Ok this is going to be kind of hard to type. Today I was sitting in Francis' land cruiser waiting for him to get something from a store. I was in a hurry (shows how used to Africa I am), because I thought we needed to leave for Bungoma about two hours earlier and I was still waiting. An elderly man waked up to the car I was in and started to ask me for money. I get asked for money a lot and usually it is just people who want money from a mezungu. So I told the man no. I'm not kidding you about 30 seconds later a group of guys came by trying to sell me a coat and they pointed out that the vehicle I am in has a cross on it and says "Christian Relief Fund". That's when I realized that I said no. I saw a man who needed help and encouragement and I said no. That was God telling me to wake up right there and realize just why I am here. I am here to say yes when he is asking me. I sat there in the car and realized all of this at once. That hurt. I jumped out of the vehicle and ran in the direction that the man went, but I couldn't find him. I searched for a while, but didn't find him. I went back to the car and did the only thing that I could do. Pray. I probably prayed for ten or 15 minutes and, once again, I am not kidding when I lifted my head that man was coming around the corner. I have no idea where he came from but I didn't care. I pulled him over and finally took a good look at him. he had lost an eye some time back and he had many teeth missing. I didn't know what was wrong with him but he was in some pain and he hadn't eaten in a very long time. I immediately put my hand on him and prayed for him. When I said amen he looked up at me crying and thanked me. I gave him some money for food and medicine and he thanked me again, then went on his way.

God's agenda is much more important than any man's agenda. Please pray for me to learn to understand that.

I know that I said that I'm not good at this writing stuff, but if there's one thing I've learned it's that the Lord provides. When my plane landed in Dallas I texted my mother to let her know i had made the first leg of my trip. She texted me that a man in my church, John Tod Cornett was at DFW and might want to see me. As soon as I read that I looked up and there he was. We shook hands and started talking for a minute. He asked how long my layover was and I told him. He immediately offered to put me in the admirals club so that I could wait for my plane comfortably. Now, I had never been in the admirals club before so he took me up and showed me around, then left to catch his flight. While I was waiting I sat down next to a lady and ordered some food. I struck up a conversation with her and she seemed to be pretty open. We began to talk about my trip and what I would be doing, and she was really interested. We probably sat there for an hour discussing different thing and how our world relates to those less fortunate than us. When she finally had to leave to catch her flight, she went and talked to my waitress and left. The waitress came by and started to take my empty plate, so I asked for the bill. She told me that the lady I was talking to had paid for it.

I think that God gives us signs from time to time. Every person that I have talked to about Africa have been completely supportive of what I am doing. I don't think I can ask for a better sign that I am doing what I am supposed to do than that.

Leaving

I'll be the first to tell you that I am not good at writing about myself, but here goes.Over the next six months I will be living in Kenya. I honestly have no idea what to expect while I am there, but I pray that I can help some people. That is my goal, everything else comes second. Now most people who know me will tell you that what I am wanting to accomplish is special, the truth is that I see myself as a common lowly sinner. Here's the thing though, I don't believe that our Father works through extraordinary people. I believe that He can take ordinary people who have made mistakes in their past and, sometimes literally, throws them in extraordinary situations. One day in Heaven someone will ask Paul how he views himself before he found Christ, and I bet that he will say that he was the worst of sinners. His sins are not what he is known for now, though. He is remembered for Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, and Philemon. God put him in extraordinary situations and he passed them with flying colors. That's what I am striving to find in this world.