well, today we traveled from arusha to nairobi and we've arrived safely.
our last couple of days in tanzania went really well. we did a lot of last minute work on the church. yesterday, the church in majengo had a tree planting ceremony for us. we each planted a tree at the work site and the whole church came out to watch.. that was a really nice way of kind of completing things. we squeezed in a lot of house visits in these last couple of days as well... lots of families wanted to have us over before we left... each family showing sooooo much hospitality towards us all.
it was hard for alicia and i to leave our family today.. you can tell the whole mood of our entire team has kind of changed... no one is ready to go. we're going to have these two days of debriefing so hopefully that will prepare our hearts a bit more... we are all praying!
it's been so nice to hear from you all through email and messages... i'm glad to hear that things are going well... i'm sad/ excited to say that i've filled up all my memory space on my camera so i have about 1000 pictures to share when i get home.
i'll see you all very soon.. stay safe!
xoxo
-Jen
Monday, August 6, 2007
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
another update...since i've been slacking
wow,
i havent updated for awhile so i think it's about time i do that...
things are definitely still very exciting and i am enjoying my time here so much. we just have this week left in tanzania and then we drive back to kenya and fly back home on the 8th... i cannot believe how fast time was gone by.
everyday i have tried to 'soak it all in.' i feel like my time here in africa is way too short and that it's important i don't take anything for granted. i've been trying to live each day here to the fullest and to take complete advantage of all the experiences God has blessed me with.
i've enjoyed working with the kids here. they all just want to be loved. each saturday we've worked with kids through compassion international. i've been so encouraged by these children. they have so little and yet they are so generous and happy. we've also continued the construction of the church daily. that's been quite interesting... i am getting very good at shoveling dirt, that's for sure. God has given us a bunch of opportunities to minister to the people we see very often. like, the family that we pass each day on our way to work and other workers that are building a house close to where we are building the church. so many people in this area are excited about the work we are doing and are very curious about Christ.
so definitely a highlight... we went on a safari on monday and tuesday... we saw tons and tons and tons of animals... herds of buffalo running around our truck... elephants crossing the road right infront of us... zebras drinking water right beside our window. giraffs fighting each other just meters away... there were so many times on the safari when i just had to stare out of my window in awe of all the beautiful things that God has created. at the end of the day on monday we still had not seen any lions. we were driving out of the park and we saw another truck stopped up ahead of us. they were pointing up into the tree so we thought it would just be another bird or something but as we got closer we realized that there were two lions (male and female) sleeping up in the tree right on top of us. the tree hung over the road so they were literally right on top of us. it was amazing. i couldnt believe i was so close to 2 live lions, just in the middle of the wild... i really can't explain the feelings and emotions i had when i experienced that.. i was once again just in awe. the second day of the sarafi was just as amazing.. we saw most of the same animals but we saw 12 lions instead of two. two of the 12 lions we saw yesterday were actually mating... haha... that was an experience in itself. we also saw a lion in the process of hunting down a herd of wildabeast... that was very exciting. we saw tons of hippos too. when we stopped for lunch we were basically having lunch with about 8 hippos... they were right infront of us in the water... they also had a baby hippo with them and that was so cute... i'm still soaking in all of the things i saw the past two days... God has some serious creativity.. that's for sure.
i think that updates you all till today...
we're working on the church again today and also doing some house visits. tonight we have a youth prayer meeting.. i think it will be the last time i'll see a couple of friends that i've made here before we leave so that might be a bit hard saying bye today... on thursday we are going to do basically the same thing as today but i'll be speaking at a different youth service. i'm excited to share all that God has been doing with some of the locals. on friday we are going to go into town to do some shopping at a market place. saturday is compassion with the kids again.. sunday is church and packing and then monday we travel back to niarobi... this week is going to go by way too fast... i'm definitely ready to just sit back and watch God do huge things for the last little bit that we have here.
xoxo
-Jen
i havent updated for awhile so i think it's about time i do that...
things are definitely still very exciting and i am enjoying my time here so much. we just have this week left in tanzania and then we drive back to kenya and fly back home on the 8th... i cannot believe how fast time was gone by.
everyday i have tried to 'soak it all in.' i feel like my time here in africa is way too short and that it's important i don't take anything for granted. i've been trying to live each day here to the fullest and to take complete advantage of all the experiences God has blessed me with.
i've enjoyed working with the kids here. they all just want to be loved. each saturday we've worked with kids through compassion international. i've been so encouraged by these children. they have so little and yet they are so generous and happy. we've also continued the construction of the church daily. that's been quite interesting... i am getting very good at shoveling dirt, that's for sure. God has given us a bunch of opportunities to minister to the people we see very often. like, the family that we pass each day on our way to work and other workers that are building a house close to where we are building the church. so many people in this area are excited about the work we are doing and are very curious about Christ.
so definitely a highlight... we went on a safari on monday and tuesday... we saw tons and tons and tons of animals... herds of buffalo running around our truck... elephants crossing the road right infront of us... zebras drinking water right beside our window. giraffs fighting each other just meters away... there were so many times on the safari when i just had to stare out of my window in awe of all the beautiful things that God has created. at the end of the day on monday we still had not seen any lions. we were driving out of the park and we saw another truck stopped up ahead of us. they were pointing up into the tree so we thought it would just be another bird or something but as we got closer we realized that there were two lions (male and female) sleeping up in the tree right on top of us. the tree hung over the road so they were literally right on top of us. it was amazing. i couldnt believe i was so close to 2 live lions, just in the middle of the wild... i really can't explain the feelings and emotions i had when i experienced that.. i was once again just in awe. the second day of the sarafi was just as amazing.. we saw most of the same animals but we saw 12 lions instead of two. two of the 12 lions we saw yesterday were actually mating... haha... that was an experience in itself. we also saw a lion in the process of hunting down a herd of wildabeast... that was very exciting. we saw tons of hippos too. when we stopped for lunch we were basically having lunch with about 8 hippos... they were right infront of us in the water... they also had a baby hippo with them and that was so cute... i'm still soaking in all of the things i saw the past two days... God has some serious creativity.. that's for sure.
i think that updates you all till today...
we're working on the church again today and also doing some house visits. tonight we have a youth prayer meeting.. i think it will be the last time i'll see a couple of friends that i've made here before we leave so that might be a bit hard saying bye today... on thursday we are going to do basically the same thing as today but i'll be speaking at a different youth service. i'm excited to share all that God has been doing with some of the locals. on friday we are going to go into town to do some shopping at a market place. saturday is compassion with the kids again.. sunday is church and packing and then monday we travel back to niarobi... this week is going to go by way too fast... i'm definitely ready to just sit back and watch God do huge things for the last little bit that we have here.
xoxo
-Jen
Sunday, July 15, 2007
new experiences
things are still going great with me... this is just a quick little update as to what went down last night.
so i ask mama beth if she needs any help making dinner (that in itself was a challenge b/c she doesnt speak any english) but once she realizes what i'm asking her she says, oh yes yes. and kinda passes me this big bowl.
i take the bowl and look inside... inside are two complete chickens... feathers and all except for their heads were cut off and she looks at me and kinda shows me w/ her hands that she wants me to pluck the feathers off.
i ran and grabbed alicia and told her what mama wanted me to do.. we braced ourselves and then got right to work. it was definitely a different experience... once we finished getting all of the feathers off we helped her take the entire chicken a part.
i will never look at a chicken the same again.. hahah
so i ask mama beth if she needs any help making dinner (that in itself was a challenge b/c she doesnt speak any english) but once she realizes what i'm asking her she says, oh yes yes. and kinda passes me this big bowl.
i take the bowl and look inside... inside are two complete chickens... feathers and all except for their heads were cut off and she looks at me and kinda shows me w/ her hands that she wants me to pluck the feathers off.
i ran and grabbed alicia and told her what mama wanted me to do.. we braced ourselves and then got right to work. it was definitely a different experience... once we finished getting all of the feathers off we helped her take the entire chicken a part.
i will never look at a chicken the same again.. hahah
Friday, July 13, 2007
i love tanzania
YAAY we made it safely to Tanzania and it's just been awesome!!!!
kinda weird how 'at home' i feel here in Africa. i forget what my last update was and this internet is way too slow to check so.. ill just explain a bit about what i've been experiencing...
i think i already mentioned about the slum that we visited in niarobi... very sad... the reality of life for some in Africa definitely hit me that day... the church that we went to was like a little light within the slum. at one point during worship i just had to close my eyes and soak it all in... it was encouraging that the presence of God was so strong for me even though i was in such a depressing place.
then.. later on that week we were off to tanzania... wow, has it ever been great since we've been here in tanzania. during the drive (6 hours of insane driving on dirt raods.... really squished!) we saw a bunch of different animals... some highlights were..2 MASSIVE giaraffs on the side of the road.. just staring at us, it is crazy how huge they are... and to see then in the wild was that much more exciting... then, later on, we drive up to a dead cheetah.. someone had hit it w/ a car and its face was all smashed in..that was just crazy as well.
so once we finally got to tanzania we all seperated to our different houses. i'm rooming with a girl named alicia. we're very similar and its just been great. she's been such a huge support to me and has helped me in my lonely moments... definately like an older sister. the rest of our team is also good. definitely feeling unity.. we've been working on the construction of the church every day... crazy.. no machienes and doing everything w/ our hands. dave, i've been taking pictures of how they are putting this church up b/c i know that you would be curious as to how they do it.. lol.. and i want to be able to show you exactly how it's done here in africa.. haha...i'm pretty sore.. we're all going to be so huge by the end of the month.. lol. luckly alicia is a massage therapist so i've definately been capitalizing.
my house situation itself has been a bit of an adjustment...we use bucket showers.. as in a sponge bath kinda thing.. our team started a list of 'you know you're in africa when'.... on the top of the list is 'you're not sure whether or not it's dirt or a tan on your arms..' which definitely happens to us everyday... haha...interesting... so far we've all stayed soooo healthy.. the food is amazing actually.... mama beth (my mom while i'm here) is such an amazing cook. i have complete confidence in God that i am going to stay healthy for the remainder of the trip... its exciting... oh, about my family... we have 2 sisters and a brother... 11, 7, and 6.. they all speak english but our mama doesnt so that's been interesting... the kids have been doing a lot of translating for us... we've also been trying to learn the language as well.. jina langu ni jen.. my name is jen... jina lacko ni nani? what is your name.. haha... our whole team is very excited about learning the language and we've all been trying our hardest.. its been fun..
such a different experience.. walking down the street and having everyone stare at you... saying 'munzungu' which means 'white person' we definitely stick out here but it's nice.. we get the speacial treatment all the time.. haha... front seat of the dala dalas... which is what we use to get around everywhere.. it's like a small van.... but they literally squeeze 28 ppl in them (that is the max) but i love it... i love just looking out the window while driving and seeing all that everyone is doing.. just so many market places... women walking around w/ piles and piles of things.. balancing on their heads... babies always tied around their backs. its just such a beautiful thing. i love just staring out the window and just thanking God for this amazing experience he's blessed me with... it's pretty undescribable..
tomorrow we are going to be working w/ kids from compassion international so we're all pretty excited about that... definitely going to be relying on God.. suposed to be like 300 kids and 8 of us :S but we all have confidence and complete faith that it will be nothing short of amazing..
so i think that updates you guys until right about now... i've been keeping a journal every night.. i just dont want to miss any moments.. taking one day at a time... trying to soak it all in.. everyday...
i hope things are going good at home... dont forget to msg me b/c i want to hear from you all..
xo
Jen
kinda weird how 'at home' i feel here in Africa. i forget what my last update was and this internet is way too slow to check so.. ill just explain a bit about what i've been experiencing...
i think i already mentioned about the slum that we visited in niarobi... very sad... the reality of life for some in Africa definitely hit me that day... the church that we went to was like a little light within the slum. at one point during worship i just had to close my eyes and soak it all in... it was encouraging that the presence of God was so strong for me even though i was in such a depressing place.
then.. later on that week we were off to tanzania... wow, has it ever been great since we've been here in tanzania. during the drive (6 hours of insane driving on dirt raods.... really squished!) we saw a bunch of different animals... some highlights were..2 MASSIVE giaraffs on the side of the road.. just staring at us, it is crazy how huge they are... and to see then in the wild was that much more exciting... then, later on, we drive up to a dead cheetah.. someone had hit it w/ a car and its face was all smashed in..that was just crazy as well.
so once we finally got to tanzania we all seperated to our different houses. i'm rooming with a girl named alicia. we're very similar and its just been great. she's been such a huge support to me and has helped me in my lonely moments... definately like an older sister. the rest of our team is also good. definitely feeling unity.. we've been working on the construction of the church every day... crazy.. no machienes and doing everything w/ our hands. dave, i've been taking pictures of how they are putting this church up b/c i know that you would be curious as to how they do it.. lol.. and i want to be able to show you exactly how it's done here in africa.. haha...i'm pretty sore.. we're all going to be so huge by the end of the month.. lol. luckly alicia is a massage therapist so i've definately been capitalizing.
my house situation itself has been a bit of an adjustment...we use bucket showers.. as in a sponge bath kinda thing.. our team started a list of 'you know you're in africa when'.... on the top of the list is 'you're not sure whether or not it's dirt or a tan on your arms..' which definitely happens to us everyday... haha...interesting... so far we've all stayed soooo healthy.. the food is amazing actually.... mama beth (my mom while i'm here) is such an amazing cook. i have complete confidence in God that i am going to stay healthy for the remainder of the trip... its exciting... oh, about my family... we have 2 sisters and a brother... 11, 7, and 6.. they all speak english but our mama doesnt so that's been interesting... the kids have been doing a lot of translating for us... we've also been trying to learn the language as well.. jina langu ni jen.. my name is jen... jina lacko ni nani? what is your name.. haha... our whole team is very excited about learning the language and we've all been trying our hardest.. its been fun..
such a different experience.. walking down the street and having everyone stare at you... saying 'munzungu' which means 'white person' we definitely stick out here but it's nice.. we get the speacial treatment all the time.. haha... front seat of the dala dalas... which is what we use to get around everywhere.. it's like a small van.... but they literally squeeze 28 ppl in them (that is the max) but i love it... i love just looking out the window while driving and seeing all that everyone is doing.. just so many market places... women walking around w/ piles and piles of things.. balancing on their heads... babies always tied around their backs. its just such a beautiful thing. i love just staring out the window and just thanking God for this amazing experience he's blessed me with... it's pretty undescribable..
tomorrow we are going to be working w/ kids from compassion international so we're all pretty excited about that... definitely going to be relying on God.. suposed to be like 300 kids and 8 of us :S but we all have confidence and complete faith that it will be nothing short of amazing..
so i think that updates you guys until right about now... i've been keeping a journal every night.. i just dont want to miss any moments.. taking one day at a time... trying to soak it all in.. everyday...
i hope things are going good at home... dont forget to msg me b/c i want to hear from you all..
xo
Jen
Saturday, July 7, 2007
the first full day...
so, today was our first full day in Africa!!
it was great. we met up with the short term coordinator that lives with his wife here in kenya for some more orientation. it was more specific things to be aware of and what exactly to expect. we will leave soon for tanzania. it's been nice here... hot showers, nice beds etc. sleeping with the mosquito net was interesting... i had a dream that there was a huge spider on top of the net and my room mate woke me up to see if everything was okay. i'm thinking it might be the malaria pills that i'm on. :) the food has been pretty good. we had some kind of stew for lunch today. it's interesting here at the guesthouse. there are AIM missionaries from all over the world here. it's encouraging to hear their stories. this will be the last time i'll be able to update until tanzania... i have to go now, our team is meeting up for some games.
steph, email me at weber_jen@hotmail.com k?
xoxo
-Jen
it was great. we met up with the short term coordinator that lives with his wife here in kenya for some more orientation. it was more specific things to be aware of and what exactly to expect. we will leave soon for tanzania. it's been nice here... hot showers, nice beds etc. sleeping with the mosquito net was interesting... i had a dream that there was a huge spider on top of the net and my room mate woke me up to see if everything was okay. i'm thinking it might be the malaria pills that i'm on. :) the food has been pretty good. we had some kind of stew for lunch today. it's interesting here at the guesthouse. there are AIM missionaries from all over the world here. it's encouraging to hear their stories. this will be the last time i'll be able to update until tanzania... i have to go now, our team is meeting up for some games.
steph, email me at weber_jen@hotmail.com k?
xoxo
-Jen
Friday, July 6, 2007
We're here
WE HAVE ARRIVED!!!!!
after 2 loooooong flights our entire team has officially made it to Africa!and.. on top of that, we had no major complications. all of our luggage arrived on time and everything. as soon as we landed... it finally hit me. I AM IN AFRICA... ahhh... we got off the plane and right away things were so busy. we arrived at night... but there were still so many people. after we went through customs and got our luggage we walked out of the doors to find tons of africans holding up signs, looking for their loved ones. we soon met up with two men that we were looking for and then we hopped on a crazy bus ride to the mayfield guesthouse that AIM has here in Niarobi Kenya. all of our luggage was placed on top of the bus... without anything to hold it down! i was alittle nervous about that one... just like you said, steph :) and now i'm just at the guesthouse which has free internet! yay... we're going to be staying here in Niarobi for another 3-5 days and then we head off to tanzania! our whole team is learning lots of swahili! it's a beautiful language.
i hope things are going great at home. i miss you guys! but i can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 5 weeks!!!!
thank you for all your prayers!
love,
jen
after 2 loooooong flights our entire team has officially made it to Africa!and.. on top of that, we had no major complications. all of our luggage arrived on time and everything. as soon as we landed... it finally hit me. I AM IN AFRICA... ahhh... we got off the plane and right away things were so busy. we arrived at night... but there were still so many people. after we went through customs and got our luggage we walked out of the doors to find tons of africans holding up signs, looking for their loved ones. we soon met up with two men that we were looking for and then we hopped on a crazy bus ride to the mayfield guesthouse that AIM has here in Niarobi Kenya. all of our luggage was placed on top of the bus... without anything to hold it down! i was alittle nervous about that one... just like you said, steph :) and now i'm just at the guesthouse which has free internet! yay... we're going to be staying here in Niarobi for another 3-5 days and then we head off to tanzania! our whole team is learning lots of swahili! it's a beautiful language.
i hope things are going great at home. i miss you guys! but i can't wait to see what God has in store for the next 5 weeks!!!!
thank you for all your prayers!
love,
jen
Tuesday, July 3, 2007
hello everyone...
well, it's my second day at orientation and things are going great... the team is just awesome. it's like we've known each other for years. we are already united and just so excited to go! just a quick update because i have to get back to some training. i hope things are going good back home.
miss you guys
-Jen
well, it's my second day at orientation and things are going great... the team is just awesome. it's like we've known each other for years. we are already united and just so excited to go! just a quick update because i have to get back to some training. i hope things are going good back home.
miss you guys
-Jen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)