growing pains

June 26, 2016

I have been praying lately about how I really want this to be a time for Anna and Taylor that stretches them and helps them to grow. The tricky part is for this to not stretch them so much that they feel like they are going to break and that they harden their hearts feeling bitter about some of the experiences. It’s that balance of wanting things to be uncomfortable (but not too uncomfortable) and for things to rock their reference points without swinging the pendulum too far in one direction that it backfires and swings back the other way.  While it is normal to feel disequilibrium, it’s also good to be able to have the maturity to take a step back and recognize that as part of the process rather than seeing that as the defining part of the experience.

This thing called parenting sure is humbling. I need wisdom each step of the way and am so grateful that we are not leaving Kenya on Tuesday when we get on a plane to go from Lodwar to Nairobi. I am so thankful that we get to go back and be with the team for the next few weeks to engage conversations around these topics with many of the college students and with the staff. I know it’s a bit of a cliché that “it takes a village,” but it certainly applies here.  I’m grateful that we have many in our village here in Kenya to help us chart this path together.   

Anna and Taylor made s'mores for Joshua and Mary in the kitchen here,

 and they were a big hit! 

We gathered our team together yesterday and we did an affirmation circle passing around papers for everyone to write words of encouragement for each person. They had never done this as a staff so I was a little nervous how it would go, but it was such a blessing for all around. We are so grateful for this amazing group of people! 

roasted corn! YUM!!! 

sharing love with the New Hope office 

(New Hope is a program to kids who were living on the streets that grew out of Children of the Kingdom a few years ago, and we are so thankful to be partners with them) 

We planned games for the New Hope children yesterday and had so much fun with duck, duck goose, elbow tag, red rover, sharks & minnows and soccer. :) 

I was the one trying to tag the kids during sharks and minnows, 

and it took me forever to catch any of them as they were all SO fast!!