Reflections (by Becky Hall)

Where do I even begin? If you had asked me 2 years ago whether I would ever go on a trip like this, I would have laughed at you. This was beyond anything I could have ever imagined. Our plans are rarely what God has in store for our lives, and He showed me just how much bigger His plans for me were than I was even comfortable with. On the plane ride to New York, I was given the chance to share my testimony and the gospel message with a guy from Atlanta. What a way to start the trip! Those random opportunities were sprinkled throughout the entire trip, we just had to be alert to how God was working around us.

There are so many memories that will stay with me for the rest of my life, so it’s hard to condense it all into a brief blog entry. It still amazes me that we all made it safely, with every single bag of luggage and supplies, without any major problems. I remember stepping out of the Kenya airport and feeling like we had entered another world. The climate was different, the roads, the smells, the sounds, everything was different. I also remember being overwhelmed sitting outside at Brakenhurst thinking, “How did I end up here? How could I ever deserve this blessing and responsibility?” God’s glory was absolutely everywhere on the side of that mountain.

When we went to the youth center, I was once again overwhelmed at the conditions that most of the people lived in. It broke my heart, but my pity soon turned to love. The faces of those children and those beautiful people are forever burned into my memory. Seeing how happy, joyful, and thankful the kids and the people in the community were for the simplest things made me realize not only how selfish and spoiled I was, but how spoiled we are as Americans. It was an incredibly humbling experience, as if God kicked my feet out from under me and brought my face to the ground. I cried myself to sleep a couple of nights thinking about the faces that I had grown to love. Every person that we came in contact with changed my life in some way. I miss them so much.

As if God had not shown His glory enough through the people of Kenya, He blew my mind again when we went on our safari. I honestly did not know how much more my heart could swell as it absorbed all that was being shown to us over the course of 12 days. Even the sun looks different in Africa. As I watched the sunset and then rise again over the Serengeti, I wanted to shout praises to an Almighty God. How is it that creation cries out with all the strength that it has to our creator, but we run from Him? How are we so blind? Why did it take me 20 years to see what is so clearly displayed all around us? His majesty and glory fills the heavens. He placed the sun and the stars so perfectly, raised the mountains, expanded the oceans, and then made it all visible to us so that we might have a miniscule glimpse of His awesome power and glory.

I thank God for allowing me to be a part of this group. It’s incredible to me that you can put 18 completely different personalities together in a situation such as this and not have any major conflicts or disagreements. Thank you to every team member, we shared a lot together, and I was blessed to be able to grow with you and get to know each of you better. Thank you to every Kenyan that reached out to us. We went to Africa hoping to bless you and to show you the love of Christ, and we ended up being the ones receiving the ultimate blessing from it all. Thank you to our family here in America, the ones that encouraged us, prayed for us, followed our progress, supported us financially, and loved us. Every prayer that went up, every encouraging word, every hug that we received when we got off the bus Monday night at 11pm, you will never understand what that meant to each of us. Most of all, thank you to my Lord and my God. Without you, none of this would have happened. God has opened my eyes to see the world completely differently. Words are not enough to express the impact that this experience has left on my life.