Hey, hope you are doing well. Just wanted to bring you up to date on all that we are doing and working on. Since our last post, details of our vision trip are starting to come together. We are excited about going to Kenya to visit and see God at work, picture our lives there, learn more about the location to share it with others, and help us better prepare for the future. As of now, we are thinking about going at the end of December and into the first couple weeks of January and can't wait!
We are eager to step into each community and see how the Lord has been working and how we can join Him. The four different communities that we are going to visit are all over the country and have some really cool things going on. The first community that we contacted from the beginning is helping to provide care for orphans, street children, women empowerment, and even some water projects for surrounding areas. It is an area of the country that we have traveled to before and know that we would love serving there. The second community is a bit farther north in the drier and hotter remote lands of the Samburu tribe. We have been learning about current work there regarding clean water, medical attention, and local orphan care. Life in this area might not be easy, but know that God is proving care, love, and hope to so many there. The third community and organization actually contacted us and is possibly looking for staff to join in their work for providing care for the local children and raise them in a Gospel centered environment. We have never been to this area of Kenya and haven't even met the staff in person, but would love to work alongside such brothers and sisters eager to serve the Lord. The fourth community that we just started learning about is focused on providing a supportive and great education for the school children of a small village. This community is closest to Nairobi, the largest city in Kenya. We met some of the founders that live here in Lexington and after learning from them, we would love to get to know everyone there better. We pray that God will work on our hearts as he continues to show us His vision for us.
As we have never been to most of these communities, putting faces to names and getting a feel for the people there will be a fun adventure. Going there with the thought process of living there full time and raising a family there will definitely provide a deeper perspective than we have had before. We find ourselves talking about such things as closeness to hospitals and schools as envisioning our lives there becomes more of a reality. The people of Kenya are so hospitable and caring that we know we are going to love living life with any community that fits.
After this vision trip, we hope to be able to share this ministry better with friends, family, and supporters back here in the U.S. Our first get-together and training with the sending agency won't be too long after this trip and we will hopefully be able to share a specific calling that we feel for a community so they can help prepare us in a deeper way. Being able to share the specific ministry and work that we will be a part of in Kenya will help us raise support and connect the Family of God across the world.
Spending a few weeks in Kenya with full-time staff should hopefully help us better prepare mentally for what is to come. As described above, the four different communities that we are going to visit are quite different in location, weather and terrain, and ministry. The array of cool and tropical to hot and dry or mix of religious beliefs are expected to be challenging, but with the help of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we will love and serve through all conditions.
Needless to say, we are excited about this upcoming adventure in less than 3 months. We are currently working out details of transportation in the country and finding flights even with a possible long layover in an awesome European city (bucket list for both of us).
To add in a little financial note, we wanted to share some major steps we have taken this last year. The Lord has laid on our hearts to be totally debt free before we start fund raising next year. In doing this, we have down-sized to a smaller apartment, sold one of our cars, and rearranged our budget. This has allowed us to pay off Kenzi's student loan, her car, and other outstanding bills. We currently just have to pay Mark's student loan and have a goal of paying that one off by next spring. God has definitely blessed us and we pray that we can steward it all to bless others.
Thanks for taking the time to follow up on what we are doing. We greatly appreciate your time and ask for continued prayer as we want to see and hear God in each community, discernment of how to go about this all, communication with our in-country contacts, finances for getting there and paying our last loans this year, and safety even before we go. We plan on writing at least right before we leave and will let you know all the final details.
Have a blessed day and continue to seek the Lord with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. He will use you for some pretty amazing things :)
In Christ,
Mark and Kenzi Fogleman
