Really, this job NEVER stops. I'm sorry it takes me so long to update, but Daraja has been crazy busy! This past Wednesday, we had our first Big Stuf performance. The kids sung for 1500 students. I can't even begin to tell you how cool it was to see high school kids and Kenyan children worshiping the same God-he is so big! That night, we had a concert at North Star as well, which was awesome! The way these kids worship with their whole heart and run after God is incredible. We then went to Phoenix City, Alabama and had an awesome concert there Friday night! The people were so sweet. Yesterday, we had two concerts in Colombus, Georgia. The late service at Rivertown was AWESOME. God totally showed up and the congregation was full of energy! I can't even begin to tell you how many different ways God worked in the service, but it was amazing. Tomorrow, we are headed back to Panama City Beach for Big Stuf on Wednesday!
Violet and Dan flew into the US LAST NIGHT and arrived in Colombus tonight!! How GREAT is our God that he would allow this beautiful little 11 year old orphaned girl come on tour with us. I am so excited that Daraja 2010 is now complete and I can't wait to see what all she brings to the choir and how God uses her story to share him with others.
The kids are learning to swim pretty quickly! For the ones lagging behind, they are starting to catch up and we've seen a lot of improvement! Also, the kids are working so hard in school. Some of them are so far behind, but their love for school and desire to work hard and do better is incredible. It's definitely going to get them so far.
God is doing so much through these kids. He is touching so many lives, and not even just the lives of the families we've stayed with. I believe he's going to do even bigger things this summer and I am so excited and blessed to be a part of life change.
I wish I could communicate all my joy that I've experience in a blog, but the amount of it that the Lord has poured out is almost unfathomable. You HAVE to make sure to see these kids sometime!
I would ask that you pray for three things:
-Pray that God be glorified in everything Daraja does. Let no concert have the focus on the children, but let it be a time of worship of our incredible Father. Everything we say and do should be a reflection of him, and I ask that you pray for God to remind us of that everyday.
-Pray for the kids. Some of them are starting to miss home, and I pray that God can get them through and help them realize how many lives their changing and the huge ways in which they are advancing the kingdom of God.
-Pray for energy and strength in the interns. Parenting and disciplining can be hard and unclear at times, especially when we are tired, but pray that each day, God will give us what we need to do what he has called us to do.
Thanks for all of your support. I love you guys so much :)
-Ragan