First of all, summer doesn’t actually exist here. Rather than four different seasons, Kenya only has two seasons – dry and rainy.
Although we don’t have four seasons, the weather is pretty close to PERFECT all year! This is the current week’s forecast, just to give you a glimpse… (Friends in Georgia…are you jealous!?)
In the States, summer was the busiest time of year for youth ministry. Students are freed up from school and sports to hang out and participate in numerous youth activities. International mission trips, RYM youth camps in Florida, weekly pool parties and Bible studies, day trips to Six Flags and White Water, helping out with VBS, and many other events filled up the months of June and July. …That didn’t leave much room for any down time!
We have learned that youth ministry in the international community of Kenya looks VERY different! Many of our students travel during their long holiday from school, either to visit their home country or for an international family vacation! Rather than June & July being a prime time for students to gather together, it’s a time for catching up in small group settings with those who stayed in-country.
It’s also one of the busiest times of year for Bluesky Ministries, as Camp Bluesky is underway for 5 full weeks of the summer!
With that said, here are some memories we’ve made so far this “summer:”
One of our last senior high “Summits” of the school year…we surprised everyone and took them out for fro-yo!In May, Nate took a few of the middle school boys on a camping/hiking adventure. Here they are on the top of Mt. Longonot! (Nate was either really concentrating on taking this selfie, or really tired from a grueling hike!)We are helping out with 3 full weeks of Camp Bluesky. Nate is volunteering as a camp counselor for those weeks… Here he is with his “Elgon” cabin from Week 2!Shanna was also a camp counselor…only for one session of camp, because being pregnant makes it tough to keep up with energetic campers! Here she is with her “Meru” cabin, who insisted that they dress up like preggo campers for breakfast…haha!Earlier this month, Nate took a few of the guys camping… on the way home they discovered a place to play Paintball!While the camp team traveled to do ministry and safari in the bush for a few weeks, it provided a great opportunity for Shanna to visit to the U.S. This was a much needed time for her to catch up with family and friends…as well as prepare for Baby Mast! (Here she is celebrating at the baby shower thrown by sweet friends!)
We look forward to making more memories with students in these next few weeks before school starts back in August!
All the Way to Africa 