If you live in Africa, you are to assume that you will have many experiences that are unique to anywhere else in the world....at least to the United States.
I have a turkey living outside my bedroom window. A big one. Not far from this turkey is another turkey that attacked one of the Mattaw staff at this guesthouse not long ago while he was brushing his teeth. White turkey is now locked up...it's huge, and I'm thankful for that.
I went to bed last night AND woke up today to turkeys gobbling, a flock of ducks honking, and a cell phone tower alarm going off at such a piercing high pitch noise. Maybe the power will go off today. Maybe not. This is Africa. It feels like home.
Today, we are at the Mattaw Children's Village with all the kids. Wes is dressed to the nines looking like Indiana Jones and is wife, Teri, is almost a replica of a Maasai warrior's wife. It suits her, as their family lives in a grass roof hut at the guesthouse-
We are learning how to cook-Kenyan style and slowly learning that time isn't a big deal here as we all adjust to the relaxed lifestyle. The sun is so hot and I'm trying to remember the new names of kids that were not there when we visited Mattaw in 2008. Everyone is doing amazing. We have met and chatted with folks all over the world and listened to the journey they have been on and how they came to live in Kitale. It is an amazing community.
Today, one of the Lutz boys woke up with a serious stomach/intestine bug that has laid him out for the day. We took him to the clinic that confirmed it was a bacterial infection and not malaria. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers.
We will be visiting a baby house later this week and taking the Mattaw kids on a field trip.
It takes a while to post pictures here, so I will try to get some up if I can...we have some fun ones :) I spoke to my husband and kids last night and it sounds like they are doing well. Thank you to those of you who have invited them for supper. It has been a huge blessing to them.
I will try to be posting as regular as I can.
Love,
Lindz
Monday, June 7, 2010
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Kenya!
Hello!
It has taken some time, but I am so excited to announce that ALL of us have arrived safely in Kitale, Kenya. We left 8am Thursday morning, went through a back injury, eye injury and a flat tire and we arrived at the Minneapolis airport an hour before our flight took off at 3pm. Do you think someone didn't want us to be going??? ;) Bring it.
We're here! All of our flights and bus travel were great. It rained cats and dogs on us (chickens and goats?) yesterday, as we are in the midst of the rainy season, but we arrived safely.
Traveling with this team has been an amazing journey in itself. I see God breaking down barriers in every individual and it brings me back to the first time I traveled to Kenya in 2001.
When we left Nairobi, I got a surprising, unexpected visit from Priscillah. Wow, was that a sweet moment. When we arrived, it didn't appear that meeting her would work out. We sent her off to school on Friday and she just hugged me so tight and said 'thank you'. Work hard sweet girl. Your son is so worth it and we love you so much!
The smells, sounds, feelings, smiles and hospitality that I dearly remember are surrounding us again. We were able to get to Mattaw Children's Village this morning for church and love on the kids a ton! We got our "Kisses For Kenya" sweets out to many adults and children. Of course, the kids tried to trick us into receiving a few more than just one, but I think I would too.
Some of the youth in our group went in front of the church and played guitar and drums and lead some worship songs. Time was spent praying over those needing healing.
We have settled into our guesthouse and are feeling at home. Thank you everyone for your prayers thus far. We truly have felt them as we have walked each step of the day.
I will continue to keep you posted as we are here the next 10 days.
Love you!!!
It has taken some time, but I am so excited to announce that ALL of us have arrived safely in Kitale, Kenya. We left 8am Thursday morning, went through a back injury, eye injury and a flat tire and we arrived at the Minneapolis airport an hour before our flight took off at 3pm. Do you think someone didn't want us to be going??? ;) Bring it.
We're here! All of our flights and bus travel were great. It rained cats and dogs on us (chickens and goats?) yesterday, as we are in the midst of the rainy season, but we arrived safely.
Traveling with this team has been an amazing journey in itself. I see God breaking down barriers in every individual and it brings me back to the first time I traveled to Kenya in 2001.
When we left Nairobi, I got a surprising, unexpected visit from Priscillah. Wow, was that a sweet moment. When we arrived, it didn't appear that meeting her would work out. We sent her off to school on Friday and she just hugged me so tight and said 'thank you'. Work hard sweet girl. Your son is so worth it and we love you so much!
The smells, sounds, feelings, smiles and hospitality that I dearly remember are surrounding us again. We were able to get to Mattaw Children's Village this morning for church and love on the kids a ton! We got our "Kisses For Kenya" sweets out to many adults and children. Of course, the kids tried to trick us into receiving a few more than just one, but I think I would too.
Some of the youth in our group went in front of the church and played guitar and drums and lead some worship songs. Time was spent praying over those needing healing.
We have settled into our guesthouse and are feeling at home. Thank you everyone for your prayers thus far. We truly have felt them as we have walked each step of the day.
I will continue to keep you posted as we are here the next 10 days.
Love you!!!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Feeling........
I have logged in here several times-started a post, saved it, and logged off. So, bear with me. :)
I have so many random thoughts going through my head.
I leave for Kenya with 8 FABULOUS people on Thursday. Robbyn, Ryan, Trevor; Wes, Teri, Jordan, Adam, and Ally.
I have all my stuff sprawled out on the floor-but not in my suitcase.
I'm wrapping up last minute work details and spending as much quality time with my family as I can.
I feel peace moving forward with this team-I've never lead a team before, and I'm completely relying on the Lord to give me the wisdom and assurance I need to bring them.
I feel similar pangs of attack the enemy used when TJ and I went to Kenya without our children back in the Fall of 2008.
I feel JOY from the phone call I received this morning from a sweet Kenyan woman informing me that I will be able to hug my sweet daughter, Priscillah and her baby boy, Daniel on Saturday morning, as they intend to meet us at the bus stop before we head to Kitale.
I feel apprehensive as I feel our third child kick me inside my womb as I have never traveled pregnant before. Grateful for the life God has given this baby and anticipating his/her delivery and be witness to the purpose this child has been given (Psalm 139) and the honor of being her/his mom.
I pray for safety and protection for our team.
I pray for God to break our hearts for the least of these and for the team to be sparked a passion that can only come from God to be a catalyst for change.
9 people. 1 country. 14 days. 18 hands, 18 feet. God, multiply our works and help us run this race for the least of these!
I have so many random thoughts going through my head.
I leave for Kenya with 8 FABULOUS people on Thursday. Robbyn, Ryan, Trevor; Wes, Teri, Jordan, Adam, and Ally.
I have all my stuff sprawled out on the floor-but not in my suitcase.
I'm wrapping up last minute work details and spending as much quality time with my family as I can.
I feel peace moving forward with this team-I've never lead a team before, and I'm completely relying on the Lord to give me the wisdom and assurance I need to bring them.
I feel similar pangs of attack the enemy used when TJ and I went to Kenya without our children back in the Fall of 2008.
I feel JOY from the phone call I received this morning from a sweet Kenyan woman informing me that I will be able to hug my sweet daughter, Priscillah and her baby boy, Daniel on Saturday morning, as they intend to meet us at the bus stop before we head to Kitale.
I feel apprehensive as I feel our third child kick me inside my womb as I have never traveled pregnant before. Grateful for the life God has given this baby and anticipating his/her delivery and be witness to the purpose this child has been given (Psalm 139) and the honor of being her/his mom.
I pray for safety and protection for our team.
I pray for God to break our hearts for the least of these and for the team to be sparked a passion that can only come from God to be a catalyst for change.
9 people. 1 country. 14 days. 18 hands, 18 feet. God, multiply our works and help us run this race for the least of these!
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Daniel
Oh, my heart! I woke up today and went through my normal routine-shower, drop off kids sans makeup (I do NOT care now), come home and snuggle with Collin through Dinosaur Train and then start my work day. Today, when I was checking my email, I received the GREATEST news!
I have often spoke about Priscillah where you can read all about her here. She is such a blessing and joy in my life. Since leaving Kenya in Oct 2008, Priscillah gave birth to a sweet little boy, Daniel. Having a baby at her age-still in Secondary School- in Kenya means she is forced to drop out. Priscillah has spent the past 18 months it's been since I've hugged her living in Kibera slum with her son. I've received 3 videos and a few emails from her always in a very happy, upbeat tone and lots of smiles. She is proud of her son and loves being a mom-but she struggles, a lot.
It breaks my heart.
I spoke here about how we were going to try to get Priscillah into a program in Kitale. To make a long story short "this is Africa" is all I will say, and we were disappointed to learn that it just was not going to work out due to various barriers that came up. I was disappointed. Very. But, I still believe that God has a purpose and place for everyone-everyone....and Jesus is still the same yesterday and today-no matter what.
Last week I learned that Daniel, being almost a year old, is extremely underweight and is not developmentally on track with milestones and needs medical help. With the care of Homeless Children's International, Priscillah starts school on Monday. Daniel will also have all of his medical and nutritional needs met through sponsorship.
Priscillah has to leave her son in Kibera so she can go to school. Her sister, Anne Wango, will be caring for Daniel when Priscillah is in school. It's a huge responsibility for Anne, being she already has 2 kids of her own.
Homeless Children's International gave me permission and blessing to take Daniel for the 2 weeks we are in Kenya and travel with him to Kitale.
I'm stunned, excited, overjoyed by this opportunity. I've never met him, but I am looking forward to getting to know him more next month. I have a lot of fears-has he seen a white person before? How sick is he? I also have will have the opportunity to visit Priscillah in the school she will be at just north of Nairobi. I hope to take him there also to visit his mama-since she will only be home for 30 days every 3 months of school. I can't imagine how hard this much be for her.
Wanna help our team who leaves June 3? We are collecting various school supplies and are looking for crummy suitcases/dufflebags to put all the donations in that can be left in Kenya. If you have any of these to give, please let me know!
I have often spoke about Priscillah where you can read all about her here. She is such a blessing and joy in my life. Since leaving Kenya in Oct 2008, Priscillah gave birth to a sweet little boy, Daniel. Having a baby at her age-still in Secondary School- in Kenya means she is forced to drop out. Priscillah has spent the past 18 months it's been since I've hugged her living in Kibera slum with her son. I've received 3 videos and a few emails from her always in a very happy, upbeat tone and lots of smiles. She is proud of her son and loves being a mom-but she struggles, a lot.
It breaks my heart.
I spoke here about how we were going to try to get Priscillah into a program in Kitale. To make a long story short "this is Africa" is all I will say, and we were disappointed to learn that it just was not going to work out due to various barriers that came up. I was disappointed. Very. But, I still believe that God has a purpose and place for everyone-everyone....and Jesus is still the same yesterday and today-no matter what.
Last week I learned that Daniel, being almost a year old, is extremely underweight and is not developmentally on track with milestones and needs medical help. With the care of Homeless Children's International, Priscillah starts school on Monday. Daniel will also have all of his medical and nutritional needs met through sponsorship.
Priscillah has to leave her son in Kibera so she can go to school. Her sister, Anne Wango, will be caring for Daniel when Priscillah is in school. It's a huge responsibility for Anne, being she already has 2 kids of her own.
Homeless Children's International gave me permission and blessing to take Daniel for the 2 weeks we are in Kenya and travel with him to Kitale.
I'm stunned, excited, overjoyed by this opportunity. I've never met him, but I am looking forward to getting to know him more next month. I have a lot of fears-has he seen a white person before? How sick is he? I also have will have the opportunity to visit Priscillah in the school she will be at just north of Nairobi. I hope to take him there also to visit his mama-since she will only be home for 30 days every 3 months of school. I can't imagine how hard this much be for her.
Wanna help our team who leaves June 3? We are collecting various school supplies and are looking for crummy suitcases/dufflebags to put all the donations in that can be left in Kenya. If you have any of these to give, please let me know!
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
This should be a no brainer
If you have linked up with HopeChest since our launch of Bukedea last December, you may be familiar with their campaign fighting against human trafficking.
There is a massive Facebook, Twitter and blogging campaign going on right now to boycott Craigslist as a way to show that supporting a site who rakes in such a massive amount of money from sex ads will not be tolerated.
Tom Davis writes on his blog that 33% of Craigslist's income is a result of sex ads.
One third.
Sex ads exploiting children for prostitution in the UNITED STATES. Yes, in our own backyards.
This, for me, is a 'no brainer'. Why would I choose to participate in shopping for merchandise that supports such a horrific real-life issue?
Think about this and consider blogging/facebooking/twittering about this very issue to bring light to one of the most horrific forms of child abuse happening on our own soil.
There is a massive Facebook, Twitter and blogging campaign going on right now to boycott Craigslist as a way to show that supporting a site who rakes in such a massive amount of money from sex ads will not be tolerated.
Tom Davis writes on his blog that 33% of Craigslist's income is a result of sex ads.
One third.
Sex ads exploiting children for prostitution in the UNITED STATES. Yes, in our own backyards.
This, for me, is a 'no brainer'. Why would I choose to participate in shopping for merchandise that supports such a horrific real-life issue?
Think about this and consider blogging/facebooking/twittering about this very issue to bring light to one of the most horrific forms of child abuse happening on our own soil.
Friday, April 30, 2010
The value in investing in children
Psalm 138:7-8
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
I cling strongly to these words in the Bible when I feel myself become overwhelmed with the needs of orphans across our nation and around the world. I am moved by the numbers of Christians who have decided to adopt are who have taken orphan care points under their wing, called them their own and have become the voice for the voiceless.
God cherishes life. God's plans carry out in and through every child no matter what the journey may be.
The orphan crisis is something that is growing in volumes by the thousands every day. Will we rise up and support God's children who have no one to call their own? I believe it needs to take more than families adopting
It will take churches rising up and adopting a community of orphans to bring change. Can we rise up to that challenge, to THIS CALL?
In order for this to continue to happen, we need to invest our young people and children to the need of orphan care. God has laid this so heavily on my heart as the team I am taking to Kenya is June prepares for departure.
Of the 9 people going to Kenya June 3-18th, 5 of these people are youth ages 12-18. OVER HALF! I didn't think of this until a couple of weeks ago. We have FIVE YOUTH from our church's youth group going to Kenya-spreading their excitement and anticipation of what is ahead of them. We have FIVE YOUTH who attend a local Christian School in town that has gone before their Administrative Board asking for a partnership with Mattaw Children's Village school.
We have the power to change the lives of thousands of orphans by coming together and using the resources we have to impact children who are so vulnerable.
God wants us to be His vessels-to be His hands and feet to defend the cause of the orphan.
Want to start? Please email me at tlkenya (at) yahoo (dot) com if you would like to help.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.
8 The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O LORD, endures forever—
do not abandon the works of your hands.
I cling strongly to these words in the Bible when I feel myself become overwhelmed with the needs of orphans across our nation and around the world. I am moved by the numbers of Christians who have decided to adopt are who have taken orphan care points under their wing, called them their own and have become the voice for the voiceless.
God cherishes life. God's plans carry out in and through every child no matter what the journey may be.
The orphan crisis is something that is growing in volumes by the thousands every day. Will we rise up and support God's children who have no one to call their own? I believe it needs to take more than families adopting
It will take churches rising up and adopting a community of orphans to bring change. Can we rise up to that challenge, to THIS CALL?
In order for this to continue to happen, we need to invest our young people and children to the need of orphan care. God has laid this so heavily on my heart as the team I am taking to Kenya is June prepares for departure.
Of the 9 people going to Kenya June 3-18th, 5 of these people are youth ages 12-18. OVER HALF! I didn't think of this until a couple of weeks ago. We have FIVE YOUTH from our church's youth group going to Kenya-spreading their excitement and anticipation of what is ahead of them. We have FIVE YOUTH who attend a local Christian School in town that has gone before their Administrative Board asking for a partnership with Mattaw Children's Village school.
We have the power to change the lives of thousands of orphans by coming together and using the resources we have to impact children who are so vulnerable.
God wants us to be His vessels-to be His hands and feet to defend the cause of the orphan.
Want to start? Please email me at tlkenya (at) yahoo (dot) com if you would like to help.
Friday, April 23, 2010
We're back....long time :)
Are you all still out there??? It's me, remember? I know, I've been gone a long time, but in all honesty, I needed the break. Between working full time, being a mom and a wife to my husband, something needed to give. Blogging needed to be it for a while. I have had a lot going on in my life since my birthday back in early March, some good, some great, some very stressful. But God is good and has used EVERY DETAIL for his glory and we are standing stronger because of Him.
First, we found out we are expecting our 3rd little joy sometime in mid November. I know, I was as shocked as EVER and I think I may have dented our budget just a tish with all the tests I took "just to be sure". Sorry hubs :/ I just couldn't believe it. We are so excited and thrilled for this one to arrive.
So, what about our adoption? This was a struggle. We had started our home study and were and continue to be excited about the adoption process, but have decided to put a hold on it until after the baby is born. This was probably a detail that we struggled the most with, because we were sure of God's timing in this, and still are sure, but it pained me so to speak the words "put it on hold please". As I have started to feel our baby kick and flutter all the emotions of excitement and anticipation have built up again and God has held me in reassuring me that it is HIS plan for our life that we are following, not our own.
Finally, I will be leading a team of 8 people from our church and taking them to Kenya to visit Mattaw Children's Village June 3-18th. UH-MAZ-ING story in how God orchestrated this entire thing. I have lots of things on my mind to share about the joys of letting go and letting God. I've heard that saying over and over and over and truly feel as though I've learned what that means over the past 6 weeks. We have a family of 5 and a family of three. 4 adults and 5 kids ages 6th grade to 12th grade. Incredible people. I can't wait to share with you more about the team going and what we will be doing.
Though I haven't been writing, I have been belly laughing and crying with you and have been so encouraged by a lot of your blogs that I have continued to read. Adoptions, deaths, births, missions trips, mommyhood, orphan care-it's been so fun to read.
It's good to be back.
First, we found out we are expecting our 3rd little joy sometime in mid November. I know, I was as shocked as EVER and I think I may have dented our budget just a tish with all the tests I took "just to be sure". Sorry hubs :/ I just couldn't believe it. We are so excited and thrilled for this one to arrive.
So, what about our adoption? This was a struggle. We had started our home study and were and continue to be excited about the adoption process, but have decided to put a hold on it until after the baby is born. This was probably a detail that we struggled the most with, because we were sure of God's timing in this, and still are sure, but it pained me so to speak the words "put it on hold please". As I have started to feel our baby kick and flutter all the emotions of excitement and anticipation have built up again and God has held me in reassuring me that it is HIS plan for our life that we are following, not our own.
Finally, I will be leading a team of 8 people from our church and taking them to Kenya to visit Mattaw Children's Village June 3-18th. UH-MAZ-ING story in how God orchestrated this entire thing. I have lots of things on my mind to share about the joys of letting go and letting God. I've heard that saying over and over and over and truly feel as though I've learned what that means over the past 6 weeks. We have a family of 5 and a family of three. 4 adults and 5 kids ages 6th grade to 12th grade. Incredible people. I can't wait to share with you more about the team going and what we will be doing.
Though I haven't been writing, I have been belly laughing and crying with you and have been so encouraged by a lot of your blogs that I have continued to read. Adoptions, deaths, births, missions trips, mommyhood, orphan care-it's been so fun to read.
It's good to be back.
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