Pockets of Change | Quotes from Justin Keitch on Vimeo.

Pockets of Change | Numbers from Justin Keitch on Vimeo.

It’s hard to believe how quickly the time is flying. A friend just emailed me the other day talking about what her kids want to dress up as for Halloween. It seems so far removed from where I am right now: sitting in a gazebo inside our hotel grounds, watching the birds flutter and chirp to each other in the tall green trees. Flowers blossom beside the rich red dirt road into the compound. It’s a beautiful morning in Siaya.

We’ve been in Kenya for a full week now. After leaving Noah’s Ark, we spent two nights and one fun-filled day with our friend Kimi who is living in Jinja, Uganda. We got a chance to get out and meet some of the kids she works with there. It was great to actually get out into a community and interact with the locals. Plus it was nice for me and Justin to not have the pressure of needing to make sure we ask the right questions, gather the right information and take the best photos. We were simply there to enjoy the day, and it was pleasant indeed. Kimi is an incredible servant of God, and to see what she is doing there because God called her just swelled my heart.

So, she drove us to the Kenyan border and we had no problems meeting up with our Kenyan project partner Edgar. That was a big praise item for me as I was worried we might be at the border all day trying to find each other. It was much less confusing there than I had anticipated!

It has been a full week with Edgar, traveling to Siaya, seeing some of the project sites, meeting with those impacted and getting a good sense of what is happening on the ground here. We also got to spend a couple nights at Edgar’s home in Kisumu, which was very enjoyable. We had a great time getting to know his family and even learning how to make a few authentic Kenyan dishes!

On Sunday, we picked up a team from Kisumu Airport. They come from Coquitlam’s Hillside Community Church, and we are with them until next Tuesday. Not only is it fun to meet a new team, they also brought some much-appreciated treats from home including cookies and instant Starbucks coffee which they graciously have shared with us!

This afternoon we get to spend time with the kids from the Siaya Children’s Home, playing soccer (the team) and doing some interviews (me and Justin). This morning some of the team went to see Obama’s grandmother’s home, which is just a little ways outside of Siaya.

We’ve been feeling healthy for the most part, getting rest and are feeling blessed by our time in Kenya. As our new friend Pastor Richard says, “All is well.” Indeed, all has been well here in Kenya. I hope to start sharing soon on the blog some of the stories we’ve been hearing and of course some of the visual imagery to show you just how beautiful this land and its people are.

From my experience, there are two categories of runs: sprints and marathons. OK, technically a marathon is a set race of 42 km. But in my mind, there are the short races and the long hauls. And you run the races very differently depending on the length.

Sprints are all-out, pump the legs and arms as fast as you can, pound the feet against the track, end goal in sight type of deals. You basically go like stink until you reach the finish.

Marathon length races are run much differently. They require persistence and an ability to push through a more aching pain as you consistently pound the pavement. Mentally your focus needs to be on the end goal though you cannot see it for miles in between you and the finish line. Pacing is important, and having a strong support team providing water, food, encouragement and arms to fall into at the end of the race are crucial.

Our entire Mexico trip we were with a team from Coquitlam Alliance Church (CAC) and as we worked with them, I really saw the difference between a sprint and a marathon when it comes to a short term trip. The people on this trip worked like stink, hiking and digging and dry-walling and pipe laying and concrete making and running VBS and encouraging and praying and driving – lots of driving – for two weeks straight.

And we pretty much followed along the team schedule set up for the CAC group. For 14 of the 15 days we ran the rapid pace that is a short term missions sprint: limited time, much to do, many places to get to in such a short time that every hour counts.

And what a team CAC was to race with, sprint style. They were probably all tired of work projects by the time we had hiked out of the Copper Canyon and got to the base camp in Rio Chico. Yet everyone was out there, smiles on, shovels in hand, ready to get brand new scratches, blisters, aching muscles and then to look back at the end of the day and know they did a job well done. It’s amazing to watch and it was great to be a part of that experience.

But now that sprint is over. The CAC team members are back home, blisters healed, burnt skin pealed off, photos downloaded and travel items put back in closets and drawers. It makes it all the more obvious to me now in comparison that Justin and I are running a marathon, not a sprint as we see others finish the race they set out to do and we are not even halfway done ours.

I remember that when I ran, there was almost always a point where I had to mentally remind myself of why I was in the race. I would glance around me to see other racers plugging along. I would take in the scenery, feel the ground and my shoes connect with each step, listen to my breath and just take the time to realize that my body could, after all, complete the remainder of the race.

We just spent a week away from all things Pockets of Change related. It felt good to take that moment in time to look at the scenery, feel the grass under my feet, listen to my heart and realize that I could, after all, complete the remainder of this race, this project, set out before us.

Am I tired? Yes. Do I long for the finish line? Yes. But I am enjoying the course immensely. There have been many interesting people along the route, many God-breathed moments like a cool breeze out on hot pavement, and many assurances that the race is nothing to hard in light of God’s glory and grace.

Pray that we can run this race with strength and endurance, and finish strong whenever that finish line may be.

Tomorrow, I go into the canyon.

And I’m very, very scared.

We are hiking into the Copper Canyon to go to a village called Guacaivo. This is where the Coquitlam Alliance team is partnered and we’ll be going in to interview people about how they’ve been impacted by the work of these short term missions groups and the long term partnership with Pastor Tomas.

It is an estimated six hour hike all the way down the canyon, across a river and halfway up the other side. We have to pack in enough for four nights and five days, so our bags are H-E-A-V-Y.

Please pray for us, specifically on Wednesday and on Sunday as we travel in and out of the canyon. Pray for safety in walking and the energy needed to hike for such a long time.

Hopefully, you’ll hear from me again. Otherwise, look for me somewhere on the canyon walk, praying for the Lord to just take me home.