Today, I'm missing a lot of people.

I miss Shallom. The most beautiful singer you've ever heard.

I miss Tressy. Her laugh could make anyone instantly smile.

I miss Margaret and Esther. Their hugs made me feel at home.

I miss Catherine and Rachel. Two beautiful girls with beautiful dreams.

I miss Susan and my team of hairstylists.

I miss Telvin and his perfect smile, missing tooth and all.

I miss the hilarious teachers that taught me so much about life.

I miss Chiza and her eyes that could melt my heart.

While I miss these beautiful people and children more and more everyday, I am not sad because I know I will see them all again very soon. I will be with some of them this upcoming summer and I will be with some of them in the duration of my life and lastly, I will see ALL of them in Heaven. I'm so thankful for the life that God has given me. I actually can't believe that THIS is the life that He has chosen for me. He is so unbelievably good. This verse has never range truer in my entire life.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this
Psalm 37:4-5

Sometimes you think you know what you want for your life and you just hope that God will give it to you, but in the long run - God knows your heart better than you do. He will bring things in your life that you never thought you could love or spend your life doing and then in a single moment, He will change every. single. thing. He will make your heart literally BEAT for His purposes, His children and the things He loves. It can be scary, overwhelming and sometimes even not very much fun but ALL of the time it's AMAZING. All of the time it's perfect and all of the time it's His will. I'm so thankful to have a Father that knows me better than I know myself.

Crissy

Everything I need is You.

So finals are over and I finally have a chance to relax, slow down and just take a minute to not worry about anything. Most importantly, I finally have time to talk about what I've been wanting to talk about for the past week.


Africa.

Recently, I started reading another blog of a fellow africa-lover, Katie Davis and while I had heard of this incredible young woman before, I never really researched what exactly her life looked like. I encourage you to take some time out of your day and read about how she is choosing to live the words of our Savior.

But more than being inspired by her, more than being convicted by her and more than wanting to be just like her -- I am more intoxicated with my Father than I have been in a very long time.

To me, moving to Africa as a single woman isn't crazy, scary or even gross. It's actually hard for me to understand why other people don't want to do the exact same thing. And it's not because I'm some great human being or am so self-sacrificing, I am the opposite of those things. In fact the first time I left for Africa almost two years ago, I wasn't even as close to being as excited or ready as I should have been, I actually thought that I already KNEW everything that the Father could teach me about mission work because of my previous time spent in Mexico and Jamaica.


I've never been more wrong about any situation in my entire life.


Jesus changed my entire life on that trip. Changed it forever. After that trip, I could never again ignore the very apparent calling that God placed on my life. That does not mean that over the past two years, I haven't tried to ignore it. See the difference? As I went back to Kenya this past summer, I knew what going back meant. Warfare. Spiritual and with my flesh. Going back with the perspective of coming back forever meant that the "gross things" or "dirty things" or "hard things" wouldn't just last for two weeks, but that they would last for my lifetime. I know my flesh pretty well and I know that I LOVE the idea of serving God in every part of my life (who doesnt?) but when it comes to the point of Him showing me what it is He wants me to do...well I'm really really good at running away from every single point of it.

So here we are. December 2011. This time a year ago is when I started planning to go back for a couple weeks during the summer and this Christmas break I will start planning my trip for this upcoming summer. Hopefully an entire month this time. I am starting to plan with a much heavier heart this year.

For the past couple years, I've had COUNTLESS talks with every person I know, Christians and non-Christians about what being a missionary looks like. And it almost always inspires one of the following responses; "wow, good for you", "I could never do that full time", "wow that must be hard, it'll be easier once you're married."

Really encouraging to a single woman who feels called to go now, isn't it? And I know that no one ever meant to be discouraging or put down not just my dreams, but what God has willed my heart to beat for, but that doesn't make the fears I have brewing inside seem less validated. Satan wants me to validate those fears but I won't.

Following God's call on your life does not mean including stipulations of your own. And let me tell you, I really like putting stipulations on God's plan for me. Okay God that's great, being a missionary? No problem. Being a missionary a lone? ...well I'll get married first and then go. Be a missionary in Africa? Of course. Be a missionary in a place in Africa that's in the middle of nowhere without electricity, toilets and a place to wash my clothes? ...Well maybe after in the really nice parts for a while, I'll visit the worse off ones.

You see...I already want to call this plan "crazy" and I already want to say that I'll easily be a "part time" missionary but who knows about "full time" and I definitely want to say "Ill become full time after I get married."

But the only thing that these phrases do is place doubt in the God of the universe, the God that captures my heart daily and the God that loves me unconditionally. Whether I believe it not (and I do), He knows better than me.

So for today, I'm choosing to believe that not only and am I called to do His work for the rest of my life, I am called to do it right now. What that will look for my life in the coming months, I'm not sure of yet. But I do know that I'm ready, I've been ready for so long.

I don't want anything else this world has to offer, He is EVERYTHING I need.

All my delight is in YOU Lord,
Crissy

This is it.

Well it's 5:03 PM and we are officially done with ministry and everything we came to do. 

It's so crazy being in this place. Our two weeks in Kenya are over and in 6 short hours, we will board a plane for home.

Devastated is putting it lightly.

The beautiful thing about being this heavy hearted is that it must mean that God has given me a burden for not only missions but Kenya. I have met without a doubt the most amazing people on the planet here and I know our relationship won't end with this. But it doesn't make the sadness any sweeter. Coming back a second time was SUCH a blessing because I never even thought I would come to Africa in the first place. God is so incredibly faithful in His love for me. I literally have been planning this trip for a YEAR and now it's over. I never thought this day would come slash I never wanted it to. 

My heart is so heavy right now....I know that's very clear but I just can't emphasize it enough. I am literally on the verge of tears every 5 minutes. God has done things on this trip that I never expected and I am so unbelievably grateful to the people of Kenya for showing me what it really means to follow Jesus. 

I can't write much more without crying but when I get home I promise to be an open book so you will come with me next year :) thank you to everyone who helped me get here! 

Hating goodbyes,
Crissy 

Lions and Elephants and Zebras....OH MY!!!

Well my blogs have been a little confusing! The one I just posted was actually from yesterday...oops! So here is todays update!

On Sunday, we went to church at Mt. Kenya Baptist and then headed out to Timau Orphanage. It is an all boys orphanage and pretty spectacular to say the least! You can see Mt. Kenya almost perfectly and the surrounding area looks like something out of the sound of music! Everything is green and lush and absolutely beautiful. Being out there makes it literally impossible for me to not believe in our maker. We decided to head in for lunch with the boys after they finished church! They them sang amd danced for us! My favorite African tradition is the way they welcome visitors. Always a blessing to try to serve and then get blessed 10 fold in return. We played 4 corners inside because it was raining and it was a HOOT! The boys(and 2 girls that joined) absolutely had a blast playing it! Susan was the older girl and seemed shy was actually really smart and almost won a few times! I got out the first time on every round! Little Claire who couldn't have been older than 3...was laughing the entire time. She was hilarious. After the games we decided to walk the property and look at the river. Purity and Benson are the married couple who are the main caretakers of the boys and they do a phenomenal job. The boys were so well behaved but also just really kind hearted. You could see that these people were really humble servants of the Lord. I loved it.

After that we went back to the house and ate AMERICAN food of burgers, fries, broccoli, apple pie amd brownies! Nom. Nom. Nom. Thanks to Abby and Andrew for being so incredibly hospitable! The Daniels came over for dinner too and we got to talk with them most of the night! Jerry and Sherry Daniels have been missionaries for 38 YEARS to Africa! And boy was that such a blessing for me to get to hear from them and just fellowship!

Today was SUCH a cool day. We went out on safari THREE times!! We saw(are you ready for this list?!) elephants, zebras, heartbeasts, warthogs, baboons, chimps, rhinos, a blind rhino, gazelles, impalas, THREE LIONS, hyenas, water buffalos, giraffes, jackals and so much more that my camera will show later. But WOW! Our God is so extremely cool! The beautiful ways that he has shaped these creatures is so incredible...I could literally stare at them all day long. I'm so thankful that he not only created these animals but that we get to enjoy them! The elephants are by far my favorites! I just wish I could ride one! Haha but seriously....being back in Africa a lone is an answer to prayer but getting this perk is like the biggest cherry on top of the biggest Sunday in the world.

In awe of my Creator and His creation,
Crissy

Thankful.

I am so sorry that I haven't updated in 4 entire days! I have been sick for the last two and haven't had much energy to 1)blog and 2)do anything worth blogging about! But I will start with Thursday night(the 9th)

Thursday we arrived in Nanyuki at our missionaries house, Andrew and Abby Lettsome! They have lived in Nanyuki for 6 months and been married for almost two years. We had a few minutes at their house until we were going to head to the orphanage. We were going to head out to Naibor orphanage which is about 45 minutes outside of Nanyuki. We were going to stay the night. I had some ideas of what an orphanage in Kenya would look like since I had been to some in Mexico, Jamaica and Uganda but once we got there, I realized that I had no idea what to expect. When we arrived there all of the buildings were literally made out of mud and wood with tin roofs. We played some games with the kids, most of which spoke only swahili. It was a lot of fun but pretty heartbreaking because even though these kids are better off than they would be on their own, flies covered their feet and most parts of their heads. They also have snot running out of their nose, and very few of them(especially the babies) have any shoes. It was a lot to take in and still makes my stomach sick to think about it. After a little bit of games we decided to go get water with them for the day. We had to walk a little less than a 1/4th of the river to collect water for day and night. This was very....hard to understand I guess. Americans have water ready at any given moment, coming out of a sink or a dishwasher or water hose. These children have to travel every single day to the river and fill up huge jugs with water...water that isnt even clean. What a blessed life I lead. After water, it was getting dark so we headed back and the kids decided to sing and dance for us. They presented a lot of really fun songs and then asked us to do the same! SCARY! We had not prepared anything so it was very interesting...but we just sang hillsong and I hope that it was good enough! :) At this time it was about 8 pm and time for dinner. Because electricity is not really out in Naibor, we ate dinner in basically the dark. There was one lantern in the room for all of us to eat by...what a crazy we thing that we take for granted! I never even realized that I get to eat dinner in the LIGHT! I get to do everything at nightime IN THE LIGHT! What a simple blessing that they dont even enjoy...After dinner we were all extremely exhausted and decided to head in for the night. Me, Megan and Morgan slept in the babies room and it was precious. One twin bed was split between 4 toddlers. Once again, this is a better life than they would lead without their parents but still makes me want to scoop them up and give them something more.

I woke up the next day to the sound of sloshing water, which was the head mom in the room washing the little girls and boys! It was basically a tub of water and soap and each kid got in there and washed off their arms, legs and head. This is absolutely better than no bath at all but I'm sure doesn't clean the areas that little children need the most. When we were up and around the next day, most of the children were still wearing the same clothes that they wore the day before.

I spent most of Friday(the 10th) being sick and not being involved. But we went to a school in Naibor and it was humbling to say the least. It was definitely the worst of the schools we had seen so far, but the teachers were still hungry with tons of questions! What a blessing to know that they were still hungry for education! Friday night me and Morgan slept our entire lives away because we both didn't feel good!

In grace, thankfulness and abounding peace,
Crissy

Chiza, Anne, Joy, Terry, Jen and Susan.

Today was our last day at World Hope Academy.

To say that I'm sad is an understatement.

Our morning was spent with the teachers again! This time we were able to make teaching aides or posters of pictures out of the kids textbook. We had already made about 11 this morning and the teachers were freaking out. They asked us if we had even slept the night before. You don't realize that they don't have a teachers tools right around the corner to visit to pick up any poster that they need. Luckily we had Megan and Michael who were our MVPs! They could absolutely draw every single thing that the teachers needed them to. The teachers even gave Megan a standing ovation and a pat on the back for her great work! While we were drawing we got to spend some more time talking to the teachers. We found out that one of them, Sarah is 8 months pregnant but she really doesn't look bigger than 6! The women also told Josh, our leader, that men really love their wives in the states and its not like that in Africa. Then one of the other guy teachers stood up quickly and said that not all African men are like that and that he loves his wife very much!

After some tea and more poster making, we decided to start covering some more books. It was such a blessing to get to serve the teachers and school so much because they told us that these things would not happen if we were not there. It really made me appreciate all the resources that were available for me growing up!

We took a little break from being in the teachers lounge and played with the kids outside! It was a beautiful day and they were full of energy! we got some really sweet pictures from today because everyone was so warmed up to all of us that they literally FLOOD us when we come over to them. They have fights over hands and get angry if they don't get to hold on. Boy do I feel LOVED! If this is a little piece of God's love, I want to soak in every single minute! We decided to start painting nails again because the girls were asking about it. But first we got to paint the teachers nails! They absolutely LOVED that! You can tell that getting their nails painted was obviously not a normal occurrence for them. Jackie, one of the teachers asked me if I was a manicurist or pedicurist back in the states. HA! hardly I told her. I'm not good at painting nails at all. Sarah, the pregnant teacher also seemed to enjoy having nail polish and made sure to tell me what spots I missed. After the teachers, we went outside to paint the girls that we hadn't gotten to yesterday. McKenna, one of the girls in Class 1, showed me her sparkly nails after school too...so it seemed like she was a fan! Easily one of my favorite parts.

For the major part of the afternoon, we covered some more books and finished posters that we hadn't finished yet. We also took the time to take pictures with our favorite teachers and Sarah even let me get one touching her belly! The teachers thought it was hilarious how obsessed we were with Sarah and her pregnancy. We told her she could eat a big lunch because she was eating for two and the entire room started laughing! I wonder what it would be like being pregnant amd having a child in Kenya. Be praying for Sarah because she is due next month.

As the day came to a close, we finished off with dancing! My favorite! We went over fresh a few more times and then we had the students that could do it the best come up to the front and perform for us! After we went over it a few more times, the head teacher picked students from EVERY single class to come do it for everyone in the school! Talk about scary. But every single grade level did phenomenal! The first graders had some trouble but they could sing the words to me even if they didn't know the dance and that was pretty precious in itself.

I had to say bye to Chiza, Anne, Joy, Terry, Jen and Susan along with the other 394 students at World Hope...it broke my heart in a way that I could never explain but I know God will make a way for me to come back(hopefully for longer than 2 weeks).

In extreme gratitude,
Crissy

The trouble with love is....

Today was grand. I know I feel that about everyday I'm here but each day, I learn something new.

We spent all morning with the teachers at the World Hope Academy, which seemed to be a little scary at first and it ended up being one of the best experiences for all of us I think. They wanted us to help out with teaching aides and how to use them in their classrooms. The teachers were very open to our suggestions and seemed to be genuinely interested in what we were saying! We were able to give them some tips on how Americans do things in the classroom that went a long with what they were already teaching. This was definitely a stretching moment for all of us I think because even though it was fun  to get to share our ideas, it was intimidating and at times a little overwhelming. This was good for us though to be put out of comfort zone, it pushed us to really think and try to help. They definitely asked us some tough questions and I'm personally very thankful for that! 

During the kids lunch break, me and Morgan decided to open up a mini nail salon on the courtyard. Girls were lining up in the 10s and 20s. It was such a sweet moment. We got to make them feel a little like the princesses that they really are. The princesses that God sees them as. 

After lunch, the teachers decided that we would go teach in their classrooms. Once again, God was stretching us in such a beautiful way!  Katherine, one of the teachers pulled me aside and told me to come teach her students arithmetic! I was immediately scared because of course I didn't want to mess things up! Instead it went incredibly well! She had me use flashcards to teach them addition. So we got them into two lines and and had a competition between each team. To say the kids loved it is an understatement. They were so passionate about getting the right answer that it made them excited about learning. I got a little taste of what being an educator in Kenya is all about and while the kids have so much energy....I think I could handle it! Maybe. I had brought a bag of candy and decided to give two pieces to the winning team and one piece to the losing team so nobody would feel left out. What I wasn't expecting was the teachers reactions to the candy. They all wanted some too! They were incredibly blessed by the fact that they got candy! The teachers had some of the kindest hearts I had ever experienced. So grateful for such a small gift of candy. Something that we Americans eat whenever we feel like it and to these teachers it was almost a delicacy. It's weird how handing out candy can teach you so much. 

Lastly we spent some time with the students going over the dance from yesterday and then talking to the teachers. They all interviewed us about our dating lives and our ages. They found out I was single and immediately started trying to get me married off to some of the guy teachers! Watch out momma! Haha 

But it's our 3rd full day in Kenya and I'm still in love. The trouble with love is that it doesn't care how fast you fall. I fell in love with Kenya quickly and powerfully. I'm so in love with Kenya and it breaks my heart that I'll only be here for a week and half longer. Seems like forever but I know it will go by shortly. I have so much joy in knowing that I'll be back! Its not even a question anymore. I'm so thankful for such a faithful Father! He spoils me with His blessings even when I don't deserve it. 

Drowning in His grace, 
Crissy 

Full of rich joy.

Today was as close to perfect as I think I'll ever get in my lifetime.

We woke up bright and early to head out to the World Hope Academy for our day filled with kids! When we arrived there, they were having an assembly and all of our hearts immediately melted. 400 precious kiddos waving at you is hard to not fall in love with. The headmaster was going over the schedule for the day while we took a million pictures of their beautiful faces. They were then released to their classrooms and we got the opportunity to visit all of the classes and introduce ourselves! Me and Morgan decided to go together and we started in class 1, which is about the equivalent to kindergarten and first grade. They range in age from around 4 to 6. Let me tell you they were energetic! They loved touching our cameras, hands and anything else that they could grab! It didn't matter though because I promise one look into those perfect little eyes and you'll be healed of anything you've got. We then decided to head up to class 2, they wre incredibly shy but throughout the day they warmed up to us! White people are always overwhelming I'm sure! Haha. Next we went to the CRAZIEST class by far! Class 3. They were absolutely ecstatic to have us visiting! We asked if any of them liked to dance and their teacher, Miss Katherine, had them ALL get up and do at least 4 or 5 songs/dances for us. It was an absolute blast because they were so uninhibited and wanted to do everything. The last class we visited was class 7, this is equivalent to 7th grade with kids that are 12 and 13 years old. They were trying to be shy at first but after some time we got to talk with a lot of them. I got to spend some sweet time with 3 girls especially, Rachel, Nelly and Catherine. Rachel wants to be a model when she grows up which made perfect sense because she's absolutely gorgeous! Nelly wants to be a traveling doctor, she was really excited to save lives, she's extremely smart too...so that should work out well! And Catherine wants to be a pilot! They all have big dreams, please keep them in your prayers!

After class time, me and Morgan got dominated in a game of soccer even though I did manage to score one goal! I have to be honest...I think they let me do it though. Then we got a chance to serve the school by covering books. This is one of my favorite thing about mission trips, because everyone can play with kids and not complain but when you're with people who sit in a hot room stapling plastic to books for 2 hours and don't say a word, it's pretty beautiful to witness that type of humility.

We spent the last part of the day with the entire student body except for class 1 who was napping! Precious. From 2-3 PM we had rotating game stations in which mine was duck, duck, goose! My groups absolutely loved chasing each other! The very last thing we did was DANCE!!! I taught them a dance that I learned from f2b(my dance team at A&M). The dance is to fresh by tedashii, I had to change some of the moves to make it easier for them. Even though teaching 400 kids a dance at once was pretty daunting, it went very well! Even the headmaster admitted his surprise at how well the kids behaved. I saw a couple of them doing the dance on their way to class and it was PRECIOUS!

After school we headed over to Rich and Joy's house! And boy was that house full of rich joy! Rich is a British school teacher and Joy is Kenyan. They have two beautiful daughters named Kasy(pronounced like Cassie), 2 and Abby, 4. They were the coolest little girls in the world, they had a mix of a Kenyan and British accent which was AWESOME and Abby seemed to really enjoy hanging out with us! I loved her. Joy made us a wonderful dinner with an apple cake for dessert...literally best thing of my entire life! We then did another one of my favorite things about mission trips...sat around the table and talked for hours. I absolutely LOVE learning everything about people's lives amd people from Kenya are so genuine and open that they will answer anything you ask. Me and Joy got to have our own conversation later about why I felt called to missions and then about human video/dance ministry. She has some interns at the church that she works with who are scared to go on missions and she thinks that human videos would be really great for their ministry. I had such a sweet time talking with Joy and we definitely both left the conversation wishing it could go on longer. We already decided that I would be back next year and teach a human video to her interns! She was so encouraging it was incredible.

All in all today was a phenomenal day. Being here and having these moments just re-emphasizes to me that this is what God has made me to do. I dont find more joy than I do when I'm here. Gosh, God is good.

In His perfect love,
Crissy

You're the God of this city.

Well our first official day of Kenya is over! It's about 9:00 PM as I begin writing tonight's blog and it's embarrassing how exhausted I am this early! But hey...that's jetlag!

Anywho! We had a pretty wonderful day today. We headed up to Kwalengare(sp?) for church at the Hope Center and right when we pulled up we were greeted by a group of young boys with big smiles on their faces for us. As we walked into church, the walls were already shaking! This church LOVED to dance! Once we got into the second song, the voices got louder and the dancing even wilder! Definitely right up me and megans alley! :) the worship was absolutely wonderful. We got to sing some Kenyan songs and while we didn't understand the words, we could sense God's presence just as much as everyone else in the church. It was pretty beautiful. Our pastor was literally the funniest human ever, while also being extremely charismatic. He was challenging and convicting without being condemning, it was pretty phenomenal to witness that type of passion. The church was so hungry for His word and their love for our Jesus was very apparent.

After church we had a little photo session with some mischevious boys outside the church and then headed to the slum that was behind the church. It's pretty crazy to go back into a slum expecting and knowing what it will be like. At the same time, I don't ever want to become numb to the devastation that lives in these slums. We had two awesome tour guides, Kish amd Giant(aka Isaac) who gave us the 411 on every part of the slum. What is hard to grasp is that this is a place we were visiting for a week...but to them, well this is their life. Being thankful doesn't even do what were feeling justice. But something that the pastor said, is that through all this pain and poverty, there is a God of this city. Bigger things have yet to come for Nairobi and all of Kenya. While speaking of this place will never give you a real picture, I hope it draws you to action. It sure does make me want to make a difference. It's easy to feel small or get overwhelmed by a slum with upwards of a million people...I just have to cling to the fact that God is bigger. And that He's got every precious person living in these slums on His heart. But that will also make me draw even close to their beautiful faces and hearts.

That's all for tonight, we have an early morning!

In His overflowing grace,
Crissy

WE MADE IT!

So after one 10 hour flight, a 3 hour layover in Amsterdam, another 8 hour flight and being in airport traffic for an hour...we finally made it to our wonderful guesthouse!!

We all probably slept a little too long on the plane so tomorrow is going to come quickly but were all so excited that its gonna be hard to sleep!

It's pretty phenomenal how quick the brain remembers, the sights, sounds and smells are all so familiar to me. It's so weird amd crazy to be back here again! My heart just seems to be at rest when I'm here. Our guesthouse is literally right across the street from Kibera and seeing it again...even in the nighttime was absolutely mind-blowing. It almost brought me to tears just because I have such fond memories of that place. I know the people sleeping in that slum tonight are probably scared for their lives and are praying for a miracle. But I also know that they have some of the greatest joy in the entire world because they even have someone like our Father in Heaven to pray to...it's so encouraging to be so close to people that I've been so far away from for an entire year!

Anyways, we have church in the morning then some bargaining at the Maasai market :) we are so pumped to have our first full day in Kenya!
Keep us all in your prayers, Me, Morgan, Megan, Michael, Kendon and Josh!

In His great love,
Crissy

Though I'm not worthy.

In about 30 minutes we will be 1 day and 15 hours from departure! I absolutely GIDDY about going back to Africa! This blog was originally started for the first time that I traveled to Kenya and Uganda...never in a million years did I think that I would have the opportunity to go back! But of course our Faithful Savior always has bigger and better plans than we even have for ourselves.

Anywho, I got to have a really sweet time with Jesus this evening where I just sat on my back porch and hung out, read His Word and just soaked Him in. And Ive been so caught up in being in awe of how big God is(which He is ever so big) that I forgot how small I was! I forgot to be thankful. I mean I've absolutely been incredibly overjoyed the way that God has provided literally EVERY SINGLE PENNY for this trip but I forgot that I am not worthy. I'm not worthy of His beautiful, encompassing love -- much less His blessing to get to send His gospel to the world. YET, He is choosing me, equipping me and blessing me beyond my wildest dreams. I don't even know how to explain a moment like that. A moment when you really understand how unworthy we really are, yet how deserving God treat us. The way He blesses my life, you would think I am so faithful always and am constantly intentionally pursuing every single thing that it means to be a follower of Christ. I mean I definitely do my best, but my best falls so incredibly short of what it would mean to receive very small blessing from our Father. But for some unimaginable reason, He chooses to treat me in a way that 1) I will never be able to earn(thank God i don't need to) and 2) in a way I'll never understand(good think I don't need to do that either). I just really had such a moment of awe tonight....I'm so incredibly overjoyed that my Daddy loves me but I'm even more thankful that He loves me greater than any person on the planet when I dont deserve an ounce of it.

In the end...I know God thinks I'm worth it. And that's so encouraging to me when I really dwell on it. I am so so so so PSYCHED for this trip and I know that our magnificent Savior is going to literally rock the world of everyone going...I. Can't. Wait.
I just wanted to share my heart with y'all tonight!

In His infinite mercy,
Crissy

2 WEEKS!

I cannot believe I'm here again! I am leaving for Africa in less than 2 weeks.

Excited literally does not even begin to put what I'm feeling into words. This place that I love so much, that always weighs so heavily on my heart...I get to go there again? It doesn't make sense that I should be so lucky.

I just got off the phone with Shawn Koonce who is the founder of the Tin Roof Society, the organization that were going with and he just got me FREAKING OUT with excitement. This trip is going to be a mostly educational trip, we are going in schools and orphanages and slums to really be a light where there is none. A lot of these kids will have no future without a school system and we are so blessed that God is going to use us in that.

I am honestly standing in awe of God when I think about this trip because I am so incredibly blessed that I get to go to Kenya...again. God has absolutely provided for this trip and I know that He is going to keep doing so. He has taken care of EVERY single step and it has made my faith grow so much. I encourage you to consider coming to this beautiful place one day, it is absolutely impossible to come here and not leave changed.

To describe the love that God has for this place is impossible, His heart is so big for His children in Kenya. I know this because He has purposefully made a way for people to go and has prepared BEAUTIFUL things to happen there. My heart is literally about to jump out of my chest with excitement because it truly feels whole when I am there.

Lastly, since we will be dealing so heavily with schools there are a lot of supplies that we would love to get donated! Please let me know if you would be willing to donate and I will come pick it up! :)

SUGGESTED THINGS TO BRING FOR THE SCHOOL:

• Compasses
• Protractors
• Pencils (please no mechanical)
• Math Flashcards (try the Target $1 Section)
• Stickers
• Posters:
o Addition/ Subtraction
o Human body
o Positive Quotes
o Cells
o Bible Verses
*If possible, have them laminated so they will last longer, VERY colorful; doesn’t
have to be big- what ever can fit in luggage.

For the Teachers: 2011 Day Planners

Thank you SO much!

Blessings,
Crissy

Sweet Surrender.

In these final moments of school, I'm starting to get out of my school train of thought and onto my Kenya train of thought. I would obviously much rather think about Kenya all the time but I need to glorify God in this place where God has put me.

This past month has been....hard. My relationship with God this semester was transformed, renewed and absolutely redeemed. I got to a place with Jesus that I had never been to before and it was beautiful. In that time of intimacy with my Father, the enemy came at his strongest. So this month has been weird too. My relationships are struggling, my schoolwork is struggling and my thoughts are getting distracted with things of this world. I know that Jesus is better and that there's more, but I got lost in things that didn't matter.

So now I'm here. Upset with people close to me, angry with myself. Feeling like I am in some sort of funk, and then there's this marvelous light at the end of my tunnel. A light called Kenya that is ulimately a reflection of my Jesus. He's showing me that there's more and that Kenya is only a small picture of it. I know that I will spend my life serving Jesus all over the world and these valleys are a sign of what's to come. That if I don't absolutely, wholeheartedly pursue Jesus in moments where EVERYTHING and EVERYONE is telling me not to, then I won't pursue Him when everything is going perfectly. So today I surrender, and it's sweet. My yoke is heavy and burden is not light but that's what my Christ is there. He loves me in a way that no one has and no one will and He will carry me. I'm sorry it's so long but it's my heart. I'm ready for Kenya and I'm ready for Him.

I hope this video brings you well, it's my lifesong at the moment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1nHz-kSiNw

In His ridiculous grace,
Crissy

EXACTLY ONE MONTH FROM THE TRIP!

Today is May 3rd which means we leave a month from today for Kenya!!

I am obviously freaking out to go back to such a beautiful face. The Lord is seriously ALL over this trip. Every moment that I have wanted to stress about money or something not being provided, God seriously ROCKS my world and provides to the max. If there was any question on whether I should go this year, it's thrown out the window because the Lord keeps confirming it in my life and everyone else's. I am so excited about experiencing this with all new people and going all new places.

Although I am pretty close to my goal, I am not there yet and I know that Morgan, Megan and Michael haven't made it to their goals either so if you would like to join with us in prayer or financially, we would be SO thankful!

To help us monetarily you can send a check, email me for the address; renee22000@hotmail.com
Or you can buy a t-shirt for $20!
They have this verse on them "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news." Romans 10:15
Thank you for reading, please keep us in your prayers!

Crissy

The ball is ROLLING!

Well we are 4 months out and it is CRAZY how fast this trip is going to come! With the challenges of school, my dance team, LIFE, and everything, this trip planning can get SO stressful! But thank God(literally) because He is so faitful and taking care of us every day! This blog is going to be a prayer list/list of needs so feel free to read and pray or read and donate! Thank you ALL for your thoughts and support!

-Prayer for trip!
-Donations of clothes and toys for people there!
-Financial support for the missionaries going on this trip.
-We will be having a Benefit Concert at Muldoons, a coffee shop in College Station and to make this happen we will need; donated artwork, donated craft baskets, donated items to be auctioned off, anything that could be made or put together to be sold in an auction!
-We definitely need prayer for this event as well!
-Any and all fundraising ideas would be wonderful :)

I will present an updated list of prayer requests and needs whenever they come up!

Once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Blessings,
Crissy Cano && the rest of the Kenya Team