I’m Coming Home

So just in case people weren’t aware… I’m coming home for Christmas!!

A few things:

No, it does not mean I’m staying home for good.

Yes, I am going back.

Yes! I’d love to come and visit your church and talk about missions in Africa, thank you for asking!!

Yes, I still do need support in order to go back and do ministry there.

No, that does not just include financial support. The best thing you can do for me is continue to pray! (Although any and all financial support will also be appreciated!)

What am I going to miss the most about Kenya during my time in Australia?

Nyama choma without a doubt… Just kidding. Kinda.

The serious answer would be the people. My new friends. My Kenyan family. (P.s nyama choma is BBQ meat. But kenyan style.)

What am I going to miss the least about Kenya?

Getting proposed to by random people. And the dust. And the dust that turns to mud when it rains. And the rainy season because it turns the dust to mud.

What am I looking forward to the most when I get back to Australia?

MY FAMILY. My mum. My sister. My close friends. The beach. FOOD. Like Pho soup, Turkish mixed plates and Korean BBQ.

What am I looking forward to the least when I get back to Australia?

The economy. The excess. The waste. The lack of black people (Amy Francis :P).

One of the biggest things I’m scared of is how hard I’m thinking it’s going to be when I transition back to a “western” culture.

The struggle is real.

Camp 360

I know I’ve already posted on facebook asking for support for the teens I work with. But I wanted to share a little on my experience so far on the organisation of camp 360.

When I first arrived, I was told about camp 360. Coming from a background of camping in Australia I was instantly interested to see how things were run and done here in Kenya. I was interested to see if there were things I could learn and take back and if there were things I could share from my experiences. I was also interested to see the ways in which camp changes lives here.

Culture plays such a huge role in a lot of my experiences here. The Australian culture that I know and (generally) love is much different to the Kenyan culture I now find myself immersed in. So, culturally, camp is different.

Anyway. I started to join the monthly meetings for camp preparations. There are a number of churches involved and they meet on a monthly basis for the year leading up to the camp.

A year.

A year of evaluating. A year of preparing. A year of dialogue. A year of prayer.

The camps are saturated in prayer.

I won’t go into a detailed summary of each meeting, but as each meeting passed I really got a sense for the dedication and commitment the other leaders had for this camp. I began processing that these leaders had seen first-hand the transforming power of camp. They had watched as rebellious, hard-hearted teens, or shy and timid teens (or any broken combination you think will fit here) walked away from a 5-day camp transformed.

And I discovered the worth and value of camp 360. I desperately wanted my teens to go. I wanted them to experience it. I wanted them to feel and know God.

That’s why it’s so important to me that people help me help them.

If you know what it’s like to have your life changed on camp… Then please, donate even just a small amount to help a teen feel the same thing.

You might be wondering what it is I do exactly

I’ve realised that I haven’t really given a good summary of what I do here.

Basically I’m part of the church staff at Lifespring chapel Embakasi. Specifically in charge of the teens ministry (no surprises there, surely).

It means looking after the discipleship of a fairly new ministry. When I first arrived, the “youth service” had been around for a while, whilst still maintaining the same people coming along… This meant that it ended up as more of a “young adults” service, and left a huge gap where teen ministry used to be. Teens were no longer coming to church because they didn’t feel like they fitted in anywhere.

So the church leadership decided to put an age limit to the youth service and then have it run alongside the main family service each and every Sunday. Now it is specifically suited to teens in forms 1-4 (Australian classes 9-12), and is also the ministry that myself and another intern are mainly in charge of.

Some time has passed since it began, and we experienced a few different challenges (one of which was the large group of class 7-8 who had begun to attend and then trying to place them in their own class), but now we are at a point where numbers are growing and we are roughly 30 strong.

Basically we hang out on Sundays at a different location to the main family service and talk about the bible and whatever topic we’re looking at. And we play games.

Being in charge of this ministry means mobilising leaders, getting content ready and putting together a monthly report on the ministry.

On top of this responsibility we also had our interns class every Thursday morning and a book club every Tuesday afternoon. I say had as we have finished those for the term… But will start up again soon.

Also, before we headed to Tanzania, we met roughy every week to discuss progress. And we will probably pick up meeting every week to discuss our next trip.

Add onto all of this: department meetings on Tuesday morning, prayer and praise meetings on Wednesday morning (followed by campus meetings) and prayer meetings on Friday and I am one busy intern.

During all of this I try to reply to all the lovely people that email and Facebook me but I can be hard to make or find the time. And also try and put together a “monthly” newsletter!

Honestly, I often find myself feeling overwhelmed and overworked. But it pushes me to push into God and not rely on myself. And despite those feelings, this is something I will never regret doing.

Hope that’s given you some idea of what I do here 🙂

Not feeling so well

Day 1 of my own challenge to blog everyday for 2 weeks.

Today I’m feeling a little unwell. Thankfully not so badly to cause any concern. But enough to make me want to go home and sleep all day.

Because of this, however, I’m not up to writing anything else. This is kind of all I got for today.

Not terribly interesting. Sorry!

Something about me…

I’m awful at blogging.

That’s not to say I can’t put together a decent blog… But I’m terrible at keeping up with it!

This is a running theme of my life. Starting something and then not finishing it.

However! One thing I know is that you can (and I can) change for the better. So in order to get better… I herby commit to blogging at least once a day for 2 weeks.

Here’s another thing about me.

Somedays, here in Kenya, I miss home and all my family and friends so much I just want to get on a plane and go back to the great land of Australia. Truly it is a great land (for all it’s political faults).

But then that would be me not finishing something that I started. And we can’t have that anymore, can we? 🙂

It’s been amazing and it is amazing, despite the many challenges I’m facing. I can see how God is changing me through my time in Kenya, and can also see the different ways he will later challenge me.

I can’t always see more than one small step in front of me at a time, but I have a great and wonderful God who is gently and patiently leading me. And I trust Him.

Newsletter Issue 2

Newsletter issue 2 PDF

 

Above is the link to my latest Newsletter!

Thanks everyone for your support and your prayers. It really means a lot.

I was hoping to publish it a few days ago, but we had some issues with the internet so it had to wait til today.

Enjoy reading and keep an eye out for the next issue in a month or so. (Y). Rhi out.

General Update

Wow! Everything has just flown right past. It’s almost been a week and I already feel like I’ve done so so much.

Tuesday through to Friday was mostly “work”. Prayer and praise meetings, staff meetings and helping prepare for the Koinonia celebration we had today to mark the first service in the new building.

I really didn’t do much at all except settle in, meet other staff members and familiarise myself with the campus. I’ve been told that I should prepare myself to do proper work next week and that I won’t be sitting around as much. They say it in a joking way, but I do not think they are joking.

It’s been interesting to feel and observe the way I am adapting. Even the way I say things has changed. I used to always say “yeah” but now I say “yah” like the Kenyan people.

Thankfully I have not had any major health issues. I do occasionally get this itchy rash on my face, arms and legs but it thankfully goes away with antihistamines.

I guess on a more serious note I’ve been reflecting on what are some of the big lessons God wants me to learn.

One that I know for sure is JOY. But more on that later when I know more myself.

One of the challenges I’m facing is being the only white person. When I came at the beginning of the year I was with a group of white people and it was not so hard. But now… It’s a little tricky dealing with always being stared at. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not in a negative way, Kenyans are merely curious and there are not enough white people around to make us “blend in”. But it can be disconcerting.

Some of the terrorism can also be cause for caution and hesitation. Yesterday there was a blast in Mombassa and today there were two blasts in the same place on the other side of town.

God is good. And he knows what he’s doing. The past few years have been a journey of trusting in him. So I will continue to do so.

When I think back to how he made a path for me to come here I cannot help but believe wholeheartedly that he has a plan and a purpose for me here. So I will not be afraid. He has guarded and looked after me the past 22 years. I know he will continue to do so this year.

Wewe wa tosha. You are enough.

Sitting and waiting

So I am on the plane! I don’t think it really sunk in that I’m leaving until I walked through customs and walked over to my gate.

I have had ample opportunity to process it all, yet somehow I haven’t. Until now anyway.

Feeling pretty blessed about getting leg room for free. I had been praying to get upgraded, but now that I have thought about it… Leg room is really all I needed to cope.

The father has lavished his love and affection on me in such a small, yet INCREDIBLE way.

Kwaheri, Australia… Tutaonana, Kenya!

Slight Delay

So I had a few troubles with leaving today (26th of April) and have postponed leaving until the 28th of April. Only two days!

But that two days have relieved some of the pressure I was feeling about going and also meant that I could visit my Grandma in Canberra before leaving.

Everything is sorted! Mostly.

God is good!

This time next week!

So exciting! I’m ready for this next big adventure with God. I really have no idea what his plans are but it’s exciting to let go and follow Him.

That’s pretty much been the thing going through my mind today. That and packing. I really dislike packing.