on february 2-11 i pilgrimed to Kenya to meet and sit with and listen to and witness young people who are orphans and participants of ZOE–an empowerment organization providing holistic support, teaching, micro loans, and encouragement for orphaned young people in Kenya, Rwanda, Malawi, Zimbabwe, Liberia, India, and Guatemala. the hope and transformation these youth are receiving and practicing is astounding. they are living Resurrection.
there’s been much to process, reflect upon, marinate, mull over. i’m taking it slow and, i hope, prayerfully.
≈
as you wait with me for more words on a page about ZOE, here are some words i wrote while journeying from Maua to Samburu to Nairobi by beautiful bumpy van ride. i was sitting in the front passenger seat next to rafiki Walter, a man with a wonderful laugh and cheerful giving spirit. [and yes. i thoroughly enjoyed teasing him as i do my brothers.]
there’s something about pilgrimage—honoring space by being in it gently yet bringing my full self, listening Fully to stories, receiving hospitality with genuine enthusiasm, witnessing Christ among us.
i want to see more places, but also return. i want to see more people but in a way that honors the rafikis i meet and make and tend to. i want to grow in understanding and experiencing and practicing relationship.
i hope i can travel again soon. i hope to pilgrim each day. i pray i am open to growing in discipline daily that will shape me more and more into holy loving Pilgrim.
Lovely blog post. Don’t be timid: let it flow! And please teach me what rafiki means. I think your blog’s spirit is partly about teaching, yes?
thank you, Laurie! in Swahili, ‘rafiki’ means ‘friend.’
and indeed–i hope that as i share what i’m learning, others learn too