Monday, March 8, 2010

I Thought I Had Seen Poverty ...

Chris' time in Kenya is almost done. He'll be home in three days. To be honest, I've never looked forward to something so much in my life. Thursday couldn't come soon enough. Having him gone has been extremely difficult this time around.

I have no idea why. Perhaps my fragile emotional state has something to do with being pregnant.

But when I saw the pictures and read the stories of where they went today, I knew that God had put him on this trip for a purpose. I've traveled with Compassion before and seen poverty, but I've never in my life seen anything like what he saw today.

I'm not sure how I would have reacted to what they experienced today if I had been there. (Especially considering how easily I cry these days.) But I'm so thankful that he was there. Because seeing those photos is heartbreaking. But seeing my husband in that place brings it so much closer to home.

The Mathare Valley should not be real. But it is. Chris was there.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow. :( :( :(

(Congrats on your pregnancy) :)

Unknown said...

I just wanted to let you know that your blog has totally blessed me tonight. I ended up here through your comment on Patricia Jones' blog. I'm an Advocate for Compassion and am slightly obsessed with the blogger trips (hopefully in a good way, though) and was reading through some comments and well basically it was God that led me here.

Reading your story of God's faithfulness in bringing you to the husband you had prayed for has blessed me. I'm 31 and single and long to be married and but have also told God that I only want to be married if my marriage will make a Kingdom Impact. I can so relate to the wrestling you did in asking if you are praying for a future marriage are you content. I could also so relate to one of your response to a commenter on your post revealing your heart about struggling with being single ... "And Ellie, don't you worry. I AM happy. Very happy! Seriously, my life ROCKS. 90% of the time I'm blown away by how incredibly blessed I am. It's just in those weak moments (thankfully few and far between) when I start doubting God's plan." I could have written that! So anyway, thank you for putting your story out there and allowing God to use it to encourage me this evening!

Blessings!
Kristy

Becky said...

Kristy,

THANK YOU for your comment! I can't tell you how much it blessed me last night when I read it.

Because honestly, at times the journey was not easy, but it is SO worth it when I see how God uses it in other people's lives. I'd do it all over again in a second.

I realize now that all along the way, God was using my struggles to reveal parts of Himself that I never would have seen had things gone as I had planned. I'm sure He's doing the same in your life. I can't wait to hear how everything unfolds!

Becky