Whirlwind Wishes

Well, I think I’m way overdue for a blog post! First of all, there are so many thank yous to be uttered that they can’t be counted. The numbers of prayers, words of encouragement, and emails to uplift us through this whirlwind has been such a profound blessing. As many of you know by now, we’ve been traveling for a long, long time. Even though a few of those weeks we were with family in Martinsville, Chattanooga, and Anderson, our “life in a few bags” began at the end of July. After July, we set out on our road trip full of goodbyes, see you laters, hugs, last stateside conversations, sharing about the work we were moving toward, and preparing for our new life here in Kenya. It was a packed, but joy filled, few months. We traveled to Bristol TN, Columbia SC, Marion NC, and then between in Martinsville, Chattanooga, and Anderson. I spent four weeks in additional training. I remember wanting to move to our “next” journey, but I also remember being a little afraid. What would more “long term” life look like on the other side? What will we do? Who will we meet? Where will we go? How long will we be here? I remember vividly being in Anderson and realizing in was the last night before we were set to fly out of Greenville. I tried not to be sad, but really that couch at Grandma and Grandad’s has become one of my favorite places on US soil. And, suddenly, I was overwhelmed with just how much I loved the people God has so graciously placed in my life’s walk. Chase, and through being an Arndt--two sets of incredible grandparents and in laws, wonderful Usry extended family, my extended family, my Forest Hills church family, our Blacksburg family, our very large King, First Pres, Bristol family and church family, all of the churches and individuals who understood our calling and decided that they were about it too. I stand it awe when I thank God for the people in our lives who love us so well.

We landed here completely exhausted, but encouraged, and set out after four days to stay in Kona Baridi for two weeks with our friends Jeremy and Becky. That seems like AGES ago, my friends! Since then, we have stayed in numerous places. Other missionaries have graciously housed us during times we’ve needed to be in Nairobi. We’ve stayed at guest houses, a hostel, visited Tenwek Hospital to see friends, lived in Olepishet for a month, stayed with a missionary for nearly a month, rented a missionary family’s place for nearly a month, and camped on (yes—on!) the car on multiple occasions. In every. single. circumstance. God has provided a place for us to be. There have been days when the next two days are unknown to us. Our time thus far has been oh-so-full of relationship building, language learning, car purchasing, and house searching. I have been humbled with the generosity of local Kenyans and fellow missionaries who have been so willing to take weary travelers into their homes! We have witnessed God’s loved poured out on us. He has been faithful through each phase, each useless worry, each night we lay our heads on a new pillow. And, even though this has been difficult at times, I truly wouldn’t trade it. When we get comfortable, that’s when we stop relying on God and stop experiencing the ways he longs to show us His overwhelming love. I am so guilty of being too comfortable. It’s so easy to worship on Sundays and forget those around us, our very neighbors (and I'm not talking necessarily about the guy right beside your house). When you’re moving about, you have to be somewhat alert of your surroundings. You make choices about where you will stay, what you will buy at the duka (“store” in Swahili) down the road, how long you’ll need X amount of supplies, where you’ll store your other supplies while you’re doing X. By it’s very nature, moving around causes us to be a little more aware of those around us. But, a constant relationship or friendship that can be depended upon and nurtured isn’t really in the mix. That’s what I’m really missing, but I'm thankful for God's (and Chase's) constant companionship.

Even though this phase has brought us a new awareness of God’s very real ability to provide abundantly, we are very ready for community. We are ready to surround and encourage a community. To learn from a community. To pour into people and let them pour into us. We are ready to put some roots down. And although I believe we are getting closer to that time, God still tells us to wait. We want to be faithful in our language study so as to serve people well. And even though I’m itching to know what our roles will be, I’m committed to trying my best to communicate in the language of the people we came to serve. I’m trying daily to be obedient to God’s call, knowing that nothing is wasted and knowing that He is faithful. We westerners don’t like waiting. We like being productive, having something to show for our efforts. If there is something that serving in Kenya ISN’T, it’s that last sentence RIGHT there. And, quite honestly, if earning my latest degree is only used to lighten people’s burdens and point them to the Creator, I am more than content with that.

In my experience, relationships are where true service comes to fruition. Without relationships and knowing people deeply, what do we have? Without intentionality, what do we have? Without a commitment to something, what do we have? Without learning about those around us, what do we have? Without honesty and openness, what do we have? Please pray with us that there will be people committed and ready to help us connect with our community as we stand ready to learn from them. Since language learning is our primary objective for the next six months, please pray for our minds to be able to absorb what they can and not stress over what they can’t. Pray that we will take times to rest and that we will spend time working diligently on language with the help of a language helper. Please pray FOR the people will be our language helpers. We don’t yet know who those folks will be. But, pray that we will love them well. Pray that above all else, we will be Christ to the faces we see in our community. During this season of lent, let us remember that relationships go hand in hand with sacrificial love. Lord, continue to love and teach us how to love sacrificially.

Ann Voskamp says the following and I pray it is true for all of us today and in the days ahead:

By Grace, today I fast from the lie that my calling
isn't great enough because God isn't calling
for people great in skills, schooling, or spotlight -
He's calling those simply great in community,
in confession, in communion, in courage, great in Christ.
Today I will do ordinary things with extraordinarily great love.
We repent of wanting to be great
instead of loving greater.