I am HERE!

As I am sitting here in Kisumu about to go to bed, I cannot believe that I am halfway around the world in Africa! It is just so crazy to me. I feel so blessed to be here right now and I cannot wait for the next 5 ½ weeks!

Before leaving for Kenya

Ever since I was in high school, I have had a desire to go to Africa. Each year, I tried to figure something out for over the summer during breaks in school.  Whether it was because of money or time or anything else, it just never seemed to work out. During college, I met my now good friend and most recent roommate, Jordan Went.  At the time we didn’t know each other well, but for some reason, I happened to share my passion for Africa with her. She shared in my excitement and told me that I just had to meet Julie Grotelueschen. I sort of just shrugged it off because I didn’t know what the use would be to just have a conversation with some random girl from Columbus, NE ; )  Some time later, I was talking to one of my brothers friend, Josie, and she told me that I just had to meet her great friend, Julie Grotelueschen.  HA! At that point, I decided that it was probably a good idea to get ahold of this girl. Thank goodness for facebook or else none of this would have happened : ) Just kidding, but seriously, I went to Omaha and met with this “Julie” girl. I shared with her and another woman, Katja, my desire for Africa, as they both told me about theirs.  Julie’s heart for Africa sent her to Kenya in 2009 to Joytown, a school for physically handicapped children. We were bonding quickly while in Nebraska, and now here we sit together in the beautiful country of Kenya!

Julie is a teacher at R.O.C.K (Reaching Our Children of Kenya) Ministries here in Kisumu, Kenya. She is lucky enough to spend her days with children ranging from 3-18 years of age and teach them many things. She not only teaches them English, Math, etc. but also (and more importantly) about Christ’s never ending love for each one of them.  I met these kiddos for the first time this Sunday (May 1^st) and I. am. sunk.  They are so beautiful and so passionate about their relationship with the Lord. I am floored by their desire to serve our awesome and loving God.  Here is a sneak peek of who I will be hanging out with for the next month!

Some of the younger kids at R.O.C.K.

Fred and Asman acting very serious

Cynthia and little Juliette (the youngest at R.O.C.K.)

Mr. Lameck -- he LOVES the camera

Celebrating Lornah on her 13th birthday!

 

I will be spending the next 5 weeks or so either at R.O.C.K. or at New Life, a home dedicated to serving the needs of abandoned/orphaned babies with priority given to those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.

Like I said before, I cannot wait for this journey to begin. I know that I am only here for a short amount of time, but I am excited to see what God has in store for me and for these awesome Kenyan children!

I have never blogged before so please bear with me. I thought it would be a good way to keep my family updated and as another way for me to do some journaling. This might turn out to be a total flop, but feel free to read if you are interested in what I am doing in Kisumu : )