Greetings!! Well it has been a while and SO much has changed, but the one thing that hasn’t is that I am still in “HamaBama” (for those just tuning in, that stands for Hamilton, Alabama, a.k.a. small town Alabama). Since I blogged last I’ve traveled about 30,000 miles, nearly 60 hours of that traveling in a car, 50 hours traveling by plane. I’ve fallen asleep in 15 different beds, but my trusted gray and blue suitcase has remained intact and by my side. If there was one word for this season, it would certainly be TRANSITION.  There are many exciting things going on, but I am excited to get to Dallas and get settled in my new job there!

 If you don’t already know, I am ENGAGED!!!! To the wonderful Stephen Kuert :-D He proposed on safari in Kenya on the Equator last month! It was truly an unforgettable moment and you can read more about it here; http://dreamscometrueinafrica.tumblr.com/ He is the most incredible man that I’ve ever met and his love for the Lord and me astound me! I am more than honored to be his fiancee and one day sooner than later, his wife!

My time in Africa was truly remarkable. I wrote in a post while I was overseas that Kenya was like a home, but not one I’ve ever known before. I am simply amazed by how God marks us with His fingerprints and as we walk out lives in obedience to Him, we see His divine DNA all over us! I mean how weird is it that this SUPER white, red-haired girl from south Tulsa would have a passion for Kenya having never been there before?! Then to be marrying a man who was born and raised there as a missionary and get engaged there…! Only God! May His fingerprints continue to be displayed on Stephen and I’s lives as we move forward in His purposes.

I am excited about the Dallas Zoo being within 5 minutes of where I am moving! However nothing can compare to seeing animals in the wild like I saw in Kenya and in Madagascar! It made me fall in love with God’s creation in greater depths. Kenya was everything I thought it would be and more. I cried the two morning that I woke up there and had to leave the country. I will be back though. Madagascar was unlike anywhere I’ve ever been or dreamed of. I have a huge heart for it and currently think I can convince any missionary to go there ;-) Really though, it has been overlooked and often forgotten about. Just in the past week as I have been seen 4 different artistic globes or maps without Madagascar on there. Granted many “islands” are left off of maps when they are so tiny, but Madagascar is huge and home to 22million people.  The parts of the island that I saw were blends of Africa and Asia and rice fields were everywhere. The people are probably the most kind people I have ever met! It was incredible to meet the people and minister alongside of Stephen. The missionaries that Stephen introduced me to in both nations were incredible and rejoiced with us in our engagement!

For now, I’d be satisfied to just have a wedding date! Hopefully that will be finalized in the upcoming weeks as I move to Dallas. If not, I will start paying rent by collecting a dollar from everyone who asks, “Do you have a date yet?” “When is the big day-do you know?” ;-) It is an extremely exciting time even though I am separated by a few oceans from my fiancé. God has graced both of us for the seasons we are in and I am expectant.

I am looking forward to life in the big city of Dallas, but it will be quite the culture shock from here in Hamilton so pray for me ;-) There won’t be cows outside my door (I’ve gotten used to their soft moos lulling me to sleep). Instead of grass and open forest, there will be about  6 highways surrounding me. Lastly, I will have to remember to lock my doors on everything again! While in Dallas last week I noticed that almost every single place had signs saying, “Lock your doors, Take your keys, Hide your valuables.” No more southern open door policy there folks! I’ll be sure to update a couple of more entries to tie up this small town life of 6,000 people to my big city life of 6,000,000 people! Goodness! Nothing drastic going on in my life or anything;-) As long as I can stow my beloved suitcase away and find a resting place for my close and head at night, I’ll be fine. Until then, I’ll soak up the smells of onion grass, gaze at the stars at night, and listen for cows for my weather forecast! 

The first thing that you should know about this proposal is that God is FAITHFUL! There is no way that any of this could have taken place without His divine love and orchestration, to which Stephen and I are both SO thankful!!!!!! I’ve dreamed of Kenya and safari since I was a little girl and Stephen was born and raised in Kenya absolutely loving game parks. Here’s our African Proposal story…

We went to Sweet Waters Tented Camp (highly recommend it) in Kenya to go on safari. The property is 400,000 acres that Jane Goodall Foundation purchased and it’s home to many wild life. I was in love with Africa and definitely in love with Stephen while being there. We got to go on safari with one of Stephen’s best friends, Sach and his wife Pauline, and one of their kids. The Equator runs through the conservatory and has a really great sign to stop and take pictures. When we initially pulled up to the sign, it was pouring down rain. I ended up climbing out of the car window to take a picture of a giraffe by the sign. I was drenched in rain but laughing hysterically. I was overwhelmed with the goodness of the Lord and His presence. Upon hoping back inside the car, I cried because I was so overwhelmed with this deep desire in my heart that was being fulfilled. Little did I know more would unfold in that same spot. We went to the Equator sign later that afternoon when the rain lifted some. Sach was being goofy and sitting on the line and jumping back and forth between the hemispheres. We tried to take a few quick pictures, but I didn’t get a great picture of Stephen and I at the sign. There were some black rhino at a VERY short distance from us, so we left that area for the day. The next morning we got up, went on safari, ate lunch and were about to leave. Sach, Pauline and Stephen had just exchanged a conversation in Swahilli, so I wasn’t too taken off guard when we went back towards the sign instead of the gate to leave the park. I assumed we were taking a family picture or something. Upon pulling up, Sach immediately jumps out and goes and sits on the Equator line again. I laughed out loud and called attention to him. Pauline took her 6 month old son out of the car remarking to Stephen, “If an animal comes, I want you to grab my baby and run back to the car.” I laughed and did not think it was odd. I got out of the car with my camera in hand hoping to grab a good shot of Stephen and I since there were no rhino, elephant, or lion in sight. I offered to take a few pictures of Sach and his family. Then I passed the camera to Sach hoping he’d return the favor. At this point, I had NO idea that Stephen was going to propose. He walked a little slowly but held my hand. I wanted to stand on either side of the sign, but Stephen told me to kneel down next to him. I thought that was kind of odd, but smiled really big and went with it! I was on safari!!!! :-) So Sach took the first picture *snap* and the second one *snap* (ok my camera doesn’t make that sound, but go with it…) Then I hopped up being bubbly Bailey and wanted to see if the picture turned out. Yet there was Stephen…still on his knees. I said, “What are you doing?” HAHA… Then Stephen reached behind the Equator sign and pulled out the ring box (that Sach so smoothly placed there while sitting on the line). I remember him saying, “What do we have here?” and “Bailey Seng will you marry me?” Then silence ensued.For the first time in my life I was speechless!! However, Stephen was not and began to ramble on asking me if the ring fit and so forth. All I could think of in my heightened adrenaline state (mind you there are wild animals around and strangers looking too) was “How did that ring box get there?!” I thought about how the animals were there and it was not wise to have the box there. Then I thought about how I’d been with Stephen, Sach and Pauline all morning and there is no way they placed it there. Did he trust a hotel staff to put it there…? Yes I know, absolutely ridiculous, but it’s good because I was surprised. I am SO difficult to surprise with ANYTHING so he did a great job. At this point of not having a response from me, Pauline rescues Stephen by yelling, “What did she say?! What did she say?!” My brain quickly came back and I realized I was hiding behind huge sunglasses and hadn’t given any answer. All of a sudden my built of responses flooded out in about ten screaming “Yes”s!!! I collapsed next to Steve on the ground. He began to explain how I was from the northern hemisphere and he was from the southern hemisphere but that he believed God would use us to go back and forth and bring His truth to the nations together!! We prayed together and eventually several minutes later I finally cried and could put together sentences again. Stephen said he was tired of doing ministry apart and it was time that we started doing it together. I said that I cried almost every time I hung up the phone with him. Even though the proposal story is unique to us and so exciting, it’s a small glimpse of God’s faithfulness in our relationship. So much has happened by His perfect grace and we wouldn’t be where we are today without His guidance, holiness, and loving mercy. His love is unfailing and we are so thrilled to walk out His plans together. Thank you for your love prayers and support of us! More to come!! :)

Leapin Lemurs

Well I just washed off the last of the smashed bananas and rain forest smells off of me. I just had an experience of a lifetime!!! I am in the rain forest in Madagascar right now. As I am writing this I can hear numerous birds and insects that are a far cry from the crickets of Alabama. After we arrived this afternoon, Stephen and I went to go see lemurs. They are only found here in Madagascar. The place where we are staying has four species that they keep on separate islands as some species will fight each other if they are together. I did not have high hopes of seeing more than one maybe far off on a tree limb, but I was definitely wrong! As we walked up there was a black and white lemur just hanging out. Lemurs are very friendly especially when they know you have fruit. Stephen interacted with that lemur and soon there were about five or six small brown ones jumping back and forth around us. As we kept walking it was almost overwhelming to see and keep track of so many of them. It was hard to even pass the camera back and forth between us because they kept jumping on both of us. Our tour guide was able to take a couple of pictures of us where we each had a lemur on our heads! SO neat!!! You don’t want to close your eyes for fear of missing the beauty of the moment yet I found myself clinching as I wasn’t so sure wildlife should be this close. I did my classic “cheerleader clap” in most of my pictures. This always comes from being nervous haha! From there Stephen had information from a friend that if you ask, there is another island that they can take you too in order to see the ring-tailed lemurs. These are the kind that you’d find on Madagascar the movie (“I like to move it move it!”) ;-) You are welcome or as they say in Swahilli, “Karibu”! I know that song will now be stuck in your head as it was in mine. The canoe ride to the other island was like something out of a movie. Stephen and I couldn’t believe where we were and I almost had to pinch myself. Yes Bailey, you are in Madagascar and you are pulling up to see lemurs!! The tour guide warned us not to “touch” this species of lemur and that they had to be kept on a separate island because they’ll fight the other ones. With that in mind, try to imagine our faces as 7 lemurs start leaping towards our canoe!! We nearly froze because we didn’t thing that they would come close and we were unsure if they were safe or not. They were so incredible to watch and the next five minutes flew by! They wasted no time investigating our smashed bananas that we were brought to them and they were soon all over Stephen and I in the canoe. They were so curious and I was just sure that they knew more than they let on. Their paws were so soft and looked almost like certain frogs with little circle ends on them. Yes I know that was an incredibly scientific explanation! I couldn’t help but hear King Julian’s voice (movie reference) in my head as these funny guys were climbing all over me. Much like the conversation I imagined having with the elephant and lioness while on safari, I believe I know what these guys would say if they could talk to me. Getting to see lemurs in the rain forest of Madagascar was pretty neat and I loved that Stephen and I got to do that together. After the lemurs, we went to “ Parc Crocodile”. Yes, a crocodile park. As we drove up, I began trying to convince Stephen with my best foreign accent speaking English that it was safe. “Oh yes yes! You are very very safe here! Crocodile stay very far away behind fence”. He laughed and said that his friend mentioned that they tell you that you are safe, but to make sure that you stayed back. Thanks Renier! So we went on a tour through the reptile park following our shoeless guide. In Madagascar it is common to see people walking without shoes. A missionary here said that not very long ago about 80% of Malagasy people did not wear shoes. We saw crocodiles laying out on the edge of the water and they looked like someone who is absolutely in a deep sleep with their face all smashed onto a pillow. I thought, “Hmmm…harmless!” Thankfully I had Stephen…I mean the crocodile hunter with me ;-) Later as we walked, our tour guide took a large stick and poked at the crocodile. I being the good tourist that I am took my camera out and SNAP the croc bit off the end of the stick and I screamed!!! Now clearly we were behind the ever so sturdy wooden fence, but wow! The sound of it was incredible. I have video of it so I’ll post it later. We saw a fosa which like lemurs is only found in Madagascar. Stephen and I determined it looked like a dog, monkey, cat and rat combination. Then I valiantly followed my barefoot guide and croc hunter to see the boa constrictor. Of course! Why wouldn’t there be a boa constrictor at such a park?! Very, very safe! SO safe that you put around neck and take picture…yes? Um…no! I did hold it (hears gasps from audience) BUT only after Stephen and only enough to take an awkward picture with my nervous smile and quick eye contact. After the boa wrapped himself around my wrist next to my watch, I was definitely alright with passing him back to the guide. Stephen stepped in and took him from me before the guide had an opportunity to place it around my neck. Thanks babe! Fact: there are no poisonous snakes in Madagascar. Crazy right? Even so, I do not want to take any chances. It was a neat time, but by the end I was completely fine with getting out of the rainforest and putting some proper distance between the wildlife and myself. It is so fascinating to have seen safari animals in Kenya and now lemurs and other wildlife. I’m thankful for such an incredible trip with such beauty!

Leapin Lemurs

Well I just washed off the last of the smashed bananas and rain forest smells off of me. I just had an experience of a lifetime!!! I am in the rain forest in Madagascar right now. As I am writing this I can hear numerous birds and insects that are a far cry from the crickets of Alabama. After we arrived this afternoon, Stephen and I went to go see lemurs. They are only found here in Madagascar. The place where we are staying has four species that they keep on separate islands as some species will fight each other if they are together. I did not have high hopes of seeing more than one maybe far off on a tree limb, but I was definitely wrong! As we walked up there was a black and white lemur just hanging out. Lemurs are very friendly especially when they know you have fruit. Stephen interacted with that lemur and soon there were about five or six small brown ones jumping back and forth around us. As we kept walking it was almost overwhelming to see and keep track of so many of them. It was hard to even pass the camera back and forth between us because they kept jumping on both of us. Our tour guide was able to take a couple of pictures of us where we each had a lemur on our heads! SO neat!!! You don’t want to close your eyes for fear of missing the beauty of the moment yet I found myself clinching as I wasn’t so sure wildlife should be this close. I did my classic “cheerleader clap” in most of my pictures. This always comes from being nervous haha! From there Stephen had information from a friend that if you ask, there is another island that they can take you too in order to see the ring-tailed lemurs. These are the kind that you’d find on Madagascar the movie (“I like to move it move it!”) ;-) You are welcome or as they say in Swahilli, “Karibu”! I know that song will now be stuck in your head as it was in mine. The canoe ride to the other island was like something out of a movie. Stephen and I couldn’t believe where we were and I almost had to pinch myself. Yes Bailey, you are in Madagascar and you are pulling up to see lemurs!! The tour guide warned us not to “touch” this species of lemur and that they had to be kept on a separate island because they’ll fight the other ones. With that in mind, try to imagine our faces as 7 lemurs start leaping towards our canoe!! We nearly froze because we didn’t thing that they would come close and we were unsure if they were safe or not. They were so incredible to watch and the next five minutes flew by! They wasted no time investigating our smashed bananas that we were brought to them and they were soon all over Stephen and I in the canoe. They were so curious and I was just sure that they knew more than they let on. Their paws were so soft and looked almost like certain frogs with little circle ends on them. Yes I know that was an incredibly scientific explanation! I couldn’t help but hear King Julian’s voice (movie reference) in my head as these funny guys were climbing all over me. Much like the conversation I imagined having with the elephant and lioness while on safari, I believe I know what these guys would say if they could talk to me. Getting to see lemurs in the rain forest of Madagascar was pretty neat and I loved that Stephen and I got to do that together. After the lemurs, we went to “ Parc Crocodile”. Yes, a crocodile park. As we drove up, I began trying to convince Stephen with my best foreign accent speaking English that it was safe. “Oh yes yes! You are very very safe here! Crocodile stay very far away behind fence”. He laughed and said that his friend mentioned that they tell you that you are safe, but to make sure that you stayed back. Thanks Renier! So we went on a tour through the reptile park following our shoeless guide. In Madagascar it is common to see people walking without shoes. A missionary here said that not very long ago about 80% of Malagasy people did not wear shoes. We saw crocodiles laying out on the edge of the water and they looked like someone who is absolutely in a deep sleep with their face all smashed onto a pillow. I thought, “Hmmm…harmless!” Thankfully I had Stephen…I mean the crocodile hunter with me ;-) Later as we walked, our tour guide took a large stick and poked at the crocodile. I being the good tourist that I am took my camera out and SNAP the croc bit off the end of the stick and I screamed!!! Now clearly we were behind the ever so sturdy wooden fence, but wow! The sound of it was incredible. I have video of it so I’ll post it later. We saw a fosa which like lemurs is only found in Madagascar. Stephen and I determined it looked like a dog, monkey, cat and rat combination. Then I valiantly followed my barefoot guide and croc hunter to see the boa constrictor. Of course! Why wouldn’t there be a boa constrictor at such a park?! Very, very safe! SO safe that you put around neck and take picture…yes? Um…no! I did hold it (hears gasps from audience) BUT only after Stephen and only enough to take an awkward picture with my nervous smile and quick eye contact. After the boa wrapped himself around my wrist next to my watch, I was definitely alright with passing him back to the guide. Stephen stepped in and took him from me before the guide had an opportunity to place it around my neck. Thanks babe! Fact: there are no poisonous snakes in Madagascar. Crazy right? Even so, I do not want to take any chances. It was a neat time, but by the end I was completely fine with getting out of the rainforest and putting some proper distance between the wildlife and myself. It is so fascinating to have seen safari animals in Kenya and now lemurs and other wildlife. I’m thankful for such an incredible trip with such beauty! 

My first day in Kenya was incredible. It is so strange to be in a place that you have never been yet feeling like you’ve been here before. It feels like home, but clearly a home I’ve never known. I have always loved the people of Kenya and have dreamed of being here one day. The first day I was here on Easter was so great! My boyfriend preached an incredible word for three morning services. I was a little jet-lagged and slept in the Pastor’s office during worship at the third service but did not want to miss him preaching so I woke up and went into the service. While I may be a little biased since he is my favorite preacher, I still think it was an incredible word so I will share a brief recap. He preach on “Love on the Cross” and shared out of John chapter 19 where there were two groups at the cross. One was a group of four soldiers who were near in proximity to Jesus, but another four people who were followers of Jesus who were near not just in proximity but emotionally. He did an acronym of LOVE to show how we stay near to the cross. L stood for “relationships”…yes I know there is no L, but apparently some Kenyans mix their Ls with Rs and it was a HUGE laugh every time he shared that point. He said we must maintain a vertical relationship with God representing the vertical beam of the cross. Secondly we must have strong horizontal relationship with others representing the horizontal beam of the cross. Lastly where the two beams intersect where Christ’s heart would have been is the inward relationship we have with ourselves. O stood for “offense” and he shared on guarding ourselves from offense and building literal “fences” around our hearts and mind which push relationships away. He gave the example that as Jesus is dying on the cross He is restoring relationship for his mother Mary. That even while dying, he was guarding her from a future offense. That when people would ask about Him in the future she wouldn’t say, “My son was the son of God, but he left me alone.” Instead he gave John to her by protecting relationship and guarding her from future offense. V was for value and realizing our identity in Christ. He shared that the Apostle John only refers to himself as “the one whom Jesus loved” because he identified with how Jesus saw him, not merely what man called him. He was known for the relationship that he had with Christ not anything else he did. Then E was for elimination. That we must eliminate sin and bondage from our life and he touched on Mary Magdalene’s testimony. There was certainly a lot more, but just an overall encouragement to take up our crosses daily, dying to ourselves so that we can live in the fullness of life Jesus died to give us. Happy late Easter everyone :-)

Later that day we had an incredible 3 hour meal time sitting outside of the game park at a nice hotel with the Pastor and his wife. I really felt like I was in Africa then!

Now I know many of you desire to know exactly how Africa is different from Alabama :-) The truth is there are actually many similarities that I’ve found. For one, I can’t understand everything that is being said when people are speaking English, ok ok I am just teasing all of my sweet southern friends!! Truthfully though, both have cows that roam although these cows aren’t usually contained by fences. While I have seen some dogs roaming around, they don’t worry me as much as the cats you might find particularly where I am at right now on safari. For some reason the lion, leopard, and cheetah scare me more than being chased a few blocks by a somewhat domesticated country dog!  ;-) I am rooming with one of my boyfriend’s friend’s wife and their baby. His friend and family were able to join us on safari at a tented campground. This Oklahoman now Alabamian country girl is sleeping outside by the exotic animals! I was actually SO cold last night (before getting under the down comforter with a headed water bottle) and I was grateful for the kind suggestion to bring at least one long sleeve shirt by someone back home. I never imagined freezing in Africa…! They’ve had rain the past few days which has cooled the temperatures down. Where I am currently sitting there is a clear view of Mt. Kenya and just BEAUTIFUL landscape. This morning was my first time on safari and the very first animal we saw…was an elephant!!! I cried! It is amazing how quickly the animals can hide into the bush again. Had we been even a minute behind or ahead of the when we came we would have missed it completely. It crossed the road in front of us and began to eat and moved an entire tree to do so which made me giggle. As we drove around we saw zebra, giraffe, plenty of antelope, gazelle, huge buffalo, rhinos, and huge long horned cows. There were many more creatures like these pretty blue birds I’m watching right now. I’m sitting close to a watering hole right now where while I was eating dinner last night, I watched zebras pass. It is SO exciting and my boyfriend is a great tour guide! If he wasn’t so called as a missionary, I’m sure he’d love nothing more than being lost in the African bush tracking down animals. I watched a couple of guide get out on foot this morning tracking down lions. I SO want to see one up close! For now, I’m enjoying sitting outside where there are no allergens and hearing unique birds all around. I am here in the gorgeous Kenya countryside which differs greatly from Alabama’s beautiful rolling hills and I am grateful to be here.

“All of my love and affection belongs to You! Let praise come from my lips all of my days. Your love overtake me and flow through my veins…”-worship song I’m listening to currently. 

Disclaimer-I did not proof read this and wrote it jet-lagged…SO I’m sorry for anything said incorrectly…

Well…I am here! I AM IN AFRICA!!!!! Currently I am sitting outside in Kenya at a Safari lodge right now enjoying the clean crisp air and sounds of exotic birds. I will definitely share more on this later but let me recap my adventures in getting to Kenya. 

I was as excited as one could be as I arrived at the Birmingham airport last Friday morning. When my best friend prayed over me as we parked curbside, I burst into tears! It was finally happening! I was going to Africa to see my boyfriend! Anticipation builds as I walk in to the Delta check in counter to get my boarding passes and be on my way. I realize that I’ve trained and led many teams overseas and set up travel coordination, but I did not check in online before arriving at the airport. However, Delta never sent me an email with a check-in reminder like they always do. I did not think this was strange until I tried to check myself in at the kiosk. When it prompted me to show my credit card I purchased the ticket with, I withdrew from the kiosk and went to the main desk. A nice but obviously new worker named Adam pulled up my flight reservation and said, “Yes mam, I’ll need to see the credit card you purchased this ticket with.” I kindly said with a smile, “Well I’d love to do that but the card holder is in Africa. What do you need to see from me?” He replied, “Well I have to have that card here to check you in on this flight.” Panic ensured. This exchange continued as I was trying to understand why they needed to see the card when the credit card with that transaction had already been paid off. To further complicate matters, my cell phone had absolutely no service. As I waited for Adam’s supervisor to come speak to me I walked outside the airport and down both sides of the departure counters to find cell service. I had asked a random man if I could use his phone as he was clearly using it. Come to find out the man had not paid his bill and was merely playing with a game. Adam was nice enough to let me use his cell phone so I could finally call my best friend. That is when the big tears came. I tried to calmly use my words to tell her what was taking place but all that came out was, “They…(tried to breath) won’t (fighting sobbing tears)…let me… GO TO AFRICA!!” (all through deep tears of course). So there I was going on 3 & ½ hours of sleep, completely drained, and uncontrollably crying in the airport. Of course people were staring at me and I certainly made Adam feel uncomfortable. I asked her to come back and pick me up. I had no credit card on me and did not have the cash in my checking to put the ticket on my debit card. This is where Adam’s supervisor comes and explains that they must see the card, but no worries! All we needed to do was get my boyfriend to the nearest airport and they could verify it there. Really?!…First of all, let me repeat, HE IS IN AFRICA! Secondly, it’s nearly 10pm his time and they told me he would have to do so within the next 26 minutes. You are kidding me right?? I know my look of disbelief in their lack of understanding might have been rude, but I was so shocked. That customer service smile and using the word “mam” were not making up for the lack of common sense in the situation.  I then called my boyfriend’s parents to see if we could charge their credit card. Of course this is where Adam informed me that this would be no problem if they could just go to Delta counter at their nearest airport in the next 18 minutes.  So that failed. I called my best friend back and asked if she had a credit card on her, to which she said, “Yes! That is my plan! You have to get to Africa!” I was relieved but still shaking. Then my now buddy, Adam tells me that if she didn’t arrive in the next 11 minutes that he could not check me in! If I did not make that flight, I could not get to Nairobi until nearly 24 hours later and would miss Easter Sunday services. That would be the scenario right? SO I put a fire under my friend’s rear and asked her to run inside when she parked. Many tears, sweat, and with 1 minute remaining, my friend came running in! Halleluiah!! Adam almost failed to check the proper ID with the credit card purchase which would have been ironic to say the least. I also had to give him back the proper receipt for my luggage and ask him to put the luggage sticker on my bag so it made it out of Birmingham and eventually to Nairobi. :-) It was an adventure! I made it on my flight to Atlanta and proceed to run to my gate to catch my flight to Amsterdam too! I was talking to my dad as I heard “Miss Seng” over the loud speaker. I started crying and my dad told me to get on the plane and relax. I was just thankful to have made my flights! My flight to Amsterdam was a divine appointment as I had a small two person row with a window seat. The passenger next to me was in the US Army stationed in Alabama so he understood my new culture shock. He was heading to Amsterdam to propose to his girlfriend! He took comfort sitting next to a super girly girl full of wedding coordinating ideas who loved ever detail he shared. I land in Amsterdam, and had a great fresh juice at an adorable Dutch breakfast place. It was a moment where I really wished I could eat gluten as their pancakes looked fabulous. At this time it was around 1-2am back home, so I decided to journal and people watch to stay awake. I met many people and walked around the airport before beginning the 45 minute journey to board my plane to Kenya!! I all of a sudden became a tourist. I took a picture of the gate sign that showed I was boarding the flight to Kenya haha! This is even remotely the normal for me in international travel, but I was so excited. I befriended a few people who would become key in the coming hours, along with an 8year old named Samuel from Spain. He was excited because I could speak Spanish with him and he let me play with his stuffed animals :-) SO cute! Once I boarded the plane, I snuggled into my window seat as the two passengers next to me were shuffling around trying to sit together with the wife of their family. I came to find out that they were going to Nairobi on a mission trip to work in the slums and with orphans. I conversed with the husband who was seated next to me about their work then he and his son moved to sit with his wife, leaving me with 3 seats to myself!!! Halleluiah! I stretched out and finally slept for about 6 hours on and off. I then woke up with a runny nose and decided to stretch and get some water. I walked back to my row to sit down and sat in the middle seat. I was wearing loose cargo pants made of a very thin material.  As I sat down I felt a sharp thing pierce the underside of my right leg just underneath my rear! I jumped up grabbing my pant leg out from touching my skin. I hopped over to the next seat and looked for what I’d sat on. There crawling on the dark navy seat was a bug crawling. I grabbed the nearest thing to me, an airplane pillow and tried to squash it. Unsuccessful. So I grabbed a shoe and again, unsuccessful. So I grabbed a napkin and quickly ran to an older British man that I had befriended who was sitting in the exit row two behind me (it pays to talk to people!!). I handed him the bug and he smashed it against the wall next to him. I dashed into the bathroom and looked at my leg. It was swelling and there was clearly a hole where it had been pierced by this insect. The man had discussed the situation with a flight attendant and when I came out f the bathroom I was whisked to the back and there, dropped drawers for three attendants. Let’s just say I felt very close to them at that moment :-) We were all laughing at such a random event, but I was starting to feel a little strange. My heart was racing and I started getting shaky not to mention my leg was hurting. One of the ladies told me she was going to bite my leg and suck the stinger out…um…ok?? She didn’t get it and I think I had initially pulled it out when I grabbed my pant leg. Anyways It was so random but I ended up being fine but honestly I think because of prayer! The final identification of the insect was that it was a black wasp. So I got stung flying over Egypt on a flight from Amsterdam to Nairobi by an American wasp! How’s that for random? When I landed in Naiorobi I had to be escorted off to see a doctor who just laughed at me along with all of the Kenya airline people. Understandably, it was a funny scenario and certainly not one any of them had come across before. I was given some random pill (that I did not take :-) ) after I was asked if I was expecting haha! SO eventually I made it to customs and headed to baggage claim where the majority of my flight was still waiting on their bags. Some 30 minutes later, this is where another person I’d befriended came in handy as I shouted at this man to grab my bag for me. I was so thankful that my bag made it after I had barely made it on my flights the first two times. With bags in hand and a Kenya visa in my passport, I headed out and found myself greeted by a handsome man!! I was so relieved and excited to see that smiling face. I received a dozen red roses and had two other gentlemen assist with my bags as well. Once we got to the car, I received a dozen pink roses!! :-) Nothing could be better than being in Africa with my boyfriend and getting two dozen roses! He is so good to me! This is a long entry, but I am thankful for traveling mercies and prayers that covered me. After I landed on Saturday, the airports here in Kenya went on strike, so I may not have gotten in had I been on a later flight! God’s timing is always right and even with obstacles like my ticket and a wasp, I am glad to be found in His will. 

Well…”all my bags are packed, I’m ready to go…” I am leaving on 3 jet planes to be specific and finish that lyric :-)  This will be VERY brief but here we go :-)

So much to say but I am so excited. I am BEYOND grateful for my sweet best friend who helped me SO much! I have a fully backpack full of snacks and things for my boyfriend and everything else is packed so well.

 
In packing I found out that I weigh 160 pounds…on carpet :-) haha! Yet on tile I magically lose 30 pounds!! Who knew! Today’s new weight loss!!

I am so excited to go on this journey. It is tradition to carry this leather zipper thing that I guess is supposed to be a bible case that says Victory Christian Center on it. I always carry Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty’s, Demonstration of the Gospel, inside of it. I cried last night seeing it and remembering all of that has been imparted to me in the means of heart for others and foreign missions by he and Pastor Sharon.

In leaving I did notice that Mr. Perfect Lawn did his yard yesterday…go figure :-) And it still smells like onions and Coco is still roaming around trying to bite things out of my hands.

In closing I leave you with a funny travel story. The first time that I ever went overseas it was to Thailand. I had just done some intense drama and dance training in preparation for the trip and had huge bruises on both of my knees. Once we got to Thailand, my bruises were gone! I began to praise God and thank Him for healing me. Later, when my swollen ankles went back to normal, my bruises returned….ha! Yes…I’m a dork, I know. Well Goodbye HamaBama-I’ll see you again in two weeks!! Kenya, here I come!!

OH and Easter Sunday just got SO much better (as if that was possible). My boyfriend was asked to speak at an international church in Nairobi for a couple of services Sunday morning! SO I will be in Kenya on Easter listening to him preach :-) God is amazing! 

Today was a FULL day! Whew! I got to adventure into the “big city” today for some supplies for packing our office while I am gone. It’s almost comical to me how busy streets stress me out now! I realized a few times that I was tensing up in traffic and it made me laugh. The small town life has been good to me in many ways. There is still SO much to write about, but this blog will have to continue after Africa. I don’t know exactly how much longer I will be in Hamilton when I return, but unfortunately it won’t be past June. So I will soak up the stillness, the beautiful greenery,  and random dogs for now.

Speaking of dogs, I have an update on coco. His owners are trying to get him to stop coming around other people’s yards. Good luck with that! Every dog here roams except for my friend’s three dogs who…have a fence!!! Poor Coco…he just wants love…but his jumping and biting do get old :) yes he is a part of my day to day as Walmart is. I think this week I’ve only been there 3 times :-) hey hey!!

I can not believe that I have not included the one key famous aspect of the small town southern living! That is that practically everyone here has a porch and chairs to sit on that porch!! I have never been able to take pictures of my favories either because people are sitting outside, or the porches are too far away to sneak up and take a picture of.  However I attached pictures below of just one street in Hamilton. It is not remotely the culture in Tulsa to sit our on your front porch. Matter of fact, I can only think of a handful of homes that even have a porch to sit on. Sometimes there are couches, weird benches, odd arrangement of sitting furniture, but there is almost always a chair. You can always tell when someone doesn’t live there because …yep you guessed it there are no chairs! It is part of the inviting “my door is always open” culture. I remember sitting down here this summer on the front porch of where I was staying just because there was a swing. When you have a porch and you are in the country, you do want to sit outside. I can also identify my neighbors that are young adults like myself who were not raised here because they do not have chairs either haha! Of course, as typical small town fashion, you must wave wheb you drive by and someone is out front. Tis the ways of the south!

Well the squirrel that I posted a picture of yesterday was mysteriously gone by the time I left work today. This is only worth mentioning because it had been there ALL day at the end of our driveway. I called my co-worker a squirrel killer because she had left before me yesterday. It’s so gross though…random dead animal on the road.  

Well once I wake up tomorrow morning I will be one day closer to another culture shock and that of Africa!