Preface

"One time in Yuma..."
My older brother had two friends - twin brothers from Arizona - who often prefaced stories with the phrase "One time in Yuma." You never knew what story would follow, only that it promised to be an extravagant adventure. Hearing that phrase evoked a sense of expectancy in me as I waited for the rest of the tale, certain it would be epic.

I have never been to Arizona, much less Yuma, but I do love a good story. Since I graduated in May 2012 I have done a bit of my own adventuring, and aside from some cell phone pictures and a smattering of new Facebook friends, I recorded little of it. I spent 3 months in Northern Kenya, 3 weeks road-tripping and hostelling through France, Italy and The Netherlands interjected with 6 weeks in a dormitory in central Germany. A visit home to Alaska preceded moving to the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington D.C. for 6 months where I had my first experience living alone. An apartment in the city, taste testing every cupcake shop in the district and hours riding the metro was all good fun. After a month in Missouri I moved to the most excellent city of Portland, Oregon where I'll live until December.

I journey next back to Kenya; this time to Nairobi for 10-12 months with International Justice Mission to support their work of bringing rescue and restoration to victims of sexual assault and police abuse. More details on will follow, but that trip is the primary impetus for this blog. As I invite people on this journey I want to share in the work and vision by letting them experience some of my life for those months. I want them to care about what IJM does and be filled with joy at the good things happening in Kenya by seeing the work from my perspective.

I need friends on this next adventure. Friends to send reminders of home, encouragement, prayers, reality checks, pictures of snow, humor and (let's be real) friends for giving me money. I will not truly be able to repay those friends, but I can welcome them, and this blog is one way to do that.

So welcome!  Thank you for reading, and please stop by again. I hope to share some of my own expectancy of great adventures, and I would love for you to be blessed by seeing God's spreading hope and renewal in Kenya.

 

From my first trip to Kenya - My dear friend, Ndarrop,
 and I had Swahili lessons together!