Hello Everyone,

What a blessed day it has been! God is so good! Today we travelled to the school in Kibera, which is in the slum outside of Nairobi, where we had an incredible time playing with the children. Before we went, we picked up bread and juice to hand out and wow were they excited! It was completely heart-warming to see their faces glow at the sight of us, and the food of course. All they wanted was to be held, hugged, and have their pictures taken. Even the little ones who didn't speak much just wanted to hold your hand...To be honest, it felt amazing to be so loved. In the beginning I believed that I loved these children because I came to see them, but now I realize that they love me VERY much in return. Bless their sweet little hearts. You know that wonderful feeling when your presence turns someone's world around? That good feeling that you've impacted someone's life? It felt that way today. Not only did God bless this school today with lunch, but blessed myself with this feeling. I'm quite sure the rest of the team is feeling this way as well. Today's trip to the school was life-changing. Coming from a rookie and never visiting circumstances as these, my perspective about life has been changed drastically.

Kibera

The school in Kibera

Ending our day in the slum, we walked through small alleys, tight corners, and over a lot of trash to visit one of the teachers who was sick at home. Helen had an asthma condition, so she didn't have a voice, but told us her story in a whisper. Despite her health, she was still very welcoming in her home. As all eight of us, plus our guide and Helen, we fit shoulder to shoulder in her living room. She has cared for ten children, five being her own, and the other five being her deceased sisters. You could tell that Helen has a big heart and loves Jesus Christ, which was incredibly inspiring. I pray that God strengthens my faith like He has for Helen!

Devotional Comments:
I strongly believe God rewards the faithful and here is why! I've noticed how quickly God's replies are to my prayers when I've stopped and prayed right away. Whenever something good happens, I used to run and tell my parents, or my friends, which is okay but shouldn't be the first person I seek. I focused more on the blessing than on the blesser. Yet once I began turning straight to God, that instant feeling of "got your message Hannah," was so strong on my heart. Whenever I had a struggle, I usually turned to a friend for advice, which once again isn't wrong but I've noticed it's better when I seek God's council first. That day I turned to God during a tough day, within in seconds, God's replied. You know it's a good feeling when God talks to you! So stopping and praying for anything, struggles, praises, or even requests, God honors your faithfulness to turn to Him first!

Prayer Requests:
- Please be praying for me, Hannah. Been feeling a little sick all day and finally stopped me this evening. Just some stomach problems, and feeling very overwhelmed from today's encounter.
- Our group is traveling (early in the morning) to Kisumu for two days. We'll be building homes, so a lot of energy is needed!
- A quality night sleep is requested. The entire team is still feeling that 7 hour time change ;)
- Please pray for more safe travels. So far we haven't encountered any problems, and we pray to keep it that way!
- Prayers for our families back home
- Children at the school in Kibera
- Helen, one of the teachers at the school who lives in Kibera

Just a heads up, this may be out last update for a little while. We're not sure if Kisumu will have Wifi.

Thanks again for all your prayers and checking in on us! God Bless!

Love, Hannah

World Travelers!

Jambo from Kenya!  Here is what we have been up to the last couple of days:  Saturday and Sunday were our traveling days.  We left the Lisech's on Saturday afternoon and set off for the airport.  Our first flight was from Orlando to Gatwick (in London); however, our second flight was from Heathrow (a different airport in London) to Nairobi, Kenya.  Since our flight got into one airport in London and left the other we had to take a bus between the two.  Luckily there was enough time in between to get there.  Our flights were about 8 hours each.  They fed us and we each had access to a little TV and our choice of their list of movies and TV shows.  Our second flight was delayed in boarding, but once we got on the plane most of us fell asleep because it was the middle of the night Florida time.  Although they let us board about half an hour late, we didn't leave for another hour and a half because they had to fix something and then we had to wait for other planes that were ahead of us to take off.  This put us in Nairobi around midnight their time.  Luckily the visa, baggage claim, and money changing processes went very quickly and our driver had waited for us.  We got to the guest house we are staying at and split up, as the rooms have 2 beds each.  We finally got some much needed rest in beds, rather than airplane seats.

Africa, here we come!

The PCEA Guest House in Nairobi

Good news:  

• we were able to sit together on the flights
• our first flight was fairly empty so we were able to move around and some people found a row to stretch out a little more on
• we got to know each other better on those long plane rides where we were cozy
• switching airports in London allowed us to have a little preview for our last day of the trip
• we got to Kenya safe and sound with all our bags

Devos:  The devotional for Saturday was about getting to know each other so that prompted some good conversations and we got to know individual people on our team a little better, as well as their quirks.  It is interesting to learn that people who I didn't know very wel before actually have a lot in common with me.  We were supposed to do the devotional titled "stop and pray" on Sunday but some of didn't get the memo since we were flying and so didn't do it until today.  We had some opportunities for that (to stop and pray) today specifically, but I will let my friend expound on those if she wishes to.

Prayer Requests from Saturday and Sunday:

• Health for everyone (some of us had unsettled stomachs from the malaria prevention)
• Safe travels

Summary:  We had long plane flights but made it to Kenya!  We are all learning more about each other.    We had a safe trip (praise), but we seem to be trading queasy stomachs so please continue to pray that all of our stomachs would be settled and stay that way!  Asante!

Habari za jioni from Kenya!

Love,  April

Orientation

Hey everyone!

Our first day of orientation is nearing completion. After gathering at the church and saying farewell to friends and family, we departed for the Lisechs' home. Most of the afternoon was spent discussing the plan for the trip as well as some cross-cultural integration pointers.

After dinner, there was an intense watermelon seed spitting competition followed by some extreme croquet around the backyard! Before heading inside, we paused to take in the beautiful sunset over the lakebed (picture below). At the moment, we're finishing off our team bonding time for the evening with a rousing round of Apples to Apples, so I apologize if this post isn't entirely coherent. :)

Tomorrow we'll spend the morning finishing up orientation, then head over to the airport in the afternoon for our flight to Kenya!

For the team,

David

Hello friends! Below is a summary of our itinerary for the trip. Check it out and follow along with us!

Friday - June 1

            · Arrive Lisech Home @ noon

            / Orientation (pm)

            ©Team Bonding (evening)

Saturday - June 2

            / Orientation (am)

            Q Leave Orlando - Flight @ 5:35pm (to Nairobi via London)

Sunday - June 3

            · Arrive Nairobi @ 9pm

            ’ Sleep at PCEA Guesthouse

Monday - June 4

            · Visit Kibera (slum), Visit School

            ’ Sleep at PCEA Guesthouse

Tuesday - June 5

            Q Leave Nairobi - Flight @ 6:30am (to Kisumu)

            ’ Sleep at Jarods House

Wednesday - June 6

            · House building for widows in Kisumu

            ’ Sleep at Jarods House

Thursday - June 7

            Q Leave Kisumu - Flight @ ?am (to Nairobi)

            Q Leave Nairobi - Flight @ 2pm (to Lodwar)

            · Arrive Lodwar (pm)

            · Visit House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Friday - June 8

            · Food Distribution (am)

            · Visit School, Play w/ kids at House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Saturday - June 9

            · Food Distribution (am)

            · Play w/ kids at House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Sunday - June 10

            U Church at IDP (am)

            · Play w/ kids at House of Hope (pm)

            ’ Sleep at “Women’s Lodge Guesthouse”

Monday - June 11

            Q Leave Lodwar - Flight @ ?am (to Nairobi)

            · Drive to Keekorok

            · Evening Game Drive (safari)

            ’ Sleep at Lake Nakuru Lodge

Tuesday - June 12

            · Morning Game Drive (safari)

            /Debrief (pm)

            ’ Sleep at Lake Nakuru Lodge

Wednesday - June 13

            · Drive back to Nairobi (am)

            / Debrief at PCEA guest house

            Q Leave Nairobi - Flight @ 11pm (to Orlando via London)

            ’ Sleep on plane J

Thursday - June 14

            · Arrive in London @ 6am

            · Visit London!! (all day)

            ’ Sleep in London Hostel

Friday - June 15

            Q Leave London - Flight @ 11:20am

            · Arrive Orlando @ 3:35pm

            · Sleep at HOME!

One week to go...

Team Update:

The time is moving quickly toward our departure. It is moving quickly towards the goal that we have all been working hard for. The day that we embark on this journey for the glory of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ is almost at hand.

When we all agreed to trust God for this trip to happen we knew only He could provide.

God has provided!

All our money is in! God keeps His record of 100% provision. In the past 8 trips that we have done as a student ministry God has always come through. No one has ever stayed home because of a lack of money!

Everyone has their passport. They are gathering their supplies. Team shirts have been made and we are ready to go.

We ask that you would continue to pray for us. We need prayer to get not just our minds but also our hearts prepared for this trip. I have a belief that God will show up in powerful and miraculous ways. We need to be ready to follow the Spirit of God as He leads us in courage, wisdom, and power!

-Pray for our hearts that they will submit to the will of God and love with His love.
-Pray that we will preach the gospel clearly and frequently.
-Pray that many will respond with faith to the word of God.
-Pray that the love of our words and our actions will bring peace, joy, and compassion to many.

As we have shared before, our goal is to update once a day while we are on this trip. So tune in next Friday for our first daily post about the progress of this journey. Sign up on the side bar as a follower to this blog and you'll get updates whenever someone posts.

We are so thankful for all our families and friends that gave generously towards the finances of this trip. And, we are indebted to the numerous prayers that have already gone heavenward on our behalf!

- Josh Harris...for the team :)

Introducing the team!

The team for Kenya, Africa this summer is:

Josh Harris

Jon Reichel

David Farrell

Noah Lauretta

Kristen Lauretta

Hannah Jamerson

Jessica Yap

April Mullery

- Kenya Team

The Dream come true...

Hello,

Like all good stories it starts with a dream. But what makes this story much sweeter is that it's not about my dream but rather this dream comes from God's heart. Long ago in history the God of all nations set forth a dream in His heart to have an eternal relationship of oneness with His creation. Many years have passed since then and God has not stopped to reconcile mankind back to His fatherly arms.

This dream of God's heart awoke in me 9 years ago in college. The dream that one day people from every tribe, tongue, and nation would be gathered together in worship of our God. Like all dreams the fulfillment must come with sacrifice, commitment, and passion. To see the dream to the end God has already sacrificed everything and He has called you and I to do the same. He longs for partners in His passion for people of all nations.

For the last 6 years I have had the honor of leading short-term teams to partner with and support the work of God in many countries around the world. This summer is another step in striving to see the gospel reach to the far ends of the earth. This summer is a new journey and a new beginning of great things to come for eternity. Kenya, here we come.

In June I will lead a team of 7 young adults to work alongside an organization called Serv International. Our goal is to give all that we are through actions and testimony to see the redemption of those in desperate need of life. We will use physical and tangible ministry such as building homes for widows and distributing food to those in need. And we will have the opportunity to give our love to children living in an orphanage. God has given us the opportunity to be His hands and feet to those in need.

We hope that you will follow this blog from now till June to keep updated on how the dream unfolds. We will also use this blog while we are in Kenya - June 1-14 to update from the field.

If you want to give financially to the team, to the orphanage or to the ministry Serv International you can contact us here or through this email: thriveatcircle@yahoo.com

Take a moment to visit Serv Internationals website here

Josh Harris
Student Pastor
Circle Community Church