The Road to Flourish- Part 1
I am one small piece to the Flourish Kenya puzzle. God has woven many stories and lives together for Flourish to be who she is today. I am and will always be grateful that I have been given the wisdom to see this remarkable thing connect, unfold, and be a part of it.
This is my story of how Flourish Kenya started for me over 25 years ago.
My husband, Jason, and I recently had the privilege to work with my oldest, AJ, on a project for Flourish. AJ has been building a small business doing marketing and video and was available to shoot the video for us (view it here). The day of our interviews was chaos. We had our two younger kids at home and were just days away from moving out of our house (read about this in part 2). There were boxes and remains of our moving sale everywhere. The video would be shot outside for good lighting and environment. We moved the circus all inside.
During Jason's interview, my job was to keep everyone as quiet as possible. The kids were distracted by screens, and by a small miracle, I could sit and watch quietly. Those minutes of calm allowed me to reflect on what was happening and the significance of it all.
Observing AJ behind the camera and all his fancy equipment, it didn't take me long to feel proud of him. He's doing what he is passionate about. How cool is it that we get to work with him on this?! So, I snapped a couple of pics to remember the moment.
Plug- Malient Creative
Photo taken from inside behind the screen door, attempting silence
It wasn't until my turn in front of the camera summarizing Flourish's story that it hit me. AJ asked, "How did you get started with Flourish Kenya?" I went into my pitch, which I had said numerous times before.
"I had an unplanned pregnancy." PAUSE.
I'm certain with my mouth hanging open. Cut.
This 25-year-old man standing before me, capturing the story was the unplanned pregnancy.
(Someone else might have been hit with this irony or realization, whatever you want to call it, much sooner or faster than me. I can be a little slow in the moment. I don’t think my brain ever slows down long enough to notice some things unless I am really trying. To me, this quiet and pause for the moment is Holy and a gift. )
He is ultimately the reason I had a connection with teen girls in Kenya. I could feel the tears burn in my eyes, and I was totally distracted. But I quickly pushed them down and kept going. The sun was going down, and we needed to finish. I would have to process it another time. Later, I made a little post about that moment like any good Gen X would. Many people commented and asked for the whole story.
What does my 25-year-old have to do with Flourish Kenya?
We get asked all the time how we got started in Kenya or why we started Flourish. There is a 'short' version of the story. There is a way to leave out the whole past. But, there is SO much missed when told that way.
My story. My why Kenya and Flourish. Started more than 25 years ago.
Here's part one of that story.
I was born and raised in Florida. Beach, sun, and Seminoles! For half of my childhood, my mom and I lived with my grandparents off and on and the other half with my stepdad and mom. From my first memories, my mom, dad, and stepdad were all alcoholics. Being the 'adult’ was a role I took on myself quickly.
With struggling parents and an extended family line of trauma, I did not learn emotional or relational health. Structure and stability were not usual things for me. However, my mom and stepdad were hard workers who did their best to ensure I had all my physical needs met.
Absent emotional needs with a lot of unsupervised time mixed with puberty, and you have a teen that will find love, affection, and attention anywhere. And that is what I did.
Continuing a legacy of teen pregnancy- I graduated high school seven months pregnant. About 15 months later, I married my high-school sweetheart and son's dad. This wasn't a happy love story. We had a terrible brief marriage and a brutal divorce.
Fast forward a bumpy decade plus a couple of years, and I had pulled my life together. I completed nursing school and was working in my dream career. I finally found Jesus. And eventually, I remarried an incredible man who was a great dad and stepdad to our blended family.
Despite the brokenness of my immediate family, they got me through that decade. I wouldn't realize it until much later (slow on the uptake isn’t new, lol), but without the support I had from them, my son's and I's outcome would have been entirely different.
Continued in Part Two