All roads lead to Nairobi

Welcome to part three of “What in the world does Kerri do all day?” Today I get to tell you about how I coordinate conferences when most the speakers come from other countries and I am never sure of who exactly is showing up each day. Its a crazy life.

For those that aren’t aware, DOVE Africa, is just one region of a larger body called DOVE Christian Fellowship Int’l, or DCFI for short.  So when we can get other leaders from throughout DCFI to come in and teach at a leadership conference, we jump at the opportunity.  In fact we have one happening in August.  Two speakers are Americans but one is arriving from the US and the other is coming from Malaysia. Another speaker is arriving from The Netherlands, another from South Africa, and one more from Uganda.  This means coordinating four different airline pick ups and transportation to the venue.  I’m glad our Ugandan friend knows the city and is taking care of his travel arrangements!  

Of course, I also have to find out who is planning on attending, so its the invite email, various follow-up emails, and finally texts and phone calls to get all the info from the various regions of DOVE Africa - 3 regions in Kenya, then Rwanda, Uganda, and India. Oops, India’s another airport coordination and transport to figure out.

Now that’s just for this coming August.  I also helped coordinate a business expo we held in March that had people from Europe, North America, Africa, and the Middle East.  That was a paid conference, which meant figuring out prices for hotel stays (resident vs non-resident) in various currencies and calculating it into Kenyan shillings.  Email invites, phone calls, schedule planning, and hand-out booklets were also part of the package.

In June Ellel Ministries came and did two seminar/workshops which we helped administrate.  At least this time, people interested in coming contacted me! But I got to man the table each day taking registration fees, keeping track of expenses (Where’s the receipt?) and selling books.  Oh, and of course being aware of timing, and whether or not lunch was on time and how many people we were feeding that day!

Its always interesting how time works here.  As Ibrahim (my boss) has said to me more than once, “We make time here in Kenya,”  and I believe him.  It amazes me how often I’m anxious about getting somewhere on time, but then others are late, the meeting runs long, and yet everything still gets done... 

Next meeting on the agenda after August is the DOVE Africa Annual Convention in December.  At least there’s a few months in between to get it all done!

How it all started... (the short version)

Apparently I have new readers all the time (who'd a thunk it) and so it is for you that I write this post as to how in the world I ended up in Kenya. Apologies to anyone who knows the story - feel free to disregard this post, well that is unless you're really bored and want something to do, or you really love me so you'll go through this again... Anyway, on with the story

God really recaptured my heart in Aug 2001 and I dedicated my life to live according to His whims and not mine. It was at that time He birthed in my heart a call to foreign missions. I went on my first short-term trip in 2002 to Romania & fell in love with the country and people. After a lengthy process, I finally went on a long-term basis in April of 2006. I spent 6 months that year & 8 months the next. However I got to a point where I was asking God "Why am I here?" I felt purposeless & useless. Not a great place to be. The Father was kind enough to hear my desperation and put me out of my misery by shutting the door and sending me home to the States.

Once home, I had some time to heal and spent some more time in prayer trying to discern what had just happened. He revealed to me that I'd spent much of the last few months in my own strength doing what "I" thought was right & not using the gifts He'd given me. I had wrongly esteemed other gifts above my own. So I went back to work for my church as the office manager and back to using the gifts and talents I had. (I'm an administrator & I like lists)

After being back Stateside for a year, my mission organization (DMI) asked if I would lead a team to Kenya in June 2009. I willingly said yes. However a team didn't materialize and I decided to go on my own, as I'd missed being out of the USA. In March I was at the annual DMI Mission Fest & met up with Diane at the Ladies Tea. I told her that I'd be coming on my own & that I'd do whatever was most helpful for her, even if it meant doing office work. She got very excited at that prospect, and as I would find out shortly her mind went to work.

Apparently she went back that afternoon and began talking about this with Ibrahim. He, being a former journalist, decided to do a little investigating about me. Later that week during the DOVE Int'l leadership conference we had lunch and all of this came out. The conversation ended with the Omondi's asking if I would be willing to come to Kenya long term as an administrative assistant to Diane. I was blown away. Here I was being given the opportunity to use my gifts on an international level. This was my dream! I wanted to say yes immediately, but decided to wait and see.

The 2 week trip in June/July 2009 went well and I decided to approach my pastor/boss with the news and ask for his input. He prayed and told me I should do what was in my heart. I then sought the approval of the DMI board and received that in Sept.

So, here I am in November of 2010 after a year of support raising in Nairobi, Kenya. I work with Diane and so far my duties primarily consist of the "busy" work. I do newsletters for the 3 main ministries they are involved in - DOVE Missions Africa, Springs of Africa, and DCF Africa. Soon I'll be learning how to update, upgrade, and maintain the websites as well.

Life on God's terms is pretty crazy, but I wouldn't live it any other way.

on the road again...

Packing... unpacking... packing... unpacking... So seems to be the rhythm of my life as of late. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my life and I'm loving watching the pages of this new chapter of my life unfold in front of me, but wow, this is a lot of traveling, and hoping, and trusting, and wondering... Yet I still "know in my knower" that somehow He is going to take all of this and make it into something glorious so that He will be KNOWN among the nations

I got back a couple weeks ago from traveling to Virginia, Washington DC, and South Carolina... Now that I've actually downloaded the pics, I thought I'd share some of them with you...


This is the flag I left at "The Wall" also known as the Vietnam War Memorial... Why here? My dad came back, but many didn't. I'm as aware of this as I am of my big toe. I remember that my freedoms were paid for by someone else's sacrifice. I wanted to use my Memorial Day holiday to honor that sacrifice and not just to celebrate the unofficial beginning of the summer with another BBQ (mmm BBQ) So I left this flag in a spot without any other remembrances, to say my humble thank you.


1600 Penn Ave... one of the most famous address in the world. Pray for this man & his family, pray for those who work here... God may we truly be a nation that trusts you and not self...


Tomb of the Unknowns (Arlington Nat'l Cemetery) Little did I know when I took this pic the brouhaha that would erupt over this place. Yet still, this is a sacred spot. This is where you can begin to see the price this nation has paid for freedom. And it stirs my heart to know that we even remember to honor those who've served & paid the ultimate price, even if we don't know their name - God does

So there ya go... a few of my impressions of the Nation's capital and the monuments & memorials... take time to remember our history, it will prayerfully keep us from repeating their mistakes.

highways and by-ways and such...

My life feels like its so much "on the go" lately. I spent the end of last week and the weekend in Lancaster County, PA. I was there to help man the DMI booth @ the Missions Fest at Lancaster Bible College, which in itself was interesting. Our booth was between Voice of the Martyrs and Village Missions. (Both really great mission organizations, I encourage you to click the links and check them out.) So that was Friday afternoon. Then on Friday night I got to spend a lovely 1 1/2 hours (read 3 hours stuck in bumper to bumper traffic) on PA highways driving to the young adult cell in Chambersburg, PA. Overflow is a great DCFI church in that area and God is using them to expand His kingdom.

Then I got to spend Saturday @ my blessed host's home mostly, except for a brief jaunt out over Lancaster twisty back roads to meet a friend and discuss my "next steps" in fundraising. She was so helpful!! What I thought would be an hour to share hearts and tea turned into a 3+ hour give and take. She was able to give me some references to those who had a heart for both Africa and the Omondi's who I will be serving when I get there. It was so encouraging to remember that $2000/month is not an insurmountable obstacle to God!! Plus she just encouraged me personally when it comes to being a woman running after God's heart in spite of what some may see as my "lack of a relationship." I say I'm in a very deeply committed relationship with the love of my life - His name is Jesus!

So then, Sunday morning I got the chance to share a bit at Newport DOVE. God bless them, they are joining the support team on a monthly basis!! I'm jazzed every time someone says that they believe in the vision God has given me and want to support that. As Rich keeps telling me, "Projects are great, but projects don't happen without people." I know, Rich. I know. Now if only everyone who tells me "its so great you're going... God bless you... Wow you're really brave..." would actually take those sentiments and act upon them! If everyone would do a little, I'd be able to really look into dates and get ready to GO.
This weekend, I'm packing up/ getting rid of stuff and moving back to my parent's house. They are being so generous in allowing me to impose on them rent free until I'm actually on the plane. But I'll still be part-time at Lighthouse thru March and then on and off as they need me until I'm gone. So I'll be seeing a lot of I-91N.

But, I know this is what God has called me to for this time in my life, so I'll choose to be content and seek Him above all. At the very least I guess it'll give me some great prayer time!

Oh, and if you're a pastor type or have a venue where you'd give me a chance to share, shoot me an email!