Lessons from the Heart, Tearful Goodbyes...

Well, it's officially my last weekend in Kabala. I'm headed to Freetown on Monday, and then flying to Zimbabwe next Friday, August 6th, for a couple weeks to visit my 'big sister' and be there for my goddaughter's baptism. It's hard to even write this blog because I don't want to face the fact that I have to say goodbye to my amazing family and friends here once again, for the third time in the past 3 years. I love hellos, I love reuniuons...but I hate parting with people you love, especially when you have worked so closely with them for the last 3 months!

I am thrilled at the way the program is running, and I am confident that we are leaving it in the capable hands of the youth, church leaders, and Reverends here...so I cannot wait to return next year and see what God has managed to do through this program! Honestly, it is bigger than I ever could have imagined, and the impact it has already made is hard to grasp.

I have realized that investing in people is the most worthwhile aid you could ever give. When you empower people to recognize their value, strengths, beauty, and simply enable them to start building a better life for themselves and their family, you will never be disappointed. I have also realized that the gratitude and love people here have shown me is the most wonderful, amazing, and humbling thing in the entire world. I took a motorbike trip to Yarah this week, a village where Martin Koroma, one of the scholarship recipients is from, to say goodbye to my friends and family there. As we were saying goodbye, Martin's whole family gathered and asked me to come sit down, and his Auntie started talking about how immensely grateful she and her whole family are for Katie and I, the program we've started, and the hope we've brought to their family by giving their son a scholarship. She proceeded to say that their family was not rich, they had nothing to give me, nothing that could even begin to compare to what Katie and I had already given them, the hope we had put back into their lives. But she said, "What we are giving you is nothing in size, and it may seem meaningless, but know we are giving it with our whole hearts", as she offered me three chickens, a huge bowl of rice, and a huge bag of groundnuts (peanuts). There was tears in my eyes as I listened to her apologizing because the gifts they had given me were too small...because in my heart I knew these were the such precious, wonderful, and heartfelt gifts, and I did not even deserve them, because this whole program is God's work...Katie and I are just the servants who were asked to do the task. I am so amazed, humbled, and constantly thankful for the fact that God opened my eyes and my hear to this country...I know my life will never be the same because of it.

I wish I could express in one blog what I've learned this summer, but it would be impossible...even if I wrote a whole book, I couldn't express it all. I hope to talk to many of you about my experiences once I get home to Canada in August! But to sum up what I've learned, I think I could say this...

1) The community is SO grateful for this program, believes in in, and really needs it. Every day I have parents thanking me and crying because they believe their child will now go to University...and these are parents whose children haven't finished high school yet! This is inspiring, and also a challenge at the same time...let's keep working on this program and make it bigger and bigger, so that everyone who needs a University Education here in Kabala will get it.

2) Love is the most universal, beautiful, and wonderful thing on Earth. The love I have experienced from my family and friends here has literally kept me alive when I have been exhausted and tired, and the love God always shows to me has given me the strength to keep working even when I feel like it's not making a difference. We can never change the world unless we start believing in the power of love.

3) Walk by Faith. I tatooed this on my foot in April, and I did not realize how incredibly important and essential it would be to my life. There has been days when I literally didn't know how I would get my work done, or what I would lead a bible study on, or how I would find the strength to do third year University in fall and fundraise over $8000 and work at the same time...but everytime I see this writing on my foot, I am reminded that faith is a staircase...you just have to take the next step. Honestly, God has brought me through everything, and will continue...this summer has taught me so much about my own faith, and has pushed me and encouraged me to not trust in my own strength.

So, thanks to all of you for reading, believing in this dream, and supporting it. I will see you in August back in Canada! God Bless

A Brighter Future is on the Horizon - 4 Scholarships Awarded to 4 Amazing, Deserving Youth!

I cannot even think of where to start as I write this blog, with tears in my eyes and the most joy imaginable in my heart. This morning, I had the wonderful oppurtunity (along with Rev. John, Rev. Ezekiel, and Pastor Maxwell, my wonderful Zambian, Nigerian, and Sierra Leonean brothers who are helping run the program on the ground here) to award scholarships to four wonderful, amazing, and very deserving youth in Kabala.First of all, I want to offer a HUGE congratulations to Saio M. Jalloh, Martin Koroma, Foray Sesay, and Martin Jonal Lisa, the first 4 recipients of the scholarships from The People's Foundation for Sierra Leone! You are all amazing, deserving, wonderful youth, and I am SO SO excited about the great things you will do for your families, community, and your country! I also want to offer a HUGE thank-you to everyone who has contributed to make this dream a reality - whether through financial support, prayers, thoughts, or simply spreading the word - we could NOT have done this without you, and I am eternally grateful for your past and continued support. Let's keep it going...believe me, this program will make a difference in the lives of these youth and the lives of people all over this country! I also want to offer a huge, heartfelt thank-you to my beloved sister, friend, and partner in this organization, Katie Jenkins, for working so hard to help make this dream a reality, and not laughing at how ridiculous the idea of sponsoring youth for university seemed for Canadian two girls who hadn't even finished their own schooling - Katie, you are amazing, and I am so so thankful for your love, support, and hard work on this project! I could not and cannot do it without you!

I am absolutely unable to express how blessed I was to be apart of this amazing dream becoming a reality...it was probably one of the most joyful, wonderful moments of my entire life, to see 4 beautiful youth so happy, fufilled, and enabled to reach their dreams.It is impossible to express through words the pure, genuine joy that these 4 youth conveyed after I told them they had received the scholarships...but I have added some pictures to try to express it as best I can. When I return to Canada, Katie and I will be making a video with some of the footage I was able to take of the interviews and the awarding of the scholarships - what wonderful, encouraging, inspiring moments! The best part about doing this kind of work is seeing how valuable and how needed it actually is...NEVER ever think that the work you do for others, or the work you do without pay, is unimportant...it is the most life-changing, beautiful work imaginable!

The only girl to receive a scholarship this year, Saio M. Jalloh, made some incredibly powerful and encouraging statements during her interview. When I asked her what she wanted to do as a career, this is how she responded:

"I want to be a teacher, because I know that there are very few people who want to teach in this country. Teachers are not paid well, and they are often looked down upon...people laugh at me when I say I want to be a teacher, and say I should find money in something like accounting or business. But I want to be a teacher because I want to change that in my district and my country. I want to help develop my country by improving the basic levels of education, and I want to come back to my community and teach so that the children here can have a brighter future. Eventually, I want to be the minister of Education in Sierra Leone, so we can make a change all over the country."

What an incredible, emotional, moving, and amazing statement from someone who just finished secondary school! I was so encouraged and inspired by this to keep pursuing my own dream of becoming a teacher! I am so amazed at the heart, the dedication, and the love for their country that the youth in this town express. I truly believe that if they can pursue education, they will contribute to their community in ways we cannot even imagine now! I am so excited to see how Saio grows in the next years, and how she will come back to her community and change lives for the better!

I could go on forever about how incredible this interviews were, and how inspired I am, but there will be time for all that when I am home in Canada, and I don't want to make you all read a ten-page essay here :) But please know that I am SO thankful for everyone who reads this blog, contributes to this project, and will continue in the future...and please know that this project is truly changing lives beyond our wildest dreams. How good is our God...He makes the impossible possible! I am so blessed that he has chosen to use Katie and I to bring hope through education to this wonderful community, and I am so blessed by what this community gives us in return - the most love, care, and gratefulness imaginable. I truly believe that the youth in this country CAN and WILL change this country...so let's keep believing it, and working towards it! I am so excited about the amazing things the youth we have sponsored will accomplish this year and in future years. I think this is all summarized best by the words of Martin Koroma, one of the scholarship recipients:

"Why do I want to pursue education? I want to be independent, so that I can be a blessing to others just as they have blessed me. Give me a challenge, and I will handle it."
What an incredible statement! So from the bottom of my heart, thank-you...and lets accept this challenge of bringing University Education to even more wonderful, deserving youth in this country in the years to come. It is blessed to be a blessing.

With more love and gratefulness than I could ever express,

Krissi

A Dream to make a Difference!

Hey all,

Life is beautiful and God is good as I enter into my final 2 and a half weeks in this amazing country. Just wanted to give you a brief update. I am still working on the Manual for the mentoring programs, and should have it finished this week. On Friday, I made up our first ever scholarship application forms and distributed them, and I am THRILLED to tell you that we will be interviewing the first 4 applicants EVER for this program on this Wednesday, July 21. I am so amazed and excited that everything came together in time for us to carry out these interviews this week! I am anticipating an exciting time of encouragement, inspiration, and sharing to take place on Wednesday, and I will be sure to update you all with the names of those who have received the scholarships as soon as the final decisions are made. It is simply incredible to think that a dream that began so small could actually take place, become a reality, and really make a difference in the lives of these youth. I wish I could express to you the raw emotion and joy that I saw on these 4 youth's faces when I told them they were to be given an interview for the scholarships on Wednesday. I have never felt so humbled or grateful...it seems impossible that such a relatively small amount of money for those of us in North America, only $4000, could mean so much to 4 youth in Sierra Leone.

We haven't even awarded them the scholarships yet, have only mentioned that they have the opportunity to come for an interview...yet it is as if I have taken the moon down from the sky, wrapped it up, and given it to them as a present. The way their faces broke out into smiles when I told them the time for their interviews is not even something I can express in words...it is a constant reminder of how God continues to humble me and remind me that the work we are doing here is HIS work, and is beyond what is possible for man...who would have thought that such a small thing could bring such incredibly great joy? That is the wonder of our God. I am encouraged and truly inspired to work even harder fundraising once I return to Canada, so that the youth we select this year can continue going to school next year, and we can send even more youth to university. Never underestimate the power of education...it is something many of us in North America and Europe take for granted, but something that literally changes the lives and future of people here in Sierra Leone. And never underestimate the power of our God...impossible things are made possible through Him! I am so thrilled to have been granted the opportunity to do this work, and I sincerely hope that I can continue maintaining my connection with my family and friends here and working in this beautiful community,country and continent for as long as I live, God willing! What a wonderful opportunity to learn and grow, and to recognize that the whole world is one family. Thanks for your love and support, and I will be sure to update the blog on Wednesday or Thursday, as soon as we know who has been awarded the scholarships!

Much love,
Krissi

Time is Flying By...

Wow, hard to believe two weeks have already passed since my last entry! It is crazy how fast time is flying by, and very bittersweet...I never want to leave my friends and family here, but I am excited to be reunited with everyone back home in Canada. It's difficult having two homes on opposite ends of the world!

Last week was so inspiring, challenging, and amazing! We held the mentoring interviews on Wednesday for the youth, which were basically a question panel made up of me, Rev. John Phiri, Rev. Ezekiel, and Pastor Maxwell, asking the youth why they wanted to be in the program, what their goals were in life, and what they wanted to acheive, to see if they were ready to be mentors. What an encouraging time to take a whole day to sit down with over 20 youth and learn from them, and hear about their experiences and challenges! So many of them inspired me and challenged me with their words, and it made my confident that no matter how hard it is to keep this program going, I must make every sacrifice to make it possible...because truly, it is something that could change lives here. How amazing God is...I didn't even know the needs of Kabala, but he simply placed a call on my heart for this town, and then he placed a ministry on the heart of me and my friend Katie...a ministry we could never be fit or prepared to do, but He has called us anyways. Our God is so good!

One of the youth said something very inspiring during the interviews. I always began by asking each youth why they wanted to be a mentor (or why they wanted to have a mentor, if they were too young to start mentoring). One of the girls being interviewed responded like this:

"I want to be a mentor because I want to see the lives of youth in this town change for the better, and I want them to learn from my experiences. What is the point of going through trials in life if you cannot get back up and help others to carry on through the same things? I want to be a mentor so that we as youth can learn from each other, grow from each other, and work together to develop our country."

What inspiring words, and what a challenge to hear from someone who is in the program...it gives me great encouragement and never fails to amaze me how much the youth truly believe in this program. I am in awe of how good God is, how big his call is, and how unfit I am to carry it out. Thank God for His grace! What an amazing thing to be a part of. This week, I will be trying to finish the manual for the program, so that the sessions and mentoring training can carry on after I leave Sierra Leone (which is in only 3 and a half weeks! Time is FLYING!). After that, I will be making up the scholarship applications, so that once WASSCE results come out in August, mentors can begin applying for scholarships. I can't believe that this dream is really becoming a reality!

Thank you all so much for your loving thoughts and prayers! They are really needed and really felt.
Much love,
Krissi