Arts & Crafts Prep Time

Here are a few fun photos of the arts & crafts packing prep courtesy of team member, Nikki Pierce.

I'm Off to Kenya!

Just a quick post tonight to tell you all that I'm off to Kenya tomorrow! I'm feeling so very many emotions but mostly excited and hopeful. Excited to see old friends and make new ones. Hopeful that we can bring a message of love and being remembered.

I will most likely not be able to update my personal blog while we are in Nairobi but our team blog will be updated with the basics as often as possible. That blog is: http://ecclesiakenyaoutreach.tumblr.com/

Also I have broken the $10,000 fundraising mark! Yippee! I have less than $1,400 to go and donations are continued to be accepted until after I return, so spread the word.

Much love to you all. I can't possibly begin to express my gratitude for your support!

Almost There!

Hi Everyone!

Exciting news to report today. I got the official word with my latest fundraising update. With your amazingly generous help I have raised $9,710!

Thanks to group fundraising efforts (bake sales, concerts, etc) the cost for each team member to go on the trip and provide supplies, food and transportation for the two camps we are hosting has now been lowered to $1,450 (plus airfare, which I provided myself).

What does this mean? I am SO CLOSE to my dream goal of raising $10,000 to go directly toward medical supplies and school supplies for the precious children of Kibera. Last year I felt such a strong responsibility to not just leave at the end of two weeks but to figure out a way to truly support these children throughout the year.

This past Christmas I organized a card drive so that all 400 children involved in Homecare Fellowship got a personal card with stickers and other fun things. My hope was that they felt remembered and loved. I also have been searching for a way to practically help. While $10,000 will not fix everything it will be meeting two needs that I felt were great when I spent time with these children in their schools, churches and homes. They have little to no access to simple educational tools that could make it possible for them to go on to high school and possibly college. They also have NO access to simple first aid and medical supplies that can prevent the spread of potentially fatal diseases through blood and water contact. We planning to provide needed teaching tools in the classrooms (books, paper, pencils, etc) along with first aid supplies and medicine so that each center is equipped with some of the basic tools they need to see their students flourish.

I am starting small but my prayer is that this small effort will plant seeds of hope within the community of Kibera and continue to foster both my relationship and Ecclesia's relationship with these amazing people. I leave you with a quote that I hope is as encouraging to you as it was to me. Go out and do something that makes you HAPPY, make a change in world, God is leading your heart, follow it!

"The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." - Frederick Buechner

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