One Year.



Yeah, it's been that long. Can you believe it? I can't.

I still remember waiting for my flight at the San Jose Airport and thinking, "Is this really happening?" It definitely didn't feel real at the time, and to be honest I'm not sure if it feels real now. It doesn't feel like I've been gone that long. Or does it? I don't know.

When it comes to talking about the fact that I've been here for a year, I don't have anything to say other than…

Since coming back to Cote d'Ivoire from Benin I have been busy, but nothing takes up an entire blog. So, here is a summary of whats going on with some pictures.…

So yes, I've already told you all that I'd like to stay in Cote d'Ivoire a second year. But where am I at exactly? Well here ya' go.

This is the last month that I'll be living with my family here in Korhogo. My first year will be finished so it would be the natural time to move out. From there I'll be moving to Bouaké, back to the campus I lived on my first few months here. So I'll get started on preparing for the new Journey Corps team coming in September and the medical…

As much as I love the Beninoir guys I worked with, it was a struggle to not get frustrated certain days working with them. There is no use explaining the various reasons why, because I have already stewed over it on those days at the risk of bitterness. But knowing how poorly I can bear with my…

My first year (and hopefully not the only year) in Cote d'Ivoire is coming near it's end as I've been here for ten months now. So I felt like it was time for one of those long "so what have I learned" type blogs.

So what have I learned? So many things, but for one: I am WEAK. I never expected that. I'm not sure what I expected, maybe something closer to some sort of mountain-top missionary experience and to always be happy and everything would be so easy. I tried not to have…

So it's been a little awhile and I'm not sure what to write. Things just continue as normal. And when I say normal, I mean normal. Tens months in, I don't know what to write because most stuff doesn't stand out in my mind anymore.



As much as the daily or weekly routine gets normal there are certain things that make me think, "I'm definitely not in the States anymore."



Such as being at church and hearing the guy directing the service ask the Senoufo choir to sing something…

This is from the first week during a Monday training session for the technicians.  The device we are working with is basically a high voltage version of a voltmeter.

 …

   When I returned home from PDX training last night, the one thing I craved above anything else was bologna. So, what did I do? I made myself a sandwich, of course. But when a vegetarian, like myself, makes such an unexpected and irrational move, one is forced to think something along the lines of, “What in the world happened to me this past week??”

   In a nutshell, TOO MUCH happened; from hours of extremely informal lectures that made our brains feel about ready to explode, to…

Us four girls in Korhogo just finished a Bible study on joy. It was a really great reminder to always rejoice in the Lord and find joy in every day life. Even when things get hard or just less exciting than when I first arrived, it's so important to have joy! So I've been thinking a lot about all my favorite things here and trying to make sure I find joy even in the little things. Here's a list of my favorite things about life in Korhogo, Cote d'Ivoire.

- Frozen Tampico. It's…

is a matter of being with people more than doing things for people. Dr. James Maxey

But in missionary work the great danger is that God's call (John 20, 21) will be replaced by the needs of the people .

Jesus emphasizes in Luke 10: 17-20, that the great secret of joy is not success, but that you have the right relationship with ME.

The one and only purpose is to disciple men and women to Jesus.

Our worship and theology will always be on display in the way we treat…

So as I had mentioned before, I had the possibility of participating in the P.E. class and playing volleyball at College Don Bosco. Everything worked out and I started last week!

Monday and Tuesday mornings, I go to the school and participate in the class. I taught them how to play volleyball, which was interesting because none of them had every played before. I also just participate in whatever they're doing. To be honest, I'm not really sure what my importance there is, but…

Benin has been good to me so far.  With wide strokes you can paint it the same as Cote d’Ivoire, but stopping to look reveals divergences.  And it is the differing details that make me feel like a stranger, or at least stranger than I expected.  I stare at every pot along the road wondering which of these familiar yet unknown foods she is selling there, and more importantly, how to get some on a plate without knowing its name or price.  I do not know how at home I will feel after only two…

My dream since freshman year of college has finally come true. I have helped start a Micro Finance Project in my church (Tiekelezo) to help women in need in that church. There are about 1,000 people who go to that church and many need help. We had originally planned on making this a project solely for women who have lost their husbands through his death or abandonment. Now, we extended it to include any women in the church in need. The Tiekelezo Church Committee choses who to accept into the…

I'm going to assume if you're reading my blog, you've been following them throughout the last nine months, so I'm going to skip the summary of the year and get straight to the point!

Now the choice has been presented to me to stay with Journey Corps for a second year. A year ago I said, "Sure God, I'll give you this year of my life and serve you in Africa. After that, I'm going straight back to America to continue with my plans and go to school, because that's…

SR grad ministers to the needy - in the Ivory Coast of Africa BY Karen Reynolds -Contributing Writer- Versailles Republican Newspaper Kelly Annemarie Bolt, daughter of Tim and Bonnie Bolt and sister of Jason Bolt, is living in the Ivory Coast, Africa these days, helping the poor. She is originally from Holton, with her home church being Hopewell Baptist Church. She left the United States in July of 2011 to go to live in Africa as a missionary with World Venture/Journey Corps. She was able to…

The Bible study I talked about in an earlier blog has started. It's every Wednesday at noon at a high school in my neighborhood, College Bethlehem. It's a private Christian school but just like Christian schools in the U.S. not all the students are Christian. So it's interesting that out of the entire school maybe 10-20 students come. As you can imagine, being at lunch time, some kids would rather go home to eat than come. It reminds me a lot of my days in the Christian club at my high…

Any 2 individuals from different cultures, ethnicities, religions, and upbrining can deeply connect, if they are willing to take the time and listen to each other.…

Here’s what I’m learning: God knows what we need even when we don’t. He knows where we’re going even when we have no idea.

When I left for Cote d’Ivoire in October of 2010, I had decided to put aside a year of my life for God. A year. That’s a lot, right? At the time, I thought so. Well, a year has become 17 months….Does that compute? Last I checked, there were 12 months in…

Father, thank you for the struggle within me.  It molds me and reminds me of all that I tend to forget when life is easily managed. 

The decision to stay indefinitely in missions (mostly easily done by seeking appointment with World Venture) will always feel like a decision too big for me.   Even though whatever we do should be rendered to God, missionary seems to require an Old Testament style calling.  At the same time, I do believe waiting for a guiding pillar of fire can…

Just read a great quote -

"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made -- I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. I no…