Tiwi Beach

Michelle, Lexi, Krystal and I just got back from 3 days at the coast. It was a wonderful and relaxing trip- I'm so thankful for this community of girls and how we sharpen and push one another in our walks with the Lord. The coast was absolutely breathtaking!

roomies

Abdul, with fresh coconuts

Doouranamo!

Hakunah Matata!

coral under the water

crabs walking along the banks

all the colorful kongas waving in the wind

fishing, boy had straight up skills.

Sunday sunrise

Coast of the Indian Ocean

Blue starfish!

Our friend, Tumaini

Women working hard to catch fish for their families

We rode camels. My camel's name was Abdul.

This is Hassan, one of our Kenyan friends who lives in Mombasa. He is one of the most joyful people I have ever met. He recently came to know Christ, and is a new believer! Praise God!

The whole week we were at the coast Hassan had helped us buy fish for dinner, go to the caves to explore, and we had a bonfire one night. Hassan's eagerness and hunger to know Christ more was so encouraging! Every time we talked to him he had questions about the Bible, about church, and about Christ. It was humbling to talk to him and get to share my faith and beliefs with him. I was encouraged to see how God had used our team in his life, by this time spent with him, and previously when we had spent time at Tiwi.

Sunday morning the girls woke up early to watch the sunrise and we had communion on the beach. We invited Hassan to join us. He had taken communion before, but we got to explain to him the meaning of the bread, the wine, and read scripture and prayed with him. We also gave him a devotional book to where he could grow spiritually in his personal relationship with the Lord. It was such a sweet time to pray and encourage one another. Christ literally was the only common denominator in our friendship with Hassan, but that is all we needed. He is our brother! (: God is so good, and it was a beautiful reminder that he is working and moving in the lives of all people in every nation, every city, neighborhood, and every heart. Please join us in praying for Hassan as he ministers to his friends who live on the beach with him, and as he grows in his walk with Christ.

A Look Inside

Massive trees, 100 feet in the air fill the city of Nairobi. It is a beautiful tropical jungle, colorful flowers, bushes, and greenery inhabit the streets. We are blessed to live near a horse stable, where there are gigantic trees in our back yard. The trees are taller than our house- and provide shade from the hot African sun.

Recently, the tallest tree in our backyard randomly lost a huge branch. Falling from about 100 feet from the top of the tree to the ground, our gardener, Patrick, told us about the accident. The branch fell on the wall behind our house, and thankfully no one was nearby or hurt! I honestly didn't think anything of it because it's been raining a lot recently, and I just figured the branch just wasn't strong enough or something... However, this was not the case.

Even though the tree was beautiful on the outside- covered with bright and vibrant green leaves, an enormously tall and strong trunk- this was not the case for the inside of the tree. Termites had devoured all the way up the trunk, and into the large branches that covered our house. Unbelievable! The next day, our landlord told us that there would be some workers to come and cut the tree down.

For the past day and a half, our backyard has been filled with about 20 men, repelling from our huge tree, with the loud sounds of chainsaws, branches hitting the ground hard, and sawdust flying everywhere. We even had lots of women visitors come and watch as the men cut down this impressively tall tree. Haha- it was quite the show!

But as I was thinking about how sad it was that we will no longer get to admire the beauty of this tree in our backyard, I also realized that the inside of the truck was nasty looking. Why would I want a rotten tree in our back yard? The trunk was rotting: black to the core, infested with thousands of termites, holes through and through.

Appearances are often times deceitful.

The tree, and this imagery, reminded me that as humans we tend to look at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at our hearts. Even though I thought this tree to be perfect on the outside, once I could take a closer look, I realized there was nothing good inside it.

"The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16: 7

Jesus said, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful... Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." John 15: 1-4

I realize that it probably took an extremely long time for this tree to rot, for the termites to overtake it. Much like our hearts, they begin to harden gradually as sin takes over, and eventually we will fall over without the love and grace of Christ. But Christ's love is stronger and more powerful. He heals our hearts if we simply ask him.

We must remain in him. Apart from him we can do nothing.

Our hearts require examination.

We must take delight in him for our hearts to remain soft and beautiful, dependent upon his amazing grace.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the council of the wicked

or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Whatever he does prospers. Not so the wicked!

They are like chaff that the wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,

nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish."

Psalm 1