So...

Ever since my friend asked me to describe our typical day in Kenya, I have been thinking.  I honestly felt like maybe I should "pad" my description to make it sound more interesting...I also had a long talk with one of my boys tonight.  He said he understands why his brother and I come to Kenya because we love it so much and his brother wants to live here one day, but he doesn't feel like he bonds with any of the kids or even with his family when he's here.  I have been thinking about this a lot as well.  

This has not started off as our "best trip ever".  We had that bad day when we first arrived, and we have been fighting amongst ourselves.  It's been an emotional week to say the least.

Today we sat.  For the active person who gets bored easily, today would have driven them crazy!  When people sign up for mission trips, they want to go, do, and have great stories to tell when they get home.  I just don't think that's what mission work is.  Today I wanted to "sell it" to my friend who asked what we do here.  I wanted it to seem exciting!  And it IS exciting, but it is also boring, frustrating, seemingly fruitless, and never ending.  Honestly, today we sat around for hours in the middle of the kids.  Sure we talked to them about things like "How do you say 12:15 in Swahili?" or "What do you call this big pot you cook in?", but as my youngest said, "Does it really matter if I am here to talk to them about that?  Can't they just talk and play amongst themselves and be just as happy?"  Sure they could be happy talking and playing amongst themselves (and they do), but honestly, I believe silly conversations like that have a far greater impact than we can imagine.  Not only do they impact the morale of the kids, they spur on conversations with the Director who makes all the decisions, they spur on conversations with people back home who can help.  We also glean ideas which can help, maybe just because of something someone said in passing.  Mission work takes time.  What happens on this trip may not seem like it was anything, but two years later we might just see the fruits of our labor.  So a boring trip, filled with sitting and doing seemingly nothing, may just be the most important trip yet.  It's impact could be far reaching.  

I write about this today because I have been doubting myself lately.  Doubting if I'm doing anything at all by being here.  Maybe the reason I'm here today is so that my son can gain exposure to the street kids he wants to work with today.  Maybe it's to spur on the interest of someone back home who has a great idea and they will go forth and do something great.  Maybe I'll never know why this trip was so important, but I think I need to keep reminding myself that it's all important because it's all from God.

So if you're looking for an adventure, you will certainly find one here in Kenya, but you may be surprised what it looks like.