Kenya Vigil Vigil (Kenya Vehill Vijil): Packing list

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Packing list

We learned sooooooo much at our SIM Cultural Orientation (SIMCO) last July! We had been warned by those who had gone through it to keep things organized because the amount would be overwhelming. They were right. We're trying to sort through the things that, at the time, seemed so straightforward. Now we're caught in the "I know they said something about that....now where is it????" stage.

One of the great blessings that I, personally, retained was the Women of the Harvest online magazine. It's written by and for women serving cross-culturally. What a wealth of knowledge and resources it has! (http://www.womenoftheharvest.com/)

We're currently trying to figure out what to sell, what to store and what to take when we move. It's slightly whelming to say the least! :)

Reading an article in January's WOH brought us back to the fundamentals of keeping first things first. The packing list they recommend helps us to remember what to pack each day. Perhaps if we start packing today, we'll be "experienced" packers by the time we leave!

Thank you for your prayers for Kenya, Jeff's health and Julie's sleep. All are improving!

PS -- Check out our Links to Friends -- just added. The SIMKenya site has pictures of the compound where we will be living.

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Prayer Requests

1. Pray that, despite the stressors of living in a completely different country, we are able to reflect Christ's love to all those around us.
2. Pray that the Lord will show us where we can be most effective for the Kingdom, that our ears are open to hear, and that our hearts are ready to obey with no hesitation.
3. Pray for Ashley to share God's love with students who don't know Him.
4. Pray for safety in travels as Jeff begins a 4-month travelling stint.
5. Pray that Julie learn the motivations behind the actions of those she works with, so she can effectively build a cohesive team.

Team Information

SIM is a faith-based organization. Simply put, that means that we need to raise our own funding for living in Africa and travelling to and fro. SIM has given us a budget that includes everything we’ll need to consider. This budget includes set up costs and monthly living expenses. We have been blessed to receive 100+% of our set up costs. We've also been so blessed to have received enough one-time donations to fulfill our financial requirements for our first two years here. However, our actual recurring monthly support is only at 54% of what's required. That means that after two years we won't be allowed to come back until our recurring monthly support is at 100%.

How can I help?

Great question!! You can join our team! There are lots of ways to become involved:

Prayer – We need a team of committed prayer warriors who will pray for our effectiveness in sharing the love of Christ to the Kenyans. Our specific prayer needs are listed in the prayer section above, but if you would like to “officially” be part of our prayer team, send me an email or just add a comment to any blog saying you’d like to be on the prayer team and we’ll make sure you are notified of all the current team needs!

Financially – Since the Lord has so faithfully brought in the funding to meet our one-time costs, our current financial need is in monthly partners. Our partners contribute $10 to $300 per month, so any amount helps. You can begin support now, or you can wait until we’ve been in the field for a bit. However, if you choose to wait, PLEASE tell us that’s what you intend. Faith promises count toward our goal of being 100% funded.

How much do you need?

Monthly, we need about $6,100. That may seem like a lot, but it includes everything you typically need to live here, plus additional amounts for insurance, taxes, visas, and travel expenses when we come back every two years to report on the work God is doing in Kenya. Below is a breakdown of where the money goes.

Donations are tax deductible and can be made online at http://www.sim.org/giveUSA/. Click on the “Give Now” link, then on Donate. Pick USA and fill in the blanks. If you would prefer to mail in a check, you can send it to

Attn: Receipting

SIM USA

P.O. Box 7900

Charlotte, NC 28241-7900

Our missionary information should be noted as “Vigil: 76374” in the memo line of your check or in the Missionary field online. Please designate your gift as “Support Account."

Whether you give online or mail in your gift, please, PLEASE, PLEASE let us know what your intentions are. We can’t tell from our monthly statements if your gifts are intended as one-time or as monthly and we need this information to determine if we’ll be able to stay in Kenya.

Thank you for coming with us on this AWESOME God Adventure!!

Saturday, January 5, 2008

Packing list

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Links to friends in Kenya

Visitors