Am I really half-way through tour already??

Hello all! The times when I get to blog are some of my favorite moments on tour. I love them because I'm able to get away for just a moment, plug my ears with some good music, and just type out all my thoughts. I actually get a chance to process all the things that have gone on in the past few days or weeks. I realize that when I don't have a chance to blog I really begin to forget about all the little things that have happened that I really don't want to forget but simply don't have the brain capacity to retain. I pride myself on having a good memory, but let me just say that my memory has been tested to its limits on this tour. I remember saying, "oh I'll never forget the names of my hosts" or, "I'll remember every place that we go." Oh how wrong I was. I've stayed in about 25 host homes by now and I can honestly say there are many that I don't remember the names of or even where I've stayed. I was feeling guilty about this and then I realized - I still have all the memories from each place even if I can't remember the names and locations. The important part is that each home, family, church, and town has had a unique impact on my life that is irreplaceable. I am so grateful for EVERY person that I have come in contact with on tour - I have so much to learn. Before tour, my mindset was that of how I had so much to offer the people I would meet and the kids that I would be living with for three months. I realize how backward my way of thinking was now. I've met so many special people with their own set of gifts to offer. I have so much to learn from the people God has placed in my path. I have to remind myself to open up and receive the blessings God is trying to place upon me through others. With all of that said, I don't think that I should go through tour just expecting to be blessed by the people I meet. I know that God wants me to walk a two way street. I have things to offer people but I realize that sometimes - what I have to offer isn't exactly what I thought it would be (if that makes any sense).


Tour is half way over now and things are starting to really sink in. Like, my time with these kids is almost over - have I really poured into them the way I should have? All of the questions are starting to rise up within me and I have to remind myself to not look too far ahead into the future and just live for the here and now. I want to cherish every single moment with the kids and take nothing for granted. I will NEVER have this opportunity again with these same children and I want to make sure I've done what God put me here to do before they get back on the plane to go home to Kenya. I've been praying about what it is God wants me share with the kids, whether it's advice, a listening ear, a hug, prayer, encouragement, whatever it is, I'm sure it's different for each kid and sometimes it's hard to discern what each individual needs. I've come to realize though, even if the children learn absolutely nothing from me - I will forever be changed by the impact they have had on my life. They have taught me things that I would have never been able to grasp otherwise. 


To catch you up on what's been going on we've been to Cincinnati, OH for another Youth Specialties conference like the one we did in LA at the beginning of tour. We had a great time there and were able to do a concert at Mt. Carmel Church of Christ while we were there. We had to fly from Charlotte, NC to get to the conference in time - I have never flown on such a small plane! It was weird. I don't really have much to compare to though I guess considering my only other flights have been to Kenya and California - both flights that call for larger planes. We made up about 1/3 of the passengers and the flight only took about 1.5 hours. It was very interesting. On the day we were supposed to come back to NC from Cincinnati we got to the airport around 10:00am thinking our flight would be at 12:20pm only to find that we had been booked for a 4:40pm flight instead. So, we had a day at the airport with Daraja, haha! It was pretty fun considering the circumstances. After Ohio we returned to Winterville, North Carolina where we had another concert at Discovery Church. The church met in a Boys and Girls Club facility so it was neat to have change in environments. I stayed with their children's/family pastor which was cool. We swapped resource names and ideas. I love staying with the children's pastors! Then we moved on to Burlington, NC. We sang at St. Marks Church. This was where we celebrated our official halfway day. We made puppets with the kids and we were able to wear whatever we wanted for the day. At the end of the day all of the adults had the chance to go hang out while the church took care of the kids for a few hours. The next stop was Baptist Home Baptist Church in Wilkesboro, NC. I got to stay in the hospitality house for 3 nights here and had a day off on Sunday. The rest was very much appreciated and I loved my host home! They treated us soooooo well. One night while we were there everyone went roller skating - it was lots of fun. We played a dice game that was kind of like four corners and I won! Haha, it was great - there were probably like 50 kids playing there too. I won a free snow cone! After Wilkesboro we headed to Little Brasstown Baptist Church in Brasstown, NC. This is where I am right now. So that's all for now.


The word of the day is - wewe. This is used kind of like dude. It literally means, "you, you." It's something we say a lot. For example, if one of the kids does something silly we might respond with, "wewe." So yea, see if you can figure out a way to use wewe in your life today. It's pretty easy to catch on to. 


Can't wait to see you soon in Toccoa!! Only 12 days. Love you all so very much!


Allison :)


If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless. Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. - James 1:26-27