One week count-down!

This trip always sneaks up on me! When people make their commitment by the end of January to join the Team for the current year, it seems like we have tons of time to plan and wait before the actual trip in July. And then BOOM, we're getting ready to board our plane for Kenya! That time is now upon us. Our Team of ten (five men and five women) leaves on Monday, July 14. We have four that are joining the trip for the first time and six veterans, three of whom have gone all twelve years since we started in 2013. 

This is a trip that is difficult to only go on once. It has been said that you can leave Africa but it will never leave you. It does get under your skin, and the beauty of the people and the country of Kenya does just that. We have met wonderful and amazing people there and we cherish the opportunity to get to spend this two weeks with them each summer. When Tom Wolff first investigated the ministry of Start With One Kenya (SWOK) as a potential ministry partner, he was hoping to have a mission that we could go to to build relationships by repeated visits over the years. We had done mission trips to many different places around the US, but the "relationship factor" was something that was missing when you go to a different location each year. And repeated visits give an opportunity to see positive tangible improvements where ministry efforts have been focused. 

Another reason I look forward to going back each year is that it redirects my focus. It is so easy to live in a first-world country and get the mistaken impression that everyone lives like we do. THEY DON'T. In spite of the impression you might get from the mainstream media and the discontent shown by so many, we in America live in the greatest nation on earth. We are blessed beyond measure, and I honestly don't know why. We have "progressed" to the point that all we want is more, and we have forgotten that everything we have has come from God. The Kenyan people are humble and thankful in spite of their circumstances, and they praise God for how He has blessed them. Their faith and thankfulness is amazing and humbling. I look forward to going to Kenya each year for many reasons, but a major reason is that it recharges my “gratitude quotient” and refocuses my priorities. 

Our Team this year is Steve Trandahl, Ginnie Keiser, Nina Frech, Chris Williams, Brian Ursone, Isabella Ursone, Dale Plummer, Debbie Plummer, Andi Hall and myself. Several others will be writing posts throughout our trip, but I have gotten in the habit of writing a post every day. I don't mean to speak for everyone, and the blog is from my observations and perspective, and some might not agree with everything I write. I take full responsibility for what I write so if you don't agree with something I say, don't blame others for my words.

I also don't want to offend anyone, and it's not my objective to be preachy or get overly religious, but I need to be true to what I believe. This is a team made up of Christians from six different churchess, and our charter is to go do what we can to help and "be the hands and feet of Jesus". We do what we do because we are Christians and we believe we have a moral obligation to help our brothers and sisters wherever they are. The fact that we go doesn't make us any better than anyone else, and it doesn't "earn" us anything.  Although Jesus calls us to do good works, we do them out of gratitude for His sacrifice and the grace He showed us in saving us. That’s the reason we go. There are plenty of non-Christian groups that do similar humanitarian projects, and their efforts are equally valid. The need for such efforts is huge, and there’s more than enough work to be done. There is plenty of work to be done in Kenya, and we feel the Lord has called us there. We have been blessed to work with the same group of individuals for the last eleven years, and we have established relationships with brothers and sisters there. We're thrilled to be working with them again this year.

We are blessed to be able to work through and for SWOK with Bill and Chat Coble and their team of fantastic Kenyans. They have become dear friends, and we look forward to seeing and working with them each year. When you get a chance, take a look at the SWOK website. (http://startwithonekenya.org/) If you feel so inclined, their ministry can always use funds, and you can donate easily through their site or through the link on this blog. Your funds will be used wisely. Their mission is difficult, but their philosophy is simple: Start With One. If you look around in Kenya, the possibilities are limitless but complex. Everywhere you look, there are problems and issues, and it would be easy to become overwhelmed with the magnitude of the work that needs to be accomplished to improve the lives of the people. But you're not going to get anywhere if you don't get started somewhere.

                So you Start With One -

                One problem.

                One individual.

                One school.

                One church.

                One community.

And eventually, if you keep at it, you'll change One Nation.

And you look forward and you get started. And you know what? Positive change happens, and the ball gets moved forward toward the goal. I've personally witnessed it. In the last eleven years of going to Kenya, I have seen positive progress every single year, and when I look back on the same issues and places, the improvement is phenomenal. Start With One Kenya has a multi-faceted mission, including clean water, construction, vision care, education, improved health care and access to economic opportunities. Over the two weeks that we are in Kenya, I hope to give you a window through this blog into the phenomenal work that SWOK does. Stay tuned and you'll get a chance to see how your sponsorship of this Team has helped SWOK to make a difference.

As a side note, As a side note, you'll see a sidebar on the left side of this page. You can click the "Follow" button if you'd like to receive an automatic email notification any time I publish a new blog post, and you can also leave comments to blog posts in this sidebar if you'd like. The next post won’t go up until we are on the ground in Kenya on July 15. Stay tuned!