Here is a very long update from Tanzania. Enjoy! We (Kara, Sam, and I) arrived in Tarime, Tanzania last Thursday evening after 3 straight days of plane and bus travel. We were exhausted, but went out to Angel House (the orphanage in Gamasara about 3 miles away) to surprise the kids. There are almost 65 kids that are cared for at Angel House. They were very excited and mobbed us the second we got there. They have almost all learned my name already (though some call me Habby) and I think I only know about a quarter of theirs. But I have 6 weeks for that! I also have that time to learn Swahili which I am slowly picking up. It is frustrating to not understand what anyone is saying most of the time, but I already know greetings, responses, and how to count to 10. I rode a piki piki (motorcycle) for the first time that night and managed to burn my leg on the exhaust pipe on the way back. They are our way of getting from our house to Angel house each morning and evening so that was a lesson learned quick: always get off the left side. The next day, one of the border patrol men that has proved himself to be a very trustworthy friend, picked us up to go get our work visas. It is absolutely amazing to see that in a place full of so much corruption, God has picked out people like him and our main piki piki driver, Shambili, to befriend Angel House and the mission teams that come. God has truly blessed this ministry. A prayer concern for Angel house that I want to share is for a few of our older girls. Vitamin deficiencies are very common and many people here start eating things like pencil lead and soft rocks because their body craves the minerals so badly. Please pray for a way to get and pay for good vitamin supplements for the children. I spend all day Saturday and all afternoon Sunday teaching and tutoring the children in primary school. They now are bussed over the border to Kenya for school each day and since they are behind especially in English and math, we try to work ahead in their books on Saturday and Sunday. It was so much fun to teach and encourage these kids! Not only does it reaffirm my passion for teaching, but also warms my heart to see them flourish with encouragement. I think the teachers around here are not geared toward kids who struggle at all, so it is easy for them to get discouraged at school. In closing my first blog post I just want to ask for prayers that I would stay healthy (physically and spiritually) while I am here. Thankfully, I have held up well, but with the way I treated myself during travel, it is definitely by the grace of God. There is a lot of dust and exhaust which is not very kind to my head, but so far, I have only had a long headache on 2 separate days. Thank you for your prayers!
Posted on: Mon, 07 Jul 2014 20:32:35 +0000
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