Spiders.

So it turns out the bite on my leg is most likely from a spider. It should clear up in a few days and I will be just fine :)

BUT...I think I found the culprit.

Unfortunately, Shauna and I freaked out when we were trying to kill it so now it is roaming around our home somewhere...probably waiting for us to go to sleep so it can crawl in our mouths and attack. Ew. Ew. Ew. I hate spiders...we do not get along well!

Special thanks to Lindy for posting the lovely video!!

Proverbs 21:13

Saturday night was eventful to say the least and probably one of the most amazing experiences. After wandering around the Maasai Market all day with Caroline and Shauna, Chris and Lindy invited us over for dinner. Lindy's best friend Joy is here from North Carolina and staying with them until they go back in October so we wanted to meet her. She is adorable and I completely understand why Lindy is obsessed with her! She is humble, but funny and sweet and has this amazing heart for others. I feel like Lindy and I are long lost sisters because of the way we have clicked so well and we have everything in common, so I'm not surprised at how quickly I fell in love with Joy as well. Anyway, I have a bite on my leg and I showed it to Lindy because she is a nurse. At first, because of how red and swollen it was, it didn't look like a bite and Lindy thought it might be a DVT or blood clot. Immediately she called the doctor to have it checked out just in case. Since it was Saturday night the hospital wasn't open, but they know a Kenyan-American doctor who had someone escort us in and then take a look at my leg. Unfortunately, they couldn't tell me what was wrong with it but they gave me medicine and told me to check back in if it gets worse. It is very clear to me now that it is a bite and it hasn't gotten better but it hasn't gotten worse so I'm sure I will be fine!

Now for the best part of the story. After the doctor finished with me we asked him if we could walk around the women's ward and pray over them, to which he amiably agreed. The first room we went into had visitors. I'm almost positive they were Catholic, it was a man and a woman who were visiting another elderly woman. They were overjoyed at our offer to pray for her and accepted with smiles. After Lindy finished the prayer we walked over to the other two women who were laying in beds on the opposite side of the wall. We explained that we had just prayed for them and introduced ourselves. Both of them, though lethargic, showed their gratitude. After the first room we decided it best to divide and conquer so we split up and individually laid hands on the women and prayed for them. All in all we probably prayed for over 20 women. The last room we entered was truly something out of a movie, later to find out they were the HIV/AIDS victims. The first woman I saw was Elizabeth. She was as thin as the frigid bars that held her makeshift bed together. Her bones seemed to be fighting their way out of her skin, as if they were trying to escape the clutches of disease that was claiming her life. Her rugged hospital gown dangled loosely, awkward and exposing scars across her chest. I grabbed hold of her and begged God to heal her. I prayed for Him to give her His strength, physically and spiritually, to fight for her life. That He would bring her joy and love, in knowing that He was there with her. I prayed the thought of heaven would be comforting and uplifting to her that one day she would be in paradise with the Father. Looking back at my prayer, I can only say another that she has accepted Christ and that promise of heaven is hers to claim triumphantly. The health of the last woman I prayed for was comparable to Elizabeth's. She grabbed my hand and held it tight and I placed my other one around her back. Once again, I prayed for God to heal her and to reveal His love for her as I tried my best to be a symbol of Christ's love through my embrace.

As we left I told the women that we would be continually praying for them. I looked them in the eyes and told them "God bless you", but somehow those words took on a whole new meaning in that context. When you are saying "God bless you" to a woman who is expecting the Lord to call her home, knowing He could do so any second, or a child who goes home to a sewage infested shack at night, fearing starvation, disease, rape, or worse could seek them out at any moment, it really takes on new meaning. I don't think I have ever said anything with such a desire to see it lived out. This was a different feeling than being in the slums of Maithare or Kibera. In Kibera I almost get discouraged because of the overwhelming poverty that has debilitated over a million lives. Praying for these women was actually uplifting. I didn't feel the usual helplessness that has seemed to dictate a lot of my time here. I felt like I was actually truly making a difference in these lives, whether that is a valid feeling or not I don't know but I'd venture to say it is.

This might sound extremely strange, but I'm willing to risk that for the sake of an honest description of what this experience was like. At some moments, when I was holding these women, I truly felt the transfer of the Holy Spirit. I felt as though the Lord broke through the barrier of despair and brought peace. The appreciation shown on their faces and as Lindy pointed out, probably for good reason. I wonder how often people, mzungus no less, come and pray for these women. Their gratitude was probably also mixed with astonishment that someone cared enough to come and share Christ's love. Obviously, this was unlike anything I have ever done and I can only pray that the feelings I felt, faces I prayed for and motivation to share Christ in this way would not fade. I wish I had pictures to help relay the image of this event, but I guess my inadequate words will have to suffice. I know they could never do justice, as usual, to the sights, smells, or emotions that have changed my heart here but they offer a miniscule window into my experience.

Kibera Pictures

                                                           Yes, she's praying...so sweet!

                                                                             Kibera

We fed them

                               Doors in Kibera are about as sensible as everything else in Africa...

We fed them spiritually

                                                                            Shamim

                                                                   We clothed them

                                                                 We loved on them

Pictures loaded!!!

                                                                    Cutie Helsbey family

                                                                Look at those eyes! (Paul)

                                                                               Melvin

                                                           The stink eye at its finest

                                                                  Shopping in town

                                                                  We ride shot gun :)

                                                                  Baby Kate Helsby!!

                                                           Saying goodbye to Taylor

    Someone donated 19 tons of food! (I got to make banana pancakes as a result...Praise God!)

                                                       Rebecca, Shauna and Penina
                                                                   It gets crazy...
                              Teaching the kids in Kibera about how God created the world!
                                                             Jane, Jacinta and Naomi

                                                                        Baby Jane

                                                                            Penina

Homesick.

“God has you where you are for a reason”- probably my biggest struggle as a believer.  When I am in Arizona, I am dreaming about Africa. When I am in Africa, I am dreaming about Arizona. I’m sure when I get home I will be dreaming about Haiti or Indonesia or something ridiculous, (sarcasm, I undeniably feel called home long term). Usually I can spot those words leaving someone’s lips before a conversation even starts, but tonight I got them when I wasn’t expecting it.

I know a lot of people can relate to what I’m about to describe, but for most of my friends and even my family it seems just plain suicidal so I will do my best to explain. There are times when I feel so in love with God and who He is that I just want to die so that I can meet Him face to face. I know that I will not experience true peace until I am there. There will always be this aching in me until I am with the Father and that’s something I have learned to live with because I know that aching is solely for God and nothing in this world could fill that void besides Him. I know Charlie Hall gets what I mean because he has a song called “Come for me” that articulates how I feel about this issue. Tori has also always been right there with me on this one. Sometimes we joke about how God is going to keep us alive until we are like 120 just because and then we will be in a nursing home crying together ;)


So, tonight after listening to our usual Francis Chan sermon I was telling Shauna with tears in my eyes about how badly I just wanted to know God, (Francis always reminds me how madly, obsessed, in love I am with the creator). I made it very clear how much I love my life and how I get on my knees every night to praise God for the people He has put in my life and the opportunities He has presented me with, but I am so in love with Him that everything else pales in comparison. I want to know everything about Him so that I can be closer to Him. It’s like being engaged and having your fiance keep secrets about who he is from you. You want to know everything about your fiance because you are going to be devoted to him for the rest of your earthly life. How can you do that to your fullest if you don’t know everything about him? Yet, there are things I will not know about God until I am in heaven and He planned it that way. Just like there are things between a man and a woman that are reserved for after the wedding ceremony.


Knowing this, I was still really frustrated. Shauna just looked at me and here it comes… “God has you where you are for a reason. This life is so short, it’s gone in the blink of an eye and you will spend eternity with God. He wants you to spend this time spreading your love for Him through sharing His gospel with others while you are here on Earth”. Despite its repetitiveness, this time I felt like it really hit home. I don’t know why Africa seems to clarify everything for me. Shauna had insight about that too, attributing it to the fact that we are finally being quiet enough to hear what God is trying to tell us, (I really encourage everyone at home to try this). I think she hit the nail on the head. I can hear things from people all day long but until I sit down and am listening to God, nothing is going to sink in. So for now, I am still homesick (for my eternal home that is) but I am inspired once more to make every minute of this life count for the glory of God until I am called home.

Sheep.

I want to share some of the reasons why I ADORE high school students...

They have HIGH

hopes

ambitions

dreams

They THINK

creatively

purposefully

intentionally

They DON'T

take no for an answer

listen when people say they can't (sometimes this is not a blessing)

get discouraged by logistics

I thought I was going to save the world when I was in high school.  I didn't see obstacles or set backs because I was so blinded by my goals.  Reality was a blur and my dreams were in full focus.  I just wanted to do big things.  Somewhere between then and now my big dreams have turned into inspiring others' big dreams.  I still have my own big dreams, but on top of those I want to motivate, help, and be a part of every big dream that comes from my high school kids.  I want to encourage them to look past the obstacles and set backs because 9 times out of 10 those aren't from God.  I want to reassure them that their age doesn't limit their ability, or their responsibility for that matter.  While their peers are out drinking or doing drugs, they are having wells built in Africa and bibles translated into different languages across the world.  They are making it on Earth as it is in Heaven while juggling homework, football games, homecoming dates, band practice, exams, mean teachers, mean girls, and whatever else the devil is bringing along to distract them with.  I just want to remind them to keep their focus on Christ and as Tori always quotes, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" -Galations 6:9.

Let's go DO something.

Read this.  Then go here.  Or here.

Other ways to DO something:

1. Call the rescue mission nearest you to find out how you can get involved.  Show up an hour early and plan on leaving an hour after you're scheduled to.  Have conversations with the homeless as the stand outside, waiting to get in.  Bring bottled water, baked cookies, granola bars, patience and a sense of humor.  You'll bless those who cannot bless you in return.

2. Go downtown with a friend or friends (don't go alone).  Buy cups of coffee or a bag of take-out food, find a homeless person sitting around asking for money, share your gifts, and enjoy a conversation.  No agenda, no plans, no purpose other than to be with that person.  You'll be amazed at what unfolds.

3. Is it cold outside?  Go to your closet and grab the sweat, sweatshirt, or coat you keep telling yourself you'll wear sometime but know you won't.  Call up four friends and tell them to do the same.  Go downtown and hand out your warm clothing to the men or women huddled under the overpass or in a doorway.  As you stand there thinking of how cold your nose is, you'll be amazed at the genuine thankfulness of someone whose whole body is probably numb.  And your giving will warm your soul too.

-Under the Overpass by Mike Yankoski