Sisters On A Mission

Missionary friends, Monica,Walter and Caleb invited me to journey with them to visit the Samburu Tribe.  They are a pastoral community struggling to find new sources of income. I went because I was interested in meeting the women to see if their bead work could be used for a shoe business idea I had. Entrepreneurs, Isaac and Daniel also came on the trip to work on their community pepper farm.  We all were beginning to wonder if it was a sign from God to turn back after two hours into the trip, the trailer lost a tire. An hour and half later, we were back on the muddy roads.  It is amazing what you can get through from sheer determination! Walter managed to meuver their four wheel drive through this flooded, dirt road.  It was quite an adrenaline rush as the passing truck produced a wake that flooded the hood!  Fortunately, and I think more by God's grace, we got through the river and the deep mud without stalling or getting stuck!  Traveling Kenya's rural dirt roads i

Yesterday, Connie, my house mate, and Eva, a neighbor, and I ventured through Kibera's Toy Market in search of cement.  (The slums are great places to find great deals!) You might ask why three women were looking for such an item.  Well, Connie was busy working on a crafting project for Christmas decorating.  (Our place looks amazing, BTW!)  Anyways, we got hungry along the way so Connie treated us to chips (fries). Connie secured us seats on sacks of potatoes, our couch, as she called it.  And as we were eating we noticed a churning noise in the potato stand behind us.  Our curiosity led us inside the stand where we discovered a funny contraption that was spinning the raw potatoes in water.  The dirty water then running out of a spout into a bucket.  It was a potato cleaning machine!   A Rasta man was pouring water into the top of it, and the potatoes were cleaned as they were turned round and round in the water. A second man then took the cleaned potatoes and chopped them into ch

Have you ever noticed how the negative things of our past can so easily determine our happiness instead of the good things? I passed a drunk man on my way to the bus stop this morning.  It really disturbed me, because I knew him.  He is a wonderful father, an amazing son, and a hard-working husband.  But he does not believe that of himself. As I approached him, he looked up at me and his eyes rolled back into his head.  He didn't faint, but managed to keep himself upright and stumbled on passed me without uttering a word. I wondered what kind of pain drove him to poison himself, for that's what he had done drinking the local brew.  It was probably the same brew that had claimed too many lives already.  I thought about him all day and wondered if he was ok, how his family responded to him, and if he had recognized me in his intoxicated state.  I knew if he had, he would have felt deep shame. Why do we let the bad things determine our worth when God's thoughts about us a

I had no fear when I first attempted to climb this difficult precipice.   I had sheer, crazy determination and a refusal to give up.   Although my mind had already reached the summit, my body was unable to go any further having reached a full state of fatigue and muscle spasms. Today, back to work, after a week end of play, I failed miserably at my first attempt to give a company demonstration to a virtual team.   I gave the wrong answers to the groups’ questions, was disconnected twice after both phone cards ran out of credit, and then SKYPE couldn’t recognize the conference code.   I was never able to finish the training with the group and ended up feeling like an idiot and a complete failure. Later tonight, I found myself studying my technique in this picture.   It wasn’t until I stepped back and saw myself objectively from outside the photo that I realized my technique was off. The position I was in wasn’t utilizing my strongest area, the legs, but overtaxing my weakest area, my ar

Jody and I are busy learning how to make "tents." Not literally.  As you know the Apostle Paul had a day job, aside from all his preaching, teaching, and writing letters.  He made tents to support his mission work. These two sisters marvel at God's creativity! He has given Jody the gifting and talent to be a teacher and to me He has given the background and ability to equip others for their cross-cultural work (cross-cultural consultant). So what's this whole idea about me starting a business here in Kenya?! We believe God gave us our business to build His kingdom work here!   God has been showing me through lots of young entrepreneurs  how to use business to teach and model His Biblical principles of  integrity, honesty, and even morality. Not only that, these young business people are using most of the profits to fund God's kingdom work!  It's such an awesome "Tent-making" revolution taking place here.   And, God is using this concept throu

Hello Friends!  How are you?   God reminds me to pray for each of you. Well, I just had a wonderful week long get-away with the Lord just outside the city. It was so beautiful and made me think of how the "Garden of Eden” must have looked like.   I was on an Africa Inland Mission (AIM) compound and got to house and dog-sit for a couple who were out of town. There were avocado trees, jacarandas covered with violet blooms, and the nutty smell of eucalyptus everywhere. I heard cows mooing, pigs squealing, and even some bush babies at night; tiny little tree creatures that resemble Furbies. It was a great chance for me to stop and access where I'm at in starting the business. When I returned I had an email from a relocation company scheduling me for training on Friday! I'll be doing their cross-cultural training courses for companies in East Africa and that will help get me in the door! Also, when the AIM couple returned they told me they'd set-up a dinner appointme

There are two people who have really touched me lately, Mama Flora and Martha. As you know, I have been living with a Ugandan/Kenyan family in Southern Nairobi, Kenya.  Mami has become quite dear to me because of her kind heart.  Even though she works at her husband’s hospital, I’ve observed that her greatest joy is in serving her children and her husband. Last week she received the unfortunate news that the father she had faithfully cared for the past 8 years, died. She traveled by herself, 8 hours across bumpy roads, to be there for his burial. Although her children longed to be there for her, they did not have a way to go to the funeral.  So after some thought and prayer, I decided to take the night bus to Ginga, Uganda.  I thought she was going to faint when I walked into her Ugandan Home!  Mama's daughter escaping the midday heat. From then on she introduced me to all her relatives as her daughter. I was so touched than even in her g

“I have heard the groans of the poor.   Now I will rise up to rescue them as they have longed for me to do.” Psalm 12:5 Hello my friends!   I miss you and have so much to tell! After the funniest volleyball game I’ve ever played (using all body parts), American pizza, and an amazing worship time, our diverse group of missionaries began to share prayer requests.   It really encouraged me to hear that God is indeed at work among the poor and oppressed here in East Africa. They shared stories that you will never hear on the depressing news about the drought and famine.   A missionary kid told us all about his adventure dropping food supplies from a C130 jet.   They had to be fully harnessed as the back of the plane was removed before take-off. Because the drop zone was so small, they had to take several practice runs in which all but one got sick from the excessive turbulence. He said they had to fly at an altitude of 400 feet, going only 120 knots as not to explode the food supplies on

Hello Friends! While agonizing with the Lord over something difficult in my life, I was reminded to re-read my blog posts.  This particular one reminded me that even though the storms come, God has been faithful in the past and He will continue to be faithful in the current circumstance. I hope you too recall God's faithfulness in your life.  I am now on the brink of seeing my business launched called Welcome Services, which will be coaching individuals through the stress of culture shock and training company employees on how to transition well cross-culturally. But this dream did not happen overnight.  I felt I needed to share with you how God has used Waiting as like an old friend to shape and mold me. I entered the Waiting Wilderness, when 16 years ago, doctors discovered I had a life long illness.  Young, passionate, and a burden to serve God as a missionary, I remember lying in bed, my body racked with pain. I felt trapped in my body and cheated

I am writing from my room, overlooking the nature reserve. Hello praying friends!  In the three weeks since my arrival in Kenya God has lead me to some extraordinary people. Theresa, the director of a local HIV/AIDS clinic, shared with me her story of tragedy to triumph.  Years ago she found out she was HIV/AIDS positive after her unfaithful husband had abused her.  Not only did she find herself deathly ill but suffered from anger and bitterness from the injustice. As with most AIDS patients, she contracted tuberculosis.  No longer able to care for her only child it broke her heart to have to give him to an orphanage.  When she went into town to buy food, the local vendors would shout, “Here comes that woman with AIDS!”  As a result, everyone shunned her and she could no longer buy food.  She believes it was God’s mercy that lead her to an American Missionary Hospital where they nursed her back to health with antivirals. Now Theresa has dedicated her life to rebuilding the lives of

Mint tea....literally! It was about 7pm, when the torrential rains thundered down in Nairobi on Sunday.  I was tucked away safely in my room, or so I thought.  I ran to the window to tie back the curtain so I wouldn't miss the show and then sat in a chair.  I was really enjoying the coziness of the chair, watching the rain pour and listening to the crackling thunder, when to my surprise, a felt a drip on my face.  I remember thinking, am I dreaming or did I just feel water?  It was no dream.  Within minutes there was a tropical rain forest in my room!  I quickly got my computer out of the way and jumped up onto the bed.  I thought, surely the rain will let up, but when I stepped off my bed on the other side, my feet got soaked.  So my entire room was flooding from the roof down! Suddenly it struck me as hilarious.  What else could I do but laugh my head off?! Ahh yes, such is the experience of life in Africa.  I remember years ago at my first missionary training, "Expec

..The Story Continues! Karibu  Kenya ! (Welcome to Kenya) That's what everyone keeps telling me when I meet them.   I have had a whirlwind of activity and many things to trust God with already. Five days before departing, I found out that my housing had fallen through.   As you know, I am working on starting a business that will support my sister and I with our non-profit work among  widows and orphans . Our non-profit, Streams of Mercy Africa, is already working in partnership with  Fountain of Hope  Kenya.   When my housing fell through I prayed and asked if God wanted me to still go or cancel my ticket. The Lord encouraged me that He had already gone before me and prepared the way. I sent a quick email and James Waruiru, director of FOH responded right away. He found me a couple nights at a guest house and met me at the airport with an auntorage of family and friends...a VERY Kenyan greeting! After staying at the guest house, I realized my limited funding would quickly run out a