Home Again

Well I arrived back in Canada today safe and sound.  My trip home was long but very uneventful which was nice.  It is good to be home but it does feel weird.  I am looking forward to a long shower and to bed early for a good nights sleep.

Thank you all again for following along.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers along the way.  It has meant a lot.

May you all feel God's continued blessings.
Carla

Last Night

Well I sit here on my last night not really believing it is true.  It is an odd feeling that I don’t know how to explain.  So much has happened over these three months, most of all God’s faithfulness.  There have been many trials that God has walked me through and I feel like a different person because of them.  The good times have been too many to count and sharing them will take some time but I can’t wait to share all that has gone on.  It will take time but once again I know God will continue to give me the strength I need to start the next part of my life.

I also had another chance to have time with my little Claire.  I just could not keep the attached picture to myself.  It brought much joy on my last full day.

The final picture is just one of the beautiful looks at Kenya that I will miss.  God and his creation are so amazing.  All around is his handy work.  And I will miss the work he has done in Kenya.  I have said that it feels like I am leaving home to go home.  I will spend Sunday at church in the morning and then off to Nairobi.  It will be hard to drive away but will look forward to seeing home.

Thank you all for following me on this journey.  It has been wonderful for you to follow along.  I will post again once I am home as soon as I can.

God’s richest blessings to you all.

One Week Left

One week and counting.  I don’t think it has totally hit me yet that is one week I will be getting on a plane and heading home.  I think the real reality will hit when I get home.  On Tuesday night my pastor Sean and Phil arrived in Kenya.  It was so good to see someone from home.  We spent the night in Nairobi and then headed to PACE on Wednesday.  Once here we relaxed and had supper.  We will spend most of week visiting local pastors and PACE.  We got a chance hang out with the little ones so that was nice.  I always think that it could be my last time with them so I take in every moment.

I have started to pack which again is odd as I pack up three months of my life.  There is a lot of reflecting as I go through things.  I continue to be encouraged that God has all my plans laid out for me.  I just need to trust in him and wait for his leading.

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

The Count Down is on

It seems like a long time since I posted something.  It has been a busy week.  There was a team that came to PACE from the U.S.  This kept us busy as there were activities every day.  I was privileged to go on a one safari with the team.  At least it felt like a privilege when we left.  We were only in the park for about an hour and a half before both of the vehicles got stuck in the mud.  Normally suck in the mud is okay but when you are stuck in the mud with wild animal wander around it makes it a little more interesting.  There was some panicking going on as it took almost four hours to get unstuck and back to the front gate.  It was defiantly an experience I will not forget. 

I was able to spend some time with the high school kids and speak to each of their classes (grade 9 & 10).  I talked a little about my life and what God has shown me and tried to encourage them in knowing that God is there source of strength.  It is hard to say how they felt as they don’t and didn’t talk a lot.  This in normal and I was not expecting a lot from them as it is not easy for them to share.  After talking with the high school kids I went and spent some time with the nursery kids (age 3-5).   I was gifted before I left with some clown balloons.  So I gave these to the kids.  It was a blessing for sure.

There is less than two weeks left here in Kenya.  There are many emotions that I am feeling as I look to say goodbye and also prepare to come back home.  I have described it as leaving home to go home.  It has been such a blessed time here with lots of learning and growing.  Today I go to pick up my pastor Sean and Phil at the airport.  I am really looking forward to seeing someone from home and showing them around my other home.

I was also blessed to be able to spend time with little Claire. This is a girl that I got to know and love the first time I was here.  She is a beautiful child and if you could hear her laugh you would fall in love as well.

I have been reading through the Psalms while I have been here and have been reminded that we need to praise God in all we do no matter good or bad.  There are many promises of his goodness for us when we seek him first.  This has helped me so much as I continue to lean on him more and more every day.

Could it be . . . Another blessed time

One might think that it would soon stop but it has not.  The blessings just keep coming.  Last Tuesday I had the opportunity to take Pastor Mugo (one of the local pastors) and his family to Nakuru for the day.  We had a few main goals for the day.  To see were Pastor Mugo and his family will be building a house this year and to take the daughters swimming which they have never done.  Nakuru is about an hour and bit away from where I am.  We left by 9:00am by way of matatu which is their way of getting from place to place.  It is like a van but it is packed fuller then it should be with people.  We were only traveling for about 25 minutes when there was an issue with one of the tires.  So we stopped in one of the small towns in hopes go fix it.  After about 15-20 minutes it was fixed and we were on our way.  We made our first stop shortly before town.  Then we got on motor bikes for the rest of the travel to see the land that they will be building their house on.  Once we were done there we took the bikes back to the main road and got into another matatu to make are way to down town Nakuru.  Once there we did some walking around and stopped for some tea and a little something to eat.  After that we did a little more walking and then found were we wanted to go to swimming.  We found a pool at a hotel that was going to work.  Only one of the girls was brave enough to go in.  Going in water tends to be a very scary thing here when you have never been in it.  The water was a bit cold but that did not mater.  Once we got use the water I showed her a few things and once she got some confidence she was off and loving every minute of it.  She could not keep the smile off of her face.  It was such a joy to be a part of.  Once she had more confidence I took a swim to the deep end.  That just amazed everyone.  They tend to really hit the water with their hands and feet and when I swam there was not splashing.  It brought another smile to my face.  Once we were done swimming we went to get something to eat at another hotel.  At the end of lunch it started to rain (which it does know every day).  So we went and sat in the lobby of the hotel hoping the rain would stop soon and we could start our way home.  While we were waiting the girls noticed the elevator (or lift as they call it here).  It was glass elevator that looked out to the lobby.  I asked if they had ever been on one and they had not.  So I offered to take them on.  The youngest girl has some fear but her parents encouraged her to try.  There was six floors so we went up to the top.  The youngest held on to me tight the whole time.  It was another experience that they will not forget.  Once the rain slowed down we made our way to pick up a matatu to head home.  I arrived at the house around 6:30.  I was told many times through the day how blessed they are to have this experience but I am not sure who was more blessed them or myself.  My heart was defiantly overflowing by the time I got home.