Wildlife

On Sabbath afternoon, Claire and I went with Brenden to see some wildlife! Just a few minutes down the road is a lovely lodge with many little cottages overlooking a wide expanse of animals. These animals are either handicapped or have been hurt in some way so this is a safe place for them to live. It was a beautiful area and I enjoyed it much more than the average zoo because there were no big fences making it feel like an unnatural environment. Since we were going to see animals, we thought it would be fun to bring a couple of babies along, so Claire and I took Nancy and Witness. Nancy is precious and has the cutest smile! She never wants to take her fingers out of her mouth, though, even when she's laughing. Witness is adorable too. Not only do I love her name, but her personality is so fun. These girls are a joy to be with and it was special to have some one-on-one time with them as we enjoyed the animals.

Baby Boom

In the last ten days, Cradle of Love has received seven new babies! This is a lot of children for such a short period of time. Some of these babies come here because their mother died in childbirth or soon after, whereas others are sadly abandoned. I will give you the background stories to a couple of the new babies that stick out in my mind.

Two days ago a newborn, still attached to the placenta, was found on the road in Usa Plaza (not far from here). A man picked her up and brought her to the orphanage where she was named Upendo. Because of the lack of running water that evening, we were unable to bathe her and wash the blood and vernix off. The umbilical cord was cut, though, and she was wrapped up warm and tight, and added to the nursery! She is a gorgeous and healthy baby girl around 6 pounds. Another child around two-years-old… (we’re not sure of her age) was dropped off yesterday evening because her mother ran away. The father is now re-married, but the new wife refuses to care for his daughter. The orphanage does not usually take in cases like that, because we are not a baby-sitting service and we believe that it is the father’s responsibility to take care of his child. He went to social services, though, to plead his case and to make a long story short, his daughter named Princess ended up with us. She is a very pretty girl with very sweet eyes. My heart was just aching for her because it would be an immense change being raised in a home then being plopped in an orphanage with nothing familiar and 50 screaming kids poking, prodding, and pushing you over. For a while, she just stood off at a distance with tears streaming out of her big, brown, beautiful eyes and it was all I could do to keep myself from crying simply watching her. She does not speak English, but we cuddled for a little bit that evening and I hope she felt some love and reassurance. I’m praying that one day she will learn that she is a real Princess—not only in name, but because she is a child of the King.

Riding the Dala Dala

Sunday, August 15, 2011

The dalla dalla is the local transportation system here in Tanzania. It costs 500 tsh (Tanzanian shillings) to ride it into Arusha and 200 tsh to ride into Usa. (500tsh is about the equivalent of 30 cents or something). One of the nannies, Teonna, and I walked to the end of our road, crossed the street, and waited to get picked up for a ride into town. While still afar off, the dalla dalla started honking repeatedly until it came speeding straight at us, skidding to a stop maybe a couple inches from where we were standing. I thought my life was going to end right then and there as it was speeding towards us, but the driver somehow missed hitting us. When the door opened, I noticed that this vehicle was already packed full to the brim, so I naturally assumed we would wait for the next one to come along…but no! To my surprise, we were shoved on by the guy who opens and closes the door. With a couple smacks on the roof by that same guy, the dalla dalla took off, skidding back onto the road with the door still wide open and me still dangling out! What I learned is that it does not matter how many seats there are, because you can fit three times as many people in there! Teonna told me that the most she has counted inside of a dalla dalla was 34 people! I was across from (smushed face to face with) an old man picking his nose and I also had someone sitting on my lap somewhat, while the people on either side of me were half under me and half over me. The body positioning changes at each stop as some get off and more climb on. This rearranging of bodies and smells keeps things interesting. The loud music is also fun. I wish I could have gotten my camera out to take a picture of the scene, but I couldn’t move and it also would’ve been really awkward as no one would have appreciated it. So for now, you will just have to imagine it. Riding the dalla dalla into town is something I will probably get used to eventually, but I will always remember this first experience!

The Twins

Claire is a nanny from England in her early twenties with a beautiful accent! (If I could pick up her accent while I am here as well as learn Swahili, that would be great!) Claire has had lots of experience with children and babies and is currently keeping the orphanage running while Davona is gone for a few months. Almost two weeks ago, the mother of premature twin boys died in the hospital nearby. Instead of putting the boys in our orphanage nursery right away, Claire volunteered to keep them with her for the first couple of months until they grow and get stronger. When they came, they were a mere 2kg each! David and Silvamos are precious little bundles and I am greatly enjoying having them live in the apartment with us!

Welcome to Tanzania!

Friday. August 12. 2011

The birds are conversing outside my window, the crickets are chirping, and the sun has risen. I am currently experiencing my first morning in Usa River, Tanzania at the Cradle of Love Baby Home! Before the sun came up, the chickens were making a racket, the wild dogs were howling, and the Muslim call to prayer was being blasted on loudspeakers somewhere nearby. So, as you can imagine, I have been awake for a while. As I sit here and eat my breakfast of cliff bars, celery, and chocolate covered almonds, there are monkeys playing in the trees behind our backyard and there are 42 adorable babies and toddlers waking up. I met many of them last night, but I have yet to learn their names and get to know their personalities. My journey is just beginning! In my Cross-cultural ministries class last year, I learned a lot of valuable information to prepare me for being a missionary and living overseas. One thing I learned that sticks out in my mind is that missionaries go through phases of culture shock. The author of our textbook broke it down into four stages:

1. Initial High – During this phase you usually feel excited because you are finally there! (A little bit nervous about being in a new country, though). The level of satisfaction is high. It’s the honeymoon phase of the missionary stay.
2. Frustration – Sooner or later it hits you. You are here to stay. The different tastes and sounds will not go away and some of these different things begin to get to you. You can’t seem to understand anybody. Misunderstandings seem frequent and your patience wears thin. The satisfaction level is low and you feel like going home.
3. Recovery – The good news is that culture shock is temporary. Efforts to make friends are crucial and pay off. Some of “their” strange and different ways begin to make sense when viewed from their viewpoint and bonding begins to occur.
4. Acceptance – You begin to feel comfortable again. There is a sense of satisfaction about your work. You are accepting the local climate, food, dress, and customs. You function without anxiety. You make friends and enjoy them. Eventually you will miss them!

There you have it! As I blog and give you updates throughout the months, we will find out if these phases are indeed true. I am definitely not limiting myself to these four stages, of course, but it is nice to have an outline and an idea of what is to come. If I can avoid the frustration phase, I certainly will. However, I know that as Christians we often grow the most when we are in the valley, so I am sure some frustrations and trials are ahead, but I trust that God will use them to make me a better person. I believe He has led me here and I am excited to see what opportunities He has waiting for me. I will try to post updates and pictures as often as I can get internet. So here it goes! Join me as I begin my chapter of life in Tanzania.

Traveling to Tanzania

Wednesday. August 10. 2011

I am presently sitting on a plane, half way through my 16-hour flight from Washington DC to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where I will connect to another flight, taking me to Kilimanjaro airport in Tanzania. I have been awake for the past 27 hours with the exception of a choppy 3-hour nap. At least another 12 hours of traveling yet awaits me until I reach my final destination!

I have met some great people on the plane, which has made my time sitting here more interesting. On my first flight, I met Ben who is an engineer and he was headed back to work in Virginia. We chatted a bit and had the opportunity to pray together, which was special. I am currently sitting by a missionary who can only hear out of one ear and that is the ear facing the isle . . .so for us sitting on the inside of the row against the window, it is relatively hard to get a hold of him if we need to go to the bathroom or ask a question. We’ve had some funny moments. He is a great guy, though, and headed to Malawi. Right next to me in the middle, is an African taxi cab driver from Las Vegas heading to Nairobi. The time has passed rather quickly between interesting conversations with my seatmate, reading, journaling, watching a couple Discovery documentaries, and eating my airplane meals. I am excited and eager to arrive because I am about to experience a whole lot of new things all at once, and I LOVE experiencing new things! Traveling and seeing how others live across the world is mind boggling to me! Another exciting thing is that I do not have any nervous butterflies in my stomach anymore because God has given me a sense of peace. The knowledge that many friends and loved ones are praying for me gives me reassurance and confidence in my journey. Without a doubt, God is leading my life and I must say I LOVE having God as my personal guide. I couldn’t make my life better or more exciting if I tried! He brings me surprises, teaches me lessons, builds my character, and molds me into the woman He wants me to be all at the same time. I am becoming more aware of His presence in my life and I am feeling more and more overwhelmed by His love and His blessings. When I think about how happy and blessed I am, I just look at the 300 people on this plane around me and hope and pray that one day they will feel overwhelmed by God’s love too. I am sure some of them do already, but I am also aware that many of them are not familiar with the God that I know. We live in a great mission field and we have an exciting job: bringing people to know the same overwhelming happiness, truth, and joy that we find because we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. On Page 577 of the hymnal is one of my favorite hymns, “In the Heart of Jesus.” The words contained in the third verse are particularly powerful to me. “In the field of Jesus there is work for you; such as even angels might rejoice to do; why stand idly sighing for some lifework grand, while the field of Jesus seeks your reaping hand?” This verse is a reality check for me. How often do we stand around dreaming of what we can do to make our life grand, make lots of money, and draw attention to ourselves? Whether we realize it or not, I think we all stumble into this trap repeatedly because we live in a self-focused society that encourages it. The field of Jesus is always open for workers, though, and I find it a privilege to be a worker for Christ doing a job that counts for something eternal. Winning souls to the heart of Jesus in order to further God’s kingdom is an important job. We have a high calling! To introduce someone to Jesus and then see them in heaven will bring you eternal joy. It will also bring God eternal joy!

My computer is going to die, so that is it for my thoughts during flight 501, Washington DC – Addis Ababa.

PETRA

 

We climbed a rock staircase up a mountain for 40 minutes to view this impressive monastery.

                                                                      Thirsty camel

                                A family of cats happily living in Petra                                          

                                  The leftovers of a sunset over the Petra panorama