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I have had several people remind me that we needed "one last post" so here it is. Perhaps it won't be the last, but I guess it could serve as one if need be. The team is home safe and sound... all 16 of us. Tina and I (Rose) got home exactly one month ago today.
Our trip was amazing to say the least. We experienced incredible things in the wonderful country of Kenya. The people of God there are amazing. They are challenging, encouraging and inspiring. The way of life and place itself is so different, yet actually really refreshing compared to the fast-paced, different life of the States. I miss it so much some days.
Thank you to all who have prayed for us, supported us and taught us so much through this experience. Our time in Africa was well-spent and something I think I can safely say none of us will ever forget. Each time I see a team member of mine, I remember so much and have such an incredible connection with them.
The incredible summer we have had makes every difficulty of adjusting back to "life as usual" worth it. And hopefully "life as usual" will never be the case. I hope we can take what we have learned this summer and apply it to ministry here and wherever life may take us each in the future.
Please continue to pray for our adjustment back and all that we are trying to process and apply to our lives. Even though the fundraising, the updates from country and all of it seems to be over to those who supported us, to us it is not the end. There is still much to think thru and to process and I ask for your patience and prayer as we continue to try to adjust and figure out exactly what it is that God may have for each of us to continue to learn thru our experiences this summer.
Thanks again! We have felt the prayers of each person who held us up and it has been a great experience!!!

Flight Update: Parents Please Read!!

This is just a quick note to let you know all is well. I’m writing this in the Mombasa airport after just arriving from a diverted flight. The Huruma team was on our way to Nairobi this evening and we were five minutes from landing when the flight ahead of us crashed. Due to the debris on the runway, we were unable to land and after circling the airport we were diverted back to Mombasa due to lack of fuel. We are now awaiting our next flight itinerary. We had planned to be in Nairobi tonight and spend the next two days up-country until the team leaves on Wednesday for the USA. The team is all doing very well and they have a great attitude about all this. We are praising God for His provision in safety. I’ll update you from Nairobi once we get up there.
Tina

last update( from me anyways)

Hi everybody!!!!
So this will be my last update letter before I get back. Today is the last full day of camp. So basically is the last day of our mission’s trip. Tomorrow we leave to go on Safari, then we head to Nairobi to leave for home. This week has been awesome. I’m glad it is over but I am sad for it to be over. There are so many different kinds of kids here, from being extremely poor to kids who travel all the time. It’s amazing seeing God work through these kids and seeing how thirsty they are to know about him. We all got to play with a chameleon, it was soooo cool. There are so many strange bugs here, today we saw a sausage bug it’s a fly that’s body looks like a sausage. There are village kids that hang with us at the camp they are extremely cute and we have all joked about taking them home as carry-on’s. I’ll talk to y’all later, please pray for our safety traveling to safari place and traveling home.
God Bless,
Nicole

Teddy Bears: Thank you TBC kids!!

Our home church, Trinity Baptist in Arizona had a VBS last month and the kids made teddy bears for us to give to the Kenyan children at the feeding centers we have been visiting. Let me just tell you right off, they were a HUGE hit! Kids: I wish you could have been here to see the faces of the children receiving your bears! As soon as we started handing the bears out, all the children would squeal and laugh and hug their new bear! And they would NOT let their bear go! When meal time came, no one wanted to set their bear down in order to wash their hands. So what we wound up doing was washing their hands for them- one hand at a time so they could transfer the bear into their other hand!!! It was adorable! So we just wanted to say a BIG THANK YOU TO ALL THE TRINITY KIDS WHO SENT A BEAR!!!

Feeding Centers

Of the many cultural experiences the Huruma team has had here in Kenya, one of them has been to visit several feeding centers set up as a ministry branch through Crossroads Fellowship Church in conjunction with Manna Worldwide. Essentually, Crossroads finds areas where the poverty is so great that children are going without food. They build a church, kindergarten and feeding hall and then Manna helps pay for food, clothing and education for the children. Manna, similar to Compassion, gets different churches and sponsors to catch the vision and understand that children are dying unless something is done. But the great thing is that not only do these children get a meal, they get spiritually fed as well and they take what they have learned back to their families. Most of the feeding centers we have been to have had 150 to 200 children which is wonderful but there is still much work to be done. It’s heartbreaking to go to the centers and know that while you are helping 200 kids there are 4,000 more outside the compound starving. I think for me, that is the hardest part about ministry out here: you can never do enough! I just keep holding onto the knowledge that I am simply a vessel. The team is starting to understand that as well. We have been to five feeding centers across the Kenyan coast: 1) Gospel FC in an area called Shanzu where the surrounding community is very animistic. 2) Vipingo FC, the newest center built, was just a plot of land when I was here last year and now has a kindergarten, church and feeding hall thanks to a church in Florida who has sponsored 200 kids! 3) New Life FC is also in a very animistic area and the actual plot of land where the church now stands was used for human sacrifices up until a few years ago. 4) Tiwi FC, on the same compound as the youth camp we are leading, is in a predominantly Muslim area amongst the Digo tribe. 5) Pirani FC (pictured) was the last feeding center we visited. I purposely scheduled it last because the area is so incredibly poor. Kenya is a 3rd world country and poverty is all around but Pirani is so far into the bush (rural area) that the people are living in mud huts that wash away with each heavy rain and drinking from the same river their cows use. Visiting that center was hard for the team but very eye opening. It’s incredible to see people who have so little and yet are so generous and hospitable, so full of joy! Listening to these tiny kids sing songs about Jesus’ love, forgetting your sorrows and being a light really puts everything into perspective. God’s love is simple and it simply is.

Rose, Nate and Mama Kenya

Our Huruma team has been teaming up with the band at Crossroads Fellowship to lead worship on Sundays. Here is a picture of Nate and Rose as they lead the congregations in "Blessed Be Your Name." We have all enjoyed having Aunt Barb along with us this summer. Her sense of humor puts us all in stitches. Last week we were way down south in an area called Pirani walking in a village and meeting people. A baby goat was grazing nearby and before we knew it, Aunt Barb, or Mama Kenya as we now call her, scooped it up and began carrying it! It was so random that we all just laughed! I'm sure her grandkids will get a kick out of this picture!

Brittnie

Brittnie with one of the little ones at Tiwi Feeding Center.