Preparation and placement

Thank you to all who already support me with gifts and prayers. I am readying myself and my stuff to leave August 24 for orientation. From there, I leave September 1 for Nairobi. With less than three weeks now, I'm deciding on things to pack, whether to get a computer, which malaria medication to take, and other such fun things. Before I pack, though, I must thin the perverse accumulation of junk in my bedroom (and yes, still in the the garage, too). Excess will be hard enough to come back to without having to swim through it to get to my bed.
I have finally noticed that I am actually going to Kenya. This fact is more easily grasped in the concrete tasks of visa application and packing list generation than in the abstract processes of waiting and discernment. Waiting has become active, with physical preparation readying my thoughts. I pray for wisdom as I pack and peace as God prepares me for my journey.
News! I have heard from our wonderful site coordinator that I am placed at a high school in central Kenya. I am terribly excited. I love working with kids. With another YAV at the same site, I have an automatic friend there. He's probably already sick of me. I'm looking forward to working with him.
Two and a half weeks or so? Time to get rolling. I must leave you. I need your prayers for wisdom and peace as I prepare. God has certainly been providing for me this summer. I realized today that the story of Jacob at Bethel that has meant so much to me every time I move will be especially true this time, as my malaria medication is likely to cause strange dreams. God is already in Kenya at work. I look forward to seeing that.

Welcome!

You have found it! The blog of my experiences in Kenya!
My name is Jacob Geerlings, and on August 24 I leave for orientation with the Young Adult Volunteer (YAV) program of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This program is designed for young adults in the church to get involved for a short-term (one-year) mission opportunity, allowing us to see what the church is doing abroad, to participate in local churches' responses to both the gospel and the needs in their community, and to take time for spiritual formation, simple living, and discernment. The YAV program is a great fit for me. God works in this program, evidenced by the wisdom of the people I see return from it, and so without knowing yet "what I'm doing with my life," I take my next step in the direction of the YAVs in Kenya.
YAVs in Kenya work in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA), one of the fastest-growing denominations in the world. YAVs of previous years have been stationed in classrooms, orphanages, church offices, interdenominational organizations, and halfway houses.
I invite you to participate. To support my trip:

• Pray. For Jesus to work in me and through me, that I may be a faithful servant in a new place.
• Stay in touch--send me email if you wish to subscribe to the newsletter that will go out in addition to this blog. It's heartening to know people care.
• Go to www.pcusa.org/yav/support.htm. Click my name under "Kenya", second to last name on the list. It should say "YAV, Kenya, Position 4" (this website). Then click on "give $." I need to raise $10,000 for the program to cover my expenses. The church doesn't get much money for the people they put to staff orphanages, I suspect. And I need to eat, live, and keep the Dept of Education's student loans division off my back.