How great the love the Father has lavished on us!

Hey Everyone!

I thought I would write a follow up from my trip and what God has been and is teaching me through this experience. I know it's been a while since I got back, but it feels like just yesterday we were leaving to get on the plane to go on the most incredible summer of my life! Time has just flown by, but there isn't one day that goes by where I don't think about my brothers and sisters in Kenya. I pray for them often and miss spending time with them and growing together in Christ. It makes me long for heaven when every tribe and nation will worship God together in unity, how glorious!

I am learning more and more every day what God taught me this summer and how he used it to change me. He showered our team with blessings that I had never dreamed of. I couldn't think of the summer going any better than it did, and I honestly believe that is because of the prayer and support from our friends and family at home, so from the bottom of my heart, thank you! God is faithful and he blessed us with an amazing opportunity to build life-long friendships in such a short amount of time.

Part of the reason it hurts so much to leave is because God granted us such great opportunities while we were there-to Him be the glory! What a great God we serve. This short time on the mission field has only heightened my passion for going and serving Him wherever he leads me. He is teaching me what it means to have patience and to wait on Him. In a conversation a few weeks ago, someone said that Passion without knowledge is dangerous and this has been a recurring theme that the Lord is teaching me--to be patient and wait on Him. And while I'm waiting He has richly blessed me with wonderful friendships and growing me in knowledge of Him at Covenant and I am so blessed to be here.

One of the main things I learned this summer was the importance of prayer and an attitude of dependence on the Lord. I am still learning what this means, but my prayer life has increased and God has granted me a wonderful ever increasing relationship with him, for which I am forever grateful. I am learning so much more about who He is, and as I'm faced with his goodness I realize just how far I fall short. He is humbling me with His gracious love and mercy. 

James, Brian, and Vincent, my sweet Pre-Unit class.

Please be praying for me, there is an opportunity to go back to Kenya in December and I am praying for the Lord's wisdom in this decision. There is going to be a camp on the Land where I stayed this summer and it would be a great opportunity to see all of the church staff, Martha and Pastor Imbumi, and the kids I was with this summer. I want more than anything to go back, but I am praying the Lord lead's me in His way and not mine. In order for me to go there would be a few obstacles to overcome. The trip is December 10-20, which is during my finals week. If this became more of a reality I would maybe be able to talk to my professors and take finals early. But of course, there is always the issue of getting support. I have some funds left over from my trip, but not enough to cover everything. I am praying if this is the Lord's will for me, then He will provide the funds, whatever that looks like. I am praying and eagerly awaiting His response on this trip. I want to be a wise steward of the resources He has given me and only pursue this if it is His will for me to go back. Please be praying with me!

Thank you for your support and love through this process. God has clearly lavished me with His unfailing and unending love.

"Christ is all, and in all." Colossians 3:11

Bwana Asifiwe! (Praise the Lord!)

 Click Here to see the video made by our team member, Corey Koon.

Let the Goodbye's Begin...

 Well I wanted to give a last update being our last week here. Although, I won’t technically be “home” until the 28^th due to debrief—I will be flying into Atlanta on Sunday evening. Thank you for all of your prayers, I have really seen God moving this summer and it’s been incredible.

Yesterday, we spent the day on the land just doing laundry and finishing up our last stuff before we leave. Today we went into Kibera as usual and helped with our classes. I was with my pre-unit class. I love them so much! They call me Quinnie, which is just too adorable. My Kenyan name is Wamboi, so one of the younger guys will say “Nakupenda Quinnie Wamboi” Which means I love you. So cute! I really love them and it’s going to be so hard for me to leave.  I also helped to teach P.E. today and then helped with music club, which is so ironic, because I’ve never picked up a recorder/anything musical in my life. So I think the kids got more laughter than helping after that, but it was definitely a lot of fun.

Tomorrow will be our last day in Kibera as far as teaching goes, and then Thursday will be our last day in Muthega, the slum that the Reformed Church of Kibera works with.  And then Friday, we are going to be spending our last day with the translators and then having a party with the workers on Friday night. We’re going to be buying a goat and having it stay on our land tomorrow, and then Friday the workers and some of the guys are going to slaughter it. It should be really fun. Saturday we will be doing a VBS in Kibera and saying goodbye to the kids, and then going to the girls home Saturday evening. We will be flying home Sunday morning. Pastor Imbumi is going to fly back with us, and stay with Mama Elmer (Martha) and the boys who are already in the states.

I think the biggest thing I am struggling with right now is being fully present. We have begun talking about home, and begin our last week have begun thinking about leaving. I’ve been thinking about how different it’s going to be, how my life has changed, changes I want to make when I get back, and having to leave all of the relationships I’ve built over these past two months. Please be praying for me to be able to be fully present while I’m here this week, and that God would give us an incredible peace over this week to be able to say goodbye.

God has really taught me to lean on him for all things. I have gone to Him constantly in prayer and he has definitely provided. His ways are so much higher than mine and so much better. I’m in awe of His greatness, and how much he is working in both Kenya and America. Thank you for your prayers! See you soon!

From Bucket Lists to Buckets...

Hey Everyone!

 I always get so encouraged when I see all of your sweet comments on my blog. Thank you so much for the prayers. Our team of 10 people hasn’t really had any major conflicts and I really believe that is because we are covered in prayers—so thank you.

On July 2^nd, we had a July 4^th party with all of the girls at Shunam. It was so fun! We all were so encouraged, because even though we planned for it, only God could have brought the genuine fun and smoothness that the party went into! We had hot dogs wrapped in Kenyan Chipati and some other American foods. It was really fun. We did a water balloon toss while singing some African songs we learned, and ending it with a good old fashion game of Kenyan football/soccer. 6 to 30, not good odds! We definitely lost but had a lot of fun doing it! It was such a sweet time, and probably one of my favorite days so far.

We had a July 4^th party on July 4^th with the workers that live on the land in Kisserian with us. It was so much fun, and it was a great time of dancing, celebrating, and praying with them for both America and for Kenya. It was so cool to feel so united from such different areas of the world.

We were blessed with the opportunity of going on a Safari this past weekend and it was incredible!! I absolutely loved going and God richly blessed us with a wonderful place to say, and all of the animals we prayed to see, God provided. We saw rhinos, elephants, cheetahs, leopards, lions, baby cubs, hippos, crocodiles, and so much more. We went on a game drive on Friday evening and another one on Saturday morning. It was amazing, and words can’t even describe how incredible it was!

When we woke up on Sunday morning, all of the guys were sick except for Justin. We think we may have gotten some food poisoning on the Safari. One of our guys, Corey, had to preach that morning. Even though he was sick, he felt like he was feeling well enough to preach. It was an incredible story, the Holy Spirit worked through him to deliver his sermon—on the Holy Spirit. It was so amazing to see how God used him to preach the word even though he was feeling so awful. It was such a testimony to God working in and through him in his weakness.

3 of the guys stayed back and the rest of us went. On the way, Rachel got sick, and then during the service I got really sick. I’ll spare you the details, but getting sick in Kibera—one of the worst experiences. It was horrible, and this week we’ve been taking it a little easy to recover.

We have a few more days left in Kibera, with a youth event on Saturday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and then a VBS the day before we leave. Please be praying for us, because it has already hit me how hard it will be to leave the relationships I have built here. Please be praying for us and for our team, I’m starting to feel the pressure of having to say goodbye and it’s really sad.

I’ve started to think about what God has changed in me these past two months, and while I have a few things I will definitely be taking home with me, part of me thinks I won’t really see some of the change until I get back home. I definitely want everyone to see what Christ has done this summer. Please be praying for us this next week as we have to say goodbye, and please be praying for me and my team, that we will be humbled and know that it is not what we did this summer, but what Christ has done in and through us.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there is any offensive way in me,

And lead me in the way everlasting.”

Bwana Asifiwe! (Praise the Lord!)

Thanks for reading!

I’ll Follow You into the Homes of the Broken.

All the sweet notes you have written me!
Hanging up in my room! 

Sorry it has been so long since I’ve posted. Last Friday we did not have an opportunity to stop and get internet, and this past week a team from MTW was here, so we were taking other transportation.

All that to say, a lot has happened since I’ve posted last!

Last Tuesday, when we got into Kibera, I had the opportunity of doing home visits. I was very nervous. Since I’ve been going into Kibera, I have stayed away from the realities that these kids and people face. I chose not to think about there home lives, where they were living, and what that meant to them. When we walk into Kibera, it takes us about 10 min of jumping, climbing, and stepping in sewage to get into the church. And once we are in the church it is a safe place. I normally go into my regular routine of teaching my Pre-K class of 19 with Teacher Hope on both Wednesdays and Thursdays. But last week, the kids were in exams, so I had the opportunity of joining the teams that go on house visits.

            On Tuesdays, the church has a support group for HIV/AIDS. I joined a team with Corey, Purity, Rebecca, and myself. We got into our first home and I was faced with the reality of what it means to live in Kibera—there was no running from it. This woman’s nephew goes to the school at the church. She has AIDS but is in denial and not willing to accept help from the church. She lost her twin boys last year, both had AIDS and were four years old—they died within a month of each other. Her husband is in need of work, and she is dealing with her health issues. My heart was breaking. As I prayed for her and gave her words of encouragement, I felt so weak. I have not even begun to experience that kind of pain or suffering. God really showed me that I had to trust and rely on Him, and believe that what he says is true, even in the midst of this suffering. I encouraged her with 1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” But as I was saying it, God really showed me that I had to believe what I was saying. It was challenging and heartbreaking for me. But the Lord answered my prayers, and gave me a spirit of dependence on Him, because that’s the only place I had to run to. He knows this woman’s situation more than I do, and He is faithful to provide. And His provision over her and her family’s life doesn’t necessarily look the same as mine would, but His plans are so much better than mine.

            We went to two other houses after that, and both times we prayed and encouraged these families that were in need of jobs, health issues with their kids, had malaria, tuberculosis, and many other serious problems. One of the ladies in the church said that we had no idea what this meant to these families—for us to go into their homes and show them that they are important to us. It was encouraging to hear this and to be able to know that Christ is using us in their lives.

My Pre-Unit class doing the Monkey Face!

            On Wednesday, because of the exams, I was able to do home visits again. Lauren, Justin, Pastor Wycliffe, and I were on a team. We went to probably 6 or 7 different homes. Justin is going to be a doctor, so we went to different homes with medical needs. One man was beaten earlier that morning with a footstool, and the cut was so deep on his head that you could see his skull. Justin and pastor tried their best to bandage it up and to clean it out. Pastor had past by it on his way to the church this morning and broke up the fight, but then we came back with our team to help bandage it up. It was really hard to see this kind of helplessness. If we had not come, I’m not sure what kind of medical attention he would have gotten. At home, it’s so easy—you get hurt, go to the doctor. It was a completely different world. It was emotionally draining Tuesday and Wednesday, but God worked so much in my heart on those days. Please be praying for our team as we are seeing things that I can’t even begin to describe. But more than that, please be praying for Martha and Pastor Imbumi, that they will gain their strength from the Lord, as they are constantly living a life of service here.

            Thursday, we did a VBS in Mothega, the other slum that the church in Kibera partners with. Then, on Friday we went into downtown Nairobi. It was such a fun day. We rode on public transportation, which was an adventure, and spent a lot of time with Pastor Wycliffe, Caroline, and Purity.  Caroline and Purity are the two house moms at Shunam, as well as helping out in the church in Kibera. They are so wonderful, and I’m so blessed to be able to know them.

            On Sunday, the team from MTW came in—Dr. Paul Kooistra, his wife and neice, and Opal. It was so fun to see Opal and to get to spend some time with her. One of the girls at Shunam and I have been memorizing passages in scripture together, so we both recited Psalm 91. The Lord really placed on my heart the importance of memorizing scripture and keeping it in your heart. Then, on Tuesday we were able to have dinner with Opal. It was so encouraging to see her and to be able to talk to her. 

I'll be working on some more updates, as far as the funny stories and different things that have been happening. Thank you for your prayers, and thanks for reading!  

Less of Me, More of Him.

 Hey everyone! Sorry the blog posts are few and far between, but Internet can be a little tricky, and when we get it, it doesn’t always work.This week is the beginning of week Four and it honestly feels like we just got here yesterday. I am really enjoying my time here, although it has been challenging and I have struggled as my heart is breaking for some of the things we have witnessed so far.

I really love my team; we are a team of 9 with our mentor, Mark.  We have Jacob, Justin, Corey, Travis, Rebecca, Rachel, Lauren, Virginia and myself. My favorite part of the week is teaching my Pre-Unit class with Teacher Hope. I really love spending time with these kids, and have developed relationships with them. It is so encouraging when I see them and they come up to me, reciting the verse we’ve been going over the past few weeks, they say it like this: Luke chapter 1 verse 37, it says,” For nothing is impossible with God.” At first, because of my nasally accent, they were saying: For nothing is possible for God—glad we got that fixed! A lot of the teachers and kids have been making fun of me for my accent, which is so ironic to me and really funny. Every time we enter the slum we are greeted with “How are you?” in their cute Kenyan accents by all of the kids. Also, if not we will here Mzungu, Mzungu, How are you? Which is foreigner in Swahili. I am surprised at how I naturally respond to this name now.

Last Saturday, we did a VBS with the kids in Kibera. It was our first VBS and we did the Noah’s Ark story and made little boats to go with it. I worked with the younger babies, 2 and under all day. They couldn’t understand much of what I was saying, but they were hungry for attention, and it was fun to spend some time with them. After that, we went to the girl’s home. I love spending time at Shunam. I have become really close with some of the girls there and I think that is one of my favorite parts of an internship versus a short-term team, building relationships.

So of course, those of you that know me, I would make an idiot of myself most anywhere I go, and that only is heightened by the cultural differences. Here, they say “piga ma coffee” for the Swahili version of clap your hands. Well, the first Sunday I got here, I thought they were saying that we were about to have coffee. So I was wondering where the coffee was, so now it’s a big joke between all of us.

The food here is really good, and I have enjoyed a lot of it. My favorite meal is Chapatti, which is almost like a tortilla. I had the privilege of learning to make it last week, although mine was nowhere near the shape of a circle—I’m hoping my skills will improve before I leave. One meal that I was not too fond of was omena—small fish, whole. Not my favorite meal, although I did give it a fair shot. I hear they are a great source of protein, which they better be after the taste. Most Kenyan’s, from the one’s I’ve talked to, are not really big fans of the whole tiny fish, which was encouraging to hear. They eat a lot of tea here, mostly Chai, so we take a lot of breaks during the day to have tea. I really enjoy this aspect of their culture, taking time to build relationships. I have really loved the coffee, it is delicious and I will be bringing some back. And the Kit-Kat’s here are delicious, not sure why but they are, and I have probably gone on overload with the amount I’ve been eating since I’ve gotten here.

Some Swahili I’ve learned:

Asante- Thank You

Karibu- Welcome

Pole- Sorry

Sawa Sawa- Okay

Pikipiki- Motorcycle

Embe- Mango

Ngombe- Cow (try and pronounce that, impossible)

Sasa (what’s up), then you say Poa

Also, they drive on the left side of the road here, which is something I expected. But the other day, when getting out of the van, I looked left instead of right, and didn’t see a car coming. And apparently, pedestrians do not have the right of way here, so I didn’t look and walked out only to be terrified by the sound of someone honking their horn. Maybe one more step and I would have been mauled by a jeep in Kenya, not exactly ideal. Thankfully, I only screamed and was not hit by the car, but it was incredibly close. I mean I’m ready for heaven, but not quite yet.

Yesterday, we had the opportunity to go to the Kenyan market, where the Kenyan’s go to get their groceries. Each of us were given 3 items to get. You have to bargain for what you want and Caroline and Purity both helped us to bargain and find out reasonable prices. It was so fun, and such an experience. I just wish I hadn’t stuck out so much as a Mzungu (foreigner in Swahili). I hope we can get to go back again. Pastor Imbumi said that it was us getting out of our comfort zone, which was so true.

I’m so thankful for my time here, and so encouraged by what the Lord is doing. He is showing me my sin, and how black my heart is, and at the same time showering me with his grace and mercy. It has been a really great summer so far, and I’m sad it’s half way gone. I think they’re going to have to carry me out kicking and screaming by the time it’s over. God has really confirmed His call on my life for missions or full time ministry, and I can’t wait until I can be on the mission field full time. I could definitely see myself living and doing ministry similar to what we have been doing this summer.

So thank you for reading this, if you got through all of it. I’ll try and make them shorter but I wanted to catch everyone up. Thank you for your prayers, and please keep praying. Here are some things you can be praying for:

-Team unity

-That I would have a spirit of dependence on the Lord, and that I would go to Him for my joy and my strength.

-That I would take on the nature of a servant, and want to serve others before myself.

-That God would draw me closer to Himself, even in the hard times.

-Health of our team, that we wouldn’t get sick.

“Sow for yourselves righteousness,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord,

until he comes and showers righteousness on you.”

Hosea 10:12

“Surely God is my salvation,

I will trust and not be afraid.

The Lord, The Lord, is my strength and my song;

He has become my salvation.”

Isaiah 12:2

“He must become greater; I must become less.”

John 3:30

Thanks for reading!

Bwana Asafiwe!

Hey Everyone!

So sorry I haven’t been able to update as regularly as I wanted/planned to. Getting Internet is a little bit of an ordeal with uploading and trying to have time to do everything.

Well first of all, thank you for the prayers. I am so encouraged by having a team of prayer warriors at home, and believe me we need it! God has richly blessed us with such a wonderful team, which is amazing considering the work we will be involved in.

To give you an update on the boy from my last post,  the he has been put under the custody of the church and is staying with the Makukus. Praise God! (Bwana Asafiwe). God is so good and is teaching me his plan is perfect, not only in this situation but in many others.

I really enjoy Tuesdays and Wednesdays, when we get to spend time in Kibera. I am responsible for helping to teach a pre-unit class. (Pre-k). I love it. I have really enjoyed being able to build relationships with the children and adults here. I feel so blessed.

So how can you be praying?

-Team unity

-That I would have a spirit of dependance on the Lord, that I would go to Him for my joy and my strength.

-That I would take on the nature of a servant, and want to serve others before myself.

-That God would draw me closer to Himself, even in the hard times.

Thank you for reading and thank you for your prayers! I’ll try and update my blog on Friday when I have my day off. 

In your relationships with one another, 

have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

 ⁶ Who, being in very nature God, 

   did not consider equality with God 

something to be used to his own advantage; 

⁷ rather, he made himself nothing 

   by taking the very nature of a servant, 

   being made in human likeness. 

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man, 

   he humbled himself 

   by becoming obedient to death— 

      even death on a cross!

Philippians 2:5-8

Hello from Kenya!

Hello from Kenya!

Our Kenyan Home!  

A week ago today, we were boarding the plane. Wow, I can’t believe it! It’s been an amazing week, but there have been so many “firsts” it’s hard to process it all. We arrived in Kenya on Friday night around 8 pm and got to the land. It’s a gorgeous place, and we have been so blessed to have two nationals to stay with us and help us cook and get used to the Kenyan life. This post is sort of long, but it will be going through my regular schedule every week, as well as ways you can be praying!

On Saturday, we went to the girls home, Shunam (from the story of the Shunammitte in 2 Kings 4), and met all of the girls and were able to spend time with them and get to know them more. It was so sweet! We will be spending every Saturday there with them, getting to know them and praying with them for the service on Sunday.

Sunday, we went into Kibera, the slum, for church. I had forgotten so much about it. It takes about 20 min to get into Kibera. Once we got there, I was able to attend the Sunday School class for the younger kids. It was so sweet to see so much hope and joy, in what could seem, to the world, a lot of destruction and desolation. After that we were able to attend the church service, and head back to the land around 3.

Monday’s we will be spending time on the land doing construction for the new location of the girl’s shelter. The boys have been doing the construction and the girls are helping in the garden and cleaning around the land. I think Monday’s are going to be a great way to start our week, and spend time getting to know the construction workers as well as the other Kenyan nationals from the church and the area.

            Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s we will be spending time in Kibera. When we went this past Tuesday, 6 of us were assigned classrooms to teach at the school in Kibera and the rest of us are going to help with the support group for HIV positive adults on Tuesdays and Bible Study’s by Martha (Mama Elmer) on Wednesdays. I was assigned pre-unit with Teacher Hope, which is similar to pre-k. It was encouraging to see the kids warming up to me and getting to know me. We sang songs and I was able to teach them days of the week and different things like that. It was such a sweet time, I loved it! I think this will be one of my favorite parts of the week.

            On Thursday we will be going to Mothega, a sister church of the church in Kibera, where we were able to help with the school there. It is another slum, much nicer than Kibera, but still struck with poverty. We were able to assist in the classrooms as well as playing with the kids. I really enjoyed getting to know the different kids, as well as seeing them play with us. Many of the girls loved our hair, so they would play with it and comb it.

            Fridays, we will have the day off, so we will be able to get Internet access most of the time, as well as talking to our families. I’m thankful for the day off, because we will desperately need it towards the end of the summer, and even now.

I have really enjoyed my time here and am so blessed to be here. God is working in my heart in so many ways, and it’s only week one. So how can you be praying? Well first and for most, pray that God would radically change us, and that it will be for His glory, not for ours. My prayer has been that it would be less of me—my expectations, wants, needs—and more of Him. That His glory would shine through everything we do.

Yesterday, (Thursday) on the way home from Muthega, Pastor Imbumi said that we needed to stop on the way home to pick up one of the boys from the Slum of Kibera. This boy is 8 years old, and has walked all the way from Kibera to try to come to our property to stay with us, because his step mom is abusive and he wanted to leave. He traveled close to 15-20 miles to find us, got lost, and the police picked him up on the way. When we got to the police station to pick him up, they wouldn’t let Pastor take him, because he was not his family. The boy came outside to say hi to us, and was clinging on to Pastor Imbumi’s leg, crying because he didn’t want to stay. Pastor prayed for him, and he had to go back inside. It was heartbreaking. In that moment, I longed for heaven. God is breaking my heart for what breaks His. Please pray for this boy, that there will be redemption through this. I have to trust that this is God’s perfect plan, and that he chose this for this young boy. And this is only one of many cases here.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. 

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, 

for the old order of these things has passed away.”

Revelation 21:4

Please be praying for us, for flexibility, for strength, and for us to draw our hope from Christ. Without Him, these situations seem hopeless. Christ is working here. I am learning so much about God’s work in Kenya, and I can’t wait to tell you more! Thanks for reading, and thank you for your prayers!

“Answer me, O Lord, answer me, 

so these people will know that you, O Lord, are God,

 and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

1 Kings 18:37

Kenya dig it?

Team Kenya at the airport! 

It's time for Africa! I can't believe it's already here. We're about to board the plane. GOD IS SO GOOD!


God blessed us with an amazing week of pre-field training. We had plenty of talks about conflict, what to expect on the field, and a great talk about Humility, which I so desperately needed. We were able to meet interns that will be going all over the world, and it was wonderful to feel connected and apart of all of the different ministries. God was so good to bring us all together, and I love my team! We have had a lot of fun, and I can't wait to be on the field with everyone. 


Please be praying for our safety as we travel, flexibility on the field, for us to really love each other more than we love ourselves, and for God to really work in and through us this summer. Pray that conflict won't arise and if/when it does, we would handle it in a Godly manner. Thank you so much for all of your prayers!

"Let me find thy light in my darkness,

thy life in my death,

thy joy in my sorrow,

thy grace in my sin,

thy riches in my poverty,

thy glory in my valley." 

-The Valley of Vision

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, 

in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. 

For when I am weak, then I am strong." 

2 Corinthians 12:10

Pre-field training!


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