Mailings

Many of you have asked about sending things to us.  Here is our mailing address:

CMF/Kenya %Tim and Alicia Stewart
PO Box 59322-00200
City Square
Nairobi, Kenya
EAST AFRICA

At this time, it is best NOT to mail packages. We will be charged at customs to retrieve them and prices can vary. However, you can mail us flat envelopes (any size) with things in them.

Click here to a link for our "Wish List". Any of these things that will fit in an envelope (shipping or business size) (even if its packed!) will be great. If you are asked to complete a form with the contents and their prices, please use lowest price possible. This will help reduce any cost we may incur.

We also LOVE just getting cards, pictures, words of encouragement, etc.

Also, many times a year teams come to serve at Missions of Hope and sometimes they have room to bring stuff to the team. If you have something bigger than envelope size you would like to send us, please let us know and we can try and arrange this.

So many of you have been so incredibly generous to us and we are in NO way asking for anything more. We just want to answer a question we have been asked a lot. We are so thankful for the generosity and encouragement we regularly receive.

The Mundane

Everyone continues to assure us that people really want to know about our daily lives.  The ordinary. The mundane.  And to be honest, life is beginning to look ordinary.  We are developing habits and routines.  We are finding our way to different places, learning to drive,  and how to do things on our own.  

Until we came here I didn't realize just how much I crave routine.  Although I love adventure and trying new things, my heart longs for familiarity, for some semblance of a schedule.  When you move you obviously forego those things for awhile and I am thankful to be getting some of that back.  However, the ordinary, the mundane, the boring also scares me.  In the very depths of my soul it frightens me because in the normalcy I get comfortable. I trust in the routine, in the known.  I confess, I don't look for Jesus as much when I know how to navigate my world.  I just hate this.  I know that part of who I am just needs a schedule, to know what to expect and what is expected, but my heart that also longs for Jesus hates this because I miss Him.  I don't always see that He is all around me.  All the time. In everything.

When we first got here, I couldn't have missed Jesus in anything.  Even if I wanted to.  It felt like every step I took He was there, guiding it.  I think it would have been impossible for Him to feel any closer, but almost 2 months have passed.  We are familiarizing ourselves with Missions of Hope.  Tim has been driving and we know how to get several places unaided.  The grocery store that was overwhelming has now become known.  Our apartment feels like our home.  When frustrations arise we are learning how to handle them.  In all this, I find myself not clinging to Jesus like I did. Like I should.  Like I want to.

I think that the routine was in many ways a gift from Him to me.  He knows I need this so out of love He provides.  He wants me (us) here so He is helping make this transition as smooth as it can be.  My choice now is to hold on to what is becoming comfortable or to continue to hold on to Jesus.  To be disciplined enough to seek Him-even in the boring.  Especially in the boring.  He is all around me.  I don't want to miss it. At all.  Any part.  Of any regular, ordinary day.

A Month Gone By

A month ago today we were sitting in the airport in Detroit.  We had just finished a delicious meal at Chili's.  We napped in the airport as we waited to board a plane for Amsterdam.  Seems crazy to think it has already been a month. If possible, this past month has moved both quickly and slowly.  Here is just a little review of our month:

*We arrived in Kenya.  Got a little rest and experienced some of the worst jet lag ever.
*I struggled the first few days as reality hit me.  Thankful for an incredible husband and family.  Most importantly, thankful for God's graciousness.  He continues to remind us that we are where we should be.
*We took our first bus ride and went to Tanzania for the first time.
*We witnessed firsthand that Tanzania is both beautiful and full of nature and nature is LOUD!
*We waged war on our plague of crickets.
* We finished language school and even have the certificates to prove it.
*We moved into our apartment.
*We started orientation to Missions of Hope.
*I have learned that I want to know how to do everything and be an expert immediately. Turns out, life just doesn't work that way.  Thankful for a learning curve!
*We learned (okay, were reminded) that we have the best supporters, friends, prayer partners, and family around.
*We learned just how expensive chicken really is!
*We are learning how to use our shillings and stay within a budget.
*We are continually impressing people without flawless Swahili :)
*We are seeing old friends and meetings new ones.
*We have laughed and played with our niece and nephews online. And even got to attend a birthday party.
*We are becoming more and more dependent upon God.
*We have gotten used to killing mosquitoes and other insects.
*I have been bitten by a Nairobi Fly (so gross!) and about 22 mosquitoes.
*We have continually been reminded of God's goodness, his faithfulness, and the truth of his promises
*We are excited for whatever lies ahead!!

Thanks for praying and encouraging us.  Thanks for supporting us.  Our first month has been great and we are certainly looking forward to the coming months!