This morning I slept in...

one of my favourite things to do on a day off.

 

The team drove into the city for some Alpha training (which they will be teaching later this week when we go away)

They left around 8:30 meaning I had a quiet house all to myself.

Problem was, they left the back door wide open and I woke to someone opening my bedroom door and as I turned over to see who it was, they closed the door again.

I called a few people to make sure that indeed no one was in the house, which means that the guard (a fill in for our regular day guard Richard)

was walking around our house while I was asleep.

 

It's a little disturbing that he was coming into my room but as far as I can tell, nothing was taken.

 

Looks like we will be having a security talk with the team today.

 

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This Thursday we are taking an 8 hour (that would be Kenyan time) bus ride to Waybuye, bordering Uganda.

We will spend 10 days there helping at a pastoral conference.

I think we may be tenting which will be interesting, other than that I'm not really sure what is planned for the time.

Driver has planned it all out so I'm just going with the flow.

 

Please pray for our trip there and back as well as the time we spend there,

that the time would stretch us and bring the team even closer together as the venture into their first official ministry.

 

 

All I can say is yikes!

Not only is everything on the opposite side of the car and you drive on the opposite side of the road,

but the other drivers here are out of their minds and no one follows any road rules.

 

I was successfully able to maneuver both the automatic and the manual through the slum and the surrounding area.

I'm very thankful that the manual is really easy to shift so that stalling is barely an option...

one less thing to think about as you almost hit bicyclers with your side mirror

and find yourself in head-on circumstances as you dodge potholes the size of kiddie pools..

 

I went to pick up the AIM kids from the orphanage to bring them over for a visit with the team the other day,

and as I was exiting Kibera got into a big jam with public matatus (large transit vehicles)

which resulted in two men pounding on the side of our vehicle and yelling something at us inside.

I had to refrain from reacting as it would have just escalated the situation but It's definitely a situation that I will be doing my best to avoid.

 

Driving isn't terrifying... just nerve racking.

I enjoy being able to do it.

It gives me an outlet to be useful and have more options on my day off.

 

If only I could stop turning on the wipers when I try to signal... or swipe at the air with my right hand when trying to change gears.

(the shifter is on the left)

Fun times!

Sorry it has been so long since I posted last.

Being a team leader is much more time consuming than I imagined so I haven't been able to spend a significant amount of time on the internet till now.

I also forgot how slow the internet is here... so I guess there will be a lot of re-learning.

 

Kim, Shaun and I flew out of Atlanta with the team last Monday.

In spite of my fears of flying with and being responsible for such a large group, the flight(s) went incredibly well.

The only difficult part was checking in our baggage.

All but about 3 bags were overweight so we had to do some re-packing at the counter.

We got through security and on the flight without any issues, and then through customs and visas to find all of our baggage waiting for us.

It's rare for things to go so smoothly so I thank God that he spared me a nervous breakdown in the airport!

 

The first week of ministry for the team has been pretty restful.

We are only in Kibera for a few more days before we head west for 10 days.

 

We took them up to Kijabe on Friday for some relaxation and fresh air.

Kijabe is one of my favourite places not just because it's cooler and the air is clean but also because it overlooks the rift valley and it's hard to beat such a view.

(you can see mount longonot in the distance in the middle just below the clouds - 3 friends and I conquered that beast last year in 7 hours)

 

 

After lunch we went on a hike to a waterfall which I have been to twice before.

It turns out that me sense of direction is not any better when signs are not involved because we ended up going way around it and having to scale a 100 foot rock wall to get down and around it.

We ended up running out of time after the decent into the stream but there was no water anyways so it wasn't a huge loss.

The hike down was amazing as usual but the hike back up... let's just say there were cases of dehydration, exhaustion, sun stroke and burns.

That will teach them to listen when we tell them to drink more water.

 

 

Everyone came out of the 3 hour hike alive to meet a few of the team members who stayed back playing with 3 local kids.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon playing frisbee, football, soccer and watching Clay show off his acrobatic skills to the kids.

 

The teams are arriving today.

we have 12 on our team... 8 girls and 4 guys.

 

I was able to speak with 3 of the girls on the phone yesterday.

There are mixed feelings as this, for some, is the first time ever being away from home.

I was also able to talk to the mothers of the three which was awesome because

they were so supportive of their daughters even though you could tell they were mildly freaking out

HA

 

I can't wait to meet them all and I'm so excited to see what is in store for them over the next three months.

This trip is going to rock their worlds, and mine as well, I'm sure

 

|One of our girls doesn't fly in until 11pm though,

8 hours later than the rest of her team, so michelle and I are going to drive into Atlanta later to get her.

 

I should probably introduce you to my co-leaders/AIM staff for Kenya.

Michelle Benz - working with the New Adventures School in Kibera

Kim Shaw - Working with the New Adventures School in Kibera & Real-Life leader

Jason Driver - Real-Life leader

Shaun Hoskins - Real-Life leader

Denise Roberts - working with the AIM orphanage

Yesterday was a rollercoaster of a day.

I got a message from my mum saying that my mail from the IRS had come.

I had been waiting for this mail since the end of July and was VERY excited to finally be moving forward.

She opened the mail and read to me that my application for an ITIN (individual taxpayer identification number) had been rejected.

 

Rejected!

A form that to my knowledge is mandatory to be a Canadian working on AIM staff.

I was instantly stressed, but it was just the tip of the iceberg.

This rejected form, along with the fact that my citizenship labels me as contract and not staff around these parts,

disallowing me to drive AIM vehicles, use AIM staff health insurance, get paid the easy way and a few more issues were weighing down on me.

Besides that is the fact that I have still not been able to raise my entire budget for the year and the only way to get tax receipts to supporters requires me to increase my goal by $250 a month.

 

STRESS

I got off the phone and my head immediately tightened with pressure.

My lungs seemed impossible to fill and my stomach was emitting waves of nausea.

Because of the physical effects this stress was taking, I was upset that I had lost control of my body and then the tears came.

 

The night was not horrible, just my current consciousness of the situation.

The leadership team was enjoying our last night before the participants arrived.

We ran errands, went bowling and ate an amazing dinner at outback steakhouse.

 

But my head continued to tighten.

 

We headed back to AIM for a night of worship and final time together before we have to take care of our teams.

During worship the leader was randomly asking people, "what are you praising God for"?

 

I sat there and was asking God the same question.

"Lord, what can I praise you for right now, I'm stressed and defeated and I don't know what to do."

The response was quick!

He told me that He has promised me things that I have not yet seen,

and though my faith is little in these promises He is still calling me to be with Him while they unfold.

 

I KNEW she [the worship leader] was going to call my name!

"Connie, what are you praising God for tonight?"

 

I couldn't choke it out, it was too soon to process and before I melted into a puddle in my chair I was surrounded but 30 people praying for me.

And before I could even doubt that the response to my question was from Him, a friend read me this:

 

Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

 

He has promised us hope and He has promised us character. He has promised us so many things that we may not have seen come to pass yet.

By God's promises are true and they are unwavering and there is tremendous hope in that.

 

As the real-life leaders met outside to pray for the next day (when the teams arrive)

my stress had been relieved and a new hope had been instilled in my heart.

 

The red tape seems unending and the solutions are not yet known, but God has brought me this far and He doesn't do anything half way!

I am meeting with someone today to sort through the mess.

These are big hurdles that I have to jump, but I am not jumping them alone.

 

Please pray:

for any legal issues that I need to clear up (being Canadian in an American org.)

for my support, that it would come in in ways that prove God's sovereignty.

for my team as they arrive today and are no doubt excited, scared and a dozen other emotions.

for this leadership team, that we would continue to be united and be equipped to tackle the challenges that will inevitably be thrown our way.

So here's the short story of my last week and a bit

 

Aug 25 - drive to buffalo airport, flight to Atlanta delayed 2 hours due to tornadoes in Atlanta area, picked up by Dean

 

Aug 26 to 31 - hang with feener clan which makes for a very lovely week

 

Aug 31 - Ride up to Gainesville with feeners and meet Kayla and Ashley at their house

 

Sept 1 - meet with 5/6 of the Kenya staff/leadership team

 

Sept 2 - go over some logistical stuff with Kenya leadership and just get to know each other and pray for our ministry overseas.

 

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So far it seems like I haven't done a whole lot

but it's been a nice break before chaos ensues

Tomorrow (Sept. 3) all the leaders will be flying in and leadership training begins

A few days after that, all the teams fly in and Real-Life team training begins

 

September 15 is when we all fly out together and we will be arriving in Nairobi on the 16th.

 

This is a rough sketch of the Gainsville time to come.

I'm sure I will have more details to post in the next few days.