That Moment When.....

You know that awesome moment when you went to Kenya 4 years ago and met these great women who really touched your heart, but you thought you would never see them again, but then you run into one of them in the hallway at work?  Me too.  I love it.  It happened Tuesday.  This blog explains a little more about them.  Winnie was one of the ladies who really captured our hearts (she is sitting the photo above).  She has this smile that is absolutely contagious and when she sees you she is so genuinely excited to be with you.  She does not speak English well and we do not speak Swahili well so we have never really been able to talk to her, but  we have never had trouble communicating our joy.  When we were support raising, we told the story of Winnie several times because she just impacted us so much.

Honestly, I never thought we would see her again. Sometimes, those things make me sad, but I know that part of life is loving others, planting hope within them and many times you move on.  A lot of times you just don't get to know what happens.  You pray for the best and trust these beautiful souls to Jesus.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I walked out into the hallway on Tuesday and ran RIGHT INTO Winnie.  And the best part is, she remembered me.  And Tim.  Her face lit up and we hugged and squealed. Then I yelled to Tim and he was so excited.  We "talked" for a only few minutes because she was there to see a teacher.  What that means is 1)She is still alive!! 2) She is still around and is doing well 3)Her kids are getting a fantastic education.  Tim and I were so ecstatic I thought our hearts might burst.

What made all this even more special was that on Monday night we had been talking about how "doing ministry" has looked a lot different for us this time than it did as interns.  When we were interns we were always in the community, sharing Christ, forming relationships, hugging kids, encouraging others, being with the people.  For a few weeks we did some of that, but now we sit in an office. We read, sort, and prepare letters and gifts from sponsors for the students.  It is so great and I wish there was a way to communicate to you the relationship that is being built across thousands of miles.  Simply by the written word.  And a few stickers.  Most sponsors and their sponsored kid(s) will never meet, but there is such a love communicated through letters, cards, and gifts small enough to fit in an envelope. We love this, but it seems different.  Because, well, it IS different.

This conversation began because someone commented on this photo on Facebook and mentioned it being a picture of God's call on our lives (still can't believe God asked us to come and love on these precious ones. As a job!).  And it is.  Yes, 4 years ago we walked around and hugged on kiddos ALOT and since we absolutely adore these children it is one of the biggest ways in which we fell in love with this place and this ministry, but now we are getting to be such a part of the backbone of this ministry.  Still the kids of course, but also the school, and the Hope Partnership Child Sponsorship program.  Everyday, not only do we get to see these faces and hear them playing, we get to be a part of continuing to connect them with someone across the globe who loves them.  We get to do this for a LONG time, much longer than two months.

As we have been adjusting to being here, I have really been thinking about what ministry looks like.  And what I feel like I am being shown is that it doesn't really look any particular way.  It is sharing love, hope, laughter, tears, joy, smiles, words in Swahili (or English).  It is hugs and games.  It is a greeting. A song.  It is driving through crazy traffic. It is buying our groceries.  Walking into our apartment compound.  It is all these things that we do each day-with Jesus added to them.

I love that God gave us this beautiful gift of seeing Winnie again.  We got to see the fruits that resulted from hope planted.  That doesn't always happen. Probably doesn't even happen often.  So thankful it happened Tuesday!