Pure Joy

So as you might have noticed, I didn't post at all while we were in Kenya.  We had very limited access to wifi and I didn't want to spend my time at the school staring at a screen when I could spend it making some of the most precious memories of the trip.  So, as promised, I will be blogging this week to share stories, photos, and moments from the trip that completely changed my life.  I started to organize my posts in the most simple way, a day-by-day description of what we did each day.  But instead of making this a diary of our every move, I've decided to take a different approach.  For this first post I'm going to share some highlights and in the rest of the posts I will focus on a specific area(or a few areas combined) or a specific part of the trip to give you a better idea of the many ways the Lord is using Freedom Global and the people in Kenya for His Kingdom's cause.

Painting outside the classrooms at Uhuru Academy

Since returning, several people have asked me to give highlights of the trip.  I'm guessing they think I'm either too jet-lagged to share too much or they know I will go on for hours if they don't limit me.  I am tired, but far more than being physically tired I am emotionally exhausted because I quickly grew to love so many beautiful faces in Kenya and then too quickly had to say goodbye.  Which means highlights are hard to give because the entire trip was a highlight.  God was using each and every moment and experience to teach me something about him.  So to give highlights is a difficult task, but I'll share a few of the most special moments of the trip.  There are many, many more highlights to come in later posts and ones that I would love to share about in person, so please stay tuned and feel free to ask me anything.

When I wrote about the song "Signature of Divine" in my pre-trip post I had it all wrong.  Or at least didn't have the complete story.  To refresh your memory on those lyrics I wrote of prior to the trip, it begins with "Cathedrals have tried in vain, to show the image of your face.  But we are, by your design, signature of divine." While I first wrote about how crazy it is that we are created in his image and get to be called "his" and focused on the amazing opportunity before us to be the signature of divine in Kenya, which is all true, it turns out God had so much more to reveal to me about who he is and who we are in him through the people I encountered in Kenya.  I saw the image of God's face in a way I've never experienced before when I looked at the students at Uhuru Academy.

For just over a year now my mom, my aunt, and I have been praying for and sponsoring a scholarship for a student who attends Uhuru Academy.  Her  name is Loise Wafari.  Last Wednesday, I finally got to meet Loise and my heart was forever changed.  We attended chapel at the school that evening, which I will share more about in another post, but after chapel I was called over to meet Loise.  We quickly connected as we shared stories of our families and talked about our favorite subjects in school.  Loise is a Form 2 and will graduate in 2018.  (Their academic year ends in October/November.  Their closing ceremony for this year is Wednesday.  So Loise will graduate in late October 2018.) She loves history and math, but dislikes chemistry.  Loise wants to be an accountant. Did I mention that my mom also helps sponsor Loise? My mom, the retired accountant, who continues to work long hours crunching numbers as a "part time" accountant. Loise loved that. I took photos to share with her of my family and a photo of Pilot Mountain to show her where I was from; her eyes lit up as I told her about my parents, my sisters, my aunt and uncle, and my home.  In those first few moments of embracing her, hearing stories, and sharing laughter together, the Lord revealed a joy and love that can't be described.  Yes, it was a cool moment to meet and talk to the girl who I've been sponsoring, but it was so much more than just that.  It was full of pure joy and grace and a moment where I experienced the deep love of our Heavenly Father.  Here I had come thousands of miles hoping to meet her and be the hands and feet of Jesus to her, but turns out the Lord used her to completely change my heart.

Margaret (left), Loise (middle)

Another highlight was intertwined with the first highlight of meeting Loise.  This highlight was a girl named Margaret.  I first met Margaret on the football (soccer) field on Monday.  We joined the girls for sports on Monday and despite my limited soccer skills I decided to join that game.  There were lots of brief introductions on the field during periods where the ball was being retrieved from the volleyball court or from the bottom of the hill.  One of those brief intros was with Margaret.  The meeting where I really began to get to know Margaret though happened shortly after I met Loise.  As Loise and I were talking away from the crowd after chapel, another girl walks over and sits down next to Loise.  Meet Margaret.  Turns out Margaret and Loise are best friends.  They have a friendship that reflects the love of Christ in a beautiful way.  Watching them together and hearing them laugh with one another was yet again a moment of pure joy.  The next day we did a ropes course and had a field day with the girls (another portion I will share much more about in another post) and Margaret was on my team.  I would love to say this gave me the chance to pour into her (and I hope the Lord used me to do that), but it was she who really poured into me.  During our longest conversation, as we walked back to the school after the ropes course, Margaret says, "I think you know my sister."  At first I was a little confused, but she then explained that she is the younger sister of Gladys.  I met Gladys three years ago when she was a young Form 1 student.  Gladys is now a Form 4 at Uhuru Academy and about to graduate.  I was able to see her, hug her, and share a very special moment on the soccer field on Monday.  But the Form 4 students didn't get to hang out with us very much because they were focused on reviewing for the KCSE (Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education), which is the Kenyan version of the SAT on steroids.  So I didn't get to see much of Gladys.  But I got to spend a lot of precious time with her sister Margaret.  Margaret wants to be a pilot.  She loves sciences.  She shared with me about how her sister was the only one to believe in her before she arrived at Uhuru Academy.  That even she didn't believe in herself.  But Gladys continued to encourage her to come to Uhuru, that with God's help they were going to change things for their family.  I have no doubt the Lord is going to use Margaret and Gladys in mighty ways.  Their faith is unshakeable.  After the 2007 post-election violence their family spent seven years in a tent with ten people sleeping on a queen size mattress.   The Lord provided a way first for Gladys to attend Uhuru Academy and then for Margaret to attend Uhuru Academy and both to receive a quality education.  He then used the students of Uhuru to begin to change their family's physical circumstances.  The Uhuru students visited their home and then decided to give up meat for two months in order to save money to help build a home for Gladys and Margaret's family.  A true testament of the Lord at work through this ministry.  Along with the educational and physical needs, he is also very clearly at work in their lives spiritually.  Margaret  passionately shared with me that first and foremost she must keep God first in her life.  That he has provided for their family and she knows he will continue to do so.  One day Margaret is going to fly herself to my country to visit me and then fly me back to visit Kenya.  I am praying for that day, would you pray with me too?

After the intense football (soccer) match.  Gladys is next to me in the middle with the shirt that reads "Blue."

The last highlight will be a brief overview because I'll share a full post on it later.  I spent my birthday in Kenya.  I have been blessed with an amazing family and friends here in the States for my entire life and thanks to you all I've had some awesome birthdays.  But I have to say that this year was THE BEST birthday.  It was spent playing field games, encouraging students on the ropes course, building new friendships, getting "watered," and visiting a vocational school for girls with disabilities.  But the thing that stood out far more than what I "did" on my birthday was the genuine, deep, pure love that I was showered with (both literally and figuratively) throughout the entire day.  Girls I had hardly even met were coming to give me huge birthday hugs. There were many renditions of "Happy Birthday" sung, a lot of water thrown at me, and a continuous joy stirred in my heart.  Pure joy that only comes from the Father.  Our Heavenly Father was so gracious to me as those girls revealed how deep his love is for us.  And once again, my heart was forever changed. How deep the Father's love for us, how vast beyond all measure.  I pray that He continues to be glorified because the sweet love and joy I experienced on my birthday was not about me, but about the relentless and beautiful love he has for us, which he reveals through others.  For me, it was clearly revealed in the eyes, words, songs, hugs, and smiles of 77 incredible Kenyan high school girls.

With Loise on my birthday.

We sang "Amazing Grace" several times on our trip.  The words are such a true depiction of not only what I was able to experience this trip, but also the reason I was able to experience it all.  What amazing grace Christ has shown me to save me, that I might share in the pure joy and love that he desires for me.  What amazing grace he has given to those beautiful girls.  And what amazing grace that one day we will all get to bow at his feet together, worshiping him forevermore.  I pray that Loise and Margaret and the many others who you will hear more about, always know how much they are loved by me.  But much more than that, I pray they will always know how much they are loved by our Heavenly Father and how sweet his amazing grace is for them.

TOMORROW.  After months of praying, planning, and preparing, our trip is happening.  I know some of you will look at this and immediately put it in the TLDR pile ("too long, didn't read" pile, for those of you wondering what that means), which is totally fine, but at least read this first paragraph as I want to thank you. A huge thank you to all of you reading this who have prayed, offered words of encouragement, listened to me share about my excitement, and several who have  supported my trip through your generous donations.  While I may be the one getting on a plane and spending a week in Kenya, in many ways I'm taking all of you with me, because without you it would not be possible. I am so grateful for your hearts and investment in His kingdom.

I wanted to write this pre-departure note because many of you have been asking whether I will be documenting the trip and if you can follow along somewhere.  Internet access will be very limited during our trip (we are going to a third world country after all), so updates will be limited, if they happen at all.  But I will certainly be sharing about the trip once we return. If you followed along with my trip in 2013 you may recall that I was able to post almost every day.  We are staying at a different location this time, which does not have wifi. But I'm excited about the new spot and also welcome the time to be disconnected.

Since I won't be posting daily, I'll provide a brief overview of what our itinerary looks like.  When I get back and share with you what actually happened on our trip there is a strong chance that it will be very different from what the itinerary says.  Why you ask....well, because it's Africa. We'll be flying out tomorrow afternoon, Charlotte to Atlanta to Amsterdam to Nairobi. (Pray that this part of the trip does NOT change from the itinerary 🙂) We are scheduled to arrive in Kenya on Saturday night, which will be early afternoon back home. We'll be going to church on Sunday to a church plant that was started by a group of Kenyans a couple years ago. It wasn't around when I was there last, so I look forward to this. After church we'll be visiting the homes of some of the students. On Monday, we will work on the farm and then go hang out at Uhuru Academy for a tour of the facilities and sports/games with the students. Tuesday will mainly be spent working on projects on the farm. On Wednesday, we will have a chance to see the area and then participate in GLOW club, which is a girls discipleship program. Thursday will be more farm work and helping with another GLOW club event. During these work days there are various other projects, but more importantly time to get to know the Kenyans and build relationships with them. On Friday, we'll be heading to Maasai Mara to go on safari! Saturday it's back to Limuru to pack up and say goodbyes before heading to the airport for a late flight and eventually arriving back in Charlotte late Sunday afternoon.

So, in case I haven't mentioned it, we leave tomorrow! That means I've got a lot of excitement, but full disclosure, I also have a good bit of anxiety.  With that range of emotions, I want to share a little of what's on my heart pre-trip. As I shared with my roommate (who is also going on the trip!) this morning, I feel very unworthy to be going across the world to be the hands and feet of Jesus and leading an incredible team of people from Mercy Church, and yet in light of the cross, I have never felt more called to go and serve and share Jesus with the nations.  Before work this morning it really hit me that I am headed back to Kenya, a place I fell in love with three years ago. But what also hit me was the joy that comes in obedience, the undeserved grace that Jesus provides, and the incredible mission we are called to as believers. And as these emotions came flooding in several songs came on that help share what my heart is feeling right now. First was the song "Signature of Divine" by my favorite band, NeedtoBreathe. To be completely honest and vulnerable with you guys, the moment I began to hear the words and sing along, the tears began to flow. (This resulted in me having to get myself put back together before rolling into work with mascara everywhere.) Here are a few of the lyrics:

"Cathedrals have tried in vain
To show the image of your face.
But we are, by your design  

The signature of divine. 

We'll always sing your name,

Forever and today. 

Yahweh, Yahweh,

Great is your glory, when you go before me.

Oh, we sing, 

Holy, Holy,

Your ways are lovely, so high above me,

Yahweh"

As I sang those words to a song I've sung hundreds of times, I was struck by both the weight of that calling and the beauty of it...by His design, we are signatures of DIVINE.  To be the signature of divine..God, the holiest of holies, saying these are the ones to be identified as from me, the image bearers of me, the divine one. That's huge! He designed us to be exactly that. With the joy, beauty, and weight of that calling, we can rest in knowing that THE divine one, the one who created us, the one who sits on the throne...He goes before us. His glory is great, his ways are lovely, and he is Yahweh. It's about him, not about us. So as I prepare to go serve his kingdom, I rest in knowing that he has chosen me but does not send me alone, instead he goes before me, and by resting in that I pray this trip would bring glory to his name. Side note: so much more we could dig into here, but I've already rambled enough. Go listen to the song!

"Signature of Divine" was followed by "All Creatures of Our God and King." (Shoutout to Mercy Worship for their recently released EP which includes this song sung by my girl Kalli, shoutout to her amazing voice, too.)  This song always reminds me of a few things: how worthy our God is to be praised, the beauty and vastness of his creation, and that one day all of creation will bow at his feet and every tongue will confess that he is Lord. It also takes me back to one of my favorite parts of my last trip when our team worshiped with the girls at Uhuru Academy. We got to experience the awesome praise that they give to our great God. The same God I worship in the US. The same great God I fail to praise enough in the midst of my privileged first world "problems." That same God is present and praised in Kenya. That same God who created all the earth and everything in it. And I get the opportunity to go across his world and lift my voice and sing praises to him with his creation, on a different continent, in a different language (sometimes), with people of a different tribe. Whoa! "Praise, praise the Father, praise the Son. And praise the Spirit, Three in One. Oh praise him, alleluia."

And the last song that came on before I arrived to work was "My Solid Rock," another one found on the Mercy Worship EP. (Y'all, you NEED to download this EP!) Some of the lyrics for this one:

"My solid rock, it is Jesus. 

My only hope, is in your Name. 

Through it all, you are faithful. 

Forever we will praise the name of Jesus." 

If you take nothing else from this post, would you take a few seconds to pray just that...that Jesus would be our rock during this trip, that he would be the solid rock for believers in Kenya, that people  who don't know him would come to know the unwavering hope we find in Jesus and that he would become their solid rock, and that the name of Jesus will be forever praised, all across the world.

Despite how good it was for me to hear those songs this morning, to take my mind away from the list of all the things I needed to do before tomorrow and focus it back on Jesus, no song lyric compares to the words of Jesus himself. So I want to finish with this: "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.'" Matthew 9:35-37. My words would be so inadequate, so Thank you Jesus for sending me. Would you continue to teach my heart to show compassion to the harassed and helpless through this trip and may my labor be glorifying to you.

Thank you for taking time to read this ridiculously long post. I can't wait to share with you all the fun and memorable moments from or trip, but more than that, I hope to tell you stories about people and the lives being changed by the gospel!

Love in Christ,

Catherine