Departure

8.26.15

When I was on the plane on my way to Tanzania, I could not believe I was on a plane traveling halfway across the world to Africa. Now while I wait, I cannot believe that I am leaving Tanzania so soon. It felt like this trip was cut short. If I was given the opportunity to stay, I would take the chance in a heartbeat. 

During this trip, I believe that each one of us received a gift. This gift was to extend compassion and service to others. We do no more than receive a gift, yet we know the changes are real. We know they are real because we discover that the spirit of compassion we once found so hard to exhibit is now easy (Foster, 9).

Now don't get me wrong when I say easy. See, when meeting the people of Tanzania, it was so easy to love them and to fall in love with the people. Being able to love on one another was the highlight of this trip. It was so easy to serve these people because we saw how beneficial it was for both parties. It was easy to stay up late just so I could talk to the hotel staff longer. It was easy to try to learn Swahili because I wanted to interact and converse with the people I encountered better. It was easy to learn more about our group who were were traveling with. 

There were parts of this trip that were difficult. Seeing the living conditions of the Maasai were difficult. Seeing how hard the kids worked was difficult. Not being able to give the kids everything they needed was so difficult.

But now, the hardest part will be leaving. It is the hardest part because I am leaving feeling like I am not done yet. I don't feel content with the work that we have left. My heart aches so much because I want to stay and work to make ends meet for Ngaramtoni and Lisingita. I want to be there to help build the water well. I want to help care for the corn fields and chicken. I want to teach these little kids English and I want to learn Swahili from them.

Leaving is the most difficult part of this trip.

God's Gift to Us

8.25.15

This morning, I woke up and walked out on the beautiful veranda of the Ngorongoro Farm House. It was beautifully breathtaking. Celebration of Discipline taught us, “The detachment from the confusion all around us is in order to have a richer attachment to God (Foster, 21). This was the best time for me to spend time with God. I brought out my shuka and laid out on the grass. I looked out into the valley where it looked like it would never end. The sky was a blue as it could be and the sun was peeking through the clouds. The only sounds I heard were birds chirping. It was hard not to get emotional at that time because God gave me the opportunity to interact with people and live experiences that changed my whole outlook. I thanked God that he allowed me to see a whole different world and stretched my faith.

The whole day God gave me many revelations. During our safari, God showed me the unity and peace that he wanted in this world that he created for us. He showed me that before there was anything, ...there was GOD. Before there were humans and animals; universities or colleges; or iPhones; or computers, DVDs, TVs and Mp3s; or the sun, the moon and the stars - or even space itself - God was there. There wouldn't be anything at all if God hadn't thought it all up.

But God DID think it all up.

Drawing Away to Draw Near

8.24.15

The sunset during our commute to the Maasai boma

Under the Discipline of study we explored the idea of study retreats of two to three days’ duration. "Such experiences are heightened when they are combined with an inner immersion into the silence of God. Like Jesus, we must go away from people so that we can be truly present when we are with people" (Foster, 108). I am really thankful that I was able to sleep at the Maasai boma because I got to draw away a little bit. The simplicity of that life opened up my eyes. Being able to see all the beautiful stars, listening to the birds chirping, and hearing laugher was really peaceful and warming to me. I had a really good time of solitude with God that night. 

My friend, Tabia

While we did our servant evangelism today, I was so amazed with the land and the people of the land.  We heard the stories of the women of the bomas we visited. These women had many struggles, but they still were willing to receive God's word and prayers. Tabia, a maasai women, told me her story (with translation from Chikoti) and what was struggling with. Even though she was struggling, I felt her joy in the Lord. She sang with her heart and gave glory to God. I feel like the devotion I did the night before did allow me to emphasize more on what what Tabia and the women had to say. It was exactly like what the quote from Foster said. The more time we spend with God, the more we can experience him throughout our day. By drawing away to spend time with God, I was able to draw near to the feelings of others. 

Tanzania Working Their Way Up

8.23.15

On the way to the boma of the Enguruka Maasai, we passed by many other bomas. Some bomas were small and had a couple huts. Some bomas were huge and had thousands of livestock. There was a huge variety but I saw that many of these communities were not stuck. These communities had the opportunity to grow. I thought to myself, “Tanzania is not a bottom billion country.”

In Bottom Billion, Collier says, “With hard work, thrift, and intelligence a society can climb out of poverty unless it gets trapped.  The four big traps are 1) conflict, 2) natural resources, 3) being landlocked (with bad neighbors), and 4) bad governance” (5).  The people of Tanzania are so hard working. This value is evident in the younger generations who tend to the livestock. Every time we commuted to our next destination, we saw children as young as 7 years old caring for their cattle and goat. Tanzania is building up their agriculture. Many more kids are going to school. They have a great trade in livestock. They are not suffering from any of the traps. I just imagine this country growing and pulling out of poverty.

This day has taught me that as I shouldn’t hold the stereotype that all the people of Tanzania are suffering and starving. The people of Tanzania are working their way up just like I am. It’s easy to think about Africa as the starving continent, but not all countries of Africa are in that struggle. It's easy to believe the stereotypes. I learned that before believing these things, we should make sure we research the true facts.

Service as a Lifestyle

8.22.15

Today:

• Ngaramtoni Primary School
• Weed the 2^nd corn field
• Play some games with the kids
•  Convoy of Hope office
•  Finish the Demonstration Garden
• Smile and feel accomplished! =)

I woke up today and I was ready to serve! I was ready to with chant “Tondoke!” with the Ngaramtoni kids while we weeded. I was ready to sweat and get my hands dirty.  I was ready to plan out and build the irrigation system. This is because I really came to experience the joy comes from serving.

Perforating the hose for the irrigation system with Robyn

I really agree with what Celebration of Discipline had to say about service: “It will slip in upon us unawares. Though we do not sense its presence, we are aware of a fresh zest and exhilaration with living. We wonder at the new sense of confidence that marks our activities” (Foster, 131). I didn’t really pick and choose what I wanted to do. I realized that I began to focus on who was benefiting from the work I was doing. When we were weeding the

fields, I kept thinking that this would lessen the work for the kids who already work so hard. When we were working on the Demonstration Garden, I thought about all the women who would learn so much from the projects we had started up for them. I’m sure that many of us on this trip began to think this way because we all just jumped in whenever there was a need. We really worked together in order to accomplish these tasks.

I really look forward to building on this. I look forward to serving other just because I want to make others smile or because I want to fill a need. This is the type of person I want to be.