That Which is Good is Never Finished

My heart and my journal are full of stories that might take a while to get onto this blog... but as we are preparing to start our long journey home, I wanted to take a moment to share with all of you.

Our third and final camp comes to a close tomorrow. We've had over 450 children come through these gates in the last three weeks. 450 children with 450 different stories, families, tribes, and even villages. Tomorrow evening we will be joined by our fellow VLMs serving in Chepnyal, before we all leave Kitale on Sunday morning. We will stay the night in Thigio, and hopefully get to see the Dream Center for pregnant women with Aids that the Daughters run in Nairobi on Monday. Tuesday, we will begin our long saga of flights home.

May God continue to bless each and every one of you - and please continue to keep us in prayer. I'll be back soon!

Transitions

Our second camp comes to a close tomorrow. Our final group of 150 children will be joining us for the first time on Monday. Transition has become a buzzword we use many times a day - the children transition from station to station within a class time, the children transition from class to class, the younger children go home after lunch and we transition to our camp for the older children in the afternoon, and each week, one group completes the camp while we transition into preparing for the next. 

Those tangible transitions are easy to focus on. The interior transitions are far more difficult to explain. The true Vincentian question, "What must be done?" has become a permanent part of my prayer. These children need so much more, beyond the tip of the iceberg we are experiencing in this camp. Systemic change cannot be accomplished by one camp, but it can light a fire in the souls of these children, and especially in the people of this community. 

Please continue to pray for us! We have just crossed the halfway point of our time in Kenya. I look forward to sharing much more with you in the coming weeks.

Jambo from Kitale!

Jambo Rafikis! (Hello friends!) Greetings from the beautiful country of Kenya! There is so much to say and so little time to say it in. We are all doing well and so happy to be here with the Daughters.

We just completed week 1 of our camp! We’ve had many successes and some interesting challenges along the way, but overall I feel that it was a huge success. We said farewell to our first group this afternoon.

There are many thoughts I’m wrestling with at the moment – mostly about the best ways to affect systemic change for the harsh poverty surrounding us. Just having these children for a week, and then sending them on their way, is no small task. My heart has been broken by their struggles and been healed again by their smiles more times than I could count this week, and I know next week will bring the same. As time helps me unfold my thoughts, I will share them as I can.

For now, know that we are all well, and we appreciate your prayers as we plan for our next group of children!

Go Without Knowing

One of my favorite songs, sung by Sandi Patty, always reminds and challenges me to give everything I have. It's one of my aspirations for this journey. As I'm heading to the airport, I share with you the lyrics on my mind.

"If my life could be
All my life should be
I would learn to trust God
At every turn
I would hear His words
And my heart would surrender then
Truly depend on Him

I'd go without knowing
Do without doubting
Face without fearing
Any road in front of me
I'd give without glory
Love without limits
Go without knowing
Wherever He may lead

If my eyes could be opened wide
I'd be blind to me
So I could see what He sees
Beyond asking why
I would take up my cross and still
Gladly lay down my will.

I'd go without knowing
Do without doubting
Face without fearing
Any road in front of me
I'd give without glory
Love without limits
Go without knowing

Wherever He may lead."

Even Kenya...

Please pray for all of the VLMs traveling today! God-willing, I will share news with you from Kitale in the near future!

Packing

During Orientation, one of the other coordinators, Gina, gave a beautiful reflection on thinking about what we are (emotionally) packing for our journey. I've thought a lot this past month about packing - everything from malaria pills to school supplies to shoes. Today, as I'm putting the final touches on my suitcases, I feel like I am bringing an overabundance of "things." First aid kits, clothing, electronics - it's all there. Granted, I know that I will leave many things behind, but it still feels like an inordinate amount of stuff.

The most important bag I'm packing doesn't take any room though.

First, I feel that I am packing a complete and total reliance on God. There is nothing like preparing to lead a mission trip to a third world country to make you realize your own limitations. However, I know that "with God, all things are possible." (Mt. 19:26) Plans will change, things will happen - but no matter what, if we retain our reliance on God, His Will will unfold.

Second, I'm packing my vulnerability. My brokenness. I know that this experience will change me, will change the way I think about things, and cause me to grow tremendously as a person. If I knew what that would look like, I would have already tried to change and grow in these ways. It's uncharted territory. I am eager to allow these things about myself to be transformed through this experience.

I was incredibly humbled in a conversation the other day, by realizing just how little I know about the history and current situation of the people we are going to serve. Reading a few books and articles could never tell you the story of a people. However, the most important thing I'm bringing is really what ties this all together and makes this journey Vincentian. I'm bringing myself, my presence. I may not have a doctoral thesis on how to solve their issues of hunger or poverty, I may not have millions of dollars to create foundations, I may not even have a very good working knowledge of their language or their culture - but that's not why I'm going. I'm going there to love. The Vincentian charism is about recognizing the beauty, the dignity of every human person. I hope, through my presence, to tell every person I meet in Kitale that they are valued and they are loved. If there is one thing that still stays with me from my time in Ethiopia, it is that they have far more to teach me than I could ever teach them. And knowing this, I bring myself - and I hope to let them teach me how to serve them.

I depart tomorrow, still full of unknowns, but especially with great excitement. I'm packing my nervousness, but I know that's one thing that won't be coming home with me. I'm eager to see what those returning suitcases will hold.