From our Executive Director
I went on my first mission trip in 2001. I had said a brave yes to joining a short-term trip to Kenya with our church, where my husband was a pastor. I was eager — and scared. As a brand new pastor's wife and a 20-something mom with babies left at home, the idea of being a 'missionary,' even for just two weeks, was intimidating.
Our group helped with a small building project, ran a VBS for a few hundred kids, and took lots of Kenyan tea breaks. One morning we visited an orphanage called Karai Children's Home, near the town of Kikuyu. It was a small home, recently built by The Outreach Foundation, who helped organize our trip.
We dropped by one morning and led the 40 or so kids in some silly songs. Halfway through Father Abraham, I took off my sweatshirt and tied it around my waist, as the goofy song motions and Equator sun warmed me up. Next thing I knew a young girl copied me, taking off her blue knit school sweater and tying it around her waist, just like I did.
Kids at Karai (left) in 2001.
This little act somehow settled all my fears. It suddenly seemed so simple: We were just two daughters of Abraham, doing something together, and discovering how big God's family is in the process.
But there was another girl there that day, a girl I would meet again — 17 years later.
When I returned to Kikuyu last fall with Touch of Love, we hired a social worker named Lucy. We loved her immediately because of her leadership skills, her smarts, and her dedication to the group of women TOLI was going to serve there. She had a heart for this community, because she grew up here.
Teaching a small business lesson with Lucy (right) last month.
It turns out Lucy grew up just down the road — at Karai Children's Home.
And, it turns out, Lucy was there in 2001. Lucy was one of the kids singing Father Abraham with us, one of the girls with whom I discovered I had nothing — and everything — in common.
Sometimes the light shines on God's invisible webs just right, and suddenly you see everything is connected and glistening.
Why am I sharing this with you? Because God's plans are elaborate and exquisite. Because His plans are for every person. Me. You. A kid in an orphanage. A woman in a tea field. A man in a slum. It's why the church exists. And it's why TOLI exists.
We are all children of Abraham, and we are miraculously connected, beyond the bounds of culture or geography. We are family.
My prayer for you — and for every one of our supporters, staffers, and clients — is that you would know yourself as part of His family, and that, as you say your brave yeses to how he wants to use your life, you may catch a glimpse of the glistening threads that connect us all.
God's plans are elaborate and exquisite. And sometimes we even get to see them.
Yours in Christ,
Abigail McConnell
Executive Director
PS: Want to connect with us?
Maybe it's by praying. Maybe it's meeting for coffee to hear more about TOLI. Maybe it's even going a trip with us. Maybe this is your brave yes...
Or maybe there's another corner of God's kingdom I can connect you with.
Send me an email and let's find out.