I hope you have enjoyed the last few posts I have been able to write.
Within the next week I hope to post 3 journal entries from my journal on outreach. I do not have it with me currently otherwise I would post them now. But, be expecting them soon!
Friday, March 8, 2013
The Final Month
My last month in Africa…. I can’t believe it is already
here. I write this post with mixed feelings. There is a part of me that is
ecstatic to go home and to be able to see each of you again soon, and yet there
is this other side of me that is not ready for this divine adventure to be
over.
Thankfully, I DO have another month here in the great
continent of Africa! Thank you again in all you have done to allow this to be
possible for me. Words cannot express my gratitude. So, here is an idea of what
I am doing this month.
Monday mornings I start my ministry week with base worship.
This is the glorious time when the staff and students of the base meet together
to worship our King. After this I walk to the New Vision School (a primary and
secondary school YWAM founded) to work in the library. Then later that
afternoon I walk some of the Tumaini kids (the orphanage founded by YWAM) and
staff kids back to the base. Once we get there I help them with their homework.
Once our session is completed, I head home. This is either a 5 min piki piki
ride (motorcycle) or a 20-30 min walk, it really depends on if I feel lazy or
not. :P At home I am able to relax and help my absolutely amazing roommate cook
dinner! Ahh yes, one of the finer things of life…. Being able to cook for
yourself. Haha I have missed this liberty the last 6 months. After dinner Nuru
(obviously my roommate) and I have an English session. See, just one of the
many reasons why I love this girl is because she is in fact Korean. :D So, I am
helping her perfect her English and we are enjoying every minute of it. Patience
is key on both ends of the deal. So, this is what both my Monday and Fridays
look like.
Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursdays are a different story.
These three days I am staying in Engikaret! Good ole Masai land. Here, I am
able to help Nick (one of the YWAM staff) teach the adults two different
languages. One class is learning English and another is learning Swahili. This
is quite the task for me considering I know very very very little Swahili, but
I’m up for the challenge.
Prayers appreciated!
Thank You For Your Prayers
I just want to say thank you for keeping my in your prayers
these last 6 months. As I look back on my journey so far, there are many times
I am especially grateful. Here are some of those times:
Walking through the parts of Uganda where Kony and his
soldiers were, looking into the eyes of innocent children and I knowing that if
it were a few years ago these children would have been his victims.
Holding a child that is HIV positive, she looks into my eyes
and flashes a giant smile. This same disease killed both of her parents, now
she and her little sister are orphans.
I felt the darkness
and heaviness of witchcraft in certain areas of Mwanza. The men run to a life
of drunkenness, the women turn to prostitution.
Seeing both children and adults possessed by demons.
The days when I felt homesick and a little lonely.
Times when walking down the streets I saw people with no
limbs just lying on the side of the road in hopelessness.
I could go on with the different devastations I have seen. I
wanted to write this post to simply raise your awareness. There is a different
life beyond what we are used to in America. Please continue to pray for me here
and pray for the people of Tanzania!
A Typical Day
Every day was different and each church we went to had
different things they wanted us to do, but I will give you an idea of what a
day was like on outreach. The mornings started off with prayer at 6 or 7. We
would meet as our group together to spend time in worship and then in prayer.
(We would usually stay together, but where we would stay varied from week to
week. Sometimes we would stay in the pastor’s house, a member’s house, the
church, or a school.) After that was usually breakfast, not always, but most of
the days we received breakfast. On a good day this would consist of chai and
bread. The most bizarre meal I was served for breakfast was chai, moldy bread,
beans, and old spaghetti noodles. But hey, you eat what you get. Haha After
breakfast we would meet once again for a time of Praise and Worship. Then, our
day really began. We would have door to door ministry from about 10 until 12 or
sometimes even 1. We would later return to have lunch. This meal would range
anywhere from rice and beans, or ugali with cabbage to a single sweet potato,
or even nothing. Then we would have down time where we could rest and sort of
explore the location of where we were that week. Sometimes, we would have work
duty during this time. This would be something like slashing, cleaning, or hoeing.
Later that evening we would hold either a seminar, which is a teaching for the
church, or an outdoor open-air crusade, which was preaching the gospel to
anyone that would stop and listen to our service. At both of these events we would
be in charge of the praise and worship, skits, and of course the preaching. I
was privileged to be the teacher at one of the seminars. What a thrilling
experience! After that we would return to our place for the week to eat dinner.
This meal was similar to lunch.
Actually, we had this meal very late during the day. Once, we had good
‘ole plain pilau (I am attempting the spelling), which is I guess there version
of something like dirty rice, at 11:30 pm. It’s funny because my friends and I
had already gone to bed when one of our leaders came in the room to wake us up
and tell us that dinner was ready. J
Ahhh, T.I.A, This Is Africa.
So, that was a typical day on outreach. Each day varied, but
each day was definitely full of surprises. Haha Literally, everyday had its own
adventure… Some examples: a bat in our mosquito net, being chased by drunks,
swimming in Lake Victoria, casting out a demon, or driving over a rickety
dangerous bridge. So many memories.
Pole Sana
No, that doesnt say pole as we would read it. It is pronounced more of pole -eh, and sana is sahna. Anyways, Pole Sana! That is I am sorry in Swahili. Incase you couldnt guess.
I am SO sorry my blog posts have been scarce. After
returning from outreach our final week in DTS was quite busy and hectic trying
to get everything squared away for graduation. But now….. I am graduated!
YAY!!!!! It was a long, exhausting 5 months but I did it and it was worth every
challenge, every smile, every tear, and every bit of laughter.
After this week, I was with my uncle in Uganda. There we
were very busy traveling and visiting different churches, schools, and projects
that I was unable to get online. And following that exciting week with my uncle
I was in a part of Tanzania called Moshi in the Marangu/ Simbete district
working at the Home for Children. And guess what? No internet there either! :)
But now, here I am back in Arusha and I have internet! So, I will catch you up
to speed on my outreach, the orphanage, and how I am now currently ministering.
So get ready for several blog posts!
I'm Alive!
I’m in Arusha! We survived Mwanza. Lol I have endured bed bugs, fleas, fire ants,
mosquitos, and spiders biting me while I was asleep.( Thank goodness they all
weren’t at the same time!) I have survived several cramped dala- dala rides
(sitting in of course the most uncomfortable positions) along with two 12 hour
bus rides. I have skipped countless meals, and when I did eat it was small. I
have completed my apprenticeship in slashing and hoeing. And, I was chased by
drunks and called “Mzungu!” by so many children I felt like an alien.
But let me also tell you this. I got to swim (and bathe) in
Lake Victoria! I have seen gorgeous sunsets and I have been able to climb many
hills to find a captivating view. I have proclaimed the Word of the Lord! I was
able to preach on two Sunday morning services and I was able to teach at one of
our seminars. Also, I helped cast a demon out of a child by the power of the
Holy Spirit! And I have discovered deeper, more radical love for my Lord.
You see, many people are familiar with Philippians 4:13, “I
can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” But have you ever
focused on the few verses above that? It reads, “Not that I speak in regard to
need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to
be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have
learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” I
have learned the discipline Paul is writing about.
Well everyone, my five weeks of outreach have been
completed. When we were busy the days went by quickly, but on the days we
didn’t do much, they seemed to last forever. I cannot believe there is only one
week of DTS left.
(Well when I first wrote this there was only a week left)
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