Double digits for Tavia!

We celebrated my niece, Tavia's, 10th birthday this past Saturday...and we all had Bieber fever! From the Nana to the little brother we had Justin Bieber tattoos and VIP passes....it's always the whole nine yards with our fam. Every year at Tav's birthday I say to someone in our family, "and just think-we thought she couldn't get any cuter!" Now she's outgrowing that little girl "cute" and she's becoming a beautiful young lady. She's creative, has a kind heart and is beautiful inside and out...I'm a proud aunt!

back to blogging!

I started this blog back when I was about to move to Kenya and I needed a way to keep my friends & family updated. I've now been home for over 2 years and my life is definitely different since my last entry. I recently read over some of those old entries and it's a blessing (and funny!) to be reminded of all that I experienced during that year and all that the Lord taught me...some of those lessons I'll have to be retaught over and over! And that's why I think I'll pick back up with these entries. The Lord is still letting me experience some amazing things and He's still teaching me! It may not be updates about hot showers or stories of how my little Faith reminded me to have faith or how I spent the day peeling potatoes and learning Swahili....it may be more like how my nieces and nephew infuse more joy in my life than I can stand or how God is teaching me to trust Him with my dreams even if that makes me vulnerable and scared like a little girl! No matter what it is, I hope this blogging thing helps me vent my stories a little easier....like it did back in Kenya. And if you've read this far, bless your heart!

Much love,
Lindsey

a new addition to the tumaini team...

Hey Everyone!

This has been a good week...a perfect package and Valentine's cards from people I love, a weekend at Spiritual Life Conference hearing about what God is doing all over this country, and a new friend from the US.

We just welcomed a new team member to Tumaini. Jennilynn will be heading to Tumaini for the first time tomorrow. We're excited to have a new face and personality and we're thankful for her safe arrival.

It's been a great week, but I'm looking forward to getting back to my little ones. Please pray for Faith as she has the measles. I'm ready to have my wild child back....she's been pretty tame since she started feeling bad.

Please also pray for team unity as Katie, Jennilynn, and I have the opportunity to love the Tumaini family for God's glory.

Much love,
Lindsey

Even me, I don't like goodbyes.

Hello everyone! I hope you're all doing well and are enjoying the new year. I can't believe January is already over! I've been in Nairobi for 3 days and I'm about to head back upcountry this morning. I've been here in Nairobi because it's time for my first real goodbye since being here. When I first arrived, I was told that the missionary's life, especially the short-termer's life, is full of "goodbyes" as people come and go on different schedules here and there. But I've been here for awhile and now it's finally here...and I don't like it. Katie, Adam, and Austin were more of a "see you later" because when they left Tumaini they weren't leaving Kenya and I still see them often. Ryan leaves the country today. We left Tumaini on Friday afternoon and the kids were so sweet as they said "goodbye" to this friend they grew so close to. Many of them ran up to me asking "Will Ryan come back? Will I see him again?" It's amazing how the Lord blesses relationships made here and grows them so quickly. I thank the Lord for the friendship He gave us and the many friendships and influence He gave Ryan with the children.

Now, it's just me and Katie at Tumaini. We'll soon be welcoming a new girl from SIM. She should arrive in the next few weeks. I guess the missionary's life is full of "hello's" also.

Next week is the Spiritual Life Conference for all of SIM Kenya. We'll be meeting together for a time to fellowship and encourage each other...a little break for everyone to recharge.

Thanks for your prayers, love, and encouragement!

Much love,
Lindsey

the real christmas story

Merry Christmas from the Tumaini Family! I'm now in Nairobi to spend Christmas at the SIM compound, but I've actually already experienced my Christmas back at "home" in Kinangop. We started preparing for our Tumaini Christmas play back in November, and it all came together (well, for the most part) this past week. We had a dress rehearsal so that the children could perform the real thing for our church on Christmas Day. Each of the children made his or her own costume....it's amazing what you can do with some twine, bedsheets, cotton balls, and a strand of garland! We planned to act out the story straight from Matthew and Luke, but because of a bit of a communication barrier we ended up with mostly songs rather than speaking parts. Speaking parts or not, the children were wonderful. They sang"Joy to the World" with all their hearts and loved shouting "Go Tell it on the Mountain." It really is beautiful to see the story of Jesus' birth acted out so innocently and untainted.

Two generous churches and families from home arranged for all the children to receive Christmas presents this year! Every child was given a blanket, doll, and coloring book with Swahili Bible verses. They LOVED it all! Katie, Ryan, and I made Christmas chapati and little notes for them to go with their gifts and we all had a wonderful time. The kids loved their gifts and were so thankful.

The Lord has used this year's Christmas season to readjust how I treat this holiday. I LOVE Christmas...the music, the shopping, the decorations, the get-togethers....I love it all. I'm realizing that sometimes I lose the real reason for Christmas amidst all of that wonderful fun though. Christmas would still be Christmas at Tumaini with or without gifts, Christmas chapati, or even our Christmas play. For instance, one of our boys who knows how to celebrate Christmas asked if he could sell one of the rabbits to buy his friend a pair of school uniform pants because he couldn't afford them. I've been reminded to really celebrate the birth of our Saviour by loving Him and loving others with every opportunity that I'm given.

I pray that you each have an amazing Christmas and know how much you're loved!

Much love,
Lindsey

School is out...

Hello all! The last two weeks have been busy busy busy here at Tumaini! School closed for December holiday on November 22 and the children have been enjoying a break from school work. And the Tumaini compound has been full of visitors…

We’re hosting a GOA camp called “RIPEN” which stands for Rites in Passage Enlightenment. When Kenyan boys arrive to an age where the community/schools feel they are ready “to cross over” (usually around 15-17 years old) they are circumcised and “enter manhood.” Pastor Kamau, who is over the RIPEN camp, explained to us that if they go through this rite of passage on the streets or in some communities it can be dangerous and unhealthy – physically, mentally, and emotionally. Thus, GOA started the RIPEN program. The first day of camp, the boys go to the hospital and for the rest of the week they rest and have discussions about what manhood means both culturally and biblically.

The new Katie moved into Tumaini on December 1st and has enjoyed her first two weeks here. She will be teaching in the GOA Education Centre when school reopens in January. We also received another short term SIM missionary this week. Ryan has been working in Nairobi at a hospital for the past three weeks, but felt that he was a better fit here at Tumaini. It will be great to have another male presence here for the boys to hang out with. The Lord has blessed us with quick friendships and we already enjoy spending time together cooking meals, playing cards, spending time with the kids, and just hanging out. I’m thankful for both of them and that we can share this ministry together!

Over the last two weeks: I’ve welcomed guests to my home away from home, been to my first Kenyan wedding, chopped down trees with 10 year old boys to make shepherd canes/sticks for our Christmas play, watched a slab of meat be cut on my living area coffee table, and made two great friends to share all of this with…it’s been a good two weeks.

Much love,
Lindsey

87 little brothers & sisters

As the children love more and more everyday to take my camera from me and run around snapping shots here and there, you never know when to smile for a picture! That’s evident in this picture where Faith is gnawing on a fresh carrot, Jamlick is half asleep, Doreen is daydreaming while she plays with my hair, Mercy is just hanging out with us drinking water that she’s put into an old bottle she probably found in a trash pile left by some Americans that visited us last week, and I’m in mid-laugh at James who is taking the picture...just laid back in the grass enjoying all my little brothers and sisters around me.

The month of November has probably been the busiest month I’ve had here, but it’s also been the best.

A group of 10 Americans came to visit last week and spent Saturday and Sunday with us. Some members of their team were guitar players and worship leaders...so, Sunday morning we had a mixed worship time where the Americans sang along with the Kenyans. We didn't even get through the first verse of "How Great is Our God" and I was completely overwhelmed. I've only seen 2 people cry (over the age of 3) since I've been here and so I did my best to hold in the emotion as they aren't used to that....but it just didn't happen. I listened to the familiar American accents sing the familiar worship song and felt at home with the faces that look so much like mine...and then I looked all around me and see the even more familiar Kenyan faces of my brothers and sisters and hear the now familiar Kenyan accents sing and realize that we're all singing to the same great God. We're all in love with the same Saviour. We're all in the same family. Never before has God been so big to me. On top of that, it hit me that I truly do feel at home with both groups, both cultures, both languages. Hearing the different language all around me used to make me a little nervous. I still can't understand everything, but it doesn't seem so different and foreign to me anymore. I praise the Lord for that.

Laying in the grass with my little brothers and sisters who look nothing like me and sound nothing like me is so familiar to me now. I'm so thankful that we all serve the same God and no matter where I am, I can feel at "home" as the Lord is with me wherever I go.

"Sing a new song to the Lord! Let the whole earth sing to the Lord!...Publish his glorious deeds among the nations. Tell everyone about the amazing things he does. Great is the Lord! He is worthy of praise!" Psalm 96:1-4

Much love,
Lindsey