Re-entry

I think this is my final post about Kenya. Thank you everyone for your support and prayers, I couldn't do it without you. Thanks for sticking with me and keeping up with my adventures in Africa.

Well, I thought I would mention a few things about re-entry training. Travis and I flew back from Kenya, and my parents picked us up. We crashed at my house for a couple hours, and then left for Camp Andrews. It was so nice that we didn't have any sessions Friday night. I didn't really sleep much on the plane, so I had an early bed time.
The rest of the week was incredible: we had 1-3 excellent sessions a day; free time to organize ourselves, exercise, or hang out with everyone; an afternoon of working outside to bless Camp Andrews; a cookout and lovely afternoon at Ryan's house; and scrumptious cooking by 'Miss Lizzy.'
EMM has this great way of preparing you for assignments/serving, and helping you adjust back to life at home, while keeping in mind everything you've learned. I really appreciated everything about the week at Camp Andrews, especially spending time with some great people who had been on other assignments. The Indonesia YES team, as well as Brent, Meghan, and Peter were there with us, and the Jablonski family (from Guinea Bissau) came for a little while.

A few things that stuck with me:
-Abiding in Christ  (John 15)
-Aligning your heart with God's Passion (Fostering a Heart for the Nations)
  1. Care more than others think is wise.
  2. Risk more than others think is safe.
  3. Dream more than others think is practical.
  4. Believe more than others think is possible.
-The song "worn" by Tenth Avenue North
-Beautiful worship/prayer
-Using the same set of skills to adjust back to living at home that I did to adjust to the culture of Kenya: grace, humility, understanding/communication.
-"Wherever you are, be all there" -Jim Elliot

Here are several more pictures from our EMM East Africa Team Retreat: we were staying in a castle at Mombasa, and it was beautiful. I have another post about re-entry training (Camp Andrews, May 11-17), and I'll hopefully finish that soon. I'm still adjusting to being home, but it's alright. I've been running, riding/training horses at Green Meadow Farm, and gardening a lot so that I have time to think through Kenya and have some quiet space to process everything. Danita, my best friend, is leaving for Ireland tomorrow, but it was wonderful to see her since we were both home. Today, I selected some new fish for my fish tank :). We have a black moor ('bubba fish) named Jack, after Capt'n Jack Sparrow - I let my mom name that one. Additionally there are two fancy guppies named Snapple and Chase, a really cute spotted/mottled fish named Harper, a standard goldfish named Gabe, the three remaining guppies that I've had since 2011, Redbeard and Moby -and Fleck-, and finally (my favorite) a tiny orange/white fish, Madeline. I'm also really happy to be home taking care of Snickers and Tabby <3. I love connecting with God through nature and animals, which I missed while I was away.
I had a small presentation about Kenya at my church yesterday, and I was surprised when Tim and Bonnie came to support me and listen to my stories (they're on the board form the Home, and met with us before we left for Kenya). That was really kind and thoughtful of them.
I need to keep a strong focus on the fact that everything great that happened in Kenya is because of God, not because of me. It's about His glory and what He can do, not what I can do. Apart from Him I can do nothing. Humility is important, and honestly, I'm not that humble sometimes. I just hope it comes across that I really can't do anything without Jesus. He's the one who carried me through the entire time, and gave me His heart for the kids and the strength to keep going.
 I think the kids and babies and everyone at the Home, as well as the long-term EMM workers in Nairobi, blessed me so much more than I could ever bless them. I wasn't really good at teaching kids ot taking care of babies before I left, but everyone was so patient- even though it was stressful, and the kids were sometimes hard to handle. God's grace was so clear to me the whole time.
Anyway, that was a very long tangent, but it serves as somewhat of an update, and hopefully lets you know that God is still working in my heart & life. I think I mentioned a few specific things that He is teaching me.
Okay. without further ado, here are the photos:

Sirius

If anyone wants to know what Sirius looks like, here he is :) He's a really cool dog.

<3 He's finally my friend.

I'm home :)

Hi everyone!
I arrived at the Harrisburg airport with Travis and Rowena (another traveling buddy) at 3:55 PM on May 11th, and my mom and dad, and Danita were there to meet me! Travis came with us back to my house until we headed to Camp Andrews because we were giving him a ride from the airport, and I got to see John and Snickers and Tabby :) I gave my parents and Danita bear hugs, and I didn't want to ever let go. It was so good to see them again. That said, I'm still processing a major adjustment, and re-entry training is helping me with everything. I'm learning a lot, and I hope to have several more posts following this, about transitioning from Kenya, etc. Just because my assignment is over doesn't mean that the adventure is over, or that I've stopped learning about life and who I am, who God is, and who I'm supposed to be as a reflection of Him. Also, I have a load of pictures from the team retreat that I haven't transferred to my computer (which, therefore, I can't post at the moment). I'll get those ASAP.
I'm looking forward to meeting some of you in less than a week! -and thank you for praying for me, supporting to me, following the blog. It really means a lot.

Past and present

Tickling Sheila :)

Daisy, Memoi, Brian, Joseph, Cisco, and Mercy piled on my lap the week we arrived @ the home.

working on saggee with Courtney outside the fire room or 'Kenyan kitchen'

Baking cookies with Brian in the 'American kitchen'

The last bus ride to Nairobi: it was pretty sad, but I had time to reflect on everything that God has brought me through these past four months, and I had only gratitude and love in my heart for everything He's done for me.
It was really hard to say goodbye to the kids -and my favorite little girls and babies were the most difficult.
I think God blessed me with grace to be strong and gave me His heart for the kids, although it's difficult to leave them indefinitely. I know that He will complete the good work He started in them, and that He has been and will be with them forever and always. This cross-cultural adventure has been instrumental in shaping me to be more like Him, and I pray that God used me in some way to impact the kid's lives. I have hopes of visiting my friends and kiddos in Kenya sometime in the next 5-10 years, but for now, I'm greatly anticipating coming home :), and I know that the timing is right and God is calling me back to life in Pennsylvania. 

Me n' Mary Rose <3 I love her, she's my buddy. 

Watching the movie 'Brave' with the girls & Mary Rose. Left to right: (myself), Hannah, Winnifred, Mallory, Faith 1, Rose Alice, and Judith (this is another one of Courtney's photos). 

"Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. He does not envy, He does not boast. Jesus is not proud. He is not rude, He is not self-seeking, He is not easily angered, He keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus never fails."

"If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes about in the world, then thank Him for breaking your heart." (Oswald Chambers)

BALLET CAMP April 20-26th

This is most of what we learned: I loved teaching the girls the positions and small ballet movements like degages and tendus. I played music at the start of 'class' every day and encouraged them to use what they learned the day before, spin/twirl, or just listen. There was some really pretty worship music on Daryl's laptop (the on that's here with me in Kenya), which was  useful. Then we went though one position at a time, and reviewed them every day. We did our stretches, practiced plies and exercises at the barre, and then finished up with a segments of my "Ballet Beautiful" workout DVD. They're short and interesting (but not too hard), so that worked perfectly. At the end of the week, they all wanted to continue and do more, -me too! It was a sweet & special time with the girls, and I was so impressed with how they listened and remembered everything. They are all so smart and beautiful <3

First day, and first position :)

Tendu ("to point the toe") Left to right: Hannah, Cisco, Mercy 2, Mercy 1, Mercy 6, Baby Mercy <3, Small Sharon, and in the middle is Elizabeth, my youngest little ballerina. 

watching and getting ready to start one of the ballet videos.

We pushed all the benches against the wall to form a barre, but no one wanted to stay at their place on the barre- that was the biggest challenge. I eventually took the time to explain spreading out and not crowding together so that everyone could practice their exercises without bumping or blocking each other. I still had to say 'go stand next to the bench, not right on top of me' at least 12 times every afternoon (we had ballet from 2-3 PM Monday-Friday). As you can see in this picture, I'm directing Mercy away from me. It's hard because they want to be close to you, and it's hard to organize 20 girls! Our dining room is pretty echoey, so when all of them started talking, shouting, etc., it was impossible to get their attention. I think maybe the most important thing was learning to listen and be quiet when I asked them to. Also, I think it's a way for them to feel beautiful and graceful, accomplished/skilled at something, and to have a meaningful activity and some structure in a usually unstructured day.  

<3

Courtney tok this picture for us, and she said "everybody pick your favorite position!" 

-continued.

JoEllen giving Billy a hug :)

Faith Ann <3

The day usually runs something close to this, and this is what we've been doing every day for a long time. In addition to this schedule, there's another weekly schedule that organizes who's taking care of who.
Courtney Mallory and I have Elizabeth and Brian every Monday, babies every Tuesday,  Francis and Gregory on Wednesday, babies on Thursday and Friday, Brian and Gregory on Saturday, and babies on Sunday. Not anymore, though, and I'm coming home in seven days, Kenya believe it?  :)

PEELY BOY. 

Final week @ the Home

Me and Faith Ann <3 She's still so beautiful and soft and quiet, but she's grown up so much: she can  stand and walk, she's starting to make the cutest sounds, and you can tell by the expressions on her little face that she understand a lot of things. Once she said "Mallory" -she loves Mallory, they're each other's favorites. I love her too, though, and she is such a sweetheart. I spent a lot of time with all the babies (especially Jeremiah, Faith Ann, & Billy) my last week at the home, and I'm really glad I did. I took some short videos of them, so maybe I'll try to post one sometime.

I baked 85 brown sugar cookies for the kids, babies, and staff a few days before we left and passed them out at snack time. -I told you I was in a baking frenzy :)  I will miss turning the metal pieces on the stove (where the knobs used to be) to adjust the heat on the stove or turn on the oven, approximating everything for recipes, and cooking supper with Courtney and Mallory, entirely 'winging it.'   I am looking forward to my own kitchen at home, however, where my dear sweet mother will cook things for me <3  I changed my mind about stopping at home between landing at the airport and reporting to Camp Andrews, so I'll get to see my house and Snickers and Tabby, and stay there with my family for an hour or so.  Travis is coming, too! His parents can't make it to pick him up at the airport, so my parents will drive both of us back to our house. 

Joyce's birthday was April 29th, and we made spaghetti and baked a cake to celebrate. Mallory scripted the design on the front of her birthday card, and I wrote a message for her :)

Mal decorated the cake, I made the chocolate icing, and Hannah made the yellow.
Everything good we make is the result of collaboration and team work :)

packing' up, packin' up.

My shelves in our room with everything cleared away and packed. I love packing <3, but it was sad to think about leaving while working on that. The most significant part of packing is organization and strategy and thinking through what you will need to have access to. -but that's my favorite part. I started the process several days before we left, so thankfully all I had to do Wednesday morning was pick up my bags and go. That gave me more time to say my goodbyes and hug all the kids and babies. - I didn't want to let go of Mercy <3, and I saved Billy for last. All I could say was 'I love you', and 'I will miss you,' and squeeze them tight. It was especially hard to say goodbye to Hannah, but she came with us when Greg drove us to Kericho, and we said goodbye at the bus station. 

Bumba :) -Jacob Kipchumba. We were talking about names with Joyce, and she explained that 'Kip' is boy, and 'Chep' is girl. (for their middle names). She asked me what time of day I was born, and then told me that my name would be 'Olivia Chepkerui.' -that means "born in the afternoon."

Prayer Request

Reading through an email that my mom sent me, I heard that John ( my brother ) has a spiral fracture of his tibia and fibula, and he shattered his ankle :/. We're really close, and I love him and I miss him so much. 

He had one surgery already (they put a plate and six screws in the tibia), and he has another one on Monday, May 6th. I think he's healing pretty well, and I know he can handle almost anything, but I was still worried about him. My mom is praying for him to recover better and faster than expected, and I would really appreciate it if you  could pray for him. I know this isn't necessarily Kenya-related, but it's really important to me and it's a major event in my life at the moment. -and if I've learned anything here, it's that prayer is important and effective. 

Anyway, I had the privilege of speaking to him over skype tonight (I'm in Nairobi again, for the final time), and I think he's definitely improving, but I know that it still takes time to heal and that there's a lot that he has to get through. Perhaps most importantly, it's the end of the school year, and it's hard to catch up on work and final projects when you're out of commission.
Thank you, and God bless you :)

April 29th, 2013

"The more we recognize that Jesus alone is our righteousness,
the less the adversary can assault us in the area of our failings." 

Wheelbarrow man #1

Billy and Johnny.

One morning I had Jeremiah with me in the living room and he just curled up and went to sleep on the couch.
He's my buddy now- we've been friends since the day when Courtney was sick and he decided he liked me. I like him, too: he is so precious; all the time, even when he's sad. He's really sweet and quiet, and he has the best laugh. He plants his whole mouth (drool and all) on your face to give you a kiss, and he squeezes his little arms tight around your neck when he hugs you. 

'Dad' and Davis working on the concrete: it's finished now, and it looks beautiful. They re-did the walkway, and made a  barrier so that the rain water doesn't make everything all muddy. Now they're working on leveling the yard. 

Mary Rose on the swings <3 -what a sweetheart. she's our silly girl, and she's grown so much since January. 

Faith Ann <3

Mallory and Billy.

My trusty 1 Litre water bottle :) It's been fun. 

Courtney and I working on Rose Alice's hair in the nursery. Almost no one has long hair in Kenya, even the girls. -it's all extensions, so when it's time to take it out and braid new hair in, we cut the extensions short and unbraid them/separate them from her real hair. It's a long process, and I commend the girls' patience for sitting all that time. 

I wrote letters for each of the kids and toddlers,  Courtney/Mallory, Greg and Mary Rose, Faith, Judith, Winifred and Rose Alice, and Joyce...I think that makes 52. I was working on them every night at the coffee table in the living room for the last couple weeks. God directed me to write these, and I hope that maybe He had something to say through my words. He always knows what I need, and what everyone needs. I think writing these letters was a great way for me to process leaving/going home, and bring closure to my assignment there. I pray that it's also helpful for the kids to process me leaving. I miss them so much already <3.

My sweet potato pie and banana bread with vanilla icing. I had a baking frenzy the final week at the home, and made at least 4 different cakes, etc.  :)
I'm sorry, this post is from a couple weeks ago, but we just haven't had internet. There will be several more 'catch up' posts so that the blog will be current, and I'll work on those A.S.A.P.