life lately

Well friends, I suppose I'm currently in that stage of life that many call "the waiting period." Life as of lately has been quite a paradox and filled with a plethora of emotions...I graduated from college, but feel so unaccomplished. I'm so ready for the next stage of my life to kick into gear, but I'm terrified of all the changes that lie ahead. I love being back at home and closest to those I love dearly, but miss my life back in Columbia. I have no idea what lies ahead and so much is unknown, but the one thing I do know (but so often forget) is that I have an incredible Savior who is faithfully leading this stumbling servant through it all.

I'm so thankful that the Lord has helped me diligently train my heart and mind to KNOW that He is in control, despite my circumstances, but inevitably my human flesh would much rather question Him. "Yes, you are in control...so could you please answer me (in the way that I selfishly desire)....quickly??" or "I REALLY could use some direction right about now...have you forgotten about me down here?!" Then just as quickly as I begin my ranting I am jolted back to reality by the Lord saying "Where were you when I laid the earths foundation? Tell me if you understand." (Job 38:4).

Ohhhh yeah. Riiiight. You are Lord and I'm.....umm....not.

This reminder then redirects my focus, making me wonder "So what is it that I'm waiting for?" I mean, aren't we all in some sort of "waiting period"? After talking with a dear friend today, we agreed that it is so easy to get hung up on that one thing that we're waiting for. Are you waiting for that perfect boyfriend/girlfriend? Are you dating Mr. Right and waiting to get engaged? Are you engaged and waiting for marriage? Are you married and waiting for a baby? Another baby? Are you waiting for a job to come along? A better job? The list is endless and unfortunately, it seems that none of us are immune to this vicious cycle....which humbly leads me yet again back to the foot of the Cross where I remember that my Creator didn't intend for it to be this way. Now I'm not saying that marriage, children or jobs are bad things...I believe that they are certainly blessings...but I don't think that they were intended to be my source of peace and joy. I don't believe that God purposefully withholds things from us to make our life "better" later on. I believe that the Lord ALWAYS gives us His best, but what is His best and what we deem is best for us at any given time might not always line up. I believe that we were created to find our deepest value, our truest peace, and our utmost joy in His presence and the best news of it all....He doesn't make us wait for that. His presence is constant and everlasting. His presence is my refuge. His presence brings rest to my soul. And when I actually savor His presence instead of stubbornly ignoring it, waiting doesn't seem all that bad after all.
"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken." (Psalm 62:1-2)

back in action

So I'm aware that I really was not good at this whole blogging thing while I was in Africa but I think I'm gonna give it another shot! I think it's safe to say that the internet connection will be a lot better and more consistent (at least that's my excuse...) so let's hope for the best. Now that I no longer have a Facebook (at least for now) I'll try my best to post pictures and stay in touch with the online world this way.

Quick update on life:
-I graduate from college in 32 days. CRAZY!
-I get hitched in 191 days. EVEN CRAZIER!
-School is kickin' my butt - taking 21 hours during your last semester...not my best move.
-My friends are fabulous. Really fabulous. Leaving them when I leave Columbia is not going to be fun.
-God is continuously reminding me of how much He loves me and how carefully He put together a plan for my life. Why do I worry?! This is a lesson it seems I've learned and unlearned a thousand times.

"You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed." Psalm 139:16

And I'll leave you with a few pictures from a weekend in the mountains with some fabulous friends...

Just one little, tiny confession

Leave it to me to sniff out a hair and nail salon here in Kenya. Yep, it's true. I went into town today with Dr. Mead's wife, Jana, and daughter, Abby and found this little gem. I got a hair cut and a pedicure - and let me tell you, it was great! I love my hair dresser back home, don't get me wrong, but the Kenyan guy did such a wonderful job and it's honestly probably one of the best hair cuts I've ever had. Impressive. And a $7 pedicure can't be beat. The best part of all of this was that I ran into another missionary from Kijabe there too! Ain't nothing wrong with missionaries getting a little pampered up.

Even though I can be a little bit prissy, I'll admit it - I did milk a cow yesterday! What was even better was that I drank the milk not even an hour later in my chai tea. Now that's authentic.

Hope that brought some joy and laughter to your day!

"If you don't know where you're going - no direction of wind is favorable."

-John Maxwell, brought to my attention tonight by the one and only, Dr. Mead

When in Kenya...

Once again, the internet has not been working here at the place I am staying over the past week or so. It has been working for the past half hour so maybe I can get in a blog post before it cuts out again! I am sad to say that all of our college teams have come and gone, but from what I have gathered everyone had great trips. It has been such a blessing to get to experience Kenya with some of my very best friends and form new friendships with those I did not know previously. As DJ says, the Lord has really been working on my heart since I now even have a love for a few Clemson people. :)

A high school team has just arrived from North Asheville Baptist Church led by Tim & Libby Brady. My first Kenya experience last year was with Nathan Smith & The Brady's so it is great to have them back. It makes my heart smile to be working with high schoolers for a bit here in Kenya- reminds me so much of YoungLife and the love I have for all my Brookland-Cayce friends back home. We spent today doing various work projects around CURE Hospital and Rift Valley Academy - the school for missionary kids whose parents are serving all throughout Africa. I did a little painting but am convinced that I am just in the way of progress the Kenyans would make without me there. Oh well, it's the effort that counts.

Most of the time I've been here, I have been working in the hospital and have got to see and even do so many cool things! Dr. Mead and his wife Jana have truly been like second parents to me here - always coming to check on me if I am not feeling well and teaching me so many new things along the way. They are originally from Michigan but have been here in Kenya for the pat 13 years. Unfortunately, they are moving in July to U.A.E. near Dubai and will no longer be in Kenya when I come back to visit. Selfishly, I do not want them to leave but I know the Lord is calling them to a new place and am so excited for them. Dr. Ndasi has also been so great to be around. He is from Cameroon, went to medical school in Nigeria, and is currently finishing up his residency here in Kenya. He is actually coming to Charlotte in September for a month and I am so excited to show him around! He has even invited us to come visit here in Cameroon when he returns in December and has talked about how he lives by the sea so what an awesome opportunity this could be!

Yesterday a missionary couple from Oregon, Dan & Rachel, took us down to the IDP (Individually Displaced People) camps to give out clothes that our teams have left here to donate. These people live in very small tents that were given to them by the Kenyan government as an attempt to compensate them for the land they lost due to tribal warfare after a corrupt presidential election in 2007-2008. They were originally told that they would only be in these tents for 3 months and then given back their land. Unfortunately, this was not the case and they are still there. We had about 12-13 suitcases full of clothes and shoes and distributed them from a central building that is sometimes used for schooling at the camps. We were fortunate enough to have one of the guys who actually lives in the camp to help us regulate the amount of people coming in at a time but it truly broke my heart to see people acting in such a desperate manner. I naturally got a little frustrated at the adults pushing and shoving, trampling over small infants, and even trying to steal more than the allotted number of items for each individual but then I think, "What if this was the only opportunity I had to get clothes for my entire family?" It was disheartening to not be able to give each person everything they needed but I know that the Lord is faithful and will take care of these people in ways that I never could. I feel blessed to be even a small part of just one act that helped provide for some of the most minute needs these people have.

Overall, we've faced a few roadblocks - flat tires, unreliable phones & muddy, muddy roads - but are having such a wonderful time. As the kids say, "God is good all the time. All the time, God is good!"

Auntie Katie

There's nothing that melts my heart quite like precious African kids calling me "Auntie Katie." Instead of Mr. and Miss/Mrs., it is a sign of respect/endearment for the kids to call us Uncle or Auntie...and I LOVE it.

I love the simplicity of these kids. I love learning how love is a universal language. Despite the language barrier, so many things - hugs, kisses, patty-cake, funny faces, tickling, smiles, and most importantly, Christ's love - translate with ease. I also love the latest bundle of joy that was welcomed into Naomi's Village - the youngest (and probably most adorable) child yet is 3-4 month old Evans.

We love because he first loved us. -John 4:19

Overwhelmed with blessings...

First off, I am so sorry I have not been blogging. I promised many that I would consistently blog and let everyone know every detail of the trip, but I forgot to take one tiny thing into consideration - this is Africa, and the internet is very unreliable. So many things have happened and it would be crazy to tell every story that has happened over these last three weeks. However, I am going to tell you a few stories that at least give you an idea how things have been here so far!

If you haven't heard already...I AM ENGAGED!!!!!!!! and I could not be more excited. On May 23, after DJ and I had finished up a day's work (although we worked in separate places that day) DJ asked me to go on a walk. There is a little loop around the compound that we had been walking on before - so I didn't think anything of it. I had the BEST day shadowing Dr. Myrick, a family doctor, and Dr. Tjong, a radiologist, after I had previously been really discouraged about the whole hospital scene (yep, I got sick the other times I had been in the hospital...not fun) so I was such a blabber mouth telling him everything about my day. He told me later that he was thinking "Oh my gosh babe, be quiet." Typical. Towards the end of the walk, there was this really big rose bush that he stopped at that overlooks the Great Rift Valley - such an amazing view. DJ and I had a picnic at this rose bush the weekend before so I'm not going to lie - I started to think that something was up. I then realized that I had just been complaining about being tired so maybe he was being considerate and stopping for me to rest, so I dismissed the thought and continued blabbering more about my day. Little did I know, DJ had Turner Vaughn (one of the great guys on our trip who is insanely talented with the guitar and singing), his sister Kendall, and one of my good friends, Taylor Hardy hiding out behind the bush with cameras. Turner started to play my favorite song, "Your Love is Extravagant" by Casting Crowns (which I didn't even hear at first!). Finally I heard it and looked at DJ, immediately knowing what was about to happen and was like "Shut up, are you serious?" DJ then took me by the hand, gave the sweetest little spill and asked me to marry him. I was so overjoyed! He gave me a ring that says "chosen" on it since it was too risky to bring the real thing here to Kenya. He told me he picked out this ring because he knew that God had chosen us to be together. He then pulled out pictures he had taken of the real bling - and oh my, is that thing beautiful! Kendall and Taylor then came out and took more pictures (and even a video) and the icing on top of the cake, which was completely unplanned, were several little kids that had been peaking behind the bush came up to us, probably not understanding what was going on, but still acted so excited. We finally continued on the rest of our walk and got to share the initial excitement with Dr. Mead (the head orthopedic surgeon here at CURE Hospital)and his wonderful family and then the rest of the group who had been anxiously waiting outside the ENT house (where we are staying). The date is officially set for May 19, 2012 and I could not have asked for a better place for him to pop the big question or a better man to call my future husband!

Yesterday was another very memorable day. I was down at Naomi's Village, a new orphanage started by Julie and Bob Mendonsa, that was just opened in January. They welcomed in 14 orphans in January and brought in 4 more last week. I went on a home visit last week to investigate the living situation of a little girl named Catherine. Her mom died in December of some sickness and her dad was killed in March by a neighbor stabbing him. Both of her parents were buried not even 30 feet away from her house. Luckily, her grandparents lived near by so that is where she has been staying but they are unable to take good care of her. On the home visit, she completely stole my heart. She is about 7 years old (it is crazy how no one knows their birth date here in Kenya), loves school and is even considered first in her class right now. She was so ready to come to the orphanage because by doing this, this meant that she would transfer schools - into Sacred Heart private school, which is her dream school. In order to be able to do this and speed up the process, the balance had to be paid for her current school (all schooling in Kenya is not free). Since her grandparents have very limited resources, this could have taken a while and the balance was 2000 shillings, which is just over 20 American dollars. My heart completely broke for her, so I felt the Lord leading me to to pay off her school balance. By doing this the process was sped up dramatically and I got to go with Julie and the social worker to pick up this little girl to bring her home to the orphanage. She was BEYOND thrilled. Her grandparents were clapping when we pulled up, Catherine was beaming and even was gripping my hands trying to contain her excitement as we pulled up to the orphanage. There are many more details but overall, it was such a wonderful day and the Lord's presence was all over it.

I will leave you with this one last story....last year when I was here in Kijabe for just two weeks the Lord broke my heart for the orphans at Little Lambs Orphanage. Little Lambs is different from Naomi's Village in the way that Little Lambs is only a day program - giving the kids one meal a day, that is often times the child's only meal, and sending them back to wherever they may stay at night. Naomi's Village is more of a traditional orphanage that holds complete custody of the child and is the child's home. Last year at Little Lambs, the main thing that resounded in my mind was the image of the kids running joyfully up the hill towards us "mzungus" (Swahili for white people) with one hand on their back. Their hands were on their backs to hold the books in their bookbags which had so many holes in them and were just a thread away from completely falling apart. I was blessed to be able to bring backpacks back to Kenya for them this summer and they were SO overjoyed! They all began chanting "No more paper bags! No more paper bags!" Can you imagine carrying your books to school is paper bags every day? This is unfathomable to me. The best thing about this day was the fact that yes, they thanked us for the generosity but they gave most of their praises to the true Source of this blessing. They know that every blessing comes from the Lord and this unwavering reliance on God to provide has taught me so much.

I can't wait to post more stories and pictures of what all God is doing here. Thank you so much for your continual prayers!

Finally here, with internet!

I am so sorry to those who have been wondering why I haven't been posting on here, and maybe even worried that I hadn't made it safely. Have no fear, I made it! We've just had a little trouble getting the internet to work here at the ENT house where I am staying...and as you may expect, it's not the easiest thing to communicate with the Kenyans to urge them to get it fixed since all of us have worried friends and families. I don't have much time to write now, but I promise I will give you a day by day break down when I catch some free time (which should be later tonight or tomorrow night). Here in Kenya, we are 7 hours ahead of the east coast in the US so it will still be morning for most of you reading. Overall, things have been wonderful and I can't wait to post some stories and hopefully some pictures!