Thursday, June 10, 2010
Back to the basics
The missionaries here are true people of craft and skill. They have skills that we don’t really see anymore in the modern world but here, they are needed in everyday life not only to live but also to teach the nationals so that they are able to provide for themselves as well as start a small business. Bee keeping has been one of the most exciting I’ve watched and participated in. Yes, you are talking to a now experienced bee keeper, ha. Ted and Kim Rebenold, who serve down in the valley, came up to Mumba to harvest all of the hives around the campus. Ted teaches the nationals the art of bee keeping (it is an art because if it wasn’t you would be stung to death!) so that they can start their own hives and harvest the honey and wax to sell. So I suited up in my big ole’ white suit, had a huge hat with a net on it, and three pairs of gloves (I don’t like being stung, it’s not enjoyable to me). Off we trudged into the hills to purposefully mess with hundreds of bees in their hives (doesn’t seem like the smartest idea). But, watching the process was amazing. The men started fire to produce smoke to pump into the hives which causes the bees to become drunk in a sense, they become numb, allowing the harvesters to cut away the comb from around them. After the hive was opened, swarms and swarms of bees poured out. Ted then gently carved out each piece of comb, brushed off the bees with a brush, and separated the honey comb from the pollen comb. Each comb looked like it had been hand crafted, each hexagon was perfect. It is so hard to believe that a bug that kills itself by flying into the fire because it sees light (stupid) can craft such an intricate and beautiful thing. And they say there isn’t a God…….
I wish I could describe the smell of this process but I just don’t have the words to do it justice. Wonderful? Divine? Heavenly sweet? Honey straight out of the comb is the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. I jammed my finger down into one of the combs still attached and out came oozing, gooey, wonderful goodness. Ha ha I then realized that I had a net over my head that was attached to my suit…zero access to mouth. Problem. Easily solved: I stuck my finger up against the net and sucked the honey through it. Natural filter eh? SOOO GOOD! We are harvesting the honey later on today.
We have finally gotten all of our classes that my fellow teachers and I are teaching during camp. We are teaching things that are useful and applicable to village life. Me, myself and I are teaching all the girls (4 sessions a week) how to sew, surprisingly something that none of them know how to do. I am also teaching a session on how to teach the kids to share the gospel with their friends. I do this really cool thing where I tell them a story and as I tell it I’m folding a piece of paper and then ripping it in different places and the end result is a cross (I’m brilliant I know and will shock them all with my skills ha ha). Kelsey has the hardest topic and class to teach. She will be doing health and aids awareness. They still believe things like you can get aids from the water and that sex with a virgin will cure them of aids…no. Leah is teaching map reading and baking (she’s amazing, she made the best banana bread I’ve ever tasted over coal in the back yard) Megan is sharing the gospel with the kids (big task), and Scott is teaching them how to make their own water filters (coolest thing, clay+rice hulls, molded into a pot, dried, and then fired. Proven to grab 99% of nasties). Side story. So in order to get a fire hot enough without a kiln to fire the pots you have to use cow manure. Cows are scarce here so you have to go in search for it. So that’s what we did. Anatoli (gardener), Scott and I heading out into the fields in search of manure. Oh we found some alright and had the joy of picking it all up and filling rice sacks. Don’t ask what I used to pick it up but we’ll just say thank the Lord for hand sanitizer : ). So classes and sessions are all ready to go for Monday. Here is what a day of camp will look like:
Rise with the roosters at dawn.
Staff devos (all in Swahili).
First session of teaching.
Tea time at 11 (they make this amazing Chai tea) served with donut type bread.
Chapel.
Ugali, beans, and greens for lunch at 3.
Second session of teaching.
Games and group activities in the afternoon.
Ugali, beans, and greens for dinner at about 7.
Three hour church service.
Crash into bed at about 11 (more like crash into dirt floor with reed mat, thank goodness I like the outdoors and own a camping sleeping mat which will prove to be my best friend)
Wake up and start all over again.
This is going to be epic!
There has been an outbreak of Cholera down in the valley which is threatening our third week of camp. The threat is not towards us as the teachers, we have the ability to get the medicine to stop it (death by diarrhea, zero fun sir). The threat is towards the campers and their villages. The campers come from miles and miles around (some will walk 8 hours to get to the host village) and even if just one comes with Cholera, it will spread due to the living conditions (sharing plates, cups, sleeping in close quarters) and then when everyone goes home there is the possibility of further spread by the campers carrying it back to their own villages and spreading it there. That would be so bad. So we are waiting to hear how bad it will be in the next two weeks before we make the call on what to do for that last week of camp (the pastors in church on Sunday made the announcement that no one should travel to the valley at this point in time because they don’t want anyone bringing it back to the mountains). Not something we see every day in America is it? Life shutting down completely because of a spread of a disease that has the ability to kill, and the people don’t have access to the medicine that can cure them…hmm.
Don’t worry Mom, I don’t share my water bottle with anyone and Amanda, you are a lifesaver with the hand sanitizer.
That is all for now. Our camp counselors arrive today for staff training (the campus is buzzing with excitement) so there is lots of last minute prep to be done.
Upendo
I wish I could describe the smell of this process but I just don’t have the words to do it justice. Wonderful? Divine? Heavenly sweet? Honey straight out of the comb is the sweetest thing I’ve ever tasted. I jammed my finger down into one of the combs still attached and out came oozing, gooey, wonderful goodness. Ha ha I then realized that I had a net over my head that was attached to my suit…zero access to mouth. Problem. Easily solved: I stuck my finger up against the net and sucked the honey through it. Natural filter eh? SOOO GOOD! We are harvesting the honey later on today.
We have finally gotten all of our classes that my fellow teachers and I are teaching during camp. We are teaching things that are useful and applicable to village life. Me, myself and I are teaching all the girls (4 sessions a week) how to sew, surprisingly something that none of them know how to do. I am also teaching a session on how to teach the kids to share the gospel with their friends. I do this really cool thing where I tell them a story and as I tell it I’m folding a piece of paper and then ripping it in different places and the end result is a cross (I’m brilliant I know and will shock them all with my skills ha ha). Kelsey has the hardest topic and class to teach. She will be doing health and aids awareness. They still believe things like you can get aids from the water and that sex with a virgin will cure them of aids…no. Leah is teaching map reading and baking (she’s amazing, she made the best banana bread I’ve ever tasted over coal in the back yard) Megan is sharing the gospel with the kids (big task), and Scott is teaching them how to make their own water filters (coolest thing, clay+rice hulls, molded into a pot, dried, and then fired. Proven to grab 99% of nasties). Side story. So in order to get a fire hot enough without a kiln to fire the pots you have to use cow manure. Cows are scarce here so you have to go in search for it. So that’s what we did. Anatoli (gardener), Scott and I heading out into the fields in search of manure. Oh we found some alright and had the joy of picking it all up and filling rice sacks. Don’t ask what I used to pick it up but we’ll just say thank the Lord for hand sanitizer : ). So classes and sessions are all ready to go for Monday. Here is what a day of camp will look like:
Rise with the roosters at dawn.
Staff devos (all in Swahili).
First session of teaching.
Tea time at 11 (they make this amazing Chai tea) served with donut type bread.
Chapel.
Ugali, beans, and greens for lunch at 3.
Second session of teaching.
Games and group activities in the afternoon.
Ugali, beans, and greens for dinner at about 7.
Three hour church service.
Crash into bed at about 11 (more like crash into dirt floor with reed mat, thank goodness I like the outdoors and own a camping sleeping mat which will prove to be my best friend)
Wake up and start all over again.
This is going to be epic!
There has been an outbreak of Cholera down in the valley which is threatening our third week of camp. The threat is not towards us as the teachers, we have the ability to get the medicine to stop it (death by diarrhea, zero fun sir). The threat is towards the campers and their villages. The campers come from miles and miles around (some will walk 8 hours to get to the host village) and even if just one comes with Cholera, it will spread due to the living conditions (sharing plates, cups, sleeping in close quarters) and then when everyone goes home there is the possibility of further spread by the campers carrying it back to their own villages and spreading it there. That would be so bad. So we are waiting to hear how bad it will be in the next two weeks before we make the call on what to do for that last week of camp (the pastors in church on Sunday made the announcement that no one should travel to the valley at this point in time because they don’t want anyone bringing it back to the mountains). Not something we see every day in America is it? Life shutting down completely because of a spread of a disease that has the ability to kill, and the people don’t have access to the medicine that can cure them…hmm.
Don’t worry Mom, I don’t share my water bottle with anyone and Amanda, you are a lifesaver with the hand sanitizer.
That is all for now. Our camp counselors arrive today for staff training (the campus is buzzing with excitement) so there is lots of last minute prep to be done.
Upendo
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Yesterday I went for a walk with Lynn through the countryside of Mumba as the sun was setting over the fields and mountains. It was so breathtakingly beautiful. As we were walking, we drew a crowd of small children (I told you, I'm famous over here ha ha) who followed us for about half a mile. We decided to play with them a little and as we walked we would randomly turn around real fast and chase them down the road. They're screams followed by instant laughter was music to our ears. They then jumped right back in line to follow us. We did this a couple times before they stopped following us : ).
Camp staff training begins in 3 days. We will spend the weekend training all of the counselors on how to work with the kids and Monday we head out to our first village to begin three weeks of teaching, playing, running, bucket baths, squatty potties, sleeping in the dirt, and ugali twice a day. This is going to be awesome.
One of the coolest things about being in Tanzania so far is trying to figure out the people and culture (lifelong journey I think). Everything here seems so backwards from home and nothing makes sense. I find myself shaking my head most of the time and going "whaaaaaaat?" Here is a quote I journaled this week from a book that I'm reading that makes me smile every time I think to myself, "What have I gotten myself into?!":
"Those who step off the road to discover, to learn, will realize the awakening of all five senses. Yes, only the curious would see and hear, smell and touch, and, with every step and glance, be rewarded for their willingness to investigate beyond the glade."
There is so much out here in the world to see, taste, smell, and experience.I want to encourage you to step out, be brave, follow your feet, and see where you end up, because it is SO worth it! And no worries, God's got ya.
Peace Rafiki
Camp staff training begins in 3 days. We will spend the weekend training all of the counselors on how to work with the kids and Monday we head out to our first village to begin three weeks of teaching, playing, running, bucket baths, squatty potties, sleeping in the dirt, and ugali twice a day. This is going to be awesome.
One of the coolest things about being in Tanzania so far is trying to figure out the people and culture (lifelong journey I think). Everything here seems so backwards from home and nothing makes sense. I find myself shaking my head most of the time and going "whaaaaaaat?" Here is a quote I journaled this week from a book that I'm reading that makes me smile every time I think to myself, "What have I gotten myself into?!":
"Those who step off the road to discover, to learn, will realize the awakening of all five senses. Yes, only the curious would see and hear, smell and touch, and, with every step and glance, be rewarded for their willingness to investigate beyond the glade."
There is so much out here in the world to see, taste, smell, and experience.I want to encourage you to step out, be brave, follow your feet, and see where you end up, because it is SO worth it! And no worries, God's got ya.
Peace Rafiki
Sunday, June 6, 2010
"I bless the rains down in Africa"
Church in Tanzania is one of the most exciting and entertaining experiences I think I’ve ever experienced. We worshiped today in the village of Mumba with about half the village packed into their church with women on one side and men on the other. The church was in constant motion from toddlers toddling their way across the floor up by the pastor, babies crying, moms shushing, and people running in and out constantly. I sat in awe and listened as the youth choir sang and danced, and then the mothers with their babies strapped to their backs, and finally the children. I got to see my baby choir come to life and it brought tears to my eyes. The songs here in Tanzania are very simple consisting of a repetition of I –IV –V –IV –I (for all my fellow music nerds out there) over and over and over and over again. The melodies are simple yet so catchy. They sing passages straight from the Bible and my favorite thing is that they always resolve their endings! We had to stand up in front of the entire congregation and introduce ourselves, “gina langu ni Hana” and tell them that our churches and families in America send their greetings. At the ending of the service we all sang ort way out into the church yard, a call and response song, and formed a gigantic circle and shook ever single hand of the congregation. It was so powerful and so awesome to walk around the circle shaking each and every hand as the Swahili rose and echoed through the village. Each toothless smile told a different story. Once we finished shaking hands we all stood in the circle and sang. I will never forget the sound of 70 people singing and clapping as the wind blew through the church yard with everyone smiling at each other across the yard. We will be visiting a different church each Sunday.
Yesterday we were invited to the home of Babo and Mama Aiden (every woman is called “mama” and then her first born’s name so Mama Aiden is the mother of Aiden, same goes for the father) in Sumbawanga. This was our first Tanzanian hospitality experience. Babo and Mama Aiden are not well off, he is a local pastor currently in school to be able to teach, they have 5 children and live in a three room house with no electricity, no running water, and the Choo (potty) is a building in the courtyard that they also bathe in. To say the least they are struggling right now. But they invited us into their home. When we arrived they took all of our bags and sat us down in their living room which consisted of two chairs and a couch. Mama Aiden hurried away into the kitchen and left us to our own. The children came around and greeted us with “skikamo” and touched our heads. This is a sign of respect. We always answer with “Malahaba.” They then washed out hands before the meal. First truly Tanzanian meal I’ve had. The meal consisted of Ugali which basically is like thick cream of wheat. It is their staple here and is made from water and cornmeal. You roll the ugali in your hand and then scoop up the beans and greens and shove it all in your mouth. It doesn’t taste like much but it is filling…ha ha ugali kinda sticks with you too. We will be eating ugali twice a day during camp weeks, and that’s all. It’s more formally known as the Ugali and water diet. Mama and Babo Aiden’s hospitality was unbelievable. They dropped their entire day to sit and fellowship with us. While we were there others came and dropped by. This is extremely common in Tanzania. If a visitor comes, you drop everything you are doing and feed them and visit with them. So there we are, 6 Americans who don’t speak Swahili, and 4 Tanzanians who don’t speak English, and still, we were able to visit for three hours. When was that last time someone knocked on your door unannounced just for a visit? Not something we see everyday in America…..don’t be alarmed now after this if I show up unannounced to your homes and just wanna chat : ).
I worked on craft stuff for camp today. Cut out 150 pieces of fabric and then wrote SIONI AIBU on them which means “Not Ashamed,” taken from the verse found in Romans “I am not ashamed of the gospel.”. I will be teaching the girls at camp how to sew so we wrote on the cloth to make it easier for them to sew along the lines. This is our theme verse for camp that all the kids will memorize. Ha ha and now I’ve memorized it too after writing it so many times…..such a useful phrase.
God has kept me on my toes since leaving 10 days ago. There has been constant change, constant newness, and every time I get close to a comfort zone a new challenge is presented. I’m so thankful for this time though because as hard as it is and difficult, it is equally as fun and exciting. Like I said in earlier posts, I crash into bed every night a little changed. This is all for the good and I can’t wait to look back upon this time and see how God’s hand is constantly guiding this adventure of mine, and just how much it has changed me. Every day I am reminded of God’s goodness and grace. When all the glitz of the modern world is stripped away you see with new eyes the world around you. There is so much out here and I can’t believe that I get to experience this.
That is all for now my rafiki. Grace from Tanzania.
Yesterday we were invited to the home of Babo and Mama Aiden (every woman is called “mama” and then her first born’s name so Mama Aiden is the mother of Aiden, same goes for the father) in Sumbawanga. This was our first Tanzanian hospitality experience. Babo and Mama Aiden are not well off, he is a local pastor currently in school to be able to teach, they have 5 children and live in a three room house with no electricity, no running water, and the Choo (potty) is a building in the courtyard that they also bathe in. To say the least they are struggling right now. But they invited us into their home. When we arrived they took all of our bags and sat us down in their living room which consisted of two chairs and a couch. Mama Aiden hurried away into the kitchen and left us to our own. The children came around and greeted us with “skikamo” and touched our heads. This is a sign of respect. We always answer with “Malahaba.” They then washed out hands before the meal. First truly Tanzanian meal I’ve had. The meal consisted of Ugali which basically is like thick cream of wheat. It is their staple here and is made from water and cornmeal. You roll the ugali in your hand and then scoop up the beans and greens and shove it all in your mouth. It doesn’t taste like much but it is filling…ha ha ugali kinda sticks with you too. We will be eating ugali twice a day during camp weeks, and that’s all. It’s more formally known as the Ugali and water diet. Mama and Babo Aiden’s hospitality was unbelievable. They dropped their entire day to sit and fellowship with us. While we were there others came and dropped by. This is extremely common in Tanzania. If a visitor comes, you drop everything you are doing and feed them and visit with them. So there we are, 6 Americans who don’t speak Swahili, and 4 Tanzanians who don’t speak English, and still, we were able to visit for three hours. When was that last time someone knocked on your door unannounced just for a visit? Not something we see everyday in America…..don’t be alarmed now after this if I show up unannounced to your homes and just wanna chat : ).
I worked on craft stuff for camp today. Cut out 150 pieces of fabric and then wrote SIONI AIBU on them which means “Not Ashamed,” taken from the verse found in Romans “I am not ashamed of the gospel.”. I will be teaching the girls at camp how to sew so we wrote on the cloth to make it easier for them to sew along the lines. This is our theme verse for camp that all the kids will memorize. Ha ha and now I’ve memorized it too after writing it so many times…..such a useful phrase.
God has kept me on my toes since leaving 10 days ago. There has been constant change, constant newness, and every time I get close to a comfort zone a new challenge is presented. I’m so thankful for this time though because as hard as it is and difficult, it is equally as fun and exciting. Like I said in earlier posts, I crash into bed every night a little changed. This is all for the good and I can’t wait to look back upon this time and see how God’s hand is constantly guiding this adventure of mine, and just how much it has changed me. Every day I am reminded of God’s goodness and grace. When all the glitz of the modern world is stripped away you see with new eyes the world around you. There is so much out here and I can’t believe that I get to experience this.
That is all for now my rafiki. Grace from Tanzania.
Friday, June 4, 2010
"The gods must be crazy"
Mmmm, Africa. Africa is everything everyone said it would be, everything I ever imagined it to be, and nothing that I've ever experienced before.
I've been in country for just about a week now, here is a small recap of my time so far:
Left home and traveled for 28 hours, arrived in Dar es Salaam exhausted and alone, put my life in the hands of a taxi driver I'd never met before, took a crazy taxi ride across town, stayed in an amazing home with amazing family at embassy, took a walk on the beach, met my leader Brook for the first time, traveled back to airport to meet rest of the team for the first time, stayed the night in a church guest house under my first mosquito net, woke up at 3 am to travel to, I think, the scariest place I've ever been; the down town Dar bus depot, boarded a bus packed like a bunch of bananas smelling like B.O. for 13 hours, ate baboon, used squatty potty for first time in country, saw an elephant, arrived in Mbeya in the evening, stayed in local missionary home, woke up at 5 to board illegal bus (soooo sketchy, good story though, Brook knows the owner of the bus company and he knew we were traveling so he called us and told us he had an entire bus for us that wasn't registered yet so couldn't hold regular passengers but he got his team together to take us the rest of the way to Mumba on this bus. Sketch=awesome), arrived in Mumba 6 hours later, climbed on top of luggage on top of Landcruiser to travel through the village to the campus, met the missionaries, slept like a baby, stood and stared for a long time still not believing that I was here, traveled to town to get supplies (huge market with everything you could imagine to buy), started to learn some Swahili (hodi hodi!), took a ton of photos, went to local traveling market (goodwill on wheels), almost bought a shirt that said "Obama, change has came" ha someone wasn't proof reading, ate some local food (ogali, greens and beans), unpacked everything, and have been working on camp stuff every since. Phew, what a first week.
I was awoken the other day by my little friend Luka with some of the greatest wisdom I've ever heard. He bounded onto my bed and said in his little accent, "Hannah, today is a new day!" What a wise little man he is. Today indeed is a new day. Each day is a new day here full of new experiences, a lot of "firsts," and many new friends. There is so much that I've never experienced before, I feel myself changing each and every day.
Something that has struck me is just how much we take for granted in America. Here, we don't have electricity, we have a generator that runs for two hours every night, there is no hot water, you have to start a fire to heat the water, we cook off of a wood stove (heats the water at the same time), you have to remember to fill the water filter WITH water in order for there to be clean water, our clothes are all hand washed, hand beaten more like it, and hung out to dry, and I constantly have to remind myself to keep my mouth closed in the shower (nobody wants to go home with an amoeba, they may be cute under the microscope but out here they're wreck you). This is not exactly the Hilton, but I love it.
Went to the local traveling market today (Goodwill on wheels) and it was hilarious to see tags that said things like "Savers" and "Goodwill." Row upon row of used clothes. Now, I know what you all are thinking, "USED clothes coming from Africa? Don't we send out used clothes to them?" That's exactly what I thought, and it's exactly what it was. I got to see where all of our used clothes go! Now I have to admit, I did buy something. I found a Patagonia Jacket for 2,500 shillings which comes out to be about $2.00. Come on people how could I have resisted that?! Plus, it's super cold here and I didn't pack enough cold weather gear. Can you imagine that? Cold in Africa. All in all, very cool market.
I'm getting used to being stared at. It makes you kinda feel like a super star actually ha ha. I've likened it to this: if a group of Mesi tribal warriors walked down the street in New York City, we all would stare, hard. That is what we look like to them. I've started to stare back actually. If you stare at me then I'm going to stare back at you and if you are a kid I'm going to make a funny face at you! Oh I don't know if I'll ever understand it here : ).
That is all for now my rafiki. Thank you for your prayers, they are greatly coveted and completely felt.
Upendo
I've been in country for just about a week now, here is a small recap of my time so far:
Left home and traveled for 28 hours, arrived in Dar es Salaam exhausted and alone, put my life in the hands of a taxi driver I'd never met before, took a crazy taxi ride across town, stayed in an amazing home with amazing family at embassy, took a walk on the beach, met my leader Brook for the first time, traveled back to airport to meet rest of the team for the first time, stayed the night in a church guest house under my first mosquito net, woke up at 3 am to travel to, I think, the scariest place I've ever been; the down town Dar bus depot, boarded a bus packed like a bunch of bananas smelling like B.O. for 13 hours, ate baboon, used squatty potty for first time in country, saw an elephant, arrived in Mbeya in the evening, stayed in local missionary home, woke up at 5 to board illegal bus (soooo sketchy, good story though, Brook knows the owner of the bus company and he knew we were traveling so he called us and told us he had an entire bus for us that wasn't registered yet so couldn't hold regular passengers but he got his team together to take us the rest of the way to Mumba on this bus. Sketch=awesome), arrived in Mumba 6 hours later, climbed on top of luggage on top of Landcruiser to travel through the village to the campus, met the missionaries, slept like a baby, stood and stared for a long time still not believing that I was here, traveled to town to get supplies (huge market with everything you could imagine to buy), started to learn some Swahili (hodi hodi!), took a ton of photos, went to local traveling market (goodwill on wheels), almost bought a shirt that said "Obama, change has came" ha someone wasn't proof reading, ate some local food (ogali, greens and beans), unpacked everything, and have been working on camp stuff every since. Phew, what a first week.
I was awoken the other day by my little friend Luka with some of the greatest wisdom I've ever heard. He bounded onto my bed and said in his little accent, "Hannah, today is a new day!" What a wise little man he is. Today indeed is a new day. Each day is a new day here full of new experiences, a lot of "firsts," and many new friends. There is so much that I've never experienced before, I feel myself changing each and every day.
Something that has struck me is just how much we take for granted in America. Here, we don't have electricity, we have a generator that runs for two hours every night, there is no hot water, you have to start a fire to heat the water, we cook off of a wood stove (heats the water at the same time), you have to remember to fill the water filter WITH water in order for there to be clean water, our clothes are all hand washed, hand beaten more like it, and hung out to dry, and I constantly have to remind myself to keep my mouth closed in the shower (nobody wants to go home with an amoeba, they may be cute under the microscope but out here they're wreck you). This is not exactly the Hilton, but I love it.
Went to the local traveling market today (Goodwill on wheels) and it was hilarious to see tags that said things like "Savers" and "Goodwill." Row upon row of used clothes. Now, I know what you all are thinking, "USED clothes coming from Africa? Don't we send out used clothes to them?" That's exactly what I thought, and it's exactly what it was. I got to see where all of our used clothes go! Now I have to admit, I did buy something. I found a Patagonia Jacket for 2,500 shillings which comes out to be about $2.00. Come on people how could I have resisted that?! Plus, it's super cold here and I didn't pack enough cold weather gear. Can you imagine that? Cold in Africa. All in all, very cool market.
I'm getting used to being stared at. It makes you kinda feel like a super star actually ha ha. I've likened it to this: if a group of Mesi tribal warriors walked down the street in New York City, we all would stare, hard. That is what we look like to them. I've started to stare back actually. If you stare at me then I'm going to stare back at you and if you are a kid I'm going to make a funny face at you! Oh I don't know if I'll ever understand it here : ).
That is all for now my rafiki. Thank you for your prayers, they are greatly coveted and completely felt.
Upendo
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
To the Orphanage...and back
Hello my Rafiki (friend), settling into life here in the beautiful mountain region that is home to the village of Mumba. The missionaries here are incredible, it is so much fun to watch how they approach everyday life. It is a simple life living in a third world country, but one full of many joys. Today we traveled to the nearby town of Sumbawanga to gather supplies and visit the orphanage. Pictures will never capture the way your heart feels when you walk into an orphanage. The children flocked to us the minute we entered the courtyard wanting hugs and their pictures taken, all starving for attention and love. I entered one of the baby rooms, a room full of cribs and babies wet from their own urine. I walked over to one crib and my heart just about tore out. There lay a little girl who looked about 2 years old in size, but she was really 7. Katarina has cerebral palsy and lays in her crib all day. She was reaching through the crib and grabbed my hand and from that moment on I was sold. I scooped her up and just held her for the next hour and a half. Her body randomly spazzes, she can't control it and her legs are so bad that her knees were bent about halfway up her body. I held her like a three month old with her head resting on my chest. Holding her was almost more than my heart could take. As we were walking around the courtyard I started praying for her future (not bright in this country) and as I started crying she bent her neck up and looked me straight in the eyes and gave me the most joyful smiles I think I've ever seen. I held her till they made me put her down because we were leaving. That is a very hard thing to do, to lay a child back down in a damp crib not knowing what lies in her future. I found out later that she is being moved to an orphanage in another town that has a therapy program for children like her.
All day at the orphanage I was reminded of Christ's instruction, "Take care of the widows and orphans." Who is going to do it if it's not us? One of the little girls, Flora, was so neglected that when she came to the village she couldn't walk and had sores all over her neck cause she just sat and laid for tbe first two years of her life. No one ever touched her, no one held her and loved on her, she couldn't walk. Today I got to watch that little girl run. There are so many more stories..... "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these".
My Rafiki, thank you for your continued prayers and support. Internet is sketch (no really, in Africa? ha ha ) I will update whenever possible.
Love from Africa
All day at the orphanage I was reminded of Christ's instruction, "Take care of the widows and orphans." Who is going to do it if it's not us? One of the little girls, Flora, was so neglected that when she came to the village she couldn't walk and had sores all over her neck cause she just sat and laid for tbe first two years of her life. No one ever touched her, no one held her and loved on her, she couldn't walk. Today I got to watch that little girl run. There are so many more stories..... "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these".
My Rafiki, thank you for your continued prayers and support. Internet is sketch (no really, in Africa? ha ha ) I will update whenever possible.
Love from Africa
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
A new day....
"Day 2 in Mumba, beginning to love the lifestyle here. The simplicity is amazing. No electricity and you have to start a fire for hot water, laundry by hand. Beginning to learn Swahili from my two new little friends, Winni and Luka. The missionary's life here is a hard one, but one full of purpose and faith. Going to town tomorrow so hopefully a longer post, by me, not via text. Love from your "baba" (sister)."
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