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!