[ 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.

[Rwanda]

It is so good to spend my last dew days seeing God's creation: the people and the land here. I was able to drive out of the city to see some of my favourite animals in their natural habitat. I just love giraffe's! (I guess that explains why one of my goals before I die is to hug or kiss one!). Granted, it took me at leave five hours to see all the animals I wanted to see once I got out in the villages, but it is so worth it! Seeing the giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, lizards, birds, water buck, rhino, lion, elephant, impala, buffalo, and antelope not in a zoo is quite astounding!


The guide and I were able to get very, very close to a herd of elephants too! So much so that...the herd began to charge at us for AT LEAST a mile. (see photo below of the first elephant charging!) It was quite...breathtaking, literally. I made my way to Tanzania to do some gorilla findings! I must say, those are some of the biggest and meanest looking animals I have ever seen!
The drive to and fro was beautiful to say the least. I do believe Rwanda is one of the most beautiful countries in the world. (Although, I do believe that my opinions are a TAD biased). The green mountainous hills, rows and rows of banana trees, and thousands upon thousands of Acacia trees is close to heaven on earth itself.
On the way back to the city, I stopped by a large field of PINK. There were hundreds of men and women in pink clothing. I stood and watched them work for a while. They worked so hard - sweating and being pushed around too. I felt very sorry for these people, whoever they were. I went and found a man and asked him why these people were in pink. He said, "They are being punished. They are from the genocide: the killers." Many, thousands, of rebels have been caught and are serving a life sentence. Half of their sentence they must do hard labour, and the other half they must do in prison. I was astonished.For me, I don't think I would want to see the faces of the rebels ever again, let alone across the street to where I would be living. He seemed content with the conviction and seemed at peace about it all. And that is good.

Also on my way back, many things occured to me as I was driving! I am driving like an American! I did not even noticed that I was driving on the right side of the road, unlike Kenyan which is the left side. Since the genocide, Rwandas are doing all they can to keep Rwanda clean, and at peace. There are very strict laws about the roads. You can equate them to American laws actually. It is law to drive with a seatbelt, to not liter or you will be fined. In fact, it is a Rwandan law that once a year you must not work and clean your village! If you have millions of people taking off one day in the year to clean, wow...I do believe Rwanda is one of the cleanest places! And you must use your turning signal! And they have lines on the roads too! Everyone obeys the speed signs, uses turn signals, and lets people in front of them! As you can see, I am very suprised! I am used to roads filled with holes, no lines, running stop signs and lights, matatus driving off the road to pass you because of impatience, lots of trash, and driving as fast as you want. haha. Oh how I miss Nairobi!
Before turning in at the guesthouse, I took another drive around Kigali to see the new U.S. Embassy that was mandated by President Bush. It's HUGE. I also was able to see the new parliament building too. You can still see the old one behind it, with scattered bullet holes on the sides. There are still physical remnants of the genocide, but nothing compared to the bullets in the hearts of the Rwandans. And yet, these people are so strong. They are healing and will prevail. (photo: side of an army building)

My advice to the world: Love with all of your hear and live each day as if it were your last.

[Rwanda]

I decided to take the rest of the day off from researching and interviewing about ministry ideas and history of Rwanda and go to the markets. THAT in itself was a chore since I am a muzunguu (white person). Everyone wanted to talk with me because of my skin colour. White means power and money in Africa. Of course, once I started talking with them and getting to know them, they also learned my personality and how I act like a Kenyan, not a tourist. I had a great time and was actually at the markets for over three hours just speaking to them and hearing their stories of how they came to Rwanda. Many of them were from neighboring countries and are refugees. In the end, I think we BOTH had a great time laughing and sharing stories!