Returning To Kenya

I’m headed to Kenya tomorrow with Compassion Bloggers!

I was in Kenya 7 years ago. Many of you followed along then. Remember when I met a boy named Eliud? He was 18 then, orphaned, living in a house made of wood and cardboard, in the second largest slum in all of Africa. His sponsor was Nick from California. Remember?

I’ve been telling Eliud’s story ever since. Hundreds of times, on stages all across North America. Have you heard it?

Shaun Groves speaking for Compassion International
That was many years (and hairstyles) ago. And I’m still telling Eliud’s story.

Shaun Groves speaking for Compassion international

Any guess how many children have been sponsored because of that ONE story – because of that ONE day in Kenya 7 years ago?

Wonder how Eliud’s doing now? At 25?

We’ll find out together this week!

I’ll be posting right here every day. But also sharing pics and videos on Instagram. But if you want to catch every post from everyone on our blogging team (of course you do), you’ll want to check out compassionboggers.com/kenya2017 daily.

Compassion Bloggers Kenya 2017

Meet The Other Bloggers

Sophie Hudson, also known as Boo Mama, has been a friend for eleven years now. She’s a mama (thus the nickname), wife, school teacher, author and the funniest human being I know. And she loves Mississippi State football, which makes her more difficult, but not impossible, to love in the Fall every year. Fortunately, grace is greater than all our her sin… Sophie blogs at boomama.net and is @boomama205 on Instagram.

Jamie Ivey is the podcaster behind “The Happy Hour“, which lasts an hour and will make you happy. While I don’t know Jamie personally, I do know from her Instagramming that she owns a Texas flag that is 30×25 feet. So I’m pretty sure we’re gonna be friends. (God bless, Texas. Amen.)

Bri McKoy is the joyful, hardworking woman I chose to replace me as the leader of Compassion Bloggers when I stepped down a few years ago. (She’s so much better at it than I ever was.) She’s a soon-to-be author, wife of a soldier, longtime food/hospitality blogger, and former cheerleader who still acts like one. She’s a constant encourager and might do a jump split an second. She’s writing at oursavorylife.com and she’s @brimckoy on Instagram.

Mike Varel will be our photographer and my roommate on the trip (pray for him). He does a lot of non-profit and corporate photography in Kansas City but he says he likes documenting these blogging trips most. He’s dang good at it – it takes real skill to shoot 500-1000 pictures every day in all kinds of extreme conditions. Follow @mikevarel on Instagram.

Your Part In All This

There are a couple really important things I’d like you to do for me this week. You in?

Pray – No blog post or picture, no matter how great, can change a heart or mind. Only God can do that. So please commit to pray for us and our readers daily – that God will use this shared experience to give us hearts and minds that are more like Christ’s. That’s the ultimate goal, you know? Not to get people to sponsor more kids, but for all God’s kids to become more like Christ.

ShareFollow along this week and share one post from our trip on Facebook, Twitter, over email, or read it to a friend or your family in the real world. Help spread these stories about what God is doing in Kenya far and wide. And hearts and minds will change. And children will be sponsored.

Deal? Thanks, friends.

Time to pack.

Sponsor a child in Kenya through Compassion International