What a Day!

This has been an emotional day. I spent most of the day in Likamba, the village that I mentioned before. I was able to tell them that the children will now have porridge for the rest of the school year. We have donations to allow for three months and I am trusting by faith that we will have enough for the last month. The response of the head teacher and pastor was something that I will never forget. They love these children so much and pour their lives into them.

When I came home, Samuel, my friend who has AIDS, was already at our house. He was not feeling well. He felt so warm and was not doing well. We took him to a clinic and found out that he has a very serious form of Malaria. His immune system is so weak, so it is more serious for him. He has a 104 degree temperature. PLEASE PRAY! He is such a sweet boy. He is lying on the couch right now. I feel so helpless.

How quickly we become attached

Isn't it amazing how some people we can meet for only a moment and feel instantly connected with them for life. I met someone like that a couple of days ago, Samuel. He is the sweetest boy. He walks right up to you and gives you a hug. He will lean on and sit next to you. We had fun making videos with my camera and making silly faces. Then he taught me some card games and I taught him some. I am staying with the Taylors ( a family from Perimeter that is here for six weeks). He comes over every day after school to just hang out. He is a very bright boy that is fourteen years old but he looks about nine.

He was severely malnourished until this family took him in. They feed him dinner everynight and help him get the medicine that he needs. Sweet Samuel has AIDS, not HIV but full blown AIDS. There are four stages to AIDS and he is in Stage 3. You would never know it by looking at him. He has the brightest smile and the most tender eyes. Yesterday, we played cards for a while and then he said he was tired so he curled up next to me on the couch and fell asleep. Having AIDS feels like having the flu all the time.

His mother died, we think. His father remarried and the new wife wanted nothing to do with him so they found someone to take him in. This woman provides shelter but nothing else. He comes here and gets love and attention. What is so amazing is that you feel loved by him as well. He is funny and interesting and I have learned how to trash talk in Swahili. =)

I have a picture of him but I cannpt get the pictures to load on here. Hopefully I will figure that you soon.

Also, little side note: I am fighting a sinus infection and have not been able to sleep for the past few nights. Please pray for strength, endurance, perseverance, and healing.

The choir of heaven

I think that worship in heaven will be lead by the children of Tanzania! They worship with eyes closed, hands raised, and as loud as they can. Unbelievable.

This past Friday I went to a village called Lakamba. Imara Ministry is who I am working with here in Tanzania. Perimeter is involved in Karansi. Imara has five major villages that it is involved with. I do not know how to deal with or respond to what I saw on Friday. This school is three years old. They have a pre-one, standard one and two. The third classroom is not being built even though school started in January. Money for this project has been a major issue. The pre-one (kindergartern) class has been meeting in this small, wood, dingy little shack. Dirt floors with small wood benches. Very little light could get in so it was always dark. The pre-one had to move from there because they found a King Cobra. Now, standard one and two are sharing a classroom. This school is in a somewhat isolated area. The children walk one to two hours to get to school. There are lots of hills around and some of them live on the other side of the hills. They leave so early in the dark to get to school. The teachers have to take two buses and then walk an hour to get to school. (I can't believe I have ever complained about my commute of fifteen minutes). These are all children that ensnared by poverty. This education offers them a way out. They used to feed them porridge every day. The porridge is packed full of nutrients and protein. They have now run out of money for that.

You would never know any of that from them. When you go to their class, they are eagerly learning with big, bright smiles on their face. They are so thankful to God for all of their blessings. When I watch them worship, I don't know how to do anything other than cry. They raise their hands, close their eyes tight, and sing as loud as they can. They worship God with all that they have and all that they are. They sing about how good God is and are so thankful for how much He loves them.

I do not know respond to this. I am ready to cash in my Roth IRA, but is that the answer. I don't know. I want these kids to have food. I don't know how to make it happen. I don't know what to do. I know that I have so much more than they have and I have never worshipped with that kind of passion and shown that much gratitude for God's goodness.

Jesus Take The Wheel

This phrase took on a whole new meaning for me yesterday morning. I officially became a driver here in Tanzania. I was out in the village of Karansi with a Perimeter team but had to come back to the city of Arusha for some meetings. That meant I had to drive. For starters, I am taking some malaria medicine that has been known to cause night terrors and hallucinations in people. I have had strange dreams but nothing other than that. I intended to follow Yona who works with Imara, so that it would be safer for my first solo voyage. We needed to leave at 6am to make the hour and half drive in order to be there in time. I woke up several times in the night afraid I would oversleep and thinking that I had heard a car horn. I began to worry that I was hallucinating. When I finally got up to leave, I made my way to the car in the dark. All of a sudden I started hearing a very strange noise which is in addition to the barking and whining dogs that sound like they are dying. I was scare that I had begun to hallucinate. What is the noise right behind me! Where is it coming from! Am I really going crazy! Then I remembered that in my backpack that I was carrying was Bobby (my headmaster)'s noise maker and it had turned on in the jostling. Whew! Not crazy! Well, at least not hallucinating. =) I did not see Yona anywhere. His car was gone. I assumed I missed him. (I found out later, he had just gone to go and pick up the pastor and was coming back for me). As I was leaving our gated compound, I noticed two people standing at the gate. I assumed they were the night guards. I stopped my car and rolled down the window. He started to converse with me. I said sawa which means okay. I had no idea what he said. I was just anxious to be on my way. However, as he was getting in my car I realized that I had agreed to give him a ride. Dad, I am okay! Don't worry! I did not take him far. Then, in case you didn't know they drive on the "other" (not the wrong) side of the road. Most people do not actually value tail lights. So, knowing when to stop for someone who has depth perception problems can be a bit of a challenge. Then, came the road block. I was stopped by the police on my native voyage. I just smiled and only spoke English as I was told. He said are you OK? I said yes, He said OK, you can go. I learned how to pass cars and how to be passed frequently. The turnoff for Imara(the organization that I am working with) is a small little sign that I did not notice until going quite a bit past it. I learned how to make turns across very busy traffic where no one lets anyone in, you just have to push your way. But, I made it. This morning I needed to go to Joshua (the teacher's training college). The road to that place would not really be called a road by most people's standards. There are HUGE potholes. All dirt. Ravines. Bumps. Rocks. You have to zigzag across the road so you do not get stuck. During all of my wild driving adventures, I couldn't help but think of "Jesus take the wheel." I did do quite a bit of praying during the whole process. As I was driving, I had this feeling that Christ was sitting right next to me in the car with his hand on my knee with comfort. He will calm the storms. As I was about to freak out a little, I knew He was there. He is always with me. He said I am here. I am taking care of you. Do not fear. I felt like there was a small band of angels all around my car keeping it from falling in a ditch, or getting stuck in a hole, or going into the wrong lane of traffic. I think those angels probably got a pretty good workout. =) But, I am pretty sure that song will always make me think of driving in Tanzania.

Only one Week!

The fact that I have only been here for one week is unbelievable! So much has happened. First before I begin, let me give you two definitions. Karansi: this is the village where Perimeter goes and where I have spent most of my time. That is where the school that Perimeter has helped is located. Joshua is a teachers training college where all the teachers from Karansi went to get their education. I started out at Karansi and it was like seeing old friends. My time there was so good. I traveled there with another team. We visited children and widows and I got an update on the status of the school. We traveled to go and visit some widows in Karansi. This helped me get a better idea of how big this village is. The population is only about 2000 but it is spread out quite far. We had to travel by car and then the road ended so we had to go up over a couple of "hills" and climb down a path to go visit these sweet women. They live in huts with a dirt floor. They are providing for families without a husband. When we asked how one of the widows was doing, she replied, "Great, I have all that I need." What a perspective! Have I ever said that? I have so much more "stuff" than she does, but I think she might have much deeper understanding of what a need really is and what it means to depend on God. I am at Joshua now. The students here are wonderful. I was just able to watch four of them get baptized. How amazing! I am living in a home with two other girls, one from Australia, the other from the U.K.. They are wonderful. I am really enjoying my time here. I am learning so much! I am so overwhelmed by God's goodness. I am having a hard time uploading pictures. I am not sure why. I will post some as soon as I can. Love to you all!

Oh the Irony

So, we are supposed to walk by faith not by sight right? Well, it was interesting to realize that I have been refusing to walk by faith until I can see what is ahead of me. I want to know what is ahead; what God is going to do; how things are going to work out; and then I will walk by faith. Which actually means that I am not walking by faith. I am not sure exactly what that means but I know what not walking by sight is. It means you can't see. I have been imagining myself blindfolded walking in a new place. I don't know what is out there. I don't know the right path to take. I Imagine myself walking with arms out feeling around like a crazy person. I feel unsteady and unsure and a little scared. There are also times here that things are absolutely pitch black and you can see nothing even with your eyes open. You can feel alone and scared. What is out there? Lions? Tigers? Bears? I am clinging right now to God. I know He is here. I just have to believe it and walk with assurance because of the faith in my God, not because He is a faithful and good God.

I have arrived

I am here in Tanzania. I have arrived at my new home. I do not think that concept has sunk in yet. I have traveled over with a team from Perimeter. They were wonderful. I enjoyed getting to know them and hearing their stories. Don't you just love seeing God work in the lives of others. What a privelege. I spent the first two days in Karansi, which is the village that I have been two in the past. Seeing old friends was so good and a great way to begin my time here. I picked up right where I left off. On Sunday, I traveled to what will be new home for the next six months. I will begin my time here at the teacher's training college, which is called Joshua. The facility is absolutely beautiful. I will post pictures. The accomodations are so much better than I was expecting. The grounds are stunning. It feels like an oasis. I have a great view of Mt. Meru. The people that are part of the staff here have been so welcoming and kind. However, I realize that community and relationships take time. Building intimacy and connection takes work to develop. I find myself being a little resistant and missing what I had at home. Please pray for me in that respect. There are 29 students here at the college that will eventually teach in the villages that I will be working at as well as some other villages. I have met so many people in the past 24 hours and I do not think that I remember a single name. =)