from my experience thus far. So until next time! I miss you America. Dearly.

My life.

I’m here. Been in Africa for 10 days but only in Kenya for 2. To say these last 10 days have been fun and easy would be a lie. We went through orientation in Botswana then made our way to Kenya. Over the course of orientation I caught some kind of stomach bug and was sick in bed for 2 days & now I have pink eye. Satan surely is trying. So I have had a hard time. 8 days of no communication or anything with America was tough. But through it all I have learned to fully 100% lean on God for comfort and strength. The Lord revealed to me through a teammate 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, I have been clinging to these verses now more than ever! This past weekend we stayed in an African Village and whew. What an eye opener. They had SO much joy when they literally had almost nothing. It broke my heart. No electricity, no shower for 3 days, no toilet, & basically lived off bread and hot tea for 3 days. It was rough. But I look back and am thankful.

We haven’t began ministry yet. Still just settling in and getting used to this culture. Which is very hard. But The Lord is getting me through each day. Day by day. So thank you for all your prayers but please continue to do so. Specifically for strength and comfort to settle in here. And the ministry we will begin next week! Love you all!

4 days. 4 days. 4 days.

Ohmygoodness. I can not believe this is actually happening! In 4 days I will board a plane from Panama City to Atlanta. 3 hour lay over then 16 hour flight to Johannesburg, South Africa. Stay the night then an early morning flight to Botswana where I will go into 8 day orientation and “communication blackout” meaning no internet or communication. Nervous is an understatement. This still does not seem real. I honestly don’t think it will feel real until I am there for a few weeks and realize this trip is not just a little trip. 4 1/2 months. The devil tells me there is NO way I can do this but my Lord tells me otherwise. May I remind you what a BIG God we serve. This trip was $3950. But with passport having to be expedited and everything else it ended up being about $4500. I am so thankful to say the Lord provided that… & wayyyyy more! So once again I say my God is the God who provides. Thank you to every one who gave and who has prayed and who will continue to pray. Words cannot express my gratitude. So as I leave in 4 days I only go thanking the Lord for His plan and providing. I can not do this alone. So as I soon board a plane with emotions high I go in thankful. Just thankful.