"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!"

I'm trying to grow to a place where I can truly rejoice in the Lord ALL the time, but I feel like even when that time comes, there will always be moments that call for a little extra rejoicing. Today has been a day like that, and I'm almost overwhelmed with how much God has put in my life that brings me joy. I want to share a few of those things with you, in no particular order...

1. Visitors - This week alone, I'm going to get to hang out with Justin, Jane, and my parents...IN KENYA! What an incredible blessing to get to share this amazing place with both of my parents, with my girlfriend, and with one of my best friends in the world...praise God for memories that will last a lifetime!

2. Blue CFA polo shirts - More than the shirts themselves, seeing how excited our whole team got about receiving polo shirts today brought me so much joy! They were thrilled, and they all immediately put them on for a picture...

3. Babies that get a chance - This month two clients at the Kamirithu CARE for AIDS center gave birth to HIV-negative babies with the help of our center workers. Praise God that both of those kids can start life without worrying about HIV/AIDS!

4. Eggs and chai - Today I visited a client named Lucia, a worker in the tea plantations who lives in a tiny concrete home in the middle of a giant tea farm. When she heard that Kevin and I were coming, Lucia immediately prepared some Kenyan tea and hard-boiled eggs for us to eat in her house while we visited with her and her son. Her face was bursting with pride and joy as we thanked her for the excellent snack - experiences like this never cease to humble me and point my eyes to God!

5. New friends in heaven - This month 3 clients at KAG gave their lives to Christ, 5 clients at Banana Hill joined a baptism class, and 4 clients at KAG became members of the church. I rejoice in anticipation of meeting these people in heaven - when the discrepancies in culture, health, and prosperity between us have disappeared in the overwhelming light of the Lord!

6. My 'Dores - Though it pains me not to watch them on TV or in Memorial Gym, I'm pumped for my Vanderbilt Commodores basketball team, and I can't wait to read about them ballin' up in the SEC tournament next week. Dolla Beal, JTaylor, AJ, and the freshman phenom John Jenkins are making me proud!

7. Hope - John and Sarah, the center workers at our new Gachie center, just started recruiting clients this week, and one of their first steps was meeting with doctors who test people for HIV at the local hospitals. One doctor told them that many times he is so busy, he will tell a patient, "You are HIV-positive, now go..." without giving them any additional information or advice. Praise God for the opportunity that CFA has - to meet this person at the door and tell them the truth, tell them about the hope they can still hold on to for living a good life, a life with Christ.