Give Me Faith

Its been a tough couple days. I can't seem to sleep well because my body wants to be awake when it should be sleeping and sleeping when it should be awake. I've had several "oh crap, what have I done" moments and the extrovert in me is desperately craving some community. And like it always does my iPod came through for me with this gem. Its like my personal emotional DJ that knows exactly what to play when. Give Me Faith is a song from Elevation Worship...if you've never heard of them you should definitely check them out. This song has given me so much encouragement over the last couple days...To have faith when I'm feeling lost and alone. To have faith when I'm feeling empty and broken. To have faith that God is who He says He is.

I thought I'd share it with you...more later.

xo

Greetings from Maua!

Well I'm writing to you from my permanent site, in Maua, Kenya! Its a very small town about a 5 hour drive from Nairobi and an hour outside of of Meru (if you decide to look on a map). The hospital is right outside the main town and is pretty large. It reminds me a lot of the Kijabe Hospital I visited back in 2009. I'm all settled into my flat, its like a very small apartment. I have a sitting room, small kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. I will post some pictures...wait until you see my toilet (or lack there of!)

I'm having a hard time adjusting to the time difference, all I want to do is take naps but then at 3am I'm WIDE AWAKE! This morning we had morning chapel and then I went on a tour of the hospital and visited the different wards. Tomorrow I am going to a nursing supervisors team building meeting and they asked me to speak on Stewardship for 30-40 minutes! I thought I was done having to teach/speak...haha I guess not and this time I only got 24 hours to prepare. Adam, you're super impressed, right?

The weather is incredibly hot during the day, but gets cool at night. I'm glad I packed all those extra clothes :)

I have meet some wonderful people. Mary, the nursing director and her husband Stanley who is the Community Health Coordinator drove me from Nairobi and I had dinner at their house last night. I also met a girl my age from Washington State who is here with the Peace Core. She has been here for almost 2 years! Its nice to make a friend who speaks English and understands me easily!

I'm sure you're all wondering what I'm eating...alot of plain bread with butter or peanut butter, white rice and yesterday I had a beef stew but had to choke it down because the carrots were mushy and the beef was chewy...I hate when I have to just keep chewing and chewing and don't know when to swallow. I heard there is a pizza place in town so I will have to check it out, it might become my regular hot spot.

I'm thankful that I have the internet up and running so I can feel more connected to my friends and family. Here are a few things I would love prayer for :

• Help my body and mind adjust to the time difference. I want to be fully engaged and present when I'm here.
• Prayer for the Team Building meeting and my talk on stewardship tomorrow. I pray that my words would glorify God and help others be better stewards of their gifts, time and heart.
• There is an unbelievable amount of people with measles right now. We're not sure why, but I saw several patients today, some young children with measles...it looks awful and painful. Prayer for all those that are sick for God to heal their bodies. The hospital is a crazy place with lots of sickness and sadness. It breaks my heart.
• Pray that I would make friends and connect with others that are here. My heart is lonely at times and craving community. I pray that I would be content in solitude and that God would meet me there.

Hope you're doing well...I love getting emails or Facebook messages so update me on your lives as well!

all my love...

I've arrived!

Hey everyone...I'm so excited you are reading my blog and sharing in this journey with me. I left Columbus yesterday afternoon (with only minimal tears at the airport...I was proud of myself) and traveled first to Newark, NJ then to Zurich, Switzerland and finally to Nairobi, Kenya. It was an exhausting day but I was thankful for smooth travels, on time flights and zero hiccups!

Moments of the day worth sharing:

• Flying to Zurich, the man sitting in 34A decided to sleep on my shoulder...and I don't just mean rest his head on my shoulder but he snuggled in. It was awkward but I did have a great travel pillow and he didn't so I just let it be. Only after an hour or so I intentionally coughed and moved farther away from him.
• If you ever get a chance to fly Swiss Airlines...do it. The food was awesome (which says a lot for me...think pasta and chicken, swiss ice cream, swiss chocolate, and pizza) Alison, I caved and had a diet coke. I was dying and just HAD to. I will go an extra day beyond Easter to make up for it. They had great movie choices as well. I watched New Years Eve, The Ides of March and Breaking Dawn Part 4. I also got to see the Swiss Alps out my window, I'll have to figure out how to post a picture because it was GORGEOUS. Someday I'm going to do more than just fly over them.
• I didn't get left at the airport. I had been having this recurring dream, or rather nightmare where I come down the escalator in Nairobi and there was no one to pick me up...but sure enough there was a man names Samson holding a sign that said "Laven Lewis". He was super helpful, friendly and a crazy driver (which apparently you have to be in Nairobi.)

All that to say that I made it here and the hotel I'm staying at is adorable. I had a cheese sandwich and french fries at the hotel restaurant and the only thing I can find on TV here is football (american soccer). Wolfpack boys, you'd love it here. Every channel is showing some game, and I made a new friend in the restaurant by sharing my extensive knowledge about the English Premier League. Thanks for always talking about soccer ALL THE TIME so I actually sounded like I knew what I was talking about :)

Tomorrow I'll be heading to my site in Maua and am looking forward to settling in and getting to work. Love and miss you all!

xo

I'm leaving...

I'm leaving...on a jet plane, don't know when I'll be back again!
My plane tickets have been booked. I am officially departing the USA on Friday, March 23rd (right after I see the midnight premier of The Hunger Games, of course!)

So much to do, so many people to see, so much to be excited about!
All my love...

update

I have been conference calling with Africa (that sounds awesome, doesn't it?) and here are some new and exciting details about my adventure!
I'll be leaving sometime within the month...hopefully mid to late March. My departure date has been pushed back slightly, but I'm thankful that God has given me additional time to spend with friends and family and additional time to prepare my heart, raise support and get organized!
It is finalized that I'll be working in a hospital in the town of Maru (which means flower in Swahili)! I'm excited to have a final site and plans are slowly but surely coming together.

Finishing up at Heritage was alot harder than I thought it would be...there were many mixed emotions and lots of tears but a wonderful last couple weeks where I felt very special and very loved by my friends and co-workers.

I've mourned the end of a season and am now looking forward to the start of a new one...I'd appreciate prayer for the following things and I promise to keep you posted as more and final details are decided!

• pray for my heart...that God would be preparing it for all He wants to do during this adventure
• continuing to raise support and trusting God that He will provide for all my needs
• the anxiety I feel about saying goodbye to close friends that have been my family over the last four years...that I would feel peace in my heart about the stability of those relationships
• that all the details would come together smoothly without any hiccups or bump

Join Me?

Coming from someone who has worked in full time ministry for the last four years, I know alot of people who ask for support, who have to raise money to do their job and serve the Lord. I'm so thankful for their diligence and confidence that God provides...it has been amazing to see Gods faithfulness in ministries like Campus Crusade, RadioU, Operation Mobilization and many others...and so now I find myself asking you to join me in my ministry in Africa...

Will you partner with me both financially and in prayer?

I have an account set up with Heritage Christian Church where all donations are tax deductible. I have commited to this calling with my life and my resources and promise if you commit to supporting me, I will work hard, steward your money well and share the love and generosity you have shown me with those I come in contact with.

All checks can be made out to Heritage Christian Church, please be sure to put Lauren Lewis on the memo line!

Thank you in advance and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know!

Trusting God...

Big News

I've officially quit my job. My last day at Heritage Christian Church will be Thursday, February 16th. I have been stuck in this rut of uncertainty for a while now and I am so excited about the future although it too is still being written.

With lots of faith, prayer, and seeking of wise counsel I've decided to take a step (or rather a leap) and go oversees for an extended period of time. My hope is to leave for Africa early March and spend 3-6 months serving in various ways, exploring the country, meeting new people, loving on those less fortunate, discovering more of who God made me and reconnecting with Jesus in a new way. It still feels surreal as I talk about it. I've slowly shared my plans with my family, small group girls, friends and finally our church community and I can feel the excitement growing daily.

There are still alot of details to be worked out, plane tickets to be booked, and goodbyes to be said, but I wanted to ask for your prayers as all the details come together. Please pray that God would be preparing my heart, be walking with me in the transition and changes to come and that He would ease my anxious and nervous heart.

My life is nothing like I thought it would be at 26...and I'm done grieving those expectations and instead looking forward to this opportunity and the adventure ahead. I covet your prayers and hope you'll join me in this exciting once in a lifetime experience!