Wed. SEPTEMBER 5th
I left around 4:00pm for Africa with 5 others. My first time out of the country!!!! Our flight schedule was as follows. From Knoxville to Detroit - 2 hrs., from Detroit to Amsterdam - 8 hrs., from Amsterdam to Nairobi, Kenya - 8 hrs.
Left to Right: John (founder of One Vision International and leader of the trip), Kimber, Bev, Rachel, Ellen, and yours truly.Thurs. SEPTEMBER 6th
Still in the air... It was hard to sleep on the plane and I never thought I'd appreciate the horizontal direction so much!!! The airport floor started looking very tempting during our layovers but time didn't allow it. We had small screens in front of us for one of the flights and so I watched movies, and slept... sitting up. 
When we touched down in Nairobi that night, I started to get really excited. I couldn't believe we were actually there after so much planning and expecting!! A missionary named Shane came to pick us up with his two little boys. We were soon to find out that Shane and his 5yo son, Abraham (called Hammer) were going to accompany us and provide us with entertainment the entire week! :) 
That night we stayed in a convent in Nairobi. We were thankful for nice rooms and decent showers. 
During my quiet time that night my mind was brought to this verse in Ephesians and I wrote it down in my journal.
When we touched down in Nairobi that night, I started to get really excited. I couldn't believe we were actually there after so much planning and expecting!! A missionary named Shane came to pick us up with his two little boys. We were soon to find out that Shane and his 5yo son, Abraham (called Hammer) were going to accompany us and provide us with entertainment the entire week! :) That night we stayed in a convent in Nairobi. We were thankful for nice rooms and decent showers. During my quiet time that night my mind was brought to this verse in Ephesians and I wrote it down in my journal."Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
Ephesians 6:10-12
I knew the Lord was reminding me of what this trip was for. We were starting a battle... a battle to win souls for Christ, being prepared with the armor of God to withstand the schemes of the devil.
Fri. SEPTEMBER 7th
We got up to start the day at 7:00AM Kenya time, midnight our time!!! Suprisingly the time difference didn't affect me all that much. I guess the plane ride wore me out just enough to help me sleep well through the night.
At 7:30AM all nine of us (a native named Shadoa was driving) and at least that many suitcases loaded up in a van and started the 4 hour drive to Chepemma Hope Center.
At 7:30AM all nine of us (a native named Shadoa was driving) and at least that many suitcases loaded up in a van and started the 4 hour drive to Chepemma Hope Center.
Along the way, we went through insane Nairobi traffic,
saw beautiful scenes of the countryside,
and ate at a nice Kenyan restaurant for lunch. For the most part, I wasn't prepared for what I saw. I never imagined Africa so beautiful. I guess I pictured it to be more dry and desert-like but instead I was met with the striking contrast of huge green mountains rising up out of flat widespread pastures. It was amazing how far we could see when we were driving up on one of the mountains. 
Pastor Lemech showed us around the place and as we walked, children started appearing out of nowhere glancing at us shyly and following the group. We found out soon that they LOVE having their picture taken and we happily obliged. Here are some from that first day.
This is one of their classrooms (don't exactly know what I'm doing here);) ... they were doing Social Studies that afternoon. Written on the blackboard was, "How Kenya Became A Nation"... it made me want to sit down and start studying with them.
There are about 99 kids at the school, of which about 60 are orphans. At the school, the orphans are provided with a place to live (buildings made out of mostly tin), one meal a day, and school supplies. Even with so little, it was amazing to see the contentment in the children's faces. They had everything they absolutely needed, and were satisfied with that. It really made me start thinking about how we, as spoiled Americans, have such a warped view of what we truly "need". I have so much to learn from their example of contentment and lack of complaining. That evening we travelled about 30 min. to "Sunrise Acres", the place we were staying for the week. It turned out to be a nice set of cabins built to house mission teams. Our cabin had four bedrooms, a nice livingroom and kitchen area, and a bathroom.
For dinner we drove to a restaurant down the road and ate very African"ish" food. Back at the cabin, the team hung out for a while listening to missionary stories from Shane (some not so very pleasant to hear) and planning out our schedule for the next day with the kids. I went to bed that night very excited about what the next day would bring.
For dinner we drove to a restaurant down the road and ate very African"ish" food. Back at the cabin, the team hung out for a while listening to missionary stories from Shane (some not so very pleasant to hear) and planning out our schedule for the next day with the kids. I went to bed that night very excited about what the next day would bring.**I'm realizing how long this is going to be so I'll just post in sections. Part 2 (and 3, if necessary) coming soon.**
