Elliana Elise McMurry

“Can I really love a child who isn’t, ‘mine?’” This was the question I asked myself over and over as we prayed and considered adoption as a possibility for our family. There really is no way to know. Someone may tell me that I can, simply because they think I should. However, regardless how much they think they know, they cannot tell me how I will respond to any given situation. No set of circumstances is identical, and the way people view each situation is different. I was terrified that God might be calling us to adopt.

“How long will he drag his feet?” Lisa didn’t ever voice this question aloud, but I know she must have thought it dozens of times. She had been ready to adopt for years. She believed with all her heart that the way our family would grow was through adoption. She not only believed this, but she also believed that for us not to adopt would be disobedient to the will of God.
In December of 2014 Lisa and I decided together that we would pursue the adoption of a domestic newborn. Although I still had concerns, it came down to this: If I claim to be pro-life, then I should be willing to provide for a child whose mother has chosen life over the alternative.
We began working with Christian Adoption Services in Matthews, NC at that time, with the hope that in a few months we would welcome a child into our family. Our parameters were wide in regard to gender, race, and special needs. Friends and family began to shower us with prayer and financial support. We began to pray intently and led the McMurry boys to do the same for, “our baby and our baby’s mama.”
In the long version of this story, I would tell you about our first match, which was not presented by the agency, but by an individual who was seeking the best option for her child. It didn’t work out. Although we were disappointed, we had no choice but to trust that time invested and the emotional toil were all part of the story that God was writing. The long version also includes a year of relocation from North Carolina to Arkansas, back to North Carolina and a step away from full-time ministry.
In April of 2016 we received word that a mother who was looking to place her child for adoption was interested in our family. She had viewed our profile book and had narrowed her choices down to us and another family. Lisa and I spent time on the phone with a sweet young lady from North Carolina, who eventually decided that we were the family for her baby.
The next two months were like a whirlwind. We made the difficult decision to step away from full time ministry for a while, and we moved from Arkansas back to the place our hearts call home, Charlotte, NC. Roughly two weeks after our move, we met in person with a beautiful birthmother and her parents. One week later, we received the call that the young mother was going into labor.
Elliana Elise McMurry was born on June 12^th, 2016 at 11:53am. She was 6 pounds, 15 ounces, and 19 inches. She was born healthy, with ten of each, and a full head of hair. We had the unique privilege of spending time in the hospital room with Elliana, her birthmother and birthfather, as well as her birth grandparents. This sweet little one came home with us on June 14^th, and has stolen the hearts of everyone in the house.
We chose to spell Elliana a little differently than the original, but we attribute to her name the meaning of Eliana. The Hebrew meaning of Eliana is, “my God has answered.” God has most definitely answered our prayer by allowing us to welcome Elliana into our home. Her middle name, Elise, is one that her birthmother, Lisa, and I agreed sounded beautiful with Elliana. Elise just happens to mean, “pledged to God,” and it is our commitment to raise our little girl, to know that she is not only our daughter, but she is a daughter of the King.
As of yet, we have not posted any pictures of Elliana on social media. This isn’t because we are trying to keep her from the world, but rather because of our agreement with the agency. Once all of our paperwork is finalized with the state, we will have full authority to post pictures. We are hoping to have finalization before the end of the year, and believe me, you will probably get tired of seeing pictures of my daughter!
The question that caused me to drag my feet on the adoption was, “Can I really love a child who isn’t, ‘mine?’” I still don’t know. I don’t think I will ever know. All I can tell you is that this little girl is 100% mine, and I love her with all my heart. Everyone in my house agrees, and we are so thankful for our beautiful baby girl.
Lisa and I are eternally grateful to God, our friends, and both of our families for the love, prayer, and support we have received throughout this journey. We are only six months in to a lifelong commitment, and we anticipate difficult days in the future. Just as we have trusted in the sovereignty of God to get us to this point, we trust him for tomorrow and every tomorrow after that. We ask you to join us in praying for wisdom and dependence upon God, as we embrace life as a family of six, with Elliana Elise McMurry.

Joseph McMurry

Kids and Social Media - Seminar notes

Idol Technology - Sermon notes

Kids and Social Media: What you really need to know

Intro - Joseph, Family, Etc. I am not an expert on social media. I am, however, a dad and a student pastor who is concerned for kids and how they interact with social media. So… Let’s talk about social media. And as we talk about social media, I want you not to just think about how to protect your precious little ones from the “evil of social media,” but instead think about, how to engage your kids in healthy conversation about social media, so that they might learn to use it wisely.

Knives are dangerous, and so when they are little, we cut our kids food for them. As they grow and mature, we give them the freedom to cut their own food. We try to be smart about it. We don’t let them throw the knives, or use a meat cleaver to cut up their waffles. We show them how to safely use the tool they've been given, and trust that they will be mature enough to use it wisely. Knives are dangerous, but they can be really useful.

Social media can be dangerous, but it can also be really useful. Whether you are ready or not to accept it, social media and communication through technology is here to stay. Its reach will only get deeper into our society as time goes on. The wise choice as a parent is to understand the social media climate the best you can, and equip your children to make wise decisions when it comes to their consumption and participation in social media.

The first thing we need to do is define Social Media. Have you ever been in a situation at a lunch or a meeting, and the people you are with are talking about a topic that you really have no idea about… but you smile and nod as though you are tracking right along? Happens to me all the time. I pretend to understand things I don’t really understand… happens a lot to me on hospital visitation!

When we pretend we already understand things we don’t really understand, we never really get to understand them. So let’s be honest, many of us pretend we understand social media, but we don’t. And this disconnect starts with how we define it.

Here’s how lots of parents define social media:

Social media = Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Some parents will add on to that definition things like Snapchat.

Those things are indeed part of social media, but that definition is too narrow.

Here’s how I think we should define it:

Social media = Any technology that lets you share something with someone else.

Texting is social media. Sending a photo or a text to another person, even if it’s just one friend, is a form of social media. It might just feel like a text, but it’s a media that is allowing you to be social. Commenting on a YouTube video is a form of social media. You just shared a thought with a lot of other people.

The reason we need a bigger definition of the phrase is that it gives us the chance to have a bigger conversation with our kids. Most kids and students don’t think texting is social media. So while we give them speeches about the way to use Instagram, we leave them vulnerable to the rest of the realm of social media.

So, Let’s be parents who admit that we don’t understand everything so that we can get to understand social media better, and invite our kids into that conversation.

With this new definition of social media, by show of hands, how many of you have kids who use social media?

The #1 Lie Parents Believe About Social Media

The #1 lie parents believe about social media is that that they have to be as tech savvy as their kids.

Why is that a lie? Because you will NEVER be as tech savvy as your kids.

How do I know? Well, I used an iPhone for the first time when I was 31. My Son used an iPhone for the first time when he was 3. If someone started learning to play the guitar when they were 31, and someone started learning it when they were 3, in the long run, who do you think is going to be better?

I started my Facebook page 7 years ago (hard to believe it has only been 7 years!). I love technology. I love that it is becoming increasingly easy to communicate. I post something every day on Instagram or Twittter, that shows up on Facebook. And every time I’m around high school students and the subject comes up, I learn something completely new about technology from them.

Every day, it’s wired into every part of their lives. At school, at home, at play, they are connected to a constant stream of technology. Seeing that, we fear they are about to leave us in the dust. We feel like we are failing because we don’t know how to use Snapchat or even understand if Tinder is something we should be worried about. Overwhelmed and exhausted, we do what we usually do when we feel like a failure in a certain part of life—we avoid it.

Most parents I know tried to keep up with their kids, realized they couldn’t be experts at the entire Internet, and just threw in the white flag of surrender. They won’t even enter the conversation because they feel so far behind the digital eight ball. Out of fear and frustration, we all become virtual ostriches with our heads in the sand.

What’s the solution to this dilemma?

Focus more on truth than technology.

Instead of trying to keep up with ever changing trends, hold on to never changing truths.

For example, treating other people the way you’d want to be treated.

You will never be as tech savvy as your kids, but that’s okay.

Be the leader of truth in your house, that’s far more important.

You don’t have to be an expert, but you should know how Social Media networks operate. These are the platforms your teenagers or soon to be teenagers are probably using right now.

Here is some advice to get you started on educating yourself and your children on how to use social media safely:

1. Help your child to respect themselves and others. If you stop them from being on Twitter or Facebook they might just move to WhatsApp or Instagram or SnapChat or Google+ or … you get the point. Give them the skills to make good decisions first and foremost. Do this by having open conversation. See the 4 questions by John Acuff at http://theparentcue.org/

Question #1 - How are you using social media right now?
Question #2 - What do your devices do?
Question #3 - “Which of your friends have devices?”
Question #4 - Have you seen anything interesting lately? My personal favorite!

2. Teach your kids that whatever they put on social media is permanent (this includes texting!) Private is not always private. The photo they post online is not owned by them anymore. It’s owned by Facebook, Instagram, and Google, etc… and they can do what they want with it (so can that bully who happens to be a friend of a friend on Facebook which gives them access to certain photos your child posts).

3. Some day your kids may apply to a high school or college or submit a resume for their dream job and I can assure you they will most likely be researched online. Ask yourself, what will their impression of my child be when their done? Teach them to also share their accomplishments like academic awards, sports awards, volunteering, community events, school club activities etc. online when they are involved in them.

4. Lead by example. Practice what you preach if you want them to navigate their digital life safely.

5. Explain to your child that communicating verbally is completely different than communicating online. If you happen to say something verbally that you later regret you can fix this over time. If you happen to post something online that you later regret that content may never disappear and you may never be able to fix it.

6. Tell your child to never take seductive photos and text them to his/her “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”. It’s incredibly risky and foolish because at some point his/her boyfriend/girlfriend probably won’t be the only person to see those photos. ‘Sexting’ should be a subject discussed before any smartphone is purchased. All this applies to pictures of under-age drinking, doing drugs, or any other illegal activity! Wise choices and maturity. If you wouldn’t want your grandmother or mother to see it, don’t share it.

7. Be present and aware of what your children are doing online. Don’t give your tween a laptop/iPad/iPod and let them go to their room for the night if you don’t plan on keeping an eye on them. Know what apps they have. Know their password to these devices. You have to find a balance between trusting your child and parenting. If you don’t give them some space they’ll never learn to make good decisions (even if that means making a mistake here and there) and if you’re completely oblivious to their online activities you’re making it far too easy for them to potentially make an unrepairable mistake.

8. Teach your child not to interact/follow people they don’t know in person (exceptions: sports stars, celebrities, etc.. who are positive role models).

9. Review the privacy settings of each app with your child. You’ll probably want to make sure that they’re not sharing their current location. Watch this video to see why.

VIDEO

10. Start this journey into social media by making your teenager responsible for their hardware as well. Paying for their own smartphone and monthly bill will quickly teach a teen responsibility and accountability. No work, no money, no phone. It’s how the real world works. Too young to work, or you don’t want them to work during school year? Then it’s the parents’ device and all time-limits, usage rules, passwords are completely dictated by the parent.

Apps/websites that you need to be monitoring if your teens/tweens are using them:

Remember it’s not necessarily about the technology. It’s more about how the technology is being used. However, some of these apps/websites encourage risky behavior.

1. Tinder – This app lets your kid “like” people who are as close as 1 mile from their location. If the other person “likes” your child back then they’ll be able to chat and give their location. This app is known for “hook ups”.

2. Ask.fm – This is a question and answer social site that allows people to ask and answer anonymously (the bullying possibilities are endless).

3. SnapChat – The app that supposedly allows users to send a photo that will disappear “forever” after 30 seconds. The problem is that it’s easy to take a screenshot, which makes that statement ridiculously untrue.

4. Calculator% –Private Photo (Calculator%) app is private photos and videos hidden behind calculator. Anyone who starts this application looks as a calculator but if you put in passcode it will open up private area. All files are securely stored in the App and remain completely private and confidential.

5. Kik Messenger - While the messenger app is simple and often fun to use, with meme-making features and the ability to add videos and images to chats, it’s also full of random sex-spammers.

6. WhatsApp – Recently purchased by Facebook. This app allows users to chat, send messages, send photos, join groups, etc…

7. Chatroulette – A website that matches you randomly with another user so that you can video chat with them. According to a poll – 1 in 8 spins yielded someone apparently naked, exposing themselves or engaging in a sexual act.

“Parents should keep all their children off the site because it’s much too dangerous for children. It’s a predator’s paradise. This is one of the worst faces of the Internet that I’ve seen. It’s disconnecting human relationships rather than connecting them.” –Dr. Keith Ablow (is an American psychiatrist, author and television personality. He is also a contributor on psychiatry for Fox News Channel.)

8. Vine - Vine, the app that lets you record and share six-second videos, seems like a totally safe app at first. It gets dangerous when you consider how strong peer pressure is on social media.
Teens, as I'm sure you remember, will do almost anything for acceptance and attention. The best way to get attention on social media is to do something edgy or crazy. Last year, in the most dramatic example yet, teens across the world took to setting themselves on fire.
I'm not kidding. The #FireChallenge hashtag was one of the most popular in August.

9. Musical.ly a popular app for creating 15-second music videos. How it works is kids select snippets of popular songs and record themselves singing, lip-syncing or dancing. Some kids skip the music and perform 15-second comedy skits. Once they finish recording, kids can add effects/filters and share them on musical.ly as well as other popular social networks.
To grow their fan base, teens can share their videos anywhere. Musical.ly encourages users to post on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Messenger, WhatsApp, and Vine.
Accounts are public by default. This means anyone can see his or her videos and anyone can follow them. Kids can choose to make their accounts private. To set up a private account, they should go to their profile and click on the gear in the right hand corner and choose settings. From here, they can scroll down and choose “private account”. With a private account, kids must approve every follower and only their followers can see their music videos. Like Twitter and Instagram, kids cannot choose to make some videos public and some private. It is all or nothing.
Even with a private account, their profile is still public. Other musers, can search for their account and see their profile photo, username and short bio. People can also see their fans, followers and likes. What they cannot see is their music videos unless they are an approved follower. Teens should keep their personal information and private usernames off their musical.ly public profile.

There is a new “it” app that your child will be downloading all the time. It’s extremely important to teach them about making good decisions and the consequences that come with making bad ones. Just because they might be “anonymous” on said social network doesn’t excuse them from being a good person who is respectful of others.

Questions

Before today, how would you have defined “social media?”

Understanding that social media is, “Any technology that lets you share something with someone else,” what social media platforms do you currently use? What platforms do your kids use? How are you currently monitoring their online experience?

How can you help your kids develop the skills to make good decisions when it comes to social media? What are some Biblical principles that might apply?

How is communicating verbally  different than communicating online? What are the ramifications of posting something online that you might later regret?

Why is it important to review the privacy settings of each app with your child?

What policies do you already have in place for the way your kids engage social media or use devices, that might be helpful to someone else?

*Honorable Mention - Whisper -This website allows users to post “secrets” and photos anonymously. It also allows whispering to other users anonymously as well. Here is their tagline: “Express Yourself – Share Secrets – Meet New People.”

Resources:

Articles and websites:

https://kidsprivacy.net/2016/03/15/parent-guides-for-apps-that-kids-and-teens-love/

http://theparentcue.org/four-questions-every-parent-should-ask-about-social-media/

http://www.parenting.com/article/kids-social-networking

Tools:

https://www.uknowkids.com/

http://www.covenanteyes.com/

Security:
https://www.opendns.com/

Young Families Community at Carmel

On Sunday, March 1st, 2015, I was invited to share with the Young Families Discipleship Community at Carmel, about student ministry. The sentences in bold are the questions I was asked to address, followed by my notes. Of course, I elaborated on each question, but the notes may give a general idea of the direction of my answers.

Someone asked me this week, "If you were thinking with the end in mind, what do you see as the purpose of student ministry?" My answer was, "the purpose of student ministry is that when students graduate from high school, they own their faith; they know what they believe, why they believe it, and how to defend their faith.
Nearest, Neighbors, Nations is how we are working to accomplish this purpose.

Several things come to mind that our parents need to hear from you on:
What advice would you give us now as we anticipate the teenage years?
1. Have the difficult conversations earlier than your parents did with you, and earlier than you think you should. The reality is that we live in a sex saturated culture. We need to be proactive in talking to our kids about sex, about God’s design for sex, and about a life of purity that goes beyond waiting until you’re married to have sex. If  you and I are not proactive, we’ll find ourselves having to be reactive, and as you may have experienced, bad information is difficult to unlearn. Like it or not, the pornography I saw when I was in the 8th grade has an impact on me for the rest of my life; can’t unsee it, and I can’t unlearn that bad information. When your child is given bad information on the playground or in the locker room about what sex is, they won’t forget what they’ve been told. However, if they have been given good information, right information before the 5th or 6th grader who is already a pervert shares what he knows, they'll be able to walk away knowing he is wrong.
2. Cherish the years between 10 and 12. You have about a 2 year window, between the ages of 10 and 12, during which your children will want to be around you; to learn from you. Cherish it, and use it wisely. Soon after, they will likely look to peers for counsel and advice. If you’re able to foster a healthy relationship, they will still respect you and come to you from time to time. Their primary go-to, though, is their friends. So help them make good choices when it comes to friends.

What are you most concerned about within families?
Thinking with HS Graduation in mind, my greatest concerns are 
1. Faith ownership. 
2. Understanding of the Gospel. JD Greear. Gospel: The Power that made Christianity Revolutionary. Religious change works for the approval of God. Gospel change works from the approval of God.
3. Moralistic Therapeutic Deism - fastest growing religious thought in America today.
a. There is a God
b. He wants me to be good
c. He wants me to be happy
d. He only interferes in my life when I am in need
e. Good people go to heaven when they die.
Christian Smith says this religion is not starting new churches. It isn't holding meetings. Instead, it is colonizing within American churches. 
This concerns me, because we are an american church. Live out your faith in tangible ways in front of your kids, between Sundays. You'll hear me say it again, I'm sure, but apples don't fall far from trees, so give them a healthy tree from which to fall.

What are the most common struggles you see in preteens and teenagers and what advice would you give parents about these things?
Idolatry. Of course it isn’t called that, but that’s what it is. 

What might surprise us about preteens/teenagers?
Teenagers are capable of incredible things, with the right influence and leadership in their lives.

How have you seen the influence of a Mom and Dad affect those kids that you work with?
Positively - Kids who own their faith, and choose to make a difference for Jesus on their college campuses, and in their workplaces.
Negatively - Kids who look at culture, are enamored by what they see, and assimilate, turning their back on what they have been taught.
Of course, there are no absolutes. Parents who seem to have done everything "right," have children to who make poor choices. and the same is true the other way around. This is why it is so important to pray for your kids! 

It was a privilege for me to spend time with this community of parents, and I look forward to all that God will do in and through their families!

Multiply the Harvest

Rev. Andrew Cheryot leads one of the the Tenwek Community Health and Development programs, which trains local church pastors in holistic ministry. Through Don Hoover's leadership, Carmel Baptist has provided resources to make materials available to pastors who are involved in the course. When we were in Kenya in  November of 2013, I attended a Multiply the Harvest class and met the pastors who were taking the course. On Tuesday, seven of the ten who began the course, graduated. I had the honor of commissioning them and presenting their certificates of graduation in a ceremony at Bokacha AGC Church.  
Multiply the harvest trains pastors to approach church growth from a holistic ministry perspective; meeting physical needs as a way to gain trust, develop relationship, and share the gospel. One of the pastors who graduated on Tuesday allowed all of his fellow graduates and our team to be a part of the fruit of his Multiply the Harvest training. Prior to the graduation ceremony, all of us, along with members of his church, began construction on a new house for a family, whose patriarch is not a believer and who is plagued by alcoholsim. The pastor had paid a visit to the family in the family after the death of their son, who was also an alcoholic. When he visited, he saw the deplorable conditions in which they were living and mobilized his church to action. The church raised 30000 Kenya Schillings in order to build this family a new home. The sticks and roof we're put in place last week, and on Tuesday we got to be a part of "smearing" the house. Smearing is the process of filling the walls of the house with mud to form the home's exterior. It was so great to get our hands dirty, and be a part of this Multiply the Harvest ministry. 
We concluded the day by visiting an orphanage that houses 51 children, who are all "true orphans." A majority of the kids at this orphanage have been placed there after AIDS claimed their parents' lives. 
​I wish I could adequately describe the conditions that are considered "nice" for an orphanage in Kenya. 51 orphans; 32 beds, just for starters. The children were happy to see white people, "Muzungu," and loved having our girls to play with for a little while. 
Some of our team (Kelley, Marney, and Hannah) spent the day with a TCHD team in a different rural village administering immunizations and weighing babies. They had a fantastic day, with many stories to tell as well. 
​Needless to say, when we were all together on Tuesday night, we had a great time celebrating what The Lord had done and had used us to do that day.

Karibu! Means Welcome.

A disciple is a follower of Christ in learning and living. It only made sense when the agenda for this trip was planned last November, that our team would spend the days we have with Tenwek Community Health and Development, "learning and living."
I am so pleased with how well our time at Tenwek is going! Our team of 8 is learning so much about the Kingdom work that is being done in this area of Kenya, through TCHD. The learning, however, doesn't stop with Community Health. I'd say we're all learning more than we thought possible about depending on God for every moment, and about being available to be used by God to encourage and impact the lives of others.
Monday morning began with TCHD staff prayer. One of my favorite moments of the trip was when it dawned on me that members of the staff had been praying for members of our team, by name. They introduced themselves to us from the lectern, and then introduced the Carmel team member for whom they had been praying. By the third introduction, I was fighting a losing battle with tears. This team has gelled so quickly (even with 2 members we hadn't met in person until the airport), and the staff have been so gracious to us, I couldn't hold it back.
After tea (it is pretty much always tea time), we spent time learning from the Director of TCHD and my favorite Kenyan, Jonathan Bii. JBii helped us understand the holistic ministry with which his staff engages communities, meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, and pointing everyone toward Jesus. Capacity building is one of the tools they use to help people discover their own abilities to provide for their own needs, while improving their level of existence.
The safety conscious control freak in me had planned our living and learning agenda to include lunch at the Green House, where we know what we're eating and that the dishes and utensils we are using are clean. Little did I know we would be traveling an hour away, to a rural village far from the paved road, to have lunch in someone's home.  
We left the car on the dirt road, then hiked to the top of a steep hill, where we found Matecha AGC Church. The church building is all cement block, with seats made of stacked rocks and planks. We were greeted warmly by the village elders and community leaders. They gave us a tour of 3 farms near the church, including their gardens, food storage, and inside their homes. Homes in this area are primarily mud huts with a thatched roof. If I had to guess, I'd say they are about 12x12, and house more people than I can fit in my mini-van.
Our final tour was at the home of Joseph and Ester, where we had lunch. This elderly couple was so happy to have us in their home. The home was a little larger than others in the area. It had 3 rooms, and a metal roof, and even had solar power. After lunch was, of course, tea.
What we got to see through this experience is the effect of community capacity building. We learned that as recently as 2 years ago the farms and gardens in Matecha were not well managed. They weren't using the land to its potential, and the community was not cooperating with each other to meet various needs. Now, with the help of TCHD, they are, "coming up," as they say. Coming up from poverty is what they mean by that; coming up to where they can grow food for their families, and buy, sell, and trade with others in the community.
We finished our time in Matecha with a 20 minute hike back down to the river, where people must go every day to get water. Contaminated, dirty water. I was glad I didn't have to hike back up the steep and rugged path; let alone do it carrying jugs of water.
Of course, typing the details falls short of the experience. My heart is full... And what's in it seems to come out my eyes in quiet moments.

Arrival

Saturday morning, we had a hot breakfast and checked out of the Mennonite Guest House in Nairobi. After one stop for groceries (and of course tea time at the Nairobi Java House), we were on our way to Tenwek. I would be lying if said I knew how long it actually took to drive from Nairobi to Tenwek. There were a few restroom stops, traffic jams (by traffic jams, I mean herds of cattle standing in the road), and a "slow down" to look at the baboons that sit on the side of the road. My favorite stop, though, is the scenic view from the escarpment of the Great Rift Valley. It is one of the most beautiful scenes that my eyes have ever taken in. The part I don't like about scenic view is the peddlers who have camped out there to try to get tourists like me to buy their "handmade" merchandise. I'm sure someone's hands made it, but it wasn't the hands of the guy trying to sell it to me. I thought my parents had done a good job of training me to say no to salesmen, but I still rode away with a hand carved stone something that I didn't really want. It'll be a story to tell, and maybe when I'm telling it in my 70's the boy who sold it to me will have hand carved it right there in my presence. ;0)
As we proceeded through the Masi lands and into the Kipsigis villages, the Saturday markets were in full swing in many places. On this second trip to Kenya, I am still amazed by the way of life of people who live in remote villages. There is so much of it that I can't begin to understand, but I am mesmerized by the economy of their agrarian culture. The crowds of people buying and selling along the roadside are so thick, it is hard to tell where one line ends and another begins.
The team and I were greeted warmly when we arrived at the Tenwek Green House. The facility where we stay actually used to function as a green house, where the Community Health and Development team grew vegetable seedlings and tree saplings to give to farmers as a part of their community development efforts. Over the years, so many farmers have learned from TCHD how to grow their own seedlings, that the green house is obsolete. What stands now is a training facility that can house and feed 32 people, and provide classroom space for seminars and demonstrations. Some of the accommodations are "rustic." The way I look at it, toilets and showers with running water would cheapen the experience. OK, there are toilets in at least one stall in each bathroom. The other stalls... are great practice for using facilities on our project sites.
Good food, good sleep, and a good shower... well, good shower is a stretch, but I got clean. Then we spent much of the day at Silibwet AGC Church, where I had the privilege of preaching, and where our team got to experience a vibrant children's ministry program. There is great significance to the children's ministry at Slilbwet. They are leading the way in the Africa Gospel Church's efforts to reach children in Kenya. Children's ministry is a large part of why my team is here this week; because of Carmel Baptist Church's partnership with the AGC to support children's rallies across Kenya's Great Rift Valley.
Sunday turns out to be a great day for me to take a group on a tour of the hospital. The hospital is relatively quiet, with not much medical activity going on. This is a good thing for me... because medical activity grosses me out. Praise God for medical professionals! I do not have their internal fortitude.
We got to see every area of the hospital, and we even got to pray with some mothers of newborn babies. The NICU welcomed us to come and pray over the tiny premies, and others struggling for their lives. They are so precious. I'm pretty sure if Lisa McMurry ever makes it with me to Kenya, she'll be camped out in there for the entire time.
Tomorrow, we begin the "Learning and Living" agenda of our trip. The mornings will be spent learning about what TCHD is doing to develop communities and share the gospel in the South Rift Valley, and the afternoons will be spent experiencing those activities in the field.
If you've read this, please pray for safety, health, flexibility, and opportunities to have gospel conversations. Kongoi!

Fly the Friendly Skies

4:29am. It is an odd feeling to be tired, but not sleepy. I've been awake for most of the night. I'm thankful that my roommates are sleeping well, but I'm a little jealous that I am not. It started raining a few minutes ago and the conditions are perfect for sleep... I just can't. 
The seven other members of my team and I left Charlotte around 2:30pm EST on Thursday, July 31st. We flew to Washington Dulles airport, where we began the international portion of our travels with a 7 1/2 hour flight to Zurich, Switzerland. 
There was nothing out of the ordinary about the United flight to Zurich. I did doze off for a few minutes at a time, which probably totaled about 2 hours. I also watched "The Hobbit" in its entirety. 
The Zurich Switzerland airport felt empty and quiet when we arrived at 7:30am. Shops and restaurants were not yet open, and there were very few people in the terminal. Around 8:00am a coffee bar / bakery opened, and I was able to get a cup of very good Swiss "kafee." It should have been good, because it made my usual tall Americano at Starbucks seem cheap. Two coffees and two pastries for Brady and me came to $22.00 US, with change in the form of Swiss franks. 
I learned later that the vacant feeling in the airport may have been because August 1st is to Switzerland as July 4th is to the US. 
The 8 hour flight from Zurich to Nairobi really did feel much longer than the flight before. It was fine though, and we made it through safely. On this flight I took a couple of naps, watched "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," and drafted an email to beg parents to serve in student ministry. 
The most stressful part of the last leg of an international flight is competing the immigration paperwork. It probably shouldn't be stressful, but I want to make sure every line is correct, and that everyone on my team has theirs correct too. You just don't know what the experience of getting through Visa, baggage, and customs will be like. 
This time, it was a breeze. All 8 of us waltzed through immigration with beautifully stamped passports. The luggage was slow to show up on the belt, but eventually it all did. The teams personal belongings were all packed in our carry-ons. The checked bags are full of ministry resources and donated items. 
The highlight of the trip for me, though, was walking out of the arrivals terminal to where the multitudes and taxi drivers await loved ones and passengers, to find Jonathan Bii and his associate Ruben. Any stress or worry that I might have as the leader of a team, melts away when I know we are safely in the presence of JBii. He is what I would call "a pretty big deal."
Jonathan and Ruben met our team at the airport on the same day that they had breakfast with the President of the Republic of Kenya. That's right! Tenwek Community Health and Development, of which JBii is the director, is making a huge impact in their region of Kenya. President Kenyatta met with several distinguished leaders of non-profit organizations over breakfast in Nairobi today. 
Our team traveled in 2 vehicles through heavy Nairobi traffic. I am so thankful for Kenyan advocates who will. chauffeur our team... The traffic is like nothing I have ever seen or can explain. Not only are the cars and trucks bumper to bumper and door to door, but pedestrians dart in and out at random as well. It is crazy. 
We arrived safely at the Menonite Guest House, after about an hour of battling traffic. This is such a nice place to spend our first night and try to rest. We'll have a wonderful breakfast in the morning, and continue the journey, through the Great Rift Valley, and on to Tenwek.