The Russells Go to AFRICA!

     Yes, it's true.  Matt and I are praying to travel to Kenya this summer on a short term missions trip.  Surreal, huh?  It is for me... There is so much to say and share about this opportunity that I almost don't know how to start.  I did send out emails to our family and some of our friends.  I hope you don't mind, but for simplicity's sake, I'll just share what I wrote in that email.

     Matt and I are traveling to Kenya, Africa this summer for a two week missions trip!

     As background info, we found a church here in Arizona that we love.  It's HUGE, but the people have such love for Jesus, for reaching out and loving our community, and for reaching out and loving the world.  As part of their focus, they send about 12 mission trips a year around the world.  

     In January, Matt and I learned that the church is taking a group of people to Kenya this summer for two weeks.  We were intrigued, and God began pressing on us a bit to consider the possibility.  At first, I thought, "NO WAY."  (Never say "no" to God, by the way).  I mean, Matt is a pilot, we have two small kids, we'd have to raise money, we'd have to find some one to take care of the girls and dogs, it's Africa... The list goes on.  BUT, God began to gently work on our hearts.  

     Matt and I agreed to pray about it for the month of February then go to the info meeting the first weekend of March.  And I love how God can change hearts, steer us, point us where he intends for us to go... Before I knew it, I was dreaming of working in Africa, helping those who have so little, loving on those who rarely get noticed.  I was also encouraged to put God first and let Him work out the details.  By the time we attended the info meeting, Matt and I were ready to hear what God had to say.  Matt walked out of the meeting and said, "Let me check on a few things at work, but I think we should go for it!"  And I knew he was right.  God made it so clear.

     We still have a long way to go. The trip is in July (from July 5-18).  We have to raise $$.  We have to get shots.  We already have help with the kids (thank you SO much, mom and dad).  Sometimes these things seem BIG (especially the $$), but Matt and I keep focusing on the fact that we have a BIG God who can do immeasurably more than we can imagine.  We also TRUST that if this trip is His will for us, the details will fall in place.  So, we step out in faith and press forward.

     The trip itself?  We leave Phoenix, arrive in Kenya, spend a few days acclimating, then get to work!  We'll be working in the slums of a large, populous valley in Nairobi, Kenya.  We'll be divided in to teams, working on different projects.  We don't know what team we'll be on yet, but we could be helping run soccer clinics, helping run a vacation bible school for the kiddos, or helping put in plexi-glass sky lights for the slum shacks so they have natural light (no utilities in this part of Africa).  (To get a better idea of what we'll be doing, you can watch this short video on our church's webpage).

     It's gonna be quite the adventure!  Oh, after working and helping those in Nairobi, our trip ends with a 3 day safari at one of the wildlife preserves! That's just a fun little bonus for us, as we've always wanted to experience an African safari!

     So, that's our exciting news.  We'll keep you posted... Here we GO!