One More Home

I can remember the popping sound that the tin roof made as the Kenyan sun high above started to heat up the metal. The day was bright and sunny and filled with the excitement of being back on red African dirt, and I was able to push past the reaching fingers of jet lag that were trying to drag me down. I hadn't expected to wake up that Saturday morning and hit the ground running, but when God gives you the opportunity to witness the work He is doing, you don't decline the invitation.  In fact, I always find great delight in the unexpected gifts He has, the ones that aren't on the trip's agenda. That first morning spent in Kenya was just that - a beautiful gift. I followed my guide up the hill towards a school house located at the back corner of the property, my lungs getting their first chance to try and breathe while climbing the elevated hills of Tigoni. Our visit happened to fall on a Saturday when the Neema girls were meeting, and we were getting the chance to s...

When I packed my bags to head out to Kenya, I had more than a few expectations for the trip. I expected the flights to be long and for jet lag to be a thing to overcome. Praise that God was gracious to give us energy that week, even though we came rolling into Nairobi having gotten little to no sleep and traveling for over 24 hours. I expected to enjoy warmer weather than what I left behind, and it was glorious! Oh, how I miss those sweet days in the sun. I expected to fall in love with some precious faces, and I so very much did. At last count, I think we were ready to bring 5 kids home, but it just wasn't something we could work out in a week's time. What I didn't expect to find was courage, boldness, and awesome lives of inspiration in faces I had never met before I got on the plane to other half of the globe. I love a good story. Case in point, while traveling those many hours in the plane, and thanks to a few sleepless hours during the night, I finished 3 books dur...