Nine Years in Kenya!

Nine whole years! In April of 2016 God settled it in our hearts that Kenya would be our new home. We knew this would be a forever move because we wanted to work with kids and kids need stability. So in November of 2016 we sold most everything we owned, packed some suitcases and flew about 9,000 miles to a place I had never been before.

Many thought we were foolish, flat out crazy, and that we would soon return back to Texas. I can’t blame anyone who doubted us…leaving Texas was crazy, moving to a place I had never been probably was foolish, going all in the way we did was extreme, but we were confident this is what God was calling us to do and he gave us the strength to be obedient even when it looked absolutely stupid to human eyes.

Kenya was wild, beautiful, and completely foreign to me. I had no idea what to expect, nothing could have prepared me for what God has had here for us. It started out great, then started getting weird, then things got rough, then suddenly things were dangerous, then chaotic, then it all just became “normal” and peaceful. God provided, protected, and guided us so much those first two years (and continues to today), if He was not in this we would have just given up, and given up quickly.

Now somehow it has been nine years…but also feels like we’ve been here forever. Kenya is definitely home for us. Sure we have cultural frustrations, but the longer we are here the more we start to understand and look for Biblical solutions. Living inside of God’s will and seeking to live a life that truly honors Him is wild in such a beautiful way. It is freeing, it is peaceful, it gives you confidence because of Who you are serving and not who you are, it is heavy but you know He carries it all, it makes you more and more dependent on Him because it forces you to know that this is so much bigger than anything you could actually do.

I know a lot of people look at missionaries and think “look at all the good they are doing”. I have 2 responses to that: #1 God is doing the good. He’s the only One who can. Jeff and Stephanie cannot “do good”, we are not good, but God is good and everything He does is good. God is the one changing hearts and lives here. #2 sometimes God sends us so He can work on our heart. It is easy to say this is all about helping Kenyans, helping our village, but God has used Kenya and its beautiful people to radically change my heart and life. In America, I did not have a clue what it meant to live a life that honors God…sure we went to church, taught our kids about Jesus, served, and gave to the poor, but the point of my life was not to honor Him. I think I was at war with God more than I had peace because my focus was on me.

Now through being forced to fully depend on Him I know what it means to live for Him. Waking up daily, serving Him, and wanting to serve Him better. Doing something He asked me to do and pointing it all back to Him. The glory isn’t mine because the only reason I want to do anything good is because the Lord rules my heart! He took my heart of stone, like the strongest, toughest stone He’s ever made, and he melted it, made it flesh, soft, and moldable and sensitive to His word and how He would have me live. He’s healed parts of me that I did not realize were still broken. He is good. He has joined hearts to grow me, sanctify me, and show me that I do know the right thing to do, I just don’t always do that.

Of course He could have done all of that anywhere, but He didn’t, he used Kenya, something that I never wanted, to make me more alive and more free than I’ve ever been. Walking in His freedom is a beautiful thing. Walking in obedience to Him is hard at times, but so full of peace, His peace.

All this to say, we have been blessed more than we deserve in the last 9 years, I wouldn’t trade a moment of it to be anywhere other than in this place where we are right now. If God is nudging you, calling you, guiding you to do something, obey Him and He will make it work. He will grow you, He will provide, He will guide, and no matter how hard it is, it will be a blessing to your soul!

Thank you for your continued love and support. It means more than you will ever know. Every prayer, every time you share, each donation, it has impact here and more than a physical impact because God is at work here and that is a beautiful thing to so many people. 💜