ORIGINAL POST DATE: 7/5/12 What a waste... Our trip to Kenya was nothing short of life changing. But even beyond that, through it God changed our hearts, our perspective and our vision for the future. Cobwebs that had covered our eyes forever were wiped away by His mighty hands. Every minute of each day there, God was our tour guide, showing us the beauty despite the poverty and brokeness. He taught us there, that love truly is the universal language. We were there 8,000 miles away from what we called home, in a village of approximately 2,000. We were 13 outsiders from a foreign land, but you would have never known. We were welcomed, literally with open arms and open hearts. The people of Kiu, Kenya I know have to be some of the most loving people anywhere on earth. Their love was genuine and abundant, and I quickly learned that I wanted to know how to love strangers like that! After all, isn't that what God calls us to do? Each day we spent in Kenya, God was strategically weaving new desires and dreams in and through mine and my husbands heart. Our love for the Kenyans grew more each day. At times I felt like I had been there loving them for years. But it was the kids that really stole my heart. Each one of them were so beautiful and so precious. Their smiles could light up the night sky and their laughter could warm the coldest heart. It was something I had never experienced before, and I felt God's joy as He watched us learn. Each afternoon we would leave and I was sad. I wanted more time with them, more hugs, more love, more laughs.... It was never enough. The love was growing, getting bigger and bigger and more and more. True love is multiplied not divided, when we give it away. So now what? We have left Kenya and my heart is broken for the children. I never knew what that meant, to have your heart really break for something. God had taught me through them a new level of compassion and unconditional love. Every minute, for days after we left, I kept thinking to myself, "What a waste this new found love is!" "God, what am I suppose to do with all of this? There is no way I can wait a year to return to Kenya, my heart will burst!" So, I prayed. and prayed and prayed for God to show me. "Please show me what to do with this abundance of love!" I've heard the saying, "love isn't love until you give it away" so if I can't give it away, then it's going to die and go to waste. That was my biggest fear, to lose the love we had found in the people there. I knew God would not allow that to happen. I knew He had a plan! "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" Jer 29:11