Video from our trip

Here is a bit of video taken from the trip...

You'll see from the video that the people there LOVE to dance! They dance at church, during worship, during free time....they dance all the time! I loved it!


Video from Kenya

Out of Africa

Well, we're back!

I'm glad to be back home, but still wish I was in Kenya at the same time. I'm posting a few of my favorite pics here, but you can find them all if you click here. I'll be uploading my journal entries in the next few days, and then you'll be able to read all the details about the trip as the days went on.

Thanks to everyone for welcoming me back home, and keeping me in your prayers while we were gone. Mungu akubariki! (God Bless you)

Okay, so I lied...

Alright, so I know I said that my last post was going to be the last one before I left, but something awesome happened, so I had to post and tell you all about it.

Yesterday, my mom and I went to the Wachovia in Leland to get cash for me to take on the trip. I asked the teller for bills printed in the year 2002 or newer, since we were instructed that when we exchange our money in Nairobi they won't accept old bills.

She asked why I needed them to be printed within those dates, so I told her I was going to Kenya. She asked what part I was going to, and when I replied, "Nakuru--it's a little nothwest..." she cut me off before I could finish and said "Yeah, I've been there!" "You're kidding!" I said. She then went on to tell me she was living with a missionary family over there, how long she was there for, etc. I couldn't believe in the middle of nowhereville Leland that I ran into a bank teller who had already been to the part of Kenya where I was going. She continued talking, and told us about how she got very sick while she was over there, but God protected her and she made it through.

God, you are way awesome. You knew exactly what bank I was going to, exactly which line I was going to stand in, and exactly which teller was going to assist us. You put her there, and you put me there in the same place, and the same time, to share one amazing story, one common thread, and one real belief that God is an amazing God.

The Foreignness of Forgiveness

The human capacity to destroy never ceases to amaze me.

On December 4th, in Horry County, SC a baby boy was discovered laying dead on the side of a road by a County utility worker. The coroner estimated that the baby was, at most, only a few days old.

Imagine it.

A mother, taking her newborn baby, button him up in a onesie and coat, and loading him in the car. Knowing where she was going. Having thoroughly thought through where she was going to stop her car. Get out. Take her son into her arms. Walk several steps away from the car. Lay her baby boy in a roadside ditch. Turn her back. Walk away. Get in the car. Put it in drive. And watch the distance grow, and grow, and grow in the rear view mirror as she drove away from the human life she created.

The human capacity to destroy never ceases to amaze me.


The human capacity to love never ceases to amaze me.

On December 4th, in Horry County, SC a baby boy was discovered laying dead on the side of a road by a County utility worker. One utility worker found a child, and an entire community felt the loss.

Several community members heard of Baby Horry, and though the child never experienced love in life, they wanted to ensure a symbol of love to surround his death. So one community member stepped forward and donated a coffin. Another made sure to order a beatiful spray for the cemetary site. Dozens of people- strangers- came forward to donate items toward the funeral. Dozens of people- strangers- attended the funeral. A woman called the local flower shop to order flowers for the gravesite. When the shop owner asked if she wanted a card attached, since no one would be there to accept the card, she replied, "Yes, write a card, and let it say 'I would have loved you.'"

The human capacity to love never ceases to amaze me.

How easy it is for us to think well of the woman who would have loved a child whom she never met. How amazingly easy it is for us to judge the woman who left that child behind. To think her a monster. To say "I would never_____," or "How could she?". It is so easy for us to love those who love. And easier to hate those who destroy.

Here is the difficult part...

We are called to love them both. Equally. Without judgement. We are called to love the strangers who outpoured generosity upon a baby they didn't know. But we are especially called to love the mother, who could not lover her child. God doesn't say, "Love eachother...except for the murderers, thieves, drug addicts, liars, abusers, and pedophiles." He calls us to love each other, as He loves us. Love each other. Love EACH other. Each. Every.

We are called to love this mother, because of the actions of a Father, and because of the actions of a young mother, several years ago. Who had a child of her own. A baby boy. Whom she dressed, and laid not in a ditch on the side of the road, but in a manger. In a feeding trough of a barn, she laid down her new baby boy. This mother, much like that which abandoned the child in Horry County, was probably scared, and unasure, and without the resources to raise a child.

That child, brought into the world in less than glamorous settings, would go on to teach humanity exactly what love looks like. Love looks like pain. Love looks upon the sin of this world, and acknowledges the worth of the sinner, and forgives the sin. That child became a man who saved the world. The ENTIRE world...not just the "good" people of the world. He would have saved the world if there only existed one baby boy to save. He would have saved the world if there only existed one scared mother to save. He would have saved the world if there only existed you. He would have saved the world if there only existed me.

So who am I, to hear about a murdered child, and condemn the mother? Who am I to judge? Who am I to say, "I could never forgive her".

I'll tell you who I am.

I am the mother of the abandoned boy. And so are you. We are all that mother. We are all undeserving. We are all drowning in our need for grace. We would all suffocate without Christ's forgiveness. Our sins are no more worse than her's. Our need to repent is no less than her's. Our desperation for salvation is equal.

Christmas is upon us. The season to remember Christ's birth is upon us. My hope is that you will also remember Christ's death. The death of a man, who came as a child, to save humanity. The birth of freedom. The death of condemnation.

Bling Bling, but for a good cause...

Well, I had a Dandy Designs jewelry show on December 6th, and it went SO well!

I had really been stressing myself out the past month, making oodles and oodles of necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and wine charms to try and get ready for the show. But once again, God is awesome, and lots of people came out and bought stuff. My friend Morgan and my mom were nice enough to help me out as my Sales Associates, so big thanks to them!

All of the proceeds from the show are going toward my Kenya trip, so now my goal is 100% met. God is AWESOME!

I even have a tiny bit of money left over from fundraising to take care of a few incidentals, like bug spray, sunscreen, bandanas, etc. that I need to buy before I leave.

Thanks so much to everyone who made it out to the show. Hope you all had a good time, and thanks for supporting my little side-business of Dandy Designs, and through that, supporting my trip to Kenya.

Here are some pics from the show...

C'mon, Who Doesn't Love Animal Crackers and Juice?

So, today was the big day. Getting ALL of my shots over with in order to be ready for Kenya. I had some info printed off from the CDC's website, detailing what shots were recommended for a trip to Kenya, so I pretty much knew what to expect once I got there. I think that helped me out a lot, because I could prep myself for the mass amounts of sharp objects that were about to be stuck in me, one by burning one.

The staff there were really nice, and wanted to hear all about the trip, which was very cool. I love talking about the trip with people...you can see them get excited as they have questions, and they want to know what we'll be doing, where we'll be going, how long, what about this, what about that kind of thing.

Matt was my nurse for the day. Very nice. Lots of tattoos, which you know I love. I asked if I could have my shots in the hip, or in the butt, or something, but that request was denied. Something about immunizations needing to go in the deltoid muscle blah blah blah. Oh well....thought I'd give it a shot.

We had gone through the list together, and he helped me decide what I'd be getting...

Hepatitis A

Yellow Fever

Typhoid Fever

Polio Booster

Tetanus Booster

Yyyyyeah, you counted correctly. Five----5 big ones. All at one visit. I was not super-stoked. But, whatever, you do what you have to do.

I tried not to watch him while he was filling up the different syringes. I don't love needles, but I don't hate them like some people. I've been in the hospital enough to have been used to them by now. But still....five at one time is a lot.

He was very cool, and kept me talking while he injected me, which was an awesome distraction tactic. I got 3 in one arm, and 2 in the other. Three of them were okay, but two of them stung like firewater-acid-hell's flames-bee sting juice in my veins. Uncool.

We finished, and he was just complimenting me on how well I took it, and then all the color washed from my face. (Which isn't much, I know, since I am super super pale.) He had me prop my feet up, and then he got me a juice box and some animal crackers.

Man, I forgot how awesome a snack combination that is---juice box and animal crackers!! Right on!

And suddenly I feel like a kindergarten kid again...juice box and animal crackers in hand, Tweety Bird Band-Aids covering my boo-boos, and an adult there to tell me that everything will be okay.

While I was regaining my senses, he taked to me about my options for anti-malarials. There are a few brands that are ineffective against Kenyan strains of malaria, so those were off the list. Also, one brand really gives people very vivid nightmares, so they don't even give that out at the clinic anymore. But there were two plausible options. Both are equally effective. One of them is $0.25 per pill, and you take it two days before you leave, and you continue to take it 28 days after you get back. Orrrr, you can choose the other one, which is $5.00 a pill, but you only have to take it for a week once you get back.

Ummm, as much as I would love to be over and done with the pills a week after we get back, my wallet begged to differ. So I went for the 28 day pills, for a grand total of $11, which is a-okay with me. (Stay tuned 28 days after I get back....who knows, I may turn into a zombie or something!)

On the plus side of all of these needles, I am now officially an X-Men. I mean, c'mon, I am now immune to ANY kind of virus pretty much, and that has to buy me X-Men status. My Awesome Friend Rob (that's his official title) drew a preliminary of me as a super hero...pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. (Psh, don't I wish my body was that slammin'!)

So, with my fresh X-Men status, and my freshly beefed up immune system, I am now 18 days away from embarking on the trip.

My goal for this week is to buy all the little odds and ends I'll need over there that I haven't gotten yet...hardcore bugspray, serious SPF lotion, a little alarm clock, a mini-med kit, passport holder, and a few other things.

Okay, I need to stop typing. I feel like I've done 1,000 push ups this morning, and my arms are about to fall off.

Thanks for listening, and if you know where I can get a passport holder, let me know!

- Andy

About Faces

Pastor Jackson, who runs the boys home in Nakuru where we'll be staying/working, requested a photo of our team that is heading over there, so he could see our faces.

We all gathered around, and here we are (minus Sharli and Stuart, but hopefully we can get another team photo with them in it later on). There are 20 of us total.

Peeling, Men's Pants, and the Luna Language

Over the course of these weeks, we have been attending training modules to get us ready for our trip. But our latest module, dealing with Cultural Training, was definitely the hardest, but the most instructive of them all.

We were coached through an activity called "The Lunas and The Eagles". I'm not going to get into the specifics of the game, but basically, here's how it went: They broke us up into to teams (The Eagles and The Lunas), and we had to learn how to interact with eachother while taking on these assigned cultural values, fears, and even different languages. I was on the Eagles team, and we had to approach the Lunas, who spoke a different language completely, and we needed to form relationships with them, understand them, befriend them, etc. It was so much harder than I thought it was going to be. The language barrier was SO frustrating! And of course, when we got in with the Lunas and realized that they didn't understand our language, we did what every other idiot in the world does when they aren't being understood...we spoke louder, and slower!!! Man, Americans are dumb. Why do we do that? I always see people do that, and I would think, "Um, they're not deaf, and they're not stupid. Speaking slower and louder won't help them understand you. They just don't speak English." But guess what?! There I was, doing the exact thing I had always seen other people doing. I started to speak LOUDER and s--l--o--w--e--r, like that would help.

Eventually, we Eagles had to re-group, figure out the Luna language, and try again. Our second attempt was much more successful, but still difficult. It may sound like just a silly little exercise, but it really taught us about how we need to approach the Kenyans, what we need to avoid, etc.

Also, during the meeting, we were informed of a few "No No's" during the trip. Most of them were things we had already thought of before...be respectful, be modest, don't be loud obnoxious Americans, etc. But there were a few things I hadn't thought of...

1. Absolutely no pictures in the Dubai airport.
They didn't give us the specifics, but I guess on the last trip over there, there was some inappropriate behavior and picture taking in the Dubai airport, and it caused some hullabaloo.
2. Absolutely no pictures of government buildings, or government officials.
They will assume you are spying on them, or gathering information, and you do NOT want them to assume that about you. No good will come from it.
3. If you are going to take a picture of someone, you must get their permission or their parents permission first.
A lot of adults in Kenya still believe that having their picture taken will steal their soul, and that is the last thing we want them to think we are doing.
4. Sunburn = bad thing.
We were reminded that most of the people we would come in contact with would not be used to seeing white people, let alone white people who are so badly sunburned that their skin is peeling off of their body. We will already be different and strange to them...we don't want to add "scary", "monstrous", or "diseased" to the list. We were strongly encouraged to get some VERY high SPF sunscreen, since we are so close to the sun over there, and you will get burned very easily. I will DEFINITELY be getting some hardcore SPF lotion to bring with me, and also hope to get some sun before I go, so I lessen my chances of looking like a scary, skin-peeling, whitey freak.

We were also given a list of words and phrases in Swahili that we should learn to help us while we are over there. If you show that you are interested in learning the language, people will warm up to you and help you much quicker. I'm trying to practice, but I'm really bad at memorization, so I just have to keep plugging away at it. (By the way, I'm pretty sure Swahili is easier than Luna!)

The women on the team aren't allowed to wear shorts while we are over there, so I've been searching for some light-weigh, cargo-style pants to wear while I'm over there. But guess what....they don't make that kind of stuff for women!! Every pair of cargo pants in the womens section is super tight, or has some kind of glittery embellishment on it, or it's made to fit the legs of a giraffe. (I'm telling you...go looking in the women's section in clothing stores, and you won't find any plain, cargo-style, lightweight pants...it just won't happen.)

Sooooo, I decided it was time to "reach across the aisle" and check out the dude's section. I was about 30 seconds into my search when I realized, "Hmm, I have NO idea what my measurements would be in order to fit these pants." Soooo, I left the store, came home, and got measured.

Ummmmm, this was a traumatic experience!!!! I won't tell you my measurements, but I'll just say this...I was sad that the waist number was bigger than the inseam number.

But oh well, this was NO time to have a pitty party and get all huffandpuff about me needing to lose weight. I needed men's pants, and I needed to find them ASAP, so I took my measurements, and went a' huntin'.

I was skeptical, because even if I found a pair of men's pants that matched my measurements, I'm still not built like a man. I mean, I've definitely got a wide-load wagon I'm draggin', and most men do not. But still, I grabbed a pair of pants, headed to the dressing room, got a weird look from the dressing room clerk (What ever lady, get over it!), and headed in with my cargos.

When what to my wondering eyes did appear? A pair of light-weight cargo pants, with plenty of room in the rear!

Man, these suckers fit me PERFECTLY! I mean, I can't tell you how much I struggle to find women's pants that fit me like this! No wonder men don't try their clothes on....they don't HAVE to! (You men, I tell ya what...just one more thing you have it ssssssuper easy about).

Soooo, I am now on the prowl, looking for more light-weight, cargo-style, men's pants (preferably with drawstrings at the ankles, but that's not a deal-breaker). Also, these are pants meant for Kenya, so no need for them to be fancy schmancy. They'll be getting dirty. I know some of you are probably already thinking, "Oh Andy, just go to L.L. Bean and they'll have exactly what you're looking for." Umm, thanks, but no thanks friend. These pants will be dusty, sweaty, covered in DEET, SPF, and B.O. I don't need to go dropping $80 on a pair of pants.

So, I found a $15 pair at Walmart, and a $15 pair at OldNavy.com, but I'm still on the lookout, so if you see anything like that, give me a shout out and let me know.

Also, here's an update on my fundraising!!!

I have met the $2500 goal that I owe the church to cover my trip!!!! What an amazing blessing! I'm really speachless about this. God is so amazing to provide, and my family, friends, etc. have been so awesome to be so generous.

I am still raising money (approx. $500) toward the personal logistics of my trip (immunizations, bug spray, etc.), but it is such a relief to have the bulk of the fundraising goal met and finished with!

Please continue to keep the entire team in your prayers. Lots of us are struggling with time management, fundraising, stress, family issues, etc. We even have one guy who has a broken foot, and is hoping to get the cast off rrrright before we leave for Kenya. Please pray that he'll be able to heal quickly!

Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone! Hope you have an amazing Monday!

The Name Game!

Whew- we had our 3rd team meeting yesterday, and I've finally got everyone on the team's name down (I am so terrible with names, it's embarassing.) But I've got it now, so yay!

We received the materials we'd be covering while we are there, in the hopes of being able to brainstorm our ideas in terms of how we can relate the material to the kids in a large group setting, a small group setting, and come up with some crafts, games, etc. to tie it all together. We'll have a brainstorming meeting later and share all of our ideas, and whatever sticks we will run with. The group is so eclectic and come from so many different areas of expertise, so I'm sure we'll come up with some awesome stuff. Our theme for the week will be the Spiritual Armour (you know...belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness, shield of faith, etc.)

We broke up into small groups to discuss spiritual strenghts and weaknesses we were struggling with, especially pertaining to our trip. Seems like a lot of us are simply struggling with focus, and time management. It's so easy to get wrapped up in the logistics of a trip like this, and to forget about spiritually preparing. Please pray for the team, that we'll be focused, that we'll be tending to our relationship with Christ, and that we'll have faith in God's provision.

Also, I got an update on my fundraising. I'm at $2,000 already! God is so good, and so faithful!

In addition to the fundraising money I've received, I'm going to have a holiday jewelry show in December...sort of an "all proceeds benefit" deal in order to get some money together for my incidentals of the trip. (Oh yeah, if you didn't know...I make jewelry. Now you know!)So I'll be driving myself mad making all sorts of little treasures between now and December 6th. If you're interested in coming, I've got the invite listed at the bottom of this post.

I've been travelling and sick lately, so I apologize for the lack of posts on the blog. I'll be better about it in the future. Scout's honor.

Meeting Face to Face

Well, we had our first official team meeting this week. Everyone who is going on the trip was there...there's about 20 or so people. I know about half of them already, so that's comforting. And the other half seem great, of course.

There were also 3 or 4 people there who introduced themselves to us as "Senders". They aren't actually going on the trip with us, but they will be supporting us throughout our preparation for it, with logistical help, supporting us in any way they can, and also with a lot of prayer.

It was very humbling to know that these four people, whom I had never met before in my life, would be praying over me and the rest of the team. They have been to Kenya before, so they know what we're in for, what challenges we'll be facing, what kind of mental and spiritual stuff we'll be going through, etc. One of the Senders shared a verse with us that really rung in my spirit: "I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him," John 13:16. These Senders are just as important as us Goers, and I am more than in debt to them for their support.

We were all asked to fill out a survey listing what we are good at, so we can be placed accordingly while we're planning the activities for the trip...drama, music, arts/crafts, game time, etc. I always freeze up when I'm asked what I'm "good" at. It's like all the sudden I feel like I'm not good at anything; anthing at all! Something about that question just always trips me up. And I know that's part of Satan's plan, to plant doubt in our minds about our competance. I just have to keep reminding myself that it doesn't matter what I think I am or am not good at doing. God is going to give me abilities to reach the youth over there, and He will give me exactly what I need. So I checked off a few boxes, wiped the nervous sweat from my brow, and clicked "submit". Here goes nothing!

The team seems to be a really good mix of ages, experience, backgrounds, and passions so I am very interested to see how the dynamics work out.

On a different note, I need to be better about setting aside a particular and specific time to pray about this trip. I know I need to make this a priority in my prayer life, so I'm going to be setting aside time at 5:00am on each weekday to spend time talking to God about the trip. Hopefully I'll be spending more time listening, and less time talking. There are so many things to pray about for this trip, I hardly know where to start. I'm so nervous, and excited, and worried, and pumped about this opportunity all at the same time. I think I need to start my prayers by asking for an increase of faith that somehow, the money for this trip will be provided. That's been my biggest fear so far, is that I will end up not making the financial deadline, and unable to go. I need to let go of this fear, and just give it up to God. I know He is our real provider. The birds of the field don't starve, and neither will I.

Of course, this doesn't mean that I'm going to kick back and not do any work to raise money. I'm sending out support letters, will be having a jewelry show and selling some of my work to make money, and have taken a serious look at my finances and am cutting everywhere I can. I just have to keep reminding myself...God will provide...God will provide...God will provide...God will provide...God will provide...over and over.

I'm excited to have met the team, and to see the people embarking on this mission together.
I'm excited to meet my fears and doubts head on, because I know it will bring growth.
I'm excited to meet my financial goal, and know that once again, God provided.
I'm excited to meet the youth in Kenya, and invest time in them.
And I'm exicted to meet the me on the other side of this trip, who will hopefully have a more global view of love, a stronger grasp on perception, a deeper gratefulness for the context God has placed me in, and some new 'family' members.

Donations Update

Hey all-

Here's an update on how the fundraising is going.

A million thanks to those of you who have donated so far. My heart has been so touched!

Mary Is A Little Lamb...

I sponsor a little girl in Kenya named Mary Paranai through the Compassion International organization. I've written letters to her, and yesterday, I got a letter from her! I was so excited!

It's a little activity sheet that she filled out, with the help of a translator. She talks about what she wants to be when she grows up (a Provincial Commissioner), she talks about her friends, her family, how she likes to jump rope, and more.

It is so sweet to actually be able to look at these pencil lines, feel the paper, and be reminded of how real she is, and not just some distant face across the continents. She has real needs, real dreams, and real struggles.

The only difference between Mary and the children you and I encounter here in our little bubble-town of Wilmington is geography. Location, location, location. Had Mary been born here, she would have had the proper nutrition, food, health care, schooling, and endless fun that every child should have. But instead she was born in a country where nutritious meals are a luxury, schooling is a privilege reserved for few, and where children---instead of running free on playgrounds---must obtain some kind of occupation to help support their family, must constantly be on guard for their safety, and are lucky if there is a cot somewhere for them to rest at night.

America is so blessed, and yet we continue to whine on and on. Nothing is enough for us. We are a nation stoked by greed, and an attitude of entitlement. Myself included. I want the American dream. I whine about my salary. When I get up in the morning, I look at a closet full of clothes and "hate" them all. I not only have enough food to feed myself, but two dogs also. I am blessed. We are blessed. But it's not enough for us.

But all it takes is one letter from Mary, and I am snapped back into the global reality. One sheet full of pencil marks and connect-the-dots, and suddenly, everything I own seems a luxury. A blessing. Everything seems too much, too good for me when I know there is this sweet child, covered by God's grace and love, who has nothing. How can I not help her? How can we not help them all?

The Broke Asking the Broker

So for this trip, I have to come up with a good bit of money. Roughly $3,000, give or take. I surely don't have this kind of fundage laying around for a rainy day, let alone a legitimate trip somewhere. So I knew right off the bat I wouldn't be able to pay for the trip all by my onesie. But one thing the church is encouraging the team to do is to ask our friends and family for money to support us financially on the trip.

Uggggggggggggh.

Let me tell you how much I hate doing this. I have never been good at accepting money from people. I don't like to do it at all. I'd rather let a bill go unpaid than borrow from a friend or family. It's something that's always been with me. It's not a pride thing...trust me, I have no problem asking people for other things when I need them. But I think what bothers me about this is the obligation of it. If I ask someone for money, I don't want them to give it to me based on obligation. I think that is one of the sickest feelings in the world...to feel like you are being guilted into doing something. And I don't want people to do it out of obligation or guilt, I want them to do it only if they really and truly desire to do so. Those of you close to me know about my whole "...releasing myself from all obligatory feelings..." rant, so I won't repeat it here, but you catch the drift.

Also, besides the whole 'not wanting to induce guilt and obligation' reasoning, I do have another reason why this idea of "fundraising" makes my skin crawl, and here it is...

...my friends are as poor as I am! How can I ask my friends to give money to me for a voluntary expense when I know they have their own necessities to tend to...mortgage payment, groceries, children, electricity? I can't handle it.

Here is the breakdown of my circle of friends/family I could pool from, and following each of them is my excuse (lame though it may be) for why I am uncomfortable asking that group for money:

• 1/4 of my friends/family are as broke as I am, and I know they can't afford to even donate $50 to my trip (as mentioned before).
  
• Another 1/4 of my friends are already going on the same trip, and are trying to raise $3,000 for their own way. I can't possibly say to someone "Hey, Kim- you know that trip that we're both going on in December? Wanna give me $150 for it?"
  
• 1/4 of my family/friends do not support the idea of me going to Kenya and ministering to the people of that country at all, so I clearly cannot ask them to give me money for the trip.
  
• And that leaves me with 1/4 of my friends/family to tap for some money, but I STILL feel uncomfortable about that.

So, there's the breakdown. Which I was heavily dwelling on for a while. A looong while.

Then God gave me a good swift kick in the butt, and I realized that it's not up to me to pre-decide who can and cannot, will and will not help me with this trip. It is up to me to have faith that God will provide, and not to build up barriers around His work.

Sooooo, after that sunk in, I sat down to draw up my fundraising letters. Still a little apprehensive, but trusting they will reach hands of those who will support me (if not financially, then with prayer and support while we are in Kenya.)

All of that said...
If you are one of the few who received a support letter from me: Please know I don't want you to feel obligated or guilted into giving money. This is a decision I want you to consider heavily before you do or don't do anything.

If you did not receive a support letter from me, but would like to: Wow, that would be awesome. Just contact me at andybrame@yahoo.com, and I'll get you the info.

Also, if you all want to go ahead and support me on this trip by simply praying for me, that would be FANTASTIC, 'cuz I'll need it. Pray for me to have faith that God will provide. Pray that my heart and the hearts of the other team members will be prepared to show God's love to the people in Kenya. Pray for safety in travels. Pray for our health before and during the trip. And pray for the hearts of the Kenyans, that they will be open to God and his love.

Well, this is it!

As many of you know, I have been planning on going on a trip to Kenya for some time now, to work at a boy's orphanage home in Nakuru.

Well, today, it is official---I am definitely going. Barring any mishaps (my passport not going through, etc.) the team will be leaving on December 26, 2008 and will return on January 6, 2009. I dropped my money deposit off today, and it suddenly became very real.

I've created this blog so I can journal this whole mission, and keep in touch with the people who are supporting me throughout this trip. I'll try and post as often as possible, and share with you all everything that is going on in this endeavor.

So stay tuned, and we'll all be in this thing together!

- Andy