Update as of December 13th...

Dear friends and family,

Well the idea of writing you an update every month seems great in theory, but apparently it is not so great when it comes to application. So let me begin this update by apologizing for the amount of time that has passed since I wrote last.

Where do I even begin? These past few months have felt like a whirlwind all around me. I sit here truly astonished that it is the middle of December and that nine months have already passed since I arrived in Kenya. It feels as though 2011 will be here in the blink of an eye and I wonder if the feeling of time passing quickly is just another part of growing up.

I have grown one year older since the last time I wrote but other than celebrating my birthday, so many other things have happened. Over the past several months, I have spent an increased amount of time working directly with the child sponsorship program. Between September and November, this involved going to several schools to help take updated photos of the children. Additionally, I have had the joy of playing a role in celebrating the birthdays of our students by taking pictures and of course enjoying some cake.

Furthermore, with the coming of the December holiday, term letters to sponsors were due to go out. Thus, in October, Erin and I had a training session and discussion with all of the social workers and the teachers to prepare for the outgoing letter. We were able to brainstorm some holiday themes and ideas to include in the Christmas cards, of which we were all excited about. Following our session, the children went hard to work on writing their sponsors. Once they finished doing so, Erin and I with the assistance of the social workers went through every letter to ensure that each child had written. With over 4,000 letters, this certainly took some time. Thus you can only imagine the smiles we had on our faces when we finally finished and closed the suitcases carrying cards back to America.

Moreover in October, Erin and I were given the responsibility of handling gifts and the thank you notes. This is new role for us and it primarily requires us to process all of the mail that the children receive as well as ensure that sponsors are receiving thank you notes back from their children. We spent several weeks in November processing hundreds of gifts and letters and as soon as we finished that, December ushered itself in.

This month we received thirteen fifty pound duffle bags of gifts and letters for our children. So far the total number of Christmas gifts we have processed is somewhere around 1,300 and we are expecting even more in January. It makes me so excited to see this love and generosity extended to our students this holiday season. But oh my, you can only imagine what our office looked like swimming with all of those gifts! Perhaps you can imagine an explosion happening in the post office…

So needless to say, these past few months have been incredibly full and busy. Aside from what I wrote above, I think of our class eight students finishing their exams and the talent show we had with them afterwards. Furthermore, I think of the social work retreat, the schools Christmas parties, and the staff party we just had. I think of two dear apprentices that left last week and the tears we shed over their departure. Additionally, I think of dressing up on Halloween and of going away for Thanksgiving with a cluster of American families. And so many other small things come to mind.

As for my heart, I feel as though it has gone through much in this fall/winter season. In all honesty, I have felt myself hit a wall of a sort. Emotionally, I have felt tired and full from the past nine months of being in ministry in a place that so often breaks my heart. Furthermore, in my first holiday season away from home, I find myself wanting to wake up with my family on Thanksgiving and Christmas and New Years. Moreover, I have friends getting married and friends starting families and it is in the moment that I hear of such that I just want to be with them.

It is in this season that I have had perhaps my first realization that there are some sacrifices involved in all of this. Since being here, I cannot tell you how many people have come up to me and said something in terms of “Wow, you are sacrificing so much to be here.” Truthfully, in the past I have always said something about how it does not feel like a sacrifice to be where I love.

Because really, I love Kenya. I love joining into what Jesus is doing here. So up until now I have thought that it is not much of a sacrifice to be where I love, doing what I love.

However the weight of sacrifice is coming through in different ways than I anticipated. It is not in terms of no longer having a car or not having the small things that make life in America so much more convenient. Instead I am talking about sacrifice in the sense that I am missing out on the lives of the people that I love and in some ways they are missing out on my life as well.

This all has made me think about the story in the Bible of King David buying the threshing floor to build an altar. To summarize, King David goes to buy the land and the owner wants him to take it for free. David responds to this offer with, “No, I’ve got to buy it from you for a good price. I’m not going to offer God, my God, sacrifices that are no sacrifice.”

I keep reminding myself of the same thing.

For in coming to reality, in realizing the sacrifices of being in Kenya, I recognize that it is the sacrifices that add meaning to this journey and to my character. Because like David, I do not want to offer God something that costs me nothing.

And already I can tell you that in whatever this costs and in whatever I feel I am missing, I would not change a thing. I know I am right where I am supposed to be and that is one thing that I cannot communicate enough.

So amidst the busyness and amidst all of the emotions that I have experienced as of late, all is well. I am growing, I am learning, and as always, I am so thankful for the role you play in all of this.

In conclusion, thank you for reading this incredibly long update. Thank you for your support and every prayer you cast my way. And may your celebrations of the coming of Jesus be full of joy, laughter, beauty, and the presence of those you hold most dear.

All my love and appreciation,

Bethany