When I got on the plane last June, I thought I would be staying in Kenya until November. Seventeen months without being home. That was the plan. Fit two years of school in before the Taylors went on furlough. It was scheduled and it was clear. I didn't know that my sister-in-law would have a baby. I didn't know that I would get to go to Israel or France or Spain. I didn't know my sister would move to a different state. I didn't know my grandmother would have cancer. I didn't know some of my friends would get married and have babies. I didn't know friendships would come and go. I didn't know we would only do one year of school. I honestly never thought I would go back into the public school system again. I didn't know how much could change in a year. I mean I guess I knew how much could happen, but I just didn't expect it. None of us know.
So, as I pack my suitcases, I'm doing so knowing that I will be returning home for the time being. I will be fully committed to pouring into the lives of middle schoolers and traveling around to churches giving a report of the last year and encouraging them to invest in missions around the world. I would love to see other people who want to partner with current missionaries to help in some way with their ministries. God used me, a school teacher through and through, to come alongside church planters and lighten the load in an unconventional way. It has been amazing to say the least.
The last couple of weeks have been full of preparations. James, Kenya, John, and I met together to have a brainstorming meeting about James' furlough presentation. We wanted to be able to report to the churches the work that has been going on these last 3 years in the best way possible. John is talented in putting together videos, so we began creating a storyboard for the video. I also love doing work on the computer as well, so I was given the task of creating photo books for the Taylors to carry to all the churches. For all of you who came on trips to Kenya and copied your pictures onto James' computer, you know how many pictures I've been looking at over the last couple of weeks. There are 3 years of pictures from dozens of people, so needless to say, I've been going a little crosseyed at times. As of right now, I have one more thing to do with the books and then they will be finished! We are all a little antsy, being on the precipice of departure.
We were thinking about taking a trip to Nairobi as a last hoorah kind of celebration, but time and budget didn't permit, so we ended up going to the waterpark in Mombasa instead. The Taylors, Amber and Ellanora, and I loaded up and headed to Mombasa to have fun in the sun. We were literally the only people at the park. It's "winter" in Kenya right now (the rainy season), so they were repairing many of the rides/slides. There were a few working, so we had a great time hanging out and running up the stairs over and over again to ride down the slides. After the waterpark, we ate at Domino's and Cold Stone before going to a carnival-type park. These rides were straight out of a state fair from 1984 or something because they were jaaaaaankyyyy. BUT, the kids had so much fun riding rides and almost throwing up.
We had a great Fourth of July celebration with many other American missionaries. They all came to our house for lunch and many stayed the night with us. There was SO MUCH FOOD. We had burgers, ribs, hotdogs, chicken, veggies, potatoes, mac and cheese, beans, guacamole, and all kinds of other side dishes. I even made a cheesecake with Oreo crust and it was amazing, if I do say so. After it got dark, we set up the screen and projector and watched The Patriot outside under the stars.
The next day, the Taylors and I went to church in Malindi for the last time to tell everyone bye. I had to stand up in front of everyone and speak in Swahili. I know it seems like a year should be enough time being comfortable speaking a new language, but I don't even remember what I said. And it probably wasn't even correct grammar.
On top of it all, the landlord sent a fumigation company to come spray our house. We had to take everything out of the closets and cabinets and move everything away from the walls. It looked like a disaster area in here. On the bright side, I haven't seen any bugs or lizards (except for the dead ones) in the house since then. It gave us the opportunity to go through all of our stuff and purge the things we didn't need to take back with us to America. John and Amber will be moving into the house while the Taylors are on furlough, so James and Kenya have been putting all of their stuff in the school room to store it until they return. We've about got everything completely packed except for the stuff we will be using while the group is here. Ok, and by we I actually mean they because I still have a mound of stuff in my room that I need to sort through and distribute among the many pieces of luggage I have.
It's been baridi sana (very cold) this week, like in the 70s :). It has been raining a lot, which is great for the Farming God's Way plots. Getrude's fields are looking great! She said the corn is taller than she is. I'm sure going to miss having class with her every week. We've had so much fun talking and goofing off (because I'm such a model student and all... she laughs at me every time I make up new Swahili words).
The 516 Missions group is in the air! They will arrive in Nairobi tonight and then Malindi tomorrow morning. We will be heading to Miritini on Monday to start the basketball camps on Tuesday. There was a teacher strike, but I saw students at school today, so hopefully the strike is over. It would not be easy to do a basketball camp at a school that wasn't in session. Please pray for the team as they come over to minister as well as those who will hear the Gospel this week through the camps and the cinemas.
2 weeks until I leave Kenya... it's the beginning of the end of this chapter. Thank you all so much for keeping up with East Kenya Missions. Please let me know if I can come share at your church or group meeting about what God has done this last year. You can email me at ashleyjteacher@gmail.com.
In Christ,
Ashley
So, as I pack my suitcases, I'm doing so knowing that I will be returning home for the time being. I will be fully committed to pouring into the lives of middle schoolers and traveling around to churches giving a report of the last year and encouraging them to invest in missions around the world. I would love to see other people who want to partner with current missionaries to help in some way with their ministries. God used me, a school teacher through and through, to come alongside church planters and lighten the load in an unconventional way. It has been amazing to say the least.
The last couple of weeks have been full of preparations. James, Kenya, John, and I met together to have a brainstorming meeting about James' furlough presentation. We wanted to be able to report to the churches the work that has been going on these last 3 years in the best way possible. John is talented in putting together videos, so we began creating a storyboard for the video. I also love doing work on the computer as well, so I was given the task of creating photo books for the Taylors to carry to all the churches. For all of you who came on trips to Kenya and copied your pictures onto James' computer, you know how many pictures I've been looking at over the last couple of weeks. There are 3 years of pictures from dozens of people, so needless to say, I've been going a little crosseyed at times. As of right now, I have one more thing to do with the books and then they will be finished! We are all a little antsy, being on the precipice of departure.
We were thinking about taking a trip to Nairobi as a last hoorah kind of celebration, but time and budget didn't permit, so we ended up going to the waterpark in Mombasa instead. The Taylors, Amber and Ellanora, and I loaded up and headed to Mombasa to have fun in the sun. We were literally the only people at the park. It's "winter" in Kenya right now (the rainy season), so they were repairing many of the rides/slides. There were a few working, so we had a great time hanging out and running up the stairs over and over again to ride down the slides. After the waterpark, we ate at Domino's and Cold Stone before going to a carnival-type park. These rides were straight out of a state fair from 1984 or something because they were jaaaaaankyyyy. BUT, the kids had so much fun riding rides and almost throwing up.
We had a great Fourth of July celebration with many other American missionaries. They all came to our house for lunch and many stayed the night with us. There was SO MUCH FOOD. We had burgers, ribs, hotdogs, chicken, veggies, potatoes, mac and cheese, beans, guacamole, and all kinds of other side dishes. I even made a cheesecake with Oreo crust and it was amazing, if I do say so. After it got dark, we set up the screen and projector and watched The Patriot outside under the stars.
The next day, the Taylors and I went to church in Malindi for the last time to tell everyone bye. I had to stand up in front of everyone and speak in Swahili. I know it seems like a year should be enough time being comfortable speaking a new language, but I don't even remember what I said. And it probably wasn't even correct grammar.
On top of it all, the landlord sent a fumigation company to come spray our house. We had to take everything out of the closets and cabinets and move everything away from the walls. It looked like a disaster area in here. On the bright side, I haven't seen any bugs or lizards (except for the dead ones) in the house since then. It gave us the opportunity to go through all of our stuff and purge the things we didn't need to take back with us to America. John and Amber will be moving into the house while the Taylors are on furlough, so James and Kenya have been putting all of their stuff in the school room to store it until they return. We've about got everything completely packed except for the stuff we will be using while the group is here. Ok, and by we I actually mean they because I still have a mound of stuff in my room that I need to sort through and distribute among the many pieces of luggage I have.
It's been baridi sana (very cold) this week, like in the 70s :). It has been raining a lot, which is great for the Farming God's Way plots. Getrude's fields are looking great! She said the corn is taller than she is. I'm sure going to miss having class with her every week. We've had so much fun talking and goofing off (because I'm such a model student and all... she laughs at me every time I make up new Swahili words).
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| The puppies huddling for warmth |
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| Getrude and Mama Cedrick |
The 516 Missions group is in the air! They will arrive in Nairobi tonight and then Malindi tomorrow morning. We will be heading to Miritini on Monday to start the basketball camps on Tuesday. There was a teacher strike, but I saw students at school today, so hopefully the strike is over. It would not be easy to do a basketball camp at a school that wasn't in session. Please pray for the team as they come over to minister as well as those who will hear the Gospel this week through the camps and the cinemas.
2 weeks until I leave Kenya... it's the beginning of the end of this chapter. Thank you all so much for keeping up with East Kenya Missions. Please let me know if I can come share at your church or group meeting about what God has done this last year. You can email me at ashleyjteacher@gmail.com.
In Christ,
Ashley
