Adventuring to Crescent Island

Hello all! I have officially been in Kenya for two weeks now, and I have done so much! It has been great meeting some of the staff here at RVA, and getting my house set up. I have taken tons of pictures and done tons of things - too much to write about it all here.

I thought today that I would share pictures from my trip to Crescent Island on Lake Naivasha. Crescent Island is where much of the film "Out Of Africa" was filmed. And when they were making the movie, they brought in animals to make it seem more African. The animals were left at the end of production, and now it is an animal park that you can walk around on. 

Crescent Island on Lake Naivasha

We took a boat ride over to the island so that we could see some hippos along the way. So, without further ado, the pictures:

Katie and Carolyn ready for the boatride

Waterbuck grazing by the lake

A hippo checking out the boat as it passes 

I saw a hippo!

Crescent Island

Another shot of the island and the lake

A herd of wildabeests

Zebra grazing in front of acacia trees

More wildabeests and zebras

Can you find the giraffes hiding in the trees?

There they are!

1 month old giraffe

A couple more giraffes eating from the trees. 

Katie watching the giraffes

Me with Mt. Longonot in the background

An impala skull

Another shot of the lake from the island

It was a fantastic trip out to the island, and very fun to adventure before the craziness of the term begins. I am working on getting lesson plans ready and watching auditions to select the choir members for this year.

Thanks for reading, and I will post again soon with more adventures!

Day 1

Good Morning from Nairobi Kenya! After 20 plus hours of travel, I made it to the Guesthouse in Nairobi around midnight last night. A hot shower and a comfortable bed were such welcome comforts.

Courtyard at the Guesthouse in Nairobi

This morning I am feeling awake and refreshed and ready to head out to Kijabe and Rift Valley Academy. We will make a quick stop for some shopping before the hour and a half drive to the school. I will try and post a longer blog after getting settled and (hopefully) getting some good photos of the school and my apartment.

Thank you for the prayers for safe and easy travel. Love to you all!

The Final Countdown

You guys! It's August! Which means I am just DAYS away from boarding a plane and flying to my home for the next year in Kijabe, Kenya.

These past few months of preparation have just flown by and now I am checking the final few things off my to-do list. Last minute shopping, preparing my traveling documents, and mentally preparing for a huge life change.

The great news is:

I'm 100% Funded

It is such an amazing thing to have raised my full amount in just 2 months. And I want to say thank you for all the contributions and support. You are amazing people.

I have really cherished this summer at home with my family and friends here in the Pacific Northwest, and it has helped prepare me for this next year away from home.

All I can really be is excited for the adventure I am about to have and the people I am about to meet. Again, thank you for being with me on this journey, and I look forward to share my adventures and stories with you.

Please pray for:

• Safe traveling. 
• Good rest in these next few days. 
• That my luggage arrives in Kenya at the same time that I do. 
• Great time getting settled in to my new community before the students arrive. 

#KenyaBound!

There and back again

Yesterday afternoon I flew back into SeaTac airport from Peachtree City, Georgia. As I mentioned, this past week I was at the AIM headquarters for Connect Week. Heading into the week, I was excited to meet people going through the same process in preparing to serve on the mission field in Africa, and learn a lot of helpful information for this next year.

I met a lot of absolutely amazing people who have been called by Jesus to reach unreached peoples in different areas of Africa. They are from all walks of life, areas of the United States and each one has a very personal story of their faith journey. It was such a blessing to hear testimonies from each of them about how God has led them to this exact point. I also met all of the wonderful people in the home office of Africa Inland Mission. They said at the beginning of the week that it is not just an organization, it is a family. And by the end of the week, we all felt like a family. It seemed as though I had know all of them for so long, not just five days, and it was hard to say goodbye. The good news is that we will all be able to keep in touch on social media, and hopefully see each other at some point during our service with AIM.

Golf Cart Party!

Another thing that was fantastic this week was all the information I learned - about AIM, serving in Africa, and myself. There is still so much that I have to process and unpack, but I feel so much more ready, spiritually, to go and serve this next year. One thing that I know, Jesus has called me and it's through Jesus that I will find my strength to be in relationship and disciple the students at RVA.


Thank you so much for continuing to support me on this journey. I have a few prayer requests:

Music Prep - I have a bit more work to do in preparation for being a choir and strings teacher: meeting with my former teachers, picking out music, brushing up on my viola skills, etc. Please pray that I will be dedicated and feel prepared enough in the next month before leaving.

Packing - I do need to start thinking about packing (only 2 bags) for the next year - figuring out the things I need to bring and some decorations to make my apartment feel like home.

Emotional prep - It is starting to become very real that I am moving to another continent for a year. In just over 6 weeks I will be landing in Nairobi, Kenya and making the trek up to my home for the next year in Kijabi at Rift Valley Academy. While I am so excited, it is a big move and I am a little nervous and sad about leaving my friends and family here at home. I would love prayers that I feel ready and that I have had enough time with people here in the states before leaving.

The streets of Nairobi

Only 43 Days to go!!!

Connect Week

Greetings from the Emerald City! That's right - I'm coming to you LIVE (okay, not really live) from the beautiful city of Seattle. I'm at my sister's condo, enjoying an episode of The West Wing before catching my flight that will take me to Georgia tonight.

What's happening in Georgia, you ask? Connect Week at Africa Inland Mission's headquarters. I will meet with AIM staff and other people about to head out to serve in different areas of Africa. There are different sessions on things like "Heathy Living in Africa", "Communications", "Spiritual Warfare", as well as one-on-one sessions and daily devotionals.  I am excited to meet the people at AIM whom I have been emailing the past couple months, and I'm excited to meet other people who are at the same point in their journey as I am.

Today has not quite gone as planned, though. I was supposed to already be in Georgia right now. However, when I got to the airport this morning (at 6:00 am) I found out that my flight had been cancelled, and I had been rescheduled to a red-eye flight. Now I will be getting in tomorrow morning, with just enough time to take a nap before Connect Week begins. The good news is that I got to enjoy a beautiful Pacific Northwest Day at Alki Beach with my sister.

I am looking forward to a week of preparation for the great year ahead of me. It will probably be busy, and possibly boring at times, but I know that overall it will be a great week.

Thank you all for the continued support and encouragement! Only 50 days to go!!

The countdown is on!

Countdown to Kenya: 105 days!

Look at that number up there. It's almost down to double digits. And my count down to leave California for Washington is just 24 days. 24 DAYS. Time is flying by. I even have an app on my phone that shows the days ticking away. It's bananas.

Life right now is so exciting, but very overwhelming. I have a lot to do in a little time; getting all the necessary vaccines, finishing paperwork, reading books, practicing music, preparing to move, raising support. In the past week, I have gotten 3 shots and started taking the oral vaccine, and I have probably 4 more shots to get before I'm good to go. Now, I'm working on getting addresses and getting all my support letters sent out this week. And I have to go through all of my stuff here in Berkeley and get rid of anything that I don't want to take home. All this while still working full time. Thank goodness my work is really slow right now so that I have more time to get the important things done. There is a lot to do, but I know it will all get done and will be absolutely worth it. This next year is going to be an amazing experience, and I know that God has amazing things in store for me.

Thank you all for reading my last post, it was really exciting to finally share what I'll be doing this next year. Today I wanted to give you a little more information on where I'll be going and what I'll be doing. As I said in my last post, I will be serving at the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya. Kijabe is located at the edge of the great Rift Valley, about an hour north of the country's capital of Nairobi. Kijabe is Maasai for "Place of the Wind".

Map of Kenya

The Rift Valley Academy was founded in 1906 by Charles Hurlburt as a boarding school for children of missionaries serving throughout Africa. The school has a student body of nearly 500, representing more than 20 nationalities. The academy is a boarding school, with three 12 week terms, with one month breaks between each term.

Beautiful RVA Campus

I will be serving the school as the choir director for the 2015-2016 school year. The choir is typically around 36 students - soprano, alto, tenor and bass. They perform one concert each term, and will do a tour either the 2nd or 3rd term of the year. I will also be teaching private lessons and small ensembles for students interested in strings - violin, viola, cello and bass. I am so excited to finally be using my gifts and musical experience and to be sharing that with these students.

View from the campus to the Rift Valley behind it.

A big part of this preparation process that I am in is raising support. Serving with Africa Inland Mission International means that I am a volunteer and my budget comes from money that I raise. This budget includes housing, food, health insurance, travel costs, and many other things. The total amount is $14, 826.00, and it all needs to be in 6 weeks before my depart date - June 15th! It is daunting to look at the number and how little time I have, but I really believe that God will provide.

I cannot wait to get to Kenya and meet the staff and students I will be living life with and grow with this next year. And I am so excited to share all of the experience and adventures I have with you. Please follow the blog if you would like to continue getting updates on this journey. 

*If you are interested in supporting me financially, you can go to the AIM website to pay online - just look for my name. 

Here I am. Send Me!

A while ago I got a text from my mom that had this verse: "Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, 'Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?' And I said, 'Here I am. Send me!' Isaiah 6:8".

This has become my mantra. But let me give you some background on why this verse is so relevant. (Warning - this will be a long post).

In January, I received a Facebook message from a friend from college. This is someone I have not spoken to since senior year, so it was very out of the blue. She and her husband are serving at the Rift Valley Academy in Kijabe, Kenya with Africa Inland Mission International. She messaged me because the school was looking for a choir director for the 2015-2016 school year and she thought of me. I was so taken aback it took me a little bit to respond to her message. After the initial shock wore off, I told her that I was very interested and would love the information for whoever I needed to contact.

After that message, I was able to connect with the school superintendent. He emailed that they were blessed with many inquiries about that job. This immediately made me think that I would never get the job; I am not certified, I have no teaching experience, I haven't been doing any music for the past couple of years. The superintendent also asked me to send him my qualifications. Honestly, I was really dragging my feet on emailing him back because I just knew that I was not qualified and not going to get the job. But the superintended kept pursuing me.

Finally I emailed him my experience and we set up a time to have a phone interview for the job. That phone interview was one of the best that I have had in the last year of my job search. The school was not looking for a teacher who was fully formed, but someone who would leave the school a stronger person and educator. They were not just looking for someone who was technical and only focused on education of the mind, but they wanted someone who was interested in discipling and mentoring these young believers. Getting off the phone, I worked hard to stay calm and not get too excited until I heard back, but I knew that this could be an amazing experience.

After another phone interview with the band director, and several weeks of waiting, I checked my inbox to find an email with the subject line "We would love to have you join our ministry team". It was such a rush of emotion to read that. The entire way through this process, it has been God opening the door a pushing me through. This is exactly what God had been making me wait for. He had been making me learn patience and trust and making me strong enough for this opportunity.

Of course, after the school had chosen me, I had to go through the process of applying with Africa Inland Mission International, which is the mission organization that runs the Rift Valley Academy. As of Tuesday, March 31st, I am officially approved with AIM to serve at RVA for the coming school year. Now, I am in thick of preparations and starting my fund-raising. It's a little overwhelming, but I am so excited about the new adventure that God is leading me on. It will take lots of prayer and submitting to Him, and a lot of preparation to be a choir teacher, and strings teacher, but I am ready and willing.

Prayer requests:

• Completing the many tasks I have to prepare for the move to Kenya.
• Fundraising and prayer support for the year.
• That I would prepare well to be the best teacher that I can for the 2015-16 school year.

"Now as Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." Immediately they left their nets and followed Him."

Matthew 4:18-20