Goodbyes...

This will be my last post from the other side of the world. We are leaving Kenya in less than 24 hours. It seems like only yesterday that we were arriving in Nairobi. My heart hurts thinking about leaving. I guess it's true when people say that " all good things must come to an end."

Initially, I came to Kenya to make a difference in others lives, but I can honestly say I am the one that has been changed. I never experienced so much joy and love in one place. I am having a hard time making it through this post... Goodbyes are always hard, but in my heart I know that this will not be goodbye forever.




Our team will be leaving Nairobi at 8:15 am tomorrow (Wednesday) and I will arrive in Meridian at 2:00 pm on Thursday! Please pray for good health and safe travel as we have a few team members that are a little under the weather.


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Location:Kabuku-Tigoni Rd,,Kenya

A Little Slice of Heaven...

For the past couple days we have been on a safari in the Masi Mara. It was unbelievable. It was truly breathtaking seeing the amazing beauty that our divine creator has given to us to enjoy.




The beautiful sun setting over a herd a wildebeest preparing for migration.


"The heavens tell about the glory of God.
The skies show that his hands created them.
Day after day they speak about it.
Night after night they make it known.
But they don't speak or use words.
No sound is heard from them.
At the same time, their voice goes out into the whole earth.
Their words go out from one end of the world to the other.
God has set up a tent in the heavens for the sun. " Psalm 19: 1-4

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New Traditions...

Traditions are things that we often take for granted. We just see them as the "norm", but when others come into our country they see them as different or strange. I have been introduced to many Kenyan traditions... Some good and some..... Not so much.

Friday we went to Maasailand . The Maasai tribe is one of original tribes of Africa. They are known for their vibrant red clothing, colorful beads and mens ability to jump high. The height of your jump determines your status in the tribal community.

After a very long, very bumpy ride.. We were greeted by many beautiful Maasai men, women and children. They were all dressed in their beautiful beads and bright white smiles. The entire family welcomed us with a an ancient tradition of roasted goat.... It was very generous, but I don't think I will be craving it again anytime soon. We danced, sang and worshiped with the family. The entire experience was wonderful.


In the Maasai culture it is very common for the men to take multiple wives. These are the four wives of the community. Their ages range from 40 to 80. The husband was 85 and is buried in the cattle pen beside their home.








Worshiping together. "Worship the LORD with gladness. Come before Him, singing with joy. " Psalm 100:2

On Saturday, we took the children from the L.C.C. on a field trip to the shoe factory in Limuru town. We had given them new school shoes at the "Mississippi Day" celebration, but since most of them travel by foot their school shoes are worn strictly for school only so they will last longer. Our team decided it would be awesome for them to be able to pick out their own shoes. Most of these children have never been able to pick out their own pair of shoes. They have always been given the second hand. So when we told them that we were going to let them pick out whatever shoe they wanted.. high heels, sandals, or sport shoes... The look on their face was PRICELESS.




This is Martha. She chose hot pink high heels. She is precious!! It was so fun getting to see all the children's personalities come out when they were able to pick out their very own shoes.

Sunday was an amazing day!!! We gave the moms of the centre the day off and cooked spaghetti over an open fire, Kenya style, and made peanut butter sandwiches for everyone. We fed nearly 80 people and everyone had seconds and thirds!








Getting some help in the kitchen from Mary and Belinda.




The finished product.


We also hid candy eggs all around the compound for all the children. We shared an American tradition. They had never heard of an "egg hunt." They caught on to concept really quick.




Patrick gathering all of his candy!




Somebody is having fun!!! This is pre-tummy ache. George is a blast!




Gladys found the golden egg!!!

As if the day wasn't wonderful already, we were able to spend some quality time with the girls we live with. We had a true "girls night" with lots of sweets, dancing, makeup and nail polish. It was a blast!





Let the fun begin!



All the pretty nails.




" Yes, the LORD has done amazing things for us! What joy! " Psalms 126:3



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Location:Kabuku-Tigoni Rd,,Kenya

Full of Joy...

In the past couple of days we have done a few school visits along with helping out at Pat's feeding program.

Yesterday, we met a wonderful lady named Rachel Wanjiku. She is well known in Kenya for her influence in education. First, she took us to a village school named "Karen Academy." The school is in the village where Rachel grew up and is named after her mother. The children where very sweet. They sang and prayed for us while we were there.





Rachel hopes to one day add on to school. She would love to have a building for children with special needs. Her wish is to name it the "Mississippi Learning Center. " In Kenya, children with disabilities are hidden from the community in their homes. This breaks my heart. Please pray for Rachel. Pray that she will continue to follow Gods will and hopefully provide a place for special needs children to be themselves.

We also went to the Kibera Slum. The Kibera Slum in one of the largest slums in Africa. It is occupied by about one million people in 1.1 square mile. There is one latrine for every 500 people. Words cannot describe the emotions that I experienced when we got there. I had seen pictures on the Internet and TV, but to actually see it was unbelievable.




We visited a school in the slum named St. Michaels. About 1,000 children attend the school and about three- fourths of them are orphans. We met with the principal and delivered a large suitcase full of school supplies for the children. St. Micheals is not a government school. Therefore, their funding is primarily based on "well-wishes" and donors. The principal explained to us that he is only able to feed the pre-schoolers lunch everyday. In order to feed everyone, it would cost about 200 dollars a day.



One of classes at St. Michaels.... FULL OF JOY!


Rachel and William (principal) looking at the school supplies for the children.



Donated school supplies.

Both schools where very different. One thing they had in common.. All the children where FULL OF JOY!

I am so thankful for the experience to visit some schools. Education has a special place in heart and I now have a new appreciation for it.

Today, we helped out at Pat's Feeding Program. Pat is a white Kenyan. She is nearly 85 years old and has given her life to serving others. She hosts a feeding program for the elders every other week. People walk for miles one way for food in order to survive.






Each person is given 1 kg of rice, 1 kg of beans/maize, 1 kg ugali flour, a small amount of cooking fat, salt, matches and 50 shillings to buy vegetables.





Today each person was in for a treat.... A loaf of bread!!!

" Jesus replied, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." John 6:35


These are some pictures that where taken at Mississippi Day.




New Shoes!!


All the sweet children with their new shoes!

"Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever." Psalms 106:1

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Location:Kabuku-Tigoni Rd,,Kenya

A lot in a Little...

Wow.... A lot has been going on since my last post.

I am continued to be amazed at the beauty of this place. I am in love. The people with their white bright smiles and sparkling eyes, the mountains, the weather. The entire experience has been such a rewarding journey so far.

Our team has been very busy and have met so many amazing people...

We went to Jikaze IDP camp in the Rift Valley. The IDP camp was constructed after the election violence in 1997. These people were pushed from their homes when the violence broke out and were forced to leave everything behind. They lived in tents for nearly a year. Overtime volunteers have come to help build houses and gardens. The entire camp houses about 145 families, about 900 people. Each family was given a 50x100 plot for their houses and "shamba" or garden.

Each person in our team was placed with a different family for the day. We were able to interact with the families and hear their story. I was overwhelmed by the amount of joy that filled those homes. These are people who have next to nothing that offer everything that they have to anyone they meet.




My family took me in as if I were their own. Muhammed, Mary, Ruth (6) and Vinny(2).




When it was time to go home, they gave me a tree to plant in their plot. Muhammad, the father, told me that "he would use this tree as a reminder and never forget this time that we shared together." I hope to go and visit their family again soon!

Saturday was one of the best days I have had in a very long time. We woke up early to scale a volcano, Mt, Longonot. The drive to the volanco was breath taking and the hike was.... Rewarding. It took us about an hour and half to get to the rim. It was a pretty strenuous hike but very worth it in the end. The view from the top was amazing.




On the way to the top we found a friend, a baby giraffe.



Just taking a rest on the way to the top.




We made it!!





How great is our God!


After we finished hiking we had a picnic before headed back to the children centre. It was Mississippi Day at the L.C.C. (Limuru Children's Centre). This means lots of PB&Js, bubbles, face panting and lots of smiling children. The children at the centre look forward to MS day every year not just because of lots of food and games, but also because it means NEW SHOES! Most every year, the teams from Mississippi raise money to buy the children new school shoes. We were able to call the children up one by one to try on their shoes. It was amazing watching their little faces light up when we opened the box of new shoes.



Today, we did some Care For Aids home visits. We were able to go into some homes of some people in the village that are HIV positive. We were able to hear their story and pray for them and their needs. We will doing more visits while we are here. Many of these people that we were able to meet feel isolated from their families, villages and churches. Please pray for opportunities to share the love and joy of Jesus to these people.

"Those who know your name trust in you, O LORD, do not abandon those who search for you." Psalm 9:10

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Location:Kabuku-Tigoni Rd,,Kenya

Humbled.

Yesterday was amazing. We started the day at the Cheshire Home for Women. It is an organization that houses women with mental and physical disabilities, and teaches them to sew. It was unbelievable being able to witness these women learning a valuable trade to carry with them throughout their lives. We were able to hangout with the girls a little bit, and just seeing their faces light up at the sight of compliments and love was truly amazing!




This is a women from The Cheshire home. She is making a blanket that I purchased and will be bringing back to Mississippi!


We also visited a baby centre called Angels. The centre has been open for two years and houses abandoned babies. Because they are not very established their adoption rate is very low. In the past two years they have had one full adoption process and two pending. It was so fun getting to hold and love on all the babies. We stayed for about an hour and our whole team fell in love with the entire experience, even changing diapers! We will definitely be spending some more of our time there.




This is Angelica. She is a baby at centre that stole my heart. She was left on a Matatu (public transportation) when she was one week old. She is now 6 months old and has the best smile and laugh I have ever seen.




The past couple of days have been very eye opening. I have experienced and seen things that have truly given me a new perspective on life. It is amazing how the things that we have and are given, we often take for granted. We always seem to want more and more material things and are never fully satisfied. I have been humbled by the Kenyan people that have nearly nothing and have the most joyful hearts.

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven... For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6: 19-21

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Speechless...

Well... After 32 hours of travel and 16 hours of sleep...We finally made it!! Our first flight was great... Our second- not so much. Very hot and long. We arrived in Nairobi around 6:15 am.




This is the African sunrise from the airplane.... Breathtaking.
Everything went very smoothly through customs and baggage claim. We were greated by our wonderful driver, Kelvin. He took us straight to JAVA, the coffee house. We were all in need of a couple of shots of espresso in order to face the day! Our next stop was the Nakumat, it is similar to the Kenyan Kmart. We picked up some bottled water and things and then headed to Limuru. Limuru is small village about 45 minutes outside of Nairobi. The drive from Nairobi to Limuru was incredible.




This is the view from our compound.... Also breathtaking.
I am having a hard time formulating the words to describe all the emotions that I have felt over the past 24 hours. Humbled would not even begin to scratch the surface.

Today we went to the orphanage. We arrived before the kids got home from school so the Moms put us to work. We helped clean "sukuma" . Sukuma is very similar to the turnip greens. It is a Kenyan staple. I have not tasted them yet, but I can't wait to try them. When the kids arrived,we had some time to play. We played ball and bubbles. We had a ball! They have some of the biggest smiles and hearts that I have ever seen. It humbles me to know only a few of their heart wrenching stories and see that they are still loving and living life to the fullest. I am really excited about getting to know each of them better.

Tomorrow, we are going to Cheshire Home for Girls. I am very excited to meet all the women and hear their stories. We are planning on doing the salvation bracelet craft with them. I don't really know what all the expect, but I know that God is working.
"You thrill me, LORD, with all you have done for me! I sing for joy because of what you have done. O LORD, what great works you do! And how deep are your thoughts." Psalm 92:4-5

Preparing...

Over the past couple of weeks I have been preparing for my adventure to Kenya. During this process alot of planning has taken place. Everything from the right clothes to wear to gathering the craft supplies to do with the Kenyan children. 

After nearly five months of anticipation, I can not believe that it is finally here. I will be leaving tomorrow out of Meridian around 2:20. I will be flying alone to Atlanta and there I will be meeting up with the rest of my team.  The entire journey will be around 32 hours, and I am still confused as to which day we will actually arrive in Nairobi, Kenya.

Also, as mental preparation for my trip, God has provided many opportunities for me to spend time with some of the people I love most in this world...

Camp Kemp 2012 was a hit.

Our theme was "Fireflies". Thanks to Big Daddy and Cook-Cook, we made lots of cute crafts, sang lots of songs and ate lots of watermelon!

Good Times with Great Friends!

It has been so good to catch up with old and new friends over the past couple weeks. I am so blessed to have such a supportive group of friends!  

Thank you so much to everyone who has made adventure possible! Please pray for our team as we are traveling over the next three days.  I cannot wait to see all the wonderful things that God has in store over the next four weeks!

"Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand-shine! Keep open; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven."

Matthew 5:16 MSG

God Provides...

Gosh... I need to be doing paperwork for the endless amounts of meetings that I have over the next couple of weeks, but I have so much that I want to write about. Things that I have experienced over the past couple of weeks. Circumstances when God's faithfulness was revealed.

As a part of my mission trip to Kenya, I decided that I would make ceramic prayer bracelets. These African shaped bracelets would remind friends and family to pray for me and my team as we embark on this amazing faith-filled adventure. What started off as a small Saturday afternoon craft project turned into quite a learning experience.. Who knew you had like 500 different glazes and types of clay, and depending on the clay determined the kiln that was used. Although, the process was long and somewhat complicated... It was a BLAST and I could definitely see God's hand through the whole thing.

This is a picture of the complete process....  from cutting the shapes out of clay to stringing and beading each one. Just like Gods children, each one is unique and one of a kind. As I worked on this project I was reminded of the verse...

"..O LORD, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand." Isaiah 64:8

This project has not only expanded my knowledge in pottery but also expanded my faith. 

After two "batches" of African bracelets were completed, I sat and pondered on what I was going to do with them all. I knew that I wanted and needed some prayer warriors while I was gone, but I had no idea how to go about the whole process of asking people to pray. So I prayed... I prayed that God would reveal to me what he wanted me to do with all the bracelets. I knew that He had provided the materials and experienced people that helped make this project happen so I knew that He would continue to provide through the completion. 

That afternoon, I had a dentist appointment. One that I had been dreading for over a month. I was very anxious because I just knew that the pain was going to be terrible. The dental hygienist and I made small talk  while I was preparing for the worst. I was trying to keep my mind of the things to come... I asked her about her life and family and before I knew it the dentist appointment was over. No pain??? What a blessing! 

As I was leaving I was questioned by the receptionist about the bracelet that I was wearing . I explained the details of my trip and that the prayer bracelets were a reminder of my team while we were gone. Her face lit up and she immediately insisted that I show her everything I had made.  What started off as one bracelet donation turned into ten bracelet donations. It was amazing. I knew that God had answered a prayer. He was providing prayer warriors, just as I knew He would. 

God is still providing more and more prayer warriors everyday. Thank you to everyone who has been supportive of this adventure. I am preparing for my world to rocked in every way by the abundant compassion and love of God... I CANT WAIT!! 

 I still have some prayer bracelets left. If you are interested you can leave a comment below or email me at elizabethkemp@live.com 

" And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 

The Beginning...

Well, here goes...I am not exactly sure how to do this whole blog thing, but I have decided to give it a shot. I do love to journal... I tend to "itch" if I can't get my thoughts out of my mind and down on paper, but putting my thoughts and experiences on the Internet for everyone to read.... Well.. It makes me feel a little vulnerable. Blogging will definitely be an adventure, right alongside of going halfway around the world to Africa.

As I look back on the past two years of my life, I have realized that I have been in a "waiting" period. Other than getting into graduate school I was not exactly sure what I " waiting" for. I loved my job and the precious friends I had made, but I was longing for something more. Who knew that God was using the people and circumstances around me to prepare me for an adventure of a lifetime.

Around Christmas, God placed a yearning on my heart to work at an orphanage. I knew that I wanted to go love and serve others this summer, but I had no idea where. After lots of research and prayer, I made my decision... Africa is was. I felt sure that I was doing what I was supposed to do, but I prayed that God would provide the confirmation that I was indeed on the right path. I tend to second guess myself, and I needed to hear from Him. There have been many stepping stones of confirmation that God has used to pave the way to Africa. From getting permission to miss the first week of work to the financial burdens of the trip, I have seen God's hand in this endevour every step of the way.

I am not exactly sure what all is in store for me this summer, but I am ready for this life changing adventure and to experience everything that God has in store.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you future and hope. " Jeremiah 29:11