Saying Goodbye

The last few months have gone by so quickly, and in a few days I'll be on a plane back home. There's a lot I haven't recorded in these blogs, so I can give a summary! We've had so many visitors here at Olmalaika since I last wrote. To name a few, we've had:

• Dr. John and his wife Jane volunteering at the dental clinic back in January

• Mr. Win (a friend of Kim's) helping with construction jobs around the compound

• Danielle's aunt and uncle

• A group of 20+ dentists here for a week after their Giving Safari (short term dental mission trip the Olmalaika organizes) ended

• A group of dentists here from England that had been here in October

• Several solo dentists with their families or friends here for a few days at a time

• A college group of students who put on a Sabbath afternoon program

Had to include a Kenya sunset

I also got to experience more things! We did more trips to schools for oral health presentations, one of which was on motorcyle. That trip was amazing, we rode a bit into the Mara, so we were riding right beside giraffes and baboons!

I was able to visit my boyfriend Jeffrey in Kendu Bay at the end of March! That was an amazing time, I was there for a week helping in his daily jobs as well as with Sabbath school for the students. We also hiked a nearby trail with Dr. Hong (Jeffrey's supervisor) and his family and friends, went out to a local restaurant and around town, attended Bible study, and saw Lake Simbi! It was really good to see him and get to know his side of Kenya. It's very different from the compound I'm living in, and each has its own charm.

We also have a new little girl at the compound, a 3 year old named Joy. She came not knowing much English so I've been taking this chance to practice my (limited) Kiswahili. It's a bit shaky, but basic phrases have been working and we communicate well enough to have fun!

This second semester was where a lot of my relationships deepened with the girls and staff ladies. Having only two of us SMs here made it so we could spend more time getting to know the staff and form great friendships. I'll never forget anyone that I got to work with, and I'll miss them so much.

Last semester's last entry already had many "lessons learned" points in it, but this semester's sweet memories have new ones that I'll take with me. It's really made a difference this semester to learn how to do things imperfectly, to be okay with not knowing how to do something as long as you're taking some form of action. For me, that looked like speaking in broken Kiswahili, but picking up phrases as I made more mistakes. It looked like learning and growing in confidence when Danielle and I were up front, unsure if we were making a story sound boring or fun, but giving our full effort anyway for the girl's experience. If you're an SM currently, maybe you have your own version of these examples that you could insert, that you've learned to do in your time wherever you are.

Fear often stops us from taking steps to doing things, even when we really do want to try. But we know that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." (2 Timothy 1:7) That hope is what encourages many, like myself, to take big decisions like moving across an entire ocean for a whole school year. It's what makes it possible to try something and be okay with doing it imperfectly with the hope of God supplementing your work. I'm sure this year there were many SMs who taught in classes, organized church programs, learned medical procedures, immersed themselves in their local culture, and were challenged to grow in so many other ways. So to anyone who's on the fence about starting something, especially if that thing has to do with service, outreach, or giving, please know that God will use whatever efforts you have. Do things imperfectly and without knowing if you'll be the greatest!

There's no other way to finish this year off than to list all my thank you's.

• Thank you to my family, my friends, Jeffrey, and extended relatives who from the beginning have been so supportive of my trip and of this year. Thank you for constantly praying for me and giving me so much encouragement this whole year.

• Thank you to anyone who gave their time, prayers, or donations to make it possible for me to be here. Your donations and generosity means the most and God willing it was multiplied. Truly I can't fully express my appreciation and what a difference it made, since I wouldn't be here otherwise.

• Thank you to Olmalaika - Kim, the staff, my co SMs and volunteers, anyone I worked alongside - this ministry is a blessing and these girls and babies are being given a second chance at life. Creating memories with all of you and being able to be part of this work has meant the world.

Thank you to God for being the One to sustain me this year, who was at work the whole time in ways I know I can't comprehend.

And thank you to everyone who read any of these blogs :) I know it's not any spectacular writing or spectacular work that I do, so taking time out of your day to read these (even if it was just a fraction of one post) really makes me happy that I can in some way tell people about the Trust and share a bit of my experience!

❤️ Much love, Sofi