Welcome...

I went to Kenya in search of a definitive calling for my life. I wanted the moment, the “ah-ha” moment, that would bring clarity for the next phase of my life.

In coming to the near conclusion of my undergraduate education, I find myself in the same position I was in at the end of my high school education. I find myself standing with the question, “Well… what is next?”

Despite my search this summer, I did not have my “ah-ha” moment in Kenya. I had so many other moments. God moments. People moments. Love moments. Fulfillment moments.

Yet in a way, I came home from my summer in Nairobi with more direction than I imagined. Sure, there was no moment- I did not hear God in the earthquake so to speak. Instead, the clarity that I have found has stemmed from the amalgamation of twenty one years with one incredible summer.

From working in a micro-enterprise business office, I gained the concept of how small investments can have large effects on people. From my teammates, I learned to live in community as well as be a part of a team. From the Kenyans, I acquired their perspective of relationships- the ability to have an interruptible life for the sake of others.

In learning those things, I found Erin, my fellow comrade, my sister, my friend. And while we were sitting over coffee and cake on July 12^th, more pieces regarding the future fell into place.

Two counseling majors. Love for Christ. Love for coffee. Love for food. Love for hurting people. Love for Kenya. Throw it all together. The result, the dream, is what we like to refer to as Juja Java- Loving Christ and others through a coffee shop, hiring hurting people while spending a year counseling them, and incorporating the country of Kenya in every way we can.

So this summer was not a boom, a glaring moment of absolute clarity regarding my future. Instead, it was God whispering to me. It was God whispering to Erin. And the whispering has been building and sweeping us along ever since we returned in August. The dream is growing.

Therefore, this blog is yet another symbol which confirms that our desires for Juja Java are indeed manifesting themselves. Moreover, as our dream continues to expound and unfold, we have concluded that there is no better way to document this journey than to blog our way through it.

And I have concluded that even if Juja Java never comes to be, even if we end up living as two hippies in Kenya, even if whatever, the vision before us does not change- we seek holiness that hurts the eyes. Thus the task of our journey remains the same.

So welcome to our journey…

-Bethany-