Pre-Kenya Hello to All!

An excited 'hey' goes out to all who are reading this,
This is Deana posting from Echo Bay, ON. I'm going to share with you some pre-Kenya information, let you guys know what is going on right now, prayer requests and share some of my heart with you. The next time you will probably hear from me is in the beautiful land of hot(I'll soon find out how hot!) Kenya!
I am so excited to be able to share my time in Kenya with all of you - starting in only 2 short weeks! So much has been changing in these last crutial days and it's getting a lot of the team so excited but a little bit nervous at the same time! I don't think I'd be wrong in saying that we are being tested and taught to turn to Jesus for our strength! How exciting is that?
Like I said, a lot of changes have been made, but one that will effect us every day is we will no longer be staying in huts with the locals but rather staying in a hotel while we are there. This will help us better ensure the safety of our team members while we are on this adventure! It may sound like we are taking the easy road on this one, but I'm pretty sure that this will not be a five-star experience with satelite TV. I'll let you know if I'm wrong though!

I'm hoping that all of you who are reading this will join with us in prayer. We are all in need of it for different reasons but there is one universal problem: we miss calculated the costs by about $500...each. For the 15 people from Caronport, SK that adds up to a lot of money. We only have two short weeks to gather this money, but it gives us an opportunity to show how faithful God is!
To my team members reading this: we need to not be discouraged by this, but pray hard and keep preparing ourselves spiritually, emotionaly, and physically.
Some more prayer requests I hope you will keep in mind: for Anthony's visa to return in time (as an American he would need his before hand), no problems for the rest of the team (minus a few who purchased them before) who chose to purchise their visa at the airport, for us to learn as much Swahili to help communication with the locals, no stress only soaking in the Lord to prepare ourselves, that the hearts will be softened of the people we will come in contact with and for the money we need to come in! Let's rely on the Lord for answers to these important requests. I'm sure there are more that were not brought to my attention, God knows what they are so I pray he answers them too!

It's only 14 short days until we all join together in the Toronto airport! This is such a dream come true for me! Even through my fundraising, sharing with people and my preparing spiritually for this trip, it doesnt seem real! I am so excited to love on orphans, learn how to love more genuinely by being refined in this far away land, dig my heart out for the community (in well form of course!), and to see my favourite animal-a giraffe for the first time! Of course I'm excited for everything but these are a few that first come to mind! God as blessed us with an amazing opportunity! And you've blessed us by supporting us on this endeavor and in return we will be able to bless you with our experiences and stories once we've returned, make sure you take us up on that offer!

I am already so thankful for all of you who are supporting us prayerfully, financially and in so many other ways. Without all of you, none of us would be going on this adventure to fulfill God's work! Blessings on you!
Thanks, love and many blessings,
Deana Phillips <3