what a week

what. a. week. it. has. been. this week, we have been able to experience so much with so many different ministries. coming into this trip, I had no idea what exactly I would be doing and we still joke that we don't ever know what we're doing until the night before or until we actually get to the ministry's facility. in the past week, we have gone on hospital visits and prayed for the patients, listened to many different people share their dreams for Kenya's future, and seen what having hope and joy in unwanted circumstances looks like. I can't go into detail about every ministry, but I will just tell you about the first ministry we worked with, the Kijabe Hospital visits. we did this on the second day after getting some much needed rest. I didn't exactly know what to expect when I headed to the hospital, but I went in with an open mind. at the hospital, we were supposed to walk around and talk and pray with the patients. me and a few other girls went to the women's ward. my hope was that I would meet a super awesome woman and immediately connect and we would be best friends (clearly I was being so realistic, right?). but, that's not what God had in store for me. the first three women Sara and I walked up to spoke no English. we barely know Swahili, so our conversations consisted of "how are you? what is your name? and where are you hurt?" after asking those three questions we would ask to pray for them and then we would move on. when we finally met a woman that spoke English, I thought "finally! she's gonna be my new best friend!" and God said "nope." this pattern continued for about 7 people and then we decided to go to the pediatric ward. I was feeling a bit dejected because it hadn't been going the way I had hoped but I knew that in ministry, some day's a diamond, some day's a stone. when we walked into the peds ward, I spotted a young girl and her very little baby in the back corner. we made eye contact right when I walked in so I made a beeline toward them. we started talking and she spoke English (hallelujah!). her name was Jacqueline and her baby's name was Elvis. he was a teeny tiny baby with spinal issues, but he was by far the cutest little Kenyan baby I've ever seen. anyway, Jacqueline and I got to talk about her family, her goals, and everything in between for about 30-45 minutes. we even talked about Elvis Presley for a little while. when it came time for me to leave, I was so glad that I had finally connected with someone and I felt like I made a difference. I also got to pray with her and over her and Elvis. that very first day of ministry was a really hard one because time after time I felt like I was worthless because I couldn't communicate with the women, but then God placed Jacqueline and Elvis in my path. He showed me that His plans are way better than my plans because He knows what He is doing and trusting Him is essential. that is just a little story about how a little baby named Elvis can change your whole outlook on that day's ministry. I'll probably never see Jacqueline or Elvis again, but I will forever be grateful for the imprint they have left on my life.