pictures, etc...

I am still working on finding a way to put up some pictures, and the video that I made from my trip. So far the video is on facebook, and I am trying to cut it so that it will fit on youtube as well. My pictures, well some of them, are on picasaweb.google.com/becksm12
Let me know if you have a problem accessing any of that and I hope you enjoy!

distration

Since I have been home, people have been asking me all kinds of questions, which I am actually enjoying answering. I find that I do better with questions rather than just trying to monologue about my time spend in Africa. It is also interesting to see the different questions that people have, and what they want to know about my experience. One of the major things some wanted to know was about what I learned while I was there. I am still only beginning to articulate everything that I experienced and cannot even tell you half of what I learned (it would take hours, maybe even years). However, something that I started to see while I was in Kenya that is so radically different than the church in America, was that God is so much more real or depended upon there. It has to do mostly with the our cultural differences I believe. Like the 'spiritual world' in general is much more acknowledged and active in the whole eastern part of the world. Unlike here, there is an underlying assumption that there is a God who exsists and is real; to just come to that simple realization would be such a struggle in our cultural context. But, with that understanding they are much more open to all those things and talk about it regularly. In America, we have much more available to us and like to use things to explain away situations, to make it appear as if we are the ones in control. This cultural difference only has the potential to be harmful to us when we refuse to acknowledge the true source of a problem or solution. Even within the church, we like to attribute things based on physical means rather than on the true source, which is God. I know this might be a little confusing, so let me give an example. People there would say how glad they were that God allowed me to go to Africa and to be with them. In America, if I was asked why/how I went to Africa there are multuple reasons I could give as an explaination: I had to fulfil a requirement for school, I applied for an internship with ELI, I raised support, I got on a plane, etc. Although those are all real and true answers, the most important of those responses is that God allowed me to go to Africa. Everything that I did and will do is only because of and through Him. We all, even in America, have this basic understanding, because we know God and His character. But if asked why I went to Africa, I never would have said simply because God wanted me to go there, but I would have explained it using all of these other answers.
The word that comes to mind is distractions. I think that in America Satan has been so cleaver and is using so many different means to distract us from the true and real answer to all of our and life's questions. We have so many luxeries and resources available to us, which is not a bad thing, but they have the ability to divert our attention. We so easily have the ability to say this or that is the reason for something that happened, when God is the real reason and worked through all of those things in order to accomplish the end result. In Africa, they just start by saying it was God, and here we like to say all of the other possiblities before we think about it being God. I challange you to look for God in situations more than you look for concrete explainations. Be able to distinguish what is God and what is not. I think that that is one of the most important things, and the second is being able to share that with other people. You may never know how that mights affect another person, just like I have no idea if any of this will impact any of you, but I do know that the people who shared with me left a mark so I am just trying to pass on my experience with others.
"May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with us now and forevermore. Amen."

longings

As we were driving to Kipkaren, which took close to 1 and 1/2 hours, my mind was very busy. For some reason as I was staring out the window at different things, it was racing with thoughts of home and here and the kids and God. I was thinking about how much I was looking forward to getting picked up at the airport by Erin (which we just arranged last week) and how it is going to feel wonderful to see my sister and other friends and family. Here you greet everyone by shacking their hand, which I have grown accustomed to but I still love our big American hugs! And I also know that it is going to be really hard to leave here and after about a week, I am going to want to come back here and see everyone again. I mean, if I miss the kids that much in one day, what am I going to do at home? But then I was thinking about why I was missing them, and it is because, as I have been telling them in devotions, that we were made in the image of God which means we have the capacity and design for relationship. There will always be that longing in your heart to be in relationship, with those around you and with God. I took it one step further and thought about how we are longing to be in relationship with God while we are on earth and then once we get to heaven we will finally enter into that perfect relationship as God intended it. But then we will still be away from other loved ones that are still living and those who never knew the truth to begin with. If nothing else, this has motivated me to tell all those that I love about Jesus so that they can be in perfect relationship with him and so that when I get to heaven, I will not be longing for them because I know that they will be coming there as well. Just as I was sharing this with the kids one night, my mom texted me so I proceeded to share what she said with them and they responded to her. That was fun for my two worlds to interact; just a glimpse of what is to come of the future I am sure. They expressed how much they wanted her to come here, as I do as well, and how we are all one family because we love Jesus! I shared with them a verse that I believe encompasses this longing that was shared with me when I attended a Christian Conference called: Passion. Isaiah 26:8-Yes Lord, walking in the way of your truth we wait eagerly for you, for Your name and Your renown are the desires of our souls.
God has also shown me that life is not just about building trust and relationships, but it is about sustaining those relationships, being intentional, and loving Jesus! As I was continuing to read Job (19:24-26) I found this passage that is so awesome I must share it with you to end this update and encourage you to live in this reality.
I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!

1 John 4:19

So this week when the team came, everyone did a little introduction of themselves and their experience this far. One lady, Sharon, when it was her turn said that she was glad to be here but still did not know what God had in store for her. I thought that was interesting and that I can identify with that. I mean, I really do like it here and all the people are amazing, but I still don't know how God is going to use this experience in my life or for His glory. I am confident however that He is going to use it and that it will be revealed in His perfect timing. I hope that this journey of mine has impacted the lives of others. There have been many things that I am starting to realize that might have something to do with God's plan and purpose:
-He has really showed me all the people at home that love and care for me and a little bit of how I can love them better.
-Lately I have noticed that my ministry here has not really been all about the kids, but is more directed toward the staff and the house parents. That, I would say, is the biggest part of what I have been doing here, encouraging them, talking and getting to know them, letting them teach me things, and doing little things for them.
-I am a very awkward person, haha, but this is because i dont like to expose my vulnerability and God has shown me how much i try to hide myself, in the crowd or in a situation. Gary Gaulton said it best when he said that theology is great to know and studying the Bible, but if you dont put it into action then it doesn't mean anything (ok that definitely sounds like James talking, or the Holy Spirit through James)
-I am so thankful for Heavenly Treasures, that ministry and that family does wonderful things to help people from all over the world. I am so glad that my sister decided to work there
-Greeting people is important and telling them the truth about situations, affirming them, saying goodbye's properly, etc.
-I still don't know where God is going to lead me after I finish at Biola, but I know that He will lead me somewhere, and take care of me. Right now I am pretty open to whatever He wants me to do and I know He will use this experience to help me in my future endeavors.
-I am really glad that I go to an institution that requires their students to have this kind of an experience with God and with others. I am really glad that my brother is going to get to experience four years of this as well!
Thank you all for going through this journey with me. My prayer remains that God will help me to love him and love others better.

perspective

at one point in the previous week, when i was feeling especially down (those of you who have taken the prep classes for your internship as I did would refer to this as the bottom of the U-curve) I had the brilliant idea of reading the book of Job. This was the point when my face had exploded with a bright red rash from the thing I either touched or ate that contained something I was allergic to and I was far from home, well I still am, but I was feeling it much more so. The children were at school and I was seemingly alone in my hut with no one to listen to my complaints but God. It must have been Him that put this idea into my head, because why a normal person would begin reading this book when they think they are suffering is beyond me. Being the stubborn person that I am, I opened my Bible and began to read. We all know the first part when God is bragging to the devil about how awesome his servant Job is, and then he proceeds to let the devil take just about everything away from him in his life. This is normally the most that you can remember from Sunday School when you were a kid because that is all the action, but the next part is even better. I have never really read through it before, but the conversation between Job and his friends is captivating. It says that as soon as they got there, they tore their clothes and just sat with him for seven days without speaking a single word. I could put many words to go along with my 'troubles' especially if I had someone else around to talk to about them, but they said nothing. They just sat with him in his grief for seven full days.
They go on to eventually speak words, and what I have read so far has amazed me. One friend encourages him in God's faithfulness to the righteous, another tells about how God will redeem and restore all that was lost. Still in this Job curses the day he was born and I just about laughed when he said that he will speak out of the bitterness of his soul.
This takes you to about chapter 11 and God has already been teaching me so much through it. I have realized that I too have friends that are willing to encourage me in this way when I more often times than not, find myself speaking out of bitterness. So thank you so much for walking through this journey with me! I really do appreciate your encouragement and love that comes from God and that is the best thing I could ever have, even though i might not be the most thrilled to hear it at times. I will be sure to post more on this subject as I continue to read and as God prompts.

touching lives all around the world

some of you will appreciate this more than others but here is a story that I would like to share with you:
So the other day, I was in one of the children's homes on the opposite wing from the one where I work because we were going to be cleaning it out so that we can paint it. I was just looking on the table that is in the middle of the room, where the kids normally do their homework, and I saw a Bible cover. It was just by itself and I thought, "hmm, that it interesting." It was brightly decorated on the front. I picked it up and then turned it over, because it was all by itself; no other pages were with it. I just about peed my pants when I saw what was written on the inside cover. It was just two simple words that I remembered seeing somewhere else recently...oh yes that's where it was, on the wall of a gym where I have been a few times. That's right, inside this bible cover was the phrase made famous by the APU Felix center: GOD FIRST! They didn't have the completed phrase which would have read: God First, since 1896 (I'm not exactly sure the date, but you get the picture)
Anyway, I just wanted to encourage all of those folks who go to APU and let them know that they are still changing the lives of young children all around the world, with that magnificent phrase. Way to go!

Update #1

hello again to everyone!
I finally made it safely to my destination late on Sunday night. I was welcomed by almost the entire staff who were having a goodbye ceremony for a team that had been there for about a month. As soon as I walked in the door, they all shouted "Kabari" which means welcome. I think that is the word that I have heard the most since I have been here. Everyone is so nice and have really made me feel at home here. I was introduced to the family that I will be working with the entire time I am here. They are called the Lucas family, or Mama and Baba Chiri.
My first few days were just spend orientating me to my new surroundings. The children's home is divided into two wings, the East and West wing and there are two families per wing. I am in the West wing with the Lucas family like I said and they have 25 children in total including one biological child, Chiri, who is only 5 years old. they have their own house which is quite small, only a few rooms, and then the children's rooms, and the dinning/common area. All of these are their own separate buildings. The children are at school for most of the day so I just kind of hang around with the parents, and do whatever they are doing or whatever they need me to do. So far this week, i have milked a cow, done lots of laundry by hand, weeding in the garden with a machete, feed the chickens, and many other outdoor activities. Some of the children have asked me if I had ever seen a cow before, and I just laughed and said yes, I have definitely seen a cow before in Bakersfield!
Pretty much all of their food can be found on their property, so they grow it themselves. It is mostly vegitables, and beans, and rice, and wheat, and maize (which is like corn). They even have some fruits here that i was not expecting like mangos, passionfruit, watermelon, and tomatoe tree. For breakfast every morning there is chai, and for dinner at night there is ugali, which is a mixture of flour corn and water. The children love it and I am sure I will get sick of it but it is alright for now. A few times this week I had been invited, along with the other girls who are here, Nikole who is just visiting, and Daniela who is interning also, to have dinner at different houses twice this week. All of the families are very welcoming and encouraging to us. They constantly speak the Word to us and pray for us as we are here, serving.
Aside from the children's home, there is a training fascility here that does a lot of devolpment work that helps to train people in agricutlre so that they can live on their own. They have more resources there like a nursey where they harvest different plants to sell and use on the grounds. They have thier own chickens, goats, rabbits, cows, and fish there as well. Right now there is a group of recovering alcohlics on the base that can be seen around doing many various of these activities. They graduate tomorrow, and one is even being baptized because he became a believer during his stay here, so I am very excited to see all of that.
I just think it amazing how much they get out of everything they have here; like the plants and flowers and animals. Everything has a purpose and is used to its capacity. The crops have been sturggling lately because there has been a drought here for a couple of weeks, so please pray that is will rain enough so that we can sustain the crops! This is just another way that they are truely dependant on God for everything. Whenever there is a problem, they pray and ask God for help because their resources are limited, but who needs them when you have God, right!?!
Oh yes, thank you for your prayers, my luggage finally came on Tuesday, so i was just shy of one week without it. The bag was pretty beat up but everything on the inside was in tact. The team that i mentioned before gave me some clothes that they were going leave here so I had some when they heard that my luggage was lost. It was very nice to have a change of clothes!
I feel like I haven't said much about what I have been doing but everything just moves a little slower here and is more simple than in America. As you can probably tell from all of the people I have mentioned, this is a very person oriented culture, where the relationships made with people are the most important thing. I have learned all of the names of the children in my family, and some other basic words in Swahili that I will use often. We saw off Nikole today; she was visiting Ilula before she has to return to her home. She had interned with them in the past and just finished up serving for a year in another city. It was good to have her around because she helped make me settle in and gave me a little "heads up" on certain things that I should be aware of while here.
Please pray that I can continually transformed by this experience and that I can relate more with the children. I am looking forward to spending more time with them this weekend because they are on a short holiday from school so they will be around more.
I hope to be able to send you some pictures next week in my update when I am in town.
More to come...
Becky