Harder than I thought

I have to say, it has been a hard go recently for me on an emotional level, mainly due to personality quirks of my own, being overwhelmed in a new situation, and having to rely so much on Lawrence.

Beginning in March, he and I began the part of our nomadic sojourn that brings us up to Kenya several days a week. Not only has it made me have to be organized (not an easy feat for me personally) in getting the necessary tasks accomplished and people met with and children loved on during the days we are in Tarime each week, but also because everything is so different and new in Kenya, I feel like we're starting from scratch.

Even my first few years in mission in Kenya were in the very urban setting of Nairobi, where everything is within arms' reach there in the city. The city we've moved to here in the western province of Kenya is on the shores of Lake Victoria, is spread out enough that you can't walk where you're going, and we have moved here not knowing anyone.

Thanks in large part to the extreme generosity of some of our friends and family, we have been able to rent an apartment here in Kisumu for this first year, as we discern where exactly to take Grassroots here in Kenya, and down the road start the process of building the future mission house, which will definitely be out in the rural areas where assistance for widows and orphans is much more scarce. You can almost get the feeling that there is enough help if you head down the streets of Kisumu and see World Vision, UNICEF, USAID, and many, many other mission organization and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to serving the least and last. However, some of the most dire need is out, deep in the villages where it is much more difficult for an organization to operate from and host visitors from, and we know already that that is the kind of place we want to be. It will simply take time to hear from God exactly where.

I have had to be SO dependent on Lawrence, and it is so weird how much it bothers me. I have really become quite used to my pikipiki (motorcycle taxi) driver Chambili in Tarime over the last several years. He taught me Swahili in a crash course of just always, since day one, assuming I was fluent and telling me long stories that I didn't understand at all for a while until I could pick out words and then phrases and eventually understand his jokes. I met one young man named Ouma here in Kisumu that is pretty reliable, but nothing like Chambili. As I've shopped for things to get the house going, I've had to wait to make some purchases until Lawrence was back from the village, and wait for him to do some of the things because I simply had no idea how to order more electricity credit from my phone or hook up the gas cylinder to our new camping stove. Luckily he is beyond patient with me when I'm stressed and try to take it out on him…

What I know is this: we belong here. No matter how difficult the transition from Tarime to this place has been and will continue to be, no matter how opaque the vision seems on some days, no matter how much I miss having everything already set up, having an amazing leadership team in place, and having a houseful of kids we know and love with donors already on board, I have to tell myself the following things:

a. We have been called to expand Grassroots into a new place.
b. Everything that is to come does not have to take place today.
c. I do not have to be comfortable one hundred percent of the time and know all the answers now.
d. He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask for or imagine.

And that, among other wonderful things, is enough to get me through this day.

How fast time can fly!

Lawrence and I escorted a team up to Nairobi yesterday which gave me the opportunity to call home. The cost to call home from Kenya is super cheap, and while talking to my mom, she informed me that it had been over a year since I had updated our blog. I thought I'd better renew my passion for blogging, if only to release some of the thoughts that bounce around inside my head so continuously. Look for them as internet connection allows...

We are so happy to be back, so very busy with all that is taking place here, and once again grateful for the opportunity to get to do what we do. 

The Lawrence the world sees...

In all his Marriott finery. 

We are so grateful to have received his work authorization card a couple of months ago, and grateful to have a good friend who owns several hotel properties. Lawrence is thoroughly enjoying learning the American hotel industry, and interacting with guests from all over who find his accent 'charming'. 

The one I get to see...

Nothing could be so sweet as coming home to this every day. 

Our own little corner of the world

For the first six months of marriage, we were newlyweds with no place to call home. Being on the road and living with people was a wonderful experience, but challenging all the same. Over Easter weekend, we moved into the Eaton Place, a historic hotel that has been transformed into an apartment complex. 

We truly love having our own space, and being downtown in the middle of everything. We have eaten breakfast at Old Mill Tasty Freeze, sipped chai at Meade's Corner, and I have a regular circuit that includes walking past the Lord's Diner and the new Open Door resource center. Not to mention that we are directly across the street from my favorite thrift store! 

Below are a few pictures of the view from our place. The first shows our proximity Intrust Bank Arena. 

A park they used to call "homeless park" is right below us; there are still occasionally a few people who don't have many other places to go that sit on the benches during the day, and they keep things real for my perspective, for sure. However, because of the great landscaping work that has been done as part of the revitalization of Old Town, there are photographers that come almost every single day with high school seniors, newly engaged couples, and kiddos for photography sessions. This is the view directly out the window of our apartment...beautiful, huh?

Now called Eaton Place, corner of St. Francis and Douglas. 

Home sweet home.

Five months and many, many miles

Lawrence and I celebrated our 5-month wedding anniversary on Thursday night by eating supper with our pastor Paul and his wife Janelle. It may seem like small potatoes to celebrate five months, but we waited a long time before God brought us together, and we have not taken even one day for granted.

We spend a lot of hours in the car, and so this past couple of weeks have been a welcome change of pace as we have had the opportunity to house and cat-sit for two dear couples from our church.

The odometer hit 150,000 on Simba as we started our journey today and so we pray that God will give her another 75,000 or so more before we'll have to think of traveling with anyone besides her.

I am so thankful for such good friends and family, who constantly reach out and support both Lawrence and I, and the ministry we are working so hard to provide for. We are lucky to be surrounded by a church family like Woodlawn, and the amazing board of Grassroots Ministries who has labored on behalf of the angels in Tanzania for much longer than I. The state line sign below reads pretty accurately, I would say. Life, is good.

Three years strong

Yesterday marked three years since our van rolled into Tarime, Tanzania, and Goldland Hotel. I was aware that I was embarking on the journey of a lifetime, with my work, but I could not have been able to fathom to what extent exactly. As we piled out of James' van, the Goldland staff greeted us and scrambled for our luggage, so very happy we had decided to stay there while looking for a rental house. And the manager Lawrence, overseeing it all, was so sweet!

I remember, over the course of the next couple of weeks, going downstairs late each night 'to buy a bottle of water' and sitting in the lobby talking to my new friend, this young manager from Nairobi. I didn't realize how much I was enjoying his company until one night when I reached the lobby to find out he had already gone home. I was SO disappointed.

He took such great care of us while we were guests at the hotel. And was very intentional about making contacts in the community for us as we were building the orphanage and then later the school. He helped us move into our own house, translated for us when the need arose, cooked for us and taught his staff how to cook American food for the days we visited the hotel. Gradually the taking care of 'us' became taking care of Holly. And I won't forget. Though we are here in America and in my world now, where it could appear that I am the one taking care of him, I am reminded often of how we started out. He was the one that took care of me and my colleagues for the first two years, and I am so grateful that he is still taking care of me now. God is surely good to have answered my prayers in a way that is immeasurably more than I could have imagined.

So, so thankful

Lawrence and I spent time today thinking of all the things God has brought about in our lives over the past three years, and how He has been preparing us for each other for a long time, and how grateful we are to not only have each other, but to be home. It has been a really awesome year, between the inaugural year of Angel Secondary, receiving the visa to come home, our wedding, and the travel so far, sharing about Angel House and the school. So much to be thankful for.

life on the road

Lawrence loves gadgets and techy things. Some of the random, funny stuff that happens as we're in the car together make up some of my favorite memories so far. I thought it was so cute that he wrote down his entire voicemail message and read it. Just like I would have done. What can I say? Great minds think alike.

getting ready

We're 10 days out, and neither of us can wait. Last week, Lawrence found out he likes to paint as we made signs for our barn party. Everything is more fun with him.

Why we love the fall.

Since college, every other Saturday evening in the fall has been spent tailgating with family and friends, waiting for the cool weather to finally hit, watching Ethan (and now Lawrence) take in the big stadium with so many people in purple, and rooting on our favorite college team. We're thankful for mom and dad's generosity in buying tickets for all of us kids and for the chance to get to be together no matter how busy the rest of the week has been. Family, friends, food, football. Fall is good.

my cowboy and our heifer

Several years ago, in an effort to keep us kids interested in all things ranch, my dad gave us each a cow for Christmas. We have Polled Herefords that we breed with Angus bulls to make black baldies. Which really just celebrates the beauty of the difference of color in such a nice way. So as Lawrence the best-ranch hand-ever learned how to run cows through the chute, ear tag, and vaccinate, we also doted on our little gal a little bit.

our farmer

A hard work ethic, coupled with a passion to learn new things, means Lawrence is outdoing himself on the farm when we visit mom and dad in Texas. I'm so proud of who he is.

1. The beginning: instructions by Steve

2. Supervision as he begins himself

3. Wow, Opundo!

L turns 31

-roadtrip to Austin

-first experience at REI plus wedding registry for camping equipment

-lunch with our parents in Austin

-a drive through the country roads back home

-dinner with M&D, Amy, and L at Hamilton's Circle T arena

Whew!

We had a great first taste of roadtripping this past couple of weeks, and we are excited for the adventure that this coming year will bring. We arrived last night to Texas for a week; we'll celebrate Lawrence's 31st birthday, work on wedding invitations, and line up speaking engagements for this fall in the northeastern part of the United States.

We are SO lucky to be working together with the amazing people of Grassroots. We're thankful for Simba's new outfit from our friend Lisa - new tires and a new battery that will keep us safe on the road for many more miles. Dinners with pastors, reunions with past volunteer teams, and good conversation about the vision and direction of the mission were a great start to the future of this project. We sincerely thank Donn and Linda Hellinger for all they have done and continue to do for the kiddos and the missionaries of Grassroots...we and they are blessed to have you.