Hi everyone! Thanks so much for joining me!
Well, the past several days have revolved around a whirlwind of circumstances, but overall, it's been wonderful! We just got back from Philadelphia for our stateside outreach. In one word: incredible. But first, let me backtrack a little...
So, last Tuesday, we spent the day training with the Disaster Response team at Convoy of Hope, and this was truly a unique experience! Our team trained first-hand and toured the Convoy mobile semi-truck (basically the command center and over-night accomodations taking the team to these disasters). We also practiced setting up an outreach tent ourselves and ate some delicious M.R.E.s! (If you've had an M.R.E., you know what I'm talking about! haha!..although, actually, I didn't think my tortellini was too bad ;) During an intense training session, we sat in a room where we pretended that we would be stuck for the next three days with only the items we had in our backpacks at the moment...this was extremely eye-opening! To think of what some people in sudden disasters experience and the conditions they must attempt to survive in is overwhelming. What a day!
On Wednesday, we began our journey to Philadelphia, stopping halfway in Columbus, Ohio to stay at a former intern's church. Our roadtrip resumed on Thursday, and we made it to Philly. Keep in mind that there were 15 of us in a 15-passenger van...so it was a little squished; however, we had a great time chatting and listening to tunes! :) We also got the chance to visit Dustin, who was supposed to be on our team this term, at the rehab hospital in St. Louis. Sadly, he was in a horrible car accident and not doing great; however, we are continuing to pray and believe for miracles!
On Friday, we spent the day touring the sites of Philly, which I thoroughly enjoyed! I'm a self-proclaimed history nerd, so all of this was fascinating to me! We were able to tour Independence Hall and see where the Declaration of Independence was signed, as well as tour the locations of the first Senate and Congress. Our tour guides were amazing! We were shown where certain presidents sat during the Declaration's signing, such as George Washington and John Adams. Many of the original pieces of furniture were still sitting in the same spots, and the architecture was incredible! I love being in places where life-changing history occurred throughout the world. We stood in Independence Square (where the Declaration was first read to the people, as well as serving as the meeting place for the riot on the eve of the American Revolution) and prayed for our nation-a powerful moment....We were also able to see the Liberty Bell first hand, which was incredible!
After touring the primary historical sites, we headed to Tony Luke's (winner of the Food Network challenge) for some authentic Philly cheesesteaks (made with cheese wiz and all!). I must say-delicious! After our stomachs were full, we decided to head to the Philly Museum of Art, where we ran the Rocky steps to the top. This was so much fun (and really not as hard as it looks...!) I enjoyed looking over the city from the top of the steps and saying a prayer for the people in Philly who are desperately in need...
That night we headed to the Convoy rally at a local church. It was inspiring to see so many people gathered together for one purpose: to reach the people of Philadelphia. A Christian rapper was there who called our team down to the front to dance with him-this was awesome! After the rally, we worked to pass out T-shirts to some of the volunteers.
On Saturday, the outreach began, spread over 8 different locations throughout Philly. We worked in the Hunting Park location, where we had everything set up from groceries to prayer ministry to kids zone to food and music to health and legal services. I felt that I needed to work in the prayer tent all day, which was not my original intention for this particular outreach; however, I truly felt this was where God had me for the day. As people came in to receive free groceries, we would stop them and ask if we could pray with them. It was amazing to see how many people actually would allow us to pray with them, even non-believers. I was honored for the opportunity to pray with so many people in need. It hurts my heart to see such a number of broken people in desperate need of Jesus. I was able to tell one Muslim guy about Jesus. He wasn't ready to convert but said that he was interested in going to church and finding out more info about Christ. This makes me happy. :) Philly is truly a broken city in need of God's love and hope. Seeing the smiles on the faces of those receiving everyday basic needs was overwhelming. I continue to pray that we planted some everlasting seeds. In total, over 13,000 people showed up at these outreaches-Praise God!! :)
Later that evening, we got to chill at Bobby Flay's burger place in West Philly, which was a lot of fun! We were intending on heading back on Sunday and doing the half-way drive again. Unfortunately, my good friend, Sara (another team member) became very ill and had to go to the hospital, so we stayed in Philly an extra night. Even though it was a long and trying day in some ways, in other ways it taught us some important lessons and turned out to be a good experience. We were able to stay that night on some air-mattresses at a carriage house attached to Otto Wagner's church, the 2nd oldest A/G church in the world. This facility is located in a historic section of Philly, one block from the spot where Ben Franklin supposedly flew his kite and was hit by lightening! Kind of cool! And of course we were very glad to wait for Sara to get better...thankfully, she is doing great! :) This was obviously the most important aspect of the day! Matt also taught a great devotional that night on God being the God of the everyday moments as well as the God of the the big moments. Awesome!
So, yesterday we got up at about 5 a.m. and left from Philly to make the entire drive back to Springfield. This took about 21 hours total, and we didn't get back until early this morning. However, I really enjoyed the drive back...getting the chance to chat with Matt and the girls, as well as listen to some good music was cool. Not to say there weren't some restless moments...but, overall, I enjoyed it!
Thankfully, we had a chance today to kind of recuperate, do laundry, spend alone time, etc. We are actually roadtripping to Dallas in the morning (about 8 hrs!), so we are getting ready to be back in the van! haha! However, I'm excited! Two simultaneous conferences are being held in Dallas this weekend-the A/G National Women's Conference as well as Momentum, the National Youth Leaders Conference (Matt is teaching a session on ways that a youth ministry can show compassion). We will hopefully get to attend a little of both conferences-yay!
I can't stress enough how thankful I am to be part of this team. We are learning so much and getting the opportunity to reach people's lives...incredible. Throughout this time in Philly, we truly began to see how God intricately orchestrated this group of girls (and Matt!) to work together for this season. Many of us have amazingly similar testimonies and stories...we are truly sisters, helping each other grow in those areas that we are experiencing and working through together. As always, God reveals that He knows what He's doing!
"I don't have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us."-John Mark McMillan
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
Hope is Revealed Truth....
The last few days have been interesting to say the least! After working at the Influence Conference on Thursday (which was a wonderful experience, btw!), I came down with a horrible sinus infection later that evening...which totally prevented me from making it to Wilderness Training this past weekend at the Discovery Center in Eminence, MO...there was nothing I could do but sit it out. This will mean that I will need to learn a little from my fellow Convoy sisters about reading maps and compasses, as well as making a fire and other skills we will need while camping on the Masai mara in Kenya.
However, during the three days I was away from the group, I was able to focus on some quiet time with the Lord and kind of get my batteries recharged (which is always the positive side during a negative experience!).
This morning I returned to the house and traveled with the interns to COH where we met with Dan Clark, who will be leading a large part of the Philadelphia Outreach (Hope4Philly). We will be traveling to Philly in 2 days-can't believe it's already here! As we talked about the different location sites, one of the interns asked the question: "What is the overall goal to be accomplished at these outreach sites?" I loved Dan's answer: To offer them hope. It really hit home when he explained that hope is "revealed truth-a knowledge of God's love that we transfer to the people through our demonstration of caring for another." Wow...how grateful I am to be a part of this process.
In Philly we will be working at 8 different locations scattered throughout the city with anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 people visiting each site. We could have the chance to minister to 24,000 people altogether! Our Convoy of Hope staff, interns, and volunteers could be doing anything from passing out food and groceries to cutting hair and painting faces to taking family portraits to praying! Convoy is all about restoring worth and value to people who have been living in despair. This demonstration of God's love is a tangible example of Christ's message. This is why I love Convoy's emphasis. They bring the Gospel message while providing evidence of Christian character through meeting needs...awesome. Coinvoy believes in ministering to the entire person...spiritually and physically.
Today, Shannon (one of our leaders) spoke with us about labs and mirrors, an exercise helping us define who we are, how we perceive ourselves, how others perceive us, and who we truly are in Christ. It reminded me again how God has chosen each of us with a unique purpose no matter how we feel....I'm so glad that our internship training includes sessions such as these! We also were able to meet with the VP of Convoy, Jim Batten, who talked with us about Convoy's mission and his own personal story of how he ended up with the organization.
Probably one of the greatest things we've done so far was our trip today to Project Rescue, an AGWM ministry with the purpose of rescuing girls out of sex trafficking. What a powerful place it was....we were able to meet with some of the missionaries and founders of the organization, as well as ask lots of questions. This ministry is doing incredible things. It's hard to fathom how widespread the issue of trafficking has become...it makes me sick to my stomach. It's so wonderful to see people like David and Beth Grant who are taking a stand against these horrific crimes. Some of the testimonies we heard were so amazing that it almost brought me to tears. God will always accomplish His will and purpose! He has created us all for something beautiful...and these girls need to know that! Thank the Lord for Project Rescue and other organizations with such passion to reach those who have been horribly abused and mistreated.
After spending some quiet time spread out through some local coffee shops in town, we also went to dinner in groups just to socialize and have fun!
Tomorrow, we will be working with the Disaster Reponse team all day, which I am definitely looking forward to. Then on Wed, we head to Philly! Can't believe it's already time to do our Stateside outreach. God is faithful.... I believe that each of us are here not only to minister to others (which is of upmost importance!), but also to learn more about ourselves and who God has called us to be.
1 Cor. 3:18 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
"Life is just a mirror, and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you."-Wally 'Famous' Amos
However, during the three days I was away from the group, I was able to focus on some quiet time with the Lord and kind of get my batteries recharged (which is always the positive side during a negative experience!).
This morning I returned to the house and traveled with the interns to COH where we met with Dan Clark, who will be leading a large part of the Philadelphia Outreach (Hope4Philly). We will be traveling to Philly in 2 days-can't believe it's already here! As we talked about the different location sites, one of the interns asked the question: "What is the overall goal to be accomplished at these outreach sites?" I loved Dan's answer: To offer them hope. It really hit home when he explained that hope is "revealed truth-a knowledge of God's love that we transfer to the people through our demonstration of caring for another." Wow...how grateful I am to be a part of this process.
In Philly we will be working at 8 different locations scattered throughout the city with anywhere from 2,000 to 4,000 people visiting each site. We could have the chance to minister to 24,000 people altogether! Our Convoy of Hope staff, interns, and volunteers could be doing anything from passing out food and groceries to cutting hair and painting faces to taking family portraits to praying! Convoy is all about restoring worth and value to people who have been living in despair. This demonstration of God's love is a tangible example of Christ's message. This is why I love Convoy's emphasis. They bring the Gospel message while providing evidence of Christian character through meeting needs...awesome. Coinvoy believes in ministering to the entire person...spiritually and physically.
Today, Shannon (one of our leaders) spoke with us about labs and mirrors, an exercise helping us define who we are, how we perceive ourselves, how others perceive us, and who we truly are in Christ. It reminded me again how God has chosen each of us with a unique purpose no matter how we feel....I'm so glad that our internship training includes sessions such as these! We also were able to meet with the VP of Convoy, Jim Batten, who talked with us about Convoy's mission and his own personal story of how he ended up with the organization.
Probably one of the greatest things we've done so far was our trip today to Project Rescue, an AGWM ministry with the purpose of rescuing girls out of sex trafficking. What a powerful place it was....we were able to meet with some of the missionaries and founders of the organization, as well as ask lots of questions. This ministry is doing incredible things. It's hard to fathom how widespread the issue of trafficking has become...it makes me sick to my stomach. It's so wonderful to see people like David and Beth Grant who are taking a stand against these horrific crimes. Some of the testimonies we heard were so amazing that it almost brought me to tears. God will always accomplish His will and purpose! He has created us all for something beautiful...and these girls need to know that! Thank the Lord for Project Rescue and other organizations with such passion to reach those who have been horribly abused and mistreated.
After spending some quiet time spread out through some local coffee shops in town, we also went to dinner in groups just to socialize and have fun!
Tomorrow, we will be working with the Disaster Reponse team all day, which I am definitely looking forward to. Then on Wed, we head to Philly! Can't believe it's already time to do our Stateside outreach. God is faithful.... I believe that each of us are here not only to minister to others (which is of upmost importance!), but also to learn more about ourselves and who God has called us to be.
1 Cor. 3:18 "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."
"Life is just a mirror, and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you."-Wally 'Famous' Amos
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Getting Our Hands Dirty!
Today was incredible! We spent the morning in Convoy of Hope chapel and listened to Rick (Corporate Relations) share a wonderful message about vision and leadership. I found myself incredibly excited when a girl shared her testimony about being in Zambia recently working with AIDS relief. She showed us a clip of the Africans singing as one in church, and it almost moved me to tears...I cannot wait to hear that in person!!
We spent the majority of the afternoon learning about Biosand water filters and Briquettes from the Sustain Hope people. The amount of knowledge they have obtained regarding sustainability and relief and development is amazing! As we sat listening to all of the deaths occuring around the world from lack of clean water, I found myself feeling incredibly humbled and almost ashamed of how comfortable we often have it here...most of our lives are spent without worrying where our next clean drink will come from. We are able to take a sip of water without worrying if any particles could strike us with a life-threatening virus...how incredibly blessed we are. I was even more moved by the fact that an overwhelming amount of deaths could be avoided if we implemented the use of clean-water systems that are so easy to construct. These Biosand filters clean the water to about 98% (awesome!), and although the process can often be tedious, they're pretty simple in their construction. With the use of sand and gravel to filter the water and remove unwanted micro-organisms, clean water is able to flow out of the barrels at an unbelievable difference. Cool! After learning about the mechanics, we were able to work on some sifting ourselves. We apparently will be building many of these for the Masai and group homes throughout Kenya!
We also learned all about fuel briquettes and how these round tools provide access for safely cooking meals at an incredible rate. So many women all over the world are forced to carry about 50 lbs of firewood on top of their heads on what could be an unsafe three-day journey...some even with children strapped onto their backs or at their sides! On top of this, the incredible smoke inhalation is one of the leading causes of death for children under the age of five and creates awful health problems for all involved. These briquettes provide a safe, easy, and efficient means of cooking that's incredibly beneficial and healthy for everyone. All in all, they save lives. A little grass, leaves, paper (and often animal dung!) make up the construction of a fuel briquette; therefore, they are incredible easy to make and use! How crazy it is that so many easy-to-make tools could save lives all over this world. We also constructed some fuel briquettes ourselves, which we will use to cook with this weekend in wilderness training.
The latter part of the afternoon was spent talking in small groups at coffee shops throughout town (mine was the Mudhouse! heck yeah to the Mudskipper!) and helping stuff bags at Northpoint Church for the Influence conference tomorrow. This conference will consist of various authors and speakers passionate about topics such as human trafficking, church multiplication & growth, etc. Our internship team will work as greeters, photographers, and coffee baristas. We will also hopefully be able to attend some of the conference ourselves, which I am greatly excited about!
We spent the evening eating dinner at Pamela Jenkins' home (one of the employees for Disaster Relief at Convoy). I was AMAZED to find out that Pam is from my same hometown of Gadsden, AL! The entire team had such a special night of laughs and conversation. We also went outside around a fire, and Pam shared her heart with us. As we pondered over the next couple of months, we were challenged to reflect on any concerns we were dealing with, as well as our dreams and visions about what the Lord wants to accomplish in our lives during this time. We wrote all of this on notecards and put them in the fire, offering them up as sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord. Spontaneously we sang worship songs to God...what an incredible moment.
I am incredibly thankful for everything the Lord is doing here. I can already feel myself beginning to grow in ways I never thought were possible...I'm finding myself stepping out of my comfort zone and facing challenges head-on. There are certainly times I feel overwhelmed, inadequate, insecure, tired, etc...Sometimes I wonder why God chose me for this task; however, I am confident that He knows what He's doing even when I don't! I've already made some wonderful bonds with my sisters here that I am confident will continue into lasting friendships. Knowing that what we are doing will change lives is certainly the driving force behind it all.
Well, we have some early mornings, so that's all for now! Good night! :)
7 "Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."-Is. 58: 7-8
We spent the majority of the afternoon learning about Biosand water filters and Briquettes from the Sustain Hope people. The amount of knowledge they have obtained regarding sustainability and relief and development is amazing! As we sat listening to all of the deaths occuring around the world from lack of clean water, I found myself feeling incredibly humbled and almost ashamed of how comfortable we often have it here...most of our lives are spent without worrying where our next clean drink will come from. We are able to take a sip of water without worrying if any particles could strike us with a life-threatening virus...how incredibly blessed we are. I was even more moved by the fact that an overwhelming amount of deaths could be avoided if we implemented the use of clean-water systems that are so easy to construct. These Biosand filters clean the water to about 98% (awesome!), and although the process can often be tedious, they're pretty simple in their construction. With the use of sand and gravel to filter the water and remove unwanted micro-organisms, clean water is able to flow out of the barrels at an unbelievable difference. Cool! After learning about the mechanics, we were able to work on some sifting ourselves. We apparently will be building many of these for the Masai and group homes throughout Kenya!
We also learned all about fuel briquettes and how these round tools provide access for safely cooking meals at an incredible rate. So many women all over the world are forced to carry about 50 lbs of firewood on top of their heads on what could be an unsafe three-day journey...some even with children strapped onto their backs or at their sides! On top of this, the incredible smoke inhalation is one of the leading causes of death for children under the age of five and creates awful health problems for all involved. These briquettes provide a safe, easy, and efficient means of cooking that's incredibly beneficial and healthy for everyone. All in all, they save lives. A little grass, leaves, paper (and often animal dung!) make up the construction of a fuel briquette; therefore, they are incredible easy to make and use! How crazy it is that so many easy-to-make tools could save lives all over this world. We also constructed some fuel briquettes ourselves, which we will use to cook with this weekend in wilderness training.
The latter part of the afternoon was spent talking in small groups at coffee shops throughout town (mine was the Mudhouse! heck yeah to the Mudskipper!) and helping stuff bags at Northpoint Church for the Influence conference tomorrow. This conference will consist of various authors and speakers passionate about topics such as human trafficking, church multiplication & growth, etc. Our internship team will work as greeters, photographers, and coffee baristas. We will also hopefully be able to attend some of the conference ourselves, which I am greatly excited about!
We spent the evening eating dinner at Pamela Jenkins' home (one of the employees for Disaster Relief at Convoy). I was AMAZED to find out that Pam is from my same hometown of Gadsden, AL! The entire team had such a special night of laughs and conversation. We also went outside around a fire, and Pam shared her heart with us. As we pondered over the next couple of months, we were challenged to reflect on any concerns we were dealing with, as well as our dreams and visions about what the Lord wants to accomplish in our lives during this time. We wrote all of this on notecards and put them in the fire, offering them up as sacrifices and burnt offerings to the Lord. Spontaneously we sang worship songs to God...what an incredible moment.
I am incredibly thankful for everything the Lord is doing here. I can already feel myself beginning to grow in ways I never thought were possible...I'm finding myself stepping out of my comfort zone and facing challenges head-on. There are certainly times I feel overwhelmed, inadequate, insecure, tired, etc...Sometimes I wonder why God chose me for this task; however, I am confident that He knows what He's doing even when I don't! I've already made some wonderful bonds with my sisters here that I am confident will continue into lasting friendships. Knowing that what we are doing will change lives is certainly the driving force behind it all.
Well, we have some early mornings, so that's all for now! Good night! :)
7 "Is it not to share your food with the hungry
and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—
when you see the naked, to clothe him,
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness [a] will go before you,
and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard."-Is. 58: 7-8
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Beginning of Something Beautiful
Well, we've been here for a few days, but before I blog about what we have currently been doing, I wanted to give a little background about the Convoy of Hope internship itself:
I have been blessed with an incredible opportunity for the fall of 2010 (from September through December) to work as an intern with Convoy of Hope (www.convoyofhope.org). COH is a faith-based organization all about helping people in need, particularly in disaster relief and poverty-stricken areas. Our goal is to share the love of Christ through meeting needs-it's basically missions combined with the Peace Corp! Throughout this term, I, along with the rest of the intern team, will undergo training at the Convoy of Hope HQ here in Springfield, MO and other locations. We will head to Philadelphia, PA to work at a city-wide outreach, and we will also head to Dallas, TX. However, the largest part of our term will be spent in Kenya, AFRICA!! We will work at several group homes (orphanages) throughout the country with the goal of helping these facilities become self-sustainable in food and clean water supply. We will also spend time working with the Masai people, aiding them in a clean water project given in a dream by God to a native pastor. In this dream, the Lord showed this Masai pastor how to gather clean water from the volcanic crater steam vents of Mt. Suswe in the Kenyan Rift Valley. We will aid the Masai in fulfilling this dream and supplying their tribe with clean water to the best of our ability. We will be in Kenya for close to two months. Our goal is to share the love of Christ and spread the Gospel message through meeting incredible needs.I'm overwhelmingly grateful for this opportunity from God-it's truly an amazing blessing.
Throughout this journey, I will document our efforts, sharing insights and personal thoughts as well. Thank you so much for allowing me to share with you!
We began last Thursday (Sep. 8th) and have been in training since that date. I am staying in an intern house with 10 other interns, where we have experienced everything from flooded bathrooms and basements to late-night conversations to laughs and tears. We are truly a unique intern team simply because we are the first all- the- same gender internship team Convoy of Hope has ever had! However, we are confident that God has divinely orchestrated us all to be here for such a time as this, and He will equip us with everything we need to accomplish the task at hand. Everyone is already forming an incredible bond.
We have been training at the Convoy of Hope headquarters, coffee shops, and parks, as well as other locations. Sitting under the leadership of our director, Matt Wilkie, and our other leaders, Shannon and Karen, we have talked about relief & development, Missio Dei, the Indigenous Church, disaster response, sustainability, the 10/40 window, etc. We've participated in many team-building exercises and have bonded over shared testimonies and devotionals. We've also already constructed solar ovens and gleaned from the wisdom of such people and organizations as Sustain Hope, Nate Kaunley (leader of Dusty Feet, an organization to fight human trafficking based out of Kenya), Randy Rich (one of the co-founders of Convoy of Hope), and others. Our team has volunteered at Hands of Hope packing bags to take to the outreach in Philadelphia, and we have even already had the opportunity to minister to a few people in the community.
Last night, we went camping at School for the Nations, an African village set up by missionary Randy Copeland. Even though heavy rains beginning in the middle of the night caused us to have to pack up our tents and sleeping bags early in the morning (and kept us from doing our rope and obstacle courses), we were able to bond over a campfire and watch missions videos over a projector against the beautiful night sky. These movies stirred us to such a degree that just about everyone was in tears. We also were paired up with a prayer and accountability partner, whom we walked with through the woods as we shared each other's heart and reason for being here. What an incredible moment!
Even though everything isn't always perfect, I'm beyond thankful for this opportunity, and I feel incredibly overwhelmed with everything I'm learning and experiencing so far. No matter what sacrifices must be made, God has called us all to reach this lost and dying world. If we are able to make a difference in only one life, it's all worth it. I'm so excited about what God has in store!! I can't wait to get to Africa.....
I will update soon! Thank you so much for joining me in this journey! God bless!! :)
I have been blessed with an incredible opportunity for the fall of 2010 (from September through December) to work as an intern with Convoy of Hope (www.convoyofhope.org). COH is a faith-based organization all about helping people in need, particularly in disaster relief and poverty-stricken areas. Our goal is to share the love of Christ through meeting needs-it's basically missions combined with the Peace Corp! Throughout this term, I, along with the rest of the intern team, will undergo training at the Convoy of Hope HQ here in Springfield, MO and other locations. We will head to Philadelphia, PA to work at a city-wide outreach, and we will also head to Dallas, TX. However, the largest part of our term will be spent in Kenya, AFRICA!! We will work at several group homes (orphanages) throughout the country with the goal of helping these facilities become self-sustainable in food and clean water supply. We will also spend time working with the Masai people, aiding them in a clean water project given in a dream by God to a native pastor. In this dream, the Lord showed this Masai pastor how to gather clean water from the volcanic crater steam vents of Mt. Suswe in the Kenyan Rift Valley. We will aid the Masai in fulfilling this dream and supplying their tribe with clean water to the best of our ability. We will be in Kenya for close to two months. Our goal is to share the love of Christ and spread the Gospel message through meeting incredible needs.I'm overwhelmingly grateful for this opportunity from God-it's truly an amazing blessing.
Throughout this journey, I will document our efforts, sharing insights and personal thoughts as well. Thank you so much for allowing me to share with you!
We began last Thursday (Sep. 8th) and have been in training since that date. I am staying in an intern house with 10 other interns, where we have experienced everything from flooded bathrooms and basements to late-night conversations to laughs and tears. We are truly a unique intern team simply because we are the first all- the- same gender internship team Convoy of Hope has ever had! However, we are confident that God has divinely orchestrated us all to be here for such a time as this, and He will equip us with everything we need to accomplish the task at hand. Everyone is already forming an incredible bond.
We have been training at the Convoy of Hope headquarters, coffee shops, and parks, as well as other locations. Sitting under the leadership of our director, Matt Wilkie, and our other leaders, Shannon and Karen, we have talked about relief & development, Missio Dei, the Indigenous Church, disaster response, sustainability, the 10/40 window, etc. We've participated in many team-building exercises and have bonded over shared testimonies and devotionals. We've also already constructed solar ovens and gleaned from the wisdom of such people and organizations as Sustain Hope, Nate Kaunley (leader of Dusty Feet, an organization to fight human trafficking based out of Kenya), Randy Rich (one of the co-founders of Convoy of Hope), and others. Our team has volunteered at Hands of Hope packing bags to take to the outreach in Philadelphia, and we have even already had the opportunity to minister to a few people in the community.
Last night, we went camping at School for the Nations, an African village set up by missionary Randy Copeland. Even though heavy rains beginning in the middle of the night caused us to have to pack up our tents and sleeping bags early in the morning (and kept us from doing our rope and obstacle courses), we were able to bond over a campfire and watch missions videos over a projector against the beautiful night sky. These movies stirred us to such a degree that just about everyone was in tears. We also were paired up with a prayer and accountability partner, whom we walked with through the woods as we shared each other's heart and reason for being here. What an incredible moment!
Even though everything isn't always perfect, I'm beyond thankful for this opportunity, and I feel incredibly overwhelmed with everything I'm learning and experiencing so far. No matter what sacrifices must be made, God has called us all to reach this lost and dying world. If we are able to make a difference in only one life, it's all worth it. I'm so excited about what God has in store!! I can't wait to get to Africa.....
I will update soon! Thank you so much for joining me in this journey! God bless!! :)
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