Trip Postponed

AIM decided this morning that because of the very volatile politial situation in Kenya and especially in Nairobi right now that my trip needs to be postponed. The AIM missionaries that are living in Nairobi are not leaving their homes right now and have told AIM's headquarters in New York that the situation is unsafe for people to come into. I will still be traveling to New York for orientation and more information on the situation on the 2nd. I will then fly back to Grand Rapids and await the word from AIM that it is safe to head to Nairobi. When it is safe, AIM will then book a flight out of Chicago or Detroit for me.

Please pray for the situation to settle quickly and for the violence to end. Pray for safety for the AIM missionaries and for everyone in Kenya. Pray that the situation will not escalate.

Thank you for your prayers and I will keep you updated as I learn more. More information on the situation can be found here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7165602.stm.

Packing

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas. I know I enjoyed the time with my family. I am now just focused on packing. I got a bunch of stuff for Christmas that I needed to take with me so that helps out a lot. I can't believe I leave in 6 days! That's so cool!

One thing I do really need to do is sell my car before I leave. Pray that it will go smoothly and that I will get what I need to out of it.

I can't wait to leave!

Getting Ready to Leave

Tomorrow is my last "official" day of work at SMAT. I may go in for a few hours Thursday and Friday next week but that is completely up to me. I have really enjoyed my time working there and have really learned a lot. It has been such a blessing to work with such great Christian guys who share my desire to go to the mission field. I will miss working with them.

Christmas preparations are in full swing at home. The big family Christmas party is at our house on Monday and we still have a lot of work to do to get ready but it is tough when all of us work all week. I am close to having my shopping done but it has been hard to think about Christmas when Africa is so close. Pray that I can keep my focus on the now and enjoy the few days before I leave.

I have begun gathering my stuff to pack and making a list of stuff I still need to pick up. Thanks to Pastor Brian (the youth pastor at my church) I now have two suitcases that will work perfectly for the trip.

I will be taking my laptop and will have access to the internet while in Nairobi so please feel free to e-mail me at rozey1013@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you!

I want to thank everyone who supported me financially and most importantly in prayer. God has been amazing and has done some awesome things and I haven't even left yet! I am so excited to see what he is going to do while I am there! I can't wait to see how he will amaze, bless, and teach me! Thank you for being a part of this and I hope God will bless you all this Christmas!

In Christ,
~Nathan

Support

God is amazing! I now have all of the support I need to go to Kenya! I am so excited to go! I leave Grand Rapids January 2nd for orientation in Pearl River, NY and then leave New York Jan 4th for Nairobi. I can't believe its only a couple weeks away!