LaaDeeeeeDAH

Okey doke, well I haven't blogged in a while. Soooorrryyy! As some of you know, I've decided to not go on facebook for the month of December.. Just because. I feel like I don't need facebook, and I kinda just.. Don't care. Anyways! Yesterday was the Arusha Christmas Fair, which is basically everything it appears to be: A fair, before Christmas, where people sell stuff, buy stuff, wander around, and eat. AND it was absolutely the most white people I've seen in one place in almost 3 months. There were lots of white people in Nairobi, but.. Not in a concentrated area! Trust me, it was weird. I did a shift sitting at the Pamoja booth with Lis in the afternoon, and it was fine until about 5. See, there was an event that had been planned, so that Lis' boyfriend Felis could propose to her. She was told it was a business meeting, starting at 7, so she wanted to be leaving the fair ASAP. But I was told, "DO NOT LET HER LEAVE UNTIL 6:30." Sooooo I walked slower, I went and talked to some friends at a different booth, I nonchalantly didn't help clean up until the last minute, THEN I had to go to the bathroom to change, because I absolutely couldn't do it in the car, and the line was oh so long! I could tell she was getting a bit annoyed with me, but I didn't care, 'cause I knew she wouldn't mind when she found out why! We ended up leaving at 6:23 or something like that, and I texted Jacob that we were on our way. Praise the Lord, everything was ready, we walked in at 7, Felis popped out of nowhere (Lis had been told he was in Simanjiro for the weekend) and proposed, and we went and ate some food. Sigh. It was grand, except for the super stressful bit where I had to make us late, in a non-obvious way. I mean, I could've just sat down on the grass and said "NO. I DON'T WANNA GO." But... That would be rather conspicuous, I think.

The fair is also going on today, so after church we're heading out there to go wander around. Or maybe we'll go to the pool, and then go out there. I dunno. Either way, it means a piki ride, which is soo much better than taking a car. Allow me to explain a little about bike riding here. There's the traffic lane going one way, and then the oncoming lane, and then there are bikes, wherever they fit. So you can go in a lane if you want... Or you can drive down the centerline, a foot away from oncoming vehicles. OR you can go around the outside, on the shoulder. Actually, people do all that in normal sized vehicles too, especially daladalas. Daladala drivers are CRAZY. Makin' third lanes where there ought not to be a third lane! I suppose it makes it more entertaining to drive then... SPEAKING OF WHICH, I did. Right hand drive, folks. In the left lane. Fun stuff. It was really weird when I got to the intersection where I was supposed to turn (There was also a car waiting to turn onto the road there), because I could not for the life of me, figure out which side of that vehicle I was supposed to be on. Christine must have noticed because she said "Driver in the middle!" which helped tons, haha. One thing I must say... I sucked at parking.

Raaiiiinnn

10:15 PM. Dark outside. Absolutely pouring rain, but still warm enough for me to stand out there, in a t-shirt, letting that beautiful beautiful water completely drench me. Nothing else is so rejuvenating as rain in Africa. After getting my fill of being rained on, coming inside to put on dry, comfy pajamas, eat some Oreos, and read a good book. 

Thank you Jesus, for the comforts in life, and the little things that give us joy. 

Still thinkin' about A&W Root Beer..

Since coming here, I’ve found myself lost, found, humbled, and encouraged. An explanation to start with, though! What’s the haps at Pamoja? I don’t think all of you actually know what I’m doing out here, or what Pamoja Ministries really does. To start with, there’s a curriculum called ISOM that Pamoja has assembled, which is for training students in the ways of pastoring their communities. Pamoja has also produced an album and a photobook with a group of Maasai, and have done two albums with a local contemporary gospel band called The Sowers Group. They’ve also recently finished putting the final touches on their original musical film, by the name of Nipe Jibu. All of the work done here clearly supports their mission statement: Discipling cultures through media. This probably isn’t what most people thought when they heard I was “Going to do missions work in Africa”. And honestly, I didn’t really know what I was getting into either. But that’s why I came here! I came to serve my God, and hopefully learn, and walk away with a dramatically revised understanding of the life changing work being done through the people here in Tanzania.

Personally, I know I was kind of floundering when I first arrived here. I had this immense feeling of being such a child, and not knowing what I was doing with myself. I vividly recall Jeremy asking, “So.. Can you do this? Okay, how about this? Or this?” and having to answer with, “No, I don’t know how to do that. Or that.... Or that.” I felt soooo small and useless, it was not a great feeling, I gotta say. But work was found for me to do! And it may be the most mundane, unskilled work ever, but nobody else has the time to do it, and it badly needs doing. So.. I’m doin’ it! Taking all the information in the old Quickbooks financial system.. And entering it into the new one! Yayy! It’s not bad, actually, now that I’ve got a system down. And it’s also not like that’s all I do, every day. But that’s not the point! The point is that I came here with not much to offer, and I’m still being used for a larger purpose. If I wasn’t here to fill in and do all the little jobs that use up time, the missionaries who have bigger projects to work on would have to take time out to do the little things. That’s how great God is! He takes us average folk, with not a talent in the world, and pushes us past our comfort boundaries. Which actually doesn’t sound great. But it’s good for me, which makes it fiiine! Anywho. Perhaps not the most exciting stuff you’ve heard all day, but something to think about, nonetheless.... I hope. 

Well, have a good day, and know that I’m praying for you all :) God bless!

Nairobi?

I went to Kenya! Yay! So on November 2^nd, Kim, Jacob and I went to Nairobi via the Kampala Shuttle. It’s about a 5-6 hour trip, including crossing the border and taking one rest stop. In Nairobi, Kim & Jacob rented a car, and we went and did fun stuff, including: milkshake-drinking, sushi-eating, Oreo-finding, purse-buying (1360 Kenyan Shillings = $17 US, for a leather purse. HOLLA!) aaaaaaand jail-visiting! We didn’t go to jail. But someone we know did. And it was kinda intense there for a while. But let me tell ya, prayer is powerful and things look like they’re going to work out for him! While in Nairobi, Kim bought a huuuuuge turkey for American Thanksgiving, and by huge I actually mean GIGANTIC. 14 kgs of turkey is not exactly your average bird. It’s for over 20 people, but STILL. Mucho meat. We also went through tea-growing country, which is ridiculously pretty. Nairobi is like any major city in the world, which kinda threw me off. It definitely changes what one perceives Africa to be. It’s not all mud huts and lions, people!

Sorry if I disappoint by ending this blog here, but I’m going to eat supper now. I promise I’ll write again before a week goes by!