Final Update Letter

Dear Friends and Family,

I am actually writing this email in London, but I have great faith that I will eventually be home, and I want to be able to send this out as soon as possible. So, to save a bit of time, and to be able to say something intelligent (exhaustion tends to affect writing…), I’ve decided to write this now.

I am sorry that there was a sudden gap between communication: my last day in the office, I intended to send out a farewell email (which I have included below), but yahoo would not let me log on. This is the first chance I’ve gotten to access the internet since then.

My time in Kenya has been life-changing. Well, I suppose it is not fair to say that until we’ve seen how it has changed my life, but I know that it will. I’ve gained international and writing experience, and two whole families. I have added them to my email list, and hope to keep in contact with them.

To my Onyango and Okello families: Thank you for being willing to adopt this mzungu as your little sister and daughter. In these two weeks I have grown to love you dearly.

To all who are not Onyango or Okello, these families and the First Baptist Church of Eastleigh send their greetings. How I wish you all could meet them: they would bless you beyond imagination!

The whole London experience has not been as I expected, but my new brother Jared has taught me to have no expectations and thus no disappointments, so I know things will work out. There has been many misunderstandings or mixups with airlines and railways and theatres and what and what. I know, however, that God got me to Nairobi, and He will get me to Nashville. Oh, Nashville. I’m ready to be home again.

As I am glancing at my computer’s clock, I see that it is 6 am at home. It is 12 pm here and 2 pm in Nairobi. Non-sequitor, I know, but you go through those drastic time changes and see what your mind does, hmm?

Enough from me for now. Since this email is in your mailbox, you can assume that I am home and fighting jetlag. Please pray that I will recover very quickly that I may return to work soon.

All my love,
Amanda



Written on Tuesday night 06.20.06, intended to have been sent Wednesday 06.21.06 from the BMOK office in Nairobi.

Dear Friends and Family,

Today is my last day in the office. It is to be a short day, even: sometime shortly after lunch, Mom will join us at the Mission office for a brief meeting with our volunteer coordinator. I say 'brief' rather tongue-in-cheek: time in Kenya is relative, and as I was reminded yesterday by my friend Shem, there is always time for conversation.

In the few short hours that I have left as the intern at the Baptist Mission office, I will be interviewing people for two more articles I hope to write. The actual writing process will probably take place mostly Stateside, but the interview work needs to be done here. It looks like I will have quite a bit of work Stateside, between the volunteer handbook's revision and the handful of articles that lay on the back burner---but as of yesterday [editor's note: that is, as of Tuesday], I have completed the minimum requirements for my practicum, and it doesn't matter that I've not finished all of the assignments in the alloted time.

I must say that my mission trip/practicum has rather flown by. I have so many stories and memories, my journal cannot begin to absorb them all. Nor can I record them all: sleep, food, and work all seem to get in the way of memoir writing....

Yesterday, Mom was able to see 3 ladies accept Jesus as Savior in Eastleigh. Praise God! Please continue to pray for God's work in Eastleigh. There is much to do. Pray also for the people of First Baptist Eastleigh and of the 3 churches that First Baptist started. (I can't help but wonder if they aren't called Second Baptist and Third Baptist and Fourth Baptist, just to keep track of which was started when...) :)

Tomorrow, Mom and I will travel to a game park for some relaxation and once-in-a-lifetime photo opportunities. On Saturday, we will return to Karina guest house. On Sunday, our Kenyan friends (now my mother's Kenyan sons) will see us to the airport. Thankfully, the trip will not be as long and tiresome: we are only flying to London for a 2 day layover. I do not know the availability of internet where we will be, so I am going to assume that this is "kwa heri" (goodbye).

With much love
and thanks for your prayers,
Amanda

From Mom (Denise)

Dear Prayer Partners,

Today (Monday), Shem--the volunteer coordinator--held
a delighful surprise for me. Today had been set aside
for door to door evangelizing in Githurai, Kenya.

My interpretors were Pastor Tom Chosi Wamwaya and his
assistant Pastor Andrew. Pastor Tom's wife, Esther
joined us, and the 4 of us walked together for hours.

We went to the Ndi-ini Primary School in Githurai
where they had assembled all of their students to hear
me give the Gospel story. Over 500 children heard the
Truth today. What a blessing for me and for them!

The story most dear to my heart, though, is that of 2
sisters that we met in the way. We met Edith (21)
first, and shared Christ with her. She agreed that she
wanted to be saved right then, but she didn't want to
pray outloud right then. She wanted us to tell her
sister the same Good News. So, we followed her home
and told her sister, Phides (18). Both girls received
Jesus as their Savior. Praise God!

Please continue to pray for Mwihoko FBC (a church of
10) and for God's work in Githurai, Kenya.

....Denise

Post Sunday

Dear Friends and Family,

If you have never been to a Kenyan Baptist church,
you'll never understand how blessed I am today.
Yesterday we went to First Baptist Church Eastleigh
for---hours. And, when it was time to leave, I didn't
want to. In the States, if we were at church for half
a dozen hours, I'd be bored and hungry out of my mind,
dying just for a change of scenery. To be painfully
honest with you, when our driver told us we had to
leave and escorted us to the car, my tear bank filled
up. The moment we could no longer see the church
people waving, that tear bank began making deposits on
my face and--oh how sweet the fellowship with complete
strangers!

I've been visiting to many friends' churches, and very
very very few have that spirit I felt yesterday. As a
shy person, one of my biggest fears is talking to
people I don't know (you can relate, can you not,
dearest Ry?). While I was nervous out my mind to be
asked to talk to the youth, I wished I could have
spent the whole day with them. The atmosphere was
different: yes, we were in a shack made mostly of
sheets of tin roofing, and we were sitting on wobbly
hand-made benches, and we were singing some English
and some Swahili songs we did not know, but it was so
much more than that. Maybe I will be able to write
something a little more coherent to explain the
difference in the worship that I now treasure and hold
closer to my heart than most memories will ever get.

Please continue to pray for Mom's health. Her voice
comes and goes, but she's holding on. Also pray for my
writing ability. I've accepted an assignment to edit
the volunteer's handbook, a project that will need to
be taken back with me (pray that it can be included in
my practicum!), and I have a few articles to be
submitted that need work, and a few articles that
still need to be written, and I'm running out of time.
God's will, I know, will take care of my work. Please
pray.

Much love and thanks for your prayers,
Amanda and Mom

Friday Morning Rambler

Dear Friends and Family,

I am halfway finished with my practicum already! I
simply cannot believe it, but I've recorded 42 hours,
and I only need 80! Praise God!

Today, Mom made a specific request that I share this
information with you:

Mom is at the First Baptist Eastleigh's Little Angels
Academy for the third time today. She will use the
money given her by her prayer team at Parker's Creek
to buy and cook meat for the children--what a treat
for them! When we were there, Mama Cate (the pastor's
wife and the teacher of the Academy) made lunch for
each of the children--for many of them, that was their
meal for the day--a lunch that consisted of white rice
and some kind of soupy bean. Today my mom will get to
cook meat for them. She is also bringing in Mrs.
Gold's suitcase about 20 of the stuffed animals that
we have given, and she will leave all of that there
for the children. How I wish I wish I could be there
to see their faces! Oh, to watch through my tears as
little 5 year old Kevin holds a worn brown teddy bear
that is almost as big as he and yet would be smaller
than the average 2 year old in America. That boy's
face has not left my mind. I wonder every night as I
fall asleep, how much longer the boy will live, and
yet I know that somehow, in his need, he is content
and happy. Blessed orphan.

Ok.

I need to pull away for a moment, go wash my face, and
try to focus on my practicum writing.

Still, it is good to know that little Kevin will have
meat in his bloated little stomach and a very loved
little stuffed friend to hold as he falls alseep
tonight.

Enough for now. I love you all, thank you for praying
for us. Mom is feeling a little better this morning,
but her throat is still sore.

Much love and thanks,
Amanda (and Mom...and all of the orphans at the Little
Angels Academy)

Double Email

Dear Friends and Family,

Today is Thursday, June 15. It has been a very busy
last few days. I have not even been in the office
until today. Here are the two emails that I composed
on my computer previously. I will update you more
later, after I get some work done. :)

Note: Expectations in head are falser than they appear

Dear Friends and Family, 06/10/06 (I think)

*written from Heathrow airport*

Expectations, it seems, are all the rage. Since
highschool, Iíve been getting the ìwhat are you going
to do whenÖî question from more people than I care to
number. Sometimes, I have to admit that the most
accurate answer to that overasked question is ìI donít
know.î Not that the questioner will be content with
that answer; sometimes I just wish I didnít have to
try to think of a satisfactory answer.

When I started packing, I expected to be able to fit
all of my belongings into my one large suitcase and my
backpack. I had forgotten about the weight limits. So,
to conserve weight we spread our weight (a total of
198 lbs: 2 lbs shy of the limit for checked luggage)
out between 4 large bagsóbut my large bag wasnít as
large as I had expected, so we had to buy a larger
bag. I found a blazing pink bag on wheels to match my
pink id tags. Iíll take no chances of missing my
luggage on the conveyor belt! :)

On the 9 hour trip from the States to the UK, I
expected to be able to sleep a little, eat a little,
and write a little, not in that order. I slept a lot
and ate a little.

In London, I expected to be able to understand all the
signs (isnít England where they invented English?),
but their phraseology often throws me off (ìQueue
begins hereî = ìLine begins hereî), and the directions
somehow seem complicated and confusing. If only I
could put the airport into book fashion, with a table
of contents, index, cross-references, and marked tabs!
I also expected to be able to use the 8 hour layover
to take a lazy tour of England (ie, go see Big Ben, a
local park, and a local eatery); after probably 20
minutes of wheeling my blazing pink luggage and its
accompanists underneath all the complicated standard
English signs, we discovered that we canít check our
bags until 5:40 local time.

Can anyone say flexibility?

I am glad for the respite. I can sit outside the
little Italian CafÈ Nero and breathe fresh (ha!) air
while people watching. Ahh, people watching: the
universal pastime!

Well, Mom wants a frappecino, so Iíll sign off for
now.

Much love
And thanks
For your prayers,

Amanda & Mom


Dear Friends and Family,

*written 06-14-06, Wednesday, at the Karina Guest
house*

It has been 4 days since I last composed an email.
Iíve had to save my computerís energy, since I do not
have the correct adapter for it. Tomorrow I will be in
the office, and I will be able to send this and the
other email out.

Mom and I have in the last 3 days visited 2 schools
and met with some of the mamas of the First Baptist
Church of Eastleigh. The first school is run by the
Pastorís wife, Cate, and the second by a lady in the
church, Monica. Both schools are full of children and
lacking in space. One of the few things that the
children do have in abundance is love from their
teachers. Mom and I had no idea that each teacher had
one or two of her own children with the others: they
loved them all as their own. There is much to tell,
and not enough battery power to tell it. It has been a
long 3 days.

Today we had the opportunity to meet with a few of the
women from the church. What a blessing. I listened as
the stories were exchanged and Godís name was praised.
The experience was very refreshing.

Mom is doing remarkably well with her claustrophobia,
thank you for praying. But now she is fighting her
sinuses, so please pray that she is better soon.

I have been struggling with jet lag, culture shock,
shyness, and the inevitable spontaneity of mission
work. Praise God, He gives me just the strength that I
need to make it through the dayóand then I come back
to the guest house and fall asleep. :) Please pray for
the practicum part of this trip: I am a little nervous
about how I am going to get all of my requirements in
with such aÖspontaneous atmosphere.

All for now, I must conserve my power in case I need
the computer later.


Much love
And thanks
For your prayers,

Amanda & Mom

The Countdown is now in the hours

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, this is it. Mom and are heading out. While I'm ripping out this last-minute goodbye to you, Mom is ripping around the house finishing all the last-minute details like a superwoman. (Aren't moms the greatest??)

Tomorrow morning we drive Ashley, my youngest sister, to the airport. She is on her way to Italy for two and a half weeks (pray for Italy--I mean her)! Later in the day, Mom and I will return to the airport for our own flight. Our trip will take us through many airports including Atlanta, London, Ethiopia, and Nairobi. The flights and layovers will be long and crowded. Please pray for Mom's clausterphobia and our endurance.

The work will begin on Monday. At this moment, I'm not entirely sure what I will be doing when: God's work requires flexibility!

As soon as I can, I will send off a short email to let you know we've reached Nairobi.

With all our love
and thanks for your prayers,

Amanda and Mom