Loving Africa
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. :)
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. :)
posted by Lydia | 12:10 AM
1 Comments:
Hi Lyd,
That was a beautiful entry... just recording some of your thoughts... it's so nice for us to share!
Freya
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