And she walked her days under African skies.

This post will likely fail to express the ways this 2 month adventure has affected me. But here goes...


My heart is full.


This country, these people, this second home called Rafiki....God has renewed my spirit through the things I have experienced these past 8 weeks. I can't remember the last time I have laughed or smiled so much as during our deputation experience. Even if my day was ho-hum or tiring from a day at school, or if we had just had a yelling match back at Wageni, I would walk into the dinning room and just light up. These 97 kids are the cutest you will ever meet, I'm convinced. And the Momma's are incredibly strong and wise. We have all learned about what it looks like to trust in Christ by their lives. The staff, my teammates, the fellow ROS's and Mini's--I've just felt so much love.


While I left for Kenya on a high from graduation--extremely hopeful and excited for the life Christ has created for me--I now recognize that I still had a few chips on my shoulder and places of hardness in my heart. The outpouring of laughter, joy, fellowship, communion with God, lessons on grace for us ragamuffins, love and affection, hope, trust....it's all amalgamated to a renewed spirit, one of positivity and joy. God used those around me to show me his attributes and remind me of his extravagant love. He romanced me with the rolling hills of the Mara, the Kenyan sunrises, afternoon runs--Hosea 2:14 comes to mind: "Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her". His presence was very apparent to me, whether I was alone or surrounded by others.


There are other spiritual lessons I have learned (how universal the Christian faith is, how hard it is to truly live out 1 Corinthians 13) but as I look forward, I think lessons of trust and hope will be most pertinent. This was just one adventure God has made for me...I get giddy thinking of all the other things He will reveal to me as I continue in these roaring 20's and beyond. There will be trials. There will be heartbreak. But I know it will be all for his glory, and be a better story than I could make for myself.


L'amore de Dieu est folie! The love of God is folly. He is too good to us ragamuffins, and gives us far more than we deserve. So thankful for an amazing summer! Onward, Ho!