Kenya Klippings: Klippings from Kisumu

Recently, several people here in Kenya have asked, "So what brought you to Africa...to Kisumu?"

Good question... :) That can be hard to answer. Really~why am I here? ...because this is where God wants me for right now.

It all started last year. I had contemplated doing SMBI's WATER program before, but somehow my summers were always filled with various other activities that I wasn't able to do during the school year. Finally, I realized that if I didn't JUST DO IT, it would never happen. I looked over the list of options...so many places to go!! ...maybe a Central American country? Both times that I have been in Guatemala, I left part of my heart there. I love the land, the people, the language, the food, just the culture in general...but....I had already been there! Why not go somewhere new, somewhere I had never been? Like Africa?

So, I sent in my application...First choice, Liberia...Second choice, Kenya. It didn't work out to go to Liberia, but instead I got the privilege of coming here to Kenya. Now, less than a year later, I'm back and it is becoming home.

WATER stands for World Awareness Training in Evangelistic Responsibility. It is a 6 week term that involves reading lots of book prior to the term, writing book reports, an incredible week at SMBI, and spending the remaining weeks experiencing and observing mission life. I HIGHLY recommend this opportunity to anyone!! The week at SMBI was wonderful in and of itself. It was packed with stretching experiences(!), many new friends, class time, hands-on activities, prayer, and growth. From there, three of us headed across the ocean to an unknown continent. We spent some time at the mission in Nakuru, and then the remainder of our time, we were in Kisumu. I didn't really know how life-changing that would be!

We had a wonderful time here! So, when Ray Stutzman called me just several weeks after I got home and asked if I would consider returning as a teacher in Kisumu, my decision didn't feel too complicated. Yes, it's hard to commit to being gone for 2 (WHOLE) years{at least}; to leave behind your amazing family, and church, and youth group, and friends, and relatives, and well...your community in general; to leave the beauty of the Shenandoah Valley, the lovely mountains, good ole VA roads; to say good-bye to your students after 5 wonderful years; to think of changing from 3rd and 4th graders to 1st and 2nd graders; from a class of 23 to maybe 3 or 5; to leave your horse, your car, ... everything . . . And yet, even after all that, it was "easy" to say yes.