Such a God-orchestrated trip! Such an incredible team! Such a journey of preparation! I will attempt to document highlights of our incredible trip to the villages of Kenya, so you as the reader may get a glimpse of it too.

From the first time back in October 2017, when I first heard about Africa and the mission there, to the beginning stages of planning the trip in January, to the work God did in my own heart before we went, to each incredible moment of our time together as a team, it truly was a trip I will never forget!

As I mentioned above, last fall was the first time I heard of the mission in Africa, through the stories shared by our team leader, and in that moment something on the inside of me was stirred and I knew I wanted to go to Africa, although I had no idea that 6 months later I would be on my way there.

In January I had the opportunity to meet up with our team leader Matt and his brother Ken at a conference. The conference was incredible but church service the following day was even more amazing and that is where God really began to speak to me about going to Africa. And the question that I asked myself as I was wrestling with what God was asking me to do was:

“Do we miss opportunities by not being obedient immediately to what we know the Father is asking us to do?”

I could not deny that God was calling me to go, although I had no idea what all I was committing to. Before I left the church that afternoon the beginning stages of a trip to Africa were in motion and as I drove home, God gave me a theme, #aboveandbeyond for the trip, which was from Ephesians 3:20-21:

“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen” -Ephesians 3:20‭-‬21

I was unaware of just how exceedingly, abundantly above all that I could ever ask or think, the Father was going to do things. GOD IS SO GOOD🙌❤

The excitement began to rise as the 7 members of the team were asked and then committed to going, passports were applied for and processed in a very timely manner, which was definitely a work of the Father himself.

Planning was in full swing on our end, as we planned a t-shirt fundraiser, which totally went #aboveandbeyond what we ever dreamt of, it was absolutely incredible at the amount of support we received from people all across the U.S.

And most importantly, the work the Father was doing in our hearts as members of the team, the emptying of ourselves, surrendering to Him and allowing Him to renew our spirits and hearts. The journey was hard and lots of tears were shed before we even begin our trip, but the preparation was essential for the work the Father had for us to do.

The days and weeks passed ever so swiftly and finally the day came! Our excitement knew no bounds as we arrived at the airport, met up with members of the team. Oh, it was exciting to know that we were about to embark on a journey, a work that only the Father could orchestrate.

Boarding the plane for that 13 hour flight, was an experience in itself. We had the best stewardess and we were served so incredibly well, amazing service and delicious food, including ice cream that was served to us at 2 AM. That stuff was incredible 🍦

After 13 hours, we were ready to get our feet on solid ground for a short time and so with swollen feet and weary bodies, we traipsed through an airport in Doha, to meet up with the remainder of our team, and then boarded a plane for the last 5 hours to our final destination, which would be Nairobi, Kenya.

Landing there at midnight, stepping on African soil, oh my heart felt like it could burst, as I took in all the smells and sounds of that land, clothed under the cover of night. Checking into our rooms for the night we rested our weary bodies on those beds that felt much better than the airplane seats that reclined only a few inches. and there was Wi-Fi to connect too, total American, I know😁

And then the next day, the adventures were about to go to a whole other level. But that’s coming in the next post… 😁

But I do have to show a photo of our incredible #dreamteam, along with our incredible safari guide. 😍 we made so many memories together in the beautiful country of Africa!