Home

I figured it was time to post since I've been home for about a month and a half now. I've been meaning to write a post for awhile but haven't had the time to sit down and do it yet, oh the North American life.

So obviously I made it home safely, it was a bit of gong show that I wasn't prepared to deal with. Between random passport issues in Nariobi and Amsterdam (still don't know what that was all about), having my flight from Newark to Toronto be delayed and delayed and delayed and then cancelled, leaving Newark 12+ hours later then expected, and having my luggage lost, I was a bit emotional upon my arrival in Toronto. But I made it home, eventually. And it's an experience I soon won't forget, and I think it will be awhile before I'll be comfortable travelling via Newark.

There is not a day that goes by where I don't think of Kenya and that I don't miss it. There is a part of me that will always be in Kenya, and I'm pretty sure I'll be going back at some point in my life, just not sure when and how yet. But I take confidence in knowing that God has a plan and He has it all worked, and if He wants me back in Kenya, then I'll go. But yeah, I guess that's all for now, I have to head to class soon. I'm not sure when I'll post again, but I'm sure I'll post from time to time. Thanks for following me on this journey, I appreciate all of your prayers and support!

Kenya: Week Three!

Hello!

Well I'm back from the village for good. Today was our last day in the village, the longest goodbye of my life. The goodbye ceremony lasted about two hours. But more on that later, we were in Kisumu for the weekend, Alaina preached at church on Sunday and Ashley and I lead Sunday school again. We had less kids than last week but it was still good, please hold these kids up in prayer - that they grow into young men and women of God.

Monday we spent the day getting souvenirs, we also went around to some peoples' homes in Kisumu, everyone is so welcoming and want us to come visit them at their homes.

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to Alaina. Then we went back to the village where we did a foot washing, handed out and explained the proclaimers, it was sweet. The widows are very excited to hear the new testament in their language.

And now today. we climbed up the hill where we had an amazing view of the village and we just prayed over he entire village, I loved that. Then we had our Love Feast (I ate sheep intestine...) and then our goodbye ceremony. Many widows had kind words and words of thanks to give us. Then at the end each and every widow gave us a gift, we got maize, eggs, millet, beans, peanuts, etc. It was touching to see them give us so much when I know they have so little.

Then we traveled back to Kisumu, we're relaxing with the family now.Tomorrow I'm going to get my hair braided and going out to lunch with the leadership team. Friday we will be spending some more time with the family, and then Saturday we leave for Nairobi for our safari/debrief.

I won't be home for a week but I know it will go so fast. Please continue to keep us in your prayers, we're definitely feeling them. I'm have a slight cold so prayers that it would go away super fast would be appreciated. I would love to tell you more but I would be here all night, and others are waiting for the computer. I promise to fill you in when you get back to Canada! Miss you!! See you soon!!!

Laura

Kenya: Week Two!

HELLO!

POLE POLE POLE POLE POLE POLE! (Swahili for sorry :P) I'm SO sorry that this took SO long! I tried two times last weekend but the first time (Friday) the internet died as soon as I got on the computer and the second time (Saturday) the hydro went out just as I was going to send an email and was out until we left for the village.

I have to make this short because it is late and we are going to bed. Sorry. We've helped built a hut, done HIV/AIDS awareness tying in purity and Jesus as the Healer (both physical & spiritual - yeah for City/Script!!), we've done two crusades where we saw many youth come to Christ, we've had a children's day today - lots of games, a bible lesson, craft, food, etc. I'm having a wonderful time and wish I could go into more detail. But now is not the time. Sorry again.

I've eaten SO much, the widows take such good care of us, I've also eaten some "interesting" things. I've seen some crazy bugs - we have even seen a tarantula. We have been very safe, although Mr. George (the hyena) passed by the house in the village one night this week.

We are definitely feeling your prayers, God is clearly with us and working a great deal! So please continue to pray!!

Laura

Countdown: 0 Days....Rightfully Stoked!!!

Hello all!

As you may know, this is not Laura Gordon…as she is on her way to KENYAAAAAAAAAAAA today! Please keep Laura, Ashley, and Holly in your prayers as they head to Kenya today, and pray for Alaina as well as she heads there next week.

Laura left today a little after noon and will be arriving in Kenya on Thursday around 9 pm Kenya time and around 2 pm Central Time Zone! God has been soo good with providing and helping all these girls get to Kenya this summer! :D

They are bringing to Kenya:

20 quilts for families who are in need of extra comfort
6 proclaimers (audio solar panel bibles for widows who can’t read, faithcomesbyhearing.org)
Toys and craft projects for orphans
Clothing for orphans (Laura was able to fill a whole suitcase to bring over )
A projector to show the Jesus Movie in their tribal language
$9,000 for the projects we will be working on while we are in Kenya.

Examples of some projects that they might be doing:

Sinking a well in the Orphanage, planting trees in the orphanage, hopefully breaking ground on the orphanage, building and repairing huts for the widows, providing the schools and widows with HIV/AIDS awareness and medication, purchasing a solar panel for the village, start a goat dairy project that would provide milk for widows who are HIV positive and whatever God shows us the community is in need of.

They have already sent support for a sewing ministry that has started up this week. About 10 widows are going to be sharing 4 machines and be trained on how to run a business and how to sew. They will eventually be a self sustaining business and will be able to create clienteles in the village, city and in the US. Global Hands Fair Trade in Lake Geneva has agreed to buy some of their products to sell in the US. This ministry is such a unique one because they are able to create business to make money for their family. Laura’s team are interested in starting more ministries similar to this, so the widows can earn a stable income.

Please continue to keep Laura and her team in your prayers, and pray that the team would all grow closer to God and be able to be examples for Christ to the people of Kenya. Please also pray that the community hearts will be open to the support system they want to introduce to them about AIDS, and that the community wouldn’t be so focused on their traditions, but focused on what the word of God has to say about these matters. Please pray that we would be open and aware of Gods presence and leadership over the next couple weeks.

Ready, Set, Go

Well, I'm all packed and ready to go. It took some work but we got it done. I'm bringing two bags, one is full of clothing (the big one on the left) that I'll be leaving there, as well as a bunch of craft supplies. That one took some work to get down to the acceptable weight, but we did it, I may or may not have some baby clothing in my personal bag, but whatever works right?

I head out tomorrow morning to catch my flight from Toronto at 2:00PM. I'll be flying from Toronto to Newark, Newark to Amsterdam and then Amsterdam to Nairobi. I'm flying alone so your prayers would be much appreciated - that I'm able to make all my connections and stuff. Once I arrive in Nairobi I'll be getting my visa and clearing customs alone as well, but then I will be meeting up with James. Holly tells me he will have a "Laura sign" and Alaina tells me I won't be able to miss him because he will be the one with the biggest smile. I've seen pictures of James so it should be easy enough to find him. Then we will wait for Holly and Ashley, I arrive at 7:00PM (local time - that's 1:00PM here) and they arrive at 9:00PM. We will be spending the night in Nairobi then heading out for Kisumu the next day.

Please keep us in your prayers throughout the next few weeks, for safety, for a spirit of boldness, that we would be able to adjust to a new time and climat, that we would be accepted by the villagers, that God will speak through us and use us, and that we would be open to whatever He has in store for us. It's going to be an amazing trip and I can't wait to share stories with you all. While I'm in Kenya when I have internet access I will be trying to email one of my good friends from Windsor, Candace, and she will be updating my blog.

Well, I guess that's all from me for now, I need to get to bed and get some rest night before a long travel time. Thanks for your prayers!

One Month to Go

So apparently there is only one more month - 30 days - until I leave for Kenya. Which seems surreal to me because the last time I posted there were 55 days to go, so that was 25 days ago but it feels like yesterday. Does that mean 30 days from now should feel like tomorrow? Hmmm...

It's crazy how fast time goes when you're busy, it seems like lately I'm either working, sleeping or planning for Kenya. All of which are good, I suppose.

I love how different people react to my going to Kenya, everyone is SO excited for me, which makes me more excited, which makes others excited, and so and so on. I also love the concern people have for me, I don't know how many times people have told me not to take Larium. One of the girls told me that I better come back or she would come to Kenya looking for me. Hehe. I love it.

I'm nearing the final stages of planning and organizing things for Kenya. I believe I have most of the logistics figured out, so that is definitely a praise. I found out this week that at the end of our trip we will be going on a safari as a team debrief. I am beyond excited! We will be spending two nights in the Masai Mara, and then spending a day in Nairobi before splitting up and flying back to our homes. I feel like it's going to be a very bittersweet experience.

I also found out from Holly this week that her and Ashley held two fundraisers and were able to raise $2000 for projects in the village! Praise God! We are also working on getting a projector so that we can show the Jesus film in Luo (the tribal language of the villagers) and also do some HIV/AIDS awareness. This is all SO fantastic! Once again - PRAISE GOD! I'm really excited to see all that is going to happen in the village!

If you could continue to keep me and the rest of the team in your prayers we would all really appreciate it. Pray that we are able to get the rest of the logistics figured out, pray that we are all able to 100% financially supported, pray that God would show us what He wants us to do in the village, pray for protection, pray for wisdom as we are travelling abroad, pray that we would be well received, and pray that is trip would be all about God and not us.

Thank you all SO much for your support!

And Days Go By...

Today marks 55 days until Kenya, wow. It all seems so surreal. It seems like just yesterday my countdown was at 113 days and now it's down to 55, it's gone by SO fast. In two months time I will be IN Kenya. I know I'm going, I mean I have a plan ticket sitting in the other room, but it's crazy to think that I'm actually going. I have a feeling it won't hit me until I board that plan in July. I'm so excited to go and so excited for what God is working out for this trip.

Just last week I heard from Holly about the sewing ministry we'll be starting while we are there. Apparently someone donated four sewing machines and money to train 10 widows. It's SO exciting! I love that we are going to be able to teach those widows how to sew and use that skill to create an income for themselves so that they can support themselves. It's SO great! I'm excited to see what else God has planned for us while we are in Kenya. We could be doing anything from building huts, to helping in the gardens, running a kids camp, doing prayer ministry, doing widow ministry, HIV/AIDS awareness, preaching/teaching, etc. Please join me in prayer that GOD would reveal His plans for us and those in the village. That He would show us how He wants to use us. Also, that He would get all the glory. I would like to thank you all in advance for all your prayers because I know I can't do this on my own.

The Decision

The Israelites regarded the mustard seed as a weed, once it was found in a garden the gardener would often find herself pulling out her weeds for the rest of the growing season. In Luke 13 Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard tree/shrub and in my life I have been fighting the spread of this weed, trying to protect my nice neat row of carrots. Until now.

For some time I’ve been feeling called by God to pursue missions. I had been feeling the call, but I was not responding. There have been many times over the past six months were I have felt God telling me that I was to go on a short term mission trip this summer. However, I kept ignoring the call because I had my life organized the way I wanted it to be. The next few years were to be dedicated to school and work, once I was out of school if God wanted me to go on a mission trip I would – plain and simple, I had life all figured out. But God had other plans. And He doesn’t give up. He kept calling the idea of short term missions and Kenya to my mind several times, but I was being stubborn and was not listening. I could list several scenarios where God was trying to get my attention but I’ll only give one here.

One such scenario was over this past Christmas break when I got together with Alaina and Holly. While I was with them they were able to talk to their “Kenya family” (James and Vangie Odongo). While they were talking, Holly leaned over to me and said, "So, you're coming to Kenya with me this summer, right?" I just smiled and turned back to the computer. Later on, still during their talk with James, James asked when I was going to come to Kenya. Holly answered quickly with - "this summer." But Alaina told James that we needed to pray about that and that he should get Mama James to pray. Apparently Mama James is a powerful pray-er and when she prays, it happens. As I was leaving Alaina told me that Holly was/is convinced that I'm going to Kenya with her this summer. This was a shock to me. I had not told anyone that I was thinking about pursuing short term missions. So at that moment, I was completely amazed at how God works. It seemed fairly evident that God wanted me to go this summer. But I went back to school, and managed to “forget” about God’s call in my life to pursue short-term missions. But God wasn’t giving up yet.

In January, I went on a retreat with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (the Christian Club on Campus that I’m involved with). During this retreat we studied Luke 13:18-21 which is the parable of the mustard seed and the yeast (18Then Jesus asked, "What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? 19It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds of the air perched in its branches." 20Again he asked, "What shall I compare the kingdom of God to? 21It is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough."). Our speaker, Dana, talked to us about letting the Kingdom grow, about letting the rest of our garden go, how it will spread and change the entire quality of the garden. The thing that God sows in our garden (our life) is going to be different than what we sow. We have two choices when this happens - we can either fight it or let it take over. She compared our lives and our will for our lives to a garden, and more specifically rows of carrots. We like to have our carrots in nice, neat rows – we don’t like it when they get messed up. But she then talked about the mustard seed, and how God’s will for our lives is like the mustard seed. We can let it take over our garden or we can try to “weed” out the mustard and not let it take root (which is where I got the name for this blog). The following day Dana started talking more about going and sending - "If you are willing, you are the ones' who will be sent out. The Kingdom moves because people are willing to move, to go somewhere. But you have to be willing. When you get invited you go. You don't hesitate. Take advantage of your time now! Take some risks! God has plans to use you! GOD WILL USE YOU! You are about to be scattered, don't be afraid of that. You know more than you think you do, you have more skills than you know! People are ready to receive Jesus!” Everything she was saying was getting me right in the heart. Everything she had to say felt like she was saying it to me personally. I had to take risks, I had been invited to go and now I needed to accept the invitation. She also talked about how when we don’t listen to God’s plan for our lives we are not only missing out on some great plans but we are being disobedient to God. This is when it finally really hit home. By not listening to God and not following the plan He set forth I was being disobedient. And the reason I was being disobedient was because I liked the way my life was going. I liked being in control and knowing what was coming up. I liked having my carrots all lined up. I didn’t like having “weeds” in my garden. But I knew it was time to come to God, and let go of my disobedience. It was time to give my garden over to God and to let him sow what he wanted to sow. And what God has sown in my garden is a desire to go to Kenya this summer and serve him through missions. I knew it was time to let go of my plans and trust in the plans that God has for me. I need to trust that He will provide the means that I need for Kenya – spiritually, physically and financially because He is Jehovah Jireh.


And now for some details - my team will be leaving for Kenya on July 8th and we will be returning on July 29th. We will be serving in a rural village near Kisumu, which is inhabited mainly by the Luo tribe. While we are there we will be serving in different ways – both practical and spiritual. While we are there we will be running a kids day camp (mini VBS), we will be working with the widows, doing prayer ministry, building huts, working with the church, preaching, planting trees, sewing ministry, potentially doing some AIDS prevention/awareness and if enough money is raised, we will start work on the orphanage (land has been bought but no construction has started as of yet). None of these plans are concrete or for sure yet, it all depends on a) what God leads us to do and b) what God provides for.

So if you could partner with me in prayer - for the people we will be ministering with and to, for my team as we prepare, that we will be prepared physically, mentally, spiritually and financially, and also for safety. Your prayers are much appreciated.

Welcome to my Blog!

Thanks for stopping by! I created this blog to keep you, my family and friends, up-to-date on my preparations for Kenya. Also, if I have internet access while I'm in Kenya I would love to be able to update you all on what's going on. If not I'll be sure to post when I get back.

I'll be posting "my calling" to Kenya soon, so that you all can know how I came to the decision to go to Kenya this summer and with that the title of my blog will be explained. It's a crazy story - but God is good and it is clearly His plan for me to go to Kenya this summer.

If you could keep me in your prayers as I prepare and as I am in Kenya I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!!