My first trip to Kenya (and Africa) was in 2009. I wasn’t working for Compassion yet, but I was on a sponsor tour with my husband Steve (who had been working for Compassion for 15 years). Our kids were with us too. I started my blog right before that trip to Kenya so that we could share our journey. This was the very first blog I wrote from Kenya in 2009.

https://jonesbones5.com/2009/03/23/first-moments/

Its crazy to read through some of our posts from that trip. This was my favorite post written primarily by Julia, who was only 14 years old at the time (she is now 22 and married). https://jonesbones5.com/2009/03/27/crocodile-tears/

That little girl named Hannah is now 20. Next Sunday, I will hold her tight in my arms again. We have seen each other many times through the years. I never imagined back in 2009, I would be working for Compassion in our Tours and Visits department and having the opportunities to travel, and to see all my sponsored children multiple times.

Now, a true confession.

On our trip in 2009, there was a young man named Michael, who was also traveling in our group. I think he was about 18 or 19 years old, and he wore these flip flops.  We all had been instructed to wear closed toed shoes, so I decided to tease him.  I told him that he was at risk of having a parasite crawl in between his toes, and that once they burrow in, the parasite can crawl through the body, up to the brain, and start nibbling at it.  I made the entire story up, just to tease him. The pour soul believed me, and he was paranoid the rest of the week about parasites, despite the fact I kept telling him I was kidding. I learned from that trip, people will believe the craziest things, when in a foreign setting.  I confess, through my career in the tours and visits area at Compassion International, over the last eight years, I have taken advantage of a few gullible people, and told some exaggerated tales. Of course, its only when I have just the right person who seems to invite my teasing.

All joking aside, when I take a group of people overseas, what I truly hope and pray for is that my travelers will have a life altering experience as they witness the love of Jesus active and alive, through the most vulnerable and precious children of this world.

I haven’t blogged since January, and before that it was last summer. I’ve kind of disappeared off my blog because it takes me so darn long to write. This week is different though. I am pulling the old blog back out, dusting it off, and plan to share my stories. I am going to be with a bunch of professional bloggers and social media influencers, so I figure its a good time for a non-professional writer like me, to work on my grammar skills and spelling (which my daughter has promised to edit), and to share my own journey.

So, I hope you follow along and support this trip.  https://compassionbloggers.com/trips/kenya-2017/

Please spread the word. We want to get a bunch of kids sponsored. In fact, looks like 14 kids have already been sponsored! Lets get hundreds more.

Tonight I am in my hotel room in Zurich, Switzerland, getting ready for bed. I meet up with our group tomorrow, and we will head to Kenya. Please pray for all of our travelers this week.

Just for fun, here are a couple of photos of my day here in Zurich. My feet are tired, but it was a glorious day.