unpacking...

Hello friends and family!

Well I've been back in the USA for a week...and it is weird! I supposed you get used to living some where and then when you are yanked out it all turns upside down! I definately got used to living in Kenya and I miss it... a lot! But being home is wonderful too...after you start to get over the initial shock of it all. The toilets flush, you can drink out of the faucet, there is cheese, I can just hop in my car and go anywhere I want, everyone speaks english, I have a little magic box called a cell phone that connects me INSTANTLY with just about anyone. America, oh America.

What am I missing the most? Hmmmm....

1. The overwhelmingly friendly nature of everyone in Kenya, no matter if you are a stranger or a close friend. Everyone greets you with a smile and a hearty handshake. There is a lot of love and hospitality in Kenya...everyone is welcomed to dinner.

2. The pace of life. It is about 10X slower than here, even when I was in Nairobi (the capital city), people weren't in that big of a rush. Relationship, whether it was with family, friends or neighbors was WAY more important than how many things you could get accomplished in a day. Efficency wasn't in Kenyan vocabulary...and I loved that.

3. Openess about spirituality. People aren't reserved or afraid to talk about what they believe in. You can just walk up to a stranger or knock on any door and start talking about what they think about God. No slamming doors, no scoffs, no dismissals. People want to talk about real things, about matters of life and the heart.

4. Fresh, dirt-cheap, and GIGANTIC mangos and avacodos every day. Delicious. I actually cracked up laughing a few days ago in the supermarket when I saw our pitiful excuse for avacodos and their staggering price. Haha, I ate ones nearly the size of my head for no more than 20 cents each morning. Sigh.

5. Kids screaming "How are you mzungu?!" every 5 seconds as we walked down the road and running to grab our hands and walk with us. Those wtoto (children) were just about the cutest things ever...I almost snuck a few home in my suitcase.

6. My amazing team. 40 college students from all over the US and Kenya leaders and one amazing family (the Schenks), living together, laughing till our sides ached, sharing meals and stories, growing in our faith and challenging each other, crying over the overwhelming-ness of Kenya, of God, of poverty, and of the joy we found here.

Many Kenyans have very little when it comes to material wealth, but oh they are rich in spiritual wealth. They know where their treasure lies, not on this earth, but in heaven. Many Americans have everything in the world a person could need or want and they don't think they need a savior. We are the poorest in spirit, and that is an aching tragedy. But God is a redeemer, He comes into the brokeness and makes it beautiful and fruitful again.

We have so much, we are blessed, why not use it wisely to further the kingdom, to spread life and not get lost in our greed. It is a challenge that I will live with everyday...I am accountable to every poverty-stricken, malnurished, aching person and horrible situation that I saw in Kenya. I cannot deny that there are people living with life crushing diseases in substandard conditions who look injustice in the eyes everyday. I was there. What am I going to do next? With God's help I will continue to become the person that He designed me to be, and leave holy footsteps where ever I tread. I am responsible for what I have been given, and what I have seen? What will the world know about God through me?

It is really hard to be set apart, to swim up stream, to push against the grain of this world, but I am convinced that it will be worth it now and especially in the end.

Colossians 3:1-4, 12-14

"Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you will appear with him in glory. Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with eachother and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them together in perfect unity."

Be blessed. Thank you so much again for all your prayers, advice, and support. I will post some photos in the next couple of weeks...I have about 1200 to go through and edit. I can't believe where I have been, and I can't believe that I am home.

Much love,

Bess