For the first month of my stay, I'll be volunteering at the Tania Centre, a school for students with special needs. It was started by a Kenyan man who attended my church back in the 80's. We recently reconnected with him, and I am so honored to be able to complete this circle by serving at his school.
Later in the summer, a team from my church will be joining me in Kenya for several purposes. I'll be on a part of the team that, along with UW Sports Ministry and a team from Nairobi Gospel Centre, will travel to Uganda to train pastors and church leaders in sports ministry. Another part of our team will remain in Nairobi to train pastors and church leaders in children's discipleship as a follow-up to a previous sports ministry training.
I am equal parts excited and nervous, since this will be my longest stay in Kenya, and I won't be with anyone else from my church for my first month. Philippians 4 tells us not to worry, but to take everything to God in prayer, so I'm trying to remember to do that first and foremost as I prepare myself for this trip. Any prayers you'd like to contribute would be greatly appreciated!
I'm also working hard on fund-raising for this trip. We have several fundraisers in the works at church, but I still have a lot of money to raise on my own. My first payment of $2000 to pay for my plane ticket is due by May 10th, then I will have an additional $1500-2000 (final costs are still being determined) to raise by June 15th. If you feel led to donate, you can make a donation via PayPal here (use the yellow "donate" button on the right side of the page). Mention in the notes section that it's for Beth's Kenya trip. If you'd like to make it tax-deductible, let me know so I can supply you with the necessary form. I'd love for you to be a part of God's story in Kenya in this way.
I'll be updating my blog a few more times as I prepare to leave in a couple of months, and I'll update whenever possible while I'm there. I hope you'll keep coming back to read and see what awesome things God will do in Kenya this summer!
