Where Have I Been

It could be called a number of things:
the black hole, under a mound of books, hibernating, anti-social, beyond the edge of the Earth...and more.
Basically, I have been sitting behind books, with my "intellectual" glasses on, pen in hand, and laptop constantly plugged in (Kady style). As of now I am OBNOXIOUSLY proud to announce that, with little studying, I have raked in one good mid-term!!! To avoid knocking on wood I keep praying for the one coming up later today...and even more for the hard looking one in two weeks. :)

Sitting in my favorite coffee shop the other night with my best friend I tried to find words to describe what my heart sees. Lately I feel very much like a large ship with no anchors down; not about to get whipped into a cliff like a Kayak, but not able to control the under current either. My decisions and actions in the past that required flexibility and trust were often rooted in security in family, school, finances, and/or friendships...but at present none of those things feels grounded. Despite the human fear of being blown away, I actually enjoy the tumbleweed lifestyle, and it's not this "unhinged" or "free" feeling that holds my attention.
I wish I knew what to call it, this awareness that I keep focused on. I still feel strong, on course, and EXTREMELY EXTREMELY BLESSED, but I think I may be growing to a position that this security needs to act independently of external joys.
It has taken me three days, and that is all I can get out about that...but I wish I could explain the ocean underneath. I can't stop thinking until I understand things...so I am sure this will turn into a theme in my blogs until I get it right...but for now I will move on!

So...I keep telling people that I will write a long blog about how Kenya and Uganda were in 2008. And thus far I've been unable to do it because I was studying constantly. But I am super confident for my next mid-term...so I will use my intermission between classes to blog! Kenya was a learning experience for me (and Heart4Africa staff). I came home understanding, respecting, and craving the advice of other NGO's: start small and perfect your system. Those words are so valuable to me now because Heart4Africa wants to do a 110% job on each of our kids. We don't want to grow past our loving capacity and do an average-joe job. Our kids are too precious to risk that. So a great amount of time was spent making efficient changes to our team. We discovered some immediate needs, such as a new house, running water, a healthier diet, new school uniforms, and jazz like that. We also improved on some organizational needs like communication and accountability. Our staff and our volunteers spent the whole time working on one or more of those things, and by the time we left our team (including our kids) were stronger, happier, and energized. We have a lease on a brand-new-never-been-lived-in-house for our kids, and that alone alleviated many things. We gained a ROCKSTAR project manager with a heart of PURE GOLD. And, of course, the kids found seats in all our hearts forever.

We did take a detour trip to Uganda to do some real-time dreaming. We took Ingrid, our new project manager, so she could get a feel of what was going through our minds. We all ran around Ggaba with smiles on our faces and movies playing in our minds of what Nairobi can be with GOD's touch. We also introduced Ingrid to some of our kids (who are now teenagers...STOP GROWING!!!) in Uganda, and now she understands our craziness! :) If I had to describe the work this year in Nairobi I would say it was similar to laying a cement foundation for a building. We worked on a lot of basics, but we now have a broader platform from which to grow. That goes for our kids too; we threw them a birthday party to show them how elegant, loved, treasured, and valuable they are. They had a WONDERFUL time, and I think they started to understand what kind of value the Muzungus see in them...inside. Our presence in their lives will not be temporary or conditional...we dream to love them as JESUS does unconditionally, with everything in us. So...in short...this trip to Kenya was a successful trip for everyone involved, and it will certainly not be the last!

I do apologize because I haven't posted any photos on here from the trip. I actually did not even take out my camera because I had three GIFTED and PASSIONATE photographers with me...so I am with all of you in patiently waiting for a mound of photos. But, I can assure you, the waiting will be well worth it because these guys are AWESOME. If you don't believe me than check these out:
www.triplecord.com
www.kadydunlap.com/Heart4Africa

More blogs will come, and my tumbleweed life will continue to pour out...
Thank you for the prayers, support, and friendship...you guys make my life far wealthier than any establishment!!!
LOVE YOU ALL!!!!