HERE WE GO!!!

       Thursday is the day that we head out of our comfort zones into God's beautiful creation; we are going to Kenya!  We are all so excited of what is to come for our team, and we owe all of the praise to our Father in heaven for giving us the opportunity to work together to spread His truth!

       We will leave this Thursday, May 16th, and head to our first destination which is Detroit, Michigan, where we will then fly to Amsterdam, Netherlands, which will then lead us to Nairobi, Kenya.  We will arrive there on May 17th and we will begin working with a program called Made in the Streets (MITS).  Charles and Darlene Coulston helped in the creation of this organization, and with a combination of their servant hearts and the Lord's strength they have created a ministry that has brought many to Christ.  The ministry that this organization provides is simply amazing; the staff under this ministry immerses themselves in the streets of Eastleigh, which is a suburb of Nairobi, and bring in children who have been living on the streets, provide them with a place to live, food to eat, and most importantly the love of the Lord.  We will be working very closely with the staff at MITS and doing anything they need help completing; teaching Math, English, and Bible classes, making meals, tutoring students, and even taking some of the kids camping on Mt. Kenya to dive deeper into the word with them.
       After we spend about three weeks in Eastleigh, we will head to Malindi on June 7th where we will serve a local village called Nine Poles.  We will lay the foundation for them to build a new building for the school that is stationed there.  We will finish our trip there, and will be heading back to the states starting on June 21st. 

     We are fortunate to have three returners coming with us this year, but here is a little introduction to the team!

Jeremy Hardegree:  Jeremy is from Irving, Texas and will graduate from Texas A&M in December with a degree in Sports Management.  Jeremy loves being active and doing things for others; with this same amount of enthusiasm, he loves anything revolving around the sport of baseball.  As the leader of our team, Jeremy has done a great job of preparing us for this trip in every way possible.  Jeremy is one of the three returners going again this year, so he is very excited to see the kids he worked with last year and build on those relationships.  His love to spread God's word is very evident, and he is so ready to get to back Kenya!

Shannon Musslewhite:  Shannon is from Denton, Texas and she will graduate in May of 2014.  Shannon's servant heart is taking her to Kenya for a second year, and she could not be more excited about it.  Shannon's favorite part of the entire trip is working with the children at MITS.  Just thinking about the children there makes her heart smile.  Shannon is getting a degree in Education from Texas A&M which fits her perfectly.  She has such a wonderful gift to teach and uses that gift to teach children about the love of Christ.

Candace Bayles:  Candace is from Fort Worth, Texas and she will complete her undergraduate work in Allied Health in December 2013 and is still contemplating what she will pursue after she graduates.  Candace has been on several trips to Haiti with an organization called Live Beyond that was created by a group of AFC students just last year.  She enjoyed working and ministering so much that she was inspired to go on a mission trip for an extended amount of time.  She loves being around kids, and cannot wait to see what God has in store for her.

Kori Holt:  From Brownfield, Texas, Kori is the youngest in our group.  She just finished her freshman year at Texas A&M, and is so excited about going on this trip.  She has an older brother and older sister who are, and were, also active in the AFC which inspired her to come to A&M and be involved with Aggies for Christ.  Kori is also pursuing a degree in Education which makes her even more excited about going on this trip.  She has a gift to teach, and is ready to share her love for Christ with the children there.

Laure Seifert:  Laura is from Katy, Texas and graduated from A&M last May.  She has been working in Houston since last August at BHP Billiton.  As one of the members who went last year, Laura is very excited to be going back and forming deeper relationships with the kids.   She has loving heart that is ready to give and serve in any way possible, and she loves working with the children there.  Laura will not be staying for the whole six weeks, but she is just excited that she has been given the opportunity to return.

LeShae Belt:  LeShae is from Mesquite, Texas.  She graduated in December 2012 with a degree in Education.  LeShae is presently living in Mesquite and has a job teaching 8th grade English. She has always wanted to go on a mission trip abroad, but it has not worked out until now so she is excited to embark on this new journey.

     Overall, we are all very excited about the opportunity to fulfill God's commandment of us to go and preach the good news.  We ask you to pray that we teach truth and help people see the love that Christ has for them, that we love on the children in Eastleigh as Christ would, that we are all safe and healthy throughout the duration of our trip, and most of all that Christ is glorified in everything that we do and say.  Thank you so much for teaching us to want to serve and love, and we promise to keep you updated on our work!

Mungu Akubariki!! ("God bless you" in Swahili)

The Kenya Team