Wow, I haven't blogged in over 2 months.  Of course, I was in Kenya one of those months, so I do have an excuse! ..sort of... 
I don't know if anyone is reading my blog anymore, but just in case, I'd like to share a report on the Kenya trip.  Thank you so much to those who prayed for us. 

To put it simply, the 4 weeks I spent in Kenya were, overall, amazing!!  I was challenged and blessed, and I learned so much.  Definitely left a chunk of my heart over there.  :-) 
I shared before that one of our goals was to have a camp for the orphans to teach them praise and worship dance.  That went very well -- we had about 4 days of camp, in which the orphans (ages 3 through 22) learned several songs and dances, plus a skit for the boys.  After the camp, they got to take what they learned and use it to lead worship at an evangelistic crusade at a big slum in Nairobi.  What a great experience for them! 

 Here are the high school kids from the orphanage doing their song/dance. 

 Being put in the position of leading the camp was a big, challenging experience for me.  It definitely worked on my boldness and leadership skills! 

Another aspect of the trip that was at some times challenging and at other times a great blessing was living with the mission team for 4 weeks.  There were six of us there the whole time, with four others who were each there for parts of the 4 weeks.  We all had very different personalities, different tastes, different backgrounds.  It was a great group to be a part of, and definitely a group that God put together.  It was a good experience living together, learning from and loving one another. 

In reality, I met so many wonderful people in Kenya.  Just the people in the village we worked in were great people, especially the kids!  I'll get to that in a minute.  But in addition to them... We met a beautiful, sweet lady who had been suffering with cancer for 3 months -- she has since passed away, but it was an honor to have the opportunity to meet her and pray with her before she died.  We also met the members of a new Kenyan Christian band called "Broken Acoustic."  They are a brother-sister team.  We got to meet their family, as well, and let me tell you, they all are some of the sweetest people I've met, and love the Lord like crazy!  :-)  Check out Broken Acoustic here.

I have to say probably one of the best parts of the trip, for me -- although it was all GREAT -- was hanging out with the kids in the orphanage, especially the girls.  What a great group of kids!  Like I said, they range from 3 to 22 years old.  We (the other girl on the trip and myself) spent quite a bit of time just hanging out with them at their dorm, talking, playing games, having Bible study, taking pictures (they loved to use our cameras), and letting them fix our hair.  They just need some attention and love... and they were very curious about our lives in America.  :-)  I was very blessed and changed by the time I spent with the girls.  I really fell in love with one particular little one -- the youngest in the orphanage at 3 years old.  Wish I could bring her home with me!  :-) 

We got to go on a 3-day safari while we were in Kenya.  We went to Ol Pejeta Conservancy -- what an experience!!  We saw too many animals to list, including all of the "Big Five" except the lion.  It was so neat to be out in the midst of God's creation in wild Africa, seeing all the animals in their natural habitat. 

God is good -- He really took care of us throughout our trip.  There were times we were in dangerous or potentially-dangerous situations, but He kept us safe.  I didn't even get sick the whole time, even after coming home, which is a big deal for me, because I always get sick coming home from international trips.  Jet lag wasn't even too bad.  God gave me an amazing opportunity, and I'm SO thankful for it. 
I do hope to go back someday.  Many people have asked me that, and I say, "Yep - I'd go tomorrow!"   

Here's a slideshow of just a few of the MANY pictures from the trip.  Enjoy! 

Thanks for reading!  Please leave a comment if you visit my blog and read this, so I'll know if anyone is still reading.  :-) 
God bless! 
~Ashley

"There are no strangers,
there are no outcasts,
there are no orphans of God."

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Posted by Eyebright

It looks and sounds like you had an amazing experience! You have some wonderful pictures to help you remember it, too!

Have a very bright, very cheerful day!
Miss Eyebright

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Posted by Godsgurl93

What an amazing experience you must've had! I have a passion to do mission trips but haven't done any yet! I love your blog and would like to be friends if that's okay! God Bless!

Keysia

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