Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Once your feet hit the dusty soil --Day 1--Cross Point Kenya trip

It is currently 11:00pm on Tuesday, October 8th here in Africa-- so that means it is 3:00 back home. It always amazes me that there is an 8 hour time difference between here and NashvilleI am about to fall asleep but I'm determined to update this as much as possible, even if it is brief.

Our Cross Point team went from 22 people down to 8. Personally I feel it will be a lot easier to manage. I think the dynamics of the group is a great mix! Brian Dishon, our Leader, myself, Lauren, Matt, Andrew, Maryanne, Anna & Lisa. 

We arrived at the Nashville airport at 11:30am and our 1st flight departed around 1:30pm for Washington D.C. Upon arrival there we had a short layover then departed for our 2nd flight to Zurich, Switzerland! That was about an 8 hour flight. It was pretty cool just to be at the Switzerland airport:) Most of us felt like we had to buy something, just because we were actually there. But we didn't, ha. I read a little, watched a movie and tried to get some sleep. I had an entire row to myself, very unlikely for an international flight! Selfishly I would've loved to keep it and lay completely down. But I didn't. I asked Matt to join us, since he was the only one in the group to sit away from us. Lauren and Andrew sat behind us so we were all close together!

We had a brief layover and then we were off to Nairobi. That was about another 8 hour flight. They seem to go rather quickly for me. I read some more, watched another movie, ate and fell asleep. We arrived about 6pm. The airport recently had a fire and so a lot of it was under construction. But everything logistically went smoothly. All our bags arrived and we walked up to a gentlemen at customs and he asked if we were all together. I told him yes and that there were 8 of us. He waived us through! Thank you, Jesus!


There was so much anticipation to see the faces of Shaan and Sheila, two very sweet girls that I have built a great relationship with and who work for Jacaranda Creations. They greeted us at the airport. We ran up to each other for hugs! Such a sweet moment, I felt like I was truly at my home away from home. We loaded our bus and arrived at the Guest House. It is beautiful. It was so good to see Brenda Kean and all of her girls. They made us potato soup and bread. It was delightful after a long day of travel! Lauren and I are sharing a room together, We unpacked and settled in for bed. 

What a long and exhausting day, but it feels so good to be here!! I'm so thankful to ALL of my friends and family who played a part in helping me to get here, either by supporting me financially and/or with your prayers. My sincere prayer is that God will use me in a way to bless everyone I meet and that our team will make a lasting impact on the people here --that we would help them and not hurt them or us. That we can encourage them that God sees them and their situations and He will care for them and not abandon them. I have learned that our culture looks at poverty from a material perspective, but the reality is-- they have developed a much stronger intimacy with God and are rich in faith while many of us Americans are spiritually poor. Lord, give me the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the words to speak what you have called me to do. 

Goodnight all!


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