we have MOVED!

Hey there my fellow blog readers! Since starting a nonprofit I have been super busy! Guess what? The nonprofit has its OWN WEBSITE. Its currently under construction, but go ahead and go to it and bookmark it so you can keep updated on whats going on with me, the ministry, and EAST AFRICA!


www.acaciaofhope.org


:) thanks!


In His Service,

Melissa A. Brown

The power of prayer.

Long time no write! I haven't even written on here in a very long time! I don't have an excuse so I will not make one. So let me update you on what is going on! I came home from Kenya in July and worked on getting a teaching license. In December I was finally awarded that license! I was suppose to receive this liscense in June of 2012, but for some reason, they sent it early. On top of that, they sent me a license that does not have an expiration date. The state told me they do not know why I received it already or why it does not have an expiration date, but that I should just take it and go! That in itself was a miracle from GOD.

In between it all I have been working a boatload. I will admit that things in general have NOT been the easiest for me. In fact, ever since I got back to the States things haven't been the best. On top of changing jobs more than once, moving more than once, and trying to figure out my direction in life, I have had and still am trying to live like an American AND enjoy it. After 8 months I am finally living like an American, but yet to truly enjoy it. Every single day I am here I feel like something is always missing. And there is something missing...my home is missing. Through it all I will tell you one thing I have learned more than anything else since I have been in the States: God prevails all. There are times, many times, when we will go through ruts and valleys. With mine, I feel like I have been walking this valley for quite a long time ... 8 months of valleys! At first, I felt weak and hopeless. But little by little God has showed me that my faith is too small and that I need to rely on Him more. Even through this valley I have been learning a ton about myself and God. And I feel like my faith and strength in the Lord has grown immensely. I thank God for this.

This past month has been a worldwind. I have been working many hours a week, meeting new people, deepening friendships, and finally beginning to work on making this ministry God wants me to have in Kenya a nonprofit! A lot of this working is researching (see pictures) and forming the nonprofit on paper! Sounds easier than what it really is! A few days ago I finally registered the name of the organization so that I can have an official website! This is so exciting and a big step towards the nonprofit (hince all the exclamation points)!

Have you noticed that I have not menitioned the name of the nonprofit? As many of you know, I named my ministry years ago: Open Door Ministries. I absolutely love this name and its logo (which my amazing sister Angela Brown made), but when I went to see if I could register this name as a nonprofit I learned that this name is actually already taken. Therefore, I can not use this name much longer since it is already taken. That brought up a whole new challenge to finding a name that was not taken. And after much work (I will not lie, it was a PAIN) from friends and family, a name was found!

You are probably thinking, "Well, what is it then?!" The answer to that question will just have to wait. I am keeping it a secret till the paperwork of the nonprofit is official, which I am hoping will be only a month or so more. Its hard to keep my mouth shut on this, but it is fun to keep it a secret till the big unveil!

That is where I am right now! Waiting to meet with the board for this nonprofit, sign their names, turn in the paperwork, and then BAM! A whole new adventure will start! I will do my best in updating you more regularly on everything, including the website change and the official name very soon! Until then, please be praying for me (because I have no idea how to run a nonprofit!), for the board (who are dedicated to being part of all this), and for the people of east Africa (whose lives will change by this organization). To the glory be to our great GOD!

[ Money, Money, Money! ]

The picture is of my very first dollar dedicated to the beginnings of a non-profit! Over the years I have raised money and every single penny went to the children of Africa! And future dollars will be doing the exact same thing, but in a more efficient way! God-willing, and with your help, we can start a non-profit soley made for educating children of Kenya.

This nonprofit is OPEN DOOR MINISTRIES.

More to come on this new journey, ways you can help, and what God is doing right now in Kenya!

[ Waiting ... ]

Well, I am back in the States and trying my best to enjoy every minute of it. I miss home immensely. Kenya is definitely where I see myself the rest of my life. When the time is right, God will send me back long-term.

Until then, I will be in the area teaching here! I want to get Open Doors up as a nonprofit, and begin applying for funding so that when I do get over there I can do what God wants to be done!

Until then .... Ill be living and serving God, wherever I may go!

[ Time of Change ]

Well, there is not much going on around here! Okay, that was a joke. The days are running fast together and there is not much for resting around here. The school year has 15 days left and I am attempting to squash in as much learned as possible in between the field trips, music practices, sports finals, and everything else that comes with being a teacher.

It is hard to believe that soon I will be leaving back to the States too. Adding that to the mix does not help! Attempting to squash your life into suitcases is not very easy. It takes a special skill, which I have been getting very good practice at! I am so very excited to see friends and family, but am deeply saddened to even think about leaving my beloved country...the country which I have dreamed about living at for years. I am learning to let go and focus on what God has for me in the future. And I truly believe that this is the correct path for me even though it is the hardest path right now. I know that being in the States for a while will give me an opportunity to start up my non-profit, get some extra education in the areas I need, and be able to live a constant, stable life for the first time in my life. And I am excited about that!

I know that when the time is right, I will be back to Kenya permanently and when I do come ... watch out, I will make a dent in this poverty and hunger. Until then, I am going to live in the States and share God's word to those around me....making a dent in the US of A.

See you all in a few weeks!

[ 35 days ]

It is hard to believe that I will be in the States in 35 days. And I will be completely honest, I am not the most stable person in the world when it comes to emotions. The past month or so I have been up and down with my emotions, and preparations. It was SO EASY to come here, because this is my home. It is NOT easy leaving. To be honest, I need all the prayer I can get right now.

I am not who I was a year ago.

Everything has changed about me (read my blog: www.lifefurtherlived.wordpress.com on more specific things). Every aspect has changed. I have learned to live without a television, inconsistent power and internet, seen things that no one should see, and a McDonald's. The priorities I have now are NOT what I had when I left. My relationship with Christ has strengthened. And I like that life. No, I love that life. I love the life I have been blessed with and I don't want to give it up. The pressure of finding a place to live, finding a job, finding MONEY is already overwhelming.

Perhaps you think its odd that I didn't even blink an eye coming to a third world country, but I am struggling with coming back to America. I know, I am different. Africa, now Kenya, is in my blood and it is where I belong and feel at home. Africa is my home. Not America. And for many, that is a hard concept to grasp. I can't explain it, but God has done this to my heart.

And somehow, I need to try to fit in a world back in the States that has no stopped since I have left. While I have been gone friends have had babies, gotten married, and have even passed away. My family have their own lives. People who I thought were my friends have not contacted me since I have left. Its a hard thing.

And somehow I need to easily transition to this new world? How do I do it? Honestly, I do not know. But I do know that I need to be praying and reading his Word every single day. And your prayers are needed too.

[ Wrapping Up: Rwanda ]

TOP 10 RWANDAN HIGHLIGHTS

1. Making sure I don't get water in my mouth, so I don't get sick.
2. Being the only white person watching Manchester futbol.
3. Being asked to marry, at least four times.
4. Elephants charging at us for at least a mile.
5. Learning how bananas grow.
6. Seeing a Rwandan in the boonies wearing an Obama t-shirt.
7. Watching children laugh and play with a bike tire and stick.
8. Attempting to speak Swahili in a french-speaking country.
9. Seeing gorillas in their natural habitat.
   
10. Seeing God's creation in a whole new way.

RWANDAN NEVER FORGETS ....

1. Seeings rooms full of bones and pictures of those who died.
2. Hearing the stories of the victims and survivors.
3. Walking through mass graves at Nymata church.
4. Seeing the machete laying on the blood-stained alter at Nymata.
5. Watching a coffin be cleaned by a woman who had been gang raped and tortured.
6. MOST OF ALL ...Hearing the HOPE and feeling of HEALING of the Rwandan people
   

[ Wrapping Up: Rwanda]

I can't comprehend even now what the Rwandan went through. Even though over the past days I have seen and heard stories that I will never be able to share with anyone, or say with speech or write with words, I know the heard of these people hurt even more than I do. So many bodies and bones are still being found, even today. Yet still, these people keep moving forward. They will conquer. For, God is with them.