I know, I know, It's AUGUST!

I cannot believe it has been so long since i have written! When people talk about time flying, sometimes it seems merely like a figure of speech, but I will not lie to you, time is flying!! It seems weird to me that already the mornings are getting chillier and the days are so much shorter...summer, is almost officially over! I am thankful for the forecast this week that calls for 90's for the whole week, but I can't believe when i look at the calendar and see that we are only a couple short weeks away from September.

Upon arriving home from Kenya, I had a really hard first couple of months. It seemed as though i cried 3-5 times a week without explanation and I wondered if i would ever feel "normal" again. Graciously, God enabled me to move out of my parents house and have my very own little apartment. It was just the right size for me and it came at just the right time. During my transition home I really needed a place of solace; a place that I could be alone if i needed to, a place that I could have people over if i needed to. It was truley a place of rest and healing in a time in my life when it was so necessary. It never ceases to amaze me that God knows what we need and provides for our needs even when we don't see it as a need. Only in hindsight do i see the impecable timing of this all...i didn't even know how badly i needed it until i walked through it and was able to look back...

There were a couple months after the initial two really hard months where i felt as though i was getting back into the swing of things. I was working, meeting new people, spending time with my friends and family, and just rebuilding foundations in my life that seemed to get lost in the midst of everything...i was loving every bit of it!

A few weeks ago i found myself thinking a lot...wondering what i wanted to do longterm...wanting to be close to my friends and family but also wanting to step out in whatever direction God may have wanted to direct me in. It's difficult because I am not the same person I was before I left for Kenya...I am not the same person i was when I got home from Kenya...and I am not the same person I was 2 short months ago...I long to be where the Lord wants me to be...and I am praying for direction to that end. I have began looking into a few different organizations and I am going to just start submitting my resume places and see what doors He opens and closes. If you think of me, you can pray for God's leading in my life. My ultimate desire is to follow after Him and to be where He wants me to be and i am confident that as I acknowledge Him, He will direct my path.

So, there is an overview as to what has been going on in my heart and mind these last 5 months. I appreciate all of you who still read this! You're support is immeasurably treasured to me!

Till next time!

Shayla

Promise!

You all are so wonderful to write me back and let me tell you, i have been meaning to write! I feel awful! Unfortunately, today is not the day that i am going to be able to write...but, I promise i will soon! Bear with me. I love you guys!

Is Anybody Out There?

I was curious if anyone still checks this, hoping that I will get on the ball again and start updating any of you who still read this? I thought I would ask the question before doing anymore posting. I have been back in the States for just under 3 months...it's crazy and one of the hardest things is feeling like my time in Kenya was a dream. Did it really happen? And, if it did (which my pictures and my life prove), how do i impliment all that I have learned here? I believe an avenue i have been avoiding (subconsciously) is processing through writing...it is truley the window to my soul...So,whether anyone still checks this or not, I want to start writing again and sort out a lot of the things that I am working through. Fair enough? I love you all, and I would love to hear your feedback!

Stateside

I made it to the States yesterday afternoon and since have been in New York doing some debreifing. I leave tomorrow morning to go to Seattle for a few weeks to spend time with my sister, brother-in-law, and the kiddos! Unfortunately, i will have to wait another week to see my parents though i know it will come quickly.

Thank you all for your incredible support over the past eight months and I look forward to catching up with you all individually because i know that time has not stood still for you all and that so much has happened not only in my life but in all of yours as well and i am excited to hear about it!

I know that the next few months will present it's challenges as I re-adjust to being back in the States and trying to find my place in this world across the ocean, but i am confident that God will make it clear in His time where He wants me.

So, since i was unable to put a ton of pictures on here while I was in Kenya I decided to take advantage of the fast internet and put some on today. These are pictures of when my friend Ann (from Chicago) came to visit me after her 2 month stay in Uganda, a picture of the neighbor kids coming over one last time to say good-bye, and pictures of the going away party that was thrown for me in Kibera...it was a blessing because I was able to go back into Kibera one last time before I flew back to the States. They were incredibly generous and gave me the sweetest gifts! Also there is a picture of me and my roomates. We finally got around to getting a "family" picture together. Oh, and one of my friend Genesis and me. We work together but he was unable to come to the party so this is when he came to say "kwaheri" (good-bye).

I hope you enjoy them and I will be in touch!

This One's For You!

This Blog entry is dedicated to my father, who, tirelessly checks my Blog three times a day to see if i have updated it. I know i have not been the best about keeping it up-to-date and for that, dad, i apologize! However, i did want to tell you, dad, how much i appreciate who you are in my life. You have been sooo supportive of my time in Kenya (and throughout my life). I am so thankful that you care about what is going on in my life here and I hope you know how much that means to me. It was so great visiting with you last night and I look forward to countless hours of us catching up face to face...I love you, daddio, and I am so grateful for you!

All my love,
Shay-Bay

Where He Leads Me, I Will Follow

I know it has been a while since i have udated my Blog and for that, i apologize (dad):) There have definitely been some things that have been going on that i do need to update y'all on. We found yesterday that Eva and I will be heading up to Northern Kenya for a month to be apart of the ministry up there. Since things have been so up and down in Kenya (in particular Kibera) it has been difficult for Eva and to find our place in ministry when we are not allowed to go to our place of ministry. Our supervisors have decided that it would be a great time to have the opportunity of experiencing a totally different type of ministry for a month. We also found out today that we leave on Sunday! (2 days from now)...

Now that the initial shock of it all happening so fast, is settling in, we are getting very excited. We are not sure exactly what we will be doing though there is an elementary school and a Bible school there. The missionary family we will be staying with are from South Africa and they have been up North (Korr) for 25 years doing Bible translating and other various ministries. We are not sure what email contact and things like that will be up there 'cause we will be in the desert, in the middle of nowhere! It is going to be completely different than Nairobi, that's for sure! I believe it is the hot season now and when i say hot,i mean hot! Apparently it gets to about 35 degrees celcius (roughly 102) and that is at night! We will see how we do!

That is about all the details i know for now but will write when i can. Pray for safety as we travel by road there. It will take us 2 days. Pray for unity between us and the family we will stay with and that we can learn the things God wants to teach us through this time...i promise, when we walk with the Lord, there is never a dull moment!

I Am Safe!

For those of you who do not know about how things in Kenya have been post-elections, I would encourage you to check out the news. I would explain but I am sure you will be better informed via the news. However, though the news gives information about the major things happening here, it does not tell you that Shayla is safe...so, I will take it upon myself to let you all know, I Am Safe! We have leadership that carefully assesses situations on a daily basis and keep us very well informed as to what we are to in response. We were on lock down for roughly 7 days, which was enough to make anyone crazy...but thankfully we do have friends in our estate that we have to keep us company.

Things are seemingly calming down today, as the majority of Kenyans are just ready to get on with life and for things to be back to "normal." It feels weird how normal things feel today especially since yesterday was a definite lock down day. Kenyans all over Kenya are crying out for peace and longing for the senseless violence to stop!

As things have slowed down a bit, I am finding that i am just beginning to process all of what has been going on. Sometimes i just want to cry but wonder if i will be able to stop...I would have to say that the hardest thing for me is knowing the desperate and constant scary state my friends in Kibera (and other target areas in Kenya) experience on a daily basis. It is hard because I feel so helpless! I call them to check on them and they tell me that they have no food and the resources to get food is so minimal. I hate that all i can say is, sorry...I struggle because i think of the Good Samaritan and how he helped the man who was sick on the street because he had the resources to help and he just could not bring himself to walk away...As Christians, we are called to be like the Good Samaritan...and i struggle with seemingly walking away because I can't help...i can't go down into Kibera and bring food for my friends because i am not allowed. Thankfully, my supervisor is working on getting contacts to help in some way. I know that i have to trust the Lord with my friends! I know that He will protect His own, that He will provide for His own and that it is up to Him how He chooses to do that...I am finding surrender of my own desire to "save the world" and leaving the saving in the same hands that created the world in the first place!

I love you all and i am grateful for your prayers and all the emails of support...it means so much to me!

I will keep you updated as i can.

Shayla