On Time

I'm sitting in the Washington Dulles airport after approximately 24 hours of travel straight - and still a few more hours to go until I get to my final destination of the week, Philadelphia.

A lot's changed over the last couple days. I packed up my apartment at Tenwek, traveled to Nairobi and checked a few last minute things off the bucket list, headed to the airport to begin the journey back to America, had a nice long layover in Brussels, and now I'm about to begin a week of celebration for the wedding of two fabulous friends. Let's just say there's been more than a few tears shed about all of this change. Am I thrilled to be coming home? Absolutely. Am I am devastated that I had to leave the family that I had made at Tenwek? You better believe it. 

Everyone kept asking me, "How are you feeling about leaving?" And my response was the same every time, "Completely mixed emotions." I wanted to be able to give them a straight answer but that's the truth, I was completely overwhelmed but yet astoundingly at peace at the same time. 

Tenwek was my lovely, empowering, challenging and hospitable home for the last 11 months, but that's just it. It was for 11 months and now I'm back in America starting the next chapter whether I want to or not. There's a lot of unknowns and even more unanswered questions about what this year meant and how it's supposed to impact my future but here's something I know to be true - this year changed my life, my perspective, my priorities, and my faith. How and to what extent those things were changed, only time will tell, but I find comfort in the knowledge that God's got it under control. 

On various Sunday mornings in church at Tenwek we would sing the hymn, "Trust and Obey." And a few lines of the hymn go like this: 

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share, 

But our toil He doth richly repay: 

Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross, 

But is blessed if we trust and obey. 

Trust and obey, for there's no other way

To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey. 

This was the anthem of my year. Trust and obey the commands and promises of Christ, and he will richly repay our grief and loss. Let it go (unintentional Frozen reference), but for real - control is overrated. 

I'm incredibly sad that my season of life at Tenwek has come to a close, but the friends and memories I made far outshine the sorrow I feel. A great friend of mine wrote me a sweet farewell card (that I packed in my checked bag so I don't have the exact wording but...) on the back it had a proverb to the effect of, "We would not have memories without goodbyes." I love this. 

God's timing is far greater than ours, and although my time felt cut short at Tenwek, it was so so full. Full of life. Full of love. Full of grace and mercy I had never experienced before. 

Also, you would never believe this but I just saw a Maasai warrior walking through the Washington Dulles airport. What!? Habari yako, friend! 

|| This is a new nation, based on a mighty continent of boundless possibilities. - Theodore Roosevelt ||

On Adventure

Here we are again about two months after my last post. Gosh. Sorry, friends.

Here's what's been going on.

We finished up Bible Quizzing season! The Giant Slayers unfortunately didn't make it to the final tournament but we put up a good fight, plus most of my kids received a medal for memorizing anywhere from 30-60 verses from 1 Samuel. Despite taking up the majority of my Sunday's from January through March, it was such a wonderful time to get to invest in some of the children in and around Tenwek.

All the missionaries from both World Gospel Mission and Samaritan's Purse traveled to the coast to enjoy a time of retreat, rest and relaxation for a week. We stayed at a lovely hotel right on the beach and were able to enjoy a little fun in the sun. The young adults were asked to help with child care, so me and another college student were put in charge of the 6th-8th graders. We had a great time laughing together and talking about the One True God - at least the first day. On day two I woke up in terrible pain in my abdomen and ventured down to breakfast where I knew all of the missionary DOCTORS would be so I could get a consult and potentially some pain medication to get it under control. After not so much debate, the docs and myself concluded that it was indeed another kidney stone.

I was basically put on house arrest and praise the Lord there was a pharmacy across the road from the hotel that we were able to find a few liters of fluid to get in me. Only in Kenya, and only with my Kenyan family, would I get sick at the beach, be posted up in my room, have an IV line put in that's attached to a hanger. Man, it's always an adventure.

But I have to say, the love and support that I got from so many during those few days that I was out of commission truly showed me the body of Christ. Some prayed, some spent the days and nights with me to make sure I was okay, and others just laughed with me (and maybe at me) because nothing heals the spirit quiet like a good laugh.

A few of the short term visitors wanted to take a weekend trip to Hell's Gate. Granted, I had already been (check out my Facebook for pictures), but this was a great group of people that I couldn't miss out traveling with. Hell's Gate National Park has beautiful landscape, incredible biking paths, and animals that roam free. At one point there was a giraffe snacking on an acacia tree about fifty feet away from the path. It was a blast.

Today, one of my good friend's sister got married! The whole community was invited to this wedding - there were probably 500 people in attendance - and despite being very different from an American wedding, it was definitely a day of communal celebration. From dancing down the isle, to enjoying a Kenyan feast at the reception, it's going in the books as one of the most memorable experiences of my life. Congratulations to Anna and Erick, may the Lord bless you! 

Last but certainly not least, it's official, my parents and sister are coming to visit!! People, this is big news. It's less than a month until they arrive and I cannot express my gratefulness for all of you who have prayed for me during this year because now, the family is coming to see all the shenanigans that I've gotten myself into.

I only have about two months left of my service here at Tenwek. It doesn't seem real that it's been a year since I first made the decision to come. I've learned and grown
so much in the last nine months and I know the Lord has so much more for me to experience.

Please partner with me to pray for..
- The next Friends of Tenwek intern. We're still looking for someone to replace me come June so please pray that the Lord would lead a bright and excited young person to apply for next year. If you know anyone who might be interested, please pass my information along and I'd be more than happy to connect with them.
- The CMDA conference in Greece. Tenwek cleared out this weekend as most of the missionary docs traveled to Greece to attend the Christian Medical and Dental Association conference in order to keep up on their continuing medical education (CME) courses. In addition, please pray for the visiting staff doctors that are here covering for the long termers. Tenwek is a busy place and right now we're relying on a lot of outside help - praise the Lord they're here and willing to do so.
- The Mercy Fund. In my last post I talked about visiting an orphanage to get information for a project I've been working on called the Mercy Fund. In it's finality, it will function as a medical insurance fund for the five surrounding orphanages. There have been speed bumps along the way, but please pray with me that this fund will be up and running by my departure in hopes that it will provide support both financially and spiritually for the children in these homes.

Also, everyone knows I'm bad at updating my blog so if you want more consistent updates about my work please check out the Friends of Tenwek Facebook page!

|| To fall in love with God is the greatest romance; to seek him the greatest adventure; to find him, the greatest human achievement. - Augustine of Hippo || 

On Boundaries

“So what’s next for you?”

A question I hear daily. A question that nearly every 20 something hears on the regular just because of the stage of life that we’re in. This question probes us to take personality tests to help us decide what would best fit our specific skills and strengths. This question ignites fear and anxiety about the thousands of choices we have for our future. But most of all, this question makes us think WAY too much.

I’ve officially been in Kenya for 7 months, with the exception of a short stint in the middle where I was able to go home for the holidays. There have been highs and lows that have trumped any high or low that I experienced before for this adventure. Kenya is a challenging place of lack of anonymity and of cultural sensitivity, but is also a beautiful place full of God’s creative splendor.

One of the most challenging parts about this experience is that I feel like I’m missing so many big events in the lives of those I love. Some examples. Since I’ve been here, 5 close friends have gotten engaged, 4 have gotten married, 1 has had a child, and so many more have moved jobs, houses, lives, and plans for their future. It all seems very glamorous. Or at least Facebook makes me believe that it is.

Let’s be real, everyone makes their lives seem awesome on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube etc. Who wouldn’t? Instead of gloating in reality we now have a platform to do it virtually without shame. Right? Think again.

The version of myself that I present on any sort of social media is only in competition to my “friends.” We give others a baseline for engagement in order to try and out-post, out-cool, and out-beat each other with how many likes and comments we can get. And trust me, I’m the first one to admit that I’m guilty of this.

So how does this relate to “What’s next for you”? Well, I see others lives, or the version of their lives that is public to the world, and it’s intimidating. Everyone’s fighting for the nicest clothes, the cutest pet, and the best paying job and I’m exhausted just thinking about how much stuff I have to get when I return just to keep up with the social status.

If my time in Kenya thus far has taught me anything, it’s that I’m a sinner. I fall into the lies of the enemy more often than ever. “You’re not sacrificing enough.” “You’re not involved enough.” “You’re not trying.” “You’re not equipped for this work.” “You don’t have what it takes here or at home.” These lies come from various mediums but that’s exactly what they are, they’re lies.

Some of the new-ish missionary women at Tenwek have been meeting for small group and reading Your Beautiful Purpose by Susie Larson. It talks about discovery of God’s work through you and how to enjoy His purpose. From last week’s meeting, this paragraph really resonated with me.

“God has a protective, loving heart for us. Within each season, He measured out a boundary where we can thrive, flourish, and grow. We have giants to face, battles to win, and victories to gain. These are all doable within the boundaries God sets for us. And the moment He knows we’re ready, He’ll expand our territory in one way or another.”

I may compare and I may struggle to know what’s next, but God has set my boundaries for this time. He’s created a place for me to be victorious, to defeat the lies the enemy tempts me to believe and to keep me expectant for how He will provide.

So what’s next for me? A territory expansion. But only He knows what that will include. All I can to do is thrive, flourish and grow in the boundary He has set for me now.

Prayer requests 

1. We're nearing the end of Bible Quizzing and our second competition is next week. The kids are being quizzed on memory verses and questions from several chapters in 1 Samuel! Pray for The Giant Slayers (my team obviously) as they compete next week for the gold! 

2. Alongside several long-termers, I've been working on a project that will allow the 5 orphanages in the area to receive medical attention free of charge due to a generous donation of a visiting Tenwek doc. Please pray that despite the challenging and menial work, that we'll get it up and running in a few weeks. Update to follow soon. 

3. Let's continue to pray for South Sudan, Ukraine and the many nations that are in conflict. 

4. Praise: Despite being in rural Kenya, we got to watch a majority of the Olympics! Letsgoooo USA. 

5. We also had a Girls Night a week ago which obviously included hair braiding, nail painting, and Frozen watching. So much fun. 

|| As human beings, our job in life is to help people realize how rare and valuable each one of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has--or ever will have--something inside that is unique to all time. It's our job to encourage each other to discover that uniqueness and to provide ways of developing its expression. – Mr. Rogers ||

On Blessing

I've spent the last several weeks attempting to come up with a cohesive short and sweet post but turns out the connection between my head and my hands has been short-circuited. I have wanted to share about my birthday (22!), World Gospel Mission's retreat in December (Santa visited), my trip back home to Puyallup to spend the holiday season with family and friends, a recent visit from a Friends of Tenwek board member who came to love on children in nearby Nakuru, and - last but not least - my constant battle with my health (i.e. kidney stone!). Those events have passed now but it's amazing to think about how much life has been lived since my last post in November.

Harrison at the Nakuru Children's Rally.

It's still incredible to me that 2014 has arrived in full force, not to mention we're already more than half way through January. I've been thinking primarily about time and how I view and use my time and from what I've deduced, I still think in semesters. It's like I've been a student all my life or something. But it's 2014 and I have six and a half more months of service in Kenya to learn from the culture, grow from the experience, and be challenged to seek all that the Lord would have me find.

But I have a story for you.

Last week, I was welcoming several visitors to the Guesthouse and one of the many Kenyan helpers, who cleans and takes care of all of us here, volunteered to carry some of the luggage to their designated apartment. After getting everything up and sorted for our visitors, this woman walked out of the apartment before me and I noticed she was wearing a shirt that looked oddly familiar. It took me about 5 seconds to realize that the shirt she was wearing was mine.

Well, it used to be mine. A few weeks ago I went through my clothes to get rid of some things that I didn't need. This particular shirt, a blue and white striped polo, had several significant stains on the front of it from various eating incidents and was discarded. A few more tattered items were thrown out while others were saved to give to local children's homes. I didn't think anything of it.

But then the shirt shows up several weeks later, being worn by a woman who, I'm speculating, took it out of my garbage.

Two emotions flooded over me: gladness and shame. Gladness because what was once mine was being used to clothe someone in more need than myself. Shame because I didn't consider gifting it or donating it in the first place.

What disqualified the shirt from me wanting it any more? Why didn't I consider it as a valuable piece of clothing? The thought didn't even cross my mind that someone else may want this particular shirt due to its stains and general warn qualities. But the real issue is that I had the option of discarding it. I had other items of clothing to replace the old stained polo. I had the choice.

The shirt. And Julia and May, two lovely MK's! 

After sharing this story with a very wise woman, she wrote me and said, "There are blessings to be had in many ways. Not just in having things, but for someone who doesn't have many things, the gift of adding something, is meaningful. Those of us who have many things, find joy in seeking what we don't have and often those things are intangible, like having your room cleaned or a smile when you're down, or a 'Thank you' when you're feeling unappreciated. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they will inherit the earth."

What we have (or don't have) physically, emotionally, and spiritually are our blessings. The Lord has gifted us with treasures that we are to share and utilize for His glory. He created people to live in community for a reason, to bless each other with what we've been given. And for all my Wheaton people, "Community is messy!"

View of my backyard in Puyallup.

So considering the multitude of blessings that we have, how are we sharing them? Are we harboring them for safe keeping, or expelling them to glorify the King? How do we reconcile the immense quantity that we possess to the great quality that is shared when blessings are exchanged? 

Prayer requests 

1. That my health continue to improve. Still having a little kidney pain here and there but praying it's nothing more serious than a stone. 

2. For our long term missionaries that they continue to be encouraged by each other and by the Lord. 

3. For the short term visitors that their hearts be strengthened by the challenges God places before them. 

4. All the children involved in Bible Quizzing at Bethesda Africa Gospel Church. Nearly 300 children from around the Tenwek area, including several children's homes and schools, are participating in this years Bible Quizzing where they will memorize and learn verses from 1 Samuel! 

5. Praise... GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!! Heading to the Superbowl! 

|| Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:3-5 ||