Tag Archives: missions

Casual #YOLOMONDAYS Fashion & Sponsor for Kenya?

You guys, I hope you had a great weekend. Mine was filled with relaxing with husband, movie watching, eating food, work, more relaxing, and church. Good times had by all.

Welcome to another AWESOME week of #YOLOMONDAYS, a link-up for anything and everything. WHY?! Cause #YOLO! I’m also SUPER PUMPED to announce that I have a CO-HOST for #YOLOMONDAYS! The inimitable Carly from Lipgloss and Crayons is my lovely and talented co-host for #YOLOMONDAYS so be sure to pay her a visit. For info on the link-up… scroll down.

NOW, on to today’s post. No more dilly-dallying.

This is my idea of a casual Monday. I’m pretty lucky ’cause there’s no dress code at my job (you know, within reason… you shan’t be showing up in a bathing suit or something…) SO, that means I can go from casual to dressy to relaxed each day.

I love getting trendy, I love feeling “stylish,” but sometimes a white tee, some jeans, and my *new* favorite cowboy boots are just what a girl wants to wear.

I’ve had a couple days like that recently where I just wanna wear what’s comfortable. But it’s funny because I wore this to work last week thinking, “Oh, I’m just gonna throw on a tee and jeans” and I got like four compliments that day… including a major compliment from my husband. Needless to say, he’s a fan of the white tee and jeans.

Outfit Deets:

White t-shirt:Wal-mart ($4)
Jeans: JCrew (old)
Boots: Shyanne Red Women’s Cowboy Boots c/o Boot Barn
Necklace: Old… no idea
Belt: American Eagle (really old)
Watch: Target
Bangles: JCrew, JewelMint
Sunnies: Target

Do you love a white tee and jeans? Do you have a dress code at work? What outfits “surprise” you when you wear them? i.e. you’re way fancier than you intended… or something.

Sponsor the still being [molly] Blog for Kenya!

So, it honestly hasn’t been until recently that I’ve even considered or toyed around with the idea of having “sponsors” on the blog. I don’t know, it just felt weird to me, personally, at first.

I still don’t know if I’m sold on it. No pun intended. Partly cause for me, my blog is fun, It’s my release. It’s what I do as a creative outlet. I like to write, I like to share my life and my experiences with people, and I like to be real with people. For some reason, in my own mind, “sponsorships” aren’t something that go along with that.

But as I’ve grown and seen how sponsorships and partnerships can work, I’m warming up to the idea.

HOWEVER, because I’m weird and can’t do anything normal, I thought it might be another opportunity to help others and an opportunity for “serving.”

Most of y’all know my husband John and I are in the process of raising money for our mission trip to Kenya in September. Well, if you don’t wanna shop my closet or whatever, maybe you wanna SPONSOR the still being [molly] blog and 100% of the sponsorship will go to our newhope church missions team Kenya fund.

Are you interested? You wanna sponsor the still being [molly] blog? I’ve made it SUPER easy. Like, literally three total steps and BOOM I will put your button up on the blog for 30-90 days (depending on the level of support). Oh yeah, AND your sponsorship will be TAX-DEDUCTIBLE! Whoa! Yeah, Uncle Sam, FTW!

If you have questions, wanna know stats, questions about the Kenya trip, or you just wanna chit-chat over email, let me know. You can check out many of the details on my new “sponsor” page here. OR, you can just e-mail me! mollystillman [at] gmail [dot] com.

And I just want to thank the people who have supported so selflessly so far. You guys are seriously awesome. SO awesome. I can’t tell you how grateful I am.

Okay, enough of the serious talk. It’s TIME FOR #YOLOMONDAYS LINK-UP!

The Rules for #YOLOMONDAYS Link-Ups:

Grab a button and / or post a link back here in your BLOG POST so your readers know what all the #YOLOMONDAY-ness is about. We love you guys linking up and we do go through and read all your posts… so if you do not give credit, we will have to remove your link. That’s no fun, right? Right. So be nice and share a link!
Link your blog post up using the linky tool below! It can be ANYTHING! An outfit post, a giveaway, a story, a recipe, whatever. Why? Cause it’s #YOLOMONDAYS!
Visit a blog or four that you’ve never been to before and leave a #YOLOMONDAYS comment – you never know, you might “meet” someone new that you will lure!
Have fun! Cause #YOLO!

**UPDATED 7/9/12 – the button code was broken but it is now fixed! Grab a button!

Transforming Hope… and Me.

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To be fair to you, whomever you are, I must preface this post with two things:

1. It may not make total sense.
2. It’s a complete stream of consciousness because there’s a lot running through my mind right now.

There. Now, if you’re still around reading this, here we go.

The last year and a half has been a transformative year for me. It’s really been a year where, for really the first time in my life, I’ve been able to have honest heart-to-hearts with myself about what I want in life, who I really am, what my beliefs are, what I see myself doing in 2, 3, 10, 40 years, etc. I’ve had to make extremely tough decisions, I’ve come into my own skin, I’ve lost friends, I’ve gained friends, but in the end, I can honestly say that at this moment, I am the happiest I have been in a long, long, LONG time.

I could go on and on about a lot of that stuff and delve into the details. And perhaps I will. But that’s not what this particular post is about.

And some might even be thinking, “Well, what IS this post about? This blog sure has switched topics and awful lot over the years.”

And to that I say, yes. It has. And I wouldn’t change a thing.

Quick digression: You see, my whole life I tried to write in journals. I love to write and I love pretty bound journals from Barnes & Noble or some craft fair, but I am terrible at committing to writing in them. I think it actually has more to do with the fact that I’m left handed and my hand always cramps and/or gets a whole bunch of ink smeared on it. I’d start writing in a journal and be good for a week and then BAM, stop writing in it because it bored me or whatever. So, needless to say, writing in journals is not my thing. Therefore, blogging over the last 5-6 years has become my journaling. I can look back and see where I was at that time, what my goals were, what my focus was on at that time, etc. It’s amazing. I wish blogging existed when I was younger because I’d love to see what I would have written.

Back to the topic at hand. Where was I? See? I told you this would be all over the place.

Okay, so the main thing that has been huge for me in the last year and a half has been the strengthening of my faith. My faith in myself, my faith in those close to me, but most importantly, my faith in Christ.

This is not some religion post. This is a honest account of the true impact God has had on me.

Here’s my story, my very long story, the condensed version:

I grew up Catholic. Well, my parents both grew up Catholic, but were adamant about not forcing beliefs on me. They let me make my own decisions. But I was christened as a baby and attended Catholic mass with family and friends growing up. I never really understood why, but it just felt like that was what I was supposed to do.

In middle school, I started attending a non-denominational Christian church with a friend and eventually got connected with a group that wanted to start a youth worship band. Thus began the Doubting Thomas era. Yea, best Christian band name EVER.

But still, I knew the words I sang when I led worship, but I didn’t know the meaning.

Middle school and high school were really challenging years personally. I went through some really serious depression, a self-esteem crushing relationship, other major life crisis, and my mom’s health continued to deteriorate. God was not someone I trusted.

As I continued to watch my mom struggle with her health and I watched how hurt she was when her side of the family turned their back on her, it broke my heart. When she finally passed away in November of 2002 after almost 10 years of battling her illness, I hit a point at which I was angry with God. I was mad. Really mad.

Why would someone like MY mom, someone who was selfless, caring, and unbelievably loving be treated that way and ultimately die before her time? Excuses, excuses on my part. I needed something to blame. And God was my scapegoat.

Fast forward to college – I started attending InterVarsity Christian Fellowship with my roommate in college and I participated in my sorority’s bible study – all in the hopes that I could somehow reconcile my relationship with God. And, of course, there He was. He didn’t leave, I just wasn’t fully ready to admit that I needed Him more than He needed me.

Fast forward to Molly is out of college. I stopped going to church. Didn’t participate in a bible study. Just went about my business. Often not even admitting that I was ever a believer in the first place… just to fit in. I call that period my almost-quarter-life-crisis.

But the whole time, I knew, deep down inside, there was this thing that kept tugging at me to go back to God.

Fast forward to a year and a half ago. My fiance, John, and I started dating. At the time I didn’t want to admit it, but I knew within me that this guy was different. The whole thing felt different. And I knew, really early on, that I loved him and I was probably going to marry this guy. I also knew he was a Christian.

Well, one Saturday, he mentioned he was going to check out a church he used to go to that moved to a new location, newhope church. That voice inside me that had been talking to me for quite sometime spoke yet again and said, go. Go with him. So, I selfishly invited myself to go with him to church that Sunday.

And I haven’t missed a Sunday at newhope since.

I am who I am and I can honestly say I’m confident in that now because of Christ.
I’ve met an unbelievably amazing man who loves me and who is my best friend. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with him. And I know I owe it all to Him.
I’ve reconciled old relationships that I missed so dearly, and I wouldn’t have had the courage to do that without the strength and courage that God has given me.
I went to Kenya and gained the experience of a lifetime and learned more about myself than I ever thought possible. But most importantly, my eyes were opened to the beauty that lies in the world.

I got baptized. And it was my decision. I did it for me. No one else.

I could continue to go on and on… but I won’t right now.

I do, however, want to make a few things clear.

I’m not religious. I’m faithful. I know, first hand, the impact that God has had on my life over the past 26 year and especially the past 18 months. My life has done a 180. In more ways than I can EVEN begin to write.

Another quick digression: What frustrates me so much about “religion” is that people that don’t know Christ lump Christians into a group among awful, hateful groups like the Westboro Baptist Church. That, to me, is not Christianity. That, to me, is not what real love is about.

Christ was about love, acceptance, encouragement, support, growth, faith, and again, LOVE. No matter the race, gender, creed, sexual orientation, age, whatever. It doesn’t matter. Christ didn’t see people for who they are on the outside. Period.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” -1 Samuel 16:7

I want to be just like that. I want to be that person that shows others that it’s not about what you are but WHO you are. No judgement, no prejudice, just love. Unconditional love.

Well, this whole post… all of this stream of consciousness was spurred because of the Transforming Hope ministries launch that happened tonight at newhope. It’s a ministry that is aiming at raising awareness and bringing a solution to the child sex trafficking epidemic that is honestly getting out of control. (You can find out more about the ministry here). I had the honor of serving on the Worship Arts Ministry team that led worship tonight, and I can honestly say that tonight was unbelievably powerful. This is a ministry that is going to change lives. As I listened to Dee, a survivor of human trafficking, give her testimony, I was overwhelmed and humbled. This is something, that once people are educated, can be tangible and have an immediate impact on our community. Right here.

That’s what it’s about.

It’s about bringing the broken, the lost, the weary, the tired, the strong, the bold, the brave, the men, the women, the children, the seniors, anyone to Christ and showing them that no matter what they have hope.

Okay, I’m going to stop there, because I could write forever, and it’s getting late.

I have more thoughts, of course… because honestly, this isn’t exactly a topic that can be resolved in a single blog post. But anyway.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Either way. Any way.

All for now and much love.

I Miss Kenya.

Kenya Journal – Saying Goodbye

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Today was our last day in the Kiria community. It’s 11:44pm Kenya time and I’m just now lying down with the hopes of decompressing and digesting all that’s happened. I’m so emotionally drained but spiritually filled – it’s quite the dichotomy I have going on. Is that the word I’m looking for? Dichotomy? Who knows.

I wasn’t sure what to expect today, but I’m going to do the best I can to digest it all and unpack it. Only so much can be unpacked with words on a blog.

Here’s what I’m going to do (this is all stream of consciousness and I’m figuring this out as I go, so bear with me) I’m going to lay out the logistics of the day today and then delve in more deeply to the things that I saw, felt, experienced.

6:30am: woke up. Hit snooze.

6:40am: hit snooze again.

6:49am: hit snooze a third time.

7:08am: done hitting snooze. Got out of bed. Got ready for day.

7:32am: breakfast

7:57am: Muchai (our Kenyan team leader) makes me laugh because he was trying a s’more flavored pop tart that Katy brought and he called it a sweet cake

8:00am: devotion with the team led by Brit (who did an awesome job)

8:36am: loaded bus to Kiria

9:17am: stopped at a duka (shop) in town on way to Kiria to buy bowls and pitchers for the manicures we’d be doing on the women that afternoon

9:18am: kids outside of the bus in the town are scared of me – I ask their name – kid says his name is Jackie Chan. I think he’s lying.

10:02am: arrive in Kiria. We are welcomed by the kids singing and the adult women singing

10:06am: we get to work. The men are working on breaking up rocks in the floor of the school – the women went out back to take the dirt that we dumped out from the floor of the school and use it to spread it around and fill in the many, many holes in the field where the kids play.

10:08am: I start shoveling dirt other team members carry dirt

10:16am: my back hurts – I’m still shoveling

11:29am: still shoveling

11:59am: still shoveling and my back really hurts

12:00pm: we are called away to lunch – we load the bus

12:15pm: we head up the Aberdare Mountains (behind the village) and into the Aberdare National Park – this park is famous because Queen Elizabeth found out she was going to become queen in this park and this is also the park where Prince William proposed to Kate last fall.

12:17pm: we arrive at this really flipping sweet treehouse type thing on the side of the mountain – we climb up it and have lunch overlooking the valley and Kiria. Amazing view.

1:30pm: head back to Kiria

1:49pm: begin doing manicures on the women. This was such an honor to wash their hands and see the smiles on their faces and they got crazy colors on their fingernails. It may sounds strange but it was a very intimate and important time for us and them.

3:30pm: the farewell ceremony begins. Lots of crying. Lots and lots of crying. More singing and dancing. The community gave us each gifts as a respect and thank you.

4:30pm: end of ceremony. Lots of Hugs, tears, laughter, etc. Big surprise for me which I’ll talk abut later.

4:47pm: load bus back to Lake Naivasha

5:54pm: stop at the Supa Duka called Naivas (it’s like their wal-mart) I got some hilarious greeting cards and some gifts for friends and family.

6:35pm: Muchai tells a guy on the street selling machetes and warrior swords and stuff that “They are Christians, they don’t need weapons.” as a way to get him to leave us alone

6:37pm: head back to Panorama hotel

7:30pm: dinner

7:59pm: we get a surprise visit from real Maasai warriors who do a traditional dance for us!

8:40pm: Maasai warrior photo op and hilarious moment which I will save for a separate post.

8:50pm: debrief with team. More crying.

11:00pm: we take communion as a team.

That brings me to now.

I’ll probably spend more time decompressing later because to be quite honest, I don’t have enough emotional energy in me to do it all now. Plus, I don’t think it’d be possible, really.

But I do want to tell you about a few significant things that happened to me today.

So, do you remember Rechel? The woman who approached me yesterday because she said she liked me and wanted to give me a gift? Well, she came to the farewell ceremony and brought her children. I forgot to mention yesterday that Rechel’s husband died a few years ago and so she is a young, single mother raising 8 kids in the village. She wanted to introduce her kids to me and take a picture together. That meant so much to me. As she hugged me goodbye, she looked at me with tears welling up in her eyes and said, “God bless people like you. You will come again and we will all praise God for bringing you back home to see us again. I love you.”

Yeah, that was tough.

Then there came the moment that will be with me forever.

So, there is an organization called BrightPoint for Children (brightpointforchildren.org). They are a partner of The 410 Bridge (the organization Newhope partners with to sponsor Kiria) that does child sponsorship. They list kids in their communities that are in need, a sponsor sponsors that child, and the money goes directly to the child’s school and programs in that school. ($39 a month and $32-$33 of that goes directly to them.) Many of the people on my team have sponsored kids in Kiria through BrightPoint and have said it’s amazing what they’ve seen done with the money. They’ve been able to hire and pay four teachers for the school, get chalk for the chalkboards, books, and testing supplies. Their next goal is to use the money to provide lunch for every kid since for many kids, that could be their only meal that day. Etc. Etc. Okay, that’s the background.

So, there was this little girl named Anacstacia in the village who was available for sponsorship. I met her and just felt this instant love for this sweet, beautiful, shy, 6 year old. So, I decided to sponsor her. I did it because I feel a personal connection to this community and see the potential and I don’t want my 5 days in the community to be only that – I want to continue to support and provide and serve them.

Well, this morning when we were working with the women, I got to meet Anacstacia’s mom. Hr name is Mary. She has 11 children and I’m fairly certain her husband (Anacstacia’s father) is not around. It was so great to meet her and serve her and tell her I was sponsoring her daughter. She was so grateful. However, I didn’t see Anacstacia. I asked Mary where she was and Mary said she was at home working and wouldn’t be coming to the school today. I said oh no! She won’t be here for the farewell ceremony? Mary said no, she was home working and their home is on the other side of the village. Let me just say, that the other side of the village is not a short walk from the primary school. Well, I was really sad that I wasn’t going to get to say goodbye to Anacstacia, but I told Mary to hug her for me, say goodbye, and tell her I can’t wait to get letters from her and send letters to her.

Well, we had the farewell ceremony and I was hugging kids, taking pictures, and saying goodbye to Rechel and the man and women. I turned around to head towards the bus and there, running across the field, is Mary with Anacstacia. Mary had walked all the way home to get Anacstacia to bring her all the way back to say goodbye to me. I immediately got the biggest smile on my face and ran towards them and just lost it. Anacstacia was smiling so big and so was Mary. I balled. Jordan (from my team) was awesome enough to take some pictures for us.

That moment will stay with me forever. The fact that Mary would walk all that ways just to bring her daughter to say goodbye meant so much to me. There are no words to describe how that made me feel.
Anacstacia and her mother Mary:

Me with Mary and Anacstacia: