Safari

Being on Safari in Africa was a total dream come true. We went to Lake Nakuru National Park. They have pretty much all of the animals except elephants. And we got to see most of them. It was awesome!



The pink is a sea of flamingos!


Hippo



The Masai man who beat baboons off of the deck...crazy!















Can you spot the leopard?

Giraffe Kisses

These are pictures from the Giraffe Center. You could take food and stick it anywhere on your face and the giraffes would lick it off of your face. Apparently, giraffe saliva is an antiseptic...go figure. I still decided it was wise to just take pictures...haha!

Kenya

It is so hard to even know where to start! This was the greatest trip ever! I took 11 recent high school grads (recent as in they graduated the day before we left), three of their dads, one of their grandmas, my dad, and my friend BJ. I was so proud of our entire team. They were such troopers! We flew through London to Nairobi, Kenya.


When we landed, we jumped into a couple of vans and hoped they knew where they were going. We finally arrived at Brackenhurst in Limuru, Kenya at around 12:30 am. Even at night it was beautiful. Brackenhurst is definitely one of the most beautiful places on earth. The flower gardens are phenomenal. the hydrangea were bigger than my head. Crazy! The staff there had held our dinner and there we sat at 1 am eating. The next morning we got up and headed into Nairobi to find out what our assignment would be. We were all shocked and a little frightened when we found out that we would be spending the week in the slums of Nairobi. We were also shocked to hear that this is what the people of Nairobi, even the ones who live in these areas, call this area. It was absolutely the worst poverty I have ever seen! We worked with a church called Huruma Baptist Church. The pastor there is a man by the name of Pastor John. He is a kind and excitable man.



My interpreter was a girl by the name of Lorraine. She is a great girl. She is 18 years old and loves the Lord with all of her heart. She lives with her mom, a hairdresser, and her 4 siblings. One of these pictures was taken at her house. It is me, Lorraine, and her oldest brother. She sleeps on that loveseat every night. There was a coffee table touching our knees. That is where her mom sleeps. The curtain behind us hides the bed. Her four siblings share the bed. Their entire house was about 8 x 12. She told me that when her mom comes home from a day of work where the shop has been slow with few customers, they put the kids to bed early so that they don't think about the fact that they have no food. It was a heartbreaking situation! This was the only place I have ever been where I felt a sense of helplessness. It will take nothing less than a miracle of God for this country to ever florish. This is a picture of the courtyard outside of Lorraine's house. Each house has one of these courtyards with 4 to 8 houses coming off of it. It is a shared area where they cook, wash clothes, socialize, etc... As for our assignment... we were to go, with our individual interpreters, and share the gospel door-to-door. It was kind of scary at first, but by day two, most of us were getting into the swing of things. After three days, almost 50 people had prayed to receive Christ. Almost everyone on our team had the opporunity to pray with someone to receive Christ. Lorraine was a little spitfire. I have no idea what all she said, but she was going and going like a little Energizer Bunny. I would say a sentence or two and then she would talk for 10-15 minutes...haha!





Getting to know our interpreters


Out on the streets, going door-to-door



Woshiping at Huruma Baptist Church



At the church where we were meeting, they have a daycare that meets everyday. These kids are so cute. They are between the ages of 3 and 4 and they are so well behaved. Every morning they would greet us with a loud, excited, "How are you?" They all wanted to shake our hands. They were so cute. They sat in on some of our meetings, where some of the preachers would speak for an hour, and they would sit quietly without moving a bit. When we would sing, they would dance and clap. I think we all wanted to bring them home with us!
























These pictures are from a school where one of our greatest experiences took place. Kirk Shockley, one of our team members, set up an appointment for several of us to go to a school and share with the individual classrooms. Five students and three adults went and shared with grades K5-8. I got to share with the 8th graders. They were quite impressive. It is amazing how much effort they put into education when most of them have so little to look forward to. After each class was finished, they invited the eight of us to come and share with the high school. There were about 60 students in what they call Form 1-4 (the same as our grades 9-12). Two of the students shared their testimonies. Then I shared my testimony and Kirk and Howard followed me. I have never heard a clearer presentation of the gospel than what Kirk shared that day. On our way out, one of the teachers, a University student who volunteers his time, stopped Kirk and told him that he wasn't a Christian, but that he was touched by what Kirk had shared. They talked for a minute longer and then exchanged email addresses. The next day, the young man, Bernard, emailed Kirk and told him that that evening he had prayed to receive Christ. It didn't stop there! He had contacted his University and requested a two week absence, which they granted. He was on his way back to his village, to share the good news of Christ among his people. We can't wait to see what God is going to do through Bernard. Please keep him in your prayers!

These are pictures from one of the other schools that we visited in Nairobi.

Ralphie bust'n a move for the kiddos!

Training...Week Four

Well, 16 miles was hard to fit into my schedule, but we did it! It was a rough week for my teammates, so I had to walk most of my miles alone. :( sad! I got to be pretty good friends with my IPOD though. Haha! I also took my first 5 mile walk this week. Yeah!! This is getting harder...not the walking as much as the scheduling...haha!


Mother's Day is coming up soon...get in shape...take a walk...SHOP!!!! Haha

Training...Weeks 2 and 3

Okay, so week 2 was a little rough....two words...STOMACH VIRUS! Ugh! I only got in three miles. So sad! BUT...week 3 was awesome. We got in 15 miles. Yeah! One funny side note: yesterday, Sunday, I still had 4 miles to get in because I spent the weekend hanging out with Mike and the rest of the gang that still live in town. So I parked 2 miles away from the church last night and walked to church. Well, halfway through the service the emergency line rings (I was on call this past week.) So anyway, it is a family needing me to bring something to them. So I have to take off and book it 2 miles back to my car. Of all times! Haha! The lady called to see where I was and I was huffing and puffing and had to tell her that I was walking to my car. Haha! Well, pray for us...we are going to go for 16 miles this week. As of today...2 down.

As if a cure for breast cancer weren't reason enough, here is one more reason to sign up for the 3-Day. As Mattie would say, "Don't be the guy!"

Training...Week One

Well since so many of you are donating to the cause, I thought I would make myself accountable to you for my training. So here goes...On Monday we worked out at the gym. Tuesday we walked 3 miles. Wednesday we worked out. Thursday we walked 3 miles. Friday we worked out and walked 3 miles. Saturday I walked 2 miles. Sunday I walked 1.7 miles (it started raining...boo). So the grand total for miles walked this week was 12.7. Yeah! As of tonight, I have been given $580 in donations!!! Yeah!!!!

My new venture... the 3-day

Well, I must be crazy, because I let Grubbs talk me into taking part in the Breast Cancer 3-Day. It is actually a pretty cool thing that I am really excited about. We will go to Atlanta on Oct. 12th and walk 20 miles and then camp that night. We will wake up and do the same thing on the 13th and then on the 14th we will walk 20 miles and have a closing ceremony. So in 3 days we will walk 60 miles. We started out training this week by walking 3 miles every other day. We are actually having a lot of fun doing it. We have to raise $2200 a piece to be able to participate. I hate asking for money, but this is for a really good cause. All of the money goes to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, to fund breast cancer research and community outreach, as well as the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund, to provide an endowment for breast cancer initiatives.


So now for my shameless, flagrant, blatant, barefaced, overt, brazen, brash, audacious, outrageous, undisguised, unconcealed, transparent; immodest, indecorous; unabashed, unashamed, unblushing, and unrepentant appeal for money. PLEASE donate to this wonderful cause! How about a dollar for every mile? That's only $60. Haha! Okay, how about $10. It would only take 220 people giving $10. For you college kiddos, how about $5. That's about the same as one Starbucks....just think of it as Coffee Talk for Breast Cancer...haha! If you want to donate you can either mail me a check written to Breast Cancer 3-Day or you can go to www.the3day.org/atlanta07/angelacarter and make an online donation. Okay, well I will be keeping you updated on our training and on our fundraising efforts. Oh, and if you have any ideas for fundraisers or companies who might donate or match gifts, drop me a line!