My Roadtrip up country Kenya - to Kisii :)

Hey all!
Well I hope that everyone is doing VERY well. I am sorry that I have not written in quite some time, it’s been kind of insane, in a good way. I have been done school now for quite some time, and I have been enjoying my holiday very much! I just got home two days ago from a trip up country. I traveled with Mary, Christa (Canadians), Walter, Julius (Kenyan – we went to visit their homes and villages). So it was about a 7 hour drive (with stops of course) …haha that was interesting. Especially since before we even got out of the city, i threw up all over me and Christa! - and i NEVER throw up, i think it was my malaria (sp?) medication. i was fine after that.....and the rest of the roadtrip was lots of fun actually, and we made it there without killing anyone! Yay! First we went to Walter’s house, and met his parents and his brother and family. They were awesome!! – Just so nice! And the whole time on our trip everyone was so accommodating. Of course there were interesting experiences. (ie – the washroom – or the hole in the ground, and the bucket bath, but I have to say I became quite pro at both by the end.) The country up there is absolutely beautiful! It’s just wonderful to look at. I included just a couple pictures, but I have so many, I couldn’t get over how gorgeous it is. So we stayed at Walter’s for a few days, just hung out. We took a “little walk” – that was about 6 hours long!! Haha. But it was really good. We got to see a lot of the village and it was really cool. They taught us how to greet people and just a few simple words and greetings in Kisii, and so every time we saw someone we would greet them, and they LOVED it! The only problem was that sometimes people were like, Oh they can speak our language, and then preceded to continue talking in Kisii and we were like, Sorry! - We only know 2 words! Haha. But it was cool to be able to greet people in their own language. Then after a couple days there, it was off to Julius’ place. This was about half an hour away – however it took more like an hour, because just to get out of the village took a while, because we had to greet almost every single person! Lol. Julius’ place was nice. His family was really nice, it was really good to meet them, because we have been praying for them for a while. (His dad is an alcoholic, as is most of his family.) We stayed in the church, there is a guest room in there it was very nice. But oh man! The pastor there is INSANE! We just laughed tons, because he was so loopy. He would randomly start singing songs (but he can’t sing) and he was singing really old like Sunday school songs and doing actions and getting really into it, and we just lost it!!!! – over and over again. I have some pretty awesome videos! So I’ll be showing those when I get home, then you might understand a little more. But yea it was just amusing! Anyways at Julius’ it was a little busier more planned because the pastor had to plan everything! (He liked to be the boss and the center of attention if you know what I mean) But it was still very good. One thing that we did, was we went (without the pastor..haha) to a hospital in the area and just talked and prayed with the patients. It was one of the hardest things that I have done since being here. First of all, what I was in was the farthest thing from a hospital that I knew. It was SO dirty, and just not well equipped at all. It was just very sad to see so many hurting people. But we prayed with almost everyone that we saw and just talked to them. A lot of them (we were told after) have aids but of course they can’t say that, they would never say that that’s what they have. It was just very sad. But I am so happy that we had the opportunity to do that, and just to cheer them up even the little bit that we could by praying for them and talking with them. It was a good experience that I will never forget. We were at Julius’ for two days before we headed back to Walter’s for the remainder of our trip. Oh let me just mention before I go on, that being in these villages was very interesting and sometime werid, just because of the people. Some of these people I’m sure (esp. the children) had never seen a white person. So that was interesting for us. Example (and this happened everywhere that we went) on the way back to Walter’s as we were entering the village, of course everyone is staring but then Walter stops the car to pick up something so we’re just waiting inside the vehicle. Well before we knew it we had attracted quite the crowd of people, mostly children, but actually some adults too, peering into the car, like I’m talking with their faces plastered against the window!!! Oh man. At some points like that it got to be a little annoying, just because they were so in your space, and looking at you like you weren’t human! But we had to get over it because it happened every where we went – literally! But it’s an experience. So we spent the last couple days at Walter’s and it was so nice. We went for walks, played scrable (and beat them SO bad every single time!! Haha and they had excuses every single time…), we had a campfire the last night that we were there and we roasted maze (which I call corn but it’s a little different but it tasted really good!) And we had lots of good talk and laughs and fun times. I actually don’t think I have ever laughed so much or so hard in one week’s time, it was just a blast. I am so thankful that I had the chance to go and see what I did. It was very nice to get out of the city and to see a whole different world really, and the people were very friendly. Overall it is a trip and an experience that I will NEVER forget, nor would I want to. I love getting new perspectives, it’s great. It was just a really excellent time. J And seeing the beauty up there, and just the diversity from one place to the next, just makes me see how incredibly AWESOME God is for creating it all, it’s pretty unreal. My advice – if you come to Africa – (or at least Kenya, because that’s what I know) don’t leave without going up country, you have to see it, don’t just stay in the city!
LOTS OF LOVE
Jade
P.S .- hope that you are all enjoying the snow and cold weather! – Here right now the rain has stopped and it’s beautiful and sunny and hot every single day! It’s lovely. It’s to the point where I can’t even believe that it’s December because it’s so warm and I totally associate December and Christmas with cold weather. J
P.P.S. – I’m moving into an apartment with Christa, so we’re getting that ready and it’s going very well, so when we’re all moved in I will put up some picturesJ Secondly, in one week I leave for Germany to go see my very good friend, Anika. I will be staying with her and her family over Christmas, and I am very excited!!! – but please pray for me as I travel, just that God would work everything outJ - Thanks in advance.

I'm amazed at how much God loves me

Well my family leaves tonight. i'm not sure how i feel yet. It has been wonderful to have them here with me in Kenya these past two weeks. I am so happy that they were able to see what i see, experience some of what i experience and meet the people that i know and hang out with here at PAC. I think that it was such an awesome experience for them to get - definitley an eye-opener. It also makes it a whole lot easier when i'm trying to explain situations or things going on here, because they will have more of an idea of what i am talking about. so it's pretty cool.
So i'm sad that they're leaving, because it will be over 8 more months until i see them again, but i am so happy that they came. My feelings are kind-of mixed. I know that they had a wonderful experience here, and i'm sure they will never forget it. i feel so blessed it's crazy! who am i that God loves me so much, that he gives me an opportunity like the one i have been given? WHo am i that God loves me so much that he makes it possible for my family to come visit me in Africa? WHo am I that GOd allows me to meet the people that i have met here and experience the things i have here? it's just insane. I don't deserve any of it. i mess up so much, but God still blesses me like crazy. It just amazes me. God's love and his blessing is SO BIG. All i can do is thank him, for everything, all the time. God is so good, and what's even better is that he's not just good in general, he's good to me personally.
~jade~

SO HAPPY TODAY...and tomorrow, and the next day.....

HEY everyone!
well i'm doing REALLY well....and you all know why, my family arrived on saturday night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they're doing great...they all arrived safely ...so did all of their stuff......:) i'm just so happy to have them here with me. i feel VERY blessed. it is awesome that they get to experience what i am every day...and they get to see what i see..and meet all of my friends here....it's just really neat. so everyone is doing well..we're very very busy.....but very very happy....:)
all my love
jade

Some stories for ya...

Note: i wrote this on friday i believe, but have had lots of problems trying to publish it...so i hope that it works this time...just telling you that i wrote it a few days ago..in case some of it doesn't make sense.....
Hello Everyone! Well i hope that you're all doing well, i've received many emails and comments from you, and i just want to say that i really appreciate that you have not forgotten about me yet. :) Asante Sana! (Thank-you very much) Well, let's see, what have i been up to lately?? - LOTS. Man i have been really busy! - But it has been really good. Last weekend, on Saturday i went with Christa (the teacher who lives at PACC and who i've become quite good friends with) to church with a couple of her students, in the slums, where she teaches. The whole service was pretty much in Kiswahili, so i didn't understand most of it, and it was EXTREMELY long (like we're talking about 4 plus hours here....) but it was still good, an interesting experience to say the least. After church we visited both of the girl's houses. This was the first time that i have been inside houses in the slums. It was very eye-opening to see how these girls live. The first girl lived in an apartment, so it was slightly better, however still quite a stretch from what i'm used to seeing people live in. The second house we visited was more of a typical house in the slums....although i know that there are even worse. It was just one room - living room separated from sleeping area by a curtain or a sheet, i think that this house actually had a concrete floor but many i know are just dirt. - and extremely small. This girl had i think 8 people living in this space, how i do not know. And to think that this is how the most of the world lives, they do not live like many of us are used to. i walked out of that place feeling so blessed, so grateful for everything that i have. Even the fact that i have such a loving and caring family, so many people don't. So that was an interesting experience. we ate at both houses, and it's very rude to not accept their food, so the whole time you just pray that you won't get sick. :) i didn't, i know that God watches out for me. I have been going to different churches here every sunday with different friends that i've made here. it's had been interesting to visit so many different types of churches. - All very different from what i am used to. Last sunday i went to Nairobi Pentacostal Church - the Valley road campus (there are several different campus' all over Nairobi) - This is the mother church and the biggest. They have several services, and i think that in total they have about 10 000 people. It's awesome! and it was the closest thing to church at home or church that i am used to. Just the way that it was run, and it was only an hour and half long. haha....i really enjoyed myself. This past thursday evening i went with an evangelism team to a place called Riru which is about a half hour away from PACC to put on a crusade. Crusades are very popular in africa - but i don't think that they would work at all in Canada. haha it's just funny how different is is here sometimes. Basically you bring a van load of people and the a van load of sounds equipment and set up in the middle of a field or street (dirt road) and you set up a stage and a couple intruments - usually just a keyboard, and then you have several singers, and you pretty much just hold a service in the middle of the street. The whole point is just to tell people about Jesus. It's pretty awesome - because it works! i went on thursday night and 4 people gave their hearts to the Lord as well as several children, and lots of people were watcing..and i heard that more people came yesterday and more are expected today(it's a 4 day crusade) it's just something that i'm not used to at all, and have never really seen before coming to africa. but i think that it's really cool. :) (i'm trying to imagine how something like that might go over in Canada......lol) So i am learning lots and gaining many new experiences. it's awesome and i feel very blessed to be here and to have been given this opportunity. My family comes a week today so that is pretty much ALL i think about! haha. i can't wait to go meet them at the airport:) i can't wait for them to see and experience a little of what i am here. it's going to be sweet! well i will post some pics next time i'm on my computer...so watch out for those. But in the meantime thanks for your thoughts and prayers, and thanks for rememering me! :) I love you all very much!
Love, jade

Good Times :)

Hello Everyone!!
I just wanted to put these pictures up, the one is from a dorm "sleepover" that we had with all the girls in our dorm here, just to hang out and get to know each other. It was awesome, it was good to get to know the girls and just to have fun. :) so i really enojyed that. THe other three pics are from this past sunday. I went to my friend Clemence's church where her dad pastors and then to her house for lunch and to hang out with her family. It was such a nice day. She lives almost 2 hours from PAC so we took two buses and walked a bit, but it was very nice. She sorta lives in the country away from the city, it is very beautiful out there! So enjoy the pictures. i had a really nice day with her and her family.
I do not have too much to report as of right now. Things are going really well. School is fine. - Just trying to finish all my major assignments before my family arrives. (17 days!!! ahh!!) i'm really getting to know people here and build good relationships so i thank God for that. :) He is constantly blessing me.
I hope that all of you are doing well!!!!
God Bless ya!
MUCH LOVE
~jade~

learning to trust...easier said than done...

I have been challenged lately on the whole trust deal. Trusting God, as well as trusting others whom i'm getting to know more here at PAC. I think that sometimes as people, (or at least i have experienced this) we tend to take trust lightly, in that we say we trust in certain things or certain people all the time, without even thinking. I believe that if we really sit down and think about those people that we say we trust, and we really study our relationships, we might find that we have sort-of thrown around the "trust" word. i know personally, just lately the Lord has been challenging me with this idea, with Him and in my relationship with Him, but also with others. Since every relationship we have in our lives is different from all the others, how can we expect to have the same trust, or deepness of relationship with all of them? - we can't - but sometimes we do. That's what we expect. I have realized that every single person is unique and completely different from everyone else, and so likewise all of our relationships are completely different - it may seem like a simple concept, and it really is, it's just that lately i've been challenged, because no matter how simple or not, i just haven't really sat down and thought about it. i think i have been thinking about this a lot here, because i am far away from everyone that i do trust. i do not have any close close relationships here (yet), because i have only been here one month, it is not possible. To trust someone takes time. The fact that i am far away from all of those people that i have known and trust, has really enabled me to deepen my trust in Jesus - he has become the one true person that i trust with EVERYTHING. - and i know that this is how it should be, always, however i think that our natural tendency is to want to depend and talk to and rely on people in our lives rather than Jesus. So as challenging as some moments have been here, i thank the Lord that he has brought me here, because i know he has an awesome purpose in doing so and part of that is that i would grow spiritually and grow in him and learn to trust him, not just with some things, but with EVERY single aspect of my life. - This is definitely a process though. i am aways falling down, and making mistakes, but most importantly - learning from all of these experiences. i think that God had to take me from where i am comfortable and bring me to a place where i knew nothing. i needed that, because i needed and still need to learn how to rely on him COMPLETELY. and i think it took me coming to africa to realize that. i needed to get away from everything that i'd ever known. it seems very radical, but i know that's what i needed, and of course God knew that. So i don't know if any of that made any sense, but that is just one huge lesson that God is teaching me here, and just some things that i've been thinking about, and i know that there is more to come. So please keep me in your prayers as i am learning these things, they're not aways easy to learn, of course there is challenge involved, so i appreciate your prayers.
hmm.....what else to tell you.....i can't think of any really interesting stories at the moment, i know that i have some i just can't think..so when i remember i'll write again. Basically i'm doing well here. Always learning. - and mostly not in my studies...haha....just from people, and experiences and different things here. (although the studies are good...)
i'm very very very excited for my family to come....something like 24 days!!! ahH!H!H......so that's the big thing that i'm looking forward to right now. :)
so i hope that all of you are doing well!! i miss you all, and i wish that you could be seeing what i am seeing but i know that you are all learning a lot back in Canada too. Please keep the comments and emails coming..i LOVE hearing what you're up to, and all of that good stuff!!
love and God Bless!
~jade~
ps- just a little shout out----------->HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNTIE KERRY I LOVEYOU SO MUCH!!!!! HAVE THE BEST DAY EVER.....YOU KNOW I WISH I COULD BE THERE, BUT KNOW THAT YOU ARE IN MY THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS ALWAYS, BUT ESPECIALLY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!! :)

God is Blowing my mind!!! - in a good way!!

Hello all!
~Thanks for the comments and emails, you guys are awesome, and always keep me encouraged. :)
well where to start....i had the most amazing weekend !! probably one of the most amazing i'v ever had, and definitely the most amazing since i have been here in Kenya. It was also the most difficult, challenging, tiring and moving. - Let me explain.
Friday night i went to a big even in the city, it was an all night worship event...(i did not stay the whole night i got home around 2) but it was unreal! There were over 10 000 people - mostly younger ppl...just worshipping, on fire for GOd it was so cool to see. - and the worship here is like nothing i've ever experienced before...i wish we would worship like Africans in Canada!!! haha...now that would be something....so that was a real encouragement to me...lots of fun....
Then....on the way home we were going through a rough part of town, and there were many prostitutes walking around. We decided to stop the van, and a few of the guys got out to talk to them and see if they could witness to them. It was pretty interesting to watch. Of course i have never experienced anything like that before. They responded fairly well. One gave her life to Christ, but it is hard to judge the authenticity of that, so we just keep praying. HOwever it was still good that they were able to here the Gospel, and hear that GOd loves them. So that was a pretty amazing start to my weekend, but it got even better.
So i got home after 2 in the morning, went to bed, woke up at 7, got ready and then left for a mission at a place called Kahawa Sukari. I was so tired but i was just counting on God to give me the strength that i needed. - HE DID!
Our mission was mostly house to house evangelism.....again something that i am completely NOT used to at all! - so as you can probably imagine, i was a little scared. (actaully terrified! lol) - but i wasn' t about to let my fear stop me from doing God' s work. So we went out we did house to house from 1030am until 1pm, broke for lunch and then went back out to an apartment building near by where mostly Kenya Universtity students live, and we were there for over an hour. Then in the evening we held a crusade...again something i'm not used to at all. THey just set up in the middle of the street ....they do worship, they have testimonies, then someone preaches...it's pretty amazing. Many people stopped to listen..there were about 50 kids!! so i sat and played with them most of the time..sang with them , held them etc. it was awesome. THe whole day was like nothing that i have ever experienced before.....God is unreal. i had a great time. i loved just going around and talking to people about Jesus, and just showing that you care for them. One story particularly moved me. however there were many. One girl we spoke to was named leah. Meeting with her was such a divine appointment. We knocked on her door several times, and did not get an answer, so we continued down the hall of the apartment building, but no one else was home. So on our way back we decided to try one last time. This time she answered. It turns out that she had been sleeping, but she invited us in anyways. We began to talk to her and found out that she had recently been raped, in September, and we were the third person that she had told. The drugs that they have given her to fight infection make her very sick and tired, so she has to sleep a lot, but it is very hard because it is affecting her schoolwork. (She is a student at KU.) She really opened up to us; we talked to her for quite some time. Obviously she is very hurt and confused and didn’t really know how she felt towards God. (She is from a Catholic background.) We were able to really speak God’s love to her, and try to explain that we as humans don’t always know why certain events happen in our lives, but we can be sure that God has a plan for us and he loves us. She listened quite intently and it was apparent that she was really thinking hard about what we were telling her. Towards the end we asked her if she was willing to begin a relationship with God and to trust him for everything in her life, to trust him even through challenging times. She said and so we were able to pray with her, and she committed to trusting in Jesus no matter what, and she said that she would depend on him for her strength. I was so moved by this meeting. God definitely had his hand in it. We got her contact information and also told her about the local church and how it would be good for her to come out and get connected to people there. We told her that there were several people that she could talk to and they could help her with what she is going through currently. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. i can't explain how you feel after something like that.......
so there you have it a bit of a look into my learning experiences here.....i can't even imagine what Gdo will do next, or how he will use me. i'm totally willing though, i can't wait. God always seems to find a way to blow my mind!!! i love it!
until next time....goodbye!
love, jade
xoxo
GOD BLESS!

Pray

GOOD MORNING EVERYONE (even though it is the middle of the night for you right now...:))
I hope that you are all doing very well, and having a good sleep.
i just wanted to give a little update about what has been going on very recently here. As some of you know there are promblems here with equality and treatment of others. There are porblems between nations, between tribes, and between men and women. This issue has been increasingly apparent over the last few days. My roomate Laura, has had a couple frustrating and hurtful experiences. Just little things, but they have been building up. Last night, she just broke down and told us (mary and I) how she was feeling and why she was frustrated and how God was challenging and teaching her. So i went to pray last night (we have a group here that pray every morning from 6-7 and every evening from 10-11) and mary and I brought up these issues and we are even more hurt and concerned because it is happening here at the college. Here where everyone is a christian and supposed to be treating others with respect and acceptance. So we prayed for it, and it was awesome. Very good just to explain how we were feeling, and let them know that this is a very important issue that we NEED to pray about.
Then this morning i went for prayer again and laura came and shared her heart a bit, but even before she said anything, the girl leading prayer this morning (who was not there last night) chose to read James Ch. 2: 1- 13 where it talks about showing favortism and treating people equally, and how we are all equal in GOd. That no one person is better than another. IT was so cool considering what laura and i were feeling and what we had prayed about the night before. GOd is SOOOOO GOOD> so we prayed again this morning, and it was awesome. My friend Julius prayed, and he encouraged us to be examples for all of the other students on campus. Tha we need to show them how to behave and how to treat others. That is how change here will begin. so i'm feeling very encouraged now after this morning. but i wanted to ask all of you to pray for this issue . it's a big one here. But i know that God is already movving and changing people's hearts. it's awesome to see.
so i will keep you updated with this issue. Thanks for your prayers.
love, Jade

GOOD WEEKEND

Hey All!
First of all thanks to all of you who take the time to comment on my blog... i love checking it and seeing that i have new comments!!! :) it makes me happy. - so keep 'em coming!!
well my weekend was full, but it was good. it actually turned out slightly differently than i thought, but that's God for you, He knows what's best for me, always. On saturday i went with Christa, mary, and Laura to Christa's school (where she teaches in the slums). We went to talk to the oldest class. One of my friends here at PAC i think i mentioned her before - Clemence- came and shared her story, it's amazing. She did a wonderful job, and afterwards we got the chance to pray with pretty much every student. We asked them if they wanted us to pray for them, and if so they could stay, and all the kids stayed. :) so i prayed with about 10 kids. it's was awesome!!! - asked them if they wanted to put their trust in Jesus, and believe that He would come through for them. and they all were like : "yes" it was so great. what an amazing experience and blessing for me. it was wonderful. I'll post a couple pictures from that on this Blog.
Then Sunday morning - kinda started out on the wrong foot. I set my alarm wrong...so i got up an hour later than i wanted to. Then Christa and i went to go pick up one of her students that wanted to come to church - Reta - she normally goes to a Catholic church. But we get there and waited for half an hour and we couldn't find her, she never showed...so that was a little disappointing. Plus we were already frustrated b/c the trunk on the car WOULD NOT stay closed, so it was banging up and down the whole time!!! so annoying!! Anways then we get back to the church and we realize that our friend, Sammy, who we wanted to hear preach, preached in the first service, so we missed him!!! :( so by the time we got to the service and it started, we were pretty bummed out...to say the least...but of courset those are the times when God chooses to speak to you the most i think. Pastor Tony got up to speak and it was like he was speaking to us, to our situation...it was such a God thing. After the service Christa and I were like : "Well obvioulsy that was the service we were supposed to be in!" it was awesome!!! i love the way God works!
Then at night we celebrated Marion's birthday. (she's staying here at PAC with her husband carl - he's teaching here- she turned 65) and we wanted to make it extra special for her, because she had just lost her mom two days before!!!
It turned out to be a really great night:) here's a pic of Carl and Marion
so overall, my weekend turned out to be great. and today was good to, very very busy, mondays are crazy busy for me, but it was good. :)
i hope that all of you are doing well. i miss you all! keep the comments coming, and let me know what your up to!!!
love you all
God Bless
Jade
xoxo

some photos

i wanted to put these with the previous blog that i just wrote but for some reason it was giving me problems..so we'll try this...:)
enjoy.
love, Jade

crazy crazy weekend ahead!!!!! ahhh!!!

Hey Everyone.
Thanks so much for your comments :) I love reading them!!! So keep them coming. I am doing very well. It’s Friday and I can’t believe it! The weeks seem to go by so quickly here. I’ve almost been here one month!! WOW!
So this weekend is going to be extremely fun but VERY busy!!! So I’ll write now to let you know what I’m doing, and then I’ll probably write on Monday or Tuesday to tell you about all of my experiences sound good?
Tonight is movie night for the Canadians…at the Abernathy’s house (they’re missionaries living here on campus…Mr. Abernathy teaches at PAC) but I’m also staying over at Kirk and Shelley’s house tonight and tomorrow night, because they are away for the weekend, and Kaitlyn is home alone. So I’ll be sleeping there just so she’s not alone at night. Then tomorrow morning I’m leaving at 8ish in the morning, going to karyabungee (no clue how to spell that’s how it sounds…lol) it’s a school. The one that Christa teaches at. (she’s also staying at PAC- I think I might have mentioned her in the emails before – she’s awesome!) So we’re going there and a girl from PAC her name is Clemence (she lived across the hall from me) – she’s sharing her story. She’s from Rwanda, and has been through A LOT! Her story is amazing. And then we’ll have a chance to pray with some of the kids. I’m so excited!!! It will be an awesome opportunity. Then I get home hang out for a few hours, do some hw, then at night I am going to another students house off campus for dinner. Her name is Hayat, and she’s from Sudan. – she also has an amazing story. so that will be cool. Then Sunday morning bright and early I’m off to another school, which I don’t really know about yet, several students are going. Then to church I think Nairobi Baptist- but I’m not sure. So it’s awesome I’m getting a chance to go out and see lots of different places and people, I’m so excited!!! Then Sunday night it is Marion’s b-day. (Her and her husband are staying here till march. He’s teaching at the school.) – they were on the same plane as me and Laura from London. so we’re going over to their place to celebrate her b-day, order some pizza and bake a cake!!! It’ll be fun. So yea it will be crazy insane busy…but super fun as well. I will tell you about all of my experiences asap.
Love you all
Jade

pics

Here are some pictures ....hope they're self - explanatory..some from the party, - mostly. - it might not have worked so if you can read this but see no pics...don't worry i will try again tomorrow but right now i have to go to bed. :)
later
okay i'm trying again! hopefully this works. PRAY!!! LOL. i can't do too many at at time, so here are just a few. the group one is taken at a b-day get together for my friend Julius. (that was this past tuesday), - he's the one with the "crown" on his head. - we made it for him and said that he got to be King for the day..but JUST the day..lol. the one with me and the kids is taken on campus, they're just people's kids that live here. VERY CUTE THOUGH. They love the camera!!- sorry i know that it's repeated....you can just look at it twice.:) i don't know why it did that. Then the last one is me with a little boy that i love at the orphanage right around the corner, that i told you about. i don't know his name..but he's the most adorabe kid. :)
enjoy!
love you all! - comment!!!!:)

Interesting Opportunities = Interesting people = Interesting Experiences

Interesting opportunities = Interesting People = Interesting experiences

Well how are you all in Canada?? I hope that you’re all doing well. Well I have been here in Kenya now for over 2 weeks. – It seems like much longer. But I think that is a good thing, because it means that I am settled in here, which is awesome. So what can I tell you? – I am meeting all kinds of very interesting people here. Some make me laugh (they don’t always mean to…..LOL), some make me think, some are just good friends, and then some, well some there are just no words to describe……haha. Anyways, “slowly by slowly” (that is what people here say all the time…haha it makes me laugh) I am getting used to things here and settling into a routine and really getting to know everyone here. I love getting to know people. I think that, that has been the best part of being here so far. Just hanging out in the caf with people, talking, learning about their lives and where they have come from….some people here have very cool stories, I love hearing them. And everyone here always has lots of questions about Canada, and what it is like there, and all that, so it’s cool to have the chance to tell people what it’s really like in the west. (I don’t think that half of them have a clue….)
I am learning some Swahili ….sorta..trying…not verygood right now….lol. but I am determined to get to know the basics while I’m here. People teach me things, the problem is I can never remember them. It helps when they write it down for me, somehow seeing it really helps. So when I know some more I’ll let you know.
This past Sunday I went to church with Christa (the teacher who is staying at PAC and teaching in the slum – she’s awesome I love her), Julius and John. (students here at the college that I’m friends with, they’re cool.) Anyways, we went to NPC Parkands…which is Nairobi Pentecostal Church, it’s a smaller branch or sorta sister church of NPC. – so this “smaller” church had about 600 people, and christa and I were the only…literally…the only white people there. LOL it was awesome! The worship was so amazing. The worship leader – Bob goes to Pac and I know him, so that was cool. Overall it was an awesome experience. It was good to get off campus and get and see some things.
The Guys: I know that you are all dying to hear about my experiences with the boys here at PAC. Let’s just say the guys are as varied as they come. Some are quite weird. LOL – very forward and blunt – some of the things I’ve heard make me laugh so hard..but in the middle of it…you’re like : WHAT?!!!?? LOL. It’s hard to take some of the guys here seriously…but I’m doing my best. Laura (my roommate) and I have a lot of fun discussing our experiences…J I haven’t had any proposels…(yet…) but I have had some interesting converstations….(don’t worry I haven’t excepted any gifts either!!! LOL) This one guy, his name is Isaiah. Just to give you a mental pic – he’s like half the size of me, super skinny and short, and his voice is like 10 x higher than mine. LOL. I feel like a man when I talk to him. It was very surprising the first time that he opened his mouth to talk to me…anyways, he’s in my small group here, and so last week he comes up to me and Laura, before small group starts and is talking to us about how he wants to get married…how he wants to go to Canada and all of this stuff.. (now of course I get the brunt of this out of me and laura b/c she makes sure that EVERYONE knows she has a b/f back home in Can. ) One of the most shocking things I heard was Isaiah say that he needs to get a wife cuz all the household duties are becoming too much work for him, so he needs a wife to do them!!!! Ahhhh!! I almost died. Now of course laura (she’s kinda a loud mouth – in the best way) was like if you told that to someone in Canada, you would never EVER get a wife…and this guy was like….”oh….really….” like completely shocked…it was funny! So just some funny stories like that, interesting convos with guys….i get told I’m beautiful most every day….etc etc. but hey I can live with that…LOL. So yea some funny experiences but they’ve been good. It’s just so different here, and it’s funny seeing people’s reactions when you tell them what it’s like in Canada. Esp. with regards to men and women. But slowly by slowly…J we’re just trying to get through to them.
Some of the guys on the other hand are cool. They get that we can just be friends, and it doesn’t seem as though they have another agenda…Julius is one of those guys. I went to church with him on Sunday….and today is actually his birthday, so we’re celebrating that later…he’s 24.
okay so i came back to this so now i've already finished my day here. It was really good.The party for Julius went really well, he had a really good time, so that's good. I'll put soe pictures of that, so you can see some of the ppl that i've been hanging out with as of late. :)
well i better go, i miss you all very much, but i love it here!! so you can be happy for me:)
Keep up the prayers:) Thanks for all of your support!
i love you all!
~Jade

First from africa - just an intro

HEY ALL!
so i was thinking about creating a blog, just thought that it might be an easier way to keep all of you updated....emails were getting crazy...and my pictures won't work...so hopefully this works for everyone, and please still email me once in a while!! i'd still really appreciate hearing from all of you!:)
so i don't have much to say....things are going really well..i'm super super busy....school is getting crazy..just trying to keep up with the teaching style here (not always the clearest...) but anyways i'm glad that i'm busy because they days go by so so so fast. i miss all of you, but the business keeps me from thinking about it too too much..:)
i'm getting used to things here, i've been here for just over 2 weeks, and it has flown by!!! i'm getting involved in lots of different aspects...just starting out, so when i know more about each thing, i'll write.
well i'm going to go....email me/post a comment.
i love hearing from all of you, and i'll write soon!!!
love and miss you all!!!!!
ps- more pics to come!!!:):):)