Lessons Learned (already) In Advance of Leaving for Kenya

I'm not even there and already have been deeply impacted.  I can't imagine what it will be like actually getting to go, and I'm SUPER excited about the possibility!  What's more, I'm amazed at how my life has already changed.  (If you don't have time to read, please skip to the bottom and play the video.)

1.  Kenya Time - my Mama will attest to the fact that I'm already living on Kenya time - especially when it comes to being on time for holiday meals.  The lesson I learned is in why our team was told that Kenyans are not characteristically punctual.  They do not sacrifice relationship for punctuality.  I can't necessarily do this at work for meetings with adults, but with the children, those 3 minutes we take at the beginning of pull out time to hear about their lives, or the minute or two taken to chat in the hallway on the way back to their class is invaluable.

2.  Getting in shape - Some of you know how God has blessed me with recent poundage misplacement (53 lbs).  I haven't tried.  Really.  My goal has only been to honor God by giving up my food idols so that I could hear Him speaking to me.  I used to drown the Spirit out with ice cream after a hard day.  I got so tired of hurting after learning that Kip was found with severe alcohol poisoning, my anesthesia of choice became one of the following: Grandma's Chicken and Rice from Stouffers,  Ice Cream - the good stuff (Ben & Jerries, Udderly Delicious, etc.), Brownies every Saturday,  Cinnamon Pop Tarts, Cereal, and garlic bread.  I'm so grateful for Jen Hatmaker's book 7, an experimental mutiny against excess, and my two friends who walked with me through Month 1 of the book.

Even with the weight loss and increase in mobility, there's a new urgency for me to be purposeful about getting in shape.  I still don't feel right about counting calories (read "obsessing over"), but I do need to be more purposeful about the foods I am choosing so that my immune system is built up.   So the cutie pie from Biggest Loser and I will be getting better acquainted via his Yoga for Weight Loss DVD.

3.  Faith, Trust & Following where He leads -  I'm learning to keep open and not use my own wisdom or try to make my own plans come to fruition through manipulation of circumstances or by holding on too tightly to what I think His plan is (or realllllly want His plan to be).   That said, I have to state that if God wills, I'll be going to Kenya in June.  Still a lot more has to come together for it to happen.  The plane tickets haven't been purchased, the money I need hasn't come in, and I am not yet sitting on a plane headed over the ocean.

4.  Gratitude as a priority -  I heard a story about an elderly grandmother and grandfather in their 70's who were living in impoverished circumstances, disabled by untreated injuries whose children were mostly dead - except for a paralyzed daughter who lived at home.  A new friend, who was visiting this family on behalf of the young orphaned grandchildren who are at Benard's school offered to pray with the grandmother.  Her response was to say "Yes, you can pray for us, but first, we MUST thank God for ALL He has given us."

5.  We are not globally aware in our country as a rule.  We don't realize how RICH we really are in the Western World.  I may not be able to pay some bills, and money is definitely tight after the crash.  But listen to this: