A Happy Birthday

I made it through my first Kenyan birthday without getting wet!  I guess I should explain: The tradition here is to dump water on the birthday person to help them grow! I was threatened all day but dodged all of the attempts (and there were some close attempts!)

Thank you so much for the birthday cards and pictures! What a special surprise. 

Erin baked me coffee cake for breakfast... keeping the birthday tradition of my mom =)

All the AH staff have lunch together during the week so I had a yummy Kenyan birthday lunch.

We had birthday cake after lunch...

Erin's birthday was the day before mine, so we were celebrated together during our weekly missionary fellowship.

 

Some Faces of NMSI

Tanya & Julia (Russia)

Jenni (Cambodia)

Jenny & Josiah (USA, formerly Kenya)

Gabe (Bulgaria)

Corban (USA)

Jessica (Kenya)

Yasmine (Germany)

Mary (moving to Zimbabwe)

Joy (Brazil)

Joshua (Brazil)

Noah (Uganda) (He wasn't so happy here but I wanted to get a picture of him with his stellar plastic gold ring!)

Isabelle (Bulgaria)

John (USA)

Violet (moving to Peru)

David (Australian in the US)

Eleanor (USA)

Joshua (Brazil) (Several pictures of Joshua because he has a special place in my heart)

Michelle (Bulgaria)

Bulgarian girl

Joshua & Eleanor reunited

Triennial

It's good to be back in Kenya. You might not have even known that I was gone, but I've been away for a few weeks for NMSI's Triennial Conference. Every 3 years NMSI holds a conference and retreat for all NMSI missionaries to equip, unite and refresh us. This year 250 of us living in over 25 countries around the world gathered together for 2 weeks in Bulgaria and Greece.

NMSI has grown so much since the last Triennial! Because I was working in HR stateside and overseeing the training program for the past 3 years, I know almost all of NMSI's current missionaries and have many close friends serving all over the world. So, this conference, though there were meetings and sessions, was like a family reunion for me. It was wonderful to laugh and cry with old friends and hear the joys and struggles of their lives as missionaries. I also met with NMSI's executive team members about the role I'm transitioning into here in Kenya (as the AfricaHope Team Leader) and felt encouraged and empowered for the changes that are now taking place.

Gloria, missionary in Honduras, leading a seminar about working with the urban poor. I led a short-term project to work with Gloria last summer.

Another workshop led by my friend (and former Kenya missionary) Jenny. I co-lead 2 workshops during the conference about Healthy Lifestyles and Sports.

This was a fun night--all of us were once serving in Florida together at the Center for Global Outreach for NMSI. Now (beginning on the left and going clockwise) Jenny is in the US serving in HR (but headed to Asia), Stacey is in SE Asia, Misty is in Bulgaria, Joy is in Brazil and Jenni is on her way to Cambodia. 

Joy and Stacey left for the field within weeks of when I moved to Kenya, so it was wonderful to catch up and be encouraged by their similar experiences of the ups and downs of the first 5-6 months on the field.

Bulgaria:

My first summer with NMSI back in 2002 I worked in gypsy communities in Bulgaria. During Triennial I had the opportunity to return to one of those communities, Berkovitza, to attend a wedding celebration (their weddings last 3 days, we were just there for part of a day!) for a daughter of one of the pastors. It was neat to recognize faces of children who are now 6 years older than when I last saw them! My former roommate, Michelle (in the gold dress) now lives and works full-time in Berkovitza and was a bridesmaid for the wedding we attended. It was a blessing to see where Michelle now lives and meet the people that she's ministering with.