For those who don’t know me, my name is Lindsay Kelly. I am a long time member of Trinity Lutheran Church in Spring Texas, completing Kindergarten-8th grade at Trinity and high school at Concordia Lutheran Tomball. I graduated from Texas A&M in 2005 and at that time began looking for a way to give back on my vacation time from work. Each year, I find ways to give a week, either through chaperoning youth workcamp or a mission trip in Mexico. In 2010, God led me to Trinity Ablaze in Kenya. After getting off the plane in May 2010, my life has changed in dramatic, subtle and everyday ways. I can trace these changes back to two instances, one from each trip.
On my first trip in 2010, I was nervous terrified. It was a huge stretch to get 10 straight days off of work and miss what I thought were important events at the office. Getting on the plane was nothing short of God pushing me on the plane. After arriving, I’m not sure I can explain the first 48 hours in Kenya. It is a complete assault on all of the senses. The smells, the traffic, the “wild” nature of everything going on around you leaves you in bewilderment. It’s exciting, overwhelming, and eye-opening.
After the initial excitement relaxes, it’s time to get to work. I worked in a number of different spots in the clinics in Namanga and Kumpa, but the one that stands out to me the most was in triage in Namanga. In triage on Wednesday, I had my first experience that changed how I view life and God’s power in my life. I met Asha, a 22 year old Muslim college student. Asha came to my station where I worked with the translator, Pastor Titus. Asha was extremely shy, more so than any person who had been through my station. She wouldn’t talk to me, but Pastor Titus was able to get her name and she explained what was wrong with her eyes. She needed distance glasses to see the blackboard at school. Pastor Titus shared the gospel story with her, which she acknowledged but did not react to.
After receiving her glasses, I felt the need to ask her if they helped and to give her a hug. Just a simple gesture to let her know I was glad she came. I had no intention of more coming out of that last discussion. However, God had other plans. After she told me how much better she could see and that she could now read clearer, she asked if we could just talk. She needed to practice her English. I said yes, that would be lovely, and we talked for the next hour about her family, her schooling and faith. She explained that she was very interested in learning more about Christ’s love and forgiveness. After discussing with Pastor John, she agreed to pray with him. Being there in that prayer changed a simple act of a hug into life changing salvation for Asha. She received a Bible in Swahili and support from the local church in her new life in Christ. I don’t know where Asha’s life will lead her, but it will have a happy ending. I do know that without the clinic, Asha would not have heard the good news of Jesus Christ.
The second experience was on my second trip. This trip was special to me because I got to share the trip with my mom. This was the first mission trip for my mom and I got to see her experience the power of God’s love through a simple act of putting together glasses. Our relationship will never be the same as a result and I encourage you to consider doing a trip with your parents or child. There is nothing better than bonding in God’s love through the power of service for Him.
I very much believe that I am nothing without Jesus Christ and that His love and forgiveness sustains me. God takes us, poor and condemned sinners, and uses us in ways we cannot begin to comprehend. Kenya reminds me that faith is not complicated; life makes faith complicated. Stripping away all that distracts reminds me that God’s grace is all that is needed.
After both of those trips, my mom and I decided to make as many eye glass pockets as we could from my mom's existing "stash" of fabric. This resulted in little dent in her stash, but 2000 pockets:
So after the 2000 and playing with different fabrics and seeing what I could do with a sewing machine, I started to get the itch to learn more. I had a staycation in August 2011 and decided that during my staycation I would make my first quilt, using my grandmother's sewing machine Bernina 830 (essentially my only inheritance). With my mom's help, we got the machine running again and during the week, I pieced:
I pieced it using my own "stash" - meaning I got fat quarters from Joann's (so naive - didn't know about quilt shops!). It took me all week, but it was fun and very rewarding to see the final product.
Next post will explain my next steps!
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