Wednesday 5 December 2012

A Place to Belong


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Hello friends,
Although I do not know how many people actually read this blog, I thought I would throw my freshly laid plans out there for whomever to see.

I am now going to Kenya. As mentioned in a previous post, I will not be going to Malawi. God has had other plans for me and I am excited to experience what is in store for me.

I will be leaving from the Vancouver Airport on January 12. This is a Saturday, so that people can come to the airport. I know that it will be an evening flight. I think I will have to go through the gate of no return at 6:30. If anyone wants to come and say good-bye before that, I would love to have you. I will be arriving back in Vancouver on April 12 or 14. in the evening, I think.

While in Kenya I will be working with families in the slums outside Nairobi, Kenya. I will be teaching the children how to read in English. I do not know if they know any English at all yet. I will also be running a daycare for the young children of the moms who come to sew things to selling the market. These things will be anew part of Jacaranda called Jacaranda Kids. I will also be running the children's ministry for the churches that Brenda and Garry(Missionaries that I'll be with) have. I will be traveling to a different Church every Sunday to teach children about the Bible. The third project I will be working on will be sewing with the ladies that come to make things to sell in order to support their families. This is the ministry called Jacaranda Creations. In truth they will probably teach me more than I will teach them.

These are my three major projects that I will be working on while I'm in Kenya as well as anything else that needs doing. Because I am doing all of these things, I need supplies. I need things to teach children how to read and write in English. I need learning toys for a nursery. I need sewing supplies. I need Bibles. I need Children's Bible stories and Children's Church curriculum. All of these things I need to put in two giant bags to bring with me for my ministry. If anyone out there or anyone you know could help me in this, I really need it.

Malawi's cost of living is very low because it doesn't have as strong of a currency or economy. Kenya, however, has a high cost of living and has different dangers that require extra precautions. The cost of living for me will be over $1,250/month. My initial budget estimate of about $5,000 has turned in a budget of over $8,000. This is just another way that God is telling me that this trip will be accomplished in His ways, not mine. With the $5,000 budget, I would have been fine, but because the budget is significantly higher, I have no way of covering the extra with my own funds. I am relying completely on God to make this happen. I would be lying if I said that this is not just a little bit stressful, but every day I bring it back to Jesus and trust Him. Please be praying about what you can do. I need more support. Thank you to my faithful donors and prayer supporters.
Until next time. May the LORD bless you and keep you.
Hannah