D., Kenya

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1

My home for two months this summer will be "D.", Kenya. For the safety of my missionary hosts and myself, I am renaming our location "D." in this post and future posts. Please let me know if you have questions about why I'm dong this. D. is a very rural area in the eastern region of the country. It is about a ten hour drive or two hour flight from Nairobi. The drive includes about an hour and a half stretch off the paved road and some areas with security problems such as bandits and shootings. The airplane used to fly to D. is usually a small 6-seater charter plane, piloted and coordinated by AIM AIR, a Christian missionary aviation organization. AIM AIR is a ministry of AIM that serves to deliver safe, reliable, and economical air transport. As plans stand right now, I will probably fly from Nairobi to D. in June. When I return in August, the family and I will drive back to the city.

As you can probably tell by the lengths of travel time, D. is basically in the "middle of nowhere." I will be deep in the bush, far away from computers, cell phones, and Internet. Needless to say, I won't be bringing my crack- I mean Blackberry to D. with me. Some of you know how hard it is for me to be away from my smart phone for a few hours; now I'll be away from all technology that brings me convenience and comfort for two months. God is definitely challenging me!

While I would love to stay in touch with all of you and continue to update this blog while I am in the field, I will not be able to. I will be out of contact for the duration of the short-term mission. Even though you will not hear from me, take heart in knowing that you are in my prayers and God is taking good care of me.

D. at Dusk

From what I hear, D. is probably similar to what you would typically imagine Africa to be. The environment is dusty and dry. In the dry summer season, temperatures can get up to almost 50 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit). I won't be there for the rainy season, but it's usually around March-April and November. Having grown up in California, I'm not a huge fan of rain, so I wasn't disappointed that I wouldn't be there for the rainy season. Then I learned that my host missionary family gets excited about 1 inch rains. If there is enough water when it rains, the nearby river begins to flow and will then refill the water reservoirs. As much as I dislike the rain, I'm pretty sure I could handle the D. rainy season. Actually, I would probably rather be there for the rain than in the hot summer. I am realizing more and more how precious water is in a place like D.

Daytime in D.

As I write this post, I see many reasons for fear and worry: travel safety, limited communication, exhausting heat. I hope you will join me in trusting that God will protect me even in the midst of danger and insecurity. I have full assurance that my life is in His hands, the One who created life and gives me life. No, I will not be careless or make rash decisions because of this confidence in Christ. Rather, I will present my body as a living sacrifice to God, knowing that it is my act of worship to Him.