One thing I have personally learned in the past few weeks from being with my brothers and sisters here in Kenya, learning the culture, walking through the villages, learning new Swahili words, and participating in worship with brothers and sisters of the faith, is that our God is alive. He loves us. Malindi, Kenya is a special place that is going to be missed deeply by 4 college students who came here to serve, whose hearts have been forever changed by the people here. From the children in Uzima school singing their beautiful songs, to playing football on Uzima grounds in free-time, fellowshiping with one another around the baptistery and listening to the banging and clashing of a mango falling as it hits a tin roof and then tumbles to the ground... life is different but beautiful, and as I said, we have been changed. Changed, but for the better. Changed in ways that we never thought possible, ways we never expected.
We thank God for the change that the readers have made in our hearts. We thank God for the lessons they taught us as we sat with them and shared the Gospel of Christ, the word of God...We thank God for the opportunities to be welcomed into their homes, their villages, to sit and have meals with their families, to talk about Kenyan culture and life and love here. To learn to cook meals, how to take care of a family, how to provide for one another. It is not easy. Our lives in America are so much easier, and we have learned through mosquitoes, cold showers, no electricity, dirty water, holes in the ground for toilets, and much more that our God reigns and is so beautiful, and these are just every day factors of life. We have eaten Ugali, rice, beans, chapatis, and maize more than you can imagine, so just try and imagine how much a Kenyan eats these foods. They are very good, but imagine eating them every day for your entire life. We are blessed. Kenyans are so willing to share, even when they don't have anything to give. They will give and give and give some more. This is how I see the love of the Father, lavishing himself upon us.
As our time approaches, for us to board the plane and leave Kenya, the ones we love behind, we understand that this is not goodbye. God made plans for us. We made it here, and we hope one day that we may return. Our hearts feel so strongly for this place in so many different ways, for these people. We know God's purpose for us to come here was fulfilled for a reason. As we go home, Kenya will not be forgotten. We have many plans to stay connected to these beautiful people. They will forever be on our hearts and in our minds. We are forever changed and so thankful for the love that the Father has displayed in connecting us all through His word.
In Him,
Jen
