Friday, June 26, 2009
Summer of 2009
So I didn't really end up back at my blog again since my post in December, more than 6 months ago. But I have decided that this blog will be the best place to keep you updated on my travels this summer.
As per usual, my summer travel plans have come together within the past few months and I have been eagerly awaiting the opportunity to see new parts of the world – to experience new cultures and to grow a little bit along the way. I have even been dusting off my español in anticipation of a trip that would involve a week in Uruguay and a week in Lima, Peru.
Tickets were purchased, arrangements for lodging were mostly completed, and plans to spend time with friends in Latin America were eagerly awaited. And then, during the last week of May, a late evening phone call put a twist on all of this. The friend who I was supposed to visit in Lima had the opportunity to work at a ministry conference in Nairobi, Kenya during the very week that I was supposed to be in Peru. She wanted to know if I would be interested in going to Kenya with her.
Well, many of you are aware that for several years I have had a very soft place in my heart for a ministry in Africa called Amani ya Juu. Amani ya Juu (meaning “higher peace” in Swahili) is a sewing-marketing-training project for marginalized women in Africa. The main center is located in Nairobi, Kenya with sister centers in Rwanda and Burundi. The women involved in the project are learning to work together through faith in God who provides a higher peace that transcends ethnic differences. Amani itself portrays a unique picture of diversity with women coming from Rwanda, Burundi, Congo, Uganda, Sudan, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia as well as from other African countries. During the summer of 2007 I had the great privilege of spending two weeks volunteering at Amani and immersing myself in the culture of healing, peace, and reconciliation that underscores Amani’s great impact in East Africa.You can read online about my previous trip in my blog at: http://www.louannsplace.com/Africa/Africa2007.html
After much prayer, quite a bit of indecisiveness (on my part), and several conversations with Amani staff and admin, I have decided to accompany my friend to Nairobi. While she is working at a conference just outside of Nairobi, I will be working at Amani (whose campus is located in downtown Nairobi). I am confident in the Lord to work out the remainder of the details.
My travel itinerary is roughly as follows: in the next few days, I will travel from Washington, DC to Montevideo, Uruguay and spend a week with a friend who lives in Rivera, Uruguay (which was part of my original plan) - about 5 hours from Montevideo. Then I will travel from Uruguay to Lima, Peru to spend a couple of short days there. (It was supposed to be a week. I already want to plan to go back some day!) Next, my friend and I will travel to Nairobi, and will be there for about ten days. Due to the best prices on flights, I will fly back to Lima and directly back to DC from Lima.
I covet your prayers as I prepare for the trip and as I travel to Nairobi in July. I would ask that you pray that the Lord will use me in significant ways to glorify Him and to truly minister to the hearts of the Amani women and to the Amani center. Please also continue to pray for all three of the Amani centers in East Africa and the women who are being served by this wonderful ministry. The Lord is working amazing things in the lives of these beautiful ladies!
On that last note, please share with me some of your own prayer requests. It would be my privilege to lift your needs up in prayer to our gracious Lord and Savior.
Contact me at:
louannaepelbacher@gmail.com
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