quite the invitation..

Mirembe :) (i think that means 'greetings' in swahili)

 Day 9 the girls 'african dared me' to eat this pepper that we got at dinner, so of course i did, and it was the hottest thing i have ever even imagined. my eyes were watering and snot was coming out of my nose and pastor julius was tryin to pour water in my mouth and everyone was dyin laughin at the whole situation.. and then Manna took a nibble of one and almost cried haha.. it felt like my tongue and lips were numb and swollen. (i think i am making a way bigger deal of it than it really was haha) but i wanted to share that fun story because our team has a ton of fun together. i thoroughly enjoy being here with them all. and by the way, i was totally fine a half hour later after eating like 20 bananas :) worth it!

 One thing i have learned is what REAL peace is- it's not a feeling. lauren keith helped me to see that the kind of "transcendant peace" that paul talks about is really just the peace of knowing that a wretched sinner has been reconciled to a holy and just God. so whenever i have been afraid here or scared of the darkness or overwhelmed by all the need or by the culture shock, i remember that i have been reconciled to God- that a solution has already been worked out to the biggest problem mankind ever had (being separated from God and dead in our sin).. Jesus solved the biggest problem we could ever have, and every other problem is small compared to the cross. Now, that is peace.


On day 9 i made this friend named Beth, and on day 10 she walked with me as we walked from hut to hut in the beautiful kenyan hills to pass out flour and pray for the homes and families. she had to part with our group at some point, but when we went to a home by waweza's orphanage later she found me again and ran to me and grasped my hand! As we walked to the orphanage she kept smiling up at me, telling me in swahili to stay with her. While i played 'football' and sat with steph and sang along and had ticklefights with some of the kids, Beth stayed right behind me, usual sitting on my lap. At one point we were chasin the soccer ball and a boy kicked it at her legs.. i looked up just at the right moment to see it happen, and i saw the tears forming in her eyes so i ran over to her. Beth is handicapped (not quite sure if it's just physical or if it's mentally too) but she has a lot of open sores on her poor little legs, so to get kicked by a soccer ball really hurts. I held her for a little while and prayed for her, and she cheered up a bit... I haven't been able to process much here or react to anything, i kinda feel numb at times because i know i will have to process a lot of what i see after the trip, but that little girl is one child that really has affected me.. i absolutely love getting to love on her. she's the one that nobody sees, that nobody gets to know, she's thirsty for love, and i am dying to show her Jesus' love because it is so wide and long and deep.


As a Christian, i carry the infinite value of knowing Christ everywhere. I gotta tremble and grow restless at that thought and not be content not doing my utmost for the glory of God. We have an obligation to put Christ on display.. and He is so good, so FULL of love, that i long to do nothing but that. One verse that the Lord has taught me a lot through is Jeremiah 20:9. We are to soak up the presence of God, and when it becomes too much to contain, we shouldn't contain it. That's life... Jesus loves on us and we love the world because His love that He gives us is so vast. It is so enough.

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love." -john 15:9, best invitation man has ever gotten :)