From cell: Today Trevor & I met with Spiritual Director @ CURE (TCZ grad). I also had a productive & info filled mtg w/ MCC.

--
==================================================================
This mobile text message is brought to you by AT&T

We are now safely in Lusaka after a long delay. Sleep is good. 34.5 straight hrs of travel since leaving my house. Sleep well.

--
==================================================================
This mobile text message is brought to you by AT&T

Greetings from South Africa

After an hour at the gate and a 15.5 hr flight, we are here! Trevor & I sat next to each other, with an aisle in between. He was on my left. I'm writing to you from the Baobab Lounge, South African Airways' frequent flyer lounge. I was PUMPED to remember that I still had almost 2 hrs of internet time left on my account here in Johannesburg.

Highlights of flight: watched 3 movies (Opal Dream about a little girl with make-believe friends - good BBC family fun, Some movie with Luke Wilson that was pretty funny, and Evan Almighty); managed to sleep for about 5 hrs, which is lower than normal but almost a full nights rest; and had a great dinner & breakfast! Best part though was it was really direct without a fuel stop, so only 15.5 instead of 18. those extra hours are killer! so i was glad to miss them this time.

Lows: my seat didn't recline; the guy in front of me put his seat back as soon as we took off... so 15.5 hrs of extra crunch on my legs.

My other neighbor was a mom from Chambersburg, PA. Her daughter works for Coca-Cola and has a work thing in Cape Town for the next week, so she invited her mom along to experience Africa for the 1st time. Her other daughter was in St. Lucia and a son studying somewhere exotic. Can't remember. But interesting conversation. I enjoyed listening to her cheer on her kids, even though they weren't around. :) It reminded me of my mom, which is always refreshing.

Trevor is off somewhere drinking coffee. I'm going to hang out here and hopefully knock out some more emails in the next hour. We take off at 6:10pm local, which is 12:10pm on the east coast.

My thoughts are racing as I get excited to return to Zambia. We begin our trip in Lusaka for 2 nights and 1 very full day. Our arrival may prove to be tricky. We have a taxi driver coming to fetch us to bring us to the CURE Hospital guesthouse. We also will be met by a driver that has our vehicle. So we'll have a bit of a caravan to someplace that we don't know how to get to...and it will be about 9 at night in a foreign city. Should be interesting. :) Lots of good stories to come, I'm sure.

In Lusaka, I'll be having breakfast with the national rep for the Mennonite Central Committee and then an afternoon meeting with a TCZ graduate working as the Spiritual Director at CURE's hospital. Trevor is meeting with CURE International's hospital administrators to talk IT. Hopefully our jet lag will not slow us down too much.

Please pray for our time in Lusaka. We then proceed to Ndola, Zambia about 4 hours north of the capital, Lusaka, to visit with folks at the Theological College of Central Africa (TCCA). We hope to begin a partnership with TCCA that would provide funding for their graduates who are running AIDS orphan care projects through their local churches. These projects differ from church to church and may include things like school fees, gardening support, income generating projects, counseling, or vitamins, etc. Things at TCCA are full of promise. I'm anxious to see our friends, the Stuebings, and meet some new ones.

Well - a lot to do and a lot to pray about. Off to email for a bit (hopefully) and read the highlights on last nights Red Sox game! GO SOX!

Pray on friends! I hope you enjoy your ride with us. It is already promising to be a fun filled, action packed adventure with lots of interesting characters along the way.

All the best from South Africa,
Ryan

From Dulles Airport in DC

It is amazing how quickly our worlds can change. I'm sitting by my gate, shooting off last minute emails, eating chocolate covered pretzels and surfing the web to get a pregame read on my beloved Red Sox. I'm sorry that I'll miss their triumphant recovery and eventual victory in the World Series. Africa is calling my name.

To go from this to the developing world is becoming an easier transition. I'm sitting here trying to figure out whether that is good or bad. I just saw my favorite flight attendant outside a coffee shop in the airport. Is it good to have a favorite and to run into them when the last time you saw them was in Johannesburg, South Africa?  She didn't recognize me, of course. But it was comforting. She is VERY good at her job.

In 24 hrs, I will be sleeping on the other side of the world, in a city I've never been to before. It should be a good time. :)

Trevor & I make our way to Ndola, Zambia after a couple days in Lusaka, Zambia's capital. We then will proceed back through Lusaka on our way to Choma and then on to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Over 800 miles in a week along rather bumpy "paved" roads. We are anxious to begin what has been in the works for months. For now, though, we are just waiting for the journey to begin.

I am sad to leave the states and my new wife of 68 days. But as I have been reflecting today, I feel like this is the clearest my purpose has been compared to the 7 previous trips I've made to Africa in the past 3 years. What an amazing privilege it is to go and see these places and share with you what I believe can be done in partnership with local church leaders.

Pray on! The journey from DC to Johannesburg begins in less than 2 hours. For now, I gotta make a couple more calls and get the game time temp for the game. And get a sandwich. AH! I love the USA! See you in Africa!

-Ryan

PS Quick thing... My favorite thing when I come back is getting 2 dunkin donuts (glazed and boston cream) and picking up a nice, cold Dr. Pepper. Just so you know what I'm going to miss the most (besides Katie). :) Oh. And running water is nice, too! I'll enjoy that, as well.

A voice from Africa

Yesterday I had a humbling experience. Amidst all the things that I needed to do to prepare for my trip (leaving tomorrow), I decided to call a good friend of mine in Zimbabwe so we could just chat. His voice was calming and peaceful. He is a pastor with a gift of encouragement.

As I shared my anxieties with him, he listened attentively (I could tell). He was soaking up what I was sharing and trying to get to the heart of the matter among my ramblings. You, my friends, know my ramblings all too well.

In the end, his message was clear. Our God will provide. Stop worrying. Come to Africa.

Here is a man that is counseling people daily in the middle of the world's worst economic crises. His country is falling apart and he is standing firm. A rock in the middle of waves of destruction.

It is an honor to be friends with a man like him. This story is common in Zimbabwe. I'm not sure where these folks get this courage. Where we panic at the smallest setback or having to bring a different pair of sandals than we want (that's me yesterday)... it was a good reminder to let go and let God! or whatever the saying is...you get the point.

I'm honored to be going for you all...going to collect the voices of Zambia & Zimbabwe and sharing them with you. This trip will be a trip of stories; stories we all need to hear. I hope that God uses our team to do that...these are stories that need to be told!

Pray on, friends! I'm spending the afternoon packing and writing. I pray that your days are filled with moments of letting go and letting God.

All the best,
Ryan
--
Note from Ryan Keith, Forgotten Voices
717.506.0633 | RKeith@ForgottenVoices.org
Empowering Orphans: Local People, Local Projects.
Find out how you can use your voice at www.ForgottenVoices.org

When you go...what can I do?

I regularly get asked, "what can I do to help you when you are gone?" Well, my answer has grown since the last time I went to Africa. Typically, I simply ask for prayer. This is still the case. Prayer covers me when I'm there. As I see what I see and as I go where I need to go. Pain and challenges are EVERYWHERE. Divine intervention is a staple activity of my days. From just the right conversation or connection to just the right canceled appointment, prayer provides answers or silence at just the right moment. So, please pray!

Also - PLEASE GIVE! You can look at our financials and every time I go to Africa, giving goes way down. That's in large part due to our small size as an organization. If I'm not out there raising money, it often doesn't happen. And that is the change that I'd like to see this time compared to past trips. In my mind, giving should increase while I'm away as people hear what is happening. This time, I'm going to try even harder to bring you the stories of why we do what we do through local church leaders in southern Africa. I'll try to bring you specific stories that you can share with those you meet each day.

I find it ironic that God has so clearly asked me to return to Africa when our budget needs are the greatest this quarter. As we look to expand into Zambia to provide more funding & resources to our new friends there, there is a scary feeling when I travel that no one is reading what I'm writing and these promises I'm making in Africa are going to be left unfulfilled when I get back. This hasn't proven to the case yet. When I am in the USA, you all continue to respond and share and give. I pray that this continues, even while I'm away.

I'll never forget the time I led a commitment meeting in Zimbabwe, where we promised a group of pastors that we would join them in their work. That overwhelming burden that was on my back. That feeling wasn't about Ryan Keith delivering the goods and being the hero. It was about Ryan Keith feeling the weight of widows and orphans that I now knew, who were looking to me to make sure they ate & had an education. These stats I read about had faces and stories...and names.

I realize now that those feelings were wrong...misguided for sure. God knew their names & their need before I did. Well before. Since then, God hasn't just provided for these people in Africa that I love...He has provided for me and for Forgotten Voices. He's used each of you. It's not just me anymore ranting on and on about Africa. :) It's a legion of voices that grows by the day. I pray that continues while I'm away and these voices continue responding in new ways as they hear of God's work in Africa.

Just now, as I was preparing to pour into the next 10 hrs of preparation for our trip (a LOT of paperwork & emailing that needs to be completed) I came across a quote from someone writing about their reflections in Zimbabwe. When asked what others can do to help their efforts with another organization, she wrote, "Live more simply so that others may simply live."

As you go about this next month until I return on Nov 8, I challenge you to look for ways to live more simply and then set aside those funds for Forgotten Voices. It is rare for me to ask for such a direct action. But I know 2 things: 1) I am about to see more pain that I ever thought imaginable in my 7 previous trips to Africa, as the situation has led people to begin eating pets and other horrible actions that come from desperate people; and 2) I am totally committed to making sure that your gift ...every penny... is used to the best of my abilities to empower the lives of orphans & widows in southern Africa.

I thank each of you for reading this blog and sharing it w/ your friends! This is by far the most personal posting I've had thus far, as I share my heart with you. This is life together, friends. And I'm thankful that God is allowing me to go and see so that we may respond in love.

Today, I ask you to join me in thanking God for his provision that I can go to Africa! It is not just me that should give thanks. It's all of us! God has given all of us this opportunity to see Africa and respond in love. Again, I look to His command to Gideon: "Go with the faith you have and the knowledge I am the one that sent you!"

Travel with me, friends! 2 days to go! Are you excited???? I AM!

The final push...

My friend and I leave in 4 days for Africa. There is a lot to work out, with Zimbabwe and Zambia plans changing every day! This is Africa, so things are VERY flexible. Coordinating between 3 different schedules from our end and multiple partners on their end... it is getting tricky!

Today, pray for clarity of thought for me and for our partners in Africa as we nail down dates/times/logistics/fuel, etc to make this 19 day journey as productive as possible for all involved.

With 500 people dying every day in Zimbabwe, the challenges facing local leadership are great! My coming is both a benefit and burden to all involved. But necessary. Lots to work out, but the benefits will be great if this trip goes well.

Thank you! More later today or tomorrow.

-Ryan