Why? Why don't we stay home.

The answer to this question is tricky to answer.  It can have several different levels.  The short answer is, "because God has called us to go."  However, that answer doesn't usually seem to suffice and needs more explanation.  The long answer would take a very long time to explain and I am not going to do it here.  So, that leaves an answer somewhere in the middle that I can hopefully explain.

Over the years God has been working on us.  He has been molding us, reshaping our hearts and our desires.  He has been leading us in smaller ways, in preparation for leading us in bigger ways, such as our adoption or moving to Kenya.

The simple answer to why we are going is this.  There is a group of people, who have never heard of the saving grace of our Lord Jesus.  They haven't heard that He has paid the price for their sins.  They haven't heard that they can find true peace in Him only.  They haven't heard because nobody has been able to share it with them, in a way that they can grasp it, understand it, and apply it.  This group of people needs somebody to go, learn about them, love them, and understand their culture and be able to tell them about this Jesus in a way that they can understand it and cherish it.  This is what we are called to do.  We are choosing to be obedient to the call, and live radically as followers of Christ.  It is that simple really.

"But people need to know Jesus here as well."  True, they do.  However, we are going to leave the needs of the local people in the capable hands of the local church.  The local needs are the calling of many followers of Christ around here.  This is good, and needs to be continued.  While at the same time, there are people who have yet to hear this good news and need a chance to hear it.  We are going as an extension of the local church to show God's love across the world.

I have been in East Africa four times now.  There is an overwhelming peace that comes over me when I am there.  Though I have never had a house there, I feel home.  I have a house here in the states and yet, after flying across the world back to my house, I no longer feel home.  Kenya is where God has been preparing me to go.  He has been preparing our whole family to go and we are excited as we embark on this journey.