Busy and Resting

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.