Travel.... Kenya Part 1

Hey everyone!

Here is Part One about the missions trip to Kenya!  Today we are just going to cover traveling there, I know everyone is anxious to see pictures of Kenya, and I can't wait to share them, but there are some neat stories from traveling too, so I hope you enjoy this post!

We left Friday evening and flew to Atlanta where we would board our international flight to London.  Below is a picture I snapped as our plane was taking off, it would be my last sunset in America for two weeks and it was beautiful!  Our first flight was quite short and I really enjoyed it.  I had not been flying since I was nine and it was like flying for the first time all over again since I had not flown for so long. 

Once we arrived in Atlanta we headed for the international terminal where we had dinner while waiting for our next flight.  I was excited to get to eat at Varsity since I had just read about it in one of my books that took place in Atlanta, so it was kind of like getting to step into the book for a few minutes.  :)

Finally it was time to board our flight that would take us to London.  It was late and I was beginning to get tired and was planning on falling asleep as swiftly as possible so as to begin to adjust to the new time zone.... hopefully.  However, once the flight was up in the air I found that I just couldn't fall asleep and was wishing I could sleep as well as the man sitting next to me who was already asleep before I boarded.  Anyways, I finally gave up and began to look through the movies hoping that once I found one to watch I would maybe fall asleep while watching it.  As I was scrolling through the man next to me woke up and it turned out Milia was a movie buff and started telling me about the different movies.  We talked for sometime about the movies, then we began to talk about ourselves and before too long where we were going.  He was going to visit his family and I told him why I was going to Kenya, which lead to a conversation about God.  It was amazing, as anyone who knows me knows, after around 10:30 or 11:00 my brain literally shuts down from exhaustion, but throughout our whole conversation it was as if God was somehow keeping me awake, because I was fully awake.  We spent nearly the whole flight discussing God.  Milia had so many questions, he knew God was real, but he doesn't believe that the whole Bible is true.  He told me that he has decided what parts of the Bible he wants to believe in and which he doesn't and has invented his own God.  We talked through the night about how the whole Bible is the truth and discussed different scripture passages.  I don't know how many times I wished that someone wiser than me had been there to answer his questions better, but I know that God placed him next to me for a reason and I have to trust that God will send others to continue telling Milia about him.  Milia didn't come to know Christ on the plane, but he was truly searching and I believe that God will continue to send people to keep answering his questions.  Would you please join me in praying for him?

We arrived in London at noon and I sadly told Milia goodbye.  Now it was time to go through customs and go sightseeing.  We made it through customs and I was still wide awake, but sometime between customs and making it to the tube (the subway system)  exhaustion hit me and I was ready to drop after pulling an all-nighter.  I made it to the tube, but once we boarded I was out.  Below is a picture where you can see me sleeping in the background. 

Bryan and Anita with me sleeping against dad in the back. 

By time we reached downtown London I had slept enough to be able to enjoy seeing London.  Our first stop was to see Buckingham Palace, and guess what!  The flag was up which means that the queen was home! 

In front of Buckingham Palace

Our incredible leader Tom on the left and Bryan on the right in front of the palace.

L to R: Aubrey, Jake and Bryan

Buckingham Palace

We saw these bushes shaped like the crown in the Queen's Gardens.  It was incredible!

The London Eye, we were not able to ride it, but it was real neat to be able to see it from a distance!

Jake and Aubrey with a telephone booth, you don't see these in midwest America!

Big Ben

Bryan, Jake, Aubrey and me in front of Thames River and Parliament

At the subway ready to go back to Heathrow Airport to board our flight to Kenya!

 Seeing London was so much fun, but it was only the beginning as we boarded our flight to Kenya. Sorry I am so late in getting this up, hopefully I will be able to upload part two soon!
Blessings,
Michelle

Back Safely...

Thank you so much for the prayers everyone!  This is just a fast update to let you know that I somehow found a way to step on that plane last week and I arrived back in the states safely.  I must admit though, I totally left my heart in Kenya and I cannot wait to go back.  For years I have been praying about where God would send me, and I think I now have my answer, He might lead me somewhere else, but I will not be surprised if at some unknown point in the future I end up back in Kenya.  I am working on a series of posts that will tell of what happened, but please be patient with me, I want to put a lot of pictures in them and it takes time to sort through all the pictures.  If you think of me, please pray that I can readjust to life here since this is where God has placed me for now.  Beyond the goodbyes, the culture shock has been the hardest part of returning. 

I can't wait to share with all of you what happened while over there, God did so many amazing things and taught me so much!  Be watching for the first part of the series soon!

Blessings,
Michelle

Please Pray...

Hey everyone,  Today we started our goodbyes.  We told all of the children in Mabatini "goodbye" and while there I also had to tell my "sister"  Sheila goodbye too.  I never dreamed I would fall so in love with Kenya, but I have and now the thought of leaving is becoming very difficult.  Please be praying for me throughout the next two days and even after I have returned home, I am going to miss the people here greatly. 
Blessings,
Michelle

Time is flying...

Wow, it has already been a week since we arrived here in Kenya!  It has been such an amazing experience!  I cannot believe that Wednesday night I will be on a flight headed back to the States.  While it will be great to see my family again, I have fallen in love with Kenya and I am really dreading all of the goodbyes.  I am already hoping to be able to come back again next winter.  I wish that I could fully explain everything, but right now I do not have the time, and honestly, I don't know if words can explain everything!  It is one of those things that you need to experience for yourself.

Everyone on the team has been so great and we are actually a lot like a big family.  For the most part we have all been healthy, but keep praying for our health please!  Being sick is not something any of us care to deal with when all we want to do is be involved in the ministry here.  Twice I have been blessed to be used to lead two women to Christ and on multiple occasions we have been able to encourage the believers in the valley.

Please keep praying for us as you think of us, especially our health.
I look forward to sharing more with all of you soon!
Michelle 

We're Here!!!!

Hey everyone, just a quick update.  We arrived safely on Sunday and went to church and then spent the rest of the day trying to adjust to the time change.  While I had origionally planned to do big posts full of pictures each night I am just going to do fast, short updates whenever I get a chance and there will not be any pictures.  The internet is not strong here so I will do a series of posts full of details and pictures when I get back and just short ones in the mean time.  Today we had orientation and were able to go into the slums and visit a home as well as see a classroom.  I wish I had time to be able to describe it right now, but I need to post this before I lose the internet again!
Keep a lookout for more updates!
Blessings, Michelle

Almost Ready...

Wow, it has been a crazy week!  I had been hoping to be able to keep my blog updated on the preparations for leaving, but I have literally been running every single day!  I am now all packed and my suitcase is a few pounds lighter than the limit (thank goodness, I was a little worried!) and we will be leaving for the airport in just a few hours.  It all feels so surreal right now, I am truly having a difficult time grasping the fact that in a few hours I will be hopping on a plane that will take my half way across the world to Kenya.   I have dreamed about this for so long I am having a hard time believing that it is real even though my suitcase is packed and ready to go. 

This past week has flown by so fast!  On Wednesday my sisters and I went up to the church to help with the Candy Corn Carnival (hopefully I'll be able to upload some pics after I get back) and then last night we went to an Ernie Haase and Signature Sound concert.  The concert was originally supposed to be in April, but because of a tornado a few days before it had been postponed until last night.  It did not really matter though because I hardly slept from excitement of today.  I am actually quite thankful we had the concert as it helped keep my mind busy instead of counting down the hours!  (Once again, hopefully I'll remember to upload some pics after I get back!)

It has been such a crazy ride getting to this point.  After years, God is finally making this dream a reality.  I always knew the day would come, but I just never knew when.  Now I know, it is today!  Looking back, the wait honestly has not been that long, but telling my eight year old self that this day would come eventually was so difficult!  As I always say, it would be so much easier if God would let me know WHEN something was going to happen so that I could begin a count down!  However, that would take out the faith element so in His wisdom, God has arranged things without us being able to do the count down.  After all, if I did have a count down from now until the next thing I would not be able to live in the moment, I would be to busy counting down until the next moment!

Well, I have a few more things that still need done, I just wanted to give everyone a little update!
Keep a lookout over the next few weeks for updates from Kenya!

Michelle  :)