Random shenanagins.

February 24th? Really. Where has this month gone? I feel like the days seem long but in the grand scheme of things time is flying by. It’s almost march? Whatttt? Crazyness. I can’t believe it. My heart rejoices but hurts at how fast time is flying.

Elections. The major thing happening right now. March 4th is the Kenyan elections. And in the past they get violent. (No worries were safe on our compound) but for the week of elections we are stocking up and planning to stay on the compound all week. So prayers for this are NEEDED. Pray for Godly leaders, and a safe easy election.

April. The month that terrifies the mess outta me. Me and my team are going on a few mission trips in April. We are taking Kenyans to the coast of Kenya and to the desert of Kenya. The coast we will witnessing and working with the Digo. The desert we will be witnessing and working with the Pokot. The desert trip is going to be interesting….. We will be sleeping in tents, using the restrooms in bushes, hiking mountains, dodging cobras and every other kind of snake, drinking camels milk, and most importantly witnessing to the Pokot people who worship animism. So prayers for us and hearts to be changed are NEEDED.

Right now we are meeting every Thursday with a great group of girls and doing a Bible study. It’s been a great time to get together and study The Word and create amazing friendships that will last a lifetime.

Thanks for your prayers and support!

The story of 3 year old, Levi.

This morning I woke up very sad. More like depressed actually. These last two days I have been missing America, home, & You like crazy. So I spent some much needed time journaling and digging into James when I woke up. But not long after that me and my roommate began our journey to a children’s home we are getting plugged into. It’s about a two mile walk there & a two mile walk back. When we got there we noticed that the kids weren’t in school today. So we went in talked to the owner and they had an off day today. So I got so excited knowing we would get to spend our few hours there with kids this time. Usually we just help prepare lunch in the kitchen or something. So we walked outside and this little boy Levi came up to me. With the biggest white smile I have ever seen. He came up to me and grabbed my leg and looked up at me with the most pidiful face like he wanted to be picked up. So I did of course. I just couldn’t resist. When I did he gave me the biggest hug and kissed me on the cheek. Right then and there a few tears streamed down my face. It was almost as if the Lord had hugged me and whispered “Kayla, you can do this. I am your strength. Rely on Me. This is only temporary” Levi reminded me of why I’m here and gave me the uplifting that I needed. His hug and cheek kiss was exactly what I needed to make it through this day. Just when I feel like I’m falling apart The Lord uses a 3 year old to uplift me in the most amazing way.

So the purpose of this blog is to remind anyone who is having a hard day to look into the small things. Something as small as a 3 year old could completely turn your day around.

My heart, my struggles, my joy, Africa.

Today marks 4 weeks. Can you believe it’s been 4 weeks today since Ryan dropped me off at the airport in Panama City? Crazy huh? Yeah! So crazy. These past 4 weeks have been some of the most difficult, amazing, and spiritually growing weeks of my life. Literally. The Lord has rocked my world. In an amazing way. If you know me at all you know just how stubborn and hard headed I am. So for me it’s been rather difficult to surrender some things. He has brought me 100% out of my comfort zone and turned me upside down. And it’s only been 4 weeks. With 3 months left I can’t begin to imagine what’s in store.

This past week. I was struggling. Major. Ok, so I don’t care that everyone knows. I almost gave up and came home. Like we were looking at flights back to America. The first one we could purchase we were going to. Until, my mother. My sweet sweet mother who is by the way the most Godly woman I know decided to tell me how she felt about me leaving early. She wasn’t very happy. So this whole time I was praying for The Lord to just show me what He wanted. Because I could not for the life of me find joy or excitement in being here. And of course He wouldn’t have brought me to Africa if He didn’t want me here. But me being human and Kayla was struggling so hard with the fact of giving in and being like “ok, I’m here in Africa. For 3 more months. I will never have an opportunity like this again. Suck up missing America. And deal with it.” This was such a hard struggle for me. I didn’t want to accept the fact that The Lord had brought me here for this semester. So after my mother gave me some advice. I decided to stay. So 4 weeks in and I am just now actually fully surrendering to the thought of being here for 3 more months. Crazy? Yes. But through the past 4 weeks and through my struggle and doubt The Lord has taught me so much that I probably would not have learned if it wasn’t for the hardship. I would cry myself to sleep every night. Wishing for home. But I began to really cling to 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. And quickly realized I was making this trip about me. Not about what The Lord wanted to do in and through me. So as I lay on my bed typing this now I am so excited to say I’m here. I have finally arrived. I am fully 100% here. Spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. 4 weeks in and I am just now getting here. But that’s ok. Cause through this The Lord has rocked my world. For the better.

But onto other great things! The Lord has given me and my friends an amazing witnessing/discipling opportunity. I don’t wanna give specifics just yet but were meeting with this girl Tuesday. And it’s a pretty major thing. So prayers are greatly appreciated. Also, we have been able to go to a few orphanages/children’s homes. And be praying that through all of this The Lord will clearly show me what my major needs to be. I’m stuck between social work and elementary education. Side note: African children are SO precious. I wanna bring one home. But for some odd reason I don’t think I could make it past customs. Haha.

Ohmygoodness! Yesterday me and some of my team went to this glass factory. (pics on fb) but we were able to walk this rope bridge. In between two huge cliffs. Probably the most adventurous thing I have ever done. While walking the back of my Chaco got stuck in a little bit of the wire. I seriously thought I was gonna fall. Ok, so maybe I had something to hold onto but we were so high up I thought I was gonna die. One of my teammates decided to yell “it’s ok if you fall you get to meet Jesus.” Which Is true. But I wanna get married and have a family. Also, two girls on my team play softball. So they have been playing for a local university. So I have been able to tag along and watch practices and games. And all I’m gonna say is African softball is nothing like American softball. They make up rules as they go. It’s very frustrating but funny at the same time.

Today. Oh today. First, church here starts crazy early. So I was up at 6 and at church by 7. So I was exhausted. And me and my roommate were locked out of our house. Or we couldn’t figure out how to get in. So our supervisor had to come do it. After an hour and a half of trying to get in. Then I went to open the door of my bedroom and my true love waits ring got caught on the handle, which jerked me back, broke the ring, and jammed my finger. My finger was so swollen I couldn’t get the ring off so after a half hour of ice I was able to pull the ring off and now it’s blue and has a knot. It hurts. But it’s kinda funny now to look back at it. Although, at the time I was crying to my roommate telling her my finger was broken. Lets be honest, I cried like a baby.

Anyway, this is enough for now. You know my heart, my struggles, and my needs. Please be in prayer for me, my team, and the Kenyans here. The elections are coming up at beginning of march and they tend to get very violent. So be praying for that and for Godly leaders to step up and that revival would begin in this country. There are so many different religions. It’s crazy to see. I mean at BCF we take worldview and yeah you may pass the class but sorry to tell ya you don’t know much of anything until you experience it first hand. That is all for now.

My newly changed life. Three weeks in.

Three weeks in. This is my life. My African Life. The Lord has rocked my world in SO many ways. But if you know me at all you know that I LOVE children and have a special place in my heart for special needs children. So today my heart was overjoyed. We went to a place called Treeside Special School. As we pulled up I was sitting in the front seat and saw their big huge smiles and my heart started racing. So I grabbed my camera got out of the van…. and bam. 31 special needs children ran and attacked us. They were SO precious. They stole my heart the minute I stepped out of the van. We began playing games and having the best time. Special needs children are just SO special to my heart. This day was wonderful to get my mind off things at home. 

The Lord has rocked my world. He has brought me out of my comfort zone and taught me so many things that I wouldn’t have learned if it wasn’t for coming to Africa. Teaching me how selfish I am, how I was not doing enough ministry at home, how I was planning my future not Him, how consumed I was with college, and how i wasnt relying on Him for everything. So all of this the Lord has taught me in just 3 short weeks. Amazing right? Yeah! All in the big city of Nairobi. It took Him bringing me here to break me, teach me, and mold me more into the woman of God He wants me to be!