The time has come for us to say goodbye. We had our last party on Friday and it was a huge success. We had a talent show, and as people went up on stage, more people were running up to me and asking if they could still sign up. It lasted a solid 2 1/2 hours but we had a lot of fun. Benny was our DJ, he had a keyboard and would set the beat for everyone who went up to sing. There was also a drama that some people did that had a lesson in drug abuse. Ismail sat by me and helped me call people up...a few times he randomly jumped on stage to do something, the team really enjoyed watching all of the people interact with eachother.
At the end it got pretty sad because it was the last time we were going to see a lot of them. Our flight leaves Sunday afternoon and we should be in the states by Monday night. My experience overall has been so amazing and I'm so blessed to have had this opportunity. I can't wait until my next adventure.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
We are liv-ing in a malaria world, and I am a malaria girl
Ok, so I personally don't have malaira, but 5 out of the 9 of us do. Everyone is fine and on medication but prayers are greatly appreciated. All of that aside, we are still having a very succefful trip. On Friday we had another party. We set up a projector and watched the "Lion King." It was such a great experience to watch that movie with them since I am in a Swahili speaking country. One thing that I did find rather amusing though, was that the part when Mufasa dies came on (sorry for anyone who has yet to see the Lion King, shame of you if you havent :) Everyone, EVERYONE started laughing. I don't know about the rest of you but I grew up watching the Lion King glancing over at my mom (sorry mom) when that part came on to see her crying but apparantly it's a funny thing here in Moshi. They all got a kick out of Timon and Pumba when "Hakuna Matata" came on, too. I sat by Erick and we would pick out all the animals and he would learn the english term and then he'd teach me the Swahili term, so it was an educational movie for everyone!
On Saturday we got to go to Good Luck's church. His choir was practicing so he invited us to watch, or at least I thought that's what we would be doing. He goes to a Lutheran church close by and once we got there they gave us song books and we joined them. It was an amazing experience to get to do that, and we could all tell that Good Luck was excited to share his culture with us, too.
Today I had a really interesting talk with Alfred. He finished the "Luke" workbook and is now reading in the "John" workbook. We got to the 3rd lesson which was John 3:1-8 and it was the story where Jesus teaches that you must be "born again" and that really confused him. We talked for a long time about what that meant but then he said something that made me really sad. He said "Why should I get baptized if I know people that are baptized that live the wrong way" It was really hard for me to get past that with him but I just talked about forgiveness, repentance, and falling away from God. He seemed a little confused, but at the end of the conversation he seemed to understand the concept for the most part. That is the biggest problem I have found here. Everyone is very open to Christianity, but when it comes to being baptized, or attending church they find no need to because to them they feel like they live a good life so there is no need for church. I guess it's the same way in America, too. Our conversation on that was short-lived though before he jumped in to another topic.
I only have 5 more days here in Africa, I feel like I'm just now starting to get close to everyone and I have to go...
On Saturday we got to go to Good Luck's church. His choir was practicing so he invited us to watch, or at least I thought that's what we would be doing. He goes to a Lutheran church close by and once we got there they gave us song books and we joined them. It was an amazing experience to get to do that, and we could all tell that Good Luck was excited to share his culture with us, too.
Today I had a really interesting talk with Alfred. He finished the "Luke" workbook and is now reading in the "John" workbook. We got to the 3rd lesson which was John 3:1-8 and it was the story where Jesus teaches that you must be "born again" and that really confused him. We talked for a long time about what that meant but then he said something that made me really sad. He said "Why should I get baptized if I know people that are baptized that live the wrong way" It was really hard for me to get past that with him but I just talked about forgiveness, repentance, and falling away from God. He seemed a little confused, but at the end of the conversation he seemed to understand the concept for the most part. That is the biggest problem I have found here. Everyone is very open to Christianity, but when it comes to being baptized, or attending church they find no need to because to them they feel like they live a good life so there is no need for church. I guess it's the same way in America, too. Our conversation on that was short-lived though before he jumped in to another topic.
I only have 5 more days here in Africa, I feel like I'm just now starting to get close to everyone and I have to go...
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A Few Introductions
It's time for another post. The group from Harding and Eastern got back from Kenya monday night, so we had them over to our house and Mama Flo cooked us a Feast. Mama Flo has been teaching some of us girls how to cook...Micah and I made the chipati last night.
My readers are getting so much better. I could barely understand Miraji when he first started and now we're running over time because we talk too long! Our beginners class is going well, too. We decided to have a beginners class for anyone who knows no English at all since there are so many. We get about 20-30 people each time on those. We have one at 9 AM and one at 3 PM. Over all I think the people are enjoying the lessons, and more importantly getting to know some of the church members.
Last night we got the luxary of watching a movie. We all watched "Stardust" on Kirk's laptop since the other group had the projector, it was still nice to watch a movie.
I guess I should introduce my team. I couldn't have asked for a better group to be in Africa with, we all get along so well. Micah always has the common sense and she's my right hand girl when Kirk and Alex team up against us. Lauren is so much fun and has an amazing heart. Charla and I have dressed alike on accident more than once, great minds think alike! :) but she is such a sweet girl and I'm so glad that she's here. Kirk is the hugger, he always gives us hugs and is always cracking a good joke. Alex is our leader and doing a great job at it, he gets along with the people really well, too. Tracy is a lot of fun, too. We have had a couple of really good discussions and he is a very good encouager. Braden, haha, oh Braden. This trip would not be the same without him. He is our walking jukebox. He definitely keeps the group alive and interesting. Jared is our swahili man he has picked up on the language faster than any of us and he has such an awesome drive for missions. And Allen, we miss him a lot but while he was here he was sooo helpful when we went anywere. He was always sure to say the right things at the right time. He also saved Micah and I a few times in the market :) Allen if you're reading this, we all miss you! even if you gave us a hard time :) I absolutely love this team, I'm going to be so sad to leave!
My readers are getting so much better. I could barely understand Miraji when he first started and now we're running over time because we talk too long! Our beginners class is going well, too. We decided to have a beginners class for anyone who knows no English at all since there are so many. We get about 20-30 people each time on those. We have one at 9 AM and one at 3 PM. Over all I think the people are enjoying the lessons, and more importantly getting to know some of the church members.
Last night we got the luxary of watching a movie. We all watched "Stardust" on Kirk's laptop since the other group had the projector, it was still nice to watch a movie.
I guess I should introduce my team. I couldn't have asked for a better group to be in Africa with, we all get along so well. Micah always has the common sense and she's my right hand girl when Kirk and Alex team up against us. Lauren is so much fun and has an amazing heart. Charla and I have dressed alike on accident more than once, great minds think alike! :) but she is such a sweet girl and I'm so glad that she's here. Kirk is the hugger, he always gives us hugs and is always cracking a good joke. Alex is our leader and doing a great job at it, he gets along with the people really well, too. Tracy is a lot of fun, too. We have had a couple of really good discussions and he is a very good encouager. Braden, haha, oh Braden. This trip would not be the same without him. He is our walking jukebox. He definitely keeps the group alive and interesting. Jared is our swahili man he has picked up on the language faster than any of us and he has such an awesome drive for missions. And Allen, we miss him a lot but while he was here he was sooo helpful when we went anywere. He was always sure to say the right things at the right time. He also saved Micah and I a few times in the market :) Allen if you're reading this, we all miss you! even if you gave us a hard time :) I absolutely love this team, I'm going to be so sad to leave!
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