Kenya -- My heart (and stomach) are full!

Sorry for the delay in posting this one. I wrote it on the plane on our way back to the US, but with the last month of my life being crazy with moving, it's just now getting posted.

My heart (and stomach) are so full after a week in Kenya! I spent the week getting to know our program members and their kids, talking through their challenges, and being fed so much wonderful food.

The hospitality these people show is humbling. Each day, we visited 2-4 program members. Each invited us into their home, which often times is one room with a bed, couch, few chairs, and a little ledge where they do their cooking. Their whole home was the size of my freshman dorm room, sometimes even smaller. They always offered us up something to eat. Whether it was cake and tea, an avocado/mango/paw paw fruit smoothie, stew, chapati, rice, or githeri (a bean and maze stew). They would send their kids down to the street to get the fresh vegetables needed and get to work. Everything was cooked on a little gas or charcoal burner, as that is their main way of cooking. All of the food was amazing! Their wasn't one thing I didn't like. And the only seasoning they use is salt. I attempted to take as many cooking lessons from them as possible (including trying to learn to cut cabbage quickly without cutting off my finger)!

While preparing the food and eating, we would visit with the kids and get updates on them, as they were on school break. We would learn the stories behind each person and the struggles they were currently facing in their businesses. The stories of struggle are real, but the hope, hard work, and inspiration is unmatched. Whether it was a dad trying to raise his 3 kids after his wife left for another man, a mom raising her kids after she left her abusive husband, or a widow supporting her family after her husband died from HIV. The stories are tough, but their perseverance and faith in God are so strong. I would love to share more about these families and their stories, so please ask me sometime :)

Nairobi was starkly different from rural Uganda. It's a large city with what seemed like endless slums. It's dirty, polluted, and the driving is crazy. Their public transportation system has flashing lights and blares American rap music as you drive around. English is much more prevalent, except for those who are from Tanzania. The people, their hearts, and their faith are the same though.

It's hard for me to put into words Kenya. I've had two 9 hour flights to process and I'm still not sure. It's heartbreaking to see the slums (especially the old ones that haven't been rebuilt) and knowing that just last quarter a few of the kids weren't in school because their mom couldn't afford it. I learned just how important it is to help empower these people to be able to start a trade/business so that they can continually support themselves and put food on the table for their families. They are all such hard-workers. They want the best for their kids. But unforeseen circumstances prevent that from happening sometimes. This is why Under The Same Tree is so important. Not only are they finding sponsors to help support the kid's school fees, but they are also providing micro-finance loans to help the members expand their businesses or get started with something else so they can fully support their families. The program member I spent a day with, Neema, has already paid back her first loan and has taken a larger one out to expand her business further. This program is helping to make a difference in people's lives who are just trying to find some laundry to wash for the day so they can put food on the table for their kids that evening.

I have so many specific stories and pictures from this trip. I would love to share more with you, and if you are interested in getting involved with UTST, explaining the child sponsorship or family empowerment program.  The bonds and friendships I formed on this trip I can't put into words. I feel blessed to have so many friends that are half way around the world! I'm looking forward to going back to visit again sometime soon...which I would love to have some friends join me for :)

P.S...keep an eye out for an opportunity to help in a small way soon!

Missing my girl & how we all need Jesus

Four years ago today, I lost one of my best friends. It rocked my world and sent me on a journey to lean on God in a way I never had before. A lot has happened in those 4 years both in my life and the world. My world has been rocked more times and I'm learning that I am not in control of the adventure of life God has me on. The world, and our country specifically, has been rocked by continual violence and many more innocent lives taken.

Boken was shot and killed by a man as she would not give up her cell phone he was trying to steal. A story that seems all too common these days where gun violence is taking innocent lives. Reading and hearing about all of these stories takes me back to Boken. The most loved girl on our volleyball team, a friend to everyone, always wearing a huge smile, and an impeccable laugh that could fill a room. Oh what I would do to hear her laugh and have a hug one last time. She was a person with a bright future who had touched so many lives, lighting up a room and making sure no one was left out. I'm sure so are the many other people that have lost their lives.

In this life, we all need Jesus. After being in Africa and getting to experience a different culture, I'm learning even more how we are all the same. Yes, we have different cultural customs, we have different likes and dislikes, and even different colored hair. But God made us that way, each individual and unique. Underneath it all, we are all still a precious Child of His {1 John 3:1}. That alone should bond us together. Every person was created by Him {Ephesians 2:10}. We are called to love one another {John 13:34}.

Yes, we live in a broken world. There is sin all around and daily I need Jesus to cover my own sins {Romans 5:8}. But we are called to love and not hate, as His Children {Ephesians 4:2}. We have hope knowing that one day this world will be restored and we will live in a place where there is no sin, only love. One can only sit and imagine what a world like that will be. One day we will know, as we sit in Heaven celebrating. Until then, let's try to love one another as what we truly are, a creation knit together by God Himself {Psalm 139:13}. Outside appearances, occupations, and nationalities don't matter. What matters is that we are His Children.

Today, I'm saddened that a dear friend lost her life too soon and it's been 4 years since we've gotten to talk. But I'm praising God for the 3 years I got to know Boken. Reminiscing on all of our stories, adventures, and laughs...who packed the chocolates, watching the bachelor, downing a whole tub of hummus on our lonely Sundays, lucky penny's, and casually grabbing an extra bag of chips from JJ's are some faves. Wishing that it could have been longer, but knowing that God continues to use her impact even today. And hoping for a world that shows love to one another, waiting for a day where that is restored when Jesus returns.

Last day in Uganda & Travel to Kenya

Last day in Uganda 
Today was our last day in kiboga. After our breakfast, we headed up to the church in order to meet with the women in the program and play with the kids for the last time. This was really the first time I got to experience "Africa time" on our trip, as the meeting was supposed to start at 10 and we really started at 12. We asked questions about how their training program was going and their different business plans. At this point, they have weekly meetings and have set their ground rules. Their next step is to write their business plan on an official template, get it approved by the CAFOCAD board (who we are partnering with in kiboga) and then the USTS board. Then they will be able to get their loans. They are very close and should be getting them soon. Some will be starting new lines of business to make income and others will be expanding their current business.

While we were waiting for the meeting to start,  we played with the kids and played many of their traditional games, which included dancing, clapping, and chasing one another. We ended our time together by taking pictures. Pictures of the group, pictures of the kids, pictures of everyone! A lot of these will be printed out and brought back on the next trip, as Katie delivered ones this time from the previous trip. It was sad to say goodbye to all the women and families I have gotten to know over the past few days. While the first few days were overwhelming being introduced to everyone and learning the way of life, the meaningful relationships built the last few days were indescribable. I'm already looking forward to a trip back to see how the businesses have taken off and how the kids have grown!

Before we left town, we headed by the land one last time, which has almost the entire acre cleared now thank you to the community coming together to finish it. We were able to climb up on a rock at the corner of the land and look out over the whole acre, as well as central Uganda. Beautiful. These people, this way of life, the land and scenery...all have taken a part in my heart. We ended the day by driving back to Kampala so that we could catch the bus the next day for Nairobi. The drive seemed to go quicker than on the way out, even though we made various stops, including to buy some bananas and milk along the side of the road. Nothing like a mini snack sized banana straight off the tree :)

Travel day to Kenya
I'm serious that I can survive any traveling after this trip...so if you need a travel buddy, let me know! Today we traveled from Kampala to Nairobi. After our 3+ hour drive to Kampala last night, we got some food quick and tried to head to bed. Between no hot water, a bar TV blaring, dogs barking, and the only thing on the TV being The International and Wolf of Wall Street, I maybe got 1-2 hours of sleep before getting up at 5:30 to catch our bus. It took off at 6:30 and we were on our up way. The bus was a motorcoach with no bathroom and no air, so we opened the windows to let the breeze through. We made 4 different stops along the way, which included walking across the border and through customs from Uganda to Kenya. About 15 hours later we arrived in Nairobi! Whew, it was a long one, which included about 497 speedbumps (EVERY town has at least 3...they are everywhere!!!). Overall, it was a pretty uneventful trip since I feel like I'm accustomed to their crazy driving now, however, after patiently waiting all day, about 12 hours into the trip and right as the sun was setting, we passed a herd of zebras along the side of the road!!! We also passed some baboons and Rafiki looking things. I'm not exactly sure what I thought Africa would look like (probably dirt and rocks thank to the Lion King), but Kenya is beautiful. There is tons of green, mountains, lakes, wildlife, etc. I spent a lot of time looking out the window and pondering life. I was able to finish the prayer book I have been reading and spent some time in prayer about Nashville and what I will be facing there. I'm thankful to have a God who plans out my life and uses it for His glory so that I don't have to. I know I would mess it up greatly, so it's comforting to know that everything is in His hands.

Day 4 & 5

Day 4
This morning we had breakfast and headed back out to the land to work. After a few hours (Sam had forgotten us), we started to head back to the village. We went to the Internet Cafe and then back for a short nap. The rest of our afternoon and evening was spent with 3 final program members and their kids. One of the program members had been having headaches and troubles reading. We had brought along some reading glasses for her and when she put them on and opened her Bible, it was pure joy on her face when she could read the words. Something that we take for granted in reading words can be so hard for someone that doesn't have access to glasses. We got to love on some more kids today. They are all very polite and experts when it comes to helping around the home. Often you will see a 4 or 5 year old taking care of a baby under the age of 1. Or they are heading to fill up water, helping to cook their dinner, or cleaning up the porch for us to sit. It's a team effort here for each family and everyone pitches in as needed.

Day 5
Today is the first day I got over culture shock. Yes I have been wanting to go on this trip for a while and yes, I knew what I was getting myself into. But when you actually experience a different lifestyle, it takes a bit to adjust. It is so different from how I have been living my life the past 2 1/2 years, where I was attached to my phone and constantly worried about work emails. I don't have access to technology and there is no current news here (aka I have no idea what is going on in the Olympics). Sadly, it took a few days to be ok with not being able to connect to someone whenever I wanted. The pace of everyday life here is so laid back. There isn't technology to guide and set your day, so you go about doing what you need, when you need. It is a completely different way of life from what I have experienced.

This morning we headed to church, which by the time we got there, lasted about another 2 hours. One of our program members was sitting next to me and helped to translate some of the sermon. There was also a hymnal where we got to follow along singing in English while they were singing in Luganda. After church, we hung around for a while and gave lots of hugs and high-fives to the kids. Afterwards, we walked to a cafe to get a cold drink. That's when it really hit me that I was finally accustomed to this life of doing whatever we needed whenever we needed to. Seriously, so sad it took me over 4 days to get over my technology driven, squeeze as much out as you can, regimented schedule. Since we had time, we decided to do laundry before we head to Kenya. I have so much respect for them as they handwash everything. My mother would be proud, but definitely something I much more appreciate being able to throw into a machine to do the work. Since this was our last night in Kiboga, our local guy (Sam) and his friends (Solomon and Tim) took us on a hike up one if the hills nearby. It was perfect timing to watch the sunset and it was amazing to overlook the town and the rest of the hills nearby. God's beauty is amazing and looking out over it and taking in a breath of clean air was too special to put into words. He is good! We ended our evening with dinner (I now crave the rice and beans I know is coming!) and a card game played with a deck of cards, similar to Uno. It was a great day living a true Kiboga lifestyle.

Days 1 & 2 - Uganda

Our days begin with a breakfast of 2 pieces of white bread, a fried egg, and warm milk. Some days we stop by the internet cafe to update people back home. The first morning we ran errands around town to get our rice and beans for dinner and exchange money at the bank. The first afternoon we met our first program member, Jane. She runs a business selling drinks and juices, which is were we stocked up on water. We got a carbonated pineapple drink made by Schweppes that was awesome. Our big project the first day was to go and visit the land where the school will be built. The architect, Alex, came from Kampala and we headed out to the land. We picked which acre from the 3 for the school we wanted. To get a better idea of the size of the school rooms, we went to visit the secondary school here, which houses 600 students ages 12-18. That afternoon we went and visited with more program members and students who were out of school. One member cut down a jackfruit from her tree for us...they are huge!!

Day 2 we headed out to the land with machete's to start clearing it. It's amazing what you can do with a few people! It is so pretty out on the land and the breeze is usually cool. I ended up having to wear a hat and long sleeves because my sunscreen made me break out, but I was perfectly fine. We took a break to try local favorites, which included their white sweet potatoes (they taste just like ours) and a tortilla flatbread type thing that is common here. In the evening, we headed to 2 more program members houses and got updates on their kids. The kids they have taken in are part of our program and can be sponsored. One is a tailor that has fabric and makes clothes and the other has a farm and goes to the market to sell sweet bananas and jackfruit. We got to try fresh passion fruit and watched the sunset, which of course I loved!

Day 3 started out with going back out to the land. Some of the guys from the community came and cleared some more yesterday and it is starting to look amazing! Tonight we will finish visiting with program members. Tomorrow is church day and Sunday we will work with the program members in the morning and then the kids in the afternoon. On Sunday evening, we will head to Kampala so that we can catch the bus to Nairobi on Monday morning.

A few things about Uganda so far: 1 - it is pretty hilly and reminds me of my new home in Tennessee, except there are many fruit trees here. 2 - There is so much fresh fruit here and it is amazing to try it fresh off a tree from one of our program members! 3 - The stars are AMAZING! I literally thought a few were airplanes because they were twinkling so much. 4 - It has been really interesting to be living as a true minority in this village, as the 3 of us in our group are the only white people. Everyone has been welcoming and it has been a great experience so far!

Thanks for all the prayers for our team and our interactions with the program members and their kids!

Quick Update

Hey all! I just have time for a quick update. We are in our second full day in Uganda. Yesterday we ran some errands around town and met with some program members and their kids. This morning we went to the land that was purchased for the new school and cleared it. Pretty sure I'm going to be sore from all of my machete skills ;)

Our travel day was really long and I'm still struggling with jet lag. The devil used the 5 hours I couldn't fall asleep last night to bring on the anxiety.. I was fairly calm until that point, so prayers would be appreciated for a restful sleep tonight. We spent over 30 hours traveling, as traffic from Entebbe to Kiboga was bad and we didn't arrive until 1am on Wednesday morning, which was 5pm Central Time Tuesday after leaving at noon on Monday. Yikes, I'm pretty sure I can take on any traveling after that. Everything is going well here. Our guesthouse is nice and our food has been great. We have eaten all kinds of fresh fruit and seen some amazing stars! Internet is limited for now,  but prayers for continued health and safe travel would be appreciated. Thanks!

Africa: How it happened & What I’ll be doing.

I love to plan. It makes me feel organized and in control. But I’m not the one in control. God is. When my world came crashing down last fall (ok...slightly dramatic there), I realized how much I had planned myself instead of relying on God’s plans. That realization turned into my “year of no plans” (or attempting to…)

On December 31st, I wrote and asked God to start to open doors for a possible trip. In the middle of January I wrote about my year of no plans and said “It is a really odd feeling for me to walk around not having plans for where this year will go. I could continue to do exactly what I am now, I could get a different job, or I could even end up in Africa. Only God knows. My job is to be obedient to Him each day and trust in Him and His plans.” Well, He delivered :)

This past weekend was my last Sunday at Apostles, the church I have called home since November. During communion I broke down because of how specifically God has answered prayers and shown me a plan that not even I could have imagined over the past 10 months. There were so many weeks where instead I broke down during communion, not knowing what God was doing in my life and why things were the way they were. It was surreal to see that come full circle. So...how did Africa happen?

I have no gifting in the medical department, I’m not a teacher, and I don’t have strong muscles for manual labor. Those 3 things are typically what trips involve. As I was in the process of praying about a trip, some things about UTST began to show up on my facebook feed. One of my friends is on their board and there were stories of people who were getting ready to go on a trip. Since they were leaving on a trip, it wasn’t until March that I was able to connect and learn more about what they did. Once I got to know more, I knew this was an organization that I wanted to be involved with due to the way they were fighting poverty with economic empowerment, so I began to help out with some minor finance items here in the states.

They were planning another trip this summer, which I kept as an option in the back of my head, knowing that I was going to start looking for a new job. The beginning of my job search was going slow (all God’s plan), and when I didn’t have anything by the end of May, I had to say no to going on the trip, which was originally scheduled for July. The job I was on in July at EY was a year-end and I knew I couldn’t leave that close to the start of it. So that put my earliest date that I felt comfortable leaving to August 1st. I was really sad, because this was a trip I wanted to go on. However, one of my friends continued to pray for it to happen and for God to open doors. I knew that nothing would change in my situation at EY, so I rolled my eyes a little at her prayers (proof of my struggle trusting God with every little thing).

What I did not realize is that God was working to change the actual dates of the trip (which wasn’t even something that had crossed my mind...shows you how much better and higher His ways and thoughts are than ours!). Everything in my job search process, from the lengthy time it took them to initially call me after I had applied (I was convinced they thought I wasn’t qualified), to delaying it another week so I could visit Nashville, to another week delay due to vacation, brought the timing of my job offer to perfectly align to take the month of August off. The question now was would they allow me to push back my start date to just a month before their year end (9/30). Thankfully, I am going to a Christian company that encourages these kinds of trips and will match my vacation days if I take them for a mission trip in the future. Once I got the green light from them, it was go time! Praise God for His planning that is beyond me.

Many of you have asked specifically what we’ll be doing, so here is a quick summary :)

Uganda: We’ll be working in a rural community.

- Land was recently purchased to start building a school, so we will help to begin to clear the land so a temporary structure can be built.

- 9 women have just finished the UTST training program to receive their business loans within the next few weeks. We will meet with them to go over their business plans and help them to work through their first steps.

-UTST has around 20 kids who are all orphans that they help to sponsor their secondary education. We will check in with all of them.

Kenya: We'll be working in the slums in Nairobi.

- 12 people are currently in the UTST program that have their loans and are running their businesses. We will check in with each of them and help out in whatever way needed with their plans.

- UTST is also hoping to partner with an orphanage in Kenya to support orphans once they get to the age of needing secondary education. We are planning to visit an orphanage or two to help begin a relationship for this.

That’s a lot of people to meet and see in a short amount of time, but I know God has it all planned out! I’m looking forward to building relationships and getting to spend days with people learning what their life is like and the challenges they face. It’s almost time! My chacos got delivered yesterday (yes, I’m joining the club!) and I’m ready to go. 5 days!!!

P.S...some of you have asked how you can be praying. First, please be praying for the people we will be working with and our interactions with them. Additionally, if you could pray for safe and healthy travels for our team, that would be much appreciated!