My name is Caroline Dickey and I am currently building a career in photography as a free-lancer. On the side, I nanny three little girls & love it! In the future, I want photography to my be my full time job & then of course to be a wife & mom, that’s my dream job.
You are reading this because last year the Maisha Choir came to Okc and I ended up getting to know many of the kids through that time. I also knew some of the host families so I spent a lot of extra time with some of the kids that came.
An opportunity came up for several of us to go to Africa with the Maisha Project & I was thrilled. One, because it meant I got to see the friends I had made & meet more! Two, because it meant I got to travel across the world and love on people who have so much less than me.
I didn’t go with any expectations but was completely open to what The Lord would do in & through me by going.
What you can’t miss when you arrive is the poverty: so much trash and filth. At the same time it was so beautiful… Everything was colorful & even though their homes were made of mud, trash, scraps, basically anything they could find, it was beautiful and I didn’t look at it as gross or dirty. There were people everywhere as well as livestock just roaming the streets.
I was surprised by the people and how they reacted to seeing me, a white person. They would yell, “mzungu” while chasing the car we were riding in. They wanted to touch my face, hands, & my hair, they’d stare at the veins in my arm and ask why my skin was blue. Haha It was strange being the minority, not in a bad way though.
My purpose was to be used by God in whatever way. The main reason for going was to help the ladies in the feeding program prepare food, help tutor kids, minister to the people in the slums, and help the ladies in the sewing room. And, of course, to love on the kids at Maisha!
The trip has given me a new perspective on life and what truly matters. In America, we get so distracted by all the stuff we have. I often think I am self-sufficient and forget how much I am in need of a savior. On this I don’t think I am alone. These people in Kenya have next to nothing yet find so much joy and fulfillment in life because they rely on the Lord for their peace, comfort, joy, and strength. Some don’t even know when their next meal will be, yet they know God will provide. And He does! Time and time again! I learned what it should look like to be in community with one another. Again, these people don’t have a lot, they rely on each other for encouragement and truly love one other. The amount of encouragement and love I got from these people was enough to last a lifetime. I’m not saying everyone in America is horrible and doesn’t know what it means to love their neighbor. I just think it’s a lot easier to forget what really matters when we are so distracted by the things of this world and what we want now!
We are all in need of a savior! And the things of this world that give us temporary comfort and joy will soon pass away!
“The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.“
1 John 2:17
Find community with other believers and walk life with them! Know our peace and comfort, joy and strength comes from The Lord, not our circumstances or the things we have.
Thanks! 🙂
– Caroline Dickey
