"From the rising of the sun...

 ..to its setting, ...

 ...the name of the LORD is to be praised"  Psalms 113:3


Life has been full! Today I left the house with a mental outline of how the day would go, and within an hour it was time to get rid of the so called 'outline'. Each day proves to be a try-out of my flexibility. Although this is not always easy, I'm learning to adapt to and appreciate this characteristic of Kenyan life. I'm so thankful for all the wonderful things that I've had the opportunity to learn these last seven weeks. I hope I will not leave them in Kenya when I return to the States.  


One, two buckle my shoe, three, four let's go to school.

A blue polo, dark denim jeans, a smart pull-over sweater, and of course sharp black shoes is what completes a school uniform for the Cornerstone Preparatory Academy students. These children are so cute in their uniform and look eager to learn how they can make a difference in their beautiful country. It is enjoyable to interact with them on chai break and whenever school gets out at 4:00pm. Everyone's ready run and play, kick a few balls, or see who can swing the highest.  

Last week Allison, Emily, and I started having a craft time with the eight different classes. Monday through Thursday we have a class or two in the afternoon. We try to piggy back on what they are already learning in school. For an example, the EDC class is learning letters, sounds, and shapes to name a few. So we took pipe cleaners and had them form it into the first letter of their name, then glue it to a paper plate and decorate it.  

A happy class of 20! :)

Tabitha and Rehab had so much fun! 

It's a pleasure to see the children's delight in their work. Most of the NV kids have done crafts and the such like before, but most of the community children are now learning how to cut with scissors, glue things on the paper, and color with bright colored markers. It takes patiences but it is so much fun to teach them these new and fun aspects of school.

Busy at work.

I'd say he was pretty happy with his flower. :)

On Thursday of last week the two interns, Allison and Emily, and myself went to Nairobi to do a little sightseeing and stay the night with Emily's parents. We visited the Giraffe Center on Friday morning. It was so cool to pet and feed them! The keepers even tried to get us to put the pellet of food between our lips and have the giraffes lick them from our mouths. We all opted for a pass on that one! :)    

After we finished at the Giraffe Center, we toured the Bomas of Kenya. Bomas is the Swahili word for home. There were over twenty different homesteads from the variety of tribes across Kenya. It was so interesting to see how the different tribes live and establish their homes and families. The practice of polygamy is fairly common in rural Kenya. So it was intriguing to gauge how the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd wives are treated by the size of their houses and granaries.

One of the homesteads even had a guesthouse. We were all so thankful that the NV guesthouse is much more 'user-friendly'. :)

Often on Saturday night we will gather around the fire pit to sing and dance before the children head to bed. It is always a great time to watch these kids come alive with worship and praise to our Maker. They all love to sing and dance -sometimes I can't help but join them.

"Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD!" Psalms 150:6

There were a few places on 'my list' that I wanted to try to visit while here in Kenya. One of these was Mount Longonot. This stratovolcano that last erupted hundreds of years ago makes for a beautiful and strenuous hike/climb. 

This past Friday I got to check Hike Mt. Longonot off the list. :) I went with the other two interns and had a wonderful time! 

We made it to the rim!!

In the above picture, the highest point you see it obviously the summit. It is a little over eight miles from the bottom, to the rim, round, and back down. Wow, did you catch all of that? :) Hopefully, but sufficient to say that is was truly a workout. In some places is was hands and knees only.

And did I mention that there wasn't a trace of a cloud to be seen? This is not a welcomed sight when your a muzungu (white person) and it takes five-ish hours to hike the complete trail. But oh well, it was totally worth it even if I did get the worst sunburn to date.

The view...

In the first picture below, if you look really close you can make out the hiking trail. It is the lighter color line across the top of the ridges. The second picture are those lighter color lines up close.

Here's were "I think I can, I think I can." kicked in. :)

But it was quite the reward when we reached the summit. And I'm totally ready to do it again. :)

WE DID IT!!!!

The view from the summit.

Now before you call me a liar because you see clouds in that picture, they did eventually come out but not for long. :) 

So as you can see it was a great day, but when we got done I was ready to see 'my' kids. I mean I hadn't seen them all day. :) Here are a few pictures that might explain why I can't help but love and miss these amazing kids even if I'm only away for several hours.

Last week Naomi's Village celebrated 5 years of bringing hope and a future to children whose lives were once bleak and hopeless. 64 children now belong to a home that is full of love and care. To observe this memorable time and praise God for the work He is doing, there was a special Sunday service. It was wonderful to see and hear how God's mercy and goodness has been the guide each step of Naomi's amazing journey.

The service started with a time of praise and worship. You should hear these children singing praises to our Creator. It is probably my favorite time of the week! After about 30 minutes of this heart-felt worship, someone shared a verse from Psalms 115 that really set the stage for the rest of our time together. The verse reads, "Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!" There is simply no way to explain what has happened in this place these past five years except that God has brought redemption to 64 children because two people boldly said yes. They said yes not knowing all that the positive answer to God's call would mean, but knowing that they were to follow His lead.

As Bob recalled what the five acres of land that now houses Naomi's Village looked like the first time he and Julie saw it, this beautiful picture of redemption flooded my mind. Bob shared about when they drove up and stepped out for the first time to pray over this piece of land it was barren, dry, dead, and seemingly worthless. The only structure that stood on those five acres was a deserted house. Deserted because the two year old child of the family that lived in the house had fallen down the well, therefore they believed this ground was now cursed. Eleven years later it is developed, lively, full of life, and valuable. It is no longer deserted and believed to be cursed. It is no longer five acres with one structure, it has numerous buildings filled with life. It is now a home, a place to grow, a place to change the trajectory of one child at a time. A place where hope begins when a child belongs.

And is this not the gospel story right before my/our eyes. Jesus comes and takes the dead, the desolate and breathes His abundant life into it. Jesus comes and takes what seems barren, worthless, cursed, and makes something of beauty, value, supreme worth. He comes to us and says I will use your land if you will just give it to me. I will build something on it that brings me glory if you will sign this contract into my name. I plan to build a palace so that we can live together and love and serve and care for others. I plan to make your land a home, a place that will bring hope to others, a place where my Father can be glorified.

So just like there were many unexpected circumstances and events that came up in the building of Naomi's, there are painful occurrences, events as Jesus takes our acreage and makes it of something that He can use. There is plowing that must be done, leveling that takes place, a foundation to be laid, a construction that must get underway. This all takes time and patience as our Master Builder is making a glorious design. We must let Him put the walls were they go and the windows and doors in their respectful places. If we go trying to build what we don't have the blueprint for it will most likely have to be removed. Thus the pain we often feel and unnecessary heartaches we have to go through.

So today I want to choose to let Jesus have my land and work with him as he gives the orders. He is the Foreman of this crew and I must obey His commands.

"..'Which commandment is the most important of all?' Jesus answered, "The most important is, 'Hear, O Isreal: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." 
Mark 12:28b-31