My Devotion to You

Busy and Resting

2012-01-15T03:39:00.000-08:00

The past few months have been really busy. I found myself waking up in the middle of the night with so many things on my mind that needed to get done. I would go into work super early and leave super late and still wake up with my “to do” list running through my mind.
I taught a four-day seminar at Eli’s church in December and enjoyed the blessing of having Michelle come and visit us here for three weeks, going over all our bookkeeping and helping us to be more efficient.
All the kids were home from school for the whole month of December and during that time I helped get Eli and our three boys prepare to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. After they came back from climbing my office looked like a mountain climbers’ bomb went off in there. I spent the next few days sorting EVERYTHING into three piles: 1. Rented equipment 2. Equipment borrowed from a friend who lives here in TZ 3. Loaned equipment from the porters’ association. I washed everything and returned it.

We celebrated Christmas in our TOA fashion by going to church in the morning, coming home and enjoying an amazing meal together and spending the evening giving gifts and having a time of worship and devotion.

In Tanzania the new school year begins in January so as soon as New Years rolls around that is when I know there is a big work in store for me. This year we have 20 kids attending school. It is no small thing getting 20 kids prepared for a new school year. Besides purchasing their school supplies we have to go through all the kids’ uniforms one at a time and see who needs a new one, or needs one repaired or maybe can take a hand-me-down from someone who has outgrown their old one. Then we have to make notes about which uniforms will be taken to the tailor and write notes and sizes for those kids who need new uniforms.
Once the kids return to school there is a sense of relief that so much has been accomplished. But that relief lasts until the kids return from their first day of school with a list of things that they must have. I do my best to get all their supplies for them: pencils, pens, erasers, pencil sharpener, ruler, mathematical set, exercise books, etc. But there is always something more and I end up going back to purchase more supplies again.

This year at Christmas Jodie and I were each blessed with a financial Christmas gift. Since moving here we have talked about taking a vacation but we just didn’t have the time or money to do it. Well, this year we decided that since we had our Christmas money that we would make the time.
Last weekend we went to a coffee farm about an hour and a half from where we live. This coffee farm is run by a family who built eight beautiful cottages for visitors. We made our reservation and once the kids were all set and ready to return to school we left for a couple of days.

I should write a blog entry just about our time there because it was so wonderful. The day we arrived I took a LONG hot bath in the HUGE tub and took a nap. Jodie and I brought tennis shoes to walk around and explore but I was too busy resting. I read and napped and read and ate and napped and relaxed. Our cottage had a porch where we would eat breakfast and then sit for a long time and just enjoy the beauty all around us. I slept so good each night and did not wake up thinking about anything that needed to be done. We returned on Sunday at 6pm and went straight to TOA. Eli was preparing a wonderful meal for the kids to thank them for a great 2011 school year and to kick off a great 2012 school year. I was so happy to see everyone and Jodie and I stayed and helped serve the food.

What an amazing few months it has been. When I was on my mini-vacation I spent time thanking the Lord for His grace that I have seen throughout my life. Every morning when I wake up I ask the Lord for grace for whatever the day holds for me. I ask the Lord to be my strength and to help me to keep my heart focused on Him. I don’t want to frustrate myself trying to do things in my own strength. I don’t want to try to figure things out when the Lord is on my side and He has an answer for all my questions.

The past few months have been fun, busy, a lot of work, exhausting, and amazing. I have seen the faithfulness of the Lord and I have been encouraged even more that He is interested in all the details of our lives. The kids are growing up so fast and I want to enjoy them and this time together. I don’t want to miss out on any moments because I was so caught up in something instead of devoting myself to trusting the Lord for the answer.
Life gets really busy here sometimes, but God is always moving and loving and providing and blessing and encouraging.

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-11-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

This Sunday (Nov 27) is my mom's birthday. In honor of my mom I wanted to post my Mother's Day message that I wrote on my "Facebook Notes" this past Mother's Day, May 2011.
This time last year I was home visiting my mom. She was recovering from knee replacement surgery, but she was quite a trooper...even the surgeon was pleased with her progress.
I love my mom and thank the Lord for her love and support.
So here's to my mom!!! Hip Hip Hooray and Happy Birthday Mom...love you so much!!!

I am in Tanzania for another Mother's Day and this evening I will attempt to call my mom to tell her that I love her...if the phone network here in TZ allows me to get through.

So this morning I was thinking about my mom and growing up and life and learning. When I was growing up I didn't appreciate my mom the way I do today. It seems the older I get the more I understand and appreciate so many things in my life.

I thought I'd list of few of the things that I just love about my mom:

1. Thanks mom for being such a strong woman! The strength she carries in her continues to amaze me even as a grown adult! I love it...love, love, love it! I was home last Oct/Nov and watched my mom recover from knee replacement surgery...she battled hard! She inspires me!

2. Growing up all my friends would tell me, "Your mom is so fun." She is a ton of fun! She is waaaaaay more competitive than I am and when we have "game night" at my Aunt Josie's house she is INTENSE about to winning! But she loves to have fun and I love that about her. I am much more serious than she is so I really have come to appreciate her fun personality!!!

3. The woman loves to pray! My mom accepted the Lord in her heart more than 20 years ago and her fervor for God's Word and prayer have only grown. She will pray for someone in need as long as it takes to see the breakthrough in their lives. This is the woman I've got in my corner praying for me daily! Yep! I'm blessed!!!

4. There is only one road for my mom and that is the road of faith! One of my favorite things about my mom is her faith in God. She doesn't let outward circumstances sway her from what God's Word says. She holds to His Word and prays it over each and every situation. People of faith move mountains! Oh yeh...she's moving mountains for the kingdom of God from her prayer room!

5. Her heart of compassion amazes me. When I was a teenager I would get stomach flu quite often and it would result with me vomiting and lying in bed with a fever for days. My memories of those days is my mom making her mint tea (she grew the mint leaves) and standing over me crying and praying and speaking words of love and encouragement...still stirs my heart today when I think about those days.

But my mom's heart of compassion goes way beyond just that. I can remember growing up and having people from the convalescent home over to our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I remember going to the convalescent home and delivering pizzas. Stopping the car and giving homeless people food. Going over to the house of an elderly person and bringing them some food and praying for them.

Growing up we had all sorts of injured animals at our house that she would nurse back to life. Even now my mom feeds all kinds of stray animals that will let her touch them but no one else.

When Anjela died (Anjela was one of our Treasures at Treasures of Africa Children's Home) in January 2010 my mom called me and we grieved together over the loss of that sweet girl. My mom never met Anjela but she mourned the loss of Anjela with me as if she had lost one of her own grandchildren. That meant the world to me!

6. My mom understands me and all my quirkiness. My mom just stands there or waits in the car patiently for me time and time again when I run back in the house four times because I forgot my sweater, left my sandwich on the counter, need to use the restroom one more time, have to finish a phone call and all that nonsense that I do EVERY time we are together (from the time I can remember up to now). I remember one time about 10 years ago telling my mom, "I'm sorry for being so frustrating." Her response to me was, "You are not frustrating. You’re my Lydia D." She knows me! I am odd in so many ways but that doesn't seem to phase her one bit!!! :)

This is just a small list of wonderful things about my mom. It warms my heart to think of her and I look forward to seeing her when I come home for visits. She comes to the airport to pick me up with a homemade burrito in her hand!!! Anyone who knows my mom knows her burritos!!! YUM!

All the way from Tanzania I'm thinking about you mom!!!

My Thankful Post

2011-11-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

I have noticed people have been posting things they are thankful for (one thing for each day) this month of November. I have enjoyed reading them. It got me thinking about being thankful. Since it is too late for me to write one thing for each day this month that I am thankful for, I have decided to list 30 things all at once.
Here I go:
1. So thankful for God’s Word and salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord. Words cannot express the joy I have in Him!
2. Thankful for that day when I was nine years old and a patient in San Fernando Hospital and the girl (Janet) in the room across from mine came over to my room in the middle of the night because I was coughing non-stop and she prayed for me. Then she shared with me God’s plan of salvation through His Son Jesus. I prayed to receive Jesus as my Savior that night…the best decision I have ever made!
3. My heart is always filled with thanks for the blessing of being a part of the lives of the children here at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home.
4. Since my dad’s birthday is November 4th I will mention him on #4. What can a girl say about the best dad ever? Even when he was alive I thanked God everyday for him because I knew he was such a special man! I continue to thank the Lord for my dad.
5.and 6.and 7. My siblings Al, Red, H.A. Always thankful for my brothers and my sister. The last time I was in CA visiting we were all together…first time in a long time. I am the youngest and Al and Loretta have always done the older sibling thing and I have sweet memories of them “looking after me.” H.A. and I, being two years apart hung out when we were young like siblings do. We are all grown up and each of them has a special place in my heart.
8. This might sound odd but I am thankful for camping. So many memories with so many family members! All my aunts, uncles, cousins and friends together and playing, singing, swimming, eating, laughing…going with my parents growing up and then even as an adult.
9. My heart has a smile when I remember the old youth group days! My cousins and those crazy Cabrera boys and oh so many memories! When I go home on visits my cousin Chrissy and I love to reminisce. Street witnessing, all night prayer, youth group, etc. So thankful for those days!
10. The blessing to be able to attend college. My parents sacrificed a lot so I could get a degree.
11. I love teaching. I was an elementary school teacher for 17 years before moving to Tanzania. I LOVED it. What a blessing to love something so much and get paid for it! 
12. Blessed and thankful to be a member of faith-filled church. At every stage in my spiritual walk I have been blessed to not only attend but to be involved with churches where trusting God for the impossible was always the way to live!
13. So thankful for my friend Freya. She has taught me more through our friendship then she’ll ever know. I am a better person because of the blessing of having her as a friend.
14. So many cousins…not enough numbers to list them or room to write all that I am thankful for!!!
15. The grace to drive in a foreign country…seriously! I can flow with a lot of the nonsense here and I KNOW it is God’s grace!
16. Mr. Washington my 4th grade teacher.
17. Dr. Baldwin at Vanguard always made me feel like I was meant to do great things in this life…loved that man!
18. The way mom keeps sending me boxes one after another with all my favorite things! A person doesn’t get tired of that!
19. Skyping with Freya…she always makes time…even at dark-thirty in the morning!
20. Praying with friends. Those times make my heart thankful everyday!
21. Kathleen Curto…Was blessed to work for her for just two short years. She was amazing in so many ways and she doesn’t even know it!
22. My dog Puppy. We had lots of animals growing up but Puppy (I wasn’t so creative naming him) was my very own dog. He was a good dog and I loved him. I spent lots of time playing with him when I was growing up.
23. Eli, the assistant director here at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. He is grace defined and he has shown more grace to me than I deserve…my heart is so thankful.
24. Pastor Kioko has a gift for listening, encouraging and blessing.
25. Cooking with Jodie…it is part of our therapy…only Jodie fully understands what I mean here!!! But I am seriously thankful.
26. Pastor Ella spoke some words of wisdom to me that I treasured in my heart and to this day I am so thankful.
27. I only waited for #27 to mention my mom because her birthday is November 27. I wrote a “note” about my mom on Mother’s Day on my Facebook “notes” that I think I will post on my blog on her birthday. She is an amazing woman and I love her dearly.
28. and 29. I have so many wonderful family members. I am so thankful for my Aunt Josie and my Aunt Lily. Aunt Josie, so fun and always a joy to be around…great stories (like my mom) from growing up! Aunt Lily, a woman who loves the Lord and inspires me! I love going home for a visit and spending time with her and Chrissy!!!
30. Thankful for the love that God has for me. He loves unconditionally and without measure.

Not Sure What Title to Give This Adventure!

2011-10-21T23:24:00.000-07:00

I like writing about living here in Tanzania. Most of my days involve the children and work at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. But this week I went outside of my normal “comfort” zone and had an unforgettable adventure!

How do I describe my adventure this week? Hmmm…
Let me put it this way – Now I know how those chickens that I see here all tied up together and thrown in a basket on the back of a bicycle feel.

OK, let me back up. This is how my week started out: Jodie and I traveled by bus with Pastor Zablon to Dar es Salaam where the American Embassy is located. Pastor Zablon had an interview at the American Embassy to get a Visa to travel to the U.S. We went with him to assist in any way possible because this was a totally new experience for him.
We left Monday morning at 7am and took an Express “luxury” coach/bus. It wasn’t American luxury but by African standards it was nice. We were content and although the ride took 8 ½ hours it went by rather fast and without much to write about.

The following morning we went to the American Embassy for Pastor Zablon’s appointment. Knowing that the last buses returning to our home town of Moshi were leaving at noon we knew we were cutting it close to catching a bus back to Moshi.
We exited the Embassy with joy as Pastor Zablon was granted a Visa to go to the U.S.
But an unexpected twist came up: Pastor Zablon’s Visa would not be ready to be picked up until the following day after 2pm. This presented a problem. We did not have enough money to stay in Dar two extra days. So as we discussed what to do the clock was ticking closer to noon and the buses were leaving. Finally it was agreed that Jodie and I would return to Moshi and leave Pastor Zablon to pick up his Visa the following day. The hard work was done…getting the Visa, so we all agreed that Jodie and I should leave.

We jumped in the taxi and rushed to the bus station, but the drive to the bus station was long and slow because the traffic in Dar is horrendous. By the time we arrived the majority of the buses had already left. There wasn’t much to choose from and nothing luxury was still around. Our taxi driver helped us find the one bus that was left going to Moshi. We ran! We paid for our ticket and jumped on the bus. The bus driver directed us to two seats together so we sat down. The moment we sat we knew this ride was going to be different from our luxury bus ride to Dar. The seats we were sitting in were about half the size of our luxury bus seats, but at least they were together and sort of towards the front. Within minutes an older man boarded the bus and started yelling at us to get out of his seat. We thought he just wanted to switch with us for the seats directly behind so we kind of ignored him, but he persisted and the bus driver came over and looked at our tickets and told us to get out of the older man’s seat. The bus driver pointed towards the back of the bus and told us our seats were back there. We stood up and looked back but did not see two seats in the back. But because people were pushing and yelling at us we got up and moved back.
One side of the bus had two seats together. The other side of the bus had three seats together. Our seats at the back of the bus were on the side with three seats. An African woman with healthy hips was sitting by the window in our row and taking up her seat and half of one of our seats. Because my legs are so long Jodie graciously sat in the middle seat. But because Jodie only had half a seat she sat in part of my seat. I sat down but technically only half of me made it on the seat. The seat in front of me was broken and reclined on top of my legs. The backing of the seat in front of me had no cushion so when the man who was assigned to that seat sat down my knees lodged into his lower back. I had to turn my body so my legs were completely in the aisle. The woman directly across from me whose legs fit very comfortably in her seat space insisted on having her right leg in the aisle so that I couldn’t put mine there. And of course the non-stop traffic of people going up and down the aisle forced me to return my legs into the lower back of the man in front of me.

Every time we came to a weigh station about 10 people sitting at the back of the bus were told by the bus driver to stand in the aisle and come forward and crouch down. I found out after about the third time they did this that they were distributing the weight on the bus and if the police found out what was going on they would have been in trouble. So we made about five weigh station stops and each time the people got up and stood in the aisle they literally crushed my legs.
The bus would slow down quite a bit and let young teenage boys who were vendors come on board to sell snacks. This was torturous for me and my legs as they walked up and down the aisle. After about an hour the man sitting in front of me could not take it any longer and he complained loud enough to get the bus driver’s attention and the bus driver allowed the man to move to the front of the bus and he sat in a spot that wasn’t technically a seat.
But after that man left another person came within minutes who sitting behind us and took his seat. So my situation remained the same.

We rode on and on and on like this. The bus stopped briefly multiple times, but never long enough for anyone to get off. The minutes ticked away slowly. I was sitting in a VERY THINLY PADDED seat with half my bottom on it and a metal bar that stuck out the back of the seat and jammed into my back.
Jodie sat crammed between me and an African woman who was under the impression that Jodie’s lap was there for her to set her bags on. The position Jodie was locked into was almost as if she were hugging herself and unable to move her arms…arms crossed, shoulders raised and no where to go.

After about three and a half hours of sitting like this we came to a stop and the woman next to Jodie purchased roasted corn on the cob through the bus window. I hadn’t eaten since 8am and it was now about 3:30pm. I took one look at that corn, handed Jodie some money and we asked that lady to order us some corn and two waters. Within a minute she handed them to us and we felt like we were just handed the best snack in the world. We were so happy to eat our corn. We were hungry and dehydrated and that corn and water were at that moment the best thing since apple pie!!!
We were giddy! I took out my phone and snapped photos of us enjoying our corn (the photo at the beginning of this blog is an actual photo taken on the bus). After eating our corn and drinking our water we were content for a time. But as the hours dragged on and the continual leg crushing in the aisle continued and the metal bar in my back dug deeper, we began to feel the toll of the bus ride…not to mention the fact that this bus was not stopping for us to get off for a potty break. It rolled on and on, stopping quite often but not long enough to let us get off. This bus ride just never seemed to end.

Finally after 7 ½ hours the bus stopped for a break. We had 10 minutes to use the restroom and purchase something to eat. The food that was being sold was scary, but Jodie and I were so hungry and slightly delirious at that point that we purchased food and ate it.
We boarded the bus after our brief stop and by that time the sun had set. Now you have to understand that Africans don’t like to be cold and when it turns dark all windows that are down all go up. So as the bus rolled on everyone slammed their windows closed. It didn’t take long for the inside of the bus to turn into an oven. Mix our oven bus with various odors floating around and not able to escape due to no fresh air circulation and that equals a bad case of nausea. Place on top of that bad food at our 10 minute stop and the next three hours were quite miserable.

Culturally buses stop when there are people on the side of the road who need a ride. The last four hours of our trip our bus kept stopping over and over and over picking up people and the bus kept filling up with bodies. There already were no available seats on the bus so all these people just stood in the aisle. An already crowded bus was beyond crowded. At one point all I could do was picture myself throwing open a window and vomiting. I was so tired, in physical pain and now nauseous. Come to find out after we got home, Jodie felt the same way too. We were literally holding on to our sanity by the grace of God.
Jodie had her electronic Yahtzee game in her purse. She tried to play it but her arms couldn’t reach enough to see the game so she had to put it away. All we did was sit and stare out the window. Thank the Lord for the beauty in Africa because the view was lush green all around us.
10 ½ hours later we reach our destination: Moshi!!! I’d never been so happy to exit a vehicle! That bus ride made all our other public transportation experiences seem like nothing…and we’ve had some doozies! We once rode in an 8 person van with 22 people, two goats and 10 bags of cement with a naughty music video playing at deafening volume. Thinking about that bus ride now seems like nothing compared to the 10 ½ hours we just endured!

We arrived home late at night but so thankful to be home.
So there you go! Another adventure!
I am so happy to be home!!!

TRYING to Explain a Regular Week

2011-10-14T01:34:00.000-07:00

So this past week has been bit African regular/American crazy…which means most of what I planned didn’t happen but I got lots of stuff done and had many unexpected surprises along the way!!!
Many family and friends from home ask me what a regular day or week for me looks like. I try to explain that things don’t always go as planned and the unexpected can become part of our daily routine often times.
So with that in mind here are a few highlights from my week:

• The vehicle that we have been using (which isn’t really ours but we are “looking after it” for our friend Wes) is being used right now by his daughter in law, who is here in TZ. Soooooooo, I will venture to say that I have logged about 25 walking miles in the last week…all unplanned but necessary because in Africa people often call you at the last minute and need you to come to them right away!
• Keeping with that theme of us having no vehicle – it has rained A LOT over the past week and there is sooooooo much mud all over so we had to walk on the main road (the mud on the dirt road as we exit our house was too deep and thick) carrying our trash (lots of trash in boxes) because the trash was smelling up our kitchen and we don’t have trash service at our house and we refuse to light gigantic burn piles and burn our trash in our yard. I did not enjoy carrying that smelly trash but at least that smell from the trash is no longer in our kitchen. Also walking on the maid road offers its own challenges the way people drive around here!
• Our refrigerator broke AGAIN and we called the repairman who came to our house and “fixed” it but then that evening it was still broken. Then Jodie called him again and he said he would come back the next so she waited for him all day (literally about 6 hours). Finally he called and said he wouldn’t be able to come until the following day. So she waited the following day and he didn’t come…but he promised to come the following day after that and guess what? NO SHOW! So he finally showed up on Saturday morning at 8am and low and behold that morning when we woke up to take everything out of the fridge we noticed everything inside the fridge was cold…he he! Go figure! He showed up and our fridge wasn’t broken any more. All our food had gone bad all week when it wasn’t working, but our fridge works now!
• We had electricity four days last week! Can’t remember the last time that happened. All week my computer was charged and my phone too! Then the power went out on Friday night around 8pm and was out all night and I didn’t mind at all because I was still so giddy from having power for four days straight!
• Jodie and I found out about an outdoor market that sells veggies grown by Catholic Nuns. We were told it opens at 7am and that we should be there early because it is quite a popular spot. So we woke up extra early and walked to the market (remember no vehicle) and guess what? The man at the gate said we were an hour early…yep! So we walked home and then walked back later. It was a nice market with cabbage the size of three heads put together! We also got some corn and had corn on the cob for dinner that evening! Yeah! That was a fun treat!
• So since the cabbages were so big at that market I thought it would be a great idea to buy a couple of them for TOA. We carried the cabbages to our house and then I walked to TOA and drove the TOA van back to my house to pick up the cabbages because they were really too big and heavy to carry there! I took them to TOA and showed our cook and asked him what he thought. He said he didn’t like them because they were so big and that they were too big for him. I told him I didn’t understand what he was talking about since big cabbages would mean more cabbage to eat and he said they were too powerful. Hmmm, I am still trying to figure that out!
• Ok, so a couple days later I had a follow up conversation with the cook at TOA regarding what he meant when he said the big cabbages I bought were too powerful. Eli was with me this time. So in an effort to explain what he meant the cook said the cabbages had too much stamina and that is why he didn’t like them. Eli looked at me when he said that and burst out laughing and then he asked me, “What does ‘stamina’ mean?” I told him that in relation to our conversation regarding the big cabbages that I have no idea. I am done trying to figure that one out!!!
• Jodie and I made chocolate éclairs this week. Last Saturday we walked about five miles to a “yard sale” and there were some Taste of Home magazines, 2006 editions. So we bought four of them. We were so excited to experiment with so many of the recipes. We made chocolate éclairs, potato and leek soup and mocha cappuccinos. On our “next thing to try to make” list is: chicken and broccoli casserole, apple crisp, glazed carrots, and good morning buns.
• I know I just mentioned the chocolate éclairs but I didn’t mention that they didn’t exactly come out like the beautiful photo on the magazine. Jodie turned her back on them when the dough came out of the oven, but I trudged on and completed the job of piping in the “custard” filling and glazing them with a warm chocolate sauce. Jodie wanted us to use the “custard” filling for cement on the brick wall at the new TOA property. I can’t really describe the way the pastry dough looked once it came out of the oven and cooled but I can tell you that something went terribly wrong. Taste of Home people would not have been proud of our éclairs.
• I got a good workout this week! Between the rain that has created MASSIVE mud and my flip flops that seem to be mud magnets, and all the walking I have been doing…the mud sticks to my flip flops so that it feels like as I am walking that I am wearing platform shoes and all that mud is quite heavy so I am getting cardio and doing weight lifting at the same time!!!

Rambling About All Sorts of Randomness

2011-09-21T12:20:00.000-07:00

Ok so there are days/weeks when life seems to be filled with such randomness all around me and I just wonder how these things can seem so “normal” to me when five years ago they would not have seemed that way at all. Well I guess that means that I am more settled in here to life in Tanzania than I realize. I have been making mental notes in order to share a few things from the past few weeks.
Here are a few:
1. There is a hedgehog pancake outside my front gate. Someone ran over a hedgehog in front of my gate…maybe it was me; maybe it was Jodie…can’t go blaming anyone at this point, right? The point is that this hedgehog pancake has turned into a magnet for all kinds of large, black, flying creatures…and it smells really bad!
2. Our grass is dead and it is not a pretty sight. I don’t know why our guard during the day, who by the way knows it is his job to water the lawn and keep it nice, isn’t doing his job and now our lawn looks really, really bad. We bought a new hose and everything. I asked our guard about it and he says he is on top of it…what exactly does he mean by that?
3. We have two cats at the orphanage. They used to belong to Jodie and me but there was a slight rat issue at the orphanage so we moved the cats (their names are Mr. Darcy and Cupcake) to the orphanage. The only problem is that Mr. Darcy doesn’t like to eat anything that I don’t feed him myself…I kind of spoiled him when he was living at my house. The workers at the orphanage all find it amusing how Mr. Darcy chases after the van when I drive into the orphanage. I find it embarrassing the way he meows at me non-stop asking me for food…yikes! I have created an annoying kitty!!!!
4. So I mentioned the slight rat issue in the above #3 like it is really a slight rat issue…is a rat issue ever a slight issue? Apparently it can be! I have had a rat run by my foot and once one ran in my office when I was at my desk working and I screamed and it literally did a 180 degree turn as I was screaming and ran out…that was kinda fun in a creepy, yucky kind of way!
5. It was raining the other morning and the vehicle I was driving was dripping water all over my lap and head and hands as I was driving and I just thought how it would be a good idea to put a plastic bag on my lap the next time…didn’t even give that nonsense a second thought.
6. The power was out last week and I had to make a photo copy of something so I drove all over town for more than an hour and stopped at least six or seven different places until I found a place with electricity and a copy machine that was working…because both of those things are hard to find sometimes. I got my copy made and then guess what? I did it again today! Yep, no power again and yep, driving around all over town until I was successful…the joy I feel in one photocopy!!!
7. Vehicle broke down last week…THREE TIMES! One of the three times we were stranded an hour outside of town for more than three hours. Pastor Kioko, Pastor Dave and Jodie were there so I enjoyed hanging out with them. Rita was there too with Clair Lee and Eli but they waved down a vehicle passing by and hitched a ride to town because they had a meeting to get to. We were still sitting on the side of the road when they were finished with their meeting so they got a ride back to the broken-down vehicle and then within 30 minutes it was running again. Rita treated us all to a very nice dinner when we made it back to town!!!

A Non-Africa Blog...Thinking About My Dad

2011-08-21T11:47:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time since my earthly father passed away. I still think about him all the time. I have said many times to lots of people that he was one of the most important people in my life. I still believe that he was the best dad of all dads!

Last week Jodie, my co-worker here with me in TZ, had a dream, and she told me that my dad was in her dream. I thought that was really cool. I have photos of my parents so she knows what my dad looked like but she never knew him when he was alive. I have told Jodie many things about my dad so when she told me about her dream it made me smile.
I love the memories I have of my dad growing up. I love that the last day I spent with him we hugged three different times throughout the day and I sat on his lap and told him I loved him and made him an ice cream sundae with his favorite ice cream for dessert after dinner. It wasn’t any sort of a special day…just a regular day for us.

I am not sure why I am feeling so sentimental about my dad…well, I know why I am feeling sentimental – I miss that man – but not sure why I am putting it all on a blog.
I realize that after all these years I can think of one of my “dad memories” and it still makes me smile, laugh, and feel so extremely loved by him. He deposited so much in me that I am still full from his love.
So many of my fun “dad” memories come from camping…so many of them! One that I think of a lot was the time when I walked back to our campsite and seeing my cousin Cathy sitting on my dad’s lap while he was sitting in one of his camping chairs under a tree reading a book. I asked Cathy what she was doing sitting with my dad and she told me that she wanted to enjoy him the way I do. That spoke something so strong and sweet in me…my dad is wonderful and I am not the only one who loves just being with him!

The last time I was in CA for a visit and I went to the dentist for a check-up the dentist and his asst shared a fun memory they have of my dad. In fact so did the receptionist. They made my day! He left an impression on so many people who knew him, but for me he did so much more. I am so blessed because of him.

My dad loved to laugh and tell those goofy jokes that don’t really make sense. He loved to sing songs that he made up from the tune of well-known songs. He loved to play ping-pong and my brothers liked to challenge him. He enjoyed reading. Whenever he picked up milk from 7-11 he always came back with Slurpees for us. He enjoyed my mother’s cooking and preferred it to eating out. We never opened our gifts on Christmas morning until my dad had his coffee in his hand. He enjoyed wearing slippers inside and out. On Saturday mornings when he went through the mail and wrote the bills he called the trash “file K” as he threw the junk mail in there. He loved to sit and chat. When I was growing up and went through a growth spurt and it seemed that all at once I was too tall for everything, my dad sat on my bed with me and held me as I cried and he whispered to me how beautiful I was to him.

To this day I still thank my Heavenly Father for my earthly father.

We Are Now Tanzanian

2011-07-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

Jodie and I have just celebrated our five year anniversary of living in Tanzania. We were reflecting on how much we’ve adapted to the culture by composing the following list:

You know you’re a Tanzanian if…
1. You can wear long sleeves and a jacket in 100 degree weather (I do that all the time!)
2. You can eat animal intestines without thinking twice about it.
3. You can go to the bathroom anywhere…and I mean ANYWHERE!
4. You can eat food with your fingers and not spill a drop!
5. Warm Coke is a welcome thing!
6. Warm Coke in a Maasai hut filled with men holding spears is a regular event!
7. Dirt in our toe nails is not uncommon…clean toes never happen.
8. Head wraps have been worn by us on many an occasion and we get compliments too!
9. We have been known to carry babies on our backs!
10. Catching a chicken in the house and throwing it outside happens almost daily.
11. Saying in Swahili, “How are you? How is your family?” It is something we say to just about everyone we come in contact with throughout the day.
12. You never just walk past someone…you greet EVERYONE…I’m talking strangers.
13. Can’t start the day without chai.
14. Sitting in a room and watching a large creature run along the wall just happens and there are no responses and all screams are held inside.
15. You’re used to the cars driving past BLASTING music and public announcements and it doesn’t bother you at all.
16. You like ugali (a stiff Tanzanian porridge that has absolutely no flavor) and order it at restaurants when you don’t have to, but you really do enjoy it.
17. Taking bucket baths in cold water because there’s no electricity become very common.
18. No alarm clock is necessary in the mornings because the whole town wakes up at 5am when the Muslim prayer call is blasted on speakers everywhere.
19. If you are able to go back to sleep after the 5am loud speaker then at 7am everyone and I mean everyone has a gardener outside sweeping the gravel at 7am…and that sweeping is not done quietly.
20. Deodorant is not mandatory and with the heat and hugging that goes on here everyone basically smells the same.
21. Cooking at night just before bed in the dark is a very normal thing to do.
22. The response “No problem” is likely to be said at least four times a day EVERYDAY.
23. The word “pole” (sorry) is said to you whether you are walking fast, carrying something heavy, breaking a sweat, coughing, returning from a trip to the U.S., driving in a vehicle for more than an hour, trip on a stone, yawn, break your arm, return from a funeral, accidentally have your flip-flop slide off your foot when you are walking, rip your skirt, spend three hours in your office working with the door closed, walk home in the rain, walk in the door after going to town…shall I go on? You get the idea!
24. Mosquito bites happen. Nobody really gets used to it but you just deal with it.
25. Fitting 26 people in an eight passenger van is possible and done quite often.

Reminiscing...again!

2011-06-27T04:24:00.000-07:00

As my five year anniversary of living in Tanzania draws closer I find myself reminiscing over life in Tanzania. Highlights…I want to share some highlights, but I think that I have already written lots of blog entries over the past five years so do I really want to write another blog entry highlighting those “little” things that make life here an ongoing adventure? The answer to that question is OH YEH, of course I do!!!

1. Washing Clothes by Hand: Before we had our washing machine and dryer at TOA I used to wash all my clothes by hand. It was pure torture. But with the power out so much I still have to do some of my laundry by hand. I still hate it, but what can I do? The laundry has to be done and I am the one to do it! (The above photo is of Innocent and Benny doing their laundry by hand)
2. No electricity: I was going to write a separate blog about my secret love with electricity. I didn’t realize how much I loved it until I didn’t have it day and night for almost two weeks and I had no more battery power in my computer and the batteries in my flashlight died and I couldn’t find the other batteries because it was too dark to find them. I have this giddy feeling inside of me when the lights come back on. The other night they came back on at 2am and I sat up out of bed and smiled.
3. Cooking: This kind of flows with the no electricity but is still a highlight on its own. I have learned to cook a full meal in the dark. Jodie and I do this together quite often but the past two months she has been in the U.S. so I have tackled this job on my own. I cooked a great pot roast the other night…in the dark! I made oatmeal cookies, mac and cheese, spaghetti, and a Stove Top Stuffing casserole (my mom sent me two boxes of Stove Top Stuffing and there was a fun recipe on the back of the box). My favorite thing to do is wash the dishes and then wake up in the morning and re-wash the ugly ones that I somehow missed getting clean. HA!
4. Take cold showers and putting on my make-up in the dark: Still this falls into the electricity category again…seriously, I was going to write a blog on how much I love electricity…anyways, I really hate cold showers. As invigorating as people say they are, I don’t like them. But it makes no difference when my water is warmed up by turning on my hot water heater that only works when there is power. I can’t leave the hot water heater turned on all the time because I did that once and it burned out all the power connected to that line…it was a disaster and I didn’t have any hot water for a long time because it took the repairman that long to get it all fixed. Ok…the putting on make-up part isn’t so bad since I hardly wear any make-up anymore. But the little bit I do wear I now put on with just a speck of light from a window. Since my hair is so long I just slap it in a ponytail or bun I don’t even think it is worth making mention of how I do that in the dark too…oops, I mentioned it!
5. Wild Life Inside My House: Yeh, so I don’t like it that I still find all kinds of nonsense trying to make a home inside my house. My motto is: “If it comes inside the house then it must die.” Then I call Jodie and she kills whatever it is for me! Jodie will be so proud of me because in the two months that she has been gone I have done all the killing myself. One of the worst things for me was when there was a bat trying to get inside the house through a hole in the ceiling. It was awful. I had to call Eli, who dropped what he was doing at that moment to come and rescue me. It was a good thing I called him when I did because if that bat had gotten it there was a big ol’ family with it who would have probably followed it in. Eli, my hero, got rid of that bat and the rest of them too!!!
6. Dirt and Mud: It can’t be avoided. I have given up on a beautiful pedicure and can only hope that when it is time to visit the U.S. that the pedicure lady will be kind to me and the torture it will take to get my toes clean will not last too long. I will say that I have gotten much better about walking in the mud and mud skating. I don’t scream as much either when my feet unexpectedly go sliding.
7. There is no Such Thing as Fast Food: I don’t go out to eat a whole lot because eating out means waiting for my food a minimum of an hour, and if it comes in an hour then that is considered fast. Jodie and I now and then will try different places just to see how fast the food is. We literally time them from the moment we order to the moment we get our food. We’ve turned it into game. We ask them how long it will take and they tell us 10 minutes and then we time the food and it turns into an hour and 45 minutes. When we are in the mood for Tanzanian food and we don’t mind being stared at the whole time we are eating then we go to some places where the locals eat and we can get our food in less then 10 minutes and for a very reasonable price (usually under $3).
8. When someone remembers meeting me and I have no clue who they are: In the five years I have lived here I have met so many people. The other day our assistant director Eli had a visitor (he lives at TOA) and he called me to his house to greet his visitor. It was a pastor I had met about three years ago. Eli asked me in front of this man if I remembered him. I smiled and tried to fake my way through the question by saying, “Did we meet at a church we were both at?” Eli, who is not exactly Mr. Subtle blurts out, “Sister Lydia! You mean you don’t remember when we met him in town near the Stanbic Bank and I introduced him to you!?” I looked at Eli with this look that said, “Oh sure three years ago at the bank…yeh, right, like I have any clue about that day.” I apologized to the pastor about not remembering having that random meeting with him on a busy day that probably involved some kind of govt meeting with some sort of govt official…in other words I was probably pre-occupied when I met him. This happens all the time because when I go into town I usually go with a list of things to do and I am rushing to get them done because the town doesn’t fully open up until 9am and then it shuts down for lunch for two hours and most govt offices are closed by 3pm. My small window of opportunity to get things done keeps me slightly pre-occupied when I am in town. When I am in town with Eli it is always for business purposes and Eli runs around faster than me!!!

I might have to do another blog entry to continue this because this is getting kind of long and I just got started! I think the longer I live here the more I appreciate the little things in life. I need to write a blog about how I appreciate the little things in life!!!

Working All Things Together For Our Good

2011-06-11T06:20:00.001-07:00

I like to keep my blog positive and upbeat. I like it this way because that is the way I want to live my life…living life from the place of knowing that “God works all things together for our good.”
But you know in the day to day there are things that happen and they can really put us to the test and challenge us to really stay true to that way of living and trusting in God’s word. I think that in our most challenging times comes the greatest victory as we look beyond what we see and feel and pray like Psalm 119:18 “Open my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things in your law.”
This week I was putting that into practice in my life. It has been a challenging week. So I sat down with my Bible and set my heart to seek after God. You know seeking God always brings me back to where I am…living in Tanzania with these children.

I decided to spend some time focusing extra hard on the children and just allowing myself to soak up those “little” things that always bring a smile to my face. So I want to share a few smiling moments:
1. Three times in two days at the most random moments Justina hugged me and told me she loves me. You have to know Justina to really appreciate this…she is one of the most unique children I know.
2. Justice walked into my office doorway and stood there for about 10 seconds without doing or saying anything. He just stood there with the sweetest smile and I said to him, “Jubee you are too sweet for words.” Then he ran and jumped into my arms and hugged me for two minutes without saying a word.
3. Glory came up to me and kissed me on the cheek. I looked at her and asked her if she needed anything and she said, “Just to say hi to you and give you a kiss.”
4. Innocent was hacking away at a tree with a machete and I called to him and told him to save the trees because we like them and he looked at me and laughed so hard and didn’t stop laughing for more than a minute as he walked to put the machete away and then ran up to me and gave me a hug and said “Thank you Mama.”
5. I have been teaching Moses for the past two weeks that saying “Hey” to people isn’t polite and if he wants to get someone’s attention he should say “Excuse me” to them. The other day he was standing outside on the grass with about seven other kids and as I walked outside and stood there watching all of them I could hear him saying, “Don’t say ‘hey” but say “excuse me’ because it is nicer when you say that.” All the kids nodded their heads and turned to each other and practiced saying “Excuse me.” It was so cute!
6. I was in the office upstairs where the bookkeeping is done and I had the door closed as I was working. All the school aged children came upstairs for their evening devotions and started singing and worshipping the Lord. I stopped as I listened to them. No adults leading them. They were doing it all themselves and it was beautiful.

God loves to encourage us. He does it in so many ways. Someone told me once to keep a look-out for all the ways that God brings blessings our way. He is always looking to bless His people. So instead of focusing on the challenge I was facing I made the decision to focus on all the blessings around me, and you know what? I got my socks blessed off! That is just the way the Lord is!
So many times the Lord uses the children to show me His goodness…He is sooooooooo good!!!

Child-like Expectancy

2011-05-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of rain these past few weeks so there is a lot of mud everywhere. The other day I was heading out for a short walk to a nearby hotel to return something to the hotel manager, and as I was walking towards the TOA gate all the little kids that were outside playing ran over to me and asked if they could go with me on my walk. I told them there was a lot of mud all over and lots of mud puddles. Silly me, what was I thinking saying that to them, like those words were going to discourage them at all and make them want to change their minds about coming with me! HA! When I mentioned the mud and muddy puddles they jumped up and down cheering and became even more excited to go.
So we took off together walking and within less than a minute came upon a HUGE area of mud and water. Moses said, “Everybody watch out for many many mud.” Then everyone walked slowly and carefully around the mud and water. After that we came to another large area of muddy water and Justina asked if she could throw a rock in the water. Once she threw a rock in the water it became a game of how many puddles they could find and who could throw a rock inside and make the biggest splash. They were cracking me up…so much excitement over making a splash in the muddy water with a rock…so much excitement over going on a short walk…so much laughter and silliness.
Who knew that such a short walk could turn into so much fun and laughter? It got me thinking.
There really is something about being child-like. When I am around the kids I see so much that is pure and beautiful and wonderful. They bless me so much by the way they love just being together, even when we aren’t doing anything but hanging out together. It makes me think about how much my Heavenly Father loves me and takes pleasure in being with me. The children cheered when I told them they could come with me and as we walked out the gate together everyone was reaching for my hand. Those that didn’t hold my hand held the hand of the person holding my hand. It was as if we were about to embark on a great adventure and everyone was so happy and excited.
I want my relationship with God to be like that every day! Serving the Lord is truly the greatest adventure of our lives and there are adventures to experience each and every day. Just as the children thought our short walk was the adventure of a lifetime, I desire so much that each and every day with the Lord is lived that way too. God has something new for us to experience each day of our lives. He has set divine appointments in order for us to share His love with someone who is in need. He is working things that are difficult in our lives for good, even when it appears that everything is crashing down. He has a plan for our lives and it is a good plan. I want to walk with the Lord daily filled with excitement and anticipation for all that is coming my way.
The children turned a simple walk in the mud into an exciting adventure because they had expectancy for something wonderful. Yep, that is the way I want to be too! Thanks God for that wonderful reminder!

#3 In My Top Ten List

2011-04-02T10:20:00.000-07:00

Over the past (almost) five years I have been presented with various challenges while living here in Tanzania. If I were to make a list my top ten challenges, I definitely would place food in the top three of that list.
Now, I love Tanzanian food. Jodie and I have learned to cook many things that are commonly eaten here and we enjoy them very much. In fact just last night we went out to dinner with Pastor Rita and our four oldest girls and Jodie and I both ordered a traditional African meal for dinner.
But there are times when we find ourselves on an adventure where we have traveled a great distance and there are no paved roads in sight (or any kind of road at all in many cases), no running water, no electricity and definitely no sign of any other vehicle besides our own. The people that we are visiting out in the middle of nowhere are so excited that we are there to see them and they want to serve us refreshments.
Usually the food prepared for us usually involves either chicken, beef or goat meat and the drink is some form of Fanta or a Coke (99.9% of the time it is warm). The challenging part is not eating the meat because anyone who knows me knows that I love to eat meat. The part that I find a bit tricky at times is the meat parts presented on my plate. Sometimes when we eat at someone’s home they will present the food to us “self service” style. When that happens I just pick and choose for myself what meat pieces I am going to put on my plate, but most of the time we are served our food already on the plate. On many occasions I will be given an unrecognizable piece of meat that I have given the name “hedgehog.” I’m not sure what part of the body that piece comes from but I am telling you the truth that it looks like one of those little hedgehogs that I have seen all over the place running around mostly at night. That piece of meat doesn’t have a lot of taste to it but if you are a texture kind of person then this is not for you. There are other meat parts that I definitely recognize on my plate, but never ate them when I was living in California. You see it seems to be that just about all the parts of the animal are cooked and eaten. One time we were offered a meal of chicken and rice. The chicken was cooked and cut up and placed in a container on the table for us to help ourselves. We opened the cover and there it was! The whole chicken cut up into various parts!!! The feet, head and all sorts of body parts from the inside and outside of the chicken…all there for us to enjoy!
Now I have to say that I kind of enjoy the challenge of eating things here that are unfamiliar and take me out of my comfort zone. Jodie and I have been in uncountable situations where we have eaten things that have been hard to swallow, hard to chew, hard to look at, hard to stick in our mouths and hard to keep down.
But hip hip hurray for me because I don’t back down from the challenge of eating anything foreign or scary!
UNTIL THIS WEEK!!!
Ok…So I just can’t believe it even as I reflect on it all again. This week I couldn’t do it! I just couldn’t do it!!! It has been almost five years and this week was it for me…the week that I lost the challenge!

Earlier this week Jodie and I found ourselves at the home of someone we didn’t know but were there because we were helping out a friend of ours. That friend stepped outside for a little while and the girl who was in the house went into the kitchen. A couple minutes later she returned with two glasses of what looked like to be milk. This was a first for me to be given milk to drink at someone’s house. So as she walked over to us with the two glasses of milk I had a funny feeling inside of me. We each took a glass and thanked her for our beverage. Jodie immediately started digging in her purse for something to put her gum in so she could drink her milk. So she was slightly distracted and didn’t immediately notice what I was staring at in my glass. Yes it was white (sort of off white really) but that is all that was going on with it if you were going to compare it to milk. My liquid beverage was barely a liquid. It was so thick that you probably could have poured it on a paper towel and it wouldn’t have seeped through. Then to add on to the thickness of the liquid there were large clumps floating around inside too. I stared at it and thought to myself, “Is that fur on top of the milk?” I was in awe of my liquid beverage. I glanced over at Jodie who had taken out her small notebook and was tearing a piece of paper to dispose her chewing gum in it. She seemed to take forever to rip that piece of paper out of that little notebook. I wanted her to look at her liquid beverage and see exactly what I was staring at. But since she was moving in what felt like slow motion, I decided to go ahead and put the glass up to my nose so I could find out what kind of scent this madness could possibly have. Yep…you know what I am going to say. A smell like the one I smelled must be in a liquid beverage that looks like that. The best way to describe it is to say it smelled like dirty socks worn for a week straight that were dipped in sewer water.
Because our day had started early that morning when we were unexpectedly called to help our friend early in the morning, we had not eaten breakfast. At the time we were presented this white-ish looking beverage it was after 1pm. Jodie and I were both very hungry and were ready to eat just about anything. But after smelling that stuff I didn’t think I could drink it.
After I finished smelling my beverage I looked at Jodie. She had just put her gum in the paper and looked at me. I told her, “Take a look at your beverage and smell it.” She did and then in a very matter of fact way said to me, “Well we gotta drink it.” Her words were so matter of fact. She said it like there was no other option, but then that has been our way since the beginning…we just go for it no matter what the food or beverage is! So I told myself that I would be drinking this beverage and mentally prepared myself to take it all in. I put the glass to my mouth and took a drink and at the same time Jodie did the exact same thing. I swallowed it down as best as I could and looked at Jodie who had just finished swallowing the gulp she had put in her mouth. I stared at her as I sat there holding my glass and said to her, “I can’t do it.” We both just sat there in silence gazing into our glasses of whatever that madness was inside that glass. Then right at that moment the girl in the house and a man who was also in the house both got up to check on something outside. We could see them outside from where we were sitting. Jodie then suggested that we put our glasses down on the table and casually go outside. It sounded like our best option. I didn’t want to offend anyone by leaving the beverage there without finishing it but drinking it was no longer an option after that first taste. So we set our glasses down and stepped outside. Just as we got outside our friend came over to us and was ready to leave. We jumped in the truck and headed out.

4th Anniversary

2011-03-08T10:53:00.000-08:00

Since Rita has been here in Tanzania this month we have been doing a lot of reflecting over the past four years. Four years ago, March 2007 we took in the first children at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. We moved to Tanzania in July of 2006 but we were not able to take in children until eight months later. We spent our first eight months here doing so many preparations before taking in any of the children. But in March 2007 they started coming. Now four years later we are in awe of the great things that God has done. Wow! That is all I can say when I look back at how much growth has taken place in the lives of each of the children.
In the midst of all the laughter as we have enjoyed reminiscing over the past four years, I have this deep, intense, and sometimes overwhelming sense of awe and thankfulness to God for allowing me to be here with the children from day one. I am connected to the children in a way that my heart cannot express. Each one is unique and wonderful and so so special. I see the Lord’s hand on their lives and I am so excited for their futures.
I don’t have as many photos of the early days I would like to have but there are enough memories imprinted in my heart to last me for the rest of my life.
As much as I would like to say that these past four years have all been wonderful and glorious, that cannot be said. The past four years have been life-changing for me to be sure, and much of the change that has taken place in my life has been due to the difficulties that have taken place. I have wished over and over that the hands of time could be turned back in order to do some things different, but that is not the way this life goes. So I thank the Lord for the grace to learn and grow and move forward.
I still think of baby Andrew and miss him so much. I wonder what he looks like now and pray for him to grow up to know the Lord and be a great man of God.
Anjela is never far from my thoughts and yet I cannot allow myself to spend too much time thinking of her because my heart still longs to hold her again and the pain is still so strong. One does not forget an Angel like Anjela and move on with life.

Four years is not a life-time so there are still so many more wonderful things to see and do and experience here in Tanzania. But for now I am enjoying this 4th anniversary. I have been teaching English on Saturdays and it has been such a joy to spend a couple of hours with the older kids and to be in the classroom teaching again…I have missed teaching. We do all those “things” that I did in class in the U.S. to make our class time interesting and fun. The older kids have an excellent grasp of the English language. I am so proud of them.
Our youngest kids, the ones who came to us when they were newborns, are all turning four over the next four months. Can you believe it? We still refer to them as “the babies.” Do they really ever grow up? Their personalities are so fun!!!
They are fluent in Swahili and English…when I say fluent I am talking fluent in the three year old vocabulary kind of way!

God is good!!! Everyday I am thankful for His grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, salvation, protection, strength and for giving me just what I need each day to do the work that we do for Him!

Adventure

2011-01-21T02:10:00.000-08:00

Sometimes life brings adventures our way when we are not even looking for them. It feels like that seems to happen to me a lot living here in Tanzania. Ok, so here is one of the latest “non-planned adventures” that came upon me.
Eli, our assistant director has a very good friend who is a pastor in an area that is near Mt. Kilimanjaro. The mountain is his backyard. What a beautiful place! I was invited to speak at his church last Sunday. The week heading into Sunday Eli informed me that on Sunday it is possible that if there has been a lot of rain out there that we’ll have to drive part of the way and walk part of the way to church.
I asked Eli what he meant by, “Walk part of the way.” He said it would be a good idea to wear my hiking boots because the walk would take us up and down and up and down for more than an hour and he plans on wearing his hiking boots.
Yeh, well I don’t own hiking shoes. I own flip flops. My life here has turned into long skirts down to my ankle and comfortable flip flops. My flip flops don’t even have much traction on them. But Eli, the ultimate optimistic person you’ll ever meet, shakes his shoulders and says, “Ok wear your flips.”
I kept thinking to myself during the week that all the school-aged kids would be going to church with us so if they can walk up and down and up and down the mountain in their church shoes then I can do it too.
So on Sunday morning we headed out to church…a van full (18 in total). I looked around and everyone was dressed nice for church so I kept thinking that if they can do this then I can do this. Eli’s wife Rosa was in the van and I was sitting there holding their five-month old baby girl. Will I be climbing up and down and up and down with flip flops and a five month old? My flips don’t even have traction!
I decided to turn my thoughts to the road we were traveling. As we headed off the paved part of the road I looked around and the road looked pretty good. Oh yeh…it doesn’t look like much rain has fallen over the past week…we are looking pretty good, road wise! Then Eli informed me that we'd have to wait and see about walking…we had a lot more driving to do and the part where we might have to walk is about 30 minutes more up the mountain. Yikes! So the 18 of us just settled back for the ride and beautiful scenery. It is quite lovely, as you can imagine.
I started to picture myself with the baby strapped to my back trying to maneuver the slippery terrain. I kept telling myself that I could do this…I have really mastered the art of mud skating. But then we took a turn and Eli announced that we were going to make it all the way to the church. We drove the rest of the way of the road and then Eli took a left onto what I like to call a “non-road.” Eli laughs when I say that. Last month we visited his parents’ village where I spoke at his dad’s church and part of that drive was on a non-road…so interesting to drive a vehicle where it really shouldn’t be going.
So we turned on this non-road and then stopped. Eli announced that we’d be walking from that place. I said, “I thought we didn’t have to walk because there hasn’t been much rain.” Eli just laughed and said, “Sister Lydia, we are where everyone walks all the time. We just don’t have to walk up and down and up and down the mountain.” The next thing I knew two women from the church showed up (walking) and one of them took the baby from me and we started walking. It was fun. We were one long line of 20 people (counting the two women from church) walking a narrow path in the midst of so much beauty on the way to church.
We had an amazing time at church and after lunch as Eli visited with his good friend the kids enjoyed playing and running all over the place. We went for a VERY long walk and had a blast.
The pastor asked us to come back again soon. We made a plan to come back in a couple months if all our plans work out. We are looking forward to returning to this beautiful place, but I think just for the sake of enjoying a good adventure we might have to do the walk up and down and up and down next time! Eli thinks it will be a good idea...the children think I am joking…ha! I’ll be writing a follow-up to this blog about that upcoming adventure!!!!

Cooking in Tanzania

2010-12-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

Side Note: The photo I posted with this blog has nothing to do with with the blog topic on cooking, but I liked the photo because it was a fun photo that Jodie and I took with one of our girls, Sifaeli, who was in a photo-taking mood at the time.

When I was growing up I did not do much cooking at all. My mom was the cook of the family and we all enjoyed her cooking very much. When I went to college I lived on campus so I did not have to cook at all. I ate at the dining commons for all my meals. After graduating from college and getting a job in Orange Co. teaching I lived with a roommate and started cooking for myself. I didn’t take a keen interest in cooking so most meals were very basic and simple. It was about survival in eating…cook whatever is easiest and edible. As the years rolled on I learned a few things here and there about cooking meals, but because I spent so much of my time at work or church I did not focus on making more elaborate meals except when I’d have friends over for dinner and usually on those occasions because of the numbers of people who came over it was much easier to order out and bring it in.
Ok, so fast forward to 2006 and living in Tanzania. Three single girls living in Tanzania with lots of boxes of Kraft Mac and Cheese and Top Ramen that they brought from the U.S. After all that ran out we had to figure out our meals. We ate A TON of spaghetti.
In 2007 Jodie and I moved to a house about 15 minutes from TOA (Treasures of Africa Children’s Home). In the evenings we had time to ourselves without any disturbances and decided we would start taking a greater interest in our evening meal. At first we just messed around with cooking and after a while we realized that we could come up with some tasty dishes with a little creativity. Cooking became a hobby of ours and making “American style” dishes with African ingredients became a favorite thing of ours to attempt.
So now fast forward to December 2010 and Jodie and I are still here in Tanzania. We continue to enjoy cooking and experimenting with ingredients and trying to make our favorite American dishes. We have gotten better at it for sure but have found that cooking meals takes a whole lot of time in the evenings. There is no opening a box and boiling something in 10 minutes or popping something in the microwave for six to seven minutes and having a hot meal…nope, none of that. Most of what we make has to be prepared from scratch. The other day Jodie and I were talking about cheesecake…yum…we miss cheesecake. So we decided to try to make our own. First we had to make the cream cheese. We made cream cheese…yep, we did! Then after that we made pineapple cheesecake. It was our first effort and I thought it came out pretty good. We even made our own crust…that was tasty too.
I had brought some corn tortillas with me from the U.S. and we decided to use them to make enchiladas. We made our own enchilada sauce. I was quite impressed how it came out. Those were yummy enchiladas! Tonight Jodie made hot dog chili for our hot dogs. We still enjoy spaghetti but now we make our own sauce.

I never imagined myself cooking meals the way I cook them today. I would never cook like this if I lived in the U.S. I wouldn’t have to because so much would already be prepared and in a can waiting for me to open and pour. I miss that but it sure has been fun to discover a fun and tasty hobby.

Understanding

2010-06-24T05:54:00.000-07:00

Jodie has been in California for a little over a month. I had determined in my heart that I would not allow myself to feel alone while she is away. It is funny because I didn’t even know Jodie before we moved here to Tanzania and now she is the person that I spend the most time with and it has been this way for the past four years. She has become more than a friend to me…she is a sister.
We work at the orphanage together and live in the same house. It is easy to say that we are together all the time. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” This scripture defines our friendship.
The past four years here have been a life-changing experience for me. Sad to say, but it has not all been sweet and wonderful. I have made mistakes and I’d love to turn back the hands of time and change so many things. But this cannot be done so the only thing left is to move forward. This process of moving forward has been a slow one for me. But in the midst of the uphill climb that is in front of me I find God’s grace giving me the strength I need to keep going.

In my friendship with Jodie we have for sure had our ups and downs…yep, lots of them. But with Jodie I have found someone who understands something about me that has made all the difference in the world: She knows how much I love her. She knows that I would never ever ever do something on purpose to hurt her. She knows that my heart towards her is to bless her. Do I always do exactly that? No, but she knows that I want to!!! So when there is a misunderstanding between us we can talk about it. We can talk about all of it because I am not judging her and I am not upset with her…we just need to talk and understand what is going on between the two of us.

During the past month and a half that Jodie has been home visiting her family I have had lots of time to myself. A good friend of mine sent me some scriptures and encouraged me to start meditating on them. I keep them on the dining table that has turned into my own personal desk for reading, studying and journaling (just while Jodie is in California). Every evening I sit at the table and read these Bible verses out loud. Every morning I get up and read them out loud. If I go home at lunch time I read them out loud.
I am so encouraged by God’s word. I am blessed each time I read His word out loud. God’s word speaks of His love for us and how much He understands us and how He wants what is best for us. In the midst of all my mistakes He does not give up on me.
He is not offended by me and if I make a mistake He is always ready to forgive me. I love it that God knows what is in my heart and sees that I so badly want to honor Him with my life.

I think I am missing Jodie a lot right about now. I am reflecting a lot too and with reflection there is also thankfulness. Thank you God for understanding me…thank you for loving me and giving me your word that tells me how much I mean to you!!!

Maria

2010-05-17T01:58:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite parts about working here at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home is that I have been here from the very beginning. I love it that when we first took the children in I was here to meet them. Most of them have been with us for three years and to say that I have seen many changes take place in their lives would be putting it mildly. These changes come in more ways than in their physical bodies getting bigger, but to talk about all their changes would require more than one blog entry.

This past Saturday we celebrated Maria’s third birthday. She was one day old when we took her in. She was our first infant. I remember how tiny she was. Everyone fell in love with her at first sight. I was living at the orphanage during that time and I remember sneaking her into my bedroom and laying her down on my bed with me.
Soon after Maria other babies came to us, but I will always remember the joy of welcoming Maria to our home. She holds a special place in my heart.

Maria is now three years old. She has her own personality. When she was a year old everyone called her the “Serious” girl. She smiled but not as often as the other babies. Now at three years old Maria still has some of that “Serious” girl in her but smiling is something we see her doing all the time too. In fact when we are outside sitting on the porch in the afternoons she will sit on my lap so I can tickle her and then she will laugh and laugh and laugh.

Each of the children hold a special place in my heart and I have special “first” memories of all of them, but Maria…my sweet little Maria…she was only one day old, and now look at her. She is so sweet and adorable. I held her when she was one day old. I held her on Saturday on her birthday and told her that I loved her…you know what she did? She laughed!!!

Easter Sunday 2010

2010-04-05T05:51:00.000-07:00

Two years ago on April 4, 2008 I wrote a blog called, “Easter Day.” It was about an Easter Sunday morning experience driving to church in the rain after it had been raining for more than two weeks straight. That driving experience to church ranked in my top three wild driving experiences in Tanzania. Well, two years later, on Easter Sunday I had another crazy driving experience that I think will rank in the top three of my wild driving experiences in Tanzania.
Awadhi, one of our little boys goes to a boarding school for the deaf, but for the past week and for the next upcoming week he is on a school break. Awadhi has medication that he must take everyday. Because we did not know about him being on school break until after he was already home from school, we did not pick up his medication for him on his last day of school.
As most weeks go here, we had a very busy one and the medication that we had for him at TOA ran out. After making desperate calls to find out where we could get more of his medication, but not being able to find anyplace to get more, we knew our only choice was to drive back to his school and get the medicine we left there for him.
It all sounds so simple except for the fact that it has been raining a lot for the past two weeks and the majority of the road that must be traveled to Awadhi’s school is a dirt road.
So at 6:45am Easter morning Jodie and I headed out to Awadhi’s school. The first five minutes of the drive on the dirt road wasn’t so bad and I started thinking to myself, “Alright, decent road; we can do this.” Ok, so that thought didn’t last long because seconds later the road became very muddy…oh the mud…it was large puddles of mud all across the road, but especially on the side of the road where it was very thick.
We had to stop to pick up the principal of the school so she could get the medication for us. The moment she stepped into the truck she told us that the road was bad, really bad. She mentioned that to us a few more times as we continued to drive on, but we really didn’t need her to inform us of the road conditions because we were already rolling around all over the place like we were driving on an ice skating rink. A very uncomfortable feeling came over me when we zigzagged up and down a small hill that had a ravine on the left side and as I gazed over at the gap as we slid way too close to it I knew we couldn’t continue on this road for long without something happening that I did not want to think about happening.
So I verbalized my concern and Jodie immediately stopped the truck in agreement. She asked the principal if we were close enough to the school to walk. The principal said yes and jumped out of the truck and took off running in the mud. Jodie looked at me and asked, “Shouldn’t we go with her?” I assumed we’d be going with her so I told Jodie she was just going to ask the neighbors if we could park the truck in their yard, but she did not ask the neighbors anything. She took off for the school and Jodie and I sat in the truck watching as she trudged through the mud at an impressive pace.
Once we realized we were not going to the school with the principal we refocused our attention to getting the truck turned around so that we would be heading in the direction we’d need to go once she returned. Turning the truck around…sounds so simple and yet, yikes! That was a life-changing experience. By the time Jodie got the truck turned around we had a captive audience of many ranging in age from 4 to 50. Once the truck was fully turned around we turned the engine off to wait. While waiting Jodie thought it would be a good idea to get out and find a stick and scrape off the caked-on mud from the tires. She is brave in the mud. All I kept thinking about is that my flip flops are not going to have any traction in the mud and I am going to go skating into the side of the road where the mud is so thick that it is going to swallow me up. So I sat inside the truck while Jodie scrapped the tires with a stick with an audience of many watching her. The under 10 years of age audience came over and stood within two feet from the truck. A man with half a leg missing was the only adult brave enough to approach the truck to see if we needed help. I explained to him that we were not stuck in the mud and that we were waiting for someone to come back…he didn’t believe me. So there we sat in the truck waiting with our audience getting larger and the rain clouds getting bigger. Something in me knew that we would not make it back driving on that road. The small hill we drove down was now an uphill drive on the way back and that whole area was thick with mud.
I decided to call Eli. He has a calming affect on me and I needed to say hi to him at that moment. I knew Eli wouldn’t be able to come and help us if we got stuck because for one it was Easter Sunday morning and he would be leaving in a few hours to take all the children to church. Plus the only way to get to us would be to drive the van on that muddy road and I knew for sure the van would skid all over into the mud madness of despair. Nope…wonderful Eli would not be able to come to my rescue this time. But I called him anyway just to talk to him so he could remind me of the greatness of our God…and that he did!!!
When the principal returned with the medication we started on our way. It didn’t start off so good and we knew immediately trouble was on the way. I called Eli and asked him what gear would be best for the 4-wheel drive and he told me. We stopped and put the truck in the right 4x4 gear (we have four choice for 4-wheel drive). Wow…what a difference that made! Then as we began to drive I focused on praying. We saw the “hill” ahead and Jodie went for it with determination and with God’s angels all around us we made it up and continued forward. Both of us were so happy and relieved as we kept moving forward, passing other vehicles stuck in the mud. We stopped to drop off the principal and thanked her 1,000 times for her help. Jodie put the truck in gear and our prayer meeting continued as we moved on.
The moment we hit the part of the dirt road that wasn’t too bad Jodie and I both began to thank the Lord over and over and over again. It was such relief to drive on and see the paved road. I think we were giddy with laughter. It was such a good feeling to drive on cement.
I know I haven’t described this adventure to the level of intensity that we experienced it, but it was quite the Easter morning we had. Just another Easter Sunday driving the roads in Tanzania.

Walkin' and Talkin'

2010-03-04T03:50:00.001-08:00

As often as my schedule allows, I like to go for a walk with our youngest kids. They are all two years old going on three years over the next four months. It is amazing to me how fast they have grown up. They talk a mile a minute. Most of what they say is in their own language…not sure what that language is sometimes, but it is a mix between baby talk, English and Kiswahili.
I talk to all the kids in English because they are surrounded by our workers who speak to them in Kiswahili. I want our kids to be fluent in both languages. For the most part our youngest (we have had with us since they were newborn) are doing good with both languages.
So when we go for our walks I try to point things out to them and tell them what it is in English. Now that they are talking all the time and are used to our routine of walking and talking and pointing out all objects near and far, they point out EVERYTHING to me. Let’s see…on our last walk they pointed out about 25 cars, 15 big trucks, 20 chickens, 2 cows, 4 maaaaaaa (that is the sound a goat makes…for some reason they like to make that sound before saying goat), 3 cats, 5 dogs (or puppies, they call them both), 5 flowers, 4 fires (people burn their trash here), 8 birds, 2 airplanes, 2 poop piles (they point the poop out with utter shock), the force of the wind (they find the wind very fascinating) and when they see the women carrying bananas on their head they say “No money, no banana.”
I haven’t gone for a walk with these little guys for about two weeks…I miss our walks and their excited screams over seeing a big truck for the 15th time in 5 minutes. I think I need to put it in my schedule to take a nice long walk with them tomorrow!

The Best Part

2010-02-10T04:10:00.000-08:00

The weather has turned very hot this past month. I take a shower and then find myself sweating just minutes later. All my clothes feel too heavy and when I put a skirt on my slip sticks to my legs…oh the small things that can become big things depending on the day!!!
Over the past eight months I have had malaria three times. I have had worms and amoebas three times each and a bacterial infection in my intestines that knocked me out for days with fever, body aches, headache and other things I really don’t need to go into detail about. :)

This sounds like my complaining blog entry. Oops, didn’t mean to turn it into that, but after living here close to four years my body has been through a lot. Tanzanians take it all in stride. I have learned that no matter what is wrong with you that unless you have a cough then you really are not very sick. A cough is it for them. They will go to a doctor if there is a cough involved.
I haven’t had a cough in a long time so I don’t normally say too much when I am not feeling good since it really isn’t much in their eyes. But I don’t need to say anything to anyone…except the Lord…and to the Lord I tell Him thank you.
No matter what I go through and the things that happen here, whether pleasant or not so pleasant, the grace of God is always enough. I have learned to pray for grace more these past four years than ever before. God is listening. He is answering. I am so thankful.

Whenever one of those days comes along and I look in the mirror and say to myself, “Geez you’ve really aged.” All I have to do is go outside and sit on the porch or the grass (wherever the kids may be playing at the time) and let the kids jump all over me and tickle them till their faces turn red from laughter and I know that everything is alright. I am put back in perspective with my priorities and all those things that I think I want or need are not really so important anymore.
Ok…so I am aging and that can’t be stopped, but the grace of God is unending and these children here are too precious for words…that is the best part!

Just Rambling Some Thoughts

2009-12-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

I go through these stages of being faithful in my blog writing and then forgetting about putting in an entry for months. All of these "little things" take place daily where I say to myself, "I need to put that in a blog." But then the day goes on and then the week goes on and eventually I find that seven or eight things have happened that I wanted to write a blog about and not one was written.

I have spent the past five or six months doing a lot of thinking and reflecting...just thinking about how much my life has changed over the past three and a half years. I could never have known what my life would be like after living here this long. To say it has been hard would not be an exaggeration. To say that it has been wonderful would be putting it mildly.
I was talking to Eli, TOA assistant director, about a month ago and he was telling me that he has never known someone to change so much in such a short amount of time as he has seen in me these past three and a half years. Then yesterday I was chatting with Pastor Mbasha, a very good friend of mine, and he was telling me that the changes he has seen take place in my life have caused him to seek to the Lord about his own life. He said the Holy Spirit has been convicting him about areas in his life where he needs to grow and change.
As he spoke those words to me I felt such appreciation and gratefulness to the Lord.

I am not writing these things because I am such a wonderful person and I want to tell everyone to be like me. Oh man...never in a million years! But this morning when I woke up my heart was so full of thankfulness. I am thankful that God is so patient and loving. There are times when I get on my own nerves. I get so frustrated with myself and I want so bad to be a better person. I am thankful because God loves me so much and is always looking out for my best. God's Spirit led me to live in Tanzania, Africa. He knew I'd make mistakes here (oh man, big ones too!) but He has given me so much grace...more grace than I have given to myself. He has used the hard times here to change me. I haven't been willing the whole time to change...bucked at it multiple times for long periods of time...but God is gracious and His patience is amazing.

I have a couple of journals that I have written in since moving here. The first journal is a day to day of my life filled with some frustrations and a few "woe is me" entries.
The second journal is all about the goodness of God and how knowing Him and serving Him is the greatest part of living.
The second journal was started after I filled up the first journal and without realizing it, during the journal transition I was going through important internal changes.
I still have frustrations and journal about them, but instead of dwelling on the frustration I journal a scripture as the theme of what I am writing and the answer to all that I need. It is life-changing to have God's word be my hope and strength.

I have a different outlook at people now. I look at others the way God has treated me. I used to see people from the place of what they did in the past and saw them as that way in the present and future. But that is wrong...God sees so much more in us than who we are now and the mistakes we've made in the past. He sees us as who we were created to be!
I want to see myself and everyone else from the way God looks at me. I have made mistakes in the past but God has forgiven me and continued to love me and lead me forward! I am so thankful!!!
I want to love others, even when they have made mistakes or done something that may have hurt my feelings. I don't want to be the judge over anyone, but instead see that all people can change and grow and become different. We are never to old to change and God's grace never runs out...for that I am so thankful!!!
I like to reflect on the good things that God does in my life because it causes me to have a grateful heart. Everything I am and anything I hope to be is because of Him loving me and helping me.

When I was a teenager I saw a bumper sticker that said, "TRY JESUS." I remember the person I was with said, "You don't try Jesus...he isn't a pair of shoes you put on and then change your mind and take off." But you know thinking about it now I like that saying...TRY JESUS! I decided to serve the Lord when I was 15 years old. I wasn't fully sure what it was all about, but one "taste" of the Lord and I was hooked...nothing compares to knowing the Lord. I couldn't turn away...where would I go? Trying Jesus is saying yes to the Lord and then once we've said yes there is nothing that compares to Him.

Birthday Celebration

2009-08-07T03:44:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we celebrated the birthdays of four of our babies who turned two years old and Anjela who turned four. It was a real fun day. Two cakes were baked and a crate of Fanta Orange soda was purchased. The babies were not too sure about the cake and the only Zoe really dug into the cake and enjoyed it. Moses was afraid to even taste the cake but he loved the touch of it. Diamond and Joan eventually had a little but not really very much. Anjela, who is always so sweet and adorable was fed a little cake and seemed to like it.
My favorite part of the day was after everyone had cake and soda and we were all just about to go outside to play together but we all stopped on the porch and all the workers and children prayed for those celebrating a birthday. It was such a special time. I love the way the kids pray for each other. It was so wonderful.
Then we went out to the field and played together for hours. The kids have a couple of kites we bring out on special occasions and I had some glider planes that I was holding on to for a special day. We also had a couple soccer balls and a plastic bat with a tennis ball. It was so much fun running around for hours just playing and playing.
I love days like this day…celebrating, playing, and enjoying the day all together!

Reflecting

2009-07-17T04:43:00.001-07:00

There are times when I let too much time go by and I have virtually ignored my blog for months and months. This is one of those times. I stopped writing blog entries when I went home to California for a visit in March 2009. I was home for two months enjoying family, friends and food. I was going to write a blog entry about my time at home but just didn’t make the time. I kept thinking about writing entries on all the wonderful food dishes and how I could describe them in detail but then I let that moment pass and just didn’t do it.
Then I returned to Tanzania in May and knew I was even more months behind in my blog but still didn’t get right back to writing. Part of me kept waiting for something really fun to happen so that I could write about something fun and witty with a picture to go with it.
Although many fun and happy moments have occurred since I have been back in Tanzania I have been a bit preoccupied with other things.

For one being back here has been a bit of an emotional time for me. I wish I could describe the feelings that I have been experiencing these past few months but it has been hard putting words to it all.
I know part of it is that I missed everyone so much and it has been nice just being back but another part is that I was gone for two months and I left all the children who I have grown so attached to and I didn’t realize how hard that was going to be for me. One child in particular, Moses missed me more than I realized he would and I missed him more than I thought I would. The day I returned he saw me and just looked at me for a long time. He held his arms for me to hold him and wouldn’t let go of me for the rest of the day. He didn’t take his nap that day and only ate if I fed him.
It was an emotional day for me because I realized how much I have fallen in love with this little boy.

These past few months I have also realized a lot of things about myself and the past three years living here.
Yesterday, July 16th, was my three-year anniversary since moving here to Tanzania. The past three years have been amazing, wonderful, challenging, hard, stretching, painful, lively, lonely, crushing, hilarious…should I go on?
It is never a dull moment here and yet sometimes the days are all the same.
I am challenged to my core and often find myself asking the question, “How did I get into this situation?”

Three years ago I had no idea what in the world I was headed for when I moved here. I just went because I knew it was time to go. Now looking ahead to the future I have no idea what is around the corner. I am done trying to figure out how things are going to look…instead I just thank the Lord for His grace and strength.

I cried my eyes out for over an hour the other day. I just want to honor God with my words and actions, but feel so far from where I should be.
God has shown Himself wonderful to me over and over again. I know that these past three years have been for a greater purpose than I realize at this point in my life. I am willing to change…by the grace of God He will do what needs to be done in my life. God’s word promises that He will continue the process of change in our lives.
“He who began a good work in me will carry it to completion…” Philippians 1:6

Devotions

2009-03-03T07:17:00.000-08:00

Every morning at 8am the staff at TOA meet together for a time of devotions. It is a very special time and we have seen God answer so many of our prayers. We meet outside in a building we call our “prayer hut” made out of wood and thatch. Last Thursday we met together and Jodie was sharing her devotion on the fruit of Spirit, Peace. As Jodie was sharing suddenly from the top of the prayer hut a giant lizard fell to the ground…right in the middle of where we were sitting. It just sat there on the ground. I am not sure if it was stunned from the fall or trying to act invisible. But it just sat there without moving an inch.
Jodie continued to share and the next thing I knew about six of our chickens came walking around the building. They decided to dig through the dirt that is right next to the prayer hut while Jodie was sharing. The chickens were loud and noisy and kicked up a mess of dirt and if that was not bad enough the next thing I knew one of the chickens ran right past the prayer hut and stopped less than five feet away with what looked like a snake in her beak.
At that point I apologized to Jodie for interrupting her and asked, “Is that a snake the chicken has?” Everyone responded yes. Then I asked, “Is the snake alive?” Everyone started to laugh as they said yes again. I sat there listening to Jodie and watched the chicken eat a snake about five feet long. At some point the lizard sitting in the middle of the prayer hut ran away but I was too distracted watching the chicken eating a snake that I really didn’t notice. It really was quite amazing.
I can truly say that living here in Tanzania has not been dull or uneventful. Even everyday experiences can turn out to be exciting moments.

Legos

2009-02-10T04:10:00.000-08:00

We had a box full of Legos sent to us last week from the Lofgren family. The children here are not used to playing with toys that have a lot of pieces to them. I brought the Legos out for the nursery age kids to play. It was such a fun sight. First their eyes opened up wide as they looked at the different colors…and so many pieces of them. Then they began to grab the pieces and examine them carefully. I showed them the Legos book with the photo showing the magnificent design all those pieces put together would make. Then they went to work at it. Their teacher as well as the kids worked with amazing concentration. At one point it was “break time” and they were served their warm milk, but no one was interested in milk. Their attention was captured and they were not interested in stopping. I stayed with them for a while, left and then returned multiple times. Each time the scene was the same…utter fascination over their Legos project.
The project they were building looked something like an airport tower in the Legos booklet. They didn’t finish it…they didn’t even come close. But that did not discourage anyone from having a great time.
Their teacher Grace said she would make time each day to practice putting the Legos together so that eventually they will get the hang of actually making something from the book.
The kids say thank you to the Lofgren family for their gift. It is a wonderful new adventure that will bring hours of fun and fascination.

They Bless Me

2009-01-10T04:25:00.000-08:00

Each time I got out to Maasai land and visit the people I am amazed by something new. The people are so different from the other tribes here. They live a lifestyle that challenges my American comforts. They have so little and yet they have an appreciation for things I take for granted.
Whenever we visit a Maasai home they always serve us a soda...warm. Now and then they will also have food and sometimes tea. The thing that is so wonderful is the way they do it. They treat us like we are the most important people to ever visit them and it always touches my heart.
This last visit we made was just as special as the others. On this last visit they brought out all their furniture and put it under a shady tree. They brought us the two newest born babies in their village for us to hold...one was two weeks and the other was a month old.
It is always fun practicing my Kiswahili and Kimaasai while at the same time giving everyone a good laugh at the way I pronounce the words and my bad grammar usage.
I am so blessed each and every visit. I have a special love in my heart for the Maasai people.

Thanksgiving

2008-12-05T06:20:00.000-08:00

I think it was the month of April when I purchased my turkey for Thanksgiving Day. I name him T.D. I wasn’t able to drive the hour and fifteen minutes on rough dirt road to pick him up until early October.
As soon as I saw him I knew he was my turkey. I don’t know why but I did. I sat down and he walked close to me. I thought to myself, “Don’t get too close because I only want to think of you as Thanksgiving dinner.” T.D. lived at my house for a month and a half. He was very noisy and would wake me up very early in the morning. He ate a lot too…but that was a good thing.
Two days before Thanksgiving I ran out of food for T.D. so instead of getting more I figured it was his big day. I played around with the thought of killing him myself…I really did, but in the end two very sweet friends at the orphanage did it for me. They were fast and T.D. didn’t know what hit him.
There was a small crowd watching and I even had Moses there…he loves chasing the chickens so I knew he would like to see T.D. I took lots of photos but I didn’t think too many people would appreciate it if I posted the actual knife in his throat photos. So I decided to post a photo of Moses trying to hand T.D. a feather that fell off him in the “process” of things.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. We had stuffing, veggie casserole, sweet potatoes, and mashed potatoes and gravy. Dark African turkey meat looks almost like roast beef, but it tastes the same…just a little tougher. All meat here is a little tougher, sometimes a lot tougher.
This was my third Thanksgiving in Tanzania but the first time I celebrated it like this. It was a lot of fun…memorable to be sure.
I didn’t get a photo of us sitting at the table eating but someone took that photo…I will try to post it if I can get a copy of it.

We Tried

2008-10-13T07:43:00.000-07:00

Have you ever attempted to dress six one-year old babies in similar clothing and then try to take their photo? What an adventure. It took four of us trying to get them in position and then running out of the way so that only the babies were in the photo. I think I took about 25 pictures and not one single photo came out the way we were hoping.
But we had a good time trying. Justice, who had gone to the clinic earlier that morning tested positive for malaria, so he was in no mood for a photo shoot. Diamond and Moses chose to stand and run around rather than sitting and posing for the camera. Zoe just wanted to play in the sand along with Joan and Maria.
After it was all said and done we had a lot of laughs and not one single picture where all the babies were looking at the camera and smiling. I sure do love digital cameras. They make taking pictures a lot of fun. I tried and tried…25 snap-shots in all.

We tried this once before when a doctor from the U.S. gave us some t-shirts for the babies. We lined them up in their new shirts to take a “thank you” picture for the doctor. Out of the six babies only four made it in the photo and out of the four two made eye contact with the camera…gotta love those babies!!!

Jeremiah

2008-09-17T05:27:00.000-07:00

All of our children are special and they have their own uniqueness. Jeremiah is one of a kind. He came to us in November 2007. His mom dropped him and his sister off at the welfare dept and then checked herself in to the local hospital. She has HIV.
When I arrived at the welfare dept shortly after they called me, I could see Jeremiah and his sister Pendo sitting outside. Jeremiah was wearing footsie pajamas with a broken zipper that were about two sizes too small for him. He was sitting in the dirt and had not had a bath in at least a week.
We took Pendo and Jeremiah home “temporarily” until the welfare dept could place them in another orphanage. At the time we took Jeremiah and Pendo in we did not have the bed space for them so it was agreed that they would stay with us until the welfare dept could find them another home. After two weeks we were told by welfare that they could not find another home and we’d have to make room for them to stay with us permanently.
After moving beds and making some changes in sleeping arrangements for some of the children, Pendo and Jeremiah had their own beds to sleep in and were ours for keeps.

About eight months later extended family members from Pendo’s dead father’s side of the family contacted the welfare dept and informed them they were interested in adopting Pendo (we did not know until then that Pendo and Jeremiah had different fathers). The paperwork was filled out and Pendo went to live with her aunt and uncle. Jeremiah stayed with us.

Jeremiah is about three years old. When he first arrived he could not speak any words…only make a few sounds. We took him to the doctor and to a rehab center to have him assessed. The doctors have not given us any helpful information about Jeremiah’s mental development.
He loves to hug and be hugged…all day long. We work with him daily practicing how to say words. He can say a few words now and spends one hour each morning in our nursery age class here at the orphanage. Jeremiah is learning to sit in a chair, hold a pencil and write numbers.
When he is outside he loves to kick the soccer ball and play on the swings.
He is a good eater and sleeper. We continue to pray for him and believe that each day will bring him to a place of new growth and learning.

Whenever visitors come Jeremiah is one the first to greet them with a big hug. He is not shy with new people and loves to laugh. He is a joy to be around and if you ever come and visit us here you will have to stay awhile and kick the soccer ball around with him!

Rama and Imma

2008-08-09T02:03:00.000-07:00

I continue to be amazed at the changes I see in the children here. Thinking back to the first day when each child made their arrival here, each one had their own heavy burden they were carrying. For Rama his burden was indeed great and he had suffered a lot. There were a few times I wondered if Rama was going to be able to continue living here with us. He was a very angry and hurt boy. Often he would take his anger out on the younger children by speaking harsh to them, pushing them and even hitting them. His first few months with us were quite a challenge.
Rama had never been to school but because of his size and age I could not enroll him in first grade so he was placed in second grade.

A story similar to Rama’s story could be told about Imma (Immanuel) when he first arrived here. At 10 years of age he’d never attended school and didn’t even know how to hold a pencil. His life too had been very hard before coming to live with us. He was a boy with a lot of pain inside and like Rama he was not kind to the younger children.

Before giving up on these boys we began to pray. Before making any decisions about whether or not they should continue to live here we asked the Lord for divine wisdom and guidance. God is faithful to take care of the orphans…the Bible tells us this and we have seen this truth come to pass here. Through loving discipline and a loving staff who showed these boys that they were safe here and we would protect them and not bring them harm, we began to see changes…wonderful changes.

It has now been more than a year that Rama and Imma have been here with us. They are completely different boys from the ones that walked through our doors over a year ago. They are sweet, thoughtful, obedient, loving boys.
In school they are doing so good...amazingly better than anyone would have ever expected from these two boys.
Rama’s teacher told us this week that she has appointed him as the class leader. This means he is the teacher’s assistant who helps monitor the class and help out whenever he is needed. His teacher told us he is the most respectful of all her students (he is in a class of 57) and he is an example to the other students.
Imma’s teachers applaud his efforts. He works very hard in all subjects but his favorite subject is math. Out of 60 students in his class Imma is ranked number eight. Imma’s teachers continue to tell us that his work effort and respectful attitude in school make him a student who stands out above the others.

We are proud of these boys. We are so thankful to the Lord for His goodness in touching their lives and continuing to do wonderful things in them.
They are a part of us here and the example they show to the younger children is one of hard work and respect. I am so thankful to the Lord for all He continues to do in the hearts of our children!!!

Nursery School Kids

2008-05-16T02:06:00.000-07:00

Currently we have four kids that are too young to be in elementary school and are too old to hang out with the babies all day. We call them our “nursery school kids.” Last year before Antony and Witness were old enough to attend elementary there were six nursery school kids. We decided to start our own nursery age program…nothing formal that would need to be government approved but a small classroom atmosphere where the kids could learn some basics and have a good time as well…a time special just for them.
This has turned out to be a good preparation for elementary school. The kids are learning about letters, numbers, days of the week, sharing, listening, sitting, holding a pencil while they enjoy themselves with lots of singing and playing.
Last November when the Welfare Commissioner visited our orphanage he was most impressed with our nursery school and elementary classrooms. He appreciated the effort we are putting into preparing our children to be the best students possible.

We have seen the results from our efforts. This year Witness and Antony entered first grade. Out of 90 first graders our very own Witness ranks number one!!! Her teachers tell us that she is far and above the best student of all. Our sweet Antony with all of the school he has had to miss due to illness (HIV related) his teachers are so pleased with his progress and say that he continues to surprise them how he never falls behind in class.

One day this week we were a bit short-handed with our staff so I took the nursery kids upstairs to the “big kids’ classroom” to watch a movie and read books. They stayed upstairs with me for over three hours just enjoying themselves. They love to look at pictures and talk about everything they see. They never became bored the whole three hours. They shared books with each other and laughed.

I love the way our kids enjoying learning new things and sharing it with each other. It blesses me that the kids can look at the same book four days in a row and see something new and fun from it each time.
The Lord has good plans for their lives and with their love for learning I am excited to see where their futures are headed.

Just a Regular Day

2008-04-10T01:37:00.000-07:00

I was reminded this week that it is fun to hear about the “little things” that go on here…just daily occurrences. I thought about that and realized that virtually everyday I have a fun story to tell. Jodie and I often entertain ourselves just by talking about the everyday things that take place. So I have decided that while I like to write about the kids and the happenings at the orphanage I will sneak in a story here and there about my everyday life…just for fun.

I have a very good friend in California that I like to email, Instant Message, and talk to on the phone with. We don’t talk on the phone too often because it is expensive. So Instant Messaging is the next closest thing to talking on the phone. She will wake up at 3:30am sometimes so we can “chat” for a couple of hours. Over the past month we have not had a lot communication with each other, so last week when she was on Spring Break from teaching we were able to IM together. We were trying to squeeze in a month’s worth of activities that had taken place in our lives. We were doing a pretty good job with catching up when I noticed the time. It was close to 6:40pm. The sun begins to set right around 6:40pm. Sadly I had to say goodbye and pack up my things to leave. But leaving the orphanage is not as simple as running out the door. There are children that love to hug and play and hug and hug even more…leaving takes a little bit more than just a few minutes.
Once I got out the door I knew it was going to be a race to see if I could beat the darkness…and the rain. It was beginning to sprinkle. Then it hit me that I had left my bicycle at the orphanage. I ran over to my bike and tried to get on as fast as I could, but I was wearing a skirt and it wasn’t one of those flowing skirts that allow you to easily ride a bike. It was a skirt with slits on the sides and it was slightly fitted. So I hiked up my skirt and headed out as fast as I could…mind you the road to my house is all dirt and it has been raining everyday for the past month so the road is one huge muddy mess…walking to the orphanage and back home is often quite an adventure in the muddy road.
As I began to ride my bicycle the rain began to fall…not drizzling anymore. I had a hard time seeing with the darkness on the winning side in my effort to get home while I could still see where I was going. It was quite a challenge riding my bike, holding onto the items I was carrying, keeping my skirt down, watching the road, trying to see with the rain now falling at a steady pace and darkness on my heels. I heard lots of comments from all the Africans walking and riding their bikes. Most of the comments involved laughter and lots of apologies to me for my “difficult situation.” I even got one comment from a man regarding my skirt and all the effort I was putting into keeping my legs modestly showing without crashing.
By the time I got home I was in need of dry clothes and a blow dryer. My guard told me how sorry he was for me about six times and Jodie asked, “What happened to you?”
I made it home and it wasn’t completely dark!!!
It was a good day. I was able to IM with Freya for a LONG TIME and catch up on life with her…just one of those regular days!

Easter Sunday

2008-04-04T01:14:00.000-07:00

We’ve had a lot of rain over the past month. It is nice because the rain makes everything so green and for that period of time when the rain is falling the temperature is not as hot. When Rita was here visiting with us she was asked to speak on Easter Sunday morning at a church in Mirerani…a long drive and bad roads. Normally it would not be a big deal to drive to Mirerani because the orphanage has a 4-wheel drive truck. When you add up bad dirt roads and a month of rain then you have an even bigger adventure waiting then the “normal” adventure that the drive usually is.
We were not disappointed. The drive took us all by surprise. There we were…three American women driving a 20 year old truck in the rain out in Maasai land, which happened to be flooded more than we imagined it would be. Not only was the road flooded but at some places during the drive the road was a river…I am telling you the truth. We watched a tree quickly float past the front of the vehicle as we were driving through. We passed a HUGE bus that was broken down and full of passengers but we could not stop because the water was up to the middle of the truck doors.

I have had many adventures over the past 20 months living here. But our Easter Sunday driving adventure has got to rank at the top of the list. The whole time driving Rita, Jodie and I were doing a lot of praying. It was an hour and a half prayer meeting…a laughing, shouting “wow” kind of prayer meeting.
We arrived at the church on time…even the Africans were surprised we made it on time. We made it early enough to have breakfast at the house of one of the church leaders before the service began. We ended up staying there in Mirerani for the afternoon service and Rita spoke. We weren’t planning on staying but the sun had come out and we figured if we stayed the river would have time to subside a bit…which it did.
The drive back was not nearly as adventurous although the road was still flooded. It just wasn’t as bad…we were thankful for that.

I wore a white skirt and a pink blouse to church since it was Easter and I wanted to dress in colors I would wear back home on Easter. It always amazes me how mud seems to find a way of getting all over everything. When I was at the church a little girl came up to me and asked me to bend down so she could help me. I bent down and she began to brush the top part of my back. After I left her I walked over to Jodie to ask her what was on the top part of my back and she told me it was mud. How did it get there? I don’t know, but then again…what was I thinking wearing pink and white?

One Year Anniversary

2008-03-21T00:24:00.000-07:00

There are so many things that make living here quite an adventure…the roads, the language, the constant stares, the weather, the mud, the mosquitoes…shall I go on?
But there are so many other things that make me realize that my heart has become attached to living here. One of the most obvious is the children. This month marks our one year anniversary of having children at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. It is hard to believe that it has been a whole year. The first children we took in were Sifaeli and Fatuma (sisters) and Helena and Glory (sisters). The rest of the children came within a few short months.

I love these children. They are a part of my life. The older children are upstairs in the classroom working after they return from school so I hear them from my office…which is upstairs…and I like to take a break from my work and watch them do their homework. They are always laughing and chatting.

My favorite part of the day is visiting the babies. They are getting so big. All of the babies can sit up and Moses is crawling all over the place.
Moses…we call him Mr. President…he has captured my heart. I love to bring him in my office and sit him on my lap. I love to feed him outside and then rock him to sleep. I love that little guy. He is growing up so fast. He will grow up and know me as his “Mama.” That is an amazing thought to me.
I am so thankful to be here and to be a part of these children’s lives. It has not been easy living here. I have had many lonely and difficult days, but when I am with the children or playing with the babies it is all worth it.

Celebrating one year with the children…hard to believe…it has gone by so fast. They are good kids. Some of them are still learning that they are allowed to be kids and don’t have to be the parent to their siblings. They are learning to trust that we are here for them, but most of all they are learning how much God loves them and has a good plan for their lives…they are learning to dream big and believe that these dreams can come true.

Oh...These Babies

2008-02-22T01:14:00.000-08:00

I have been spending a lot of time with the babies lately. They are hard to ignore, especially when we have so many of them. Some of the babies we have had with us since the day they were born. Others came to us a few months old. Over the past few months they have changed in so many ways. Most of them are able to sit up and a few are beginning to crawl. They are so much fun. It has become a part of my day to take a break from working and go sit with them.
Babies are amazing the way they find pleasure in the simplest thing. Our babies are all smiles. They are so content to sit and look around. The other day I took Moses out to the playground while the other children were playing and I put him on the slide. He laughed because the other children were there cheering him on…but I don’t think he liked the slide. Then I put him in the sandbox in his bare feet. He loved that.
I am enjoying these babies. They have captured a part of me that I held back after baby Andrew was adopted from us. It is not hard to fall in love with them.

All of the children are a special joy to us here, but these babies will grow always knowing me…I will be someone they have known since birth. That is special to me. They already know me and smile when I hold them and call their name. I love that.

An Update After Not Writing Blogs for So Long

2008-02-05T05:16:00.000-08:00

I have not posted a blog entry for approx two and a half months. Part of the reason is because I have had computer problems. My computer was working so slow that it took too long to get my entries downloaded. I tried multiple times to get an entry downloaded and it just wouldn’t do it.

After getting frustrated with my slow computer I stopped writing journal entries. I was able to get my computer repaired and soon after I wrote one blog entry. But my life has been so busy these past few months I have not set the time aside to write any entries. I apologize for that. I have re-committed myself to blog writing again. I am going to make every effort to be consistent with my entries like I have been in the past. I do not like it that so much time has passed and so many things have taken place. I don’t know where to start telling you about all that has gone on in the past few months. Ok…here I go:

As of today, February 5, 2008, we have 26 children. They range in age from 6 months to 12 years. Our babies are getting so big. In one month we will have officially been open as a Children’s Home with children for one year. This past year has gone by so fast. Our original director here left the orphanage and for the past three months I have been the interim director. The new directors of the orphanage arrived here on December 31st. They are a family of five from Southern California. It is the former worship pastor from my home church in Tustin, California along with his wife and three children. They are still getting adjusted to life in Tanzania so I am continuing to work in the role of director until they are moved into their home and feeling a bit more settled.

In October I went the doctor and was put on antibiotics for pneumonia. After a month of being on antibiotics and only getting worse I went to a different doctor. This doctor was more thorough and said I had pneumonia and bronchitis. He gave me medicine for both and I began to get better. My body needs rest and I try very hard to rest whenever possible, but it isn’t always easy to rest when there is so much work to do.

February 16th will mark 19 months that I have been living here. It is hard to believe that it has been that long. I love being here and I love the children. It is amazing to see the growth and changes in them. Some of our babies came to us when they were one day old and now they are six months and nine months old. They are growing up with us. To them we will be people they have always known…we have always been a part of their lives.
I have this habit of giving nicknames to children. I used to do it a lot as a teacher in California. I have given so many of the children nicknames. Some of the babies’ nicknames: Ju-Ju Bee, Happy Girl, Mr. President, Frodo.
Even the children call some of the babies by their nicknames.

Everyday is such an adventure and all the days are special. I am so thankful for each day with the children. Antony and Witness started their first year of school in January. They are two of the brightest kids in their class. Their teachers thank us for the work our teachers at the orphanage do with the kids. It really shows.
There is so much to tell…so I’d better not wait another two months before writing more!

Dedication

2007-09-11T03:06:00.000-07:00

Saturday, September 1st was the day of the official dedication ceremony for the orphanage. I had sent out invitations to many of the local government officials.
It was a day of celebrating all that the Lord has done this past year.
Looking back on the past year it is amazing to see how much has taken place. This time last year we were hard at work with many projects and repairs on the building. Little did we know at that time how long it would take us to get the building ready and how long it would take until we would receive our first children.
It has been an interesting and life-changing road getting to this point. So on September 1st we were celebrating so much...so much the Lord has done.

The ceremony began with the children, dressed in beautiful matching outfits, singing and dancing to songs they had practiced for the past couple of months. They were adorable. After the children sang the founder of our ministry, Rita Langeland, shared a few words and after her our East African director, Pastor Kioko greeted everyone. The main speaker was a Member of Parliament and she shared a brief speech. After the speaker, a few honored guests were asked to stand and greet the audience. Everyone enjoyed the ceremony very much.

After the "official" ceremony was over we led our guests on a tour of the inside of the building. I always enjoy showing visitors the building because they really appreciate all the work we have done these past 14 months.

After the ceremony and tours all of our guests went to Uhuru Hotel for a luncheon. It was a blessing to have so many of the people that we invited come to the dedication and celebrate with us. It was a wonderful time of celebration...at the orphanage and the luncheon.

It was a wonderful day. I wish so many of the people that have visited here and helped us since July 2006 could have been here to celebrate with us. From the time we arrived here visitors from the U.S. have come and helped to get the building ready. It has been a lot of work and so many people that came to help. Thank you to all of them. We celebrated on your behalf!

Number 4 out of 61

2007-08-29T06:43:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about teaching is watching the students "get it" in class. There are some students that take a little bit more time to really grasp a concept, but when they do grasp it everything begins to change for them.

When Glory first came to us in March she was enrolled in first grade. She struggled. School was difficult for her. She didn't get it and she worked at a snail's pace. Often I would have to leave Glory at school for a few extra hours in order for her to complete her work. She would cry watching the other kids in her class walk out with me to return home.
I was not punishing Glory. Her tutoring teachers at the orphanage and I knew she could do the work...and with excellence. By having Glory stay at school we were telling her that we knew she could do it...it was up to her.

It did not take long for Glory to see that she could do the work. It all began to click. She was embarking on a journey of understanding concepts and completing her work in a timely manner while doing it with excellence. Soon she no longer had to remain at school to finish her work.
During tutoring time at the orphanage we began to see a marked difference in the way Glory was working. She was enjoying herself...the work wasn't so hard.

Last week I walked into Glory's classroom at school. Her teachers said they wanted to show me something. They opened up their grade book and showed me their list of most improved students in the past two months...Glory was one of them. Then they showed me the class rankings. Class rankings are a very big deal in Tanzania. There are 61 students in Glory's class. For the first two months Glory's ranking was in the late 50's in every subject. But last week her teachers showed me her ranking in each subject...it was wonderful to see. In each subject Glory ranked between three and six. And her overall ranking in the class is number four.
We have been rejoicing over this news since last week. Everyday I congratulate Glory on a job well-done.
We knew she could do it...we knew it.
Glory has inspired the other children at the orphanage to work to their best ability.
Fatuma told me yesterday she wants to work towards ranking number one in her class...you know what? I believe she can do it...I really do.

Goodbye Andrew

2007-08-13T01:49:00.000-07:00

Last Friday the head of the Welfare Dept visited the orphanage. She had two African women with her I didn't recognize. She began to tell me that each of these women were interested in adopting a baby. They came to see our babies. We are not the only organization that cares for babies. In fact there is a home for babies less than a mile from us and they have over 50 babies. But they wanted one of our babies. In order to adopt in Tanzania there cannot be any known living relative of the child . Two of our babies were abandoned...Andrew and Destiny. They have no living relatives because the police have not been able to find any information regarding where they came from, except that Destiny was left at the bus stop and Andrew was dropped off at the hospital.
The women visiting our orphanage took one look at Andrew and Destiny and said they wanted them. All that was needed to be done was to go to the police dept and have the police sign the papers stating their investigations were complete and they have officially closed the files on Andrew and Destiny. The police signed the papers this morning and the women returned to our orphanage to pick up the babies.

I had all weekend to think about this before they came on Monday to take Andrew. It is interesting to process emotions in a situation that is completely new. I have four nieces and three nephews. I love them very much. But Andrew was different for me. He was my baby. I named him and made him my own. I would hold him everyday and fed him and rocked him to sleep. When he would cry the workers would tell me and bring him to me...he was mine. I love that little guy.
They took him this morning. I held him and cried. I kissed him and he smiled...he just started doing that this past week. I miss him already. I cry as I write this because I love that little guy. Andrew had only been with us for one month but in that short time he won my heart.

I will write another blog about Andrew after I have had more time to think about what has taken place this morning...it is all still so new. It's lunch time right now. I liked feeding Andrew and holding him until he fell asleep...my favorite part of the day.
The Lord gave me Andrew for a short time, but enough time to hold him in my heart and remember him for the rest of my life.

I know that it is best for Andrew to have a home and be raised by Africans, but I didn't know when we took him in that there was even the chance that someone would come and take him. This has all come as a surprise and it happened so fast. I will pray for Andrew for the rest of my life. I've never known a baby like Andrew...he was mine and I love him.

Imma is Reading

2007-08-07T03:34:00.000-07:00

As I write this blog entry I am sitting in my office with baby Andrew on my lap listening to the younger kids in the next room having their tutoring time.
I can hear Imma...he is reading.
Imma is twelve years old. He had never been to school before when he came to live with us on March 26th. He had to be taught how to sit and listen, hold a pencil, recognize the alphabet, sharpen a pencil, and other simple tasks before we could enroll him in school. He is in first grade. At first this was very hard for him. He is not a big boy but he is bigger than all the other first graders and quite a few years older.
In the beginning school was a struggle and he would get frustrated a lot. His two hour tutoring time turned into three and four hours because he would get frustrated and give up.
One evening during the evening prayer and devotional time Imma prayed aloud to the Lord for help in school. He said that evening he felt in his heart that God was making him smart. Not long after that things began to click. Imma became more focused and less frustrated. Math was becoming more and more understandable to him. Everything was becoming easier...except reading. Imma was improving in so many ways but reading was still so hard. But he was not giving up...he didn't give up and become frustrated. His tutors worked hard with him for hours.
This week there was cheering in the classroom. Imma is reading! It has been a long road but one paved with perseverance for Imma. I am so proud of him.
Imma knows the Lord is with him helping him in school.

As I sit here with a baby on my lap listening to Imma read my heart is full of joy. God is good. I am so thankful. To be here and to see such wonders taking place. It may not seem like a lot but to all of us here it means the world. This is what it is all about...why I am here. I am looking forward to all the other wonders God has for these children.
They know the Lord loves them and He is here helping them and answering their prayers. I can see God doing so much.
Imma is reading. We are so excited. God is so good.

Baby Andrew

2007-07-21T11:14:00.001-07:00

I was in California visiting family and friends for the month of June. During the time I was gone I kept in contact with everyone at the orphanage via email. They would tell me how things were going and what was new. I kept wondering when I would get an email about new children arriving. I never got an email like that.
When I left for California we had 13 children. When I returned to Tanzania we still had 13. Within a week and a half of my arrival our numbers went up to 20. Five of these new children are babies.

Three infants came within two days and none of them had names. I was given the honor of naming one of them. I love knowing the meaning of names. It was important to me the meaning of the name I picked. One of the first names that came to me was Andrew. I taught elementary school for 17 years in America and I have had lots of students. But one special young man always stands out to me...his name is Andrew. He was born in the Ukraine and was adopted and brought to the U.S. Andrew has a love for God and a sweet, caring spirit that inspires me. He has a confidence in who he is...a child of the Most High God. I named this little baby here in Tanzania after my former student Andrew...a treasure himself.

Andrew means brave...I love that. My African Andrew is so sweet...everyone calls him my baby. I love holding him and feeding him. He has a lot of hair and the cutest little face. I pray God's blessings over him. The Lord has good plans for his life.

Dodoma

2007-07-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have not written a blog in such a long time. It was not my intention to let so much time go by without writing an entry...time just went by so fast.
In the last two months so many things have happened. I am not sure what to write about first. I think I will write about what comes to mind first when I think about the past two months...

During the second week of May I traveled with Pastor Mbasha and his wife Janet to Dodoma...a city 10 hours away from Moshi. We went there to teach a seminar to about 10 different pastors and their churches. We didn't actually go to the city of Dodoma...we were in the region of Dodoma about two hours from the city. We drove into the "interior" of Dodoma. It was not a village but a small city...a remote city. Many people there had never had contact with a white person. When word got out that there was a white woman teaching in the town...we were holding services in a rented building in the middle of town...hundreds of people came to the meetings to "see the white woman." It was amazing how many people showed up. It was wonderful to teach God's word and have people attend that might not normally come to church. They came and sat for the entire service. It blessed my heart as they sat and listened to the word of God. The seminar was wonderful. I met so many people and was blessed at every turn. There was a church choir that attended the seminar. They were a group of ten people and they rode their five bicycles for seven hours in order to attend the seminar. I was blessed as they got up and sang each evening at the beginning of the services. They are from a tribe called Wagogo. I was touched by their love for God and the way they sang together.
At the end of the week I told Pastor Mbasha I wanted to return to Dodoma again and go to the Wagogo village too. Pastor Mbasha was so happy when I told him that. He was thinking the same thing that I was thinking but he hadn't said anything to me about it.
I learned so much from my week in Dodoma. It was challenging in so many ways but it was also so rewarding. I was stretched and I grew. It was a highlight for me that I will remember for the rest of my life.

Just Thinking About Things

2007-05-01T05:16:00.000-07:00

The longer I live here the more I look at life differently. I have been here for almost a year and have been surrounded by so much poverty...at every turn there is a need. I can't help but begin to see so many of the "things" that were so important to me as insignificant. How much priority can I put on fashion and clothing when there are people here with only one set of dirty, worn-out clothes? How can I be picky about what I eat when there are people all around me who will not have enough food this week to feed their family?

I feel like I've gained a deeper appreciation for the things that I have. A friend sent me a package that had candy in it. I gave 90% of it away...just because I knew someone else would appreciate it so much.

It is interesting to me what I am looking forward to most when I go back to California at the end of the month for a visit. I miss my family. I miss my friends. I miss my church. I want to spend time with my nephews playing outside with them. I want to go to Santa Barbara camping with my cousins and sit around the campfire and enjoy their company. I want to return to the elementary school I taught at and thank them for their generosity. I want to visit my father's grave with my mom and clean up all the overgrown grass with her. I want to visit my friend Freya and spend time chatting together about "everything" and enjoy her beautiful baby Relle.

When I first moved to Tanzania there were days where I would think about visiting California. I'd think about the food, oh the food, paved roads, clean water, no mosquitoes, no bugs, and so much more. But now that I am leaving in a few weeks and have had time to think about my upcoming visit, I find my heart already misses life in Tanzania.
The pleasure of seeing my family and friends is what takes me to Calif.
The enjoyment of living here in Tanzania is not found in "things." It is something that I cannot explain in words on this blog entry, but it's what will bring me back to Tanzania after being in Calif for a month.

I feel like a completely different person since I have been living here. It is like I look at life with a different set of eyes...I like these new eyes.
Being here has caused me to want to be a better person. I want to appreciate all that I have and see the blessings of the Lord each day. I want to be a blessing to people in some way everyday.
I thought I came to Tanzania to start a school. I believe starting the school is the road I must take that leads to so much more. This is quite an adventure. :)

This and That

2007-04-17T12:07:00.000-07:00

I have officially spent all the major holidays in Africa…Thanksgiving (not a holiday here), Christmas, New Year, and Easter. My birthday isn’t a major holiday but I will include it in this list just because it is significant to me. In Africa holidays are celebrated so different than in America. Attending church is part of every holiday celebration. If there is a holiday you will find people attending church.
I spent Christmas, New Year, and Easter at Pastor Mbasha’s church. I told him that in America it is rare for a pastor to give up his pulpit on a holiday. Pastor Mbasha said it is the same way in Africa except that he and I are mapacha (twins) “You are me and I am you, so it is the same.” This is what he always tells me.

I was at Pastor Mbasha’s church for the Easter weekend teaching a three-day seminar. It was really fun. Being at his church is like being at my African home church. It was a blessing for me to have three days of teaching and ministry time with his congregation. Melissa and Steve also shared in the teaching during the three days.
About two months ago Pastor Mbasha’s church was destroyed in a storm. He was able to repair the metal roof and re-attach it to metal poles that we purchased for him. So the seminar could have been called an “open-air seminar.” It was great to be able to look around at the beautiful land while teaching. The occasional herd of goats and cows roaming not to far away was an added bonus.

It is amazing to me how African life is very easy and comfortable for me. There are still some parts that I am adjusting to…the giant bugs still take me by surprise. I am trying to photograph as many of them as I can. I have a file of photos in my computer titled, “Life at the orphanage.” There are no pictures of humans…just the huge creatures we encounter on a daily basis. There is one creature I have not been able to get a picture of…yet. It is the lizard that has an orange head and green body. They are the largest lizards I have ever seen…and beautiful too.

The other day I was thinking about how our kids spend their day…so different here in Africa than in America. Our school aged kids that attend elementary school wake up, are dressed and outside doing chores by 6:30am. After chores they have breakfast. I drive them to school at 6:50am. School begins at 8:00am but they are required to be at school by 7:00am to do the gardening and cleaning around the campus. My first and second grade students are finished with their school day at 11:30am. When I pick them up if they have not completed their work or if it was completed sloppily then they have to stay at school until 3:30, when I pick up the older children. So far all of the younger kids have had to stay until 3:30 more than once except Fatuma…she is going for the record…working nice and neat while doing it all in a timely manner.
Once the kids are home from school they have a snack and then back to work for two more hours of studying. We have two teachers at the orphanage who work with the kids in their most needed areas of study. It may seem like a lot but our kids are developing a love for learning and a discipline for what is important. We have a schedule that will soon include sports, gardening, and cooking. We would like to purchase a sewing machine and have a class to teach tailoring…we already have a seamstress working as a care worker.

Life at the orphanage is a busy place. In the mornings when the kids are at school we have begun nursery school for our two kids Tina age 3 and Antony age 4. This morning I heard a little girl cheering. I went to see what was going on…Tina wrote a number one and was cheering over her accomplishment. :)

We Have Children

2007-04-02T01:42:00.000-07:00

It has been about eight months that we’ve been living in the orphanage building and two weeks ago we took in our first children. Now we have eight…five girls and three boys. Some of them are siblings…we like to be able to keep siblings together. Their stories are so different, but they are all sad. They are living with us now. We have been living in this large building without children for a long time. A common question I am asked: “Is it hard adjusting to the kids and the noise?” My answer is the same each time: “No…they were meant to be here and things are as they should be.” Life is different for us now to be sure.
Of the eight kids two are under the age of five. Our youngest, Tina, is still adjusting to life with “white women.” She was so afraid of us the first few days. She has warmed up and on select days will even come to us. Antony, who is HIV positive, makes life here one fun moment after another. His personality lights up the room. When he sees us he calls out, “Mama, Mama” until we give him our attention. He is a very precious little guy.

Our four school girls…Sifaeli, Helena, Fatuma, and Glory are settling in just fine. They love the American girly clothes that were donated and shipped over in a container when we first moved in July 2006. I enrolled these girls in school…until I can get permission from the government to begin our own school here at the orphanage. The girls were so excited to start school. On their first day of school they were up and ready to leave at 6:30am. I thought it was just first day of school excitement, but they love school and have been up and ready to go every morning by 6:30am…they have even been ready before that and have had time to go outside and sweep and pick up leaves…I love their enthusiasm for school. :)
This week they do not have school. But we have two workers here that are teachers and we will be having school for the girls for four hours a day while they are on break...the girls are excited about this…I love their enthusiasm. :)

Immanuel is our oldest. We are not sure how old he is but we are saying he is 10 years old. He has never been to school. We have been working on teaching him the alphabet this past week. He has a long road ahead of him…not only does he have so much to learn academically, but he needs to be taught the discipline of studying and learning in a classroom atmosphere…he isn’t used to a classroom/learning atmosphere. There is a lot to teach him…not just academically speaking.

Raymond is six years old. Both of his parents died of AIDS less than six months ago within two months of each other. Raymond was tested last week for HIV. His tests show that he is fine. We are thanking the Lord for this. He is a quiet little guy but he is anxious to go to school. He watches as I leave with the girls in the morning for school and just wants to ride in the van with me when I take them. He is tutored at the orphanage with Immanuel and is a very anxious learner…he is hoping to begin school when the girls return to school after having this week off. I am going to talk to the headmaster of the school and see if he is ready…I love his enthusiasm for learning. :)

The children don’t speak English and my Swahili is very limited. They have so much to say to us all the time. But they love hugs and playing with our hair. All of them enjoy having us push them on the swings or just holding hands and walking around outside. The other day we showed a “Veggie Tales” video to them. Antony talked through the whole movie…I think he was fascinated by every bit of it. The other kids just watched the cartoon veggies and laughed…they didn’t even know what was being said.
Last night I walked into Antony’s room as he was getting ready to go to sleep and Jodie was taking his temperature. I asked him what he was holding under his armpit. He told me it was a cell phone…Jodie and I laughed and laughed. We tried to teach him how to say thermometer but he couldn’t do it…he just keep smiling as we laughed. I took my cell phone out of my pocket and he smiled looking at my cell phone and the thermometer Jodie had just taken out from his armpit…so cute.

Photo Blog

2007-03-21T20:33:00.000-07:00

This blog entry is all photos. I hope you enjoy them.

Love Lydia

The three of us in front of the building.

Steve our handyman from No.Cal, Pastor Kioko and Lydia.

Rita and I receiving gifts from the Maasai.

Jodie and I enjoying a Coke in a Maasai hut.

In Maasai land with some sweet kids.

I am with Ben. I wrote a blog entry about Ben. He has since returned to Sudan and needs our prayers.

Christmas day with Pastor Mbasha and his family in our Christmas outfits.

At the well drilling site...Lydia, Pastor Mbasha, Eli, Janet, Melissa and Jodie.

The three of us at the entrance gate to the orphanage.

Drill Deeper

2007-03-15T08:47:00.000-07:00

The ministry organization that I am a part of…Hidden With Christ Ministries…is involved with many projects here in Tanzania. One of these projects is digging wells in Maasai land. I have been involved with this current well project.

About four months ago Hidden With Christ Ministries hired a well digging company to go out to a village in Mto Wa Mbu (river of mosquitoes) to drill in the area the government’s water officials had studied and said was the best place to find water. After drilling they did not find water.

But that is not the end of the story…only the beginning. Rita, the president and founder of this ministry…a woman of great faith…prayed and asked others to pray. The drilling company said we could choose a different spot and hope to hit water…but would have to once again pay the whole cost of drilling in a new spot…no small fee. Rita called me and asked me to tell them to drill in the same spot but to drill deeper…the cost would be a lot less.

I called the company and spoke to the man in charge. He told me that it was not wise to throw money away like that…there was no water in that spot. He did not recommend drilling in a spot where water did not exist. I called Rita back and explained it all to her the way it was explained to me…I am leaving out a lot of the details he shared…his main point was not wasting time and money.

After spending time in prayer everyone agreed that drilling deeper was the right direction to take. Once again I called the drilling company and the man in charge tried to talk me out of it. I told him it was our money and that was what we wanted done…drill deeper. He said they would return to the drilling site within five working days. No one showed up. Months passed and the drilling company did not return. Rita came to Tanzania in February and stayed for a month. During this time she worked on getting the drilling company to go back to the drilling site to finish the job. The day Rita was scheduled to get on a plane to return to the U.S. the drilling company said they would being going out to the site. Since Rita’s plane didn’t leave until 9:30pm we decided to drive the three hours out to the drilling site. Rita, Steve (our handyman from N. Cal) and myself drove out there.

The drilling company said they would be at the site at 9:00am but they did not show up until 4:00pm. The site supervisor tried to talk Rita out of drilling. He practically begged her not to do this…Rita was settled…drill deeper. They had a lot of set-up work to do before they could begin the drilling process. We stayed until 5:30pm praying around the drilling site, but we had to leave in order to get Rita to the airport. We knew someone needed to stay at the site to see that the job got done…Steve volunteered. He had not planned on staying but he did…God bless him. That was Thursday. Steve was there Friday and Saturday too. The drilling had begun but it was a slow process. On Saturday we drove out to Mto Wa Mbu because I was speaking at a church conference. After the conference we went to the drilling site to pray. The workers said they would not be doing any drilling on Sunday. Steve really wanted to go back to Moshi and sleep in his own bed and get a change of clothes. We took him back with us.

Early Monday morning I picked up Steve and we drove to the drilling site. We arrived a little after 9am and the workers were already busy drilling. The site supervisor informed us that the job would be completed that day…I was glad because if it wasn’t then I would have had to stay the night. At 11am the water truck ran out of water. The workers informed us they would be returning in three hours to continue drilling.

Steve, Pastor Zablon and I decided to take a road trip. We drove to Kuratu…about an hour away. During our very scenic drive to Kuratu we saw baboon and elephants…so cool. We had lunch in Kuratu and drove back to the drilling site. To our surprise the workers had already returned and were drilling. Almost immediately we were aware that there was a change in the mood of the workers and the Maasai that were standing around. Pastor Zablon asked his brother what was going on. His brother told him right after the workers returned and went back to drilling something was different about the mud and water coming out, but the workers would not say anything. In fact the workers, who had been very friendly and chatty with everyone were now quiet and stayed very close to the drilling equipment. I asked Steve to go and ask them what was going on…they didn’t want to talk to him. Then Pastor Zablon went over to a couple of workers and gathered from their conversation that they had signs of having hit an underground river. Pastor Zablon began to celebrate. I told him that I wanted to hear the site supervisor tell me himself that they hit the river. We waited…and waited…and waited. Two hours later the site supervisor came to me. I asked him to tell me what was new. He told me, “We hit a river.” He showed me the rocks they pumped up…evidence of an underground river. Everyone jumped and cheered…including the workers. Words cannot tell you how much fun and how exciting that moment was.

I sent Rita a text page that said, “Call me when you get a chance.” It was about 4:30am in California. She called me immediately. That was a fun phone call. I gave the phone to Pastor Zablon so he could tell Rita…I think she understood him through the laughter, crying, jumping, dancing, rolling on the ground, and his limited English combined with an extreme accent. :)

I am so thankful to have been there…to see this miracle happen. To see God answer the prayers of His people and bring water where they said there was none. I love the way God does things. The Maasai know that God did this…they know it now.

God still answers prayer and does miracles…just ask the Maasai who will be drawing water from their new well soon.

This well project is going to be a HUGE blessing to people who have to walk very far to a watering hole that does not have clean water. We are now praying for the money to finish this project…the building of the well itself.

We are also praying for the money needed to drill a well on land that was donated to Pastor Mbasha by a Maasai elder. This Maasai elder is not a Christian but trusts Pastor Mbasha as a man who has a genuine heart of love for the people of that village. He gave Pastor Mbasha five acres to build a church. The government’s water officials have already been out to survey the land and their reports show there are good drilling places on Pastor Mbasha’s land.

This is such an exciting time. To see a basic need provided for people who have to walk miles in order to fill up their containers with dirty, contaminated water.

I love being here and watching these exciting things taking place.

Maasai Land Again

2007-03-11T11:30:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago when my pastors were here from Tustin, California we drove out to a church in Maasai land. Pastor Dave was going to baptize some Maasai that had become Christians. We drove two hours to the church and picked up the people to be baptized…and a few others…and drove another hour to the baptismal site. Maasai land is out in the middle of nowhere but we were further out there. As we were driving we suddenly came to a stop because a herd of camels were blocking our path. That was really an amazing sight. The path we were on was so narrow that the trees became thick and the people sitting in the back of the truck had to crouch down to avoid being hit by the branches.

When we finally arrived at the spot where Pastor Dave was going to baptize we could tell that a group of large animals had just been there. One of the Maasai pastors told us it was elephants…our baptismal spot was their watering hole. I didn’t see any elephants but I saw plenty of evidence that they had just been there. Walking down to the water I held Pastor Kioko’s hand…I was wearing sandals and a skirt and it was slippery. The baptism was wonderful to watch. Pastor Dave did the baptizing and there were four other pastors in the water with him praying for the people after he finished.

After Pastor Dave finished baptizing the people we took some pictures of everyone there. I got a really fun picture of Pastor Kioko and Pastor Zablon goofing around with their pants rolled up to their knees…Pastor Kioko wanted to delete the picture but I wouldn’t let him. Would he be upset if I posted it on my blog? :)

After the baptismal we drove an hour back to the church and had service. Pastor Dave spoke and we prayed for everyone…it was great. After the service the church members went outside and the church leaders served us a meal. Chicken, chipati and rice…yum. After eating we went outside. I saw a group of kids. They were watching me. Every time I tried to approach them they would run away. These kids had never had contact with white people…they were a little afraid. So I just looked at them and motioned to them. Finally after about fifteen minutes one girl came over to me. She was so shy but so happy. I put my arm around her and she giggled in her shy way…Rita took our picture. It was sweet. As we were getting ready to leave all the kids got the nerve to touch my hand. They were laughing and jumping up and down…they were brave enough to touch the hand of a white person…amazing.

Busy Busy Busy

2007-03-03T23:51:00.000-08:00

It has been too long since I’ve written a blog. It is my intention to stay up-to-date with my blog writing, but the past month has been filled with so much that it caused me to set my blog writing aside for a short time. But I am determined to get back on track and remain faithful to writing once again.

I thought it would be good to write about some of the activities that have been going on this past month.

In late January Jodie left for a visit to California to see her sisters…Melissa had already been in California since late November for health reasons…that left me here alone. I should say that left me alone at night…except if you want to count the night guards outside. I found myself doing many jobs during the day that would normally be split between the three of us. By the time evening rolled around I was so thankful for a comfortable bed to sleep in. I didn’t even think about being here alone…I was too wiped out. But this was a good tired. I liked the work. I really enjoyed everything I was doing.
Last October a guy from Shingletown in Northern California came to work at our orphanage for three weeks. His name is Steve. After being here three weeks he went back home but asked if he could return and work at the orphanage for a year. After praying about it the three of us all agreed he should come back. Knowing that Steve would be coming back and would need to a place to stay I began a search to find Steve a home. Looking for a place for an American to live in Africa is more challenging than you might think. During my “free time” I would look at places for Steve…happy to report he is here and has a place to stay.
On occasion I have made mention in my blogs about the insects and bugs here at the orphanage. I have a greater appreciation for them when they are outside and not making themselves comfortable living inside our orphanage building. On one particular day I was in my office looking for something. I had my wall clock on top of my file cabinet…it had not yet been hung on the wall. I moved the wall clock to look at something underneath it and about a hundred black ants came out running. The black ants here are about triple the size of the red ants in California…they are HUGE. After taking the clock outside and spraying it to kill the ants it was discovered that they had made a comfortable home inside of it. Within an hour of discovering the ants we found a termite farm behind one of the wardrobes. Combine these two incidents with the regular insect sightings we have indoors, I decided it was time to have the building fumigated. We made preparations for two days to fumigate the building. Steve, our American handyman took on the job himself. I had to get a room for the night at the hostel close by. After fumigating we had to put everything that had been moved back into place and do a lot of cleaning. It was a big job but I can tell you that I have noticed a difference.
I spoke at Eli’s church in early December. His pastor is very sweet and the people were great. After I spoke Eli told me his pastor wanted me to come back and teach a three-day seminar. Thinking that Pastor Dave and Rita were not going to be in Tanzania until the middle of February and Melissa would be back by early February I agreed to do the seminar. When the time came to do the seminar, Melissa was still in California and Pastor Dave and Rita were arriving on day two of the seminar I was teaching. It all worked out for me to teach the seminar and pick up Pastor Dave and Rita at the airport and to spend time with them…it just made for a busy time…Melissa arrived four days after Pastor Dave and Rita did.
After my pastors arrived they began a conference in Mirerai…about an hour and a half away in Maasai land. On the same evening Melissa returned to Tanzania Pastor Eric Lehman, his father and a bishop from Kenya arrived to speak on Thursday and Friday at the conference. It was so much fun picking up all these people at the airport. After the conference was over Pastor Dave, Pastor Eric, his father and the bishop left. Then a team from Tracy, California arrived here. This was a group of six people. They came to check out the orphanage as a potential mission’s project for their church. They also came to put up the curtains for the orphanage…over 40 windows! They worked hard all week. The curtains are beautiful…so beautiful. They did a superb job. The curtains make the orphanage look like a home.
After the team from Tracy left Melissa and I began doing interviews for potential care-workers, teachers, cooks, and domestic workers. We have approval from the welfare dept to take in children and Melissa and Rita have visited places where there are orphans that need a home. Now we just need to hire our staff…so we have been interviewing…a lot. It has been good and we are excited about the staff that we will have. Interviewing is a time-consuming job and on one day we interviewed seven people in a row…long day.
Jake arrived on Wednesday. Pastor Kioko and Rita drove the van to DarEsSaalam…about eight hours away…they picked up Jake and the ten brand new computers and all the equipment needed to set up a computer lab in my classroom. The computers were donated by a man in Florida and he sent Jake, one of his employees to set it all up. Jake worked hard for four days to get everything ready…he did a great job. It all looks great in my classroom. I spent a lot of time in there with Jake and Pastor Kioko…Pastor Kioko was Jake’s assistant in setting everything up…I was trying to learn as much as I could. Jake spent one evening explaining things to us and I spent one morning just asking a lot of questions. I am so blessed by the generosity of this man who donated all of the computers, equipment, software, projector, and for sending Jake to set it all up. Thank you.
Jodie returned to Tanzania on March 2^nd. She was supposed to be here on March 1^st but she missed her plane on one of her stops…due to the plane she was on being late…that put her twelve hours later to arrive in Tanzania…she had to take a different flight and add on two more extra stops besides the ones she was already going to make. She was wiped out when we picked her up, but she was happy to be home and we were so excited to see her.

I have described a small portion of the busyness in the past month or so. I like it. I love that there is so much to do. I appreciate so much all the people who have come to help. We are moving forward and the children are coming so soon. This is really an exciting time.

God Gave Pastor Mbasha a Car

2007-01-23T01:02:00.000-08:00

There are times when things happen and all we can do is say, “That was God.” That’s how I feel right now. I wrote a blog entry a little while back titled “Pastor Mbasha.” In it I wrote about Pastor Mbasha, a man who has become a wonderful friend of mine. I wrote about the distance he travels to church on his bicycle…while carrying his family on the bike.
From the first time I visited his church I have not stopped asking the Lord to provide a vehicle for him. Pastor Mbasha has believed with me that the Lord was going to give him a car. In faith he had a parking spot made for his vehicle at his church…out of rocks. He even gave his vehicle a name: New Revelation.
When we would talk about his vehicle we wouldn’t say “if you get a car” we would always say “when you get a car.” I wasn’t able to see how it would work out for him to get a car, but that didn’t stop me from praying and believing…Pastor Mbasha believed as if the car was already his and he was just waiting to pick it up. With faith like that all I could do was believe too.

One day my friend Gail emailed me and told me her husband and a few co-workers at his job read the blog entry about Pastor Mbasha and wanted to give some money towards a vehicle. The money was sent to HWC…the ministry I am serving under…then it was wired to Tanzania into a bank account we helped Pastor Mbasha open.
I asked Pastor Mbasha if the money was enough for a vehicle…he said yes. A couple days later Pastor Mbasha and his wife Janet got on a bus and went to DarEsSaalam…a city approx seven hours away…to purchase a vehicle.
I didn’t know it at the time but the vehicle Pastor Mbasha wanted to purchase cost more than the amount of money he had. But he went to DarEsSaalam because he believed that God would help him get his car.
He looked at vehicles in his price range…they were not in the best condition and were in need of many repairs. He had no plans of buying a car that would break down a short time after purchasing it…he wouldn’t even have the money to repair it. After searching long and hard he found the car he wanted. It was $3000 more than what he had to spend…but Pastor Mbasha believed the money sent to him would be enough to purchase a good vehicle. So he talked to the owner. The owner…a Muslim man…asked Pastor Mbasha why he wanted that car so bad. Pastor Mbasha explained that it was a good car and he knew God had something good in mind when He gave him that money. Pastor Mbasha explained the whole story about getting the money. The Muslim man was impressed. He told Pastor Mbasha he wanted to be part of this blessing from God… he sold him the car. Not only did Pastor Mbasha have enough money to purchase the vehicle but he had enough left-over to purchase a rack and have it installed on the roof of the car, and buy two new front tires and a second spare tire…in Africa most vehicles have two spare tires…and still enough money to pay for the registration documents.

Pastor Mbasha and Janet stopped by the orphanage on their way home from DarEsSaalam in their car. We had such a wonderful time rejoicing with them. The next morning we went to his house…I was speaking at his church…he told us that when they arrived home after leaving the orphanage there were over 50 people waiting for them at his house. The people were cheering as they drove up. They had a party. Everyone kept saying that God gave Pastor Mbasha a car.

I didn’t write that first blog entry about Pastor Mbasha because I was trying to get people to send money. I wrote it because my heart was touched by his devotion to serve God and the great lengths he goes to as the pastor of a handful of Maasai. The members of his church are not rich. They live in wood and mud houses out in the middle of nowhere. His first year there as pastor…before he built the church building…they had services under a tree sitting on rocks. They still sit on the rocks when church is over and everyone is outside chatting.
I am so glad I was at his church to see him drive up in his vehicle. To describe how his church members reacted when he drove up would not do the moment justice…the joy…oh the joy…it was too precious for words. Jodie and I cried as we watched. They all knew what this moment meant for the Mbasha family…God gave Pastor Mbasha a car.

I want to thank Jim and Gail for their generous hearts. Thank you for seeing what I see in Pastor Mbasha. Thank you for sharing it with others. One day when we stand before the Lord you will see the fruit of your giving towards this humble African Pastor whose heart is fully committed to living for God. This vehicle is a tool that will be a blessing to others. Pastor Mbasha is already planning trips to remote villages where no one wants to go…you’ve made an investment that will last for eternity. Nakushukuru Sana (I thank you very much).

African Culture

2007-01-19T07:52:00.000-08:00

Last night in Swahili class I asked my teacher if we could talk about African culture. I want to have a better understanding of the African culture here. I have also been curious to know how I’ve been doing with all things Tanzanian up to now. I am glad I asked him. I learned some new things. First let me say that I am happy to report that I have not done or said anything to mortify the Africans we have met.
My teacher answered a few things I’ve wondered about. One of them was this: When we visit someone’s house is it ever a brief visit not involving food or beverage. The answer to that question was this: When you visit a person’s house you are expected to have at least something to drink. You cannot visit someone without having at least a soda. But in most houses they will serve you more than a soda. In Tanzanian culture if you go to someone’s house they need to serve you something and sit and talk to you for a little while.
That explains a lot to me. I have story after story of visiting someone’s house and then staying there for a whole meal…even when we were briefly stopping by.
Here is an example: Jodie and I have been looking for a place for Steve, a man from California that is moving to Tanzania to volunteer at the orphanage for a year. Eli’s pastor said his neighbor had a place to rent so we “stopped by” the pastor’s house because he was going to take us over to look at this potential place for Steve. The pastor had company when we got there…two other pastors were visiting. We sat and chatted for about 30 minutes. Afterwards we walked over to look at the house. During the walk back from looking at the house the pastor asked us what kind of soda we would like…I have learned not to refuse a soda when asked…that day I choose a Coke. We returned to the pastor’s house, sat down, drank our sodas and chatted. After about 45 minutes the pastor got up and went outside. We followed Eli outside to look at his new living quarters…he had recently moved into a room at his pastor’s house. After leaving Eli’s room we walked to the van to leave. The pastor’s wife came over and told Eli in Swahili that they were preparing a meal for us and wanted us to stay…we had already been there for two and a half hours.

Another question I had was about the way people greet each other. Greetings can take a long time. You can spend five solid minutes just greeting someone. Our Swahili teacher told us that greetings are extremely important…especially to the elderly. There is a woman that cooks and sells food by the road where our teacher lives. He said that if he does not greet her then she will call him names…not nice ones. When she leaves at night to go home sometimes it is after 10pm and if he hears her calling goodnight to him, he will get up and open the door to wish her a good evening.
There is a man that works at a store I go into every now and then. He thinks I am fluent in Swahili because of the way I greet him. I have the greetings in Swahili pretty much down. Habari yako? Habari za tangu jana? Umeshidaje? Habari za kazi? Mwishowa juma ulikuwa je? The list goes on. I love greeting people…mostly because I have something to say in Swahili. But that is not the only reason why. I appreciate the respect the greeting represents…you are worth my time to ask how you are doing, how your family is doing, how work is going, how your day is going, how your weekend went, how you are feeling…the list really does go on.

I ran over a hedgehog

2007-01-10T02:40:00.000-08:00

I have been living in Tanzania for six months. Everyday I feel more and more at home with my surroundings. My life has changed so much here compared to life in Southern California. But just as I begin to think that I am adjusting to life in Tanzania, something will happen that brings everything back to the reality that I am living in a whole new country and life is not at all like it used to be. Here are a few examples:

• I was speaking at Pastor Mbasha’s church on Christmas Day. A few minutes before I got up to speak a bug that I have affectionately named “the flying black golf ball” flew into the church. Pastor Mbasha was praying a blessing over the word I was about to share and I heard a buzzing sound kind of close to me so I opened my eyes…there it was right between Eli and me. I grabbed Eli and he opened his eyes and started to laugh. He whispered “Don’t fear” to me. I made a face and he said it again. Then it flew in a different direction. Eli (my interpreter) and I stood up to present the Christmas message. As I began speaking “the flying black golf ball” came back and buzzed around my ankles. I thought it was going to fly up my skirt. Trying not to panic I began to kick at it while speaking. There was a Maasai man sitting in the front row. He noticed what I was doing. Crouching low he quickly came forward and knocked “the flying black golf ball” down and brushed it away. I was so thankful that he came to my rescue that I hardly paid attention to the swarm of wasps flying around their nest inside the church just above my head.
• The other night we were coming home from Swahili class. I was driving on a dirt road. I was not driving fast but a little hedgehog came out from the bushes and tried to cross the road just as I was driving by. I felt a slight bump as I drove over him. Jodie informed me that I ran him over. I felt bad so I put the vehicle in reverse so I could see if I smashed him. As I backed up I felt another slight bump and Jodie informed me that I rolled over him again. I looked at the spot where he was lying and he was curled up in a ball….he didn’t look smashed at all. The next morning I went back to that spot and he was gone. I convinced myself that he survived being run over twice…even though Eli kept telling me that an animal came during the night and ate him.
• Someone told me that after living in Tanzania for six months I would be fluent in Swahili. That has not happened. I think if I were a more diligent student I would be farther along but all of our African workers want to learn English and they are always practicing their English on us. But in spite of not being fluent at this point we do continue to practice and work at it…just not as much as we should. The other night I was driving out the gate to run to the market. I thought I would inform the guard that I would be back shortly. In Swahili I meant to say, “I will return quickly.” But instead, my pronunciation didn’t come out exactly as it should have and I told the guard, “I will return my love.” I knew something was missed in the translation by the huge smile that came over the guard’s face. The next day I asked Pastor Mbasha what I said to the guard and he informed me…through laughter…what I really said.
• One day after visiting with Pastor Mbasha and his family we were getting ready to leave. Janet, Pastor Mbasha’s wife, came out carrying a bag with fresh eggs for us to take home. I took the bag and put it in my backpack. I forgot about the eggs…for many days. I threw my backpack around and didn’t give those eggs a second thought. One day I woke up and smelled something terrible. I emptied my trash and took my dirty laundry to the laundry area and still the smelled did not go away. I looked all over my room and finally discovered the smell was coming from my backpack. I put my hand inside and felt something wet. I turned my backpack over to discover all the eggs had broken and egg yolk was covering everything that was inside. I threw away everything except my international driver’s license. I tried to clean it off and then laid it out to dry…it is still a mess. I placed my backpack in the burn pile...I loved that backpack.
• When we were packing and purchasing items to move to Tanzania I bought more of some items than others. I thought that I had purchased plenty of hair conditioner to last at least seven to eight months. But I find that I wash my hair more here. My hair has also grown out quite a bit and requires more conditioner. I ran out of conditioner about a month ago. I bought some conditioner at a store in Arusha (about and hour and a half away). I had to buy it even though I cringed at the idea of spending ten dollars for a bottle of conditioner that was so small. The first time I used it I thought it was odd that I had to use so much when washing my hair. But even more odd was how my hair looked after it dried. Now I have always had a lot of body in my hair but even I was taken back when I saw the frizz and extreme bulk of body in my hair. I brought non-frizz gels with me from America but they just help with the initial scary frizz the conditioner creates…it doesn’t help with the extreme bulk of body frizz. Adding on top of all this frizz is the fact that I am desperately in need of a hair cut…the dead ends do not help with the frizz factor. My mom so lovingly came to my rescue and mailed me a package with hair conditioner in it…the wonderful saloon brand that will be just what my hair needs…but her package is lost in the mail.
• I know that I have already written a blog entry about the mosquitoes. But I need to mention them again. You see we have had rain…good rain…for the last few months. The rain is a very good thing here but with the rain there has been an increase in mosquitoes. They are everywhere…all the time. Before the rains we could count on them to be out in large numbers heading towards evening time, but now they are out in large numbers all the time…day or night. It also seems like they don’t mind the bug spray as much anymore. The Avon brand “Skin So Soft” does nothing for protection. I probably spray myself with bug spray at least three times a day…and still end up with multiple bites. My feet, ankles and legs have permanent scars from those little guys. I try not to scratch them but the bug spray irritates the bites so they swell up and really itch…sometimes I just can’t help but scratch. I was hoping that my new frizz hair would help serve as a net to catch the mosquitoes before they had a chance to bite me.

New Year

2007-01-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

Toward the end of the year I like to evaluate the past and think about the future. As 2007 was approaching I found myself reflecting on the many things that took place in 2006. I have been looking over my personal journal and even some of my blog entries. It has been quite a year…and I am not even talking about the obvious…I’m talking about what has taken place in my heart.
I have a tendency to be hard on myself when difficult situations occur. I know what I am supposed to do and yet when I am not the person the Lord has called me to be I get frustrated with myself. This year I wrote scriptures in my personal journal to remind myself that God has not given up on me and that even when I fail the Lord’s love is always there.
There is something about putting our trust in the Lord even when we struggle and things don’t appear to change.
BUT THINGS DO CHANGE…God does something in us. God can help us to see Him in the midst of life’s struggles…God’s word brings hope…His word brings life…it changes everything.
As I have been reflecting on so much this past year I have been encouraged by the word of God. The Bible is living and active…it gets in us and changes us. I am confident that God will help me in my weaknesses and in His great patience and love He gives me the grace to grow in the midst of struggles.
I have a prayer box my friend Freya gave me. It has a place for prayer requests and answered prayer requests. I have written a prayer request…this year instead of getting frustrated with myself when I don’t do exactly what a situation calls for, I will turn my mind towards the word of God and fill it with the words that bring the change I am longing to see in my life.
I often think about the day when I will stand before God. I want Him to be pleased that I trusted Him to do in me what His word promises. God gave us promises in His word because He wants us to believe Him for so much…things that we can’t do on our own…including those heart struggles.
I am entering 2007 with a stronger desire for God and His word…a stronger desire to please Him and live according to His word.
Psalm 37:4 “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Christmas

2006-12-27T07:30:00.000-08:00

There are so many things I want to write about my Christmas Day. I’m not sure which parts to describe in detail and which ones to leave out. But I will start by stating the obvious: This was a Christmas like none I’ve ever experienced. It wasn’t a day about gifts…although Jodie and I gave gifts to people…but it was a day of celebration.
Pastor Mbasha invited us to his church for a “Celebration of Jesus” service on Christmas morning. Whenever I visit his church that means I will be the one giving the morning message. I had forgotten that he said those words to me…I really didn’t think I would be sharing the Christmas message at his church on Christmas morning. But on Saturday night I happened to call Pastor Mbasha to ask him a question and he casually reminded me that I was giving the Christmas message at his church on Monday morning. Between seven hours of baking, unexpected visitors popping by and wrapping Christmas presents, I managed to make time to work on my message for Monday throughout the day on Sunday.
Christmas morning started off with me waking up at 5am to thunder and lightning. I decided to get up and review my notes for Christmas service. Then the power went out. So I changed my mind about reviewing my notes and went to take a shower. Jodie got up and we had tea and talked about it being Christmas morning. Then we practiced our Swahili Christmas song we learned so we could sing it in church…we even practiced some dance moves to go with the song…nothing to write about in detail…the dance moves were minimal.
When we arrived at Pastor Mbasha’s house his children were so happy to see us. They love it when we come to church with them because that means they will be driving in a vehicle to church…instead of riding on a bike for an hour to and hour and a half…one way.
It doesn’t matter what time of day we visit Pastor Mbasha’s house, they always serve us food. We had stopped by his house last Saturday morning on our way to Arusha (a city about an hour and a half away) and we were served Africa porridge. I’d never had anything like it in my life…I helped Jodie eat hers.
So on Christmas morning we were served African tea and goat liver. As we sat and ate the children got dressed. They came out in their beautifully matching Christmas outfits. Then Jodie and I went into a bedroom to put on our outfits…Pastor Mbasha had outfits made for us to match the ones his family was wearing…his Christmas gift to us. After we were all dressed Jodie and I passed out the presents we brought for Pastor Mbasha and his family. Everyone took their gift and left to their rooms to open them. One at a time they came out of their rooms to thanks us...so sweet.

Jodie and I had driven both orphanage vehicles this morning because Pastor Mbasha had lots of family visiting from all over Tanzania for Christmas and they wanted to come to church and share in the celebration of Jesus service. So everyone piled into both vehicles.

Church was a very special time. Everyone had come to celebrate and that is what they did. It is hard to describe the church service because it is not like any in America. We are out in the middle of nowhere in a cement and brick church with a dirt floor. There is a wasp nest on the inside roof with wasps flying around the entire time. But no one seems to notice. The focus of the people remains on worshipping and celebrating…I loved it.
Jodie and I sang our Christmas song and everyone joined in to sing so we sang it again…that was fun.

I love presenting the message at Pastor Mbasha’s church. Everyone sits so intently listening…including all of the children. It always amazes me to watch the little ones sitting there watching and listening…no one has to talk to them about goofing around or talking too loud…they just listen.

After church all of the members of Pastor Mbasha’s church climbed into the back of the truck or squeezed into the van and returned with us to his house for the Christmas meal. Pastor Mbasha had promised goat cooked various ways and he did not disappoint.
Jodie and I brought the baked goodies we had made the day before and everyone enjoyed them. It was a very nice meal. There were so many people…between his family and church members the inside of the house, front yard and backyard had people in plenty. After eating Jodie and I went for a walk. It was a beautiful afternoon. We took pictures of Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Meru. There were beautiful flowers in bloom…the view was beautiful everywhere we looked.

When we returned from our walk everyone wanted us to take pictures. We took LOTS of photos…they loved our digital cameras because the image pops up right after taking the photo. During the week we are going to print some of the photos out and bring them some of the pictures as a surprise…they’ll love it.
We will be going back next week for New Year’s Eve celebration…Pastor Mbasha calls it Thanksgiving Day…giving thanks for all the Lord has done in 2006…he informed me that I will be sharing the message that morning at church.

By the time we got home it was dark. I wanted to call my mom and wish her a Merry Christmas but I was so tired. Then I remembered that with the time difference…Tanzania is 11 hours ahead of California…I could get a good night’s sleep and wake up the next morning and wish my mom a Merry Christmas on Christmas Day…so I did.
My Christmas this year was very special. I spent it with a wonderful family and met a whole bunch of new people. I missed being home but I didn’t focus on that part…I am here so I focused on being here and enjoying the day…and I did.

Maasai Funeral

2006-12-19T02:17:00.000-08:00

Last week I attended the funeral of a Maasai pastor that I had met the first time I came to Africa four years ago. On my first visit to Africa I came to teach at Pastor’s School. I also visited the medical clinic and the church where some of the members of our group were doing a VBS program for preschoolers. But I spent most of my days at Pastor’s School. I didn’t get to talk to each pastor personally…most did not speak English…but I did meet them all.
I remember Pastor Paulo because he is Maasai. Some of the Maasai pastors don’t wear the traditional Maasai clothing, but Pastor Paulo did. He was very friendly and I even took a picture of him with some of the other pastors and the Bishop. It has always been one of my favorite photos.

Last week Pastor Paulo died. His funeral was on Friday. Pastor Mbahsa said it would be proper for me to attend the funeral…to represent Pastor Rita…Pastor Paulo loved her very much.
There is so much I want to write so that you could be a part of this experience with me, but I don’t think I can fully express what I saw and felt.
The funeral was held in Pastor Paulo’s village…the middle of nowhere…Maasai land. I drove with Bishop Alfred, Pastor Mbasha, Janet (Pastor Mbasha’s wife) and on the way we picked up a few other pastors that jumped into the back of the truck.
When we arrived many Maasai Pastors surrounded the truck to greet us. They were so sweet. As soon as I stepped out of the truck my foot landed on a small bush full of stickers. I had stickers all over my foot. I was trying to gracefully greet the pastors without showing attention to the stickers that were in my foot.
There were so many people. All of them were African and the majority of them Maasai. Some of them were members of Pastor Paulo’s church but most of them were not. After greeting the pastors, the men walked in one direction and Janet and I went in another one. I realized at that moment this was going to be a different experience for me. Most of the time when I am invited to an African meeting…usually a church type of meeting…I am with other Americans and we are there because one of us is speaking. But today I was not invited by the Maasai to attend this funeral, I was not speaking, and I was not with any other Americans.
Janet walked me over to a tree where some women were sitting. We were away from all of the men and most of the other people. There were five women and a baby with us under the tree. The woman with the baby let me hold him and I played with him while we sat and waited. After a while two vehicles pulled up…one of them was the vehicle transporting Pastor Paulo’s body from the mortuary. After a few more minutes Janet motioned for us to walk towards that direction. As we approached a boma (Maasai house) we heard singing…they had begun the service. At the front of the boma all the men were gathered. At the back of the boma the women were sitting. We stopped where the women were and I sat on a tree branch. All of the women sat staring at me. A teenage Maasai girl sat next to me and brushed my hair with her fingers. A few kids saw her and came over too. I sat there listening to the men singing and looked at my surroundings. I began to imagine Pastor Paulo in Heaven. I have an idea in my head of what heaven will be like, but it is my American version of heaven. Pastor Mbasha always says to me, “Work now…rest in Heaven.” Pastor Paulo had worked hard in a very rough land…now he was resting.
At the end of the service the women stood and made a line to view the body. I got in line with them.
Afterwards everyone walked over to the grave site. Janet and I sat at a distance in the background. I watched as they dug the grave, laid the coffin in the ground, and as hymns were sung, one at a time the men threw dirt on top of the coffin. Then they completely covered the coffin with dirt and laid thorny bushes on top.

All the men walked a small distance away toward a group of trees and the women went in the opposite direction. Janet and I stayed where we were sitting. As the men passed by us, some of them stopped to shake my hand. They didn’t seem upset that I was there.
(Many Maasai have absolutely no contact with white people. We have a young Maasai guard working for us who said when he was growing up and he would see a white person he would run and hide out of fear of them.)

One Maasai man saw Janet and I sitting there and walked over to us. He shook my hand and called out to someone. The next thing I new someone brought water for us to wash our hands and two bowls piled high with wild rice and goat. Janet told the man serving the food that we would share one bowl…it was enough for three or four people. But the man insisted we have our own bowls. As we sat there eating the men began to return from eating. They came over and watched me eat my rice and goat…I had nicknamed my bowl piled high with rice “Mt. Kilimanjaro.” The Massai don’t use utensils so you can imagine how entertaining I looked to them eating my bowl of rice and goat. But they were happy as they watched me eat. More men came over to say hi.
I was full after eating less than half of my food. Janet kept saying to me, “kula dada.” (eat sister) So I tried to eat more. Then Johanna came over…he is a Maasai that works as a weekend guard at our orphanage. I handed him my bowl and begged him to take it. He smiled and nodded as he took it. Janet had stopped eating a long time before me…but no one was watching her eat. Pastor Mbasha came over and said it was time to leave. I stood up and a large number of Maasai came over to shake my hand.

Pastor Mbasha said it was good that I attended the funeral. I came and respected their culture and their land. I didn’t invade their private lives like a tourist with a camera. I came to honor a good man and did not get in the way but followed their customs of a woman and a guest. They appreciated that. For many of those men I was their first face to face contact with a white person.
It is hard to describe what was going on inside of me that day. But this experience did something in me. I am a little different because of my day with the Maasai. (I have visited Maasai villages before but this day was different.) I was allowed to be part of a private service to honor Pastor Paulo…I was there and they welcomed me.

Only in Africa

2006-12-16T03:11:00.000-08:00

I was thinking about the things that only happen in Africa and how in America it is safe to say they would not happen. I thought it would be fun to write about a few of them.

• The other day one of our workers said he was going to be late for work because he had to deliver a goat to friend.
• I woke up in the middle of the night to find a mosquito trapped inside my mosquito net with me and my arms covered with mosquito bites.
• We had electricity two days in a row this week…YEAH!
• The other day our Swahili teacher gave us sentences to practice for everyday conversation. Here are a few: Many people were killed by the lion. We were given a goat by the elders. This road is impassable. The food was not cooked well. How many tea bags are there?
• We place our trash outside and when the pile is large enough we have a huge bonfire. Everyone does this. There are bonfires burning all over the city…I just saw a HUGE one on the property of the court house.
• We road in public transportation and paid double the price because we are white.
• When we visit someone’s house for a meal there are never napkins involved. Someone brings a pitcher of water and a plastic bowl and they pour water on our hands before and after the meal.
• Bananas are a regular gift given to us from friends.
• Every morning Pastor Mbasha brings us fresh milk straight from his brother’s cow so we can enjoy our African tea.
• One of Pastor Mbasha’s sheep gave birth to a lamb and I named it “Happy Mark.” So now he has a goat named “God is Light” and a lamb named “Happy Mark.” By the way these are not names I made up but names a friend wants to give his own children one day.
• When I hear a scuttling noise in the middle of the night it’s usually a lizard…they are HUGE…the question is: is it in the room or outside my window…I usually just keep my eyes closed and hope it is outside.
• When my bicycle had a flat tire one of our workers went and got a machete to remove the tire so we could repair it.
• There is a hedgehog that lives on our property…we took pictures with him. We’ve decided to call him Spike.

Pastor Mbasha holding Spike

• I am rarely called by my name…most people call me Dada, Mama, or Ridia.
• I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone call Jodie by her name…too hard to pronounce…so she is usually called Judy or Nesi. Pastor Mbasha calls her Doctor.

Good Eating

2006-12-13T23:54:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I spoke at the church of a friend. After the service we were invited to the Pastor’s house for a meal. I knew that after leaving his house we would be going to Pastor Mbasha’s house for a visit. In my mind I kept thinking that I didn’t want to eat too much food because I knew we would be having food at Pastor Mbasha’s too.
At the pastor’s house they served us African tea…I love African tea. After they served the tea they opened up the dishes that were sitting on the table. There was chicken and chapati. I took one piece of chicken and one chapati. I thought, “This is great. I will have plenty of room for eating at Pastor Mbasha’s house later on.” Right after I finished drinking my tea someone got up and filled my cup up again. When I was just about finished with my chicken and chapati a woman came in with some stew…she gave Jodie and me bowls to serve ourselves. We looked at each other and smiled, Then Jodie served small amounts of stew in each of our bowls. One woman noticed the amount she was serving and insisted that we help ourselves to more. To help us out she got up and opened the chapati container and put another chapati on my plate. As we sat there eating our stew and chipati a man walked in with a tray of sodas. I was asked which soda I wanted and I pointed to the second cup tea I was still drinking. Since I didn’t give the answer of which soda I wanted I was asked again. I whispered to Jodie, “I’m already full.” Then I smiled and said, “I’ll take a Fanta Pineapple.”
Before we left I was handed a bottle of water to drink…because apparently after two cups of tea and a Fanta Pineapple, I must have looked thirsty.

Please don’t think I was not thankful for the wonderful meal. It was great and everyone was so sweet and thoughtful. I am always so appreciative for the kindness shown to us when we are invited to someone’s house for a meal. After we ate the Pastor thanked us for coming. Then I was given an opportunity to say something. I thanked everyone for their kindness and hospitality. They treated us with such respect and honor. I am always so humbled by the honor shown to us.

As we drove to Pastor Mbasha’s house we chatted about the thoughtfulness everyone showed to us. We pulled up and Pastor Mbasha was waiting for us…he is always so excited to see us. He had placed his sitting furniture outside in the yard…he knows I love sitting outside in the yard. We sat down and immediately we were served African tea. Within a few minutes after our tea his son brought us some corn on the cob. A few weeks earlier we had briefly stopped by his house and they had some corn on the cob left-over from lunch. We were so excited because we hadn’t eaten corn on the cob since we’d been in Africa. Today they had roasted some for us and it was right off the fire when he brought it to us. I looked at Jodie and we smiled as we began to eat. As I was finishing my corn Pastor Mbasha got up and returned with another plate filled with corn on the cob…he said he knew we liked it so much so he wanted us to have lots to eat. As we were continuing with our corn, Janet, Pastor Mbasha’s wife brought out some mango. Jodie was trying to finish the corn but Janet wanted her to have some mango too. I laughed and grabbed a piece of mango before anyone said anything to me.
Pastor Mbasha got up and walked away while we were eating…I was finishing up my second corn when he returned with sodas…this time I had a Coke. I decided to sip my Coke slowly so I could enjoy my one soda during the whole visit. Halfway through my soda Janet brought out a bowl full of meat…in some homes we’ve visited everyone shares food from the same bowl. The meat was cooked well with tasty spices. At this point to say that I was full would be an understatement…huge understatement. Jodie stopped eating and Janet asked her why she wasn’t eating any meat. She said she was very full (nimesheba sana). Janet suggested that Jodie stand up and jump up and down so she would be able to enjoy more meat...and Jodie did…we laughed so hard. Jodie sat down and began to enjoy the meat.
I am so thankful to be living in Africa. I haven’t lost a whole lot of weight though…hmm…I wonder why.

Thanksgiving in Africa

2006-12-06T01:39:00.000-08:00

I have spent all of my Thanksgivings with my family. We usually spent Thanksgiving at home but on occasion we went camping. I've never been away from my family on Thanksgiving...until this year. I didn't know what I was going to feel or how it would be for me. But I am living in a country that doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving...most Africans don't even know what Thanksgiving is...explaining it to them is not as easy as you'd think.
So I woke up Thanksgiving morning to a day that was just like any other work day. I did what I would normally do and continued with my day...business as usual. But throughout the day Jodie and I kept reminding each other of the significance of the day...that was nice. We'd talk about what everyone back home would be eating and what our favorite dishes are. We talked about fun Thanksgiving memories and things we are thankful for. It was nice.

For dinner we cooked beef stew and chapati. As we were finishing up cooking dinner the electricity went out. I thought about how the power going out makes this more an African Thanksgiving than ever...the power is usually out 3-5 days a week...sometimes more. So we ate our meal with the flashlights on.
Before we began eating the three of us each said what we were thankful for. We agreed that God has been good and we were thankful for His goodness these past months. We prayed and ate quietly. It was nice.

After dinner we called family in the U.S. to find out about the yummy dishes in preparation for the day (Africa is 11 hours ahead). I talked to my mom and she told me about the family members that were coming to her house for dinner. I was happy there was going to be a full house.
My mom said my brother Al would be taking pictures of the food and emailing them to me. :)
My Thanksgiving was different from the others but it was a good day. I am so thankful for so much.

Chapati

2006-12-01T04:49:00.000-08:00

There is a popular food here in Tanzania called chapati. It is made just like tortillas. The ingredients are almost the same. Jodie and I have been practicing and we've learned how to make it.

Last week Jodie and I geared up to make some chapati. After we had the dough all mixed and ready to roll we thought it would be fun to do something different besides making the chapati round. So...with our favorite African in mind...Pastor Mbasha...we decided to cut out some shapes that he would enjoy. The first shape was easy to choose...Pastor Mbasha is a man of love. He only knows how to love. When someone treats him wrong, his response is love...every single time...he loves to love. Almost everyday I tell him (in Swahili) that he is one big heart with arms.
So...our first chapati shape was a heart.
After the heart came out so nice we decided to try something else. Jodie shouted out, "Mapacha!" Mapacha is the Swahili word for twin...Pastor Mbasha says we are twins. We share the same birthday, including the year...we are the exact same age. So I made a boy and a girl mapacha chapati...I made sure the boy had muscles just like Pastor Mbasha. :)
It took a couple of tries to get the mapacha chapati right...Pastor Mbasha's head broke off and then my foot didn't survive the frying pan part of the cooking. After a few tries my mapacha chapati came out great. I took a picture of my mapacha chapati with my cell phone and attached the picture as my wallpaper on my phone. :)

After we finished with the mapacha chapati we wanted to make one more design...but we couldn't come up with any ideas. Then it hit me: God is Light (my last blog entry was all about God is Light). He came out great. Our night guard came to the door to ask us a question and I showed him God is Light and he said, "mbuzi." That is the Swahili word for goat...it really looked like a goat.

While we were making the chapati I sent Pastor Mbasha a text page to let him know we were making special chapati just for him. The next morning he asked about his special chapati. We brought it out to him one at a time...the heart first. He loved it. Then the mapacha chapati was second...he kissed it. God is Light was brought out last...He laughed so hard and then he tore the head off and ate it. His reactions were just what we knew they would be...priceless. :)

God is Light

2006-11-23T00:23:00.000-08:00

I have met so many people here in Tanzania with unique names. The naming of children is a bit different here. In my 17 years of teaching I have had many students with unique names in my classroom. When I would ask their parents why they choose that name the common answers were, "I just liked it." or "I wanted something different so I picked it." But here in Tanzania names are chosen based on situations or what the family hopes for the child...reminds me of the Old Testament.

Writing this blog entry I cannot remember all of the unique names of people I've met. I can remember a few of them though: Good Luck...Happiness...Blessing...Heaven Light(But I kept forgetting her name and I called her Rainbow Brite)...Redempta...Patience...Witness.
A friend of ours who does not have any children just yet said he plans to name his daughter Happy Mark. :)

One day I visiting Pastor Mbasha's family. We were in his backyard. His wife Janeth was trying to help one of their new baby goats get milk from his mother. The mother goat did not want to feed her baby. This problem had been going on for a while and the baby goat was sick and weak. Pastor Mbasha brought him over to me and we prayed for him. I told him the baby goat needed a name. I decided to give him a unique name...I named the goat God is Light.
Yep...God is Light. Pastor Mbasha love it. He said that I was speaking life into this little goat that was not getting the food he needed to grow strong and healthy.
Three weeks have passed since I gave God is Light his name. Pastor Mbasha says he is now the healthiest of all the baby goats and he has become his mother's favorite...that is so cool.

There is something to names. The Bible says that the tongue has the power of life and death...what we say and what we call others really matters. I love that!

Jacob and Naphtali

2006-11-15T04:35:00.000-08:00

We have two night guards on the weekend shift. Their names are Jacob and Naphtali. They didn't know each other before they began working at the orphanage but you wouldn't know that by looking at them now. They have such a loving friendship. They speak very little English so there is much laughter when we attempt to have conversation with them in Swahili.
As sweet as they are...and they are so sweet...the thing that I appreciate so much about them is their heart for Treasures of Africa Children's Home. They really believe in what we are doing here. Jacob and Naphtali's work hours are 7pm to 7am. In the middle of the night I can hear them outside when they walk past my bedroom window...they are singing and praying...I never get tired of hearing them.
Most Africans we've met here do not have much contact with people from America. Most of the white people that come to this part of Tanzania are from Europe and travel here to go on safari or climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. Jacob told us recently...through an interpreter...he'd never seen white people like us. We love to pray and we are here in Africa to live, not to go on safari.
Last weekend we visited Jacob's church...a village church up in the mountains...I drove...the driving experience is a blog entry of its own...Naphtali came with us too. What a wonderful Sunday morning service.
After church we walked to Jacob's house for a traditional African meal...so good. The whole day was very special. They were so honoring to us...I did not feel worthy of such honor...so special...so thoughtful.

Waiting

2006-11-07T01:28:00.000-08:00

Right now we are in the process of waiting for approval from the government before we can begin receiving children. But in the midst of the waiting there is so much to do. There are plenty of needs in Africa so it is just a matter of knowing what our part is in it all.

We have all the bunkbeds in the rooms and have purchased the mattresses to go with them. A few of the rooms have been decorated...one infant room and two other rooms. They look great. We have lots of decorating still to do but that part is so much fun. We also decorated the bathrooms. One bathroom has a jungle theme and the other has a frog theme. They are ready.

We have been visiting a lot of churches. We are invited to speak at so many churches but we can't go to all of them...but we do go to many of them. This Sunday we are going to a church in Arusha. Melissa is speaking on her vision for the children and our part as adults in their lives. The following week we are going to Mierani and I am speaking at that church.

But in the midst of all that is going on we are still waiting...waiting for the approval...then we will have our treasures with us. We know that God's timing is perfect so we wait and know that the waiting will soon be over. :)

Mosquitoes

2006-11-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

I have avoided talking about the bugs because in the event one of my many readers is interested in coming to visit, I didn't want to discourage you. :)
So I will refrain from going into detail about the bug I have named "The flying black golf ball." I will stick to the title of this blog and just talk about the mosquitoes.
The mosquitoes are everywhere. They love us. We are their favorite meal. The Africans say it is because we have soft skin. I don't know if that is true or not because I used to have soft skin before moving to Africa...I used to put lovely lotions on my skin after showering, but not anymore. I spray bug repellent all over at least three times a day. After showering my lotion/body spray of choice is made by Cutter. At night when they really swarm us I use a brand called Jungle Juice...It contains 100% deet.
You would think that with all this spraying I would be well protected...Well sad to say they still find a way of locating that one small spot that missed the repellent. The three of us have an on-going conversation about who has the most bites and where those tricky little guys have managed to bite us...You know...Our arms, legs, neck, forehead, eyelids, armpits, etc.

At this point I have decided that it is not a good idea to count the bites anymore...The numbers are always too high. I just put my anti-itch lotion on when the going gets tough.
I brought three different brands of anti-itch cream with me to Africa. I am down to my last tube...I have lent them out to the girls...Maybe I should ask my mom to send me more...I have a feeling I'll need it.
It is the light rainy season and we have quite a bit of rain so that is a factor with the mosquitoes being so plentiful, but they have been plentiful since I moved here in July...Aren't they getting tired of me by now?

I love living here. I am now used to sleeping with a mosquito net and the madness involved with preparing to go to sleep. I just wish those little guys...The mosquitoes here are smaller than in the U.S. but just as pesky...That they would leave me alone and let me have a day without itching and red bumps. My calves and ankles look like the chicken pox have attacked me on days when the mosquitoes are working overtime. But as the saying goes...I live in Africa now.

God is at Work

2006-11-02T07:25:00.000-08:00

I have been keeping a journal since I've been living here in Tanzania. I have never been very faithful at writing in a journal in the past but here I have been consistent to write in it at least five days a week.
I was looking over it the other day and I began to cry. It is filled with so much of my experience here in Africa from what is going on inside of me. I don't write about my daily activities or even about people. I have been journaling about all that I have been experiencing personally...Spiritually...Emotionally...Mentally. It is amazing to read it over. I said to myself after reading it, "I think the Lord brought me here to deal with me...And the orphanage is a side-job." I say that because I've seen myself grow and change so much. I've seen myself stretch...And by God's grace stretch without breaking.
I see growth in me. God is still working on me and I am still growing in Him. I am thrilled that the Lord has given me this opportunity to grow and learn and change.
What is the purpose of life? Why was I put here on earth? I know it is all about giving myself to the Lord and serving Him. I know that the more I give of myself the more the Lord can use me to be a blessing to others. I love honoring God by blessing others. I love honoring God. I love God.

I know that the timing of the Lord is perfect. So I am living here in Africa and we are preparing our orphanage building for the children that we will raise up and love as our own, but until we get the kids the Lord is performing a type of surgery on my heart that only He knows about. I am here and it is never a dull moment...Not at all when God is at work in my life. :)

Just an Update

2006-10-21T04:12:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about how I have been slacking a bit with my blog entries. I think I just get so busy with the day-to-day business and I think nothing HUGE has happened so I don't have something to write about. But my days are full and I could write a little about my daily activities.

I am still taking Swahili classes. We are on our third teacher and this is it...we have the right one. He is great. There are teachers and then there are people with a gift for teaching. He has a gift for teaching. He is the nicest guy too. He laughs at all our jokes and even tries to humor us at times...so sweet.
I feel a little better about Swahili...or maybe I am just used to everyone laughing at me that I just push on without letting it bother me. Either way I have a desire to learn the language and I am trying. Our African friends encourage us to speak in Swahili...then they laugh.

When Rita was here in October HWC purchased a van for us. We had the truck but now we have a van too. It is going to be perfect for transporting the kids when we get them. The van is an automatic so Jodie and I are very comfortable driving it. The truck is a 5-speed. Since I only drove an automatic in the U.S...Jodie too...we have not been able to drive the truck. But soon that won't be a problem. Jodie and I started driving school this past week. It is for two weeks and we are learning to drive the African roads in a vehicle that is about 40 years old. It looks just like one of the vehicles from the show MASH. The gears are so stiff. Our teacher says if we can drive this vehicle then we will be able to drive any vehicle. In Africa everyone drives on the left side of the road and the driver's seat is on the right side...so we are learning to drive the 5-speed with our left hand. :)

There has been a drought in Tanzania for over five years. We have electricty about 3-4 days a week because of it. But this last week it has been pouring rain...literally pouring. People here are so thankful...and it isn't even the rainy season. It has been nice to have the rain...it keeps the temps mild, but with flip-flops on I have been sliding in the mud like an ice skater. Everyday I thank the Lord because I didn't slip and fall even though I skidded pretty far.
I know I have written about the dirt and my feet, but now with all this rain there is a new dirty to my feet...the mud. Wow, the mud factor is more than I can explain on this entry. Mud really does have a way with making a mess. :)

This Sunday we are traveling to Massai land...I love going to Massai land. I am speaking at Pastor Mbasha's church...he is probably my favorite African here. I am excited to go back to his church. I enjoyed it so much the first time we went. After church Pastor Mbasha and his family invited us to his house. He is slaughtering one of his goats in our honor. I had goat in Massai land the first time I visited there...loved it! :)

Progress

2006-10-16T05:57:00.000-07:00

We had a visit on Friday from the head of the welfare dept and her assistant. She came to look at our building in order to decide whether or not to write a letter of recommendation on our behalf to the district commissioner of the welfare dept. She liked our building and all the improvements we'd made on it. She was very pleased. By the end of her visit she decided to write the letter of recommendation.

As I think back to the first time I saw the building and our first visit with the welfare dept, it is amazing the progress that has been made. The building looks so different...inside and out. The rooms are all painted. We've decorated some of them too. The floors are in or painted. The bathrooms are fixed...so many plumbing issues.
The medical office is ready. My classroom is looking great. The improvements outside are so great that it would take a separate blog entry just to list them all.
It has been three months and so much has been done.
Our first visit with the welfare dept was not very pleasant. In so many words we were told to stop what we were doing and to go home. But none of this has been a discouragement. We know why we are here. There is a need and we are here for that...human lives are at stake. We have not felt discouraged at all. We've kept pressing forward and continued to pray for God to do what looks impossible.
And now we have gotten approval from the head of the welfare dept. The building is just about ready...God is in control.

I love it that I am here and able to be part of this project. My faith has grown in leaps and bounds. I have been encouraged at every turn. There have been so many fun moments of laughter and rejoicing. This is a good time for me.
I am so excited to see continued progress in all that He is doing.

Back to Maasai Land

2006-10-07T01:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went with Rita, Pastor Zablon and Jodie to the village where Zablon grew up. This is where Hidden With Christ Ministries is paying to have the well re-dug. I wrote about going there in a previous blog entry. We went back with one of the workers from the company Maji Tech, the people who will be doing the re-digging.
As we stood on the spot where the work on the well is going to take place Zablon once again reminded us of the land that he has given for a school. He pointed to the spot where he thought would be nice...by a tree, not far from the well. I told him it was the perfect spot. Once again I was stirred in my heart and excited about this future adventure.

After we left the well site Zablon informed us that we were requested to join some of the leaders for a soda. We drove to the place of their were Maasai huts and sure enough there were about eight of Zablon's brothers...all family members are referred to as brothers. We went inside one of their huts along with about six of the "brothers" and they brought in a case of various sodas. They were so sweet the way they offered us a soda. It was the best warm soda I ever had. :)
We sat together...took a few pictures that I wish I could show you...they asked Zablon to interpret as they had some questions regarding the details of the well drilling.
When we were done we went outside and Zablon's brothers presented Rita and I with Maasai warrior shields...that was cool...wish I could show you the pictures! I plan on hanging my shield up in my office.

Zablon's family is so thankful for the well that is going to be drilled. They know this is no small thing Rita is doing for them. They were so kind and sweet expressing their gratefulness.
I am so honored to be able to travel to his village and see his family and watch their joy. I am thrilled to once again talk about the future school and the plans for the school with Rita and Zablon.
I hope to be able to visit the site as the process of the well begins. This is so exciting. I love being able to go back to Maasai Land. :)

God Never Ceases to Amaze Me

2006-10-04T01:40:00.000-07:00

The other day Pastor Mbasha told me he needed to have a meeting with me. We went to my office and sat down. He took out his Swahili-English dictionary with pages marked so he could easily find certain words. With his limited vocabulary of English words I knew exactly what he was saying.
Pastor Mbasha has two churches in Dodoma that he started. He also has his church in Massai land that he is Pastoring. He used to live in Dodoma so he has a tender place in his heart for the people of that area. Pastor Mbasha wants to hold a crusade in Dodoma. He wants me to do it with him. As he began to tell me that God has a big job for us to do and for me to pray about it and the month to do it I kept thinking, "I'm a school teacher. I came to Africa to start a school. How is it that I am getting involved with a crusade...And involved means one of the speakers!" I told Pastor Mbasha, "I'm a teacher. Not a preacher." He responded, "Me preacher. You teacher...Good team."
I respect Pastor Mbasha. He has become a wonderful friend. If the Lord has spoken to his heart about doing a crusade and he feels like I am supposed to do it with him then I am going to pray about it. I know he hears from the Lord...In these few months I've seen the evidence of the Lord speaking to him.
So here I go...Praying about a crusade that I potentially will be speaking at...This takes me out of my comfort zone. Isn't is amazing...I am at a place of focusing my attention on the Lord for confidence and help to do something that will be a blessing to others. How do these things happen? God never ceases to amaze me. :)

Ben

2006-10-01T06:41:00.000-07:00

I mentioned Ben once just briefly in a previous email. I have been meaning to write a blog entry all about him and I decided this one would be it.
I met Ben my first Sunday after moving to Africa. We were visiting the same church. He had the best smile. During the service the Pastor of the church who I had become friends with from a previous visit, asked me to share a little about why I had just moved to Tanzania.
After church Ben came over to me to thank me for sharing. We began to chat and he told me about himself:
Ben was born in Sudan. His family's farm was destroyed during the war. His father had to send the whole family to Uganda for safety and survival. Ben's dad stayed in Sudan and joined the military. While in Uganda Ben became a Christian.
As he began to pray about his future he felt that God was calling him to go back to Sudan and help the orphans. Not knowing how to do that an opportunity to intern at an orphanage in Tanzania opened up. Ben has been in Tanzania since May working and learning about how to run an orphanage. He internship ends in May 2007 and then he plans to move back to Sudan and open "New Hope Sudan Children's Home."

Ben does not come from a wealthy family and he has no idea how any of this is going to happen, but that doesn't change what he knows God has asked him to do. He is a young man of great faith in God. He believes what God says in Philippians: "He who began a good work in you will complete it." To accept a dream from God that seems impossible is to say to God, "I trust you to do what you put in my heart." Trusting God for the impossible is what Ben has decided to do. The Bible is full of examples of people who trusted God for things that were not possible if you were looking at them from a natural point of view...But the Lord loves to do the impossible and He loves it when we trust Him even when there is no possible way.

If you have read anything about Sudan then you know that there are many orphans because of the war. Ben wants to not only start a Children's Home but he wants to have a beautiful one...Where the kids feel safe and their home is a refuge...Spiritually and physically.
Ben loves coming to our orphanage building to visit because he says that what we are building is exactly what God has put on his heart. Melissa, Jodie and I try very hard to always make time for Ben when he is in town...The orphanage he works at is about 40 minutes from us. When he visits we pray together and we ask lots of questions about his vision for "New Hope." He says that his vision has been renewed seeing our place and talking about it with us. We are blessed to meet such a sweet, giving young man. Please pray for him when you have a chance...You'll be investing in a miracle. :)

Loving Africa

2006-09-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

I have written a few blog entries about adjusting to life in Africa. I was thinking the other day that since I have written a few times about the differences in African life vs. American life that it was time to write specifically about some of the things I love about Africa. :)

I feel blessed because the transition to living here has not been traumatic. I think often about the people that I miss back home and wish I could see them but I have not been missing life in the U.S. to the point of it affecting my life here. I know that the Lord has called me here...that in itself brings contentment in my heart knowing that I am where I need to be.
Then there are other "blessings" that make living here so nice. So here are a few:

** The view of Mount Kilimanjaro. The mountain is less than an hour away. We have a beautiful view of it from our orphanage building. On clear days we can see the top of it covered with snow from three steps out our front door. We have stood there many times and just enjoyed the beauty of Mount Kilimanjaro.

** The people we have met. We have met so many people during our time here. Some are Christians and some are not. The Tanzanians are very gracious and kind people. They are so happy we are here and thank us for coming when they find out what we are doing here. Almost daily we are invited to someone's house for tea and to spend time meeting family members...we don't have time to accept all the invitations but we are always being invited.

** Friends. We have made some wonderful friends. The people that we are friends with make each day so much fun. The kindness they show is beyond anything I can write on a blog. My heart is touched everyday by the love that is shown to us. I thank the Lord for these friends...they truly have made my transition to African life so easy. They express love and friendship without reservation. Holding hands is very cultural here...men holding hands with men is VERY common. I've never held hands so much in my life. :) I love it!

** Bug's Life. The butterflies here are amazing. Not only are their colors spectacular but butterflies are not afraid of humans. I can almost touch one when it flies by or lands somewhere. I have taken pictures up close of butterflies...while our African friends watch and laugh...and they don't fly away.
But not just butterflies...the other night I was burning some trash in our backyard...trash is burned in the yard, there are no garbage men...and as Jodie and I were standing there watching my beautiful blaze a hedgehog walked out of the bushes. Jodie and I looked at each other and said at the same time, "That's a hedgehog." It didn't look nervous about us being less than 10 feet away. It moved around out in the open and when we walked over to get an up-close look it still did not mind at all. That was cool. :)

** Jambo! Tanzanians are very friendly. No matter where we are they are always greeting us. We could be in the truck driving by and there they are calling out to us and waving. If we are walking in town we are ALWAYS greeted by them...if they speak English then they really want to talk. It's always very a kind and gracious conversation. Jambo means hello and we find ourselves saying it at least 100 times a day. Even sitting here at the internet place they come up to me to welcome me to Tanzania...they say "Karibu sana" which means I am very welcome here. I love that.

** Practicing Swahili. We are very much in the learning stages of Swahili, but in order to learn the language we must practice. We practice Swahili on EVERYONE. We will try out what we know with our friends and the people we meet in the streets. They appreciate the effort and even though they laugh at us they always encourage us to keep practicing. The other day our friend Elli (his name is Elisongua) said that Jodie and Melissa were good Swahili speakers and I was a good cook...I am learning to cook African food and loving it! :)

** The beauty that is Tanzania. I love beauty in nature. There is so much beauty around me everywhere I go. The other day I took a bike ride early in the morning by myself. I rode until I realized that I was in a most amazing spot. Between the trees was Mount Kilimanjaro and all around me were trees and green. There was no sight of any city life. It was amazing. I got off my bike to look at the mountain and just thank God for His beauty. It was wonderful. I remembered that I had a pocket Bible in my bag so I took it out and began to enjoy God's word in the midst of His beauty...it doesn't get much better than that. :)

Pastor Mbasha

2006-09-22T02:15:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I spoke at Pastor Mbasha's church. He has become a friend of ours. He works as a handyman at the orphanage.
We get lots of invitations to visit and speak at churches but we can't go to all of them. But I really wanted to visit Pastor Mbasha's church. You see Pastor Mbasha is from a tribe known as Chagga. But he is a pastor in Massai land. The Massai love him and have accepted him as one of their own...That is not a common thing.

The morning we were to visit his church we drove to his house first and had tea...I love African tea (chai). Then everyone piled in our truck. Normally Pastor Mbasha rides his bike to church with two or three of his kids (he has four kids) on his bike, rides back home and takes his wife and one more child to church. I knew he did this before we visited but I didn't realize what that meant. As we drove in our truck along the dirt road that was filled with massive bumps and dips, I couldn't believe that he rides this twice in the morning with family members on the bike...And that doesn't count the rides back home after church services. My heart ached for him...Especially when I found out the distance one way on bicycle is an hour and that he has been doing this for SIX YEARS. I actually cried...What a faithful pastor...What an amazing man. I loved the church and the people. I enjoyed meeting Pastor Mbasha's family and spending the day with them.

For the next few days my heart was burdened over this man and his one bicycle. Jodie, Melissa and I talked and the three of us felt the same. That day we took an African friend with us to purchase a brand new bicycle for Pastor Mbasha.
I wish I could describe to you the scene when we drove up in the truck with his new bike in the back. I have a picture of him with his bike...He is holding it up over his head. :) (I tried to take my laptop to the internet cafe to download pictures but I have not been successful yet)

Pastor Mbasha and I have become friends. We are the same age and were born on the exact same day. He calls me his dada (sister) from the Lord. I tell him he is a gift from the Lord to me. He never asks for anything from us. He takes a bus 45 minutes to our orphanage and shows up on time everyday and works very hard. He is a blessing.

I have been praying for a vehicle for him. He is one of the nicest people I know in Africa. He is a wonderful person. I am asking the Lord to bless him and his family with a vehicle. In Africa vehicles don't cost as much as in America so a good running vehicle could be purchased for around $5,000 U.S. dollars.
I don't have that money but I know that the Lord is going to bless him with it...And soon I'll be writing all about it in one of my blog entries. :) Just wait and see!

Riding My Bicycle in Africa

2006-09-18T04:17:00.000-07:00

I have a bicycle that my 5th grade students gave me at the end of the school year as a going-away to Africa present. I put it in the container that was shipped with all our supplies. It it a beautiful bike. I call it my dream bicycle in Africa. But if I had that bike in the U.S. it would still be my dream bike. It's cool looking and cool to ride. :)
Even in Africa they know a cool bike when they see one. Every time I ride my bike so many people comment about how much they like it. We rode our bikes to the "market" and the guard outside the store guarded my bike like it was Fort Knox...So sweet.

It is like a parade when we go out bike riding. Everyone waving at us and us waving back at them as we hold on for dear life with one hand on the dirt roads. We call it the "Muzungu Parade." White person parade.
I haven't seen any other non-Africans riding bikes here where we live...So I suppose we are a rare sight to see. :)

Swahili Teacher

2006-09-16T07:18:00.000-07:00

I have gotten many emails and responses about our Swahili teacher since I wrote about her in a previous blog entry. I just wanted to send out this blog entry to inform all concerned friends and family that we fired our Swahili teacher on Friday. It was finally time to say good-bye. The final straw was when she spent over an hour of class time telling us what terrible students we are and how her European (she pronounces it as: Your-oh-pea-en) students are much better and brighter. On that day class went over an hour because she went on...And on...And on...And on. We walked out of class and looked at each other and just stared. Finally one of us said, "We are paying money for her to talk to us like that." My response to that was, "Not anymore."

One of our African pastor friends is taking an English class. He always says how much he loves his teacher. He says he is so encouraging. One evening I was helping him with his homework and he was having a problem understanding the word "polite." The next thing I knew he dialed his teacher's cell phone and asked him. His teacher was telling him what a good student he is and how he is so proud of him. I thought to myself that one time my teacher told Melissa that she was mjanja (clever) and then she turned to me and told me I need to try to be mjanja too...I think that had the potential to be a compliment...But it didn't get there. :)

Our African pastor friend...His name is Zablon...Felt sorry for us and how our Swahili teacher was yelling at us. He asked his teacher if he could make time to teach us and he said yes. We start on Monday with our new Swahili teacher. This will be our third teacher...Yikes! But that's ok...This time it's going to work. :)
I'll keep you posted on our progress.

My Weekend

2006-09-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

I had a very nice weekend. I wanted to write about some of the highlights.

* Saturday: I learned how to cook an authentic African meal. We have met an African young man from Sudan who is in Tanzania doing an internship with a group called "Light in Africa." His name is Ben. I plan on spending a whole journal entry talking about Ben another time because he is such an amazing person. Ben came over to the orphanage and cooked a whole meal. I was in the kitchen the whole time taking notes and helping him out. The meal was great. Later in the evening two of our African Pastor friends came and tried the food. They loved it! I am planning on cooking the whole meal again without the help of an African. :)
I think I can do it!

* Sunday: Melissa, Jodie and I went to Massai land for church. I am going to try to post some pictures on my blog from church. Hopefully you will be able to see them soon.
Pastor Mbasha invited me to speak on Sunday. His church is out in the middle of nowhere. But when you get there you are somewhere. The people are wonderful. The Lord is truly there in this little building that Pastor Mbasha built himself.
We had a great time of worship and I loved sharing God's word. Everyone was so receptive during the whole service. Unexpectedly, Pastor Mbasha asked the three of us to share a song...ha ha...We came up with one really fast and then sang as a trio for the first time together. The Bible says to "make a joyful noise." I just thank the Lord that we were still welcome after that song. :)
After church we spent the day at Pastor Mbasha's house with his family. It was wonderful. He has a sweet family...A beautiful wife and four great kids. They said we were the first white people in their house. Pastor Mbasha is a very good man. He loves God and prays with such fervor. We loved being in his home and praying together and sharing.

It was a great weekend. I thank the Lord for these new friends.

Still Adjusting

2006-09-01T07:36:00.000-07:00

In some ways life in Africa is very different from life in the U.S. I am still adjusting to the changes. I thought I would write a blog entry about some changes I am still adjusting to:

* Washing my laundry by hand.
I never washed laundry by hand in the U.S. I even put hand-wash items in the delicate cycle. But now EVERYTHING is done by hand. It takes HOURS to wash what would equal one load of laundry. I usually stop washing when I am completely exhausted...Not when I finish with all my laundry. I always have dirty laundry because I don't have the energy to do it all in one day. :)

* Days without electricity
We have had three days this week without electricity...And one of those three days we also had no water. We use flashlights a lot and enjoying sitting in the dark eating our American snacks. :)

* Dirt everywhere
I always have dirty feet. My toenails are caked with dirt...Yes I do clean them. I spend so much time in the evenings trying to find my original skin under all the dirt. I have to be careful when washing my feet because there are also lots of bug bites I don't want to irritate and then have to scratch. :)

* Unpaved roads
Sometimes I think I am just about used to the roads here and then we'll be driving and hit a bump that sends me flying and I realize that once again I am not used to the roads. We ride our bikes on the dirt roads and even that experience is something like mountain biking with a little kick. :)

* Swahili Class
We had to fire our last tutor. She didn't show up to class on time. I am ok with a little late on occasion but she was late for EVERY class...Well she was late for every class she showed up for. The final straw was the day she was 2 hours and 45 minutes late...Usually she was only 45 minutes to and hour and a half late. But now we have a new Swahili teacher. She is a bit intense. We bought our own notebooks to take notes in class and she collected them and told us that our notes were very bad. She didn't like it when we crossed out our mistakes and she didn't like the way our previous teacher was teaching. She told Jodie her notes were "dead notes." I'm not sure what that means but she was very intense about it. She speaks in Swahili to us and wants us to tell her what she is saying. Most of the time we are clueless and make blind guesses because if we don't guess she gets really intense with us...Almost yelling but I don't want to call it that. Classes are for two hours three days a week and she takes up the full two hours and usually goes over by a half hour.

* Internet Cafe experience
They call it an internet cafe, but there is no cafe involved. Usually the power goes out during my visits and I loose everything I'm typing. Then I sit there...If I have the time to wait for the power to return. Most times I just leave. Sometimes we are at the internet cafe in the evenings and when the power goes out it's not just at the internet it's the whole area (that part of the city) so we are sitting there in complete darkness laughing about the whole experience and then one of us eventually says "we live in Africa now."
By the way as I am sitting here typing I noticed that a bird flew in. No one really did much in response to it so I just kept on typing. Upon closer observation I just realized that it isn't a bird but the largest butterfly I have ever seen. :)

New Pictures!

2006-08-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

Check out my pictures from the Maasai village of Esilalai! Hope you like them!

Visiting the Massai

2006-08-22T05:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I went with Rita, three African pastors (one of them a friend who is Massai) and the Moshi Department of Water to an area where the Massai people live to survey the land for building a well. Hidden With Christ Ministries was given the money needed to re-dig a well that was covered up over 30 years ago because a lion had fallen in it and polluted the water.
This place we went to was about three hours from the town of Moshi, where I am living. It is a dry-desert sort of place. You'd never know there was enough water under the land for a well. But there is and the Dept of Water has signed the paperwork saying it is ok to drill. It was really neat to be there as the Dept of Water people were running all their tests. Some of the Massai came over to see what was going on. The Massai pastor with us would introduce us to everyone who came by. The land where the well will be dug belongs to that Massai pastor. As we stood there talking about how much of a blessing the new well is going to be the conversation moved to other blessings the Massai people would profit from. The topic of a school was brought up. Most Massai never go to school. Our Massai pastor (his name is Zablon) has a heart to see a school built. He said he would give as much land that is needed to see a school built. At that moment the Lord spoke to my heart. "Pray it to pass." That's what He said. I told the Lord I wanted to be obedient to pray and more. I knew I would. I have my own school to start and work on, so for now I will pray...pray in the funds and workers needed for this project. This school won't be started up anytime soon so I know that by the time my school in Moshi is up and running I will be able to help with the Massai school in some way. I am going to pray and ask God to begin now to stir in the hearts of people the desire to be a part of this project...I know a few adventurous teachers. :)

After the Water Dept finished their tests we went to Zablon's village. We sat with the Massai men. They had killed and cooked a goat for us. It was as outdoor bar-b-que as it gets. They cut the goat with a knife and passed the pieces out until the goat was all eaten. We sat outside next to a bush/treeish kind of shrub. It was an experience I will not forget.
After we ate we went to where the women were and Rita shared the gospel message with everyone. They listened and responded. It was wonderful to watch them raise their hands to accept the Lord as their savior. They listened because they were appreciative for the well that was going to be built on their land and they had open hearts to the message from a white woman. It was such a powerful time. Zablon has been praying for his family for many years...The Lord answered his prayers that day.

All Moved In

2006-08-15T08:53:00.000-07:00

Our container arrived and we have officially moved into our new home. Thank you to everyone who prayed...God answered our prayers. According to the government officials themselves the container was released in record time. We were told that the U.S. government donated a container full of goods that is still sitting at the port in Tanzania after more than nine months.

My new bed is very comfortable. I packed a mattress pad to put on my new mattress and it is simply wonderful. I have been busy unpacking and getting my new room decorated. It is beginning to feel quite cozy...even the red/rust painted floor is beginning to grow on me. :)

We hired painters to paint the bedrooms and the outside. They are enjoying painting with American paint. It only takes one coat and looks very nice. They are fast workers so they should get the rooms done within a week and a half. I am looking forward to the classroom and my office getting painted. I am ready to move my school supplies in and begin working on the school.

Thank you for praying. I am blessed to be a part of all that the Lord is doing.

Just A Little Update

2006-08-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

We went to Arusha today. We took a taxi-bus into town. The drive would normally take under an hour but the drive over took two and a half hours. It took so long we only had time to go to Shop-rite and eat lunch before we had to take a bus back to make it back in time for Swahili lessons. But this all day event was worth the effort...We bought peanut butter! Oh yeah! I am so excited to have peanut butter and jelly tomorrow morning...Oh the simple pleasures.

I want to thank everyone who has been praying for my protection against mosquitos. I have only gotten bit twice. That is very unusual because everybody that has been here visiting has gotten at least five a day. I have gotten used to spraying my body every time I step out the door...I keep the spray bottle right by the door. The smell is now just a part of my life. :)

I've started Swahili lessons. Please pray for me. The other girls seem to be picking it up much easier than me. Even though I am a teacher I haven't been a student for almost 20 years. I really need the Lord's encouragement and strength.
I have found that the Lord is good at encouragement and strength! :)

How Life is Different

2006-08-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be fun to write about how my life is different in Africa from living in the U.S.
Here I go:
* All my shoes are covered in dirt or caked with mud.
* All of my perfumes contain deet in them.
* I eat Chicken and chips (fries) at least once a day.
* When riding in a mini-van taxi (which is a Toyota mini-van) I can be guaranteed there will be at least 17 other people riding in it with me.
* Kit Kat bars in Africa are called Break bars and taste nothing like Kit Kat bars.
* Sometimes there are no speed limits but there are random speed bumps all over.
* A flap jack in Africa does not resemble one served in the U.S. (Not even a little bit)
* Bedroom floors in Africa are not carpeted. They are painted and there are only two colors to choose from: Red and green. (I picked red)
* Going to sleep at night is a 20 minute event. Getting the mosquito net completely tucked into the mattress is an adventure itself.

There it is. This is the small list. I could write more but I thought you'd enjoy a few tid-bits of how my life has changed...Not too drastic. Did you notice that I didn't mention any of the bugs? :)
I did that on purpose...I didn't want to discourage anyone from coming to visit me. :)

God is Always Good

2006-08-04T07:47:00.000-07:00

I have been living in Africa for almost three weeks. It is amazing how the peace of God has been with me in a powerful way. I am so thankful. I spend most of my days working at the orphanage building. We have not moved in yet because we are still waiting for the container to arrive with our beds but that does not keep us from getting the building ready. We have spent the last few weeks painting. I have always said that I don't like painting...More than any other chore painting is the one I dislike most. Yet here I am painting with such a peace in my heart...Like it is a joy. God is amazing. I am so thankful for the friends and family members that are praying...Keep praying...Please. :)

I am looking forward to moving into our new home. But even now living out of a suitcase there has been such grace to do it. I am surrounded by the goodness of the Lord.

First Entry in Africa

2006-07-28T07:25:00.000-07:00

I have been living in Africa just under two weeks. It has been such a busy time but it has been wonderful. We are working hard to get the orphanage building ready to receive the children in late September. There is so much to do.
As of the time I am writing this the container we shipped two months ago with all of our supplies has not been released from the Tanzanian port. We have two missions teams ready to work but no container...The container has all of the tools and supplies they need. The missions teams have kept busy cleaning and doing some small painting jobs. They have been a blessing.

We have not moved into the orphanage building yet because our beds are on the container. I am living out of my suitcases right now.
But there is no complaining on my part. I am blessed to be working on the orphanage and I have seen many African friends that remember me. I went to church last Sunday and shared God's vision in my heart for the orphanage. There are many obstacles that have been placed in our path but we are praying for God to remove them and for His wisdom and guidance...The Lord is faithful. We trust Him fully and are excited to see what is next in this process of trusting Him no matter what.

I thank the Lord for everyone that is praying. I can feel the strength of the Lord and it encourages my heart every morning. I love it that God is so loving and good.
I am blessed in Africa.

Leaving In Less Than 24 Hours

2006-07-15T12:53:00.000-07:00

I am leaving in less than 24 hours and somehow I have managed to sit down and write an entry in my blog...I amaze myself. :)
I think I just need to sit down and do something to take my mind away from all the thoughts racing around my head right now.
I have just finished weighing my bags and if I put three more pounds of anything in either one of them I will be over my limit. I did it. I managed to pack and stay under 70 pounds. I did have to exchange a medium sized suitcase for a larger one in order to fit all my belongings, but that doesn't matter because I was able to stay under the 70 pound limit...although the 70 pound limit does mean I still have to pay 25 dollars for each bag because I've gone over the 50 pound limit...but that doesn't matter since I was shooting for staying under 70 pounds. :)

It finally hit me yesterday...the emotional response to moving to Africa. I didn't expect it to hit me the way it did. I didn't know how it would feel but it has been very intense. I called my mom and talked to her on the phone in tears...I don't even know if she understood what I was saying, but she was good about my emotional melt down. :)

I'm moving to Africa...it has finally really hit me and I am leaving tomorrow...timing is everything. :)
I'm having dinner with some cousins tonight...I hope I can keep it together until after dessert. :)

Getting So Much Done

2006-07-09T15:42:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have gone by so fast. I haven't been at a location with internet access so I haven't been able to keep up with my journaling.
It took me about a week to get my classroom cleared out and cleaned up. After I finished up at school I started helping out at the Hidden With Christ office. Since everyone was leaving for Africa on July 4th, there was a lot to do without a lot of time...I was not able to leave on the 4th...My flight is scheduled for July 16th. When I wasn't working at the HWC office I was spending time with friends and saying good-bye.

After the girls left on July 4th I went to my mom's house to visit. I was able to stay five days. It was nice to spend time with my family. I relaxed and enjoyed the 105 degree heat...ahh, just like home in Africa. :)

I officially have one more week left before departure. I have a lot of lunches and dinners planned with friends. I have some last minute details to finish up. This week is it. Since I've already sent the majority of my belongings to Africa in the container, there isn't a big task left to complete...No huge item I need to purchase and figure out how to get it in a suitcase. I've already done so much of the work in the past four months. I wish I could say that I don't have anything left to do, but that is not so. But I am so thankful that so much is done and this last week is going to be a blessing...God is good that way!

Last Day of School

2006-06-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of school. It was a perfect day. Once again I was blessed and encouraged beyond words by the parents and students. They have been so sweet and supportive since finding out about my move to Africa. At every turn they have done something to bless my trip...from donating items to buying me a bicycle in a box (it had to be in a box and they found a really nice one...thanks Stacy and John) to giving financially to writing encouraging notes. There has been an outpouring of blessing from the 5th grade families. I have been grateful for their love and support...it has been a constant source of encouragement.

It was an emotional day saying good-bye. The Lord blessed me this year with a memorable group. They were so much fun...but as I think about my years of teaching there have been so many memories from each class...so much fun...all four years at Mission Hills and the 13 years of teaching at other schools.
I love teaching...I love the kids...I love the joy in doing what God has called me to do.

Less Than a Month to Go

2006-06-19T18:59:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing that I already shipped most of my clothes and personal belongings on the container we sent that's headed for Africa. It's also a good thing that I had to move in March from the house where I'd been living the past eight years...even though at the time it was very difficult for me.
Right now I have less than a month before I move to Africa and I don't have the huge responsibility of packing and needing to move hanging over me. All that hard work is done. I can concentrate on the little details...oh the little details. But the big details are taken care of. I am so thankful.
Back in March I was not thrilled with packing and moving but now I can see everything from a different point of view...God knew it needed to be this way. Less than a month to go and so many details I don't need to be concerned about...Thanks God. :)

Rest

2006-06-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

I have had an "on the go" kind of schedule for about the last four months. I didn't get to spend a whole lot of time hanging out with my friend Freya during the two months I was staying with her. We'd see each other in the morning and sometimes in the evening but I feel like I have been running non-stop for a long time.
Today I took a small nap. I think it was about 10 minutes...just enough to get myself out the door to school to grade the stack of papers that keep calling my name. That nap felt so good.
I don't want to be so busy that I don't make time for rest. I am so thankful to the Lord for all that He is doing...so many wonderful miracles of provision for the things we need for the orphanage. I know that in the midst of life being so busy that the Lord wants to bless me with times of rest...He is good that way.

I want to go to church on Sunday and worship the Lord with all my strength...not exhausted. I want to go to work and enjoy these last two weeks of school with my students. I don't want to feel too tired to get out of bed. It's time to draw all my strength from the Lord...including physical. "Lord, help me to take the time to rest."

God is Amazing

2006-06-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I took the day off work to go over to the health dept to get some shots. During the three hours I sat waiting for them to call my name, I had time to do a little thinking.
I recalled a conversation I had with my mom about a month ago. She has had pneumonia for a couple of months. It has been very discouraging to watch her health decrease. We had a heart to heart conversation during this time when her health just didn't seem to be getting any better. My mom shared her heart's desire for me to go to Africa...no matter what may happen to her. We both cried. She needed to say the things she said to me and I needed to hear her say them. I thanked the Lord for a mom who has so understood my heart in moving to Africa. All I have felt from her is support.
Asking the Lord to touch my mom and heal her has been a constant prayer of mine for the last few months. I have had such a strong sense of God's hand during this time. Spending the day with my mom when she was hospitalized could have been depressing but instead it was a very special time together. God is amazing.
This past Monday my mom went to the doctor for the results of all the tests she'd had the week before. Not only did all the tests come out fine, but the doctor gave her a clean bill of health in regards to the pneumonia.
Thank you God. You are amazing.

A Personal Post

2006-05-30T17:39:00.000-07:00

Most of my blog entries have been about general things going on in my life and all the goings-on associated with preparing to leave for Africa.
After I wrote my last entry I noticed that there were a couple of comments on a blog entry that I hadn't read yet. I checked them out and began to cry.
I've wanted to write some personal thoughts about a few people in my life but when the time came to writing it down I just didn't. But right now I want to start:

A lot of time people don't say how they feel about each other. They might tell others nice things about someone but rarely do people tell each other face to face. My friend Freya isn't like that. I love that about her. I have learned so much about friendship because of her. All of my friendships since I have known her are better because of the way she has been a friend to me. I'm a better person overall because of our friendship. We have spent countless hours together praying, talking, laughing, goofing and sharing. I know the Lord put her in my life as a gift to me. What I have received from our friendship has helped me to be where I am today...Willing to take a HUGE leap of faith into a new chapter of my life. It feels like a new chapter for both of us and our friendship.
In the past year Freya has gotten married and is now expecting a baby. Our friendship has had to transition. I determined in my heart that I would embrace these new changes. I did not want to lose one bit of this precious friendship...I think I transitioned pretty good...I'm not perfect...The road was a bit bumpy at times. :)
But a friendship like Freya's doesn't come around very often. I wanted to be willing to accept the changes were taking place. Now even more changes are occurring. I am leaving for Africa. I won't be here to see her baby grow up...That has been hard for me to think about.
I try not to think about what we won't have in our friendship. That chapter is closing. I've decided to see our friendship from the point of where it will grow and how it will change.
I will always thank the Lord for Freya. What a blessing your friendship has been.

Where Does the Time Go?

2006-05-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

I spent the Memorial Day weekend moving. I was staying in Mission Viejo with one of my closest friends, Freya, who is having a baby on June 24th. I love it that I was able to be with her for the past couple of months. The time went by so fast. When I was moving out I kept thinking, "I just moved in." Time flew by. Now I'm staying with some other wonderful friends. This is my last move before moving to Africa. It is beginning to feel real close.
When people ask me if I am ready to move I usually answer by saying, "I still have a lot left to do." But a couple days ago when someone asked me I said, "I am just about ready." I paused and thought about what I had just said and felt this feeling inside of me...I think it was a mixture of excitement and anticipation.
"What else would I be doing?" I say that to myself a lot. God is giving me the desire of my heart.
Sometimes it feels like it has taken so long to get here and other times it feels like time is flying by so fast...Where does the time go? God is faithful to His promises and His timing is perfect. :)

Encouragement and Strength

2006-05-24T19:59:00.000-07:00

I was thinking about all of my personal belongings I have given away in the last couple of months. The majority of the things that I have kept are going with me to Africa. I will keep some clothing items here in a container stored at a friend's house so when I visit I can have some nice "Sunday's best" clothes.
I have packed a lot of what I am taking to Africa and put it in plastic bins to be placed in the container we are shipping to Africa. The more I give away and the more I pack for the container brings me that much closer to the realization of moving.
I am not scared. I'm not feeling anxious. When I think about it I usually just say to myself "what else would you be doing?" How long has the Lord asked of me to do something beyond myself...beyond my borders...beyond my comfort zone of living. It's as if He has been whispering it to me all my life. I've heard Him in my heart. I've asked Him to strengthen me for the journey that I knew I'd travel someday. Now is that time and I feel the strength I need to take this road of living beyond my comfort zone. I continue to pray for strength and everyday I see the blessing of the Lord and His strength in my life.

I love the way God uses people. Today someone at work put a box filled with mustard packets on my desk because I had mentioned that mustard is my favorite condiment. She wanted me to be able to enjoy mustard in Africa...so so sweet. When I thanked her she said she was going to buy a box of ketchup too...since I mentioned that I like ketchup. This may sound silly but to me it was HUGE. It blessed me and encouraged me. I felt the Lord in this sweet act of thoughtfulness...it made me laugh and smile the whole day. I told a friend and she cried...she got it and shared in the moment with me. :)

Many Blessings

2006-05-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

This past month has been an extremely busy time. I haven't had a lot of free time to sit at my computer and journal. Showers of blessings have come my way and I haven't had the time to sit down and journal my thoughts.
I am going to try to journal at least twice a week. Even in the midst of all that is going on and all I need to take care of I don't want to forget to sit and acknowledge the goodness of the Lord in my life and the blessings of others.

I have known since October that I would be moving to Africa in July. I told my mom about moving to Africa the day I committed to go. The rest of my family and a few friends were told about a month later. I sent out most of my support letters in January.
It is now May and I think just about everyone that I come into contact with now knows. It's nice to be able to talk about it so freely. I love the encouragement and support people have shown. One of the coolest surprises was when my fifth grade parents and students bought me a bike and surprised me with it. I had prayed and asked the Lord for a bike. The bike would have to be in a box since it would go in the container we were sending with all the big items that wouldn't be able to go on a plane. I didn't have the money or idea how to get a bike in a box, but the parents and students blessed me with one. I started to cry. It was so amazing to me, the blessing of the gift and the thoughtfulness of everyone involved.
That is what the past month has been like for me...blessings and thoughtfulness. I am so thankful for it all...for everyone...so many blessings.

I Am So Grateful

2006-04-24T18:52:00.000-07:00

We have had an African pastor from Kenya visiting for the past few weeks. He spoke at church the last two Sundays. The first time I met him was about three years ago in Tanzania. He is such a wonderful man of God. Having him here has been so neat. It makes me think about moving to Tanzania even more. I am looking forward to seeing some of the people that I've met on my past two visits to Africa. There are a couple of pastors that I have continued to have contact with via email. They know I am coming in July and have expressed their excitement. I just received an email from one pastor who calls me his "American Sister." He emailed me today to let me know he is continuing to pray for my big move...so sweet.

I was teaching at school today and just enjoying the kids. I was thinking about what my life will be like in a year from now. I began to miss what I have right now...a wonderful class and great people I work with. I love being a teacher and I'll miss it so much. I think the Lord gave me African friends so that I can continue to remember them and their needs...So I will be able to let go of what I love so much right now for a people that I have come to love.
Thank you God for your love in my heart for others. I am so grateful.

Transition

2006-04-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

It really hit me hard this past week...the realization of my current transitional situation. I recently gave away a huge chunk of my belongings and what I did not give away I stored in plastic storage containers. I have some clothes that I wear to work hanging in the closet and a few casual clothes. But there's not much else that is not stored away.
This is a different time for me...transitional time. It's the time before the big move. It is really important not to focus my attention on all that is going on in my life with a negative attitude. After I've moved to Africa, I don't want to look back and wish that I had enjoyed these last few months in America more.
I have determined in my heart to enjoy all that is going on around me and to see it all with a more thankful heart.
The other day I was telling a friend of mine about some frustrations I was experiencing. We ended up laughing about my attitude. I walked away thanking the Lord for the grace to see all this transition from a light-hearted point of view. I want to look back at this time and be able to smile and laugh...while I enjoy the transition time right now.

Feeling Sentimental

2006-04-10T19:33:00.000-07:00

I was talking to my mom on the phone tonight. She hasn't been feeling very good for over a week, but she always says she's fine. I can hear it in her voice...she's tired and weak. She isn't herself.
It hit me tonight stronger than any other time...I'm moving far away. I won't be close to my mom. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not the kind of person who needs to talk to my mother everyday. But when I heard my mom's weak and tired voice on the phone I missed her. I missed the idea of being within driving distance from her. I missed the comfort of knowing I can drive to the house that I was raised in and be there in less than two hours. I miss my mom. I miss my brothers who I always see when I'm there and I miss my sweet nephews who I treasure.

Tonight is the first night I have cried this strong. It feels like the process I'm supposed to go through before I move to Africa. I won't try to suppress what is going on inside. I will cling to the Lord through this process...he'll lead me through.
I talked to my Cousin Cathy tonight. She is one of my most favorite people. I'm going to miss that girl. I cried after I talked to her.
I am thankful that I have people in my life that I'm going to miss so much that it makes me cry.

Thinking Ahead

2006-04-07T20:04:00.000-07:00

We are planning on sending a container to Africa with all kinds of personal belongings and lots of items donated for the orphanage. The container is scheduled for shipment in early May. I am looking forward to sending my books and some personal items that I won't be able to fit in a suitcase when I leave in July.
Right now I am living with friends in a bedroom surrounded by all that I own in plastic containers I bought at Target. I put everything in these containers so we could use them for storage in Africa.

I think this weekend I am going to do some shopping for supplies that I'll want to have with me in Africa. I want to start the process of dividing up all that I own into groups that are Africa bound and get them ready to go in the container.
I have a goal. By the end of this weekend I want to have three plastic containers filled and ready to be shipped. I want to cross off at least 10 items from my list of supplies and have them packed to go.
I like making lists and setting goals. I like thinking ahead and getting things done before the due date.

Amazing Peace

2006-04-02T17:21:00.000-07:00

I've had one of those weeks where I was basically non-stop from the time I woke up until my head hit the pillow. And my head didn't hit the pillow until very late at night. It was one of my busiest weeks in a long time.
Today was the first day since I've moved to where I am now staying that I made it home before dark.
In the midst of all the busy-ness and working so hard I have had an amazing peace. I have had a few opportunities this week to get really frustrated and offended. But instead I have been aware of each situation as it was happening...almost like I was watching it happen to someone else...and I have seen myself respond to each situation from a desire to bless that person. I am so thankful to the Lord for grace. I can feel such an amazing peace over me at this time in my life. When so much of my life is changing right now and little details keep popping up that need to be taken care of and that full-time job of mine calls me all the time, there is this amazing peace surrounding me.
Yesterday someone told me my face was glowing...hmmm...I guess others can see what I have been feeling. God is neat that way. :)

Reaching a Goal Without Even Trying

2006-03-27T20:58:00.000-08:00

I set a goal for myself in January. That goal was to down-size my life by 50% or more before the end of March. I knew this was a huge goal and really didn't think it was going to happen...I wanted it to happen but why down-size if there is no pressing need to.
Well as it turns out I did have a pressing need to. I unexpectantly had to move out of my house. I was planning on moving but not until June.
So as of today, March 27th, I have down-sized my life by about 70%. It is amazing to see all my possessions in plastic containers...no more big furniture and no large items to cart around. I reached my goal and I wasn't even planning on it.
I know God has called me to live a simple life and to be willing to give it all away. "Things" are not to become a security for me. I didn't have a hard time letting go of my belongings. There wasn't anything I gave away that I am yearning to have back. But down-sizing my life so drastically in such a short amount of time has made me stop and think about how much more the Lord means to me. This experience has been hard but worth it. I am thankful to the Lord for grace and strength.
God is faithful to his word...and he is faithful to help us keep our word even when we make a goal that doesn't seem possible to keep. :)

Ordination Sunday

2006-03-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a wonderful day. I was officially ordained as a missionary of Safe Harbor Church. It makes the realization of moving to Africa in July that much more real. I was so blessed by the whole service. My mom, aunt, uncle and cousin were there and said they loved the service. It was a very special time.
There it is...one more step closer on this journey of getting ready to leave. I like these moments when it hits me hard that I am leaving soon. Being ordained as a missionary of Safe Harbor Church has me realizing how much work I have left to do and the small amount of time I have to get it all done. Then I feel this strong need to completely depend on the Lord and trust Him. It floods my soul and I begin to relax because the Lord is calling me to lean on Him completely...thanks God for the reminder again and again.
This is quite a journey I am on. I've never traveled this road before...thanks Connie for the words of encouragement...It's all new and very exciting. :)

The Journey of Packing Up

2006-02-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

This was my first official weekend in the process of dividing and packing up my stuff. I decided to take it easy on myself and start with the stacks of non-Africa bound belongings. I went through the real obvious toss out items I haven't looked at or used in over six months. That made it easy to say good-bye. I can't really miss something that I never really use. :)
So the process was not as painful as I thought it might be...but then again I really have so much left to do and I haven't touched the good stuff yet. But I started the journey of packing up and didn't shed one tear...yet.
I did find time to take a nap...not because I was physically or emotionally wiped out...I just love a Saturday afternoon nap. :)