Livia Gonzalez - Unforgettable

Dear family, parents, friends and sponsors,

    

I was told many times before our Kenya Missions trip, that when we got back we would be on fire! -yet no one would understand what we felt.  I did not realize the extent of this truth until it happened. So, for that reason, I must first apologize for not being able to grant you the emotions that I feel when recounting this experience.  However, I will try my best. 

In a nutshell, our trip to Kenya was unforgettable!  God was there in every way and our eyes were opened as we saw for ourselves what work and faith truly looks like.   I honestly believe that our experience was defined by the people we shared it with.  If it was not for Phill, Jim, Lucy, James, and the many other amazing people that helped put this all together, I know full well that this trip would not have had the impact that it did. Thank you for everyone who came!

I also guarantee that when each one of us signed up to go on this trip, we had an image in our minds of what it would be like. We imagined starving children, physical labor, sleeping in mud huts with mosquito nets, and bland food! :)  But we were wrong. Yes, we experienced some of these things, and yes we saw a definite need in the area we were in (mostly for accessible water and school finances), but what we truly saw was love.  These people didn't REALLY need our labor. They did not HONESTLY need our physical selves present there to plant trees or pass out sanitary pads.  No, they did not need us there, but they wanted us. What they REALLY need is money to finance projects and changes, but by simply being there we represented that hope of change!  They wanted nothing else but to be with us. Many would wait for hours for us to come back (if we went to town), just so that they could play with us. Others stayed up all night, hiding in the bushes, watching us talk, or sing songs, or have our daily devotional.  All they wanted from us, was us! (And occasionally our bracelets :). We did not expect these people, who we did not know, who had barely enough to get by, to open their doors to us and give us all they had!  We visited homes and were given gifts!  They gave us photos of themselves, tea, food, bracelets-anything they had!  They showered us with countless greetings, poems, songs and dances. I can not tell you the amount of times they said "welcome" or asked "how are you?"  It is a sinking feeling knowing that you have what you do simply because of where you were born.  This raises questions. "How could God let this happen to these people?"  "Why are more people not trying to help them?"  "What can I possible do to chance anything?"   One thing that I learned while on this trip, is that God is sufficient.   God is big enough, and knowledgeable enough, and strong enough, and loving enough to satisfy all needs.  I saw that there! Because of our trip alone, many students were financed for a semester or a year, many girls were sponsored through the sanitary pads project, two water tanks were put up in SOAR Kenya's school grounds, hundreds of trees were planted, a drip irrigation system was set in place, three other projects were brainstormed and started (water Kiosk, shower project, and the chicken project), traveler developed a stronger relationship with Christ as their personal Savior, and Phill Klamm discovered his passion and calling to move to Kenya for a year with his family!  God is sufficient.   

I tell you all of this because I want you...I need you to know that God is in Kenya!  These people are in desperate need for your attention and aid.  They need your prayers, and yes, they also need your financial support.  Let God use you!  Whether you feel called to travel there and help some day, pledge yourself to sponsor a child, or simply just keep Kenya in your prayers, God is sufficient, and He will use you!  I know;  I've seen it!  

Our Kenya missions trip was more than words!  It was an experience that I will never forget, nor ever be capable of recreating.  I will, however have memories, and these memories will keep me hungry to help, and desperate in prayer. More than anything I have learned that I CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!  God is sufficient. He has used me, and that felt good!  

In Christ,

      Livia