Safe arrival!!

Missed flight. Extremely short layovers.. & why am I the one who ended up sitting next to the only passenger who dies during the flight!?

O_o

Okay, so he didn't actually die, but that was the first thing I thought.. & I prayed for him like he was my uncle.

He's okay. "Is there a doctor on the flight?" Yes, there was. So the almost dead guy gets his own row in first class. Since he's going to Kenya also, as we wait to board our next flight, he totally basks in bragging rights. Lol

I'm glad he's ok.

We arrive with an easy transition & it's been raining cats & dogs almost the whole while so far.. I think I may have seen a few elephants too.



Photo credit here

Kenya? Again?

i'm going back to Kenya guys!  it's been almost one year.. and i'm going back!  this year i leave on April 11. yes! only a few days from now, i'll be back in Africa & i can't believe it!

i think it only fair that i explain what has occurred in the past year that made it so that it took THIS long to blog again..

i'll start by filling you in on the rest of the trip.. bear with me..  lol

We had a VBS.  At least that's what it was called. We met with the girls each day to share with them about relationships.. These are girls ranging in ages from 9 to early 20s. We don't know the things that they've seen. We don't know the fear of that "special" day of circumcision that will change their lives making sexual intimacy painful & torturous. What in the world???  

i don't know where to begin.. almost a year later, as i write this blogpost to you, i feel a sense of compassion for them that only God can give for a people that you have spent very little time with.

Jesus' love transcends time.

i heard from a girl who was married at 9 years old. to a man who could be her grandfather. yes. GRANDfather. This is typical Maasai culture. She was the 5th wife. My heart aches at the thought of these sweet young, innocent girls being sold to a man who will pay for her with a cow or two. 

Maasai women greeting us "mzungus" in hopes that we will buy jewelry or other items from them.

But they're learning about THE only true Savior. Jesus Christ. They smile. They sing the sweetest redemption song that you could ever here. Bob Marley's got nothing on them! They know what deliverance looks like. They understand the freedom that they've been brought in to. 

There's so much that i could tell you. So many sweet stories of looking into their eyes as they enjoy being little girls again. Smiling. Laughing. We brought balls & frisbees. One walks over to me with eyes dancing and says, "We feel very much happy!" 

Can you say adorable??

these little kids wanted to come in sOo bad to play with the balls..
right after this shot, they joined us. ^.^

It was a ball that brought her such delight. She was a little girl with a happy heart.
Nahh.. it wasn't really the ball, but God used the ball that day.  ^.^

i can't wait to see them again!  i get so excited just thinking about my little Maasai sisters.

They are such a sweet group. Feisty, some of them, but sweet. 

This time, i feel God saying, "Give them Jesus. They need to understand this love that will not only set them free, but KEEP them!" So, i will go. i will tell them of the Savior's love. i will tell them of the One who died for them & who never slumbers nor sleeps. Whose heart overflows with love for her. Yes, her. Individually. Please pray for us, that God would multiply our hours each day. Making them sweet & full.  ^.^

now my explanation, cuz i feel that you just might deserve a little one. hehe heh.

when i came back last May, my j-boy #1 said, "Tosha, we're moving to Colorado!" 

so i had to start packing. i also had to attempt to finish up our homeschooling for the year. 

UNBELIEVABLE. 

we moved to Colorado June 19th. by way of ROADTRIP!!  lol..

that's another story. fires, counseling, all kinds of craziness.

Helen Keller said, "Life is either a great adventure or nothing."

it takes a blind babe to really understand what that means, i think. lol.. the more we "see" with physical eyes the more we miss out on "seeing" with our spiritual eyes.

mommas & their babies. 

i'm learning. <3 div="">

Don't ever let a year pass..

well, i'm obviously back from Africa.. i have a TON of explaining to do, cuz it's now March 2013.. almost a year has passed & i owe sO many of you BIG apologies for taking sOoo, so long..

what can i say, i'm busy.. lol

but finally, i'm taking time to update you on what must've been one of the most amaZing adventures of my life yet..  living for Christ is an adventure in and of itself, but the lil' extra bonuses are often pretty mind-blowing!

sO.. i take a LOOong time to get to Africa & i arrive in Nairobi, Kenya. the place is so city-like & touristy that there's not much to say about it other than there is TIGHT security. our hotel was next to a mall & when you try to go into the mall, there's military-lookin' security with big guns who check your bags..

serious stuff.

but the NEXT day, the adventure began.. we started by meeting the older girls & doin' a lil' bit of touristy stuff.. like the Rift Valley (pics don't do it justice..) which is unbelievably BEAUTIFUL & i think you can call it majestic..  ;)

we stop there to visit some tourist shop & they see the mzungus (foreigners) & automatically see dollar signs..

*imagine that*

sO, i wanna buy a few trinkets that i'm thinkin' at the most would cost about thirty bucks, but the dude is trying to milk me for 75 bucks! obviously he doesn't know the kind of mzungu i am. lol .. i had one of the girls go in with me & boy did she get in to it with the man..

*insert swahili argument here*

i paid $24. heh heh..

that night we went to visit the girls for the first time. (4 of the team members were already there)

as we approach there's amaZing singing.. & the moment we walk in EVERYthing STOPS so that we can be bombarded with giggles & double hugs from EVERY single girl in that place.. & there are something like 50-60 girls..

all i could do was CRY. they sang songs for us & i'm sure that that's what heaven will sound like:

this is actually them singing.. i will not post actual photos of them out of concern for their safety & well-being.. 

my first *taste* of what my life would be like for the next 9 days & i was overwhelmed with a FLOOD of tears of joy for such sweetness.

i knew then & there that i wasn't gonna be the same.. & that this experience would change my life forever.  <3

African landscape is sOo beautiful. 

A half of a biscuit & (I think that's a sardine)

that's about all i got..

it's a whole lot bigger than what i picture.. lol

in John 6, there was a lil' boy who apparently walked by & offered his peanut-sized lunch to a crowd of 5,000 people. NOT counting women & children.

can somebody say BOLD?? 

i would imagine myself lookin' at him & shakin' my head if i were one of the disciples thinkin' wow.. what in the WORLD is he thinkin.. 

obviously he ain't thinkin'.. 

i don't know what the lil' boy was thinkin.. but what i DO know is that

GOD USED HIM THAT DAY. 

the people were hungry. it was already gettin dark. there was NO way that Jesus Christ would send them away in darkness & hungry.

in the same way, there are people who are hungry for truth. truth that will TRULY make them free. people who live in a land corrupt with darkness & false doctrines.

right here in NYC we witness this stuff, but this time i'm talkin' about Nairobi, Kenya.

& God is sendin' lil' ol' me.. with my half a biscuit & one sardine.

i'm sure that's all i got. lol.. believe me, i've checked! & yet, Jesus has decided that just like He told the disciples over 2,000 years ago, He's hittin' me with the SAME challenge.

YOU give 'em sumthin to eat, Tosha!

part of me is all ugh with fear.. (the part that needs to DIE)
& the other part of me is like

Let's do THIS!!

From April 19-29 I will be traveling, ministering, eating & breathing with a team of five in Nairobi, Kenya.

pray for me. :)

We will be working with girls who have escaped FGM (female genital mutilation).

look it up.. it's saddening
wait.. maybe you shouldn't look it up.

if you do look it up.. don't say i didn't warn you.

This is quite an adventure for me (some of you know I'm a stay-at-home, homeschooling, home making momma woman)! Lol

(that's a lotta home... just call me homie.)

We'll be teaching them about relationships from a Biblical, godly perspective..  Both the benefits of doing things God's way & the consequences of allowing our emotions & desires to direct us. We'll be lovin' on 'em with God's love & doin' fun stuff too, like nails & hair tee hee.. I need God. I TRUST God. I'm believing God!

and you know what? it's like the ol' school song says, He's NEVER failed me yet!

sOoo.. i'm askin' you to pray.

if you don't know Jesus, but you understand the place of darkness & REAL hunger for a different kind of life, then you talk to Jesus about your need. ask Him to forgive you.. to wash you.. to change you.. then you pray for me. ;)

I'm grateful for the opportunity to go. God is faithful. honestly, i have no idea what to expect.

makes me excited & nervous all at the same time.

Pray for J-boy #1 (my sweet husband). He will spend the ten days I'm away being a missionary to our three children. *heh heh*

i remember one of those cliche' thingies that says "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips those He calls.."  sO, i'm trustin' Him with my lil' half of a sardine sandwich.. <3

photo credit here & here..

No greater way to return to blogging..

This is good!

banana pancakes..

yummmyyyy!!  ^.^

just got in the mood for them, i guess.. & if you haven't had 'em.. you need to!

go to Dojo.. in the village.. yummy.. & if you don't live in the NYC area, when you're visiting on vacation, they're definitely worth a quick visit.. <3

the FOOD.. 

& the song is sOoo awesome.. Jack Johnson is such a thoughtful lyricist.. very sweetly talks about his luv that he shares with his wife.  *nice*

take a listen..

the SONG..

photo cred here.. 

some craft projects are whack..

in REAL life.

they look all good on the inspirational websites and they don't tell you how annoying the whole process is gonna be.

this is an example of one of those whack projects..

yesterday i mentioned that some craft projects suck.
yea.. it's that SAME one that i started like FIVE days ago..
when i'm workin' on sumthin for that long, i wanna see BIG results. and each day this thing looked the SAME way.

corny.

it's not a complicated craft at all.. it's just ANNOYING. i didn't think crafting could be annoying..

this one proved me sOoo wrong.. o_O

that lil' bowl in the center took about FIVE days to make..  o_O
ALL that paper was left & i was DONE.

all you do is cut strips of magazine and wrap them up in a lil' wheel shape..

you know how most times when you start a project you can't WAIT to see the finished result so you work on it day & night?

not this one.. it's boring. lol

BUT.. there is one good side.. it's an eco-friendly craft project.. i saved at least .999999 % of the environment.. o_O

whatever. 

i painted it.. cuz i didn't like the way it looked with all the magazine writing.. it looked junky.

but then it looked lonely to me.. like it needed some shtuff. ;)

i think i need to podge it!  but for the record.. it's definitely NOT gettin' anymore magazine strips!

DON'T try this at home.. it'll drive you nuts. ;)