Crud between your toes or in your heart? What's the difference, they both stink.
As I mentioned in my previous blog, Team Kenya had a mid-trip debrief 2 weeks ago. We spent those 4 days hashing out some of the issues that were plaguing the team. It was a time of getting real and seeking reconciliation through Christ. Of course even a luxury retreat in Kenya is not without some TIA ("This Is Africa") moments; each night while sitting around the fire pit we were intruded upon by massive, man-eating (or grass-grazing) hippos who busted through the electric fence. Also, each morning we were greeted by cute little monkeys, notorious for thievery, one of which was found trying to open Isaiah's bottle of Cipro (antibiotic medication), and another TIA; thorns driving through your flip flops, embedding themselves in your SOLES!
Mount Kenya
We ended the retreat with a sense of refreshment and hopeful attitudes. But not long after returning to the routine of ministry, I began to feel overwhelmed and burdened by some things that were happening among the team. Once again there was a spirit of disunity among us, for multiple reasons. Daily I was trying to encourage reconciliation, freedom and grace among us. Little progress was being made until I surrendered an entire day to prayer for the team. I called out to God and He met me in the tiny bedroom at the back of our host's home. I poured out my heart to God about my hopes for this team. What I really had wanted to see in them from the beginning was a release of God's work in their hearts and if it meant we had to walk through this brokenness, that's fine, but I needed to know that there would be breakthrough for them. The Lord began to take me back through my World Race journal. I read entry after entry describing my own brokenness and then I asked the Lord, "So what woke me up and brought me out of it?" and as I read on He showed me through more entries that it wasn't until I willingly looked at my own reflection in my team mates, until I saw the old me for what it really was and realized that it needed to die, that I could finally find my identity in Christ and be made new and whole in Him.
Rift Valley
The Lord spoke to me about sharing my hopes with the team, about speaking life into those broken places, and calling forth a higher level of perseverance and expectation for what God was capable of doing in their lives and in their ministry to the Kenyans. The Lord also spoke to me about healing and cleansing the team. We needed to take a good hard look at the fact that we are broken, prone to sin, and in need of a Savior to wash over us daily. And so we did. The team met that evening and we talked about the things that God had laid on my heart through prayer that day. It was bitter words for some to hear, and for others it brought relief. We decided to fight together for God's good work in our hearts. Through tears and laughter we washed each other's feet as a symbol of getting right before God and one another, as a symbol of submitting to one another and choosing to cover each other's crud in love and servitude. With the Spirit of God present, something was released that night.
Masaai Bomas
Immediately passion returned to our hearts the next day. We were excited about ministry and started the day with expectation for our Mighty God to show up. And of course He was faithful, that day (which was really only 3 days ago) we were making house visits among the Masaai tribe in the Rift Valley. We hiked a mountain (a small one but none the less a mountain), ladies in flip flops and ankle length skirts, till we reached the other side and found a few scattered Bomas (traditional homesteads). There we met a man named Daniel who asked for prayer for his sick father. We prayed but as time passed the team was feeling the call of the Lord to do more. We ended up bringing the sick man home to Kijabe to seek medical attention. He returned home that evening with medication and a huge blessing from God his Father. It turns out that Daniel was preparing to take the family cow to a market, 17kms by foot, to sell in order to get his father to a doctor. If you know much about the Masaai, you'll know that the choice to sell their cows does not come lightly, especially for a family that owns just the one. Cows are a very important part of the Masaai homestead and culture. But Jesus had other plans and used us as an answer to Daniels prayer. The team was honored to be used by God and the situation pumped them up to ask and expect more every day. Yesterday the girls gathered around one of ours who was sick, contended for her healing and immediately her stomach pain was gone. Tears of joy took over her tears of pain!
Sunset, Mount Kenya
Last week the team nearly gave into feelings of defeat. Some had resorted to feeling like the trip was over and safest bet would be to coast the rest of the time out. This week we started our mission again. This week heads are held high in faith and adoration of a God who saves and makes us new.
We're on the downward slope for our
time here in Kenya. We officially met the half-way point last week
with our mid-trip debrief!
So, let me catch you up on some
things...
2 weeks ago we traveled north 8 hours
to a place called Musul, which is where we stayed with the Masaai
Tribe. WOW... wish we could have stayed longer, 6 days was not
enough! Besides the regular wildlife encounters of Elephants, Giraffes
and Zebras, our encounter with the people was most memorable! Sunday
morning church was our first taste of the rich Masaai culture. We
danced, sang, and danced some more to traditional songs and even
attempted the traditional dance, which none of us north americans can
rythmically get for the lack of coordination between neck and
shoulders! But fun none the less! The church definitely rang out with
the Joy of the Lord as we shared testimonies, worshiped, and heard
the Word of God together. The week consisted of visiting Bomas
(homes), teaching at schools, showing films, and ending with an open
air evangelism crusade in the local market! The team learned a lot
about the Masaai culture and the strongholds that keep people from
accepting the Love of Christ. The Masaai men are polygamist and
therefore have many wives and lots of children. The man of the family
is the chief and whatever he says goes, even if a woman wanted to
give her heart to Christ, she must first have the cheifs permission.
The Masaai are nomadic and follow the herds, or the water. We arrived
shortly after a lot of families had moved to the foothills of mount
Kenya where there is more vegetation for their livestock. We met a
woman who shared with us that she had gone to fetch water and when
she returned her family had left without her, for what reason she was
not sure, but she was left to care for some of the children and wait
for their return in the next season. I don't know how she survives
with hardly any resources and without the help of her family. A
couple barriers that we came up against when sharing the gospel with
the Masaai was that in their traditional beliefs there is no after
life, when you die you're done. So to try and explain a spirit life/
afterlife with God it sounds ridiculous to them. The other barrier
being that most of the adults believe they are too old to change
their ways now, its better to leave those changes of lifestyle to
those who are in their youth. These were only men and women of about
40 who said this. Another thing we learned that was a huge hurdle for
the women is the circumcision that is mandatory in order for them to
be considered a woman. It is a very unsanitary ceremony that leaves
these young girls with the risk of infection, and HIV. More and more
Masaai women are refusing the circumcision but they will also be
shunned for refusing, and will not be married. The bottom line is
that the women have no rights what so ever in this culture, some are
finding the freedom to fight it while most are subject to it.
The team embraced the Masaai with the
Love of Christ where ever they could. With encouraging words, prayers,
or quality time spent together many of the locals felt befriended by
the team.
Oh, and the open air evangelism in the
market... yea, Jesus rocked it! We shared our life stories over the
loud speaker, danced, sang, prayed and preached! It was a super fun
day interacting with the locals at their bi-weekly market where
families gather to buy/sell food, clothing, beads for fashion, cows,
sheep and camel! Yup there were camels there for sale, wish I
could've bought one! But I did get to ride on one!
There was also a point where we were
charged at by wild elephants on our way to ministry! We had stopped
to see a family of about 10 elephants on the side of the road when
the big Grandpappy of them all, stormed out of the bushes towards our
bus! This also just so happened to be at the same time that our
driver put the bus in reverse to get a little closer! So very quickly
we were face to face with a MAD elephant! It turned out that He was
just making a statement as the rest of the elephants ran behind him
to escape and He found his place at the back of the line heading into
the bushes on the other side of the road. It was a close call, and I
believe that Grandpappy elephant could have knocked our bus right on
over if he so desired to!
Last Monday we took 2 more of our
teammates to the airport. John and Cheryl were the ones signed up for
the 6 week trip, And like we expected it was hard to release them.
They have definitely added a lot of character to this team and will
be greatly missed. The next day we packed up and set out for our
mid-trip debrief. We landed at FishEagle Inn. :)
We spent 4 days at FishEagle working
through some of our differences among the team. It seems to be normal
at this point of a mission trip to be so incredibly over the whole
community living thing. And so we had to push through the hard times
of character development to reach the point of finding fresh vision
and energy for the ministry that God called us here to do!
Many times on this trip I have been so
busy ministering to the team and our finance book, that I forget to
sit and reflect on the things God has been teaching me through this
leadership role. And so I have been trying to make time to process
too. One thing I am continually gaining understanding in, is that I
am not fully alive in the life of Christ until I am fully loving His
people, whether teammates, our host, or the locals. Love has been the
theme of this trip without a doubt, for us leaders and among the
team. 1 Corinthians 13 is our lifeline. If I think about it, where
would I be without the Love God first showed me in His Son, why would
it be any different for this team and this mission. We love because
He first loved us.
Another thing I am trying to wrap my
mind, spirit and soul around is leading through serving. I'm not
talking about the times that it comes naturally but the times when it
doesn't and I have to choose to be on the side of a servants heart
towards my team, ie, when I am worn out, longing for personal time,
or straight up frustrated. It is in those moments that the Lord is
teaching me about sacrifice that hurts and yet brings fruit in the
end. My prayer is that I continually strive to be an example of God's
Kingdom at work from within, expressing the character of Christ.
I feel bad that I haven't had the chance to blog since the team arrived in Kenya, I assume you know we arrived safely, ha! We have been here for nearly 4 weeks and I don't even know where to begin with the stories. Let me just say that the theme of my life right now is listening for the Holy Spirit in every passing moment.
Our team has gone through a few changes since training camp. Almost 2 weeks ago we said good-bye to 3 teammates who made the choice to no longer be a part of the team. 1 went home and 2 pursued another ministry option in Uganda. Although it was a rough few days, I believe that we can all say the Lord was in it and the team has definitely grown through the ordeal. We have finally settled as a family, and that is a good feeling.
A week in the life of a Kenya Real Lifer looks like this... Mondays we walk to Regency Elementary and a nearby preschool to spend the day teaching and playing with the kids. The men usually jump in on the construction projects.
Tuesdays we visit the Turkana people in a nearby village down in the valley. Our focus during these visits is to build relationships by visiting homes. This is one of our favorite times of the week because it is usually filled with a lot of joy and laughter with new friends. One thing we have learned about Kenyan culture is that visitors are one of the greatest blessings to a family. We have seen many come to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ and we have had ample opportunity to bless homes, families and crops through prayer and song.
Wednesdays are reserved for the Kijabe Hospital where we visit patients, build relationships with families and also some physical labor behind the scenes in the kitchen and with construction. Kijabe hospital is a hotspot for medical care throughout Kenya and nearby Somalia. Some of our participants have dedicated their time to building relationships with the Somali Muslims and have seen hearts begin to open up to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Thursday is the wonderful day of rest and relaxation aka find the most exciting thing to do in or around Nairobi/Kijabe! We have set out in search of Zebra, Baboons, Warthogs etc. and we have also found a sweet spot for a barbaric meal of lamb! Next week we will be climbing Mount Longonot which is a dormant volcano!
Fridays we take a 1.5 hr hike through the forest to reach the Old Town of Kijabe. Here we have taught at the local elementary/high school and have also made house visits to build relationship within the community. This is a super fun place to be, the locals love to interact with us, play with us and simply share life with us. Today my small team of evangelists and I helped dig a toilet, helped to dig a hole for an electrical pole, and celebrated Christ with many families along the way!
Saturday is still kind of up in the air, but no worries we are flexible! Either we purchase food and distribute it at a local IDP camp (Internally Displaced People) or we stay within Kijabe evangelizing and visiting friends.
Sunday – CHURCH AND NAPS!
So in a nut shell this is the ministry outline for our time here in Kenya. We have begun to feel comfortable with the routine and look forward to each place for special reasons.
As for me, walking out this new role as a leader, it has been the most fantastic experience, hard but soo incredibly good! Every day I am amazed at how the Lord runs this thing! All He asks me to do is to come to Him daily, and surrender the team and mission to Him. I am at a point where I am looking back at the past few years and realizing that God has been preparing me for this for a while and still this experience will train me for the next. I am also seeing the stepping out of things, and spiritual release that I had initially expected to see on the World Race but am also seeing that it was far more important to walk the road of character and discipline before getting to this bridge, Praise God for His ways are good!
Tomorrow we will be taking a bus 8 hours north where we will be camping out with a Masaai Tribe for a week. We are very excited for the challenge of traditional living and the relational evangelism of a new kind that we are about to walk into! Please pray for our safety in traveling and also that the Elephants don't trample our tents during the night!
Today is day 3 of our Real Life training camp... wow. I am so happy to finally meet the people who will become part of my family. At the AIM base in GA, we have 4 teams being trained, India, Swaziland, Nicaragua, and of course Kenya. My team consists of 4 guys and 8 girls. Yesterday we began to dive into the heart of training and thoroughly discussed things like surrendering our rights and expectations, The Kingdom of God, to the role of The Holy Spirit in our lives. It rocked my world to see and hear how these discussions and experiences have impacted the hearts and minds of my teammates. They have all chosen to step into this process with both feet and see where God takes them.
As we listened to a speaker in the evening give a talk about the Holy Spirit, I looked around at my team and saw the Body of Christ in a cool way. I saw my team as a portion of a larger tribe. A group of people cut from the same cloth, the same DNA, that of Jesus Christ. A group sent out in unity on a quest to find the Kingdom of God within. A tribe set on seeking the Heart of God. This is my family, my community, my tribe. What tied this together for me were the bracelets we are all wearing. A dear participant brought with her, these blessed bracelets made by Filipino women in a ministry in the Philipines. We all picked our favorite color and wear them proudly. To me, it makes us stick out as a family, and a unit under the same covenant. I love these people already.
This is an exciting time watching my teammates grasp for a deeper understanding of God. Please continue to pray for our unity and growth. This is still very much the honeymoon stage, as good as it is right now, soon enough things will change and we will be challenged in new areas. We leave for Kenya on Sunday. Thank you for your prayers.
Please, let me brush the dust off this blog... it's getting close to 10 months since i wrote, let me try to give you a quick run through. My transition season after the Race has definitely been one of silence and hiddeness. By that I mean I worked a lot, keeping myself very busy and in my own world, and I was hearing very little from God. Even though it was lonely, I now know this to be God's plan from the beginning. In order for me to really take hold of the things I learned on the Race I needed a season of drawing close to God in a deep and intimate way. The silence I endured between us was a way of getting me to a place where I had to search even deeper for Him, it was tough but it lead me to the sweet spot of surrender. What i had been asking the Lord about all winter and spring was for a clear answer to my future... I know, this is a crazy question, but sometimes you cant help but get hung-up on it and when I got to the spot of surrendering my unanswered questions and inevitably my entire future to God, He stepped in and became my answer, and it looked like this...
I had an incredible opportunity to spend time with the most precious 9 year old I have ever met. She accepted Christ as her Savior in our time together and I spent countless hours pouring God's truth into her spirit. I watched her change and come alive on the inside. I was so deeply moved by God's devine appointment in her life that I knew without a doubt, this is what my future is all about. My future is in God's redemptive work here on Earth. The very essence of my life lies within the Kingdom of God touching the hearts of men. Practically, this give me nothing, ahahaha, but spiritually this is everything, this is the true life that Jesus talked about, completely opening our hearts as a vessel for the LIFE giving breath of God. This is my future and in that I rest because I know my God is good.
So, now that God had cracked open an area of my heart that was holding me back I was wide open available for ANYTHING He wanted me to do. At the same time I was beginning to feel that deep stirring within my spirit that was calling me back out to the mission field. This brings us up to about 3 weeks ago when i emailed AIM
to say that I was 'available'. Within 24 hrs I was asked if i was available enough to lead a 3 month Real Life trip to Kenya in 3 weeks... and as you may have guessed, I'M TOTALLY GOING TO KENYA!! I leave for GA on Wed. for leadership training before the trip starts and will be in Kenya with my co-leader Kyle Young and our beloved team of 13 by the 13th of Sept.
I believe God has prepared my heart to be available for this team. I am ready to fall in love with them! I am excited to walk through the trenches of the Kingdom of God with them, seeing the Glory of God manifest in our hearts and those we minister to.
In Kenya we will be staying in a town called Kijabe. Ministering to surrounding villages, hospitals, refugee camps, and churches.
My intention is to continue this blog and share with you the things I discover about this mighty Kingdom that's within. I hope and pray that my friends and family will follow this journey as they did when I was on the World Race, this is simply part 2...
Please pray for our protection over the next couple weeks as we meet and get to know each other.
*just a reminder, Adventures in Missions is a non-profit, donations based organization and will accept any offer to help offset costs for these mission trips. My World Race account has been set up to continue receiving support and it will go directly to the Real Life account. Just click the 'Support Me' link on the left hand side.
Maybe you're sitting behind the computer screen contemplating reasons why you should go on the World Race. Here are ten reasons for you:
You learn who you are. Going on the World Race
introduces you to the person that God wants you to be. You won't
necessarily be the Jack Bauer or Indiana Jones of missionaries, but
you'll definitely learn what the heart of God is and how He wants to
use that to show you who you need to be in the Kingdom. And let's face
it - you're more than just another employee slaving away in a cubicle,
or a student going blindly into the ‘real world' after college.
You get to see the world. Surely
somewhere within you there's a desire to see the world. Most people
think it's only a fantasy or a fairytale, but let's be honest, with God
anything is possible. The World Race
takes you to over ten different countries across four different
continents... and God pays the bill, not you. Plus you can tell
everyone you've been to Africa.
You can't be labeled a boring Christian. Most
people think that Christianity is kind of a drudge and there's
propaganda everywhere claiming that. Well, thankfully, you don't have
to be a boring Christian. Twenty-four hour bus rides through the
African bush is anything but boring, and feeding orphans and widows is
a lot more adventurous than people give it credit for. But there's only
one way to find out.
You will change the world. This
isn't meant as a joke – you really will change the world. For each life
you touch and empower with the love of God, they in turn will touch a
life. It's just like the pay-it-forward principle, only with Jesus and
love. It's pretty cool. This gets engrained into your everyday life
when you go on the World Race. Maybe along the way you'll change the life that's going to find the cure for AIDS.
You learn to hear God's voice. Seriously,
God still talks. There are a lot of rumors going on out there that He
has a British accent and that He even talks in Spanish. Moses and Jesus
weren't the only ones who had an ‘in' with God; you do too. Going on
the World Race perfects your ear for His voice.
You get to learn the things you didn't learn in Sunday school. What if, hypothetically speaking, they didn't teach you something in Sunday school? Would you know what is? Because on the World Race, they know what you didn't learn... and they're willing to teach it to you.
You'll raise the dead. You
really will raise the dead... literally and figuratively. There haven't
been any reported cases of World Racers raising the literally dead yet,
but maybe you will be our first. It's been prophesied... are you it?
Learn about the Matrix. Maybe
the Wachowski brothers were onto something when they created that
infamous movie back in the late 90's. What if you really are living in
a reality that isn't really reality? If you've ever wondered if there's
something behind everything you see, you should check out the World Race – swallow the red pill and see how far the rabbit hole goes.
You learn what community really is. Relationships
can only go so far with people when you're sharing just a dorm room for
nine months. Community runs a lot deeper than a dorm room. Living life
with a group of people united in purpose and Truth changes things –
like the world. Explore the heart of Acts community and see it come to
life through relationships that you'll maintain even after the World Race.
Pursue the dream God's planted in you. Sometimes there are dreams we have in life that get crushed by your typical 9-5 obligations. The World Race
helps awaken your wildest dreams and plants a picture in how they can
fit into the Kingdom. Do what you love doing while seeing God's Kingdom
come to life through your life.
So what's it going to be? You're sitting on the edge of something great and it's as easy as applying. This is more than a mission trip. Go on the World Race and change your life and others'. There's something more out there... are you willing to look for it?
Oh, it's so crazy to think back to just over a month ago
when I was with my squad... my sisters, my brothers. It feels longer than just
weeks. That is partly due to adjusting to life without 26 constant companions, being re-introduced
to Canadian temperatures and learning how to walk with my new feet. It's a
journey in itself to be home again. Not only is the food saltier, sweeter and
greasier than I remembered, but daily I have to choose to walk and live with a
renewed mind and transformed heart
versus my old ways of a hardened heart and self-focused mind.
My days have been filled by many visits with friends and family,especially over the holidays. It is soo wonderful to see all of your faces
again! For the most part I feel as though I have "hit the ground running"... by
that I mean that I have continued to stay focused on God's Kingdom no matter
where I am, I am looking forward with excitement and not longing for the past,
and i am thrilled to keep sharing all that The Lord has shown me this year.
This does not go to say that I don't miss the things of the World Race, I do!
but I am maintaining the idea that this was just the beginning,The World Race
was a kick start to a lifetime of missions and servitude, and the unexpected on
God's part!
Since being
home I have learned some valuable lessons, too. One, Grace. Not only do I need
grace for re-adjusting my life, but I also have to extend grace to others who don't
understand or care about the stories I tell or the things I have learned this
past year. Two, humility, again. I have caught myself at times thinking that
this year has
prepared me for anything and everything, and that I know all the
ins and outs of a journey with God... I
don't. I will always need the council and wisdom of God, never do i want to
judge a situation based on my experiences or my knowledge but on the strength,
wisdom, love, and honor of Christ. It really is a humbling thing to have God
still correcting and teaching me, I love it!
I wrote
this blog to let you know that I am alive and well here at home. I have plans
to write more blogs about what's next for me and also some stories from the
field that I didn't get to write while i was away.
Thanks
again for all the prayers and please keep it up, some big things are ahead... :)
*Pictures - #1Squad at final debrief in Thailand, #2 My sister Jennifer and I, #3 Sarah and I (family in Winnipeg), #4 Me and Zoe (my friends daughter), #5 The girls (right to left) Jodi, Chrissy, Katie and myself.
I wonder how, or if we will ever comprehend the magnitude of what happened to us and through us this year as the Jan. '08 World Race squad, maybe not, but one undeniable truth is that life will never look the same from here on in. Kim Daniels, our beloved sister and gifted videographer made a tribute to this new found truth, check it out...
*and after you enjoy the video, feel free to click here and donate online to my remaining support goal, I'm still hanging around the $700 mark. Thank you supporters! You rock this WORLD (but most importantly the Kingdom of God)!
a year long trek through the
nations of this world
The Beginning of:
new identity
being empty of "self" and full
of Christ
setting the bar higher for our
generation
We are finishing up our final debrief on The World Race and are
about to enter back into North America as changed people.
One year ago we submitted ourselves to
a journey that took us thousands of miles outside of our comfort
zones. We embraced abandonment, walked through brokenness, learned
dependancy on God, walked through brokenness again, learned
dependancy on God again and arrived at the end of the journey as a
community who will NEVER live life the way we did 11 months ago. I
can imagine you have a bijillion questions about what that really
means, and so I will share this with you (for those whom I will not
get to sit with over coffee); submit yourself to one another, prefer
someone else above you, love until it hurts, then love some more,
choose LIFE in every situation, learn to be un-offendable, and tell
satan TO GO TO HELL! It doesn't matter where you live or who you live
with, you always have the choice to live differently and abundantly.
For all my friends and family at home
in Nova Scotia, I extend a huge invitation for you to come and visit
my home, or meet up with me for coffee
and we can talk about all that
has happened on both sides of the world in the past year.
These final days have been full of
adventure from times of reflection, to still eating new things,
parasailing with friends, to soaring through revelation about what
has been and what's to come. Speaking of what's to come...
Only one thing left to do... (besides debriefing what happens to you when you circumnavigate the globe on Faith!)
FINISH SUPPORT RAISING!
I urgently need $770 USD by Thursday, November 20th (my last day on the World Race)
My support account says that I have raised $13,030! Thats a long way from back in January while I was in Peru and my account read $4500, and this helps me to believe that $770 will show up in the next 8 days!
Pass on the word so we can see this number knocked out!
2 weeks ago we traveled north 8 hours
to a place called Musul, which is where we stayed with the Masaai
Tribe. WOW... wish we could have stayed longer, 6 days was not
enough! Besides the regular wildlife encounters of Elephants, Giraffes
and Zebras, our encounter with the people was most memorable! Sunday
morning church was our first taste of the rich Masaai culture. We
danced, sang, and danced some more to traditional songs and even
attempted the traditional dance, which none of us north americans can
rythmically get for the lack of coordination between neck and
shoulders! But fun none the less! The church definitely rang out with
the Joy of the Lord as we shared testimonies, worshiped, and heard
the Word of God together. The week consisted of visiting Bomas
(homes), teaching at schools, showing films, and ending with an open
air evangelism crusade in the local market! The team learned a lot
about the Masaai culture and the strongholds that keep 
people from
accepting the Love of Christ. The Masaai men are polygamist and
therefore have many wives and lots of children. The man of the family
is the chief and whatever he says goes, even if a woman wanted to
give her heart to Christ, she must first have the cheifs permission.
The Masaai are nomadic and follow the herds, or the water. We arrived
shortly after a lot of families had moved to the foothills of mount
Kenya where there is more vegetation for their livestock. We met a
woman who shared with us that she had gone to fetch water and when
she returned her family had left without her, for what reason she was
not sure, but she was left to care for some of the children and wait
for their return in the next season. I don't know how she survives
with hardly any resources and without the help of her family. A
couple barriers that we came up against when sharing the gospel with
the Masaai was that in their traditional beliefs there is no after
life, when you die you're done. So to try and explain a spirit life/
afterlife with God it sounds ridiculous to them. The other barrier
being that most of the adults believe they are too old to change
their ways now, its better to leave those changes of lifestyle to
those who are in their youth. These were only men and women of about
40 who said this. Another thing we learned that was a huge hurdle for
the women is the circumcision that is mandatory in order for them to
be considered a woman. It is a very unsanitary ceremony that leaves
these young girls with the risk of infection, and HIV. More and more
Masaai women are refusing the circumcision but they will also be
shunned for refusing, and will not be married. 
The bottom line is
that the women have no rights what so ever in this culture, some are
finding the freedom to fight it while most are subject to it.
over if he so desired to!
A week in the life of a Kenya Real Lifer looks like this... Mondays we walk to Regency Elementary and a nearby preschool to spend the day teaching and playing with the kids. The men usually jump in on the construction projects.
physical labor behind the scenes in the kitchen and with construction. Kijabe hospital is a hotspot for medical care throughout Kenya and nearby Somalia. Some of our participants have dedicated their time to building relationships with the Somali Muslims and have seen hearts begin to open up to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Fridays we take a 1.5 hr hike through the forest to reach the Old Town of Kijabe. Here we have taught at the local elementary/high school and have also made house visits to build relationship within the community. This is a super fun place to be, the locals love to interact with us, play with us and simply share life with us. Today my small team of evangelists and I helped dig a toilet, helped to dig a hole for an electrical pole, and celebrated Christ with many families along the way!
. At the AIM base in GA, we have 4 teams being trained, India, Swaziland, Nicaragua, and of course Kenya. My team consists of 4 guys and 8 girls. Yesterday we began to dive into the heart of training and thoroughly discussed things like surrendering our rights and expectations, The Kingdom of God, to the role of The Holy Spirit in our lives. It rocked my world to see and hear how these discussions and experiences have impacted the hearts and minds of my teammates. They have all chosen to step into this process with both feet and see where God takes them.
the Holy Spirit, I looked around at my team and saw the Body of Christ in a cool way. I saw my team as a portion of a larger tribe. A group of people cut from the same cloth, the same DNA, that of Jesus Christ. A group sent out in unity on a quest to find the Kingdom of God within. A tribe set on seeking the Heart of God. This is my family, my community, my tribe. What tied this together for me were the bracelets we are all wearing. A dear participant brought with her, these blessed bracelets made by Filipino women in a ministry in the Philipines. We all picked our favorite color and wear them proudly. To me, it makes us stick out as a family, and a unit under the same covenant. I love these people already. 
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