you are faithful when we are faithless

all I need

comes from your grace bestowed on me

long goodbye.

I'm in London.

waiting on my flight back to RDU and wishing I was still at the orphanage.

I had an unbelievable time, and formed relationships that I will have until the day I meet Jesus. the team started crying as we hugged Teresia, Joseph [her husband], and the elders at the home,

and we did it again at the airport.

I cried every last bit of water out of my body to the point of my head hurting.

as I was hugging Teresia goodbye, I cried, "I don't want to go."

she hugged me closer and said, "stay with us."

I wish it were that simple.

but I told her that I would come back.

I left a H U G E piece of my heart in Nairobi

and I have to go back.

there are so many children who will never have the love that I was blessed with growing up.

just to give one of them a hug felt like I was giving them the entire world.

I hugged little Diana goodbye yesterday,

and I told her that I loved her.

she said, "same," as her eyes started to turn red.

she had just received an award for being #2 in the standard 2 class.

I told her I was so proud of her and that I promised I would be back.

that started the first flow of tears out of the 8 for the day.

I miss those children like crazy already,

and here is a little clip of the first Sunday we spent with them

as they sang praise and worship.

you can hear the immense joy they have as they sing their little hearts out:

thank you all for your prayers, love, and support.

I felt protected by them as I was in a new place.

I covet your prayers as I transition back to my familiar life that seems so unfamiliar now.

teresia.

habari za asubuhi

[good morning]

here is Teresia & I outside the current orphanage.

I love this woman like crazy already.

she has a H U G E heart, and loves Jesus with every inch of it.

every single one of these children are her babies, and they love her and call her Mama.

she is always smiling, always rejoicing, and always wearing something colorful.

she is the epitome of a joyful woman.

it is my prayer that, I too, may be filled daily with the joy she shares.

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." - John 15:11

chewsday.

the name of this post could mean so many things.

for instance, I was given the choice of chewing a goat.

but, I learned how to say "vegetarian" in Swahili and it's mla mboga.

the Kenyans look at me with very confused faces saying, "you eat vegetables?"

they can't believe it's a choice!

it's also the way George (the head of our group from Kenya who now lives in NC)

says "Tuesday"

we all had a great laugh at this, and we think he has it down now.

and it's Tuesday!

we have been so blessed while we've been here.

we came to serve, yet we have been served.

we came to give joy, yet we have been given joy.

we came to love, yet we've been given love.

this experience has been extremely overwhelming,

and we aren't even half-way through yet!

saturday was our first day to the orphanage!

and I passed out the mustaches!

it was so much fun to see the kids come in swarms in search of one.

they erupted in laughter upon seeing someone else with one on.

it was incredible to see the joy that these little ones experienced with

something so simple.

best $5 purchase ever

on Sunday, we went to two churches

one that reminded me of church back home!

they had:

life groups

teams for ushering

& amazing praise & worship!

and they sang

"Mighty to Save" as their second song!

we went crazy!

the second service we went to was at the orphanage.

we were greeted as we walked in with choreographed dancing and singing.

there were little Ushers and Chris Browns in the group

it was unbelievable.

I got a video of the kids singing, but it won't upload with the internet here.

I'll have to post it when I get back

we are going on safari in two days and we are all so excited.

it's a 5 hour drive from here to Masai Mara,

so we are scheduled to leave at 6am.

however...time here is not as big of a priority as it is in the US.

which is 100% ok with me.

when we hear "our ride will be here in 15 minutes,"

we know that it could be anywhere between 30 minutes and 2 hours.

so we have been saying "our ride will be here soon."

we've heard that we should NOT bring food with us because

the baboons will stampede us!

this is NOT a joke!

they are apparently extremely mean and maniacal, and will grab anything they see

that hangs off your body!

we've had an incredible experience so far,

and we know that our trip has only just begun.

we have been thrown curveballs in this journey so far,

but by the grace of God,

we are blessed to be healthy, safe, and right where He wants us to be.

Love you all!

jambo (hello)!

after 29 hours of traveling, we are finally here!

I was able to spend about 5 hours with Kaitlyn in London, and although my feet and shoulders hurt, it was an amazing day!

Kaitlyn was a wonderful tour guide, and took us to some great places.

London reminds me a lot of Washington DC.

Lots of historic buildings & nobody really wanted to talk to me when I said hi. Made me miss the south :)

we arrived in Nairobi at 6:30am (11:30am EST).

I would love to tell you that I have mastered the art of sleeping on a plane,

but that would be one big fat lie.

I think I got maybe 5 hours total on the 7.5 and 8.5 hour flights I was on.

luckily, they had some good movies & I was able to practice my Swahili!

we are at the new building right now, resting.

everyone has been so kind to us, and we have been waited on hand and foot.

I've asked to help several times because y'all know I can't sit still, but they have told me no every time. Winnie told me they will never let me help, so I just have to jump in.

so, I made sandwiches for everyone when we first arrived. they were made with bread, plum jam, and butter. very tasty!

I believe we are headed to the old building, where the children currently sleep & go to school, this evening.

there is a line for civilization [this computer] so that's all I can write today.

I'm not sure when mine will be able to have internet, so I don't know when I will be able to post pictures!

I love you all & covet your prayers!

we are so excited to be on this journey & I can't wait to share more with you!

kwa heri [goodbye]!

tomorrow.

this time tomorrow I will [hopefully] be in the air and on my way to London.

I'm saying hopefully because the flight tonight is delayed for 135 minutes.

it's awesome to look back on the events that brought me here.

this day snuck up on me quicker than I imagined it would,

and I can't help but wonder if I'm prepared.

what if I forget my underwear?

yes, I said it.

while weird, I went to visit my friend Memorial weekend,

and my grandmother the following weekend,

and this happened.

seriously? who forgets that?

I was able to work it out for two days, but what about two weeks? where would I go if I forgot it?

does Kenya have a Target?

ok, obviously the answer to that question is no.

what if I forgot my medicine? or my bug spray? or my passport?

as I run through my packing list in my head, on my computer, and written down

[yes, I may or may not have a slight case of ADD that requires me to have more than one list]

I pause and hear, "I am all you need".

Satan is poking at me

poke poke poke [as my sister would say]

and trying to steal my joy to divert my attention away from this amazing path God has put me on.

and then peace consumes me.

because if I do forget any one of those things, He will provide a detour.

and His detour is way better than my scheduled itinerary.

because with or without American underwear [African underwear could be my souvenir!]

but NOT with or without passport,

I will be serving for Him, in His way, on His time!

talk to you in Kenya :)

"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." - 1 Peter 5:7

crazy God.

fall of 2005, I went from my little box at NCSU

to the University of Hawaii for the National Student Exchange program.

I had the privilege of living in a tropical paradise, while studying a semester of

school, and paying their in state tuition.

before I left, I exchanged emails with a cute girl from UNCW.

quickly, we became very good friends.

it was like a little piece of home had traveled that long distance with us.

here we are in september 2005

after that fall, we kept up via emails, phone calls, texts (well...that was several years later ;))

and visits to one another.

this april, it had been over a year since seeing each other last & we decided to meet for coffee.

every time we sit down together, it's uncanny to see how God has ordained this friendship.

while catching up, I pulled up my sleeve and showed her my new tattoo,

explaining what it meant.

"Melanie...," Kelly said, "I got one TOO!"

"WHAT!" I screamed.

she stuck her foot over to my side of the table, showing me "agape" beautifully

printed across her foot.

crazy.

we talked some more and then discussed our summer plans.

"Well, I'm going to Kenya," she said.

"ME TOO!" I said

[if you haven't realized this already, I get excited over things very easily]

talking more, we realized that we will be on the same continent,

with a completely different group and purpose,

at the same time.

God. you are the craziest.

we understand that You need us to be together.

she is going on a medical missions trip in Nairobi June 25-July 20.

you can keep up with her here

Kelly is one of the most selfless people I have ever met.

her huge heart is evident upon meeting her and seeing her beautiful smile.

she is such a blessing to me

with her words of encouragement and counseling,

it's clear to see Him speaking to me through her.

I am overjoyed to see what that crazy guy is gonna do in each of our lives

while we're there, and when we come back.

“In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.” Prov 16:9

oh, ps: I leave for Kenya in 2 days.

no big deal.

ooooh man.

hello hello hello!

not dead - yay!

this is the longest I've ever gone without blogging.

I really thought nobody would notice, but then my sweet friend Kelly [whom I didn't even KNOW read my blog, so ps thank you & I love you!]

asked me why it'd been such a long time - whoops.

so. I don't have pictures of my house, and honestly I am half-hoping you forgot.

just kidding.

the good news is I leave for Africa in SIX DAYS

that's crazy talk!

more good news is I am taking my computer with me AND bringing my camera

[aka my sister's because it has better zoom].

my camera is 5.5 years old - yikes!

so, get excited because I will be blogging from the motherland.

and more good news is in exactly one week from today,

I will have a 13 hour layover in London. and one of my very best friends

[aka one of my peaches] lives there.

her name is Kaitlyn and she is so great.

she's already sent me how to get from the airport to the city, and took the whole day off for me! we are going to sightsee and I may or may not stalk Prince Harry and propose.

I think Princess Melanie sounds lovely, don't you?

ok...on a more serious note, a HUGE thank you to my amazing friends and family.

my team and I are beyond thrilled to head to Kenya to spread the love to these little children with our open arms, our big praise-filled hearts, and with BOOKS!

we wouldn't be able to make the trip without your love, support, and most importantly - prayers!

and I'm trying to practice my Swahili, so here is a little token of my appreciation:

I feel like a little kid on Christmas Eve waiting for Santa --but this is the longest night ever!

I am bringing the kids bubble gum, bubbles, stickers, and these cute little stick-on mustaches. because let's face it, who doesn't love a kid with a mustache?

I can't wait to post pictures!

but for now, please continue pray for us.

the more enthralled I have been getting with catching up on LOST episodes,

the more I wonder if our plane is going to dip-dive into the Atlantic.

I know this type of event isn't something that happens on a regular basis,

but I would really like to make it to Africa and not some rando island in the middle of the ocean.

and pray for God to speak and move through us!

I love each and every one of you!

"Sing to the Lord all the earth; proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous deeds among all peoples." - 1 Chronicles 16:23-24

the day of alexander.

When I was little one of my favorite books was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.

This poor boy gets smushed in the middle seat of the car, has a desertless lunch sack, a cavity at the dentist, stripeless tennis shoes, and the worst: witnessing kissing on tv (poor kid). He threatens several times to move to Australia. His mom reassured him at the end that everyone has bad days, even people in Australia.

Today was a day similar to Alexander's. I wanted to tell him to scoot over in his bed (even though the nightlight burnt out)and we could sulk together. But then I reminded myself that bad days happen. Bad days are normal occurrences that usually stem from blowing things out of perspective, or just plain not communicating properly.

So when I got home from my terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, I had a package waiting for me. And do you wanna know what made that day better? This:

My Africa shirt came in the mail! Sorry the words are backwards, I was home alone and it's too late to be fancy shmancy and flip. Life is sometimes discouraging, but pick yourself back up and get excited for what's to come!

And a message from sweet Frannie:

"In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." - John 16:33

where I'm headed.

Heritage of Faith & Hope Children Rehabilitation Centre/Kenya

peace love and africa.

I'm going to Africa!

Remember that post that I wrote about Ethiopia? Well, God has a plan and it doesn't involve Ethiopia, but it does involve Kenya -- which borders Ethiopia.

Several weeks ago, I was talking to my friend Meredith while we were on our way to bible study. I told her that God had told me to go to Africa. And I told her it was crazy and I didn't understand why He would say that to me. She listened patiently, and I thought that was the end of it. A few days later I was looking at a blog that I love which lead me to another blog, which lead me to another blog (sorta like FB creeping, but blog creeping). Anyway, a college girl named Kristen is going to Africa for two weeks to work in an orphanage in Ghana. They are asking for donations of a minimum of $20, and you get this sweet Tshirt:

So, I wanted to help dear Kristen, and I wanted to rock that awesome Africa shirt. I decided that maybe God just wanted me to help someone get to Africa. It was February 18th when I sent my donation in, pushing the command to go to the back of my mind. I got a text from my dear friend, Mary, on the 25th letting me know that she was joining Emily, Katie, et al. on their trip to Africa and she wanted me to come. I told her it was expensive and I didn't know if I could take off work for 12 days. She wrote back "God will protect you". When I saw this, I knew it was meant to be. God will protect me. He wants me to go to Africa and He is opening those doors. He is going to help me get there. We are going to the Heritage of Faith & Hope Rehabilitation Centre in Nairobi, Kenya. How crazy -- we will be working at an orphanage across the continent from Kristen for two weeks too! How amazing, and how exciting!

"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:10