Why Run?

So here it is. The moment you've all been waiting for...

I want to tell you about a Revolution. This is one of the coolest, most spectacular, life changing revolutions you will ever have the opportunity to be a part of. It's called Run4Revolution and so many are already choosing to take part. This is an exclusive running club around the world! (Okay so Kenya and America so far...)

CT and I have been prompted to put in writing what our passions are. One day, a while back, I was just doing my daily run and I began thinking about what mine were. I thought of 2 of them immediately b/c usually I'm doing them at the same time. I am passionate about children and running. Not just praying for my children, friends children, and those adopting, but children among the least of these. I have always been drawn to the least of the least. There are children out there, approximately one million, that I am passionate about saving. These children are not necessarily orphans. Some have families, but they have been ripped from them to spend their lives having the most despicable, atrocious things being done to them day in and day out. What is this? It's called a few different things. You may of heard it called sex trafficking, child trafficking, child slavery, human trafficking. There have been arguments what to call it and what not to call it. Call it whatever you want. I call it despicable and something MUST be done about it. What am I going to do about it? Well first I spoke with the first person I could think of that is also passionate about justice, stopping human trafficking, and running. Lindsey Broere and I have emailed back and forth 100 times growing our ideas and passions. It amazes me how God began speaking to both of our hearts at the exact same time about the exact same things! Secondly, I started running further and harder. Thirdly, I began talking it up to my runny friends. We have 6 people so far that are doing the same. We will RUN 4 REVOLUTION. We will RUN LIKE SOMEONE'S LIFE DEPENDS ON IT. Our goal is to raise awareness about Human Trafficking and raise money to aid organizations who raid these brothels, that force children as young as 4 year olds, to surrender to such heinous acts. It's still a work in progress, but the revolution has already begun...

I think I have said this before at some point but I want to try and explain why and how I run. When I began running back in 07' I began to do so to release some serotonin and a crazy amount of energy (In fact, it was Michael B that talked me into starting b/c he had been running). Soon after I began running it turned it to a wonderful prayer time with the Lord. As I began picking up my milage Joy talked to me about focusing my runs/prayers ON something specific or someone. This totally opened my eyes to a whole to realm of thoughts on my runs.

Running, for me, has never been about myself, my health, nor my appearance. I relate it a little to fasting. It's weakening the flesh to strengthen the spirit. When I've already run 5 miles and I am about to run up a huge hill, I think about a friend going through some difficult situations. I run that hill FOR that person. I do not allow myself to stop. I run it FOR strength and hope for those children in the brothels. I run it FOR those men who have left their families to put themselves in danger to raid brothels and save little girls from a life of exploitation. I run for those starving to death in Kenya due to the lack of rain which has led to dead livestock and zero crops. This is why I run...

What can you do?

~Educate yourselves on human trafficking

~Read books on human trafficking. My first one was "Terrify No More" Gary Haugen

~Pray about joining R4R- EMAIL US if you would like to learn how to get started or get involved.

~Help us get the word out

~Tell your runny friends

~Most importantly, start running/walking several minutes a day. Use that time to focus on praying for these victims.

~And stay tuned as the next few posts reveal more about how you can help

A Blow Out...

I mean this is just way too funny not to share.  I almost forgot I took a picture of this b/c I uploaded them on the other computer that I rarely use.  The day we left for Mali Saba I went out into the yard.  Shaggy laid down right in my path wanting me to pet her belly, so I squated down and this is what happened.  All in a matter of 2 seconds!

These were my FAVORITE JEANS!!  I've had them for at least 6 years!  Remember when I told you guys I was going to Toi Market to look for jeans b/c Zippy made fun of my jeans?  Well these were the ones.  AND I bought 3 pair which I had to donate to the Saint Boys (we are no longer calling them Street Boys) b/c they didn't fit.  Oh and don't be alarmed, those aren't black underpants, just a pillow from the couch.  So after my blow out I put my hand back there and felt. Could it be?  Did I really just blow out the whole backside of my jeans?  I had to put both hands back there and run in the house.  Graig was standing at the door and Thomas was in the yard.  G said "What's wrong with you?"  I said "Nothing!  Just don't look at me!"  I mean seriously... who does this to their jeans?  What's so funny is G had JUST done the same thing with his jeans that week.  That's why we both had to go to the market.  It's just so hard b/c you can't try them on.  I thought I wore size X, but when I bought 2 size X's- neither fit!  So I decided to try one more time and only look for Gap size X.  Found them!  Tried them on at home- HIGH WATERS!  They didn't even say "short".  I guess I better just stick to wearing my gauchos for now. 

Hope you laugh as much as i did...

My joy...

Some of you guys are getting BEHIND in reading this blog, huh? It's b/c I'm super-awesome-fast-girl-updater these days.

Honestly, I just don't even know where to start at telling you about adoption stuff. I get so overwhelmed any time I think about, blog about, or sit sit down with the paperwork. In fact, "The Folder" is tucked away in a drawer so I don't even have to look at it. I think when the time comes I might just let Chris tell you what's going on. I really think that somewhere since August 18th, I lost some of my joy. It may sound extreme, but I really think I lost some of it for a short while. You know what that means? My joy was not where it was supposed to be. It was in the Emergency Room before I knew it! My joy was not: delighting in the Lord. It was in my hopeful future children. Wrong? Absolutely. I have been reading a book called "Crazy Love" by one of my favorite pastors- Fancis Chan. Michael B recommended it long ago, so I ordered it, but stuck it in with the others on the shelf here. I finally began reading it back at the beginning of August. I put it down for a little bit when I was busy loosing some joy. The thing is, I knew I was obsessing over the paperwork, homestudy, i800 junk. I picked up Crazy Love again and have really been enjoying it. It has slapped me around a few times. It's been good for me to be forced to put the adoption stuff down for a while and focus on my first love. You know what the outcome has been? It's now in the recovery room, doing much better. I have all my joy back and I really think I'm okay if even it ends up being another year before we get to meet our children. For they are not the reason for my joy, but my savior is! I have some other things to focus my mind and time on and those things will take first and foremost focus on Him and guidance from Him. I am very excited about the things He has laid on my heart these past few weeks. I have been led to evaluate my passions and do something more with the very first one I wrote down. But you'll have to wait to hear more about it.... it could be big... really BIG. Oh how I love keeping you people in suspense. All 2 of you! :) I've hinted around on other posts, so some of you may have a slight idea what it involves. okay, okay, I'll give you another hint which has something to do with this post:

The other day I was running and listening to my ipod. I was meditating on some different aspects of this "project", wondering how this thing was going to work, and thanking Him for helping me find where my joy comes from. Then this song came on and struck me differently than before.

Who can hold the stars in my weary heart

who can see everything

I have fallen so hard

sometimes I feel so far,

but I'll be on your wings

I can climb a mountain, swim the ocean- do anything

but it's when you hold me

I start unfolding all i can say is

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Whatever is in front of me, help me to sing hallelujah

The same sun rises over castles and welcomes that day

spills over buildings to the streets where orphans play

only you can see the good in broken things

You took my heart of stone and made it whole

set this prisioner free

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Whatever is in front of me, help me to sing hallelujah

Hallelujah, Hallelujah

Whatever is in front of me, I'll choose to sing hallelujah

Hallelujah

Betcha my cat is cooler than yours...

Can your cat do this?

How about this?

Can your cat do this 6 times over?

Yea, that's what I thought.

Mine can.

Pepper killed Momba number 6...

...twas a green one this time.

...so Pepper got extra dried fish!

Good kitty.

What if you acted like this at meal time....

Haven't cried about Shaggy today, so I'm on an uphill climb. I still wake up in the middle of the night thinking about how I saw her all stretched out thrown in the corner on the floor- but no more tears. She doesn't have a spirit, I keep telling myself that. Some times silly people like myself place paternal longings on our pets. We did this with Lex and subconciously I did it with Shaggy. I usually tried to pass her off as "Thomas's dog" since I never wanted another mouth to feed to begin with. Thomas is the only reason we had her. But for some crazy reason she loved me. She would lay outside the kitchen window just to watch me do dishes. She greeted me every morning when I opened the door to leave for morning runs. If I stayed on the outside of the gate longer than a couple minutes she would freak out wanting me to come in. In the mornings I go to the tiny house next to ours to do my quiet time- She'd lead the way knowing exactly where I was headed. Since she had a lil' flea problem I wouldn't let her come in, but she didn't care. She stayed right outside the door and wait till I finished. Alright, enough of that, back to what this post is really supposed to be about: ELEPHANTS!

Wanted to share this with you all. I think it's really funny, myself. There is an elephant orphanage about 15 minutes from our house and I was able to go a few weeks back for the first time It was really cute, fun, neat and all that, but I still can't quite understand why people would choose to spend tons of money on adopting animals. I can't even tell you how much they spend on this special milk formula every feeding. But that's just me. I mean I did take my dog to get spayed at the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals just so I could pay half the price of having it done at the vet- ONLY so they could kill my dog. Then I asked for my money back. I'm probably a sick individual, I'm sure of it. Any way, my friends and I have something up our sleeves I will soon share with you about protecting and saving REAL children.

Watch the video. i mean, it's still cute.

Random pics of my niece and nephew for your viewing pleasure, b/c I just think they are so darn cute... and I might miss em' a bit.

Sometimes when it rains it pours...

On Friday Thomas took Shaggy to get fixed.  She almost died having her puppies last time so we thought it was time to get her fixed.  I was able to do so through the KSPCA which was half the price of the vet.  Since Chris and I were in Mali Saba Thurs/Fri/Sat we let Thomas drive her there.  He was supposed to pick her up on Saturday, but he said they told him to wait and pick her up on Monday b/c they wanted to treat her eye (which had a blot clot/ infection- that we knew about).  I showed up today about noon to pick her up.  I waited on "Fred" but he never came.  I went back to the desk and told the lady Fred wasn't there.  She asked another lady to take me to her kennel.  So I walked to the clinic which was their operating room.  I politely smiled at everyone while the lady asked about where my dog was.  Then I looked down and literally 3 feet from me lay my dog, on the floor, stiff as a board- obviously dead.  "That looks like my dog RIGHT THERE!"  They all just looked at each other. The man asked me to follow him back to the office.  I waited for about 4 people to come out and tell me they were sorry but shaggy died.  I suppose they took me for a moron.  Apparently no one felt the courtesy to call me and tell me.  Apparently they don't communicate with each other to say "hey, don't bring that lady in to see her dead dog laying on the floor."  I was told she was actually bleeding on Saturday after the surgery and that is why she needed to stay longer.  They found her dead in her kennel this morning.    

I know it's just a dog, but I am so, so upset!  I almost wish she had just died at home with me rather than in a kennel somewhere wondering where she was and why she was hurting so bad.  

Alex with Shaggy the day before she went for surgery

Mali Saba...

At the beginning of the summer a precious couple with one of our groups gave us some money. This money was conditional however.  It was not for the ministry.  We had specific instructions that we could ONLY use it on ourselves.  WHAT??  Yep.  We have been much too busy this summer to use it, but this past week we cashed it in.  My Chris took me to one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to.  We went to a place called Mali Saba near Nakuru.  It is a massive crater, the 2^nd largest in Africa.  I will tell you more about this place through pictures.

You just gotta see it!

We stayed in a nice Banda which is a glorified tent.  I DO mean glorified. It had a nice, big shower, toilet, sink and all. This is the front porch of our banda:

 

This is laying in our bed looking out over the dormant volcano, aka: a crater.  

We actually signed a waiver for our ”nature walk.”  I was cool with this, I figured it was because of snakes. I’m well aware by now of the risks with snakes here seeing as they all almost all poisonous.  You just avoid ticking them off at all costs.  That’s my rule anyway.  Toward the beginning of our “nature walk” I asked Peter a question after thinking about this waiver we just signed saying if we die, Mali Saba isn’t responsible.  Curious about this and thinking about snakes I asked “So how many times do you see snakes out here on this “nature walk”.  Peter replied “We don’t see them 60% of the time.”  Well, what the heck about the other 40%.  I didn’t even want to know so I stopped there.  Little did I know, poisonous snakes were the LEAST of why we signed our lives away.  Goodness gracious, this was no nature walk.  

This is what we climbed.  The next pictures are our journey to the peak.  The one closest to us is the one we climbed.  The farther one is even higher!

This was IN the crater, in front of our massive hill... only it doesn't look that big in the picture....

This is it... this is about the steapest part of the whole thing.  WHEW!  Makes me tired just looking at it.  

Check out this kid cutting grass on the side of the mountain while his cows graised below.  He acted like it was no big deal.  I think I could find less scary places to cut grass...

We had to take a breather on the way up where it was flat enough to sit.  We were almost there.  CT looking out at the hill we didn't climb.  He really showed me up guys.  I never heard him panting not once... and he's not the one training for a half marathon!!  WTC?  Apparently my mans' inactivity in the physical department hasn't fazed him a bit!

 

When we returned back, I insisted they change the name from “Nature walk” to their choice of: “Eco challenge: Mali Saba”, “Nature death climb”, or “Man Verses Wild: Mali Saba style”. 

Finally!  We made it to the top.  For our next outdoorsy endeavor- Kilimanjaro, here we come!

                                          

This is at the top.  You can see our Banda waaaaay off in the distance..

This is where we went to eat our dinners, but you really can't tell much other than CT loves UNC and that hat!

We had an absolutely wonderful time.  It was definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been in my life!   We got to spend some time together just the 2 of us.  It was perfect.  We spent most of our time just sitting on the porch of our Banda with coffee- admiring God's infiniteness, and affection for us. I will never forget the wonderful gift this was!

 

Run for Revolution picture...More on this to come! ;)

GREAT NEWS: This just in...

Hey Folks!  I have some very exciting news. 

If you visit Monkeez Brew in Thomasville this Saturday, September 12th at any time- you will be helping to fund our adoption!  That's right!  Some very sweet, precious people have surprised us with this generous gift!  So stop in that day and grab a cup of coffee, a dessert, or a delicious sandwich.  If you are interested, that night they will have live music along with some "nifties" from Kenya!!!  All proceeds of the Kenyan goods goes to fund our adoption.  There will be handmade jewelry, bags, wallets, bowls, aprons, spoons, scarves, and more!  (So sorry, but they will not be selling anything in advance.)  If you are interested but unable to attend please ask Kim Hearn, Beth Rollins, or Pat Rollins after the 12th.  They will also be selling our adoption t-shirts:

And yes, getting one of these t-shirts will increase your chances of spontaneous laughter.  

(Matt and mug not included)

They are $15.  Front: Kids need Homes

                        Back: I [heart] orphans

...and here is a cute pic of Abby and Graig for kicks!

Corn, Fishy fish, and Strikes...

Welcome again to Linders' Comedy Hour!  (Hopefully it doesn't really take you an hour to read this.)  That's right it's "Das not funny Friday" EVERYDAY!  For those of you who have missed the last few posts I encourage you to go back and read for some hopeful good laughs.  It's my attempt to "forget about it" (adoption chaos) and laugh at the everyday things that are going on around us here in Kenya.  

Today I'd like to show you a few pictures of a REAL stand I saw at the Sarit Center (like a shopping mall).  Chris and I had to go get my phone fixed at this mall and just outside the Safaricom store this is the food stand we saw:

That's right folks the "Hot n' Corny" corn stand!  I know it's dark, but hopefully you get the picture.  What do they sell you ask?  What is in that massive silver vat you say?  Well, piping hot corn of course.  And only hot corn.  No drinks, desserts, or marshmallows- just a small ice cream cup of hot, steamy corn.  They will add in a spoon full of mayo and stir it around for you upon request though.  GEEROSS!  

The title alone seems a bit fishy to me.  Speaking of fish...

This is Taphrosa, Pastor Indiazi's wife.  Last Thursday we went to Kibera as usual.  Well I walked into their house and immediately was smacked by the horrendous smell of old fish.  So I followed my nose into the kitchen and there lay before me a huge round plate of old, dried fish.  I said "Mama!(a term of respect here)- What are you going to do with this fish?"  She told me Meshack (her son-in-law) brought it back from the Congo!  She said she was going to take the scales off of them with a knife and soak them to get some of the salt off and make the meat poof up.  mmmm.  Don't get me wrong, I really like fish.  I would go as far as saying I love fish- tuna in a can, crappy, trout, salmon, cat, who cares!  My daddy raised me a fishin' girl- loved to go fishin' with my dad.  (Whereas my brother would eat all the snacks then ask when we were going home. huhuh.)  Then I'd watch him for as long as it took him to fillet them all.  (I usually sat there begging him to please open the belly of every fish and show me what they had eaten.  He probably regretted ever doing that for me the first time.)  

Whatever Taphrosa was doing with the fish was making my stomach turn a bit though. We were there for four hours and she was working on scaling those fish for 3 of them.  Towards the end I started taking them and just peeling the skin and scales off.  She looked at me with a furrowed brow.  What?  It just made sense to me.  Picking the scales off with a knife was for the birds!  After a minute of watching me she said "Here. Do the rest so that I don't have to."  Hahah.  I just laughed at her.  We got a good laugh together.   (Prolly not as funny to you.  Had to be there.) 

EWE!

And last but not least let me introduce you to Kararapon Rd.  This is the main road that leads to our house.  There is a guard at that little shack 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.  The guard opens and closes the gate all day to vehicles going and coming.  If it is an unfamiliar one then he inquires about their destination in our neighborhood.  

Yesterday apparently they were on strike though.  Graig was the first to leave the house yesterday morning to take Melia to school.  Graig pulled to the gate and no one opened it.  The guard that works it everyday as there but walked off as soon as G pulled up.  Another man comes to the window and tells G he will need to open his own gate because "people" haven't paid their security fees.  G talked to the man for a few minutes about how he hasn't heard anything about it.  He said how do you know who has paid and who hasn't?  He said he had a list of names.  G said "what's my name?"  Finally he got out and opened it himself then politely closed it.  Melia yelled out the window to the man "I better not be late for school!" hahah

So the funny thing about all this is IF you are striking then WHY would you even come to work?  He was there all day, IN the guard shack, but would walk off as soon as a car came up.  And just for the record our landlord pays our security fees (or doesn't- we don't know) and we give the guards money every month that we aren't required to give them.  I just found that funny that he would come to work, wearing his uniform, not actually work - ON STRIKE.