Trip to Kenya with Yellow Rhino Minitries

Hello! I know I promised a post after the safari retreat...which technically ended on Wednesday (it is now Saturday afternoon for me). BUT after some miscommunication with the driver and trains without seats left, the high school students had to stay until Friday. But the church is putting on a big music service on Sunday, so they should stay at least until then, right? Oh, and then we have the big Christmas party on Wednesday, and it would be very helpful if they could stay until then. At their request and desire, it is kind of becoming the retreat that never ends, but it the best way ever. I'll focus just on the safari part today, and talk more about these amazing high school kids and what we have done as part of the retreat tomorrow. Maasai Mara is a Kenyan nature reserve on the border of Tanzania. In Kenya it is Maasai Mara, in Tanzania the same park is the Serengeti, and the border between the two countries is marked with a clearing of trees, but no physical boundary (it would...

For church this morning we walked to Nairobi Lighthouse Church, which was both very similar and very different to an American mega-church.  The music was very lively and included a very talented music team and dancers. Everyone attending got involved and danced, sang, and clapped along. One of the songs included the line "I give you my run!" at which point a large group started quite literally running laps around the sanctuary building! The joy of the Lord was felt by all and very alive and well at church this morning!  We learned about the gifts of the wisemen and how they showed the royalty (gold), divinity ( frankincense), and future death (myrrh) of Jesus; how we should give Him our obedience, worship, and lives. My cup was certainly filled by the Holy Spirit this morning with renewed energy to praise Him. Our last two teens arrive today, and we leave for safari bright and early in the morning! In order to remain present while there I will be making one big po...

I promise to try not to miss more days! I don't want to combine yesterday (Saturday) and today, mostly because church this morning should get it's own reflection. Saturday was pretty busy and this big house is getting very full! After a quiet breakfast (or tea, as they call it here) we started packing up the bags for the students and getting organized.  Chris and the the two teen boys who were already with us for Satari brought me to the fruit and vegetable market...think farmer's market on steroids! The boys were amazed that I don't have the ability to buy fruits like mango and pineapple fresh where I am from and that we can really only grow a few months out of the year. And this is only a very small view of what is available! We also visited Jacaranda Community , a ministry right next door to our house where women sew many amazing things to sell in order to support themselves and their children. They have bags, animals, aprons....pretty much everything tha...

After a very bumpy and not very comfortable 12+ hour flight, I made it to Nairobi! There were even some musicians there to greet me (and everyone else, I suppose). Some thank yous: To everyone who gave towards my trip. Thanks to you, I not only met but even exceeded my goal! To my parents who graciously agreed to watch Marcie an extra week when I extended my trip, and who drove me (and will pick me up, at 6am no less) to JFK, which if you know NYC airports you understand is the worst to drive to! To the ticket agent who heard the terms "mission trip" and "educational supplies" and waived the overweight fee for the bag full of supplies. To the ladies in the rows behind me who began a prayer circle (in English, Spanish, and Swahili) during the worst of the turbulence. And the pilot who got us around it and here safely! To Chris, Aisha, Salma, and their driver Kevin who picked me up at the airport and pointed out all of the animals we saw on the side of the...

Hello! A week from today I get on a verrrrrry long flight to Nairobi! So I thought I would share a little bit about where it is I am going! First, Kenya is on the eastern coast of Africa, pretty much right in the center and right on the equator. Nairobi is south of the equator, and slightly west of the center of the country. It's not quite in the mountains, as you can see, but definitely not in the lowlands either! The safari retreat will be in the Masai Mara reserve, which is kind of like a Kenyan national park. I still have a LOT of packing to do, as well as still trying to get a hang of singing in Swahili. But I am very excited this adventure is so close! ><> Carrie <><

 Ok it's slightly less than three weeks left until I leave for Kenya! So far I have... Bought flights Gotten poked and such (vaccines for travel are no joke!) Packed 1 suitcase FULL (mostly feminine products...that will be fun to explain at customs if I have to) Practiced music (some in Swahili!) Bought a bunch of things for myself and the kids And I did some math! To explain that last part... When I set out to raise funds for this trip I kind of chose an arbitrary number that I knew would be high enough but not so much of a reach that it seemed impossible. Math has never been my strong suit...neither has space awareness and packing items which is why I still have a bunch of things to pack in the SECOND suitcase that probably should go in the first one...good thing I already planned on bringing several changes of clothes and other essentials in my carry-on (🤦). I had been keeping track of donations with the help of GiveSendGo, and I knew some of the costs, but hadn't actually ...