Rest

Today is my first Saturday off in I don't know how long, and tomorrow will be my first time to go to church in about a month. I have been busy at the ropes course every weekend for a while and I am truly grateful for a day off. I've been trying to settle into a "Sabbath" every week. I know we are supposed to have those but they are usually filled with some sort of work to one extent or another. So one day a week I try to do nothing I would consider work. It is truly refreshing for the soul to have no agenda, no hurry, and no worries. And today is that day for me. A morning at Java House (yummy coffee and pancakes) followed by sweet fellowship with the Lord and now some afternoon of internet time (and probably another cup of coffee). About this time in the afternoon, if I am on the internet, I think about America and the rising sun. Soon my friends and family across the Atlantic will be crawling out of bed and I look forward to whoever feels the desire to get online. From Blogger to Facebook to Yahoo, Gmail, and Adventures emails not to mention texting and Skype, it's nearly impossible to get away from communication. Speaking of - Mom is up at 6am and ready to chat! Wedding plans are demanding so I will leave you now and talk about bands, registries, and invitations for the rest of the afternoon. I love you all soooo much, looking forward to another update soon.



Tusker - I can't wait to get home to my baby :)

Training and Training

Mwita and I on belay


Fridah and Debbie


As I think about what has been going on lately the word “training” comes to mind for more than one reason. Amanda and I have decided to participate in two 10k races in October. I’ve never run a 10k before so I’m excited about the experience. One race is in Lukenya Hills, and you know if the name of the location has the word “hills” in it then you are in for a treat. Lukenya is also known for having a much warmer climate than we are used to in Nairobi. Needless to say, it is bound to make for good memories. The other race is part of the Nairobi Marathon – we’re not quite ready for a marathon yet so we are participating in the 10k. To train for the races Amanda and I have started a bit of a running routine in the mornings. We don’t make it out every morning, we don’t have an official training schedule, we haven’t actually run 10k all at once yet, but we are giving it our best shot. Since competitive sports ended a few years ago for me its nice to have something to shoot for. I really enjoy getting up early and getting my day started (but not having a guaranteed shower when you return home can be a deterrent). So far our adventures have included taking Sham (one of the dogs) on the run, he’s not the best running partner but it makes me feel one step safer when people on the street may see him as a guard dog. We already stick out like sore thumbs as it is; it’s pretty rare (and ridiculous) to see white girls running on the side of the road. Sometimes people on the side of the road will just start running, we think they are making fun of us, but it’s hard to tell. We get encouraging words too, but again, we are pretty sure they think we are silly. There are some roads we run that I’ve never driven in a car, so it’s helping me see all the sights of our side of town. Some roads are paved and busy on which we nearly get run off the road at times. Other roads are more quiet, many of them paved with brick and include generous sidewalks. Some stretches of roads aren’t paved at all and make for sort of an “agility” course. I am praying our runs renew us daily and move us toward health of mind, body, and spirit.

The other reason the word “training” comes to my mind is because of work. This weekend I put 6 of our new staff through our high ropes course training. Five of them are college students and the other is a recent graduate. They are beautiful additions to the BlueSky Adventures team. As I drove home from the training the first night I thought back to my own high ropes course training. It was about six years ago at Camp Chattooga when Lindsey and I took a shot at being the Adventure Program counselors. It was the first time we had spent any time with Shane and Stephanie, who are now our very good friends. I remember running a group on my own for the first time and asking Steph “what should I do?” and her writing down on a sticky note the low initiatives I should start with. I was so intimidated. It is so fun to see how far the Lord has brought me. He has ordered all my steps thus far into the role He has placed before me. I love teaching these new staff, answering their questions, and ushering them into deeper levels of facilitation. I hope I can instill in them half of what my mentors have put in me.




Ngatho and Beatrice


Showin the kids how it's done


Kefa and Fridah on Pipe Dream

So that is what my recent time has looked like – training myself and training others. I am fully invested in my time here and praying the Lord uses me in ways I don’t think are possible. He has been so amazing to me and I want nothing less than to be that for Him. Thank you for sharing this journey with me. See you all soon.

Days Until:
America 58
Wedding 105


I found this guy on my drive home from work

BlueSky Adventures

Here is a little update about my job these days. I am the acting director of programs for BlueSky Adventures. I love this job, I love being outside, I love meeting new people from all over the world, I love providing a place for people to have fun, play safe, and experience changes. Those are our three rules and goals for every program. Last weekend we had over 200 kids from around the world over a three day period. This weekend we have about 70 more students, plus about 30 corporate professionals from Nairobi. This role is really growing me and stretching me. I don't like being in the office at all. Paying bills, calculating payroll, and being "in charge" are things I'm learning to do with confidence. While I am only in this role for a short time I know the Lord has brought me through years of different experiences to help prepare me for filling the shoes I am in now. Please pray for BlueSky Adventures as we strive to create relational opportunities for ministry in Kenya.




Not that I am counting, but I will see many of you in less than 70 days! I am not entirely sure it feels like an official count down at this point, there is still a lot for me to do while I am here. Life is going well, we don't have power and water on a regular basis so showers are few and far between. Life is becoming routine and even locals say things like "you are a Kenyan now!" I love you all, see you soon.

Grace and Peace

The Best Blog Ever

I never want to sit down and write a blog because I feel like it will take so much time to say everything I want to say. But at this point it has been nearly a month and I suppose just a quick update is better than nothing at all. So I think that is the route I will take from now on, short but informative! This is Mom and Dad and me at the Great Rift Valley. We had such and amazing visit. It blessed my heart for them to see where I live and what I do and both experience Africa for the first time. We had a few days on safari, ran around town catching the sites of Nairobi, and even worshiped under an acacia tree. It was a family vacation not to forget. I would not be who I am without them. God really knew what He was doing when He allowed them join in life together. I could not ask for better parents in the entire world. They are not only a blessing to me, they are a blessing to everyone they meet. While they were here I got to share with them a new season of my life and I'm so excited to share it with all of you now. God did this pretty sweet thing this summer in sending me a friend in the form of Charlie Boyd. We had an amazing time living the camp life together and enjoying all the riches of Kenya. While we were nothing serious the majority of our time here, things changed in August. About a week before Charlie went back to the states the Lord did some special things in both of our hearts. Long story short (if you want to hear the long story - just ask, it's a good one) we are getting married on January 3rd. This is where I stop and pause and try to put into words how amazing this all is....but nothing works. It is reasons like this I don't wanted to get started on a story because I don't know how to share it all! We are not officially engaged (the Atlantic ocean is the only thing keeping us from that right now) but are very excited to be planning life together. When I return to the states in November the two of us will visit Georgia, Florida, and Texas. So if you are in any of those states, or anywhere in between, we would love to hang out! That's all I have time for now and of course hope to update again soon, especially about my newer role here since camp is over. Thank you for sharing life with me, thank you for praying. Grace and Peace.