Goodbye Kenya, Hello Prague!

Goodness! I cannot believe all that has happened since I last blogged :) First of all, I spent my last few days in Kenya at Joska. Leann and I were really wanting to do something special for the kids there, so we organized to show a movie one of the nights and then make a ton of popcorn for them to enjoy! It was soo much fun! Here is Maureen picking out some of the good kernels from a batch of burnt popcorn. She is one of the girls that I had the chance to get really close to. I truly love the girls there! So we spent all day making that popcorn, and it was seriously like Jesus was there multiplying the bread and fish to feed the five thousand. I honestly have no idea how we were able to feed all 600 children and still have some left over!

Leann and I had decided to just show the movie to only the girls at the school at first, but then felt bad for the boys so we let them watch it with us ;) We showed the movie Tangled and I cannot describe how wonderful it was to hear all their boisterous laughs at the quirky jokes and facial expressions of the cartoon characters. I wouldn't have traded that night for anything! The whole day things kept coming up, like the projector being back in Nairobi and not having charcoal to pop the popcorn, but God was faithful and brought joy to his children that night! Ahh the blessings!















Well, immediately after arriving in Nairobi from Joska, the staff had planned a small farewell party for me, and  I was immensely blessed by their kid words and encouragement. It was so hard to keep myself from bursting into tears! The only thing that held me back was knowing that someday I would return and it would not be the last time I would see all these loved ones. We sang and danced, and of course we laughed way too much ;) Haha, I didn't realize how crazy my face looks in this picture! Oh, I crack myself up sometimes...Anyway, we reminisced and dreamt of the future, and finally prayed ending in a trust of God's Will for the future. I could not have asked for a more perfect ending to a perfect internship experience. I was given a cheesy little "Africa" shirt and was made to dance around in the middle of a circle. Eventually they cheered Leann on as she stuffed a huge piece of cake in my mouth, but don't worry, I then got the chance to stuff cake in everyone else's mouths!

We left the center and then made our way to the house where I commenced the "leaving" process. It was sad, but again, I know I will return someday and if not then I will see all these people in heaven. Plus it wasn't too hard to leave Leann since I know we will meet up in Illinois whenever we are both in the States again. The flights were not too bad and I finally made it into Prague around 6 pm on Saturday! It has been so great here just getting to see the Mudriks again :) For those of you who did not know, or did not remember, I am visiting some missionary friends in Prague for 3 weeks before I head back home. This is not a part of my internship, but I figured that while I was on this side of The Pond I would take the opportunity to visit them and see some of Europe! The Mudriks are very dear to my heart. Marek and Elaine have five kids: Jan, Emelia, Annemarie (in the above picture with me on the metro), Julia, and Hanna. Marek and Elaine teach at an international school here in Prague, and Elaine teaches English to people who want to learn and take lessons. They are in the process of moving out to a farmhouse and farm to start a ministry reaching the backpackers who come through the cross-roads of Prague. It is still in its infancy but extremely exciting! I pray that while I am here, I can just be available for whatever they need me to do: be a blessing and not a burden. I will keep you all in touch, and I would still appreciate your prayers. Thank you sooooooo much for all your support and your prayers so far!! I would not have had quite the experience without your love and dedication. I pray that God has blessed you through my time in Kenya as well, and I pray that he also places a burden for his people on your heart. We are a global Church! A global Kingdom! What a Great God we serve...He amazes me more and more each day, especially through meeting so many Christians from multiple cultures. Awesome! Bwana Safiwe!!!!